MountainTroll

Depends on how you look at it.

WHICH ONE ?? :twisted: :twisted:

*I believe Bearden is in a rebuilding year, and LaVergne is still finding it's way with a relatively new coach. Wouldn't make too much of the scrimmage outcomes, but I was impressed with our execution on offense. If there were any doubts about how Reece would do under pressure, he did a very good job of reading the defense, avoiding the rush, and checking to the open reciever. Defense looked good, except for a couple of brainfarts. Believe the will be ready and continue to improve thru the season. *Gotta admit, I got that from Roy's Book.

I'll be pullin' for you fellers this year. Hope things smooth out up there. Ya'll got some good kids.

Was very impressed with the JV at yesterday's scrimmage. Got some talented young guys who will be ready to take over in a couple of years.

+1 to Bratt I also believe it is time to just agree to disagree on most of these subjects and move on to the season. However, foozball man, you lose any creditibility when you misstate facts. Watch our team at the jamboree and check a roster if they have them. One of four potential starting RB's on offense. I believe all four are equally good and will "start". Two on defense, one of which is also a RB on offense. We will only have three players (one transfer) that get any significant time on both sides of the ball. With our depth, we have 25 players that will "start", depending on the opponent and gameplan. Even if you want to say three players "start" both ways, it's still only two out of nineteen "starters" that are transfers. The majority of our transfers have not yet been able to win a starting spot on the team. I know math ain't Soddy's strong suit ( sorry, couldn't help myself ) but 2/19 = 10%. We got a number of "stars" on the team. Before you reply to this post, I would encourage you to get several weeks into the season and see which players are written about on Saturday and show up in the box scores. You will discover that it is "our kids" winning football games. I'm done with this. Good fortune to all teams this year. Southeast TN will have some real contenders this year.

I nominate Seven for CoachT "King of the Master Baiters". :roflolk:

Maybe I should have put mine in bold so you could see it. "two or maybe three of our starters" That ain't nowhere close to 30-40% I guess forgot was a poor choice of words. You know what I was saying. The guys get caught up in the heat of the moment. It even happens on the practice field among teammates. And don't ignore the rest of my post, where I say that the game should have been paused after that to remind everyone to tone things down. Earlier, you said, "There is not a true hatred of Bill Price at Soddy, I promise you that. We have parents that played for Price and they will tell you they have all the respect in the world for him as a coach." Now you say, "The real problem is that this does not SUPRISE anyone when the mention of a Principal Price coached team is involved." Which is it?

Thanks for the scratch, snoball. I'm out. My fingers are sore and got a scrimmage to go watch. Hope there ain't no fights.

Sorry, my friend, but that's a big swing and a miss. I had some of the same concerns as you regarding the first kid, but when I got to know him, his background, and the entire situation, there was no impropiety. This young man's turnaround in life is a true success story. His academic and athletic accomplishments thrived, and he is currently using his athletic abilities to allow him to pursue a pre-professional undergraduate degree. The second kid's family absolutely moved to Signal and have become active members of the community, even though their son is now in college. They're good people, and we're proud to have them on the mountain. I've already addressed the alleged "recruiting" and the demographics of the team. Fight with smeags if you want (I'll sit back and chuckle), but please don't jump on the bandwagon of promulgating falsehoods. By the way... where's my sweet apple pie? Ya Dang Hoser.

I think things started heating up in the first game. I don't know why the guy tackled him, but I honestly don't think it was malicious. Not a hard hit, but did tackle him. You see the same thing in team spring and summer practices. I don't know why somebody "forget" it's non-contact, but it happens. I agree that the game should have been paused at that point and everybody reminded to tone it down. I'm concerned that the Soddy administration has said that Soddy will not play in any scrimmages or 7 on 7's that don't have officials and security. That will severely limit your options. I'm even more concerned that the T$$AA will promulgate rules and regs for off season scrimmages that will make them cost prohibitive. How do you pay for refs, security, and ambulances if there is no big gate revenue?

Agree 100%. I like the scrimmage/practice environment, the "tournament" format. Would things have been different? idk

Thanks, bratt.

As for the denial and arrogance of our fans, I believe we would rather be discussing the positive, but when everybody only wants to throw rocks at us, it is hard not to get defensive. Once you get defensive, your comments soon start sounding dismissive and arrogant. Everybody has problems in their program, but it seems that the only dirty laundry that gets inspected is Signal's. I hate discussing race, but the demographics of the community and school vs. that of the football team is a valid topic. In that regard, I don't believe Signal Mountain is that much different than other schools. Many of the best football players are African-American, and it is not uncommon for a football teams demographics to differ from the school as a whole. As to your reference to the starting roster, I believe we have two or maybe three starters that are African-American. As I'm sure you can appreciate, the players on the field at the scrimmages are not necessarily the "starting roster". I may be naive, but I don't think I am. I honestly do not Signal "recruits". We do have kids who have transfered because they like our program, but I honestly believe it has been entirely on their families' initiative. I know we got a handful of ninth graders who have chosen to attend Signal Mountain High School after finishing Middle School somewhere else. Knowing their backgrounds and options, I can't say I blame them. I wasn't at the Baylor scrimmage, but I think it turned out to be a close game, not a blowout. (may be wrong) However, I believe some of the animosity between these programs stems from the fact that many kids from the mountain have historically gone to Baylor, some still do, and some transfered. I did hear the other day that only 9% of our elementary school kids are leaving for the privates next year, when that number had traditionally been around 30%. Now that our school is entering its 4th year, hopefully some of that animosity between Signal and the privates will settle down a little. I have hear several people comment that Massey won't play Signal, but I don't know if that is true or not. I suspect that you will see Baylor and Signal play at some point in the future. This same line of reasoning also applies to Red Bank in my opinion. Regarding the TC incident, our students were very excited that we had beaten a team the caliber of TC and rushed the field after the game to celebrate with the team (their friends). A little rude and inappropriate? Maybe, but they're just teenagers and honestly didn't know any better. (They do now) The kid in the mascot suit may have been headed to midfield (probly was) but not to "plant the flag" or taunt, just to celebrate. Stupid? Yes, but again, your talking about excited, stupid teenagers.

You'll get your chance. I don't mind defending Signal Mountain High School and our football program, because I know how things really are up here. If the school and our athletic programs weren't successful, I guess nobody would be writing about us in the paper and bashing us every chance they get. Just wish people wouldn't be such hypocrites about it. From reading all this crap, you'd think all the other schools are saints and we're Satan reincarnate.

Don't have to look him up. I know the young man, and I was there. He was a tough linebacker, and I'll admit he had some troubles ratcheting it down for 7 on 7's. There's gonna be some pushing and shoving when a receiver or back comes across the middle against a linebacker, even in a 7 on 7. Was he rougher than he should have been in that format? Yes. Did it warrant what your coach did? I don't think so. I've never said Signal can do no wrong. If you read my posts, you'll see that I criticize Signal when I believe it is appropriate. I just don't believe things are always as one-sided as people seem to make out. I said that both coaches were at fault to some degree for letting this feud go so far, but I don't believe either head coach should have been suspended over it. Both programs have essentially been placed on notice by the T$$AA, and I know both coaches are taking this very seriously. Any unsportsmanlike activity by either team at T$$AA sanctioned events will almost certainly result in harsh penalties.

So, Snoball, how long you think this thread will get before ?somebody? shuts it down? Will we rival the PC WC thread or the King of Smack thread?

But kinda depends on the parent.

Our coach listed a few of our players, too. Ain't dissin the players. Sure they're good. Ours are, too, but this don't mean much.

Dang it, yall got me all worked up then didn't finish the job. Which is it? Nike? Reebok? or

Go scratch, old man. And...I bought spurs for the chicken.

Now everbody go scratch, have a cold beer, and chill. Can't wait for Week 0.

Old Warhorse, you been around for a while, so I will respect your opinion. However, you must realize that what appears in the newspaper and on these threads is just a small part of the story. The official response to the T$$AA was sent Monday or Tuesday after the incident. Coach Price made the decision to essentially suspend the entire team from further 7 on 7 scrimmages after the response was sent. He dealt out his own kind of punishment to the team on the practice field and has almost daily tried to teach them the difference between aggressive, hardnosed football and violent aggression. You won't read these things in the paper. As for the "incident", a Signal parent was involved, and that is totally inexcusable. If Price could have disciplined that guy, I'm sure he would have. The parent has been banned from attending any SMMHS athletic events for an entire year. If anyone choses to prosecute him for assault, they have that option. Not making excuses, but will give you some history. This all began two years ago in a scrimmage with Soddy, where one of the Soddy assistant coaches physically assaulted a Signal player. Did you read about that in the paper? Since then, the animosity between the programs has escalated. At our last scrimmage and at the 7 on 7, one of the Soddy coaches in the secondary was visibly taunting our players and encouraging his players every time they took a cheap shot on one of our guys. The actual fight started when the Soddy defender, who got beat on the play, forearmed our receiver in the helmet a good two seconds after he caught a touchdown pass in the endzone. When our guy pushed him back, two Soddy players took our guy to the ground and started roundhouse punching him. I was there. I saw every bit of it firsthand. If you ask me, the Soddy players and at least one of their coaches were itching for a fight. With the history of our programs, I'll admit a couple of our players were also looking for it. I do fault both head coaches to some degree for not stopping this before it got this far. However, I don't believe either coach should have been suspended. Maynard and Orr just did the politically correct thing for the T$$AA's benefit. Do you really believe having the guys move furniture one day instead of practicing in the heat constitutes punishment or "community service". As for the "Sportsmanship Summit" referenced in the T$$AA's letter, do you think teenage boys pay any attention to that crap. Sportsmanship is taught on the field. Regardless of what any of Bill Price's haters may think, he teaches sportsmanship. He has never in his career, that I am aware of, had a player suspended for fighting. If a player ever screws up, Coach Price handles it like any other football coach out there. I wish people would stick to the facts and not base their opinions on innuendo, rumors, gossip, and incomplete newspaper articles written by someone who has always had it out for Signal.