BlMed

In answer to the question of this topic "Who is the best QB in the Knoxville area? And is anyone better than Zach Helton? I believe Brad Ramsey is, but it remains for Brad and his teammates to prove it. we shall see? The offense line will have to rise to the occasion. That former Cane QB wouldn't have been Palazzola ? Or maybe Randy Sanders? At least Ramsey has some great tradition of QB's to follow at East.

thumb Big Daddy : I agree Blake Garretson is a great athlete and could have made it big in either baseball or basketball . He has the potential to be another Jason Witten . Also I still think Brad Ramsey is a diamond in the rough. I think both he and Shawn Penland will have a big year. If Ramsey has the kind of year he is capable of having as a junior, he may end up being the top recruit QB out of Tennessee next year. I wish Ramsey was in Knoxville so he would get the kind of exposure that Helton is getting. For instance, last year Penland averaged some incredible yards per catch and hardly received any press. Like I said before those three alone are worth a trip to Morristown, to see some potential college standouts in the making. Hopefully Fulmer and company will take notice and look in their own back yard............

Brad Ramsey from Morristown East is the best prototype Quarterback in East Tennessee. He is tall, big arm and fast a foot. Only problem may be his offensive line (unproven). Helton is a great High School QB, but Ramsey is a real sleeper. It may be worth the hour ride to Morristown for any of you Knoxville area football fans to see the combination of Ramsey , Penland and their prolific air attack. Brad is a class act and the Furman coaches can attest to that. UT scouts need to take a look at this Ramsey kid,Penland and Garretson ( huge fullback or tight end) ala Jason Witten.

Morristown East should be the favorite if the offensive line can prove the predictors wrong. Ramsey may be the best QB in the region given time and Penland is the best big threat receiver. Add Blake Garretson as a tight end and the blazing speed of Josh Morgan as a second receiver (if they use him) and they could have a potent offense. The passing game could be prolific if the offensive line steps up. Either way East fans are in for some exciting games with their offensive weapons. Ramsey is a legit D-1 prospect and Garretson is a done deal.

The Knox Sentinel and Prep Xtra say that the East coaches and AD choose not to participatle. In light of the fact that we now realize we don't really have a local newspaper, I think they need to be encouraged to post in the Knox paper. They have been approached but frankly I don't think they care except for the football coach. Unfortunate for the kids. Part of the message may be that Morristown East really does not emphasize their sports programs. Frankly if I were a student athlete I would go elsewhere.

Agree with you CNfn. All I can say is I would not want to be the coach that has to figure that one out next year.. Altizer did a good job under the circumstances of not really knowing the players or his talent. With some major practice and summer camps some of the players can develop by next year. They will have to choose baseball and dedicate to it only, in order for it to happen. East has a nucleus of players and some upcoming talent that should make them competitive. But you are right, they need to put their best skill players in the infield where most of the damage was done this year. Rines knows the kids and with Altizers help they should be better next year with some luck. Hopefully they will work hard this summer and fall.

I have not agreed with everything that has gone on here , but it is time to put differences aside and get behind the players and Altizer and give them all our support. The opponent is Science Hill not EastHigh and they are going to be tough enough. The players and coaches will have their hands full. Let us hope we get some good fan support tonight as they will all need it. Go Canes

You are right he is a great kid and he should have played more during the season especially if the coach didn't cancel so many games and tournaments. He is a great power hitter and should have played DH, first base, and pinched hit in each and "every" game. And I emphasize every game. We could have used his bat alot more. The coach may have felt guilty and tried to make up for his failure to play him during the season. Not the right place , time or position to do so. Something should have been said long ago about that, but most are intimidated. But don't hang him out in the championship game and let them tag him for 6 runs. I don't think he deserved that .You are right he should have played but you don't spot a team like JC 6 runs before you try someone else. If that were my friend, brother or son out there I would have been the first to tell the coach to take him out after 3 runs in 2 innings. The freshman is a great kid too with a bright future but don't throw him the first time on varsity in the championship game. I am not sure that is where he should have made his pitching debuit. Again he should have seen action during the year as he was being groomed. It never happened , but there were opportunities to do so. But don't throw him to the wolves and potentially destroy his confidence. He didn't deserve that either. Josh Green would have been a better choice in that situation against a power hitting team. He has good fast ball and a more than average curve ball. And what about Jeremy Dickerson. He deserved to play too, during the season and even pitch an inning or two om this one. There was nothing wrong with pitching who he pitched. The problem was how long he waited to change pitcher each time. If coach wanted to give a great kid a chance to contribute , he should have played alot more with his power and awesome bat. The real question is why he didn't once play DH or 1st Base in the tournament or even during the season, not pitcher? That would be like pitching Mike Piazza in the last game of the World Series. He like Piazza has a future in baseball but not at pitcher.. As far as being home by now, I am not so sure you can give him as much credit as you seem to be doing? One thing you can definitely say about J Rice is that he knows "pitching". And the kids seemed to like him and respect he and Wills. Wills would have made sense as an interim but politics prevailed again. At least Wills would have practiced them and played more games. More players would have developed and had a chance to play during the season. BTW what does Kent Basil and basketball have to do with this? Where did that come from? He would have been the worst choice to start in "that game", let alone pitch during the tournament . If Basil pitched I am sure it would have been 6 runs in one inning. Good hitters are rarely good pitchers. That is the WHOLE POINT! Knowing your players and where to play them is a sign of good coaching. Seals, Stansberry and the rest of the IMAC guys seem to have that.

East was by far not out of pitching. Try Jeremy Dickerson one of East's best players (who sat the bench the entire year for unkown reasons), or Josh Green, Nick Green .You might figure the rest out from there......

As a JCHS fan you should be proud of your team. You don't need to go there. My advise to you is remain oblivious. If you were there , you should be able put two and two together. If you insist ask any East High fan who knows "anything" about baseball and the players and they might tell you, providing they have the courage to speak up. Most won't. I alluded to that above and why that is. Sheople rarely speak up.

Who watched the last game of the tournament last night between East and Jeff? Did anything strike you as strange and way out of the ordinary about that game? I have never heard so many people in any game saying "what is he thinking?" But it has been that kind of season. I am sure the opposing team fans were oblivious to what was really going on. That is not to take anything away from the Jeff County team , they were truly deserving of winning the district. Crouch,Story,Long, Bowlin,Chapman,Ausman etc are great athletes and they are fortunate to have a great Coach in Seals to lead them. He seems to get the most out of his players and treats them with the respect they deserve as "kids". Would like to hear a "sports writer" etc finally tell it like it really is/was rather than the usual "whitewashed local, small town, politically correct play by play". Not holding my breath on that one. To those of you who can read between the lines , you know what I mean. If I put it any more bluntly they will probably delete this message. Most won't speak up out of fear of either losing their job or being ostrasized by the small town politicos. But then again I am not trying to be politically correct ...............

By the way they were Jefferson County fans not Mo East fans that were involved.

East has some other good pitchers, it just seems he doesn't know who they are.

Marshall pitched a great game last night. East should be loose as they have nothing to lose. No one ever expected them to make it this far. They can afford to enjoy the game or games and all the pressure should be on the Patriots. Everyone expects the Patriots to win the state this year and rightly so as they are absolutely loaded with pitchers and hitters. I am sure East players are honored just to play on the same field as these guys (maybe one of the best high school teams ever). Hat's off to the Morristown East players for making it this far. No matter what they do the rest of the season, they have succeeded beyond expectation. They have had to deal with alot of adversity ( I am sure the fans know what I am talking about , especially the loss of two of the best players in sophmores Josh Morgan and Brad Ramsey for the season. We can only imagine what they could have done with Rines there at the helm?

1) Number one has to be Doug Rines from Morristown East who is presently serving our country in Iraq. His players sorely miss him. Watch out for M East next year when he returns. 2) Stansberry from Morristown West has to be the best coach for getting the most out of his players. He seems to really have a handle on the game. Look forward to some real rivalry between the two cross town rivals when Rines returns.