Warriors2011

Thanks. Now if we could just win a football game!

Ah that explains it. Thanks.

So who won? The Knoxville news outlets don't have very comprehensive coverage of scores.

I assume you're asking about how last year's (and year before) CAK team would have done against this year's competition--probably 5-0 or 4-1 at this point.

Very young, very inexperienced. Way too many turnovers on O and busted assignments on D and special teams. Hopefully some recent adjustments by the HC will help the guys salvage something out of the second half of the season.

This should be an interesting game. I've seen ND this year and was impressed with their physical play and very talented playmakers. I haven't seen Webb this year yet but have seen them the last several years and am familiar with what they have returning from last year's team; my son knows several of their players and I've watched some of them play since little league. As an outsider with no dog in the fight, my impression is that Webb might have a few more weapons to kill you with than ND, assuming both teams are at full strength injury-wise. Super duper fast WB/DB for Webb vs. also very fast but not quite as super duper fast WR/DB for ND; super fast WB/DB for Webb vs. also very fast WR/DB for ND; power RB/LB for Webb vs. power RB for ND. Some very good sized, physical linemen on each team. Webb still has 2-3 more guys who can beat you on any given play that I haven't even mentioned. ND has great team speed, but my impression is Webb has a little more. Assuming there's not a significant margin favoring one team +/- on turnovers, my guess would be Webb wins a very close/competitive game. A significant TO margin for one team might decide the outcome. Coaching might very well determine the outcome since the talent levels seem to be fairly close. Good luck to both teams.

Yes, he played at CAK in middle school and as a freshman, transferred to Farragut and had to sit out his sophomore year and is now eligible as a junior.

Thanks for your kind words about #9. I wish I could say I taught him everything he knows but he's much more athletic than his old man ever was! ND had several very impressive players, not just 3 but 6 and 55 were very impressive as well. To be honest, I'm a little surprised the Irish abandoned their "wildcat" or single wing style offense they used for a while there and went back to the spread; the Warriors were having trouble stopping it on any sustained basis. But in a game like that the Irish coach had the luxury of experimenting with some stuff for future reference I suppose. Good luck next week.

Ah, gotcha. I know what a trencher is, and I know that the line of scrimmage is sometimes referred to as "the trenches," but in all my years I've never heard linemen referred to as trenchers. Anyway, never know when you're going to learn something new. With that clarification of your question, the answer is "no." The only starter the Warriors have lost to injury thus far is a DB. Only one returning starter on the OL. Just very young and inexperienced as a unit.

What's a trecher?

Very good points, and I stand corrected on the number of TDs called back. The Cherokees were clearly the better team and are much better than average--my previous comment was that I am not sure the Cherokees are quite as good this year as last year (which was definitely a great team)--still obviously better than the Warriors, and the Kees clearly play with a lot of energy and spirit and are very well coached. And you're absolutely right that CAK needs to play with more aggressiveness and stop turning the ball over. On the TD pass you're talking about, players on both teams stopped when they heard the whistle. Greenback was doing exactly what it should have been doing in terms of getting to the line and snapping the ball as soon as the clock was started, but they actually snapped a little before the ball was signaled ready for play, and when the ref blew the whistle...he thought he was blowing to wind the clock, but the ball had already been snapped. Film shows the majority of players on both teams stopped playing when they heard the whistle. Good luck to Greenback the rest of the way. My guess is you guys have a chance to make a good run at it this year.

Sounds good. By the end of the week my cholesterol might be getting a little low; sounds like that place will fix me up and get my cholesterol back up in no time! Thanks for the info. If you see me Friday night, please say hello. I'll be the old fart in royal blue.

Trust me--CAK is definitely the underdog in this match-up. CAK's opening loss to Christ School of Asheville was largely due to a -3 turnover ratio, with all 3 of CAK's turnovers coming inside or very close to the red zone, so they left several points on the ground. Last week, though, the Warriors seemed to regress against a good but probably not great, but well coached and highly motivated, Greenback team. Legitimate final score should have been 35-7 (though CAK's TD came against Greenback's 2's). One of Greenback's scores should have been waved off--ref admitted to coaches afterwards he blew an inadvertent whistle after Greenback snapped the ball while chains were being moved but before ref started clock (all players stopped at the whistle except the receiver who kept running and QB threw to him). GB fans might complain that a couple of other TD's were "called back" due to penalties--and they were indeed, but the holding was clear in both cases and contributed to the breakaway runs. However, CAK played horribly and got the whipping that comes from sloppy, uninspired play. The Warriors did lose several key seniors from last year's team. This year they have plenty of good skill players, but right now the OL is very young and inexperienced, and an offense can't be any better than its OL no matter how good its skill players are. One senior on OL, two juniors (one of whom has never played OL before), one sophomore and one freshman round out the starting OL. The senior is the only returning starting from last year's OL. The OL is struggling mightily right now with both run and pass blocking. On D, the coaches are struggling to find the right mix of personnel for the secondary. Some guys are playing well against the pass but not against the run and vice versa. It will be a big challenge for the Warriors as they make their first ever visit to ND. Where's the best place(s) to get a bite to eat near the ND campus?

The Warriors are young and inexperienced at multiple key positions. They are clearly the underdog going into this district matchup, but they will fight hard to make it a game.

Congratulations to the Cherokees on a big win. Greenback has some very good players, was very well coached and played hard. As you can tell, CAK has a lot of areas to work on this season. Hope you enjoyed your visit to Warrior Stadium.

The Warriors have a more balanced offense now under the new coaching staff, but they do still throw quite a bit. Currently breaking in a new QB, so that's probably a factor in what you're likely to see in terms of run/pass percentages. If the OC thinks he can throw successfully against Greenback, he might throw a lot just to get the QB more game passing reps. In general, though, this Warrior team will try to run the ball much more than what you're used to seeing under Rusty Bradley. Also, the old adage of taking what the defense gives you is a big part of the Warrior offensive philosophy.

BC don't show up this week expecting to see those world-famous equestrian boots, and the form fitting blue jeans that often go with them, at an August game. Those don't start showing up until the home games in late September and October when it's cooler weather I guess.

The CAK football family is looking forward to hosting the folks from Greenback Friday. Hopefully you'll enjoy your visit to our place. Concession food is pretty good; banana pudding is one of the specialties. It will be the home opener for the Warriors. They lost a tough game to a very talented Christ School of Asheville team Saturday night on the road. Three turnovers in the red zone after long drives caused the Warriors to miss out on multiple scoring opportunities; the Greenies of Christ School didn't have a turnover, so the turnover ratio was a big factor in the outcome. The officiating by the NC crew was incredibly bad and, while it probably didn't affect the ultimate outcome, made what should have been a two-hour game a very painful to watch almost-four-hour circus. Just like Game 1 last year, the Warriors lost a starter to a season-ending injury, a speedy DB who was also one of the rotation guys in the receiving corps. Some of the posts on here talk about CAK passing a lot. The Warriors still throw the ball quite a bit, but not quite the same skewed percentage as under Rusty Bradley. The Warriors try to be more balanced under the new coaching staff.

No dog in this fight, but watched the game on the internet and wow what a barnburner. For Catholic fans complaining about the officiating, I just don't see it. The holding calls that were called were clearly holding. On the "takedown" that resulted in a holding call, an OL taking a defender down is not why they called holding--they called holding because he continued to lie on the defender with his hands on the defender's body. Good OL coaches (which I'm sure Catholic has) coach their players if you fall on top of a defender hold out your hands so the refs can see you're not holding; 68 didn't do that, so he got the flag. The few missed calls I saw actually cut in Catholic's favor; there were at least two late hits out of bounds that didn't get flagged. Overall, this game was decided by the players. Both teams are incredibly good; the Rebels just executed slightly better in the final minutes of the game.

Why do you say that?

The scrimmage against Mo West was very encouraging. The varsity units played to a 1-1 tie for about an hour. The teams then moved to the side practice field for the JV guys to get some work; I wasn't able to stay and see how that went. But for the Warrior varsity to play even with Mo West for an hour was very encouraging, especially without one of the key guys who was inactive for the scrimmage but will be ready for game 1. (Varsity only had an hour because Trojans got stuck in rush hour traffic and arrived late, and there was a CAK middle school game set for 7 pm so the field had to be yielded for the younger guys' game.) Mo West is predicted to be a top 10 team in their division, and they clearly have some very good players. Their QB has a very strong arm and great size and mobility; the D1 offers he's received are not a fluke. The Warriors were very competitive on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Over the course of a full game, Mo West might have a slight edge in the trenches due to depth just because of the sheer difference in the size of the teams. Warrior skill players overall played with more confidence than the Karns scrimmage. QB had a very good scrimmage and is getting more noticeably comfortable and confident in the pocket with each opportunity. RB's ran well but some are still learning assignments as there were a few busted plays; we can't have that during games when every play counts. Still too many drops by the receiving corps, but it's usually like that this stage of the season and tends to improve over the first few games, and overall the receivers played well. The Warrior D played well and I was pleasantly surprised to see them hold the Trojans to one score. The one Mo West TD came on a longish run against a blend of 1's and 2's in the secondary and one defender who appeared to be out of position based on the offensive formation. Making the trip to Asheville?

Thanks for the info.

Will this game be on TV? I just assumed since it's Thursday that it was the Rivalry Thursday game but noticed that is Anderson County vs. Carter. If not on TV, why did it get scheduled for Thursday? Just curious.

The Warriors got some good work. Both offensively and defensively, they're still getting their legs under them. For people who keep "score" regarding scrimmages, Karns clearly scored several times more than CAK. But it was fairly obvious early on that the CAK staff was experimenting, giving some guys who've been out of the mix for a while (due to injury or otherwise) a chance to show what they can do, and they showed some great potential. A few dropped passes, but also some really nice catches too. Some really good runs by different guys out of the backfield. Skill 2's were inserted during first series offensively and defensively. Karns has one player who is blazing fast and he beat us on a couple of deep balls. Taking those out of the mix, the scrimmage was roughly even. I expect Karns to have a much improved record compared to how they ended up last year, especially if no. 10 stays healthy. As expected for a first scrimmage, there were moments of sloppiness by the Warriors. But they also put together some sustained drives on offense and, with the exception of giving up a few long plays, the defense played well. There were a few episodes of lax tackling. The coaches are still trying to figure out the right mix in the secondary. My suspicion is we saw only a very small part of the offense this evening. An even bigger challenge looms next week when the MoWest Trojans visit CAK for a scrimmage. Only one key player injury this evening I'm aware of so not too bad of a scrimmage injury-wise.

Coach just sent an announcement that the Karns coach asked to move the scrimmage up a day, to Thursday at 6 pm, due to predicted heavy storms in the area Friday evening. So it's now been moved to Thursday at 6 at Karns.