Preacher210

I think a lot of them started heading that way after half time last week...

Not only does this game have implications for the playoffs (seeding and therefore matchups), in a way you can look at it as the beginning of the playoffs. This is where these two teams have a chance to show they are ready for the big dance. Win or lose, both teams need to perform well in this game to build confidence for the post-season. Of course, the winner gets more confidence, but even the loser needs to be able to come out with a feeling that they executed on the field.

I wish Voytik all the best, and don't have any reason to begrudge him the attention he has gotten (after all, it got Bradley Central on ESPNU!). In fact, I hate it for him that this potentially magical senior year has turned out rather sour for him and his team. But it wasn't just his supporting players. Yes, he had some drops Friday, but a lot of his passes weren't on the money. Even some of the completions had receivers in open space having to go to the ground to make catches. One factor to consider is that Bradley managed to put a lot of pressure on the QB, and had a number of hits on him. Probably the best pressure I've seen from our defense this year.

One key note on this rule: if the kicked ball crosses the goal line, it is an automatic touchback. If the the receiver has his feet on or across the goal line but the ref judges the ball to not have crossed, they can return it. If the receiver catches the kick in the field of play and then moves across the goal line (i.e., a running catch), it can be returned. The determiner is the kick itself crossing the plane of the goal line. How accurately that gets determined can be tricky. With the average HS kicker, the ability to make this call is not often tested.

I was glad that Bradley's defense finally played a full game. Did a little "bend but don't break", especially the 2nd half, but the key part of that was "don't break." Not the most exciting or entertaining game the "U" has ever covered, I'm sure, but the Bears satisfied me by taking care of business and making a respectable showing on the big stage.

Should have kept kicking instead of going for 2 after the first miss. He's only missed a handful all year.

Thanks for the shout-out.

8 PM.

This week has been fall break for WV and Bradley. Somehow I see Bradley families being considerably more motivated to hang around over this break than WV...

Friday. 8 pm. Cleveland High School. That is the final answer. (Wish it was at Bradley; I love our facility.)

ESPNU's schedule for Friday, October 21 at 8 pm shows: Geico ESPNHS Football Showcase presented by US Marines - Bradley Central (TN) vs. Cleveland (TN) link I can't speak for your DVR, though.

Anybody crazy enough to wager on a high school football game (especially a rivalry game) deserves whatever they lose.

I don't care much about it either; I am no great shakes to look at. But I'm always around the line of scrimmage, and will be close to the chains on the road. I don't think I will have any choice about getting my ugly mug on camera.

That's pretty typical. But this particular situation was unusual in a number of ways. If the game was closer, or if there was still a chance of not getting the penalty, things might have been handled differently.

Everybody remember to make your posters creative so you can get on TV! (I walk the sidelines; I'll probably get screen time whether I want it or not) Hopefully the players will keep the attitude that it is a football game, nothing more, nothing less. Trying to look impressive usually has the opposite effect. Just play ball 48 minutes, and let the other stuff tend to itself.

I hope we give them a good show. Of course, I do kinda like a whole half of running clock like this week; get out of there in a hurry that way. I've felt all season that even if Cleveland hadn't found their game like they have lately, they would be clicking on all cylinders for the Bradley game. These last two games are going to take a focused, consistent performance by the Bears.

How's that? After the local broadcast of the Ooltewah game, I can hardly wait for the ESPNU production. Later start time (8:00 pm), plus more or longer TV time-outs - we'll be there till midnight.

All right, it's time to get it started. How does this backyard battle play out this year?

White hat referee was not happy when he came back out because he could tell they had not been running the clock right for halftime (they held the clock during the wrestling stuff). I have a feeling he was going to flag us for that anyway. The coaches told the band to go ahead and run their show (which is one reason I think they knew the penalty was already a done deal). In context of this game, it was no big deal. I hope we handle senior night better, though. That game will be another matter altogether.

This one wasn't all on the bands. The 10 minute recognition of last year's wrestling team and the fund-raising field goal promotion factored in there, too.

Walker Valley is probably about ready for basketball season at this point!

If we can just grasp the concept that football games consist of FOUR whole quarters....

Yeah, well, that's what you would have thought last year, and they just about stole that one from us.

I wasn't taking a dig at Maryville, just noting that each year stands on its own. My understanding of the different polls is that the AP polls are voted on by sportswriters in Tennessee, while unapproved website probably uses some sort of power-ranking method. The AP polls are more likely to take into account history, reputation, and other intangible factors that are available to more local voters. One like unapproved website probably doesn't consider those factors as strongly. In other words, around here, pretty much everyone has the philosophy that Maryville is king until proven otherwise. Beyond the borders, there might be more of a start-from-scratch-this-season philosophy that tries to analyze stuff on paper. Or in other words, my initial comment was not a dig on Maryville, just an attempt to point out that not every poll knows or cares about the last 9 years.

This year's Maryville team hasn't won the past 7 out of 9 state championships, either.