ferrell

I appreciate that Murph! You are one of the few posters that seems to be knowledgeable and you always have a rational and balanced perspective on things. Switching gears, our band (among others-hopefully) is coming early to eat dinner at the Polk concession stand. Yet another reason to like and respect Polk Co. A wise man once said, "Never disrespect someone that is feeding you!"

That is another reason to like Coach Davis. Win, lose or draw, it is fun to play against coaches and teams that do it the right way. He must make things fun for his players for Polk County to have such great numbers playing for him, year in and year out. #irishRespectWildcatNation

Murph, Please don't mistake IrishTrikstr as a rep from the Irish Nation. I have had kids at ND that have spanned the last 10 years and have had the pleasure of seeing some good games between ND and Polk. Coach Derrick Davis, in my opinion, is probably the most underrated coach around. Regardless of his talent level from year to year, he always seems to win and he does so by being a great motivator, and seemingly teaching his young men to be very disciplined and tough. Not knowing him personally, he seems to combine the qualities of a likable "players' coach" with the hard nosed tough nature of the typical "old school" coach. He seems to always have a bunch of kids playing for him (which speaks to how well liked he is and how he motivates kids to come and play), he always seems to beat some teams that "on paper" or according the so called experts, he is not supposed to beat, and his teams always seem to play with great fundamentals and discipline. A Coach Davis football team is not (in my time seeing them) going to beat themselves and they are going to do everything possible to expose and take advantage of any weaknesses that your team has. NOTE: Despite ND missing a RB in the first game, I think Polk had a lot to do with how we played. They had some long drives on offense, they had a "bend but don't break" defense and they also created several turnovers on defense. I agree that ND did not have their "A game," however when you don't give a great, well-coached team props when they beat you is arrogant and insulting. I want the Polk County nation to know that 99% of Irish fans have nothing but respect for Coach Davis, his entire staff, and the Polk County team. Unfortunately, this silent majority doesn't post on coacht. One more point about Polk. I have always heard that their players play with class and don't trash talk. No team is perfect in this regard, but you can tell that Coach Davis must preach character and team above all else. These are the same values that Coach Fant preaches. I think the game Friday will be an exciting matchup and I hope all of the young men playing finish the game healthy and may the best team win!

It posted funky. MC has the edge in Line, Depth, WR ND has the edge in QB, RB, Coaching, Special Teams, Home Field Adv.

Here is how Ferrell sees this matchup. McMinn Central Notre Dame Line + QB + RB + WR + Special Teams + Overall Depth + Coaching + Home Field Adv. + This should be a great matchup this Friday, as McMinn Central will have the edge on both sides of the ball on the line of scrimmage with more size and depth overall. However, if the first string lineman for the Irish can hold their own (which I am confident they can) for four quarters, I think the speed, athleticism and great coaching staff for the Irish will be the difference. On top of that, as Bobby Bowden once said, "in big games, everyone likes to talk about the offenses and defenses, and usually these games are decided by a field goal or a big play on special teams." How did I give ND the edge at QB with Darras only being a freshman? He still has a long way to go and a lot to learn. However, at 6'3", with a rocket arm, and a great head on his shoulders, he is mature beyond his years. He is used to winning/excelling at everything he has ever done and his confidence appears to be contagious. The thing about the special teams being so good, is so many high school teams look at special teams as a way to get all of the kids (or least more kids) some playing time. It is also looked at as a way to give your studs a breather. All of the Irish special teams are being taken seriously and the kids are really getting coached up. You can already see a huge difference compared to past years. 3 Keys to the game for the Irish to get a win: 1) They need to win the turnover battle again 2) The defense needs to not give up the BIG plays. Grace had 4 big plays that accounted for about 90% of their offense. And M.C. has more big play ability than Grace. 3) The Irish need to get off to a good start and not let M.C. gain confidence and get on a roll. Most of the big play weapons (both offensively and defensively) for the Irish are young and they are used to winning a lot in their athletic careers. If they smell blood early and have success, they are capable of giving M.C. a knockout blow. On the flip side, if they get down early, it remains to be seen how this young team will respond. Difference in the game: I think the rejuvenated ND defense under the tutelage of new Defensive Coordinator, Bo Campbell, will be the difference in this game. Coach Campbell and his defensive staff had the Fighting Irish playing at a much higher level than last year. On top of that, the Irish have 4 or 5 of the most lethal hitters/tacklers they have had since the team that made it to 2 state semifinal appearances in a row. Exhibit A: Grace returned 8 of 11 starters on offense (and all of their skill kids) and they scored 48 points on ND last year with almost 600 yards of offense. Had they not turned the ball over 5 times, they might have scored 80. And if you saw Grace in the Jamboree, they throttled the East Ridge defense with 2 easy scores in 1 quarter. This year, only 13 points (only 200+ yds. of offense), and most of their big plays coming after the Irish started getting more players in the game. So look for a big play or two by the Irish on defense to swing this game. Leonard Losers Prediction: Irish will win a "nail-biter" by 4.

I agree with t-mac. Howard by 15+ in this one. Sequatchie Co. doesn't have the athletes to match up with Howard and while Cartwright is an outstanding player, I have seen him play enough to know he doesn't have a strong will to take over a game. In my opinion he passes too much and doesn't assert himself enough. Howard will be all over him and his teammates will have to win the game, and they simply won't have the "bullets in the gun" to threaten Howard. SCHS's 2nd best player is a post that didn't have many challenges in district 7 but will not be able to match up with Waters. That being said, if I was coaching Cartwright, I would tell him he needs to take 50+ shots and drive to the basket every chance he gets if they are going to have any chance to win. If he did this, then Howard would be in trouble. I just don't see that happening. If I were coaching Howard I would double team Cartwright the entire game and force his teammates to take shots and they probably wont score more than 45. Cartwright needs to be 'greedy' and have the heart of a lion for SCHS to win this one. If Cartwright passes enough, Howard fans won't be that impressed with him. If he decides to take over, you will realize he is by far the best player between the two teams. The more I think about it, Howard might need to triple team him!

This is great top 50! I would argue Chris Mullin should be somewhere between 11-30 in the rankings at the very least. Even the two Irishmen (Francis & Pez Whatley) ranked way ahead of him, were not in his league. Also, he would have easily been a 3 time champ if it weren't for a major shoulder injury during the State his sophomore year. The kid from Central that beat him in the Finals lost to him 9-0 a week earlier when he was healthy. There were not many multi year OW's when all divisions were together. "Spider" was as beastly as he was athletic!!!!!

Several things seem to be consistent at SMMHS. 1) If you are a student-athlete at SMMHS and you get arrested, you will not have to miss any playing time in said sport (ex: football, wrestling, etc.) 2) If you are a coach at SMMHS and you try to discipline a student-athlete that breaks the team rules or, worse, breaks the law, you will not be supported by the administration. Unless, of course, you are the football coach. 3) If you are a coach that stands up to these out of control, outspoken, and influential parents, you will have your name "dragged through the mud." 4) With the power structure at SMMHS (Football being king, and powerful parents being 2nd, sorry Dr. M, you could probably play a puppet in one of Coach Lennon's future productions), I'm sure we haven't seen the end of the drama on the mountain. The tail is abusing that poor dog!

Coach Lennon didn't become an All-American wrestler, a state champion coach and a top level theater instructor because he is laid back and lacks a backbone. His passion and energy level have been what has inspired his former pupils at ND & Cleveland to be CHAMPIONS (on and off the mat)for the last 2 decades. He has a gift to push and inspire kids to be the best they can be. Does he give kids tough love? You bet he does! The sad thing is too many parents these days want to protect their kids from tough love. And this includes proper discipline and being held accountable for their actions in and out of school. Is pushing a kid to be the best they can be and not taking excuses abusive? I don't think so. Now maybe his intensity and approach were not a great fit for Signal Mountain. That happens sometimes. That being said, every single person I know in the ND and Cleveland communities supports Coach Lennon and appreciates his passion for developing champions in wrestling, the theater and in life. I just hope the parents of the kids Coach Lennon was trying to help and discipline will get a clue and try to work harder on their kids than trying to ruin the reputation of a legendary teacher and coach.

I think the key for this game will be if the Fighting Irish can slow down Bledsoe's offense by getting stops or turnovers. If the Irish can win the turnover battle and if they can force the Warriors to punt a few times, this should be a ballgame. Despite the lackluster performance against CCS, ND seems to be improving each and every week. ND is a program on the way up and I think Bledsoe is peaking right now. They went toe to toe with Signal for a half, so, again, I think it will be up to the Irish defense if ND is going to have a chance to pull of the upset in Pikeville. Leonard's Losers has Bledsoe favored by 17, but I think the Irish can shock the District if they bring their "A" game in all 3 phases.