smithvilleballer

Should we assume a simple please will not suffice? Good question. Currently no answer but hopefully the coaches and players will have a few come Friday. Just curious, what did White House do in the second half?

Of course running works too. Phillips rushing yardage was greater than that of McCoin this year as well as his passing. That does not mean he is better. McCoin has Hayes to hand off too and DeKalb tends to go empty backfield a lot. Stats drive rewards and recognition more often than not. McCoin is fantastic an demonstrated that in week 10. I hope colleges and award granted took notice. Nevertheless, Phillips deserves all he gets. Great kid, good athlete and a leader. Looking forward to round two between both teams. Wish we were healthy but this time of year you just have to suck it up and leave it all on the field. Ribeye sammiches in my future.

Sorry to hear that. Hope he recovers quickly. Was he a senior or can he come back for another run? Obviously, it appears as if the rest of the defense is picking up his slack.

Don't be bitter. Hayes and McCoin will get plenty of spotlight if they keep winning. Lucas is one of the kindest young men I know and has had a very good year. Just be happy for him. If McCoin or Hayes gets recognized in the same way that would be great. It is more difficult for them to receive individual honors because they split so much of the workload limiting both their numbers a bit.

DC looked really banged up. Athletically, it was a no contest but I will give Sequoyah credit with such a young bunch to make the playoffs having lost its best player. Our play calling was greatly restricted (wise) trying to protect Phillips. In general, we will have to play better next week and I think we will. My primary concern is health. Mo still is hobbled, Phillips is a major concern; nevertheless I believe next week will be a war and our boys are ready to rise up and win with heart. I am sure LA fans will talk trash and show some arrogance - some justified but believe the outcome is likely to be different. DC in a close one.

Sounds like you put it on Grainger. Hopefully everyone will heal up this week on both sides for a great game in round 2.

Safe travels. I hear Phillips will have a feature article about him in the Tennessean tomorrow! Glad to hear he is getting that type of exposure. Could not happen for a nicer young man.

York gave our D all it wanted. The thought of their offense being "alot better" does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Glad to hear Molander is feeling back to normal. He did not look himself last week with the inability to cut as precisely. I believe we will be able to pull it out but think it is going to be a tough win.

King is fishing for more affirmation Dumdum. I will take the bait. LA is really solid with the best line we have seen all year (by far). 2 kids with speed in their backfield that are patient, good vision and slippery. I still don't trust their passing game as there were as many sacks as completions and one ball that should have been picked. That said, they could have gone the entire game without throwing a pass and it would have only improved their results. McCoin their QB is a GREAT athlete and seemed to act like he had been there (success) before. Same with "most" of their squad. I figure I would throw that last sentence in there to irritate. Haha. Good fans and rib eye sammiches as well.

Coach Bernie probably shouldn't have been there Friday. He has some serious health issues and needs prayer. He is such a good influence on the kids. He wouldn't have missed Friday but again, he is a long way from healthy

Tough spot because our top 4 or 5 players all have some type of issue. I agree we must have Phillips to beat LA but he is a high school kid and it will be hard for anyone to keep him out.

Hear he is sore but going to be well enough to give it a go Friday. He has a lot of heart. Range of motion is supposedly pretty good. Probably won't know true condition till mid week. A lot of kids were playing hurt or sick Friday. This time of year, health is a major factor. Pray for speedy recoveries.

Hopefully, if Phillips is ok to play we can strap 'em up again. McCoin was great last night as was the O-line. They got three yards push on every play. We have not played a line that was close to that all year. Sad to read an LA fan complaining about pass interference calls claiming ref bias. Those weren't even close to being questionable. Frankly, I thought they were great decisions on the part of the DB who took a penalty instead of giving up scores. Strategically brilliant. Seemed to be well coached. Enjoy the big win dad but there is no need to try and belittle DC. Believe me we feel small enough right now.

Congrats. Our Defensive line got dominated. Our offense looked confused. Good luck in the playoffs. Hopefully Phillips is ok. As crazy as this sounds after that whipping, I hope to see this matchup once more this year. I honestly don't know what we would do differently to slow down your ground game but it couldn't get worse.

Well, as much as I was hoping rain would not be a factor, it looks like it will be. Rain is never friendly to the passing team. I had DC by 11; now with this new weather report I sadly have to change my prediction. I am sure this will receive some hazing from the blue man group but nevertheless you have to call 'em like you see 'em. DC by 10. haha (see you boys and girls in a few hours).

This I guess is theoretically possible. So is Dooley leading the Vols to a national championship next year on his way to a hall of fame career. We can all dream Big Daddy. Whatever, the outcome; I agree with you wholeheartedly on prayers for player safety tomorrow night and a fun ride for both in the playoffs.

LOL Without a little trash talk what would be the purpose of this board? Maybe we have been too congenial! Mark Twain didn't have a clue about football. Everyone knows he was more of a badminton fan.

maybe he could at 100% but he is not much faster than Hayes even when healthy. It really doesn't matter. He will likely get a long run or two. Call it two. Keep everybody in the box. We only have to stop them one more time than they stop us. We will wrap up enough times to get some stops. Third and long is much more achievable with our offense than theirs. I don't think either team will be in third and long often but once or twice a possession works in favor of DC. The best bet I can see for LA is pounding the ball and chewing up clock. Long scores give our defense rest. Our problem on defense this year has been that our offense scores so quickly they find themselves back on the field without a break. If LA scores I hope it happens quickly vs grinding out yardage in 3 yard increments. Sticking with DC by 11.

Understood with regard to statistical limitations. That said, it is the best picture available and just like with most Presidential polls, I would say once all factors are considered that this one is "within the margin of error". It should be a close game. I don't give much weight to the notion that SC and York don't get up for DC. Home/Away makes a difference and more than anything will help LA this Friday. I believe LA fans have every reason to be confident based upon history (not ignoring 2012). I also believe DC fans have reasons to be confident based upon present. There is a reason they play the game. Numbers tell only part of the story. What appears evident is that anyone calling for a blowout has allowed bias to overwhelm logic.

Thx OriginalSC3. Already hungry.

Unfortunately LA does not make it easy to compile stats quickly with much granularity as they have to be pulled from all of your opponents due to lack of updates. If I get time to do it I will but DC's stats are easy and readily on their site.

These are aggregate stats from games played against mutual opponents (Smith County, Upperman, White County, Cannon, and York). Points For: DC 226 LA 209 Points Against: DC 46 LA 80 NET POINT Differential: DC 180 LA 129 Rushing Yards: DC 1,021 LA 1,156 Rushing Yards Against: DC 395 LA 770 Passing Yards: DC 1,247 LA 809 Passing Yards Against: DC 361 LA 426 NET YARD ADV: DC 1,512 LA 769 Based upon this year's stats it looks like LA has a legitimate claim their offensive line is good based upon rushing stats. How do you figure your D-line is better considering you have given up more rushing yards, more passing yards and more points to like opponents? I don't think it is fair to compare individual players as each performs a role and may be called to do something different for his team. Just because Phillips has thrown for more yards and run for approximately the same as McCoin does not mean he is better. Just because Puckett has more sacks, tackles for a loss and total tackles etc than Linder does not mean he is better. It also does not mean either are worse! It is exciting to see two fan bases so supportive and in some cases on both sides blindly enthusiastic. What is the best restaurant near LA? How late are they open? I personally intend to eat a good meal post game regardless of outcome. Glad to read today that we will be in different quads for playoffs allowing both of us to make a run. Sad to see our new quad is probably the strongest of the four.

I don't know which quote reads more ridiculous, DC has 4 players better than anyone on LA or McCoin is 10x better than Phillips. 10x better at what? I love the support for your team and the BOLD prediction of a blowout win. There is no question this thread has left the land of reason and rational for that of sugarplums and candy canes (where if you close your eyes all your wishes can come true). Friday night the clock will tick zero and somebody will have to leave the fairy tale.

LOL. Lyonheart. That would have been my reply as well. I don't think the game last year was indicative of the true spread between the teams. That said, DC still has a lot to prove. From what I have seen and heard, King's comment about your O line is the biggest concern I have for our team. I think our D-line is up to the challenge. Let's strap 'em up. Wishing both teams safe outcomes and would love to see us in different quads come playoffs so both can try to make a deep run.