Eagle4life55

I heard this morning that we had another Sr. quit the team, yesterday. I sure hope that isn't true. It's never good when somebody quits but I don't understand quitting in the middle of your Sr. year. Maybe it's not true. Anyone else hear that?

You may have hit the nail on the head. This team hasn't gelled at all and I'm not sure we aren't playing worse. We've had some injuries that are hurting us but it just seems like more than that. I'll say again that I don't pretend to know the answer but if something doesn't change quickly we may not win 5 games.

If we continue to play as we have, this one may not be pretty. Our offense is struggling to say the least. I don't pretend to know the answers but if things don't dramatically change we are probably looking at a 4 or 5 win season heading into the playoffs.

The clock should be running at the half. McMinn is really down this year. No offense intended to the Cherokees, it happens to everyone from time to time. Last week's game should not have been as close as it was. The fumble inside the 5 and some costly penalties/mental mistakes made it much closer than it should have been. If we are to be competitive with Catholic and make a deep run in the playoffs, this game will be ugly.

Rhea County wins these next two games with little effort. However, we are going to have to find a way to keep so many kids from getting banged up and get some folks healthy before we face Bradley and then Catholic in a few weeks.

WV has NO defense and I agree they may be in a fight with LC to get into the playoffs. The clock should be running the entire 2nd half.

He got a concussion. He came out in the 2nd quarter. I think this is either his 4th or 5th. I really hate it for him.

Velasco is out for the season. This is the fourth Wing Back we have lost since the spring scrimmage against Oakland. One move/transfer, one quit, one dismissed, and one out for the season with an injury. We really don't need to lose anyone else.

Losing one starting wing tonight in the 2nd quarter sure hurt and losing the fumble the play after the illegal substitution call gave us the first down handed them all the momentum. They were in FG range at the end and it might not have changed the outcome, but we just can't keep giving up deep passes for TDs.

We lost one of our starting running backs tonight in the 2nd quarter, maybe for the season. Our QB had the get an ankle re-taped and was limping pretty bad late in the game. We gave up two long passes for TDs and one came with only 9 seconds left to go. We need to do some healing this week, fix a few holes, and correct some mental mistakes before next Friday.

Yes, they scrimmaged Saturday night. It was pretty even, but in the end they won 21-14. We lost a fumble near the goal line going in and lost another fumble that really hurt. I think these things are to be expected in an early scrimmage so I would say that both teams were pretty equal.

Oh, Ok. Thanks for the info.

I heard last night that we were losing 2 seniors, both multiple year starters, to other schools. Does anyone know if that's true? I'm not going to mention any names, but wondering if that's true.

Has anyone seen practice this week? I hear they are really picking things up quick and that the boys playing one side of the ball is working real good. We've got a big bunch of seniors and I'm expecting big things out of them. What are the eyes in the bleachers seeing? I can't wait to watch this group next week over at Franklin County.

The refs were flag happy, called way too many penalties, and wanted to "control the game" way too much, but they were pretty even to both sides. They had very little to do with the outcome of this game. Our pass coverage has been lacking against the deep ball all year and Farragut took advantage of it on numerous occasions. We also fumbled either 3 or 4 snaps from center, had a punt blocked, gave up a fake punt, had a failed 2 point conversion, were stopped 3 times on 4th down, and missed an onside kick. You don't have all those things go against you and win in the 2nd round of the playoffs against a quality opponent. That's just the way it is. AND the last TD as was posted earlier was handed to them when we had a total meltdown and all control was lost. Getting a player flagged repeatedly and thrown out for unsportsmanlike conduct is never acceptable. The only reason you get that call is when you are intentionally running your mouth and that is NEVER acceptable. Then after being thrown out, the coaches did not get that player off the field, allowed him to stay on the sideline until we got another penalty. This was followed by the most disrespectful thing I have ever seen by a Rhea County player. Taking off the jersey, throwing it on the ground, and leaving it there as he walked off was embarrassing and disrespectful to our program, the school, the fans, and the entire community. Kid or not, other than never being able to put on a Rhea County uniform again, there is not a punishment fitting of that kind of behavior. All these things happening in one game in the 2nd round of the playoffs and we really couldn't expect to have won. That is the horrible truth. Most teams would be blown out by that kind of competition with that kind of behavior and that many mistakes and I guess that speaks volumes for just how good we really were this year and just how hard our boys really play.

We should be fine this week. McMinn doesn't throw the ball very well, our D-line is much better than their O-line, they will never get Jawan blocked, and we will again score some points. We are much better matched for McMinn than we were for Walker Valley. It will be nice to be able to play here at home through the playoffs rather than have to travel. However, if we are going to make it to Cookeville (and I think we can and should), we really need to improve in our pass coverage. The pick six was nice but it was because the ball was thrown too high, not because of good coverage. They missed the 2-point attempt at the end because of Tyler Brown, the receiver was wide open, just like the article in the paper said. We have really talented athletes back there but we continue to give up big pass plays. I don't claim to know what the problem is but we really need to get this corrected.

We have had problems with the snaps against every team that plays a nose. WV should be an easy win for us but we have to stop turning the ball over and having fumbles kill drives.

There is simply no way for our Eagles to lose this game. However, our defense against the pass must get better. Our DB's look confused part of the time and sometimes just look totally lost. They must be better prepared than they have been. We have plenty of talent back there and they are surely athletic enough but they must be better prepared when WV comes to town and as we head toward the playoffs. Also, we are struggling with getting backs covered at times out of the backfield. I'm not sure if an LB or two aren't reading it right, the assignment is wrong, or if they are just a step slow but hopefully that will get corrected as well. I noticed a change at one LB spot for most of the 2nd quarter and it appeared that was the issue they were trying to correct, but maybe not. Anyway, we have a cupcake this week then we better get ready and stay ready for the next several weeks. Go Eagles!

We need to pack the house tomorrow night and remind our boys that we have a very good football team. No doubt this will be a big test but on any given night anything can happen. We just need to take care of the ball and limit mistakes and penalties. This should be a great opportunity for some of our boys to show how they match up against other D1 recruits. This will also show what kind of grit and fight our team really has. I think Coach Pemberton said it exactly right we just have to keep it close and get to the 4th quarter with a chance to win.

It's almost here! Buckle up guys because this one is going to be a fun ride. It's Ooltewah, it's homecoming, and it's a chance for one of these to take the driver's seat toward the district title. I expect a great game and a lot of excitement but at the end of the night it's our Eagles by a couple of scores.

I would feel more comfortable if we were throwing the ball a little more and a little better, but the Owls can't stop this running attack. Stephenson, Simon, Bice, and Davis are simply too much for their defense to stop. Our secondary will all be healthy and at 100% for Friday which will help as well. I don't see this one being a blow out but this W goes to the Golden Eagles. Probably by a couple of touchdowns by the end of the night.

This team is probably better than the 2014 team. That was a very good team but we didn't play a very tough schedule that year and we are in a much better district now. It's hard to compare a team that played in a district with Cookeville and Cumberland County to this year's and last year's team that plays in the district with Ooltewah, Cleveland, Walker Valley, etc. and has non-district games with Baylor and Cathedral. 2014 was great but last year's team that went to the semi's had a much tougher road and still made it just as far. We just have to keep taking things one game at a time and taking care of business. I hope we get the chance this week to work on our passing game some. We have not had very much success with it so I hope we get some good practice with it on Friday night.

We should have another big win next week. I don't think Clinton can stop our running backs and we should put this one away early and have a running clock for the biggest part of the 2nd half.

He is continuing to improve. He threw the ball 3 times, I think. 2 incomplete and a TD on a pass to Davis. Only bobbled one snap that he was able to take off and run with and then fumbled one snap that White Co. recovered. He looks to me like he is getting better and more comfortable every game. We should have another pretty easy game next Friday at Clinton and by that will give him and several other young players that experience they need to really be ready to go by Ooltewah.

Was anyone at practice yesterday? I read where we could expect to see some changes and just wondering what they were. We should be able to get some good work in the next 3 weeks before having to play Ooltewah.