Indynation17

Here's what you have to know about a Coach Blade team - he puts all his top big athletic speed guys on offense (linemen & skill players) and will not let them play on defense. He's an aggressive play caller and loves the big play. (Too much sometimes)The interception play right before halftime was the turning point in the game. I would have liked to see him run it with only 1:18 left before halftime but that's just not his nature and was a big reason Indy was 29-0 to that point. Actually Coach Blade had the perfect play called against their defense and if Hines throws the ball on time to Guidry he scores a touchdown no question about it and Indy has all the momentum going into the second half with a running clock and essentially taking Hardin and their running game out of the equation for a little bit. The other part of that play was the Interception return and the hustle play by Murphy on the tackle/strip of the ball recovered by Indy. It would have been a big swing of emotion for both teams if it was ruled a fumble. Refs determined he was down before ball came out and it was difficult to argue either way after watching the play a few times on film since it was a bang bang play but great effort all around and the type of play you would expect to see in a championship game. Next thing you know Farragut scores on the last play of the Half and they have all the momentum. The reason Farragut won this game is the difference in coaching philosophy. Coach Blade wants to outscore you with his offense and hold on with a younger undermanned defense. Coach Courtney puts his best 11 players on the field at all times on offense and defense and that won him the ballgame. Coach Courtney clearly has the recipe to beating Coach Blade now that he is 4-1 all time against him at both Oak Ridge & Indy. Coach Blade needs to re-evaluate how he uses his talent if he wants another Golden Ball especially since Indy will be moving up to 6A next season.

Congratulations for the coaches and players of Farragut for a hard fought and well deserved first 5A State Championship in school history. You are very deserving of being the top team in 5A for 2016!

May the best team win and no injuries on either side!

BigGray12 point well taken Indy is expecting a fight to the end from Farragut that is for sure. They have a RB/LB #1 that is their best player and I really like the way he plays. They have 3 or 4 players that play both ways and that will hurt them a bit later in the game. Indy doesn't have any players going both ways but I assume Guidry #7 (Mississippi State commit) will see a healthy dose of defense tomorrow. Speed is definitely on Indy's side but I assume Farragut will try to take a page out of Brentwood's playbook and run the ball with #1 to kill clock and limit Indy's opportunities. Sounds like this is lining up to be a good game!

adalum96 glad to have you aboard and discussing the Farragut side. I was trying to show as last year's Juniors and this year's seniors how things have trended for both programs. Last year we had mostly seniors on offense and graduated all the skill positions so there were A LOT of question marks coming into the season about our offense. On defense last year we had mostly juniors starting and this year their veteran leadership definitely helped keep the boat steady. Farragut lost in the second round last year and Indy won all 15 games. I was trying to make the point that experience in big games will hopefully pay off for Indy tomorrow night. No disrespect to Farragut at all just trying to make an apples to apples comparison.

ZoneRead56 for the record Farragut is no Cane Ridge! In fact if you look at the film against Ooltewah I think Ooltewah was the better overall team but they folded under pressure at the end and Farragut took them out. So hats off to Farragut! Cane Ridge had their opportunities against Indy and just couldn't get it done. Without a doubt Cane Ridge is the second best team in 5A this year if that makes you feel any better.(That's just my opinion)

If you look at the win/loss records of both teams you can see that clearly the competition is higher in Middle Tennessee than in East Tennessee this year. (probably last year as well) Indy's opponents combined records were 81-66 Farragut's opponents combined records were 72-74 Both teams played against one 6A team and won. Indy beat Smyrna (6-5) 21-7 on the road and Farragut beat Bearden (4-7) 28-27 at home. Over the past two year period Farragut has had an excellent record at 23-3. Indy has played 3 more games in that period and hold an undefeated winning streak at 29-0. The three losses for Farragut will get exposed at some point in this game and Indy should take this one comfortably in the second half.

I'm a believer that the numbers always tell the story. You are correct Admiral the offenses are very close with their production with Indy QB throwing for 3,500 yards with 38 TD's and the Farragut QB throwing for 3,300 yards and 43 TD's. I think the big difference here will be the turnovers with Indy QB throwing 13 Int's compared to 5 for Farragut QB. Slight edge here on paper goes to Farragut. You protect the ball and you win it's that simple. I do think that there is a bit of a difference in the competition the two teams have played so far but I'll have to compare their schedules. I don't believe they have played any common opponents.

Ok AdmiralDude thanks for jumping in and confirming/commenting for Farragut. Both offenses should put up some scores but who's defense is better? Looking at the numbers Indy gave up 236 points during the season and Farragut gave up 283. Big advantage for Indy on pressuring the QB as Indy has 53 sacks to only 25 for Farragut. This will be a telling part of the game in my opinion.

Since nobody from Farragut is helping me out here I was able to pull some past information for comparison purposes. Some interesting facts here that should make the game more compelling - Coach Blade was 1-3 vs Farragut when he was the HC at Oak Ridge, Farragut has not been to a State Championship game as far as I can see in their 40 year history, this will be Indy's 3rd trip to the State Championship game winning once and losing once in it's 15 year history. This will be Coach Blade's 5th trip to a State Championship game (counting his time in CA) and he is 3-1. Who has the edge in this game based on these stats?

I was one that also thought the 6A Champioship game was played last week between Maryville and Oakland but after reading all these threads from the West maybe I was wrong. It sounds like both teams are heavy weights coming in undefeated and like to ground & pound. I'm thinking this may be a close one with a special teams play being the deciding factor.

DominateTheTrenches - you know it! We will finish strong here with laser focus on Farragut Friday night with another championship effort. When we move to 6A next year the rumor has it our first game will be against Oakland and we will have our work cut out for us right off the bat. Having two SEC receivers and a dominant RB should keep us very competitive and our OL will be even bigger next year to battle with the big boys! Indy's ready for whatever comes our way.

Congrats to Indy's TJ Sheffield on his verbal committment to University of Tennessee last night! It will be great to see Scurry and Sheffield both wearing Orange and White in two years! RavenNation haven't heard from you in a while but yes we are still excited about our D1 athletes as they continue to work hard get more attention and looks from top Universities. It's too bad your WR's haven't generated much attention but I do think highly of #6.

zoneread56 you are correct that Indy had only 2 close games last year (Smyrna & Hillsboro) and this years' team had 4 close games (Smyrna, Cane Ridge & Brentwood 2x) At 29-0 Indy has gotten everybody's best shot but somehow always comes up with a victory. Last year's team was dominant no question, this year's team has had to dig deep a few more times. They know how to get on top and finish you, they have experienced being up and losing momentum (Cane Ridge) and coming up with big plays at the end to hold on and they also have played from behind (Brentwood) and had the mental toughness not to panic and keep making plays to win. You can bet the gold ball will be coming back to Wilco with Indy again this Friday night.

I don't know if I would have laughed..... but there were question marks coming into the season that's for sure. For those who don't know much about Hines here's the book on him. As a Freshman QB he led the Indy team to a 9-1 record and Division title. There are no playoffs for the Freshman level. As a sophomore he took a year off from football and concentrated on baseball as a pitcher throwing in the upper 80's. He had an elbow injury that required surgery and his pitching career was over. He came back out for football as a Junior and did the grind working on his development on JV. He paid his dues and now has an opportunity to lead his team to a state title. He is 4.0 honor student and has a calm demeanor which is needed at the most important position on the field.

NotreDameAlum I concur that Scurry (6'4") has filled Johnson's (5'10") position nicely but doesn't possess his break away speed yet as he is only a sophomore but his catching radius is much bigger. He is still getting separation especially on press coverage and that is a tough match up for any DB. Hines actually has a much stronger arm than Bunch being an ex-pitcher for baseball but Bunch was clearly ahead in the other categories you mentioned above which is why he was without question the best QB in the state last year. Hines on the other hand stepped into some big shoes to fill with a lot of expectations/pressure and he has his team 14-0 so he must be doing something right. The development of Hines is clearly a testament to Coach Blade's coaching style.

Yes you are correct but this year the weapons are much different and can beat you in a lot of different ways. Running game is much better than last year, receivers are bigger and the OL is quietly having a great season. Give me something other than what everybody knows about last year with Bunch and Johnson. For the record Bunch could also beat you with his running as well which was a totally different dynamic than what we have this year. We leave the running to the RB (Troy Henderson) who is getting Power 5 looks as a Junior. If you are going to make comments that this years' team is not as good, then you need to back it up with some numbers and how they will stack up against Farragut on Friday night. You sound like you know some football so jump in with some numbers.

Owlman1967 you didn't give any thought about the match ups. Why? I'm curious how the two teams will compete? Your earlier thread said this isn't the same Indy team as last year and you are correct however nobody is talking about last years' team. In the final game against Sevier County both teams had 3 players in the top 115 in the state playing in the game and Indy won in a landslide 49-14. I believe you are right that Indy may only have 5 plays (LOL) but 29 other teams knew those plays and still couldn't stop them. Farragut knows what those plays are so my point is who does Farragut have on defense this year that can match up with Indy's D1 athletes? Pick your poison? To answer your question above 2 out of 4 DL were starters as Juniors on the 22 posts Posted A day ago This is not the same Indy team as last year. Indy's whole offense is based around the screen game and fake screens and they only run one kind of running play and their defense I feel was exposed the last 2 weeks so if Farragut can see what Cane Ridge did and Brentwood did it should be a good game 0 Quote MultiQuote

This should be a great 6A Championship game featuring two undefeated teams so hats off to both programs. In looking at the numbers and assuming it will be tough sledding for either team to establish the run early since both defenses are so stingy. It will come down to the QB play and who can make the big throws downfield when it counts. My question is who has the better QB in this match up?

Congrats to both teams, players and coaches for getting to the state championship game so hats off to both programs. Let's take a neutral look at both teams and trying to compare them (I may need some help with the Farragut Info) Coaches - Scott Blade vs Eddie Courtney (both have consistent winning records) since they squared off 4 times when Coach Blade was coaching Oak Ridge does anyone know the head to head results? In looking at Coach Blades record at Oak Ridge he was 35-15 compared to 49-9 at Indy with a 29 game winning streak. Coach Blade has a 3-1 record in state championship games. Not sure of Coach Courtney's state championship record (Please fill in) Talent at Indy seems more suited to his style of coaching based on the comparable records. Offense - Pure spread team with four D1 WR's and dual threat RB. QB has been a nice surprise this year with steady play. Checking the matchups using unapproved website and 24/7 sports I see 2 seniors on Indy rated in the top 115 in the state (3 Star Landon Guidry committed to Mississippi State and 2 Star Owen Murphy committed to Austin Peay) There are no Farragut senior players listed in the top 115 of the state as of this morning. Add in two super sophmores from Indy (Kendrell Scurry (UT & Ohio State) and TJ Sheffield (Vandy & UT) and this looks to be a tall order for Farragut's defense which has given up 283 points this year compared to Indy's 236. We'll leave the level of competition out of the equation for now. Defense - Indy had 3 players listed on it's preseason All-State Team (Landon Guidry, Hunter Dupree and Cole Huner) I did not see any Farragut players listed. Farragut put up 623 points which is tops in 5A this year compared to Indy's 570. Farragut has good line and RB which should pose an interesting matchup for Indy's defense. Indy has 18 Int's this year I believe so when Farragut decides to throw it will create turnover opportunities. Farragut's WR's are tall but have no deep ball threat. Farragut will put a few scores on the board but I do not believe they have enough firepower to keep up with Indy the whole game. Special teams are both sound and pretty much a wash with neither team getting the edge. If the game is wide open my prediction is Indy will win 49-21 but if Farragut can control the clock with their running game and limit Indy's offensive touches then Indy will win 28-14.

If you think it's going to be a close game compare the last three playoff games. Brentwood played Kirby(4-6) in first round (really?) and Indy played Gallatin (6-4) big diffeence in talent even without Mason playing for Gallatin. Second Round Brentwood played an overrated Memphis Central team (10-1) and Indy played a very hot Hillsboro (7-4) with a lot of size and speed. Round Three Brentwood played a one dimensional but talented Centennial (11-1) team and Indy played the only other undefeated team in 5A Cane Ridge (12-0). The competition Indy has played is not even close to that of what Brentwood has played and now they have a backup quarterback. It's been a nice ride for the Bruins but this one will not be that close. Their defense cannot stop Indy's offense and if 24 points is all Brentwood could put up on Centennial I can assure you that Indy's defense is a lot better than Centennial's.

Indy is rolling and getting better every week. Indy has arguable the toughest task to get to the championship game having to go thru 3 metro teams in region 6 with all that size and speed. Indy just keeps winning and will win against Brentwood this week convincingly. Then we will see what East TN has talent wise with Farragut (probably). Farragut putting up some good offensive numbers but comparing schedule strengths (Indy 15th toughest schedule vs Farragut 38th toughest schedule) it does not show that well when you look at the competition they have played so far. Only loss was to Oak Ridge team that was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.. Really?

Hats off to Brentwood for getting hot at the right time going into the playoffs. This rematch of week 1 should be very telling. Let's see how Brentwood does now that Indy is playing with a full house. Week 1 game Indy was missing 4 impact senior starters due to injuries and all are back as of game 6. If you look at Indy from game 6 till now the team has just gotten better and better each week and playing better competition. Brentwood dealing with some injuries this time around so let's see how they handle playing shorthanded. Indy wins big in this one!

This is going to be a great game. Just by looking at the numbers both teams can put up points but who has the better defense? Hands down Oakland is far superior on defense and this will ultimately get them the win. Close until the end of the third then all Oakland at the end.

Much repect to the coaches and players of Cane Ridge! They played hard until that last whistle. Definitely the best team Indy has played all year and this game was easily the two best 5A teams squaring off.