gulloern74

My source says Gruden. He bought some land in Evensville earlier this year. Said something about loving the fishing in Dayton and wanting to return to his Eagle roots.

Smithey confirmed. Thoughts?

That's confirmed. His Twitter bio is already changed to Bradley Central.

You would be correct. We have an entirely new O-Line, and have been without some key players for some important games. We are more than likely down two or three offensive starters this week. That is not an excuse, though, just stating facts. The kid we had playing QB last season is now at WR, and he switches time between safety and linebacker on defense. I don't see this one ending well, but at least we will have some solid experience coming back next season as we only lose our kicker, a linebacker, and a tight end. All of the skill guys will be back on offense, including our tailback that has over 4,000 rushing yards over the last three seasons, as will all the O-Line. Same goes for defense as most are either juniors or sophomores. We will be senior-heavy across the board, but with the amount of experience some of the younger guys have gotten, we could be in for something special in 23.

You may be right. I would love to see my Eagles pull the upset, and if there is one thing I have trusted more than anything during the last ten years of watching them, it is that they won't quit regardless of what the scoreboard says. I'm excited to see this team's growth next season from being battle tested more so than most would be at this point. It is crazy to think this O-Line could remain mostly intact for the next two seasons as there will only be one senior starter there next year.

The Eagles have been very Jekyll and Hyde this season. Played y'all and Red Bank to the wire, but laid eggs against McMinn and Walker Valley, both of whom would lose by two TDs or more to you guys. We have just not put together a whole game. It is either our defense shines (Red Bank), our offense looks unstoppable (AC), or, like against Alcoa, McMinn, and Walker Valley, we just look like a team with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores playing massive roles on the line of scrimmage... outmatched. These Eagles will be dangerous next year (only lose two regular starters at LB and TE), but I don't see us winning more than one more game against Howard before an early exit in the playoffs this season. We will lose to Betsy, Bradley, and the game against Coffee is a toss up at this point.

They agreed to the move last season due to COVID issues, as both teams had the same week off, and just kept it the same this year.

I completely agree. It is going to be a tough season without having a BYE to give a break. Especially when we get into the middle part of the schedule when we have to face Red Bank on the road and host Walker Valley and Elizabethton three Fridays in a row. We had some guys out against Alcoa that we are hoping to get back, but they don't get a break from here on out.

Rhea lost to Alcoa 21-38 last week. We are replacing our entire OL from last season and most of our defense, but we did show a lot of promise against one of the best teams in the state. We finished last year 10-3 with the losses coming against Alcoa, Elizabethton, and Powell in the Quarterfinals. As for the BYE being so early, we were supposed to play Elizabethton in Week 2 last season, but it got moved later in the season for COVID reasons. Both teams just agreed to keep it at the later date this year instead of moving it back to Week 2. I am also shocked at the disrespect for Powell. I know they got throttled by Anderson County, but they were without Potts for most of the game, so it is hard to know how they would have fared at full strength. They should have been at least in the Top 10 even after losing, if not the Top 5. Rhea shouldn't be #3. We very well might finish there, but I don't think we are the 3rd best team in the class just yet.

They would face the winner of Rhea County and Oak Ridge/Campbell County. On the road if it is Rhea, would host if it is the others.

I know no one in 5A compares to Desean Bishop's numbers and impact, but Ethan Davis, a sophomore running back at Rhea County, has to have close to 1500 total yards, and I know he has 18 total TDs after his 5 TD performance at Bradley Central last week. I think he has a fumble recovery or two on defense as well. I think I saw from other Rhea people that he had over 200 rushing yards before halftime. He won't win the award, but he should definitely be a finalist. Even more impressive is that he shares the backfield with three other capable runners and a QB in Martin who has 17 rushing TDs and a few hundred rushing yards himself.

1A -Devin Ramsey (Unaka) - 1347 total yards, 16 total TDs, 52 tackles, 18 TFLs, 1 INT 2A - Ty Simpson (Westview) 3A - Keaton Harig (Loudon) 4A - Bryson Rollins (Elizabethton) 5A - Desean Bishop (Karns) 6A - Destin Wade (Summit)

Rhea by 3 Anderson County by 14 Halls by 7 Central by 10 Greeneville by 17

Campbell County by 7 Oak Ridge in the upset by 2 or 3 points Rhea County by 7 Halls by a pitch fork Fulton by 10

Little biased, but Eagle Stadium in Evensville is one of the best stadiums in the area and when it gets rockin, it gets ROCKIN. It is the largest I've seen in Tennessee. I would say that Blankenship and Clabo tie for my favorite I've ever travelled to. Clinton has a unique setup, and I really enjoyed going to Cleveland and Franklin County. My top ten would be 1. Rhea County 2. Oak Ridge (Blankenship) 3. Farragut (Clabo) 4. Cleveland (Benny Monroe) 5. Clinton 6. Franklin County 7. Bradley Central 8. Oakland 9. Powell 10. Walker Valley (Stadium is meh, but the band makes up for it) I know I have a *mostly* East TN bias, but to my credit I have not been able to travel out of the East much. I've never been to DB, so I can't accurately judge it. From what I've heard, it would probably rival Blankenship and Clabo, but I'd have to go to a game there to decide.