OldTownRoad

Just now, Jimmycroc said:

No Whitwell knows how to get here, we played a regular season game here one year in an absolute downpour. Maybe 2016 or 2017.

It was 2014. It was the last of just 3 home games of the year on October 10 (also Homecoming/Senior Night). The game was an absolute blowout by Whitwell.

Is Sale Creek the only team in Region 3 that knows how to drive to Clay County? I believe Clay County (not counting the Celina High School years) has only ever hosted Sale Creek in the postseason. Hopefully, that changes after this week and Jo Byrns/Whitwell can expand the list to 2.

10 hours ago, TheTruthHurts22 said:

They are all blowouts one way or another except Murphy that you guys lost too. Gordy will be better than Murphy and that’s facts.  A single A team shouldn’t schedule a CCS game with a legit SEC kid. Schedule an actual team that will help you guys prepare for the playoffs. Just like Oakland last year was pointless and even your fans were like why are we playing this? I understand not many teams will play you guys, because they are scared to get embarrassed. 

To be fair, Gordy hasn't played a super tough schedule either, outside of Clay County and Smith County. Watertown ended up being bad (I know they were as banged up as the Tennessee Titans are now for that game), along with Trousdale County and Oliver Springs. Coalfield and Lakeway Christian were good wins. Clay County has played an even weaker schedule. Jo Byrns is the fourth best team on the schedule, with York and Gordonsville being the only quality wins. It is just very difficult to fill out a schedule with good opponents when you only have 3 or 4 region games.  When there's only a handful of teams not playing region games in a week, you can't really be picky about who you play.

2 hours ago, highschoolfbfan777 said:

Win or lose proud of the RBS Bulldogs no longer the lovable losers in Tennessee High School Football.

Has RBS got some of their players back that were injured in the Clay County game? Always hate to see injuries, but especially for a school with a small roster, knowing those players will be playing big roles in other sports as well.

7 hours ago, Southtowner said:

I try to go above and beyond board with these officials  because let's face it,  we need them. 

But, I'm afraid some of us are gonna be at the hands of an old geezer that doesn't know when to swallow his whistle.

I'm not talking about obvious penalties.  I'm talking about the ones that are judgment calls.  

Different officials have different levels of what they deem as taunting or unnecessary.  

There's no easy answer.  

I think the different associations should do a better job of making things consistent from crew to crew and region to region. What is called one week should ideally be called the next and what is let go one week should be let go the next week. I think most fans, players, and coaches would be happy if they could count on this to happen. Referees are human of course and will make mistakes, but knowing what to expect to be called would go along way. This is more a complaint against the entire system, not individual referees. Every ref I have ever had extended conversations with away from athletic contests were very likable individuals and definitely do not deserve the abuse that comes from fans, players, and coaches (even the ones that weren't the strongest officials). I do think the pay has not risen to the levels that it should to keep a lot of officials. 

22 hours ago, Talmad2 said:

It says the most memoriable lol that was the most to me! Guess cause I’m from there! Either way it was very disappointing! My son was on the team that went to semi. 

Not saying it wasn't memorable, just saying there was a little more context to that game. Not many undefeated teams get rewarded by playing the defending state champions in the first round of the playoffs.

10 hours ago, rlh said:

That team had a bunch of pre-season all-state players on it, and Whitwell was coming off the Gold Ball win of 2018.  While they weren't nearly as good as the were the year before, they were supposed to be much better than 2 - 8 during the season.  Monterey made the quintessential mistake of overlooking them at home.  They hung around with Gordy at Gordy the following week.

Absolutely a point to mention as well. A classic case of a good team not bringing their "A" game and the lower seed having a lot more potential than their record indicated. 

11 hours ago, HasbeenOrNeverwas said:

That 2014 Monterey team was out for blood, they had the bye the year before in ‘13 , ran for almost 400 yards and lost to a #6 seed Fayetteville city (1st year in existence) who also knocked off #3 defending champs Gordy in the first round on the road

 

edit: that was the first Fayetteville team to get their lunch money taken by south Pittsburg. 

I watched that 2014 Monterey come to life. They were down 19-0 at Clay County in their third game of the season, then finally figured out their running back was unstoppable. While their failures on two point attempts caused them to get upset that night in Celina 19-18, you could tell they had a force to be reckoned with. That win put Clay County in the playoffs at 4-6 in the last year of the "Z Plan" and gave them a chance to go upset South Pittsburg, which nearly happened.

1 minute ago, chs1984 said:

You’re correct. I remember that. And Whitwell fired their first year coach anyway. I guess they reasoned that if he had the talent to defeat a 10-0 team, he had no excuse for going 2-8?

Monterey only had two playoff wins in program history up to that point and both of those came in 2014 when they went to the semifinals. Not to mention, they barely won their last two games that season as well. It wasn't as big of a shock to see them go down in that game given their lackluster play to end the season and lack of success and experience in the postseason.

5 hours ago, Rocketboy21 said:

I know of a few 3 seeds upsetting 2 seeds. 3A and 4A I know for sure have had some but for 1-2 I can’t think of any. If there was any it would have to be out East teams 

I wouldn't call a 3 over a 2 an upset in most cases. It's very plausible that a region can have three of the four best teams in a section of the bracket. Clay County was a 3 seed going to Copper Basin two years ago and won 21-0 because Copper Basin was playing their backup running back and third string QB. That definitely was not an upset.

4 minutes ago, volwalker23 said:

I was told of a similar instance by a Clay Co player earlier this season. Apparently he was on his way into the end zone and turned back towards the defender and taunted him in some way, I think he waved at him. This drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty 

To me, I hate that officials will crack down on things like, but completely ignore a late hit that happens five seconds after the whistle blows that occurs five feet from them directly in their line of sight. Good officiating nips that crap in the bud by calling it early and not tolerating stuff that could lead to someone getting hurt. Verbal issues should only be called when its obviously unsportsmanlike in my opinion. 

3 minutes ago, croz6110 said:

Congrats Clay...

As a Gville fan, I feel pretty good about the possible rematch, but we have to get the SP monkey off our back first.

I feel like Clay had to empty out the toolbox and this game took a lot out of them. They were gassed in the 4th, and we were able to do things in the run game later in the game that we weren't able to earlier. 

I feel like we stifled Clay's offense, but they hit a couple of plays that helped them, like the rb pass that set up their last TD, and of course the pick 6.

To simplify the outcome to a couple of things...the pick 6 was huge, as was the unsportsmanlike on our last drive when it would have been 1 st and goal from the 2. I've NEVER seen that on called, especially in that situation. For those wondering, our back pointed with one finger signalling 1st down. BUT, you can't let a game come down to one or two plays or calls.

Either way, Clay needs to enjoy the region championship, and I sincerely hope we end their season in the 3rd round in Celina.

I like your guys chances of beating South Pitt on the road better than ours would have been. We would certainly welcome a rematch in three weeks as well. I don't feel like Clay played their best game either, with the amount of penalties we committed. Gotta to get through Sale Creek, then Jo Byrns/Whitwell first. Good luck to the Tigers the next two weeks.

Congrats to those kids from TC. Sounds like they were determined to dig down deep and ensure the playoff streak continued. It would have been very easy to mail this one in with the way things have gone this year, but playing for the name on the front of the jersey can make some good things happen.

I would say the postgame scene in Carthage was similar to the postgame scene in Celina. Lots of celebration by the players, students, and community! It's hard to beat sporting events in tightknit communities.

Super proud of these seniors and very glad to see them be the ones to break through and finally win that elusive region crown! Several of these seniors have played important roles in our basketball program in key moments as well, but I know they have wanted this moment very bad. Hats off to Gordonsville, as they are always a strong opponent, but our guys stepped up when it matters. Hope they enjoy the win this weekend, then get back to business next week and focus on getting to 1-0 each week when it matters the most.

47 minutes ago, piratetom said:

Congrats to Clay County, well deserved victory . These two teams are definitely the favorites in the east. 

Glad we don't have to make the trip to South Pitt this year! Should be a great game in round two between South Pitt and Gordonsville.

1 hour ago, TigerTown12 said:

I believe Gordonsville’s ceiling is higher than Celina’s but Gordonsville’s floor is way lower than Celina. The tigers have laid some eggs this year, hard to tell what will happen Friday. 
Key to the game is Gordonsville’s passing game. If Gordonsville connects down the field then I like the Tigers by 7. If there are a lot of incompletions or interceptions it will be a steep up-hill battle. 

All in all this will be two solid 1A teams. South Pitt will have the toughest 2nd and 3rd round matchups they’ve had in a while.

That will be a big key to this game. Quite frankly, no one Clay County has played has thrown the ball successfully against them, with the exception of two drives Westmoreland had (the other score was set up on a short field given to the offense by a great defensive play) and one of those aided by two pass interference calls. I know Gordonsville lost some talent from last year in the receiving core, while practically all of Clay's secondary is back. I will be very impressed if Gordonsville can come in and throw it around the yard on Clay's defense. Certainly not saying it's impossible as Albritton is a very talented quarterback.

On 10/21/2022 at 10:26 PM, volwalker23 said:

I've seen both teams play a few different times this season. None of those in person however, just on NFHS. Clay Co has looked a little more impressive to me although a couple of the times I watched Gordonsville play, they were pretty banged up.  The way Gordonsville played against Coalfield was impressive, so it kind of surprised me to see the Jo Byrns score be as close as it was. However, it could be a situation where it wasn't really as close as the score indicated. I usually don't like to compare scores against common opponents but that one just had me puzzled since it seemed Gordonsville was starting to hit their stride. Either way, I think this game will be very close

Jo Byrns is a tough place to play. Last year, the scores were flipped since Clay County travelled and Gordonsville hosted Jo Byrns. I wouldn't put a ton of stock into comparing scores with Jo Byrns.

3 hours ago, Southtowner said:

Looks like Clay is a slight favorite.  I've had Gordy as the favorite all year. Guess I'll stick with em.  

Don't blame you. Gordonsville (1 hour 52 minutes, 103 miles) is a little closer drive than Clay County (2 hours 21 minutes, 130 miles) for round 3, assuming no upsets.

On 10/13/2022 at 2:15 PM, BoosterClubPlayersSuck said:

Oakland lost to a private school. They can still easily cruise through the bracket against public schools.

Last year, Oakland beat Lipscomb Academy, who dominated the rest of DII-AA. This year, a team that isn't close to beating Lipscomb Academy beat Oakland 35-14. While Oakland will still certainly have a say who wins 6A, they are not invincible.

2 hours ago, croz6110 said:

In a 3 way tie, when the top team is decided due to overall record, the other two teams reverts to head to head.

I though the two way tiebreaker rules only apply if a tie remains. In this case, all three teams have different records, so there is no tie left to be broken.

Can someone explain how TC gets in the playoffs with a win and if Westmoreland beats Harpeth? It seems to me that in a 3 way tie, it reverts to overall wins, which puts Harpeth at 3, Watertown at 4, and TC out. If Harpeth upsets Westmoreland, I understand it's a straight tie for fourth between TC and Watertown, with TC getting in based on head to head.

4 minutes ago, Roooster said:

With both teams returning basically the same team as the last year and Gville winning, any reason for giving Clay the edge this year? Or just going by scores this year? 

Both teams do have new head coaches. Bruce Lamb is the head coach at Clay County (Longtime Livingston Academy Head Coach, with previous stops before then) and Stephen Jackson (Former coordinator for Kevin Creasy at Oakland) is the new Gordonsville head coach.

21 minutes ago, rlh said:

I would kind of like to see Clay win this.  SP has never lost in Celina.

To my knowledge, 1985 is the only meeting between the two in Celina. 

Given the history of these senior classes, who have played big parts for both teams since arriving as freshmen, the home team has a clear advantage. 

2019: Clay wins at home 35-6

2020: Gordonsville wins at home 20-0

2020 Class 1A Second Round: Gordonsville wins at home 21-14 on a last minute touchdown (Only game that truly could go either way)

2021: Gordonsville wins at home 21-14

My prediction:
Clay County 30,

Gordonsville 14

Clay County's seniors finally break through to round 3 in the postseason this year.