OldTownRoad

Quite frankly, the west has arguably 7 or 8 of the top ten teams in the state at the moment. Several teams in the west may go home in round 2 that could have been semifinal or Chattanooga bound if they played in the east.

The region winner does not have to go to South Pitt this year though, so that gives one of them a fighting chance. I agree it's South Pitt then everyone else at the moment in the east for 1A.

I completely agree with your assessment of how Clay has performed in the past. However, this year Gordonsville has to go to Celina to win the region, so technically Clay's road to Chattanooga can be entirely at home. I am very surprised that Gordonsville has struggled so badly to start the year. The Smith County game wasn't too surprising as the Owls were going to fired up looking to end their losing streak. However, I was shocked last night that Watertown handled them like that. Watertown looked down significantly from last year when they scrimmaged Clay in the preseason. It will be interesting to see if Clay can handle Cornersville at home in two weeks as easily as last year on the road, with both teams having new coaching staffs.

I hope Gordonsville rolls into Celina the last week of the regular season with a healthy squad. Those young men have worked very hard and it would be a shame if they don't get the payoff of getting to play in the biggest games of their career.

If you are lining up to play tomorrow in week 2, Clay is better than Gordonsville based on how both teams performed in week 1. However, polls after 1 week in my opinion are completely meaningless. Gordonsville is very banged up at the moment. They are not clicking anywhere near what they will be at the end of the year. I hope all these players are able to make it through the year without injury and are ready to play when it matters the most. It doesn't matter how good you play now. All that matters is who gets hot in November.

Gordy has not played at Clay since COVID became a thing. Gordy having to come to Clay this year definitely means Clay will have a say in the race out East. Whoever plays in Chattanooga will likely have to win in Celina (or win in Gordonsville if they win at Celina).

Not to mention, Westmoreland does a great job of eating clock on offense, which shortens the game. It's very hard to blow someone out if they keep the ball out of your hands for most of the game. Not impossible, just very difficult.

I like Gordy by 7 if both are healthy. Owls by 7 if they are not. Albritton and Dudney are two very talented football players and would be impact players in most classes. Gordy is probably the more talented team, but in rivalry games like this, that hardly ever matters.

I like the plans overall, just have to make one small change. The substate games should be on Friday/Saturday instead of Saturday/Monday. To do that, region would have to be bumped up to Monday/Tuesdays for Quarterfinals, Thursday/Friday for Semifinals and the following Monday/Tuesday for Championships. Asking teams (especially in Single A) to travel up to 5 hours one way on a Monday night is just too much to ask, as these teams could be traveling halfway across the state, instead of only covering a quarter of the state.

In 2012, Gordonsville won 1A and Friendship Christian won 2A coming from the same district. That district was brutal.

Districts should be a double elimination tournament of some sorts (that wouldn't be much of a change from now) Regions could be winner of even district playing runner up of odd district (and vice versa) in a two game series at a neutral site (district winner only has to win one) in semifinals. Championship would be at same site in best of three for the right to go to state tournament. Reduces travel, keeps similar number of games. Only bad thing is sometimes a good region with two great teams only gets one to state.

Having seen South Pitt and Gordonsville both, I think Gordonsville is by far the better coached and more disciplined team. However, I don't see Gordonsville being able to overcome the athleticism of the Pirates. Gordonsville didn't overwhlem Clay County athletically. However, the Pirates simply outathleted the Bulldogs in just about every facet of the game. I think Gordonsville will not be overwhelmed by the moment, as they have been battle tested as well. My prediction is a 21 point win for the Pirates. Could be less if the Tigers capitalize on sloppy play from the Pirates.

I'm man enough to admit I was wrong. I was a little surprised to see Watertown win (especially after seeing them scrimmage at Clay County) against Marion County. I was shocked to see Trousdale go to Meigs County and win. I predicted a region 3 quarterfinal, with the winner representing the East in Chattanooga. Congrats to both teams and I still stand by the second part of my prediction. @H2Oman I hope your Purple Tigers finally get over the hurdle and get to practice on Thanksgiving for a game at Hampton or Oneida.

You are probably right, but with 14-18 year old kids, anything can happen during those 48 minutes on any given night. If you get to Chattanooga, you at least have a chance of bringing home a gold.

Clay County has a dream schedule next season that gives them every opportunity to compete in December for a gold ball. Gordonsville and Jo Byrns are both at home (Last time Gordonsville played in Celina it was a 35-6 route in 2019. Jo Byrns last lost in Celina 48-7). Assuming the Bulldogs win both of those, the first, second, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds would all be at home as long as they keep winning.

Don't know anything about North Greene, but seen where RBS competed with them. Watch Coalfield in a jamboree at Clay County before the season. I would be surprised if this is not a running clock by halftime.

Hope the Copper Basin teachers take it easy on the kids Friday in class. That is an absolute haul from Ducktown to Gordonsville. Probably going to be 8 hours round trip on a bus. It will likely be 3:00 AM EST getting back.

You didn't answer #2. Has COVID derailed the supply of ammo for the cannon?

I would love to watch their game against Mt. Juliet Christian. Any game with a final score of 74-67 had to be entertaining to watch. That's a lot of offense (and some atrocious defense).

Can the Dawgs rebound from the tough one at Gordonsville? I think Clay County pulls it out.

This should be an interesting game. I have Jo Byrns by a score.

Someone needs to ask the South Pitt coaches what they want the score of this game to be. Because that is exactly what it will be. RBS with all due respect, will not provide any resistance on defense. It will not be pretty. The Pirates need to accomplish two things in this game. 1. Keep everyone healthy for when Clay County rolls in (assuming they beat Sale Creek) 2. Ration the ammunition for that dang cannon so they don't run out during the game. COVID has wreaked havoc on the supply chains and I am sure it can't be easy to get new ammo shipped in at the moment.

Of course, Monterey in 2019 knocked off Clay County and Gordonsville in the final two regular season games to secure a region title and a 10-0 regular season. Whitwell marched into Monterey in round one at 2-8 and sent their butts home. Everyone now has to go 1-0 each week and repeat that mindset for five weeks in order to be successful.

Congrats to Watertown. Four consecutive regular season wins over Trousdale is a great accomplishment. Trousdale will have their work cut out for them to make it to a rematch with Watertown this year, but winning at Meigs would not be impossible. That being said, Watertown will have a battle in round two with Marion County as well.

Good for the kids at Waverly. That game will not be remotely close. Jackson County just isn't strong enough to compete with Waverly.