thefox

I still like Springfield in this one even though Portland beat Station Camp. I've got Springfield +10.

I'm not feeling as good about MJ's chances as I was before the Station Camp game. I think it will be a shootout in the West. There seems to be a lot of ways it could sort out in the East as well. Knox West's region is much more competitive than the upper East Daniel Boone/Davy Crockett etc., I give that Upper East region one round before Knox West's region is back to playing each other. With Powell I agree with @osunut2 a team like Rhea Co could put them out in the quarters or Walker Valley and Mcminn could put them out earlier like last year. On that side it will be some combination of Rhea or Powell and then on the other side it will be West or Central if they all survive the first two rounds.

I've got the Red Devils +10. Central has three cupcake wins over Cocke Co, Heritage, and Hardin Valley. I know they beat the South Doyle media darlings but they're overhyped in my opinion. Halls is only a few touchdowns away from being undefeated, their record is misleading.

They don't win some of those games in 2019 without them. So yes it is hilarious. I don't get in the habit of minimizing teenagers' contributions to their teams though.

Lamar has certainly had bigger talent. In a four year span Cummings had a kicker go to UT (Bullock), a linebacker PWO at UT (Underwood) - didn't last & transferred to the revamped ETSU, an OLB go to Air Force (2014) - transferred to D2, and an RB go to Georgia Tech, boy was he fast! (Cottrell) Lamar on the other side of that in a four year period Drake Peer (WKU) (2017), Edwards & Francis MTSU (2019) Shannon Blair, Jai Hundley, and Elijiah Rodgers will all play FBS. Lamar has had more period and more at one time on the same team than Cummings had total!

I would agree on the Central part. They have had some pitch battles in region that go back and forth. I didn't mean dominant in terms of state championships but in terms of region play outside of when they played Maryville of course.. I should have specified.

I can't speak much on the region in the early 2000's. Were Cocke Co and Heritage in the region then? Having those two teams alone is like getting two extra bye weeks. They played Maryville, Fulton, Farragut, and Austin East who were no pushovers on and off during the 2010's. Scott Cummings and his staff made West the dominant team to create a talent disparity to their opponents. You could make the case that the regions are more competitive but that is on the coaches. I think Lamar is well aware of this and that is why he got Kevin Lane back. He was one of Cummings's most trusted assistants/called the defense. That makes me think Lamar is trying to tap into what made West so dominant in the 2010s.

I retired to Farragut in 2010 and watched a lot of West from there on. I loved their stingy style of defense but to me after Cummings's run it was a just add water program. More than a foundation had been laid. They were consistently whipping people. I've got respect for what they've done since Lamar got there but right now West is 14 points away from being 3-4. They've won some tight games over three teams that don't have the athletes the West zone has.

Happy birthday to the man, the myth, the legend.

For what it's worth from an outsider things in Knoxville seem semi wide open in regards to recruiting. This is what this thread has gotten me thinking about. When I retired to Knoxville in 2010, Powell had lost in the second round to Anderson Co but they were on the verge of doing something special. In that same time West had surprised people, Knox Central was in the doldrums, Farragut was solid but riding the fence between 5 and 6A. Powell had the Mobley back and things were looking up in a big way they played some great games against West but now ten years on, West has been to two and won one, Sevier County went and lost to a good Independence team, Farragut dropped down and won one, Knox Central won two back to back, and now even Oak Ridge went to one. It seems like in this golden era of East TN 5A that we may very well be at the end of the team that helped kick it off is the only one to not get their taste. Powell is a proud community it's hard to imagine how they process that. They seem like the kind of people who expect to win the last game of the season.

Can't speak on any of the accusations you mentioned but in my time in East TN it looks like Powell's real crime is choking. Went to the big dance and got beat by a good HC team in 2011. Then Powell had to say bye to the King of Emory Road for a while. Turned around with Rang and lost in the semis to a good Columbia team. Then come the time of troubles you mentioned. Then the King of Emory Road returns and whatever happened in 2018 happened. In 2019 they fought to the death with West twice just to get to see who would lose to a good Knox Central. Finally, in 2020 Powell got bested in the first round by Walker Valley. Correct me if I'm wrong but is that not a pattern? To me Powell is like Georgia, they have all the juice and they've usually got the right pieces but what do they really have to show for it?

Czar how does the West sort out in your opinion? I'm a biased MJ immigrant living in Farragut btw.

A thousand pardons.

It seemed like OR had high hopes coming into the season after they had such a good year last year. What is the issue with them? Does the CC loss take the air out of the Clinton hype?

@KnoxVil may give me a hard time about this but the strength and conditioning aspect has such a huge impact on how teams perform. School systems not taking advantage of a full time strength coach are dinosaurs. Coach Grah does a great job with the strength and conditioning program at MJ.

Elizabethton over Rhea AC over Gibbs Central over SD Greeneville by a mile

Wow. That would explain the frustration from some of the OR faithful

Don't really have a dog in this fight. I know Clinton's stock is up this year and OR has been struggling. Any score predictions? I think this could be a good game.

Outside of the extra stuff, this was on of the best games I had seen all year. Would be cool to see these two teams play each other again.

I'm an MJ fan and I'd have to agree. It was upsetting to see.

How do I add a profile picture? Thank you for all you do.

Recruiting or no recruiting it seems like anytime Powell plays someone well coached with at least average talent they go down in flames. Going back to last year West handled them and WV spoiled their season, this year they played a tight one to open with AC and should have gone to OT with Halls, and their performance in the Jamboree stuck out to me. Bearden had the Panthers spitting blood in one quarter of action. That tells me there could be some larger foundational issues within the program. One has to wonder if the King of Emory Road has his eye on the ball.

Wouldn't he have a 6A offensive line to run behind as well?

It should be on NFHS