ETNfan83

I think it'll be close but I'm taking Boone in this one

I will agree with all of this. The Toppers came into the season with a lot of expectations and they haven't lived up to them. This is probably the biggest, strongest, most athletic (not to mention most experienced) SH team I've seen in a long time but somehow they just haven't really put the pieces together. I think last Friday vs Jeff County was the best they've looked all season. Not sure why it's taken them so long to really put a complete game together. My big question here is can the Indians stop the Toppers air attack? No doubt Carter is going to let his QB sling the ball all over the field. That's the Toppers bread and butter. And the Diamond kid is probably the best deep ball thrower in East TN. Even the Maryville fans were talking about his arm and ability to throw the deep ball to the WRs and were impressed.

I know we're still a week away from this one but I figured I'd go ahead and get the talk going. Thoughts on this years game? SH finally seems to be hitting their stride but this is a rivalry game and I expect both teams to come out swinging. Indians fans, I don't know much about your team this year. I know you lost a lot off last years team but other than that I don't have a lot to go on. Who takes the W this year?

It could be. I think the fact the rivalry doesn't seem to have the appeal it used to, along with the game usually being played at the end of October when it's either freezing, raining or both, contributes to the low attendance. Topper fans don't come out in huge numbers for a lot of games but I will say the SH/Elizabethton game over at ETSU had a huge turnout this year. And the SH section was just as well represented as Elizabethton's.

As someone who lives in Johnson City and follows the SH program closely I wouldn't necessarily say this is true. 15-20 yrs ago, yes; but not anymore. Truth is over the last 5-10 yrs SH has beaten DB plenty. They got that monkey off their back when the McGue kid was QB. Since then, they've beaten the Indians just about every year. The DB game is still "the game" (although I'm not sure why because neither team has been all that good) but they've beaten them enough lately that I don't think it's that big a deal anymore. I think it's a bigger deal to the people of Johnson City and Kingsport than it is to the players. Lately, I've seen a nastier rivalry develop between SH and Elizabethton. The SH/DB rivalry just doesn't seem to have the juice it used to.

SH should win this one but as another poster said, they've had a crazy start to the season so who knows. They're 2-2, with their losses being to two very good teams in Elizabethton and Powell. This is a SH team that on paper should be one of the best teams in East TN. They have a ton of experience and upperclassmen. This is a seasoned group that should be playing a lot better than they are. They have a veteran QB, veteran players at the skill positions, veteran players on both the OL/DL but for whatever reason they've really underperformed so far. Anything seems to go with this year's team. I won't be surprised if they win big Friday night and I won't be surprised if they end up with another loss.