formerblazer

He’s shopping around for the best school to transfer. Gotta get those official visits in on the recruiting train. Johnson City is a calling I bet.

Unless we see some changes in the local recruiting, that ship has sailed. Rest of the state has caught up and passed our orange and green friends. 5A looks better for them right now, 4A is becoming tougher and tougher.

I'm sure those 1's and 2's at Elizabethton will be more than happy to give up their position to the kid who is just transferring into the school his senior year. Nothing better than working your tail off for years just to give up your spot to a transfer. This thread is hilarious. Yeah that Witten Huddle has never been used to recruit, no sir. Elizabethton is a power house, winning breeds success, but come on let's not try and hide everything that's going on over there. Carter County All Stars are now the Carter-Sullivan All Star Team.

Well right now you have Jeremy Bosken as the head football coach there. Lakeway went through a few head coaches but it looks like they got a fit right now and they had a fairly decent crew to play football. I always thought that Lakeway was going to have a tougher time because there were so many other private and public schools competing for players in that area. TriCities Christian Academy, though, seems like it could just suck up kids, especially if they are willing to pay tuition for students who want to attend. That location is just a killer. You can grab students from DB, SH, WR, Boone, Crockett, TN High pretty dang easy. Come here, win championships, be awesome. Biggest thing will always be if they are winning championships but also if your child is able to get recruited. If they can establish that, bye bye best athletes. Not sure about a coach change, but I see it coming just because of the way Lakeway was with their first few years. You'd really have to throw money at the coaches to get them there. I also think you'd have to at least establish a few years of varsity football and people coming in. I think it would be interesting to see how many students they want in their school. If we are talking about grabbing 1000 9-12 graders from our area, you have a good chance to see a few teams drop in classification.

I think it depends on where they position themselves. If the immediately (not happening) had to play with the biggest and best of private schools, it is doomed to fail. If they position themselves in with the smaller schools at the beginning where the road to a state championship is easier by comparison, then yeah I can see them draining the schools in the area. Let's take a Unicoi County athlete. Great athlete, he's a football player, he is going to be really good. That's great, but if he is ever looking for a state championship that road is done in the 3rd round against Alcoa. Same thing with those DB kids, West Ridge, Boone, Crockett, etc. The only two schools in the area who have a fighting chance are Greeneville and Elizabethton in 4A, and heck that comes into question if a certain school decides to move up into 4A next go around. I really don't know much about the private school divisions, but it feels like you could throw together a Tri-Cities All Star private school and win a state championship. Look at what Jason Witten did down in Texas. Took him 3 years and sure, his name didn't hurt anything, but he got the athletes and I think the closest game he had this year was a 30 point win. I would think you could put together a team from our area that would be unreal.

Just to add a little something to the conversation, going by the 2022 numbers that were reported, DB is the 3rd biggest population school in the state and SH is the 5th largest. 6 teams in Region 1 so we are looking at trying to pick up 5 games that will help you be more successful when it comes to the playoffs. I'd say West Ridge will probably be 6A next classification when it hits, but I would say by 2027 their numbers will have them back down in 5A. Locally I'd say you can talk your Boones and Crocketts into picking up a game, Elizabethton and Greeneville want that too, After that you are having to head to Knoxville every week to find some games. 6A is rough in upper East TN. As far as extra games go, I'm not going to say those coaches don't want it. I'm going to give every coach in Upper East TN the benefit of the doubt and say they are working hard and want to be successful, but I think it is more fair if you just say they aren't doing a good job at what they are doing. It ain't a good feeling knowing you are going down to play some Region 2 team that even if you have a pretty good team, you just won't be able to compete. Should DB and SH be able to compete? Sure, I don't think any region 2 teams take either of them lightly tho.

That particular year 2018 was a close game, if the transfer horses would have come over you’d have the majority of the 12-1 kids back and some speed that would I would make a case to get past Knox County that year. Since then not a chance getting past round 3 in 5a.

We need you all to share the meal plans we got going on out there. I just remember looking at TA Dugger and they looked like 10th graders, those will be some great games in years to come.

It wouldn't answer everything but how many of those DB SH DB-2 kids are going to different schools? Also, when you have the Carter County and Greene County All-Stars it makes a difference. Hard to say what a difference it would make, but I thought a few years ago if those SH kids had transferred to Crockett you'd have had a group that could have possibly made it to State after a year where they went 12-1. 6A is just the worst for going far, kind of like 3A up here.

I'll tell you what's scary. Somewhere there was the TA Dugger 8th grade team posted from winning, well everything. Holy crap Elizabethton has a ridiculously big looking crew coming in. Give them a couple of years and yeah.... 2026-2028 you could be looking at an unreal Betsy crew.

You all just got a really good Coach. Reading this thread, if you all have the horses, Coach Palmer is going to know how to use them. This is a passionate, smart football coach who is going to get after it and do everything he can to get those wins. I was able to coach with him for one year and this guy is as smart as it comes. He's got Head Coach experience and is passionate about football. You all got a winner, just let him get settled in and you'll see results this fall. Congrats to you all.

Competition in our area is currently dominated by students who would rather go to Elizabethton or Greeneville where they figure they have a much better shot to win and go deep into the playoffs. When TriCities Christian Academy opens that campus at the Crossings I'm still convinced it'll just suck up all the athletes in the area. As of right now, as far as every high school in Sullivan County goes, DB would be the best one to attend.

I think Kingsport would be fine with an outsider, especially GQ. The thing that keeps making me chuckle is the way that people are talking about the DB job like it is the best high school job in the state of Tennessee.

Last I've heard, 80 acres have been purchased, twice the size of Lakeway, and they are just ready to get started building.

I read that and can’t disagree with anything you are saying. I do not think Boone beats West with their QB. That West team was unreal. As for 5A/6A in our area, when Tricities Christian Academy opens at the crossings, it’s going to become even worse for 5A 6A in our area. It’s going to suck up athletes from all over who, if you look at some of the lower numbered DI schools, can figure out pretty quick they can move over and win a state championship pretty quick.

Anderson, your offensive line is just unreal. Big shout out to the big guys up front they are giving that QB all day to throw.

It's that time of year where I give some push back. Good thread so far with a lot of the old hats on this message board who have popped in and chimed in what they think. I'll try to break down how I see things. 1. Elizabethton and Greeneville are outliers. I think they have fantastic coaches and that they have kids that work their tails off for their programs. I think you have administration and rules that push the athletes to be as successful as possible at both schools. I think you also have both schools that probably have a heck of a lot more transfers or people who went to County A in middle school and magically went to one of these two schools as freshmen that prove that success breeds success. You have the Carter County and Greene County All Stars where in one you have a place open 12 months a year run by the head coaches brother for free for everyone in one county who just needs to run a couple of more gassers and they are awesome (surely there is no recruiting there) and you have another school where kids can choose to go to the grass fields or the awesome looking high school. I'm sure all those transfers went to their school for academics. Here's another thought for you though, and I think these programs are great: Other programs are not only catching up but they are surpassing these in regards to state athletic ability. I personally think it'll be a minute before either of these two get another state championship. 2. This fun/serious stuff is about the most disrespectful thing I can think to say to the coaches in everyone except two schools. I'm sorry man but the amount of time, little money, and love you have to have for the game for these people to be coaches and then you come in like "Oh well it's just for fun they don't take it serious" is a load of garbage. There is no pay, there is no time with their family, there is no (apparently) respect from the fans who just expect their team to show up and dominate. That's every coach. "Oh well former, if that's how they feel they shouldn't coach" well guess what guys, you don't have tons of people knocking at the door to want to work at the 1-9 school that is just happy to field a team. That's garbage. You have teams in this area that are STRUGGLING to get new equipment, weight equipment, sponsorship, anyone and everyone who can do something to help out the school. You have coaches who are working their tails off 10 months a year to just to find someway to win 4 games. You know why we can't have "good" coaches in the area? That's because we have adults who don't want to get a teaching degree and live it in the school, we have coaches who have got a shot but for some reason can't keep their mouth shut in regards to talking to athletes, family, and on social media so they can keep said job (yeah good job leaving the area, turned right around and DB got a state championship without that mouth buddy). If there is money to draw in the magical coach that is going to win one of these teams a state championship, I'd sure like to see it. We act like the head coaches around here get paid 200k a year to have a losing season when we have districts who pay little to nothing for assistants and okish sort of for coaches who also have to teach year long. Oh yeah, no guys, it's all for fun. Disrespectful. A statement like that sounds like you think the coaches don't care. Ridiculous. 3. Holy crap guys, people are transferring in left and right, and oh yeah these are actual athletes, not little sugar coated mommy kids who their parents THINK they are actually good at sports. If I could line up all the actual athletes vs Moms and Dads who think their kids are awesome, guarantee I'd have a ton more blind adults who have no concept of reality and why their kid quite frankly just sucks at sports vs actual good football players. Got news for you, if I had a choice of school and had a kid who showed talent in football, I wouldn't be sending them to the local school. Guess what, no one else is either. 4. If you want to complain, how about you start asking the administration of the school what they are doing to help out the coaches and athletes get a leg up over other schools. 6Am Workouts? Official Football Weights class so we can get them to work? Are we helping out the coaches actually focus on their sports? Hey is Central Office trying to help out football programs? Are they actually giving them money that goes to the sports or are they just doing window dressing? Man, how about we start asking those people that oh I don't know, control a lot of the money what they are doing? 5. Change divisions so you have open enrollment vs. closed, bet that would change the landscape of what's going on in programs. Anyway, keep at it and all that good stuff. I've been on here a while and I think everyone is fired up and has good and loyal and passionate for years and years. Most of you all on here are good people who love football and want to see success from the Tri-cities. We've all had bad coaches, I get that and I'm not saying you all are wrong, but come on now. Sorry, but I feel like some of you all need to be living in a system for years from the coaches side and see all the shenanigans they have to deal with and you'll find all your answers on why your local team can't get that mythical state championship. Some systems are willing and have the resources to completely sell out for football, others are never.... ever going to have resources or athletes to make that happen.

Lipscomb is coming to mind, if a fine tooth comb went through the state, how many Lipscomb situations would we have?

I don’t know about just playing for fun. I completely respect and see that whatever it is that these two schools have done to get their programs at such a high level is breeding success, but let’s not sit here and assume every school has the resources and talent and coaching staff coming in that these two have. I’m also not going to say the athletes from these schools don’t work their tail off either, they put in the work. Some schools are just happy to get in the playoffs and probably have a lot to overcome to just get that far. These two teams are on a whole nother level.

Let's be honest, from here until you hit Knoxville, there are 2 teams that can even begin to challenge Greeneville and Elizabethton in any classification. Science Hill and DB can hang with them, but the way things are now if there were 10 games played, Betsy and Greeneville would have more wins over the two. No one can compete to what these two communities have built up. As far as I can tell, there aren't any teams in Upper East Tennessee that can even begin to compete with the two of them, and I'm saying that as we've had the odd Boone wins against the two in the past four years. They are untouchable, it could be Cherokee or it could be vs DB, outcome is the same, Greeneville and Betsy win. Let's take the state..... maybe 2-3 other teams in 4A that "could" challenge them year in and year out? No reason to bash Grainger and Cherokee, I'm sure they would love to be back up in 5A to avoid playing these two teams.

wait whhhhhhhaaaatttt

Must replay these games ASAP, if one down is played after halftime and then we have lightning that is settling in, home team AD has the option to call it a day and that's that.

Edge to Elizabethton, but I think this will be a heck of a game like usual.

Apparently based on how everything goes at Region 1 at all levels, big boy football only includes Greeneville and Betsy. I mean what can you say, at all levels these two teams just can not be beat. I mean, at least each other. That game should be a great one, again, this year.

https://wcyb.com/news/local/greeneville-middle-school-football-player-suffers-medical-emergency-during-practice# Prayers sent your way Greeneville fans. Hate to ever see a news story like this. Hope everyone is healthy too from last night.