wneely

Summertown is perhaps the most dangerous 4 seed I've seen in a long time. They can lose by 20+ or Burleson can go nuclear and they could win. Also wonder how much more basketball Burleson is ready to play or if he's ready to get on the pitcher's mound already? Should be a fun region tournament.

Excited to be broadcasting this one on Saturday!

I'm sure there was some small talk about a 4A or 5A move — especially since Giles played five games against Region 6-AAAAA opponents this season. They would have finished third in that region this season — and were a fourth down play away from a win versus Nolensville for a second-straight year. My initial (and completely dumb) thoughts would be: -Giles is extremely prideful and doesn't care about moving up even though it means Alcoa in the semifinals. We've seen schools duck and dodge (or even forfeit) Alcoa in the past, but Giles County isn't one to run for greener pastures. Look at their schedule. They'll play whoever, whenever. If that means their season most likely ends in the semifinals, then so be it. -Giles will easily win its region every year (and get #1 seed) — which means home playoff games, which also means $$$. Attendance for games is solid, GCHS-wise, but almost every home game is a tiny gate for away fans. Lincoln County (season opener) was far and away the biggest gate of the year. Without the regular-season big gate money, the extra playoff games certainly help. -Would have been wild to see what TSSAA did if Giles had requested to move to 4A two years ago, though. They would have been slated to be in Region 5-AAAA, which would have pushed that region up to NINE teams.

It was. And one of those real TSSAA head scratchers. Giles County lies west of I-65 and has to travel nearly to Chattanooga for one of its region games. And is bracketed in the East side of the playoffs. Richland, also in Giles County, is bracketed toward the West. *Jordan shrug*

Alcoa continues to be the gold standard in 3A football. Proud of the effort Giles showed all night (and all season), but they just didn't have the horses to run on offense. Alcoa will still win easily next week even without Harris and Cannon, but I hope those guys make a safe and speedy recovery. Really surprised the coaching staff sent them back out there after two nasty looking injuries in the first half.

Top Local Eateries for visiting fans (EDITED) Hickory House -- right beside the stadium. many park there and walk over to the stadium. there is even a special entrance gate to buy tickets near the restaurant. a Pulaski staple. Terrific meat-and-three spot, but also has full menu. Nick's Grill -- instead of getting off on Exit 22 on I-65, go down to Exit 14 and stop at Nick's Grill and thank me later. Tremendous menu with anything you can speak of. Burgers, fries, quesadillas, gyros, protein bowls, you name it. Everything there is amazing. Service can be a touch slow when they get backed up, so maybe call ahead and order to pick up and eat there or on your way to The Brickyard. The drive in is about the same as if you got off on Exit 22. Southern Table -- directly across the street from Kitchen 218. southern upscale dining. really nice menu. Kitchen 218 -- SADLY THEY WILL BE CLOSED FRIDAY FOR THE HOLIDAY. hip new restaurant in town. Burgers, pizza and adult beverages. Plenty of TVs and bar space/seating. just off of the Pulaski square. about a mile from the stadium. Safe travels heading over to The Brickyard on Friday night.

Solid performance from the Bobcat defense on Friday night. 21-0. Bobcats have allowed just eight points in last three games. Rather ho-hum victory in the end, but Loudon gave them a scare in the second before a big defensive stop on 4th down. If GCHS can recapture its offensive momentum, they'll be in good shape this Friday versus Sweetwater.

Big matchup at The Brickyard in Pulaski this coming Friday. Sweetwater is MUCH improved from the team that Giles County dominated in R1 last year. Giles County's defense is playing at a very high level right now, but will face one of their stiffest tests of the year this week.

Top 3 Local Eateries for visiting fans: Hickory House -- right beside the stadium. many park there and walk over to the stadium. there is even a special entrance gate to buy tickets near the restaurant. a Pulaski staple. Terrific meat-and-three spot, but also has full menu. Kitchen 218 -- hip new restaurant in town. Burgers, pizza and adult beverages. Plenty of TVs and bar space/seating. just off of the Pulaski square. about a mile from the stadium. Southern Table -- directly across the street from Kitchen 218. southern upscale dining. really nice menu. Safe travels heading over to The Brickyard on Friday night.

Should be a fun one at The Brickyard. Loudon was a fantastic team and tremendous host to GCHS last year. Hoping we can reciprocate the hospitality this go-around. Computers from last week say Giles is about an 11-point favorite. We'll see when they put the new spread out tomorrow or Tuesday.

Hate that Richland's Ethan Workman did not qualify.

Maybe 3A Giles County will answer the bell and jump up two weight classes and join. Already sport a 3-0 record versus those opponents.

I was on the sidelines Friday and I don't recall seeing anyone from visiting media. Not unusual considering it was a road game and they have a million schools to cover.

X'Zorion Randolph with 24 carries for 168 yards and three touchdowns in the Region 4-AAA title game versus Sequatchie County last Thursday. Has only been held under 100 yards twice this season. 95 yards in a blowout win versus Community and 92 yards in a hard-fought loss versus undefeated 5A Nolensville. SEASON: 130 carries, 1,126 yards, 8.7/carry, 16 rushing TD, 18 total TD

Was there broadcasting Friday night. Game was well in hand for Giles County, but had not reached the running clock situation. Columbia scored a breakaway touchdown to pull it to 49-28 -- just "close" enough to keep it interesting but tempers started flaring. Lions flagged for two straight personal fouls, lots of scuffling behind the plays. Then a sideline hit out-of-bounds (on Giles County's only completion of the night) led to a little scuffle. Five personal fouls among the two teams. No real point in continuing the game at that point, so the refs called it.

Sequatchie was one of my favorite road trips in recent memory. Very welcoming, tremendous little local food scene. Top 3 Local Eateries for visiting fans: Hickory House -- right beside the stadium. could park there and walk over to the stadium no problem. a Pulaski staple. Terrific meat-and-three spot, but also has full menu. Kitchen 218 -- hip new restaurant in town. Burgers, pizza and adult beverages. Plenty of TVs and bar space/seating. just off of the Pulaski square. about a mile from the stadium. Southern Table -- directly across the street from Kitchen 218. southern upscale dining. really nice menu. Safe travels heading over to The Brickyard on Thursday night.

Another ho-hum night for Giles County RB X'Zorion Randolph versus 5A Columbia. 16 carries, 209 yards, 2 TD. Also had a 90-yard KO return for a TD. Second 200-plus yard night on the year and fifth multi-touchdown night. SEASON: 958 yards rushing, 13TD, 1,300 all-purpose and 15TD.

X'Zorion Randolph is averaging 125 yards per game and has 11 touchdowns for Giles County. Ran for nearly 1,000 yards as a pure backup last season. This junior is the most explosive playmaker on a pretty good Bobcat team.

Was broadcasting last Friday's game. Was a weird one. Richland pulled its starters up big and FACS kept coming back. Richland is flying high. Mt. Pleasant is coming off a loss, but still obviously a very good team. Should be one of the biggest games at Wayne Hobbs Memorial Stadium in a long while.

Should be a fun one tonight in Winchester. LISTEN ON Pulaski Citizen Live https://mixlr.com/pcl-gchs

I always love going over to FCHS to broadcast. Amazing school, terrific staff and tremendous facilities. It has been a hard-fought battle the last few meetings between these two clubs. I look forward to another good one Friday.

the answer is probably a little bit of both. LCHS is improved, and GCHS is still tinkering with personnel on defense, especially versus heavy run teams. trying to gameplan for a Wing-T offense is a tall task when facing a regular season opponent. I just wonder how much time they put into gameplanning for a one-off scrimmage?

Giles still has a few question marks entering the season, but being at home should help. They notoriously struggle in their first game of the year, but were able to handle a very down LCHS squad last year. The Falcons will be much improved this year under new HC Eddie Cunningham, but I could see Giles pulling away in the second half. Excited to broadcast this game on our new local platform, Pulaski Citizen Live. Hard to believe this will be my 12th season of covering Bobcat footbaw.

Giles County's two trophies (Gold Ball, '09, Silver Ball, '13) both came when they were sent West. and not that it matters, but they *are* west of I-65

Page game was never played due to COVID. Really wish they had been able to get it on. Nolensville was one of the best regular-season games I have ever had the pleasure of broadcasting. Page would have been just as electric with both teams undefeated at the time.