Dukie

Christian Prudhomme of Johnson County is an outstanding junior kicker. He was 6-of-6 on field goals and was perfect on extra points until a high ankle sprain slowed him down at the end of the year.

This is Matt Hill from the Mountain City Tomahawk. I had to come on here and clear my name. I am not High Country 40 and I don't know who that is. I was wrongly accused by somebody of starting this topic and it was not me. Everybody knows my login is Dukie and if you look back, it's been a long time since I posted. Though I'm in Cox's corner, I have been friends with Seth's dad for a long time and would not post anything blatant on him or anybody else. I want my name cleared for this. I do see where people would think this is me, but I promise it's not. Matt Hill

This may sound a little bit off the wall, but I think the best coach in AA might be a freshmen coach. Johnson County's David Arnold can take undeveloped players and make them good. Last year he took a team that won five games in middle school playing weak competition and went 8-4 with three of those losses going down to the wire against tough competition. He plays everybody on the team and gets the most out of them. This year's freshman team won 29 games in middle school last year so imagine what he can do with them. You may be wondering why he's a freshman coach. He works at a local bank full-time and volunteers his services. As far as varsity coaches, John English from Unicoi County is the best I've seen in these parts. Went from sixth place in the conference in 2003-2004 to District Champs in 2004-2005. I expect them to return to their glory years.

Johnson County 21, Elizabethton 12 The Longhorns are a better team now than they were in week one, too. They dominated Tennessee High for a half last week before circumstances with the weather went against them and they just didn't have the same fire the next night. I think the Longhorns will be ready and will complete the Carter Co. Sweep. Cloudland 33, Hampton 27 Won't say much about this one, but I think the Landers are going to prove a lot of people wrong.

What's up ACDC/Fan. To clarify what I meant, Johnson County is a spread out county. Part of the county is close to Boone, part of the county is close to Bristol and part of the county is close to Elizabethton. If you've noticed, the number of kids playing football at JCHS is very low. It's hard to get parents to travel to pick up their kids from practice. Elizabethton has a lot of advantages as a city school. Things are a lot more accessible. That's what I meant by that. I agree the conference is a little down this year, but I do think Johnson County does well. Big freshman game on Thursday with Elizabethton. I think Unicoi will be good again in hoops this year. How is Ben Hardin doing? About Tillman, she is one of the best athletes I have ever seen and she's also a nice person. I went out to eat with her family on Wednesday night after the Watauga match. We've got a big match against South Greene on Tuesday. Well, I've got work to do but wanted to let you know that I'm looking forward to Michael Vick run all over your Colts in the Super Bowl. Marcus looked good the other day against Duke. In Christ, Dukie

Cowgirl, Hey there friend. Keep in mind that Sunny Smith guy is from Elizabethton and not from CAK. The CAK fans have been very complimentary. It is a shame people get on here and talk trash about Johnson County and other schools. I believe in saying good things about our school but also others. Honestly, Johnson County is a playoff contender and that's not bad considering that five years ago we were playing 2A ball. We have to choose our kids from a 50-mile square while Elizabethton chooses from a five-mile square. I think JCHS does very well in sports considering the odds are stacked against us. Our volleyball team is probably going to the state tournament, our golf team is at the top of the conference, our softball team finished second in the district last year and we've had two All-State athletes in the last year and a half (Nathan Paisley and Ryann Tillman). And when Christian Prudhomme, Austin Phipps, Seth Captain and the Grindstaff boys are seniors, I really believe they will be one of the top Class 4A football teams in the state in 2008. I want to thank the CAK fans once again for their class. I know you all are in an extremely tough league, but I hope you all win the state championship. You all are a class-act school. And Cowgirl, thank you for standing up for these kids. I wish everybody had the heart that you do.

CAK beat Johnson County 22-8 last night. I thought the game was a little closer than the score would indicate but the Longhorns just couldn't score in the red zone. CAK is a good team and I wish them the best of luck. Their fans were some of the nicest people I have ever met at a football game. I got sick before the game (Got sick after eating at Ryan's) and they let me stay in the gym and rest until the game started. I also enjoyed the Christian atmosphere at the school. The lockers of the football players inside the school had Bible verses taped to them. I thought that was cool. Once again, best of luck and I wish you all were still in Single-A because I think you guys would have had a great chance to go far in that classification this year. JCHS plays Mountain Lakes Preseason Favorite Sullivan South next week. I know they're good, so we need to forget about this one and get ready for the Rebels.

Johnson County defeated Unicoi on Thursday night 38-0. Christian Prudhomme caught two touchdown passes and ran for two. Austin Phipps threw for two.

Johnson County plays Elizabethton on Thursday. Should be a great game. Little surprised about that EHS-THS score considering T.A. Dugger lost to Vance last year 24-0. Elizabethton must be greatly improved. Curious to see how JCHS is going to adjust to the competition. The Longhorns dominated schools like Happy Valley and Cloudland last year in middle school, but the Mountain Lakes is a lot different. However, some of the JCHS freshmen are already contributing on the varisty. Should be an interesting season.

I was wondering about how good the Mountain Lakes Freshmen Teams were. I know Johnson County has a real strong team and Tennessee High's freshmen were really good last year in middle school. Any thoughts and please keep it positive.

I think he was talking about Shawn Witten. Shawn really does know football. I'm a big Hokies football fan (Duke basketball fan of course) and I always enjoyed watching him play with such passion. However, I think Shawn will end up being a great college coach and will most likely bypass the high school ranks. We're hoping to have Shawn speak at a FCA meeting here in Johnson County sometime this year, but those plans are tentative at this moment. About that comment about Johnson County being Johnson County, we went 6-4 last year as the smallest 4A school in the state and they are better this year. The Longhorns will be ready for the Cyclones on October 27th. Until then, best of luck.

Johnson County defeated Sullivan North tonight 25-21, 25-22, 25-12. Ryann Tillman had 16 kills while Sarah Wright had eight. The Lady Longhorns gave North Carolina powerhouse Watauga all they wanted on Wednesday before losing in four. JCHS is now 15-5 on the year and has yet to lose to a Class AA or Class A school.

I'm from Johnson County and I can tell you the Longhorns are 2-0 after defeating Hampton and Unicoi County. They have a strong running attack and a huge offensive line. They have a quality secondary, but have not seen the likes of a passing attack like CAK's yet. Very strong special teams that probably won them the Hampton game. Have had problem with penalties so far. Overall a good team. By the way, I want to say that was a very nice post by wishing both teams good luck. I'm involved in the youth ministry at my church so I look forward to being in a Christian environment on Friday night. It's refreshing to see positive posts instead of negative. I wish you all the best of luck too.

Great second half by the Longhorns last night. Jesse Atwood was awesome but how bout that offensive line. Great performance all the way around. I thought Unicoi did well too. Anybody know anything about CAK. I know they beat Cloudland a couple of years ago when Cloudland was suppose to win the state championship.

The only thing I will say about Hampton is that I heard they made the Mountain City Radio guys and newspaper pay for a $4.00 program. That's really classy considering gas is at $3.00 a gallon.

I'm from Johnson County up near the North Carolina border and it's going to hit us extremely hard. Next Friday night the Longhorns travel three hours away to play Christian Academy of Knoxville and most of us aren't going. Johnson County is one of the poorest counties in the state financially and our sports teams are going to have a hard time getting to the games. I need the internet for my job, but I will probably have to cut out cable in the near future. However, lets keep in mind that things are a whole lot worse for people in New Orleans. I think we should all give at least $10 to Samaritans Purse, the American Red Cross, etc. If we just trust in Christ, He is faithful to provide our needs. I think one thing the schools that have more money could do is provide meals after the game for the players and coaches. Every little bit helps.

Christian Prudhomme from Johnson County is an outstanding freshman kicker. He went two-for-two Friday night against Hampton on extra points and went two-for-two again in Monday's JV game. Johnson County's punter, Tyler Leonard, is also very strong.

Thought you guys would want to know that Cody has been chosen to participate in the FCA's Magazine's (Called Sharing the Victory) Heart of an Athlete segment for the month of November.

This is an article that was in our local paper on Johnson County defensive back Cody Bryant. This is an example of a kid who does the right things. What struck me was how he wasn't ashamed to praise God. There's a lot of negativity on this board, so I thought I would just show that there are good kids out there. Bryant leads by example on JCHS football team By Matt Hill Cody Bryant is the little guy with the big heart. The JCHS senior standout defensive back stands at 5'7", 155 pounds, but makes up for it with a positive attitude that led to him being a first-team all-Mountain Lakes selection last year. Bryant is usually one of the smallest players on the field, but he doesn't let that stand in the way of making great plays. He uses a relentless work ethic and an unwavering faith in God to get him through. "The first thing is you have to live for the Lord and if you do that everything will come in line," he said. "I am smaller and a little slower, but working hard makes up for it." Bryant has some of the intangibles that go into making a great football player. One of those is having a big heart. In addition to being a caring person, Bryant has one of the most positive attitudes a player can possess. "Heart is where everything is," he said. "I love the game. I love playing and I love working to play the game. My heart and the love and passion for the game has carried me through the last few years." Though Bryant is a leader on the team, he's a quiet one. He doesn't criticize his teammates, but instead lets his actions do the talking for him. "Your actions do speak louder than your words," he said. "I'm not going to lead by telling people what to do. As a leader they should be watching me anyway. It doesn't really matter if you're not leading vocally. If they're watching you, then you are leading. I do lead by my actions. If I lay down and give up, then everybody else will. But if I step up a notch, somebody else will step up a notch. Bryant started late in the season as a sophomore and then burst on to the scene last year. He made such a big impression that when it came time to pick all-MLC, Bryant was a clear-cut choice. "I started that Tennessee High game my sophomore year and did all right, then my junior year I came in and figured it would be a little rough. But if you have the heart and passion to play the game, that's where the success comes in." JCHS head coach Mike Atwood is proud of how Bryant has overcome so many obstacles to be a great football player. "Cody exemplifies the kind of players we like here," he said. "He's undersized, but he works hard in the off-season and if you have a lot of heart and give everything you have, you can be successful in football. Cody is probably our hardest worker and our most dedicated player and it shows. He's a real good guy. If all our kids were like him this would be the best job in the world." Bryant is very open about his faith in God. He says that Jesus Christ has been his strength on and off the football field. "We're supposed to do everything for the glory of God," he said. "He died for me and he gave me the talent to play football, so the least I can do is go out and play for Him. That's where it is. Even though I love playing the game, I love playing for Him. My relationship in Christ and Him working through me speaks louder than words because people see that. People know I'm a Christian and that's leadership too. People see that and wonder, 'what's wrong with him, he's acting different than everybody else.' That's Christ living through me and that carries over to the football field as well. He gives me the strength to play the game." With this being Bryant's final go-around at JCHS, he's hoping to be able to play at the next level. "I would love to have four more years of playing ball, but it's according to God's will. It's up to Him, but I would love to play."

Usually most of the papers here in Northeast Tennessee that cover volleyball are the smaller papers. One exception is the Bristol Herald Courier, which does a great job of covering the sport in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Our local paper, the Mountain City Tomahawk covers it well. The Elizabethton Star also does a good job with Elizabethton High School even though their program is not very strong. The Star pulled out of Johnson County last year, but did a good job covering us too, The rest of the papers really don't cover it well if at all.

I was wondering who does the best job covering high school volleyball in the state of Tennessee.

I heard that the Johnson County-Hampton season opener that was scheduled to be played at Johnson County was going to be moved to Hampton because JCHS's new bleachers might not be ready. Anybody from Mountain City or Hampton heard that and if you have please post.

Jason Witten is an awesome young man who has had a great pro career so far. He signed a couple of autographs for me that I gave to two teenagers I know. I tried to talk to him about his performance on battle of the gridiron stars, but he wanted to know about me. That meant so much to me. Go Cowboys.

Good post UcSoftball. I don't think everybody in Carter County hates Unicoi County. Your sports editor at the Erwin Record is from Roan Mountain.

Statman, I think Ashlee Price was an honorable mention selection. I agree that sometimes these teams are not very accurate. We've had some very good athletes in the past left off these teams and I think part of it is location. I was just glad to see Johnson County get represented, but I'm happy for all the kids who earn recognition. One thing that puzzled me was Ryann Musick of Unaka not being on the list. I haven't seen her play since she was a sophomore, but I know her E.R.A. was under 1.00. She lost a lot of one-run games. Teams in Bristol, Kingsport and Johnson City are always going to get a little more attention than schools like Johnson County or Cherokee.