k12koop

a scrimage is not a real game but Alcoa hammered Oakridge in a scrimage early in the season. As for Maryville game this year. Alcoa stunk, and I am an Alcoa fan. Others have mentioned this before but for some reason it seems Alcoa cannot get over the mental hurdle of playing Maryville. A plus for Maryville however, they have a great program and a great coaching staff! Good luck to them this afternoon. Bring another Gold Ball home to Blount Co!

As an avid fan of High School football I am looking for real objective views of the strengths and weakenesses of Alcoa and GP as it relates to Friday's game? Please limit your conversation to this topic and please identify if you have actually seen the teams play. Thanks in advance for what I hope will be an informative discussion.

this is an interesting article. Given the number of posts about BW and comments about sportsmanship and players actions. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/more...ex.html?cnn=yes

Your team played a good game. Played all 48 minutes, and as you said came up a little short. When your team plays with heart as the Tyner team did you can hold your head high. Good game guys, you were the best team we played this year after Maryville...

I am a Alcoa fan, I assure you he likes his crow better than you do your humble pie. And you wonder why people think Alcoa does not have any class. The Tyner team played a good game, they have nothing to be ashamed of. In every game with a winner, there is a loser. Try being a graceful winner.

Read the title of this thread, it is about Brandon and not the game. If you check the thread about the game you will see I have made a considered and well written post.

Just a quick note from a voice in the wilderness that moved to Alcoa in the last year. In my wallet I hold a card that nationally certifies me to coach athletics. In my file drawer downs stairs I have past certificates to ref football to include the high school level. With out a doubt, the Alcoa-Loudon game was not a fairly called ball game. I cannot comment on the reasons for this but it was not a well called game. Believe it or not all Refs are out there to control the tempo and play of the game; it is part of the job. Some groups in a big game will call them tight to make sure emotion and feelings don’t get beyond a place they can be controlled and to maintain sportsmanship. In other games the Referee team will call the game a little loser to promote excitement and as my dad says to let the teams play. It is very subtle when done well and in fact most games it never is an issue. For the Group that supports BW you must agree by the letter of the law he earned his two penalties. Also I don’t think the Alcoa fans help their standing with the refereeing crew by shouting at them. It is really sad when the AD speaks over the intercom to remind people not to go onto the field after the game and when the refs scurry off the field to their waiting police escort. (If the game had been called well I don’t think you would have seen four cops on the field) Normally, having called football before, I would stop there as I was not calling that game and it is different when you are calling the game on the field. I must however put in these last few thoughts. The game last week was blatantly one sided. In fact I considered asking that the game tape be reviewed by the group I worked with outside of TN as a teaching excersie it was so bad. In a game like the Alcoa-Loudon it is very common to call a tight game. The key is you should call it tight on both sides. There was times when the Loudon team was all over the Alcoa receivers and there was so much holding going that a flag could have been thrown nearly every play, which is was not but probably should have been. Had it been called tight for both sides it would be like a tough golf course, all the players face the same difficulty. In this case only one team was playing on the fast greens…

First Time Posting... Sorry for it being so long, but worth the time it takes to read. I find it interesting the range of comments on this board. First of all it is a game. Secondly most of you miss the fact that on any given night when you get into the playoffs this deep more than likely both teams are capable of pulling off a win. My credentials to speak are; Played high school in a true football state, Alabama. Multiple trips to the state championship including one Ring. Played College ball div 1 and played a good deal as a freshman in college (o-line) till and injury ended my playing days. I also coached as well as refereed. I am also a devoted Alcoa Fan. I think I have seen every angle of the game Here however are some of my observations I can only speak about Alcoa as I have not seen Tyner play. Alcoa has a strong well coached team with a winning tradition. There are many play makers on Alcoa’s team on both sides of the ball. It would be nice to have Brandon Warren (BW) back on the squad but he is not. I think he was targeted by the refs but that is for another discussion. There are several players on the Alcoa team in back up roles that would start at other schools including McCallie, Loudon, Fulton, and Maryville. Unlike many teams we have played this year Alcoa has an unbelievably well balanced attack on offense and super flexible defense. Another real key strength is the depth of their bench for such a small team. Just look at past games to see how often they substitute and change schemes with other players. The best team Alcoa played all year bar none is Maryville, and had Alcoa had their head in the game it should have been close. The only other real competition Alcoa played was McCallie and to some extent Loudon. Both of these teams possess great football teams and great athletes. This is not to down play any of the others we played. Any young athelete who plays for his school is special. It is much easier to be on the sidelines then to give up your free time to play football, win or lose. In fact I would like to make special mention of GP who, although we hammered them, played with great heart the whole game. Those young men are winners of a different sort and hopefully their coaches pointed this out to them after the game. My hat is off to them!!! The key to most of Alcoa’s win this year is variable game plan and execution. They however can be beat but whoever they play must bring their “A” game to do it. (Maryville did, as well as a A+ Coaching Job). Another secret to Alcoa’s success is game preparation which is excellent. The coaching staff at Alcoa is on par with many small college teams. They are also extremely well conditioned. To get past these two factors if any team wants to beat them they better bring a flexible game plan and be prepared to play a full 4 quarters of football. What a lot of you see as a weakness, losing BW, may indeed turn into a strength. Alcoa’s team already sees themselves as underdogs and play well with adversity. Remember the depth I mentioned? This is going to bring out some talented young players who are not at par with BW but who are close. This adversity will also turn on the “Heart” that Alcoa plays with. What most on this list have overlooked is that BW does not make every tackle or every touchdown. If Tyner wants to get past Alcoa they must play their best game. They also better have 48 minutes of football in their game plan. A final thing is they better prepare for a superb combined attack of running and passing with a few razzle dazzle plays thrown in for good measure. In the end it comes down to a couple of things. One team will go home after this game. Both teams are winners for having had the chance to play some great high school football. I hope the Sr’s for both teams understand what they have experienced this year: Possibly one of the best years in their young lives. For the underclassman I hope they soak in every minute of every game, win or lose, as well and cherish the chance of a next season . The kids who get this chance to play and carry the experience with them, thru adversity and loss are the real winners! In closing, GO ALCOA!!!