UTKCLASSOF2002

Does anyone have any information on where Bart Hicks is going to college?

Alcoa will be young at the start of the season. I expect them to be running full force by the end of the year. I do not expect Alcoa to beat Maryville this upcoming year but after the Maryville game Alcoa should be in good shape. Alcoa will have to replace a lot of talented players with young guys. However, I fully expect them to develop nicely during the year. With Randall Cobb at QB and the other returning players, Alcoa will still be the team to beat in 2A. Although, if a 2A team is hoping to beat Alcoa, they better do it this year.

I'm sure Alcoa wouldn't mind playing them again.

Congrats to BW for being named to the Sporting News 2006 ACC All-Freshman team. I believe this to be the first of many honors that he will earn. My only question is why has this not been reported by the Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times????

I'm not undermining anything the Rebs have done!! Congrats to them 100% They have deserved everything they have achieved. From a fundamental standpoint, I think someone else could have given Maryville a better game. Brainerd almost beat them (I know that it was basically given to them). It seems that the best teams in 4A are also in the East. I don't know another 4A team that could have played better (maybe Melrose????) but I do know that there is a big gap in the 4A competition if Hillsboro was the "Second" best team.

Maryville did make them look bad. Never have I denied that. All I'm saying is that Hillsboro would have looked bad against most of the other teams at Murfreesboro. Their passing game was pitiful!!! So was their secondary. The only thing I was impressed with was how well they ran to the ball against the Maryville running attack. But if Tyler Maples was that wide open, then Lanxter and Sommers would have been running free all night long as well. Fulton's Freeney would have destroyed their secondary. Lipscomb's QB could have done well also. Hillsboro would not have been able to pass the ball against most of the teams in Murfreesboro. I'm not ignoring the fact of what actually happened during the Maryville-Alcoa game. You are speaking hypothetically about that game. If you know so much about HS football and are such an expert; why are you not an advisor on the Rebel staff????? You must learn to accurately quote what I actually said. Never once did I claim that Alcoa was in "Maryville's class" (whatever that means) or that they were not in Maryville's class. Quite frankly, I wish not to be in Maryville's class but to be simply the Alcoa Tornadoes. Oh yeah before you spout off concerning the taking a knee (which did happen) you must remember the 2 unbelievably lucky catches made by Shiver and Douglass on that last drive. If either one of those catches fail to happen (they both were played very well defensively) then Alcoa gets the ball back and they score. Maryville was reeling in the 4th against Alcoa. None of this changes the fact that Fulton was a tougher opponent for Alcoa than Maryville. By far, Dennis Rogan was the best back Alcoa saw all year and the Fulton defense was the best Alcoa saw all year.

Man some people can really get sensitive when the truth is spoken. Yes Alcoa looked better than Hillsboro. Fulton looked better than Hillsboro. Smyrna looked better and so did David Lipscomb. Funny how you overlook the fact that Maryville was very close to losing to a low and pitiful little measley 2A school. Oh yeah I know....it was the first game of the year and you had players suspended. Don't forget that it was Cobb's first game as a starting QB under a new coach and system. Anyway....how about this: Fulton gave Alcoa more problems than did Maryville.

No need to turn this into an Alcoa v Maryville deal. Nor is there any need to throw insults at other people. You have your opinion and I have mine. If you think Hillsboro would have beaten Alcoa by 3 TDs then you are entitled to be wrong. Fact is that Hillsboro did not execute well; nor did they look fundamentally sound. Maryville did have something to do with this but I have to believe that there is another 4A team that could have given Maryville a better game.

has this game even been scheduled for next year???

Their QB was not very good, nor were their receivers (too many dropped passes!!) I was expecting a much better effort on their part but Maryville could do anything it wanted. I thought Fulton looked better than Hillsboro and Alcoa as well. Alcoa played Maryville better at the beginning of the year than did Hillsboro this past Saturday. I just was not impressed at all with their execution. I know that Maryville can make the best of teams look bad, but Hillsboro was just totally off. At one point did they not have like 4 or 5 consecutive 3 and outs? I thought their fundamentals and discipline were no where close to being what it needed to be in order to win a championship game. Thus the score was 35-10.

Back to the game......As I watched, I was far from being impressed with Hillsboro. Very sloppy and undisciplined. Surely, there had to be another 4A team that was better than Hillsboro. I knew as soon as Maryville scored their 1st TD that the Burros did not have a chance. Congrats Maryville!

Silver helmets, silver pants. I do like the white jerseys though.

I like the new uniforms better than what they wore last year and the beginning of this year. However, I must say that I am a traditionalist and I want to see the silver pants of the (80s and 90s) make a come back.

What a game!!! There is so much I could say. Where is "volcamry" now with his "Goodpasture by at least 10 points" comments. All year we have heard how GP was bigger, stronger, faster and way better than last year. Well at least you proved to be 2 TDs better; only problem is that you still lost by 4 TDs. When it came down to the game, once again Alcoa proved that GP and everyone else in 2A is nowhere close to dethroning the mighty Tornadoes. GP is still not in Alcoa's league. GP talked all year about how they were #1 and they were ranked #1 (what a JOKE! ). Once again Alcoa has the gold ball and GP failed to knock the king off of the mountain. So go ahead GP fans and begin talking about next year and how GP is going to be better, bigger, faster, and stronger. We're ready for it. The beasts are still in the EAST....

The reason why they will stop is because of Alcoa's senior class. Let's see......Alcoa's seniors have 2 rings, GP's have 0. Out of a possible 60 games that could be played during a high school football career, Alcoa's seniors have played in 59. Out of a possible 45 games that could be played by the junior class, the juniors have played in 45 games. I believe Alcoa's seniors have accomplished more. Oh yeah, next year's freshman class will be as good or better than this year's class.

Guarantee you that he had more success against Fulton and Maryville than any of your backs would have had against them.

Alcoa will likely start by playing their base defense. No one has been able to push them around, so I wouldn't look for them to begin the game with a change. Here is one thing I have noticed about their defense: prior to the snap they are very active at times with their linebackers and secondary. Their defensive play calling has been efficient all year long.

To say Alcoa is not better than last year is an acknowledgement of ignorance. First off, in last year's game GP played against an Alcoa defense that was without both starting DEs. I do believe that GP is better but Alcoa has improved more than people think. They are disciplined this year. The younger guys last year got valuable experience with Warren and Sykes being out during the playoffs. This experience will pay off. Alcoa has more experience than GP and they know how to handle games of this caliber. Another reason that GP is undefeated is that they have not played the level of teams on Alcoa's schedule (i.e. Maryville, Fulton, McCallie, Loudon, Sweetwater, Smith County).

The difference that Alcoa has is that they are stronger, faster, more disciplined than anyone GP has seen. If Alcoa can contain Maryville, they can contain GP.

Alcoa is beatable. However, it is only if they give it away or help the other team during the game. If Alcoa is on its game, no one in 2A can beat them. Period.

Alcoa will be able maintain the run because they have depth, which for some reason all people want to discuss is how many backs GP has. Alcoa is deeper than any 2A school and you will see them consistently run people on the field while on defense. The Alcoa defensive is very physical and stout. To go along with their toughness, no one can match their overall defensive speed. Alcoa's defense also thrives on turnovers which is often caused by the pressure they put on the QB and the force in which they attack the ball. Another reason why Alcoa will be able to contain GP is because they have been tested by the best. They held their ground against Maryville (far better offense than GP), they held their ground against Fulton (very explosive and fast offense), and they contained BJ Coleman and McCallie (the best passing attack in TN). Simply put: GP does not have the power of Maryville, the speed of Fulton, not the passing game of McCallie

None of this talk can chagne the fact that Alcoa is going to win.

GP fans keep bragging about their "fresh legs" and about how "fast" they are. Well, it would be easy for the game to be closer than last year. But Alcoa will prevail. Alcoa has more depth across the board. We don't need to focus on just one position, but just as GP can run in many backs---Alcoa can run in as many linemen. Alcoa is tested, GP is not. Alcoa has the mental advantage, GP does not. Alcoa is more confident (back-to-back champs). Oh yeah, Alcoa has the faster players and the better athletes. GP is quick to point out that this year's team is better with the same players; but Alcoa is not merely as good, even though they have most of the same group as last year. GP is quick to forget that last year's 55-13 beat down could have been a lot worse. Alcoa was not playing at full strength. It's best player (Brandon Warren) and Rae Sykes did not even play in the game. To win, GP needs many breaks and has to control the ball. If it is a high scoring game, Alcoa will win easily. GP needs to hold Alcoa 21 points or less. There is not a 2A school that can score more than 24 on Alcoa's starters. I don't believe GP's defense can hold Alcoa under 24 points. ALCOA-38 GP--20

Look who they lost to. Maryville and Fulton. Maryville is ranked 25th in America!!!! Fulton possibly will win 3A. In both games the margin was only 3. Do they have 2 losses? Yes. Two things to note about that. First, Alcoa is better now than they were in September. Second, Fulton and Maryville are the top 2 teams in Tennessee. Compared to the other teams in 2A, Alcoa is head and shoulders beyond them. GP, Milan, Smith Co., all would have been destroyed by either Fulton or Maryville. Alcoa is 1A in size (as for the school goes) but its talent cannot be matched by anyone. Don't dream yourself into thinking that GP would be undefeated if they had played Alcoa's schedule this year. Maryville would beat them, Fulton would beat them, McCallie would beat them, and a tough game could have come from either Loudon, Sweetwater, or Booker T.

If last year's championship embarassment has nothing to do with this year's games. Then GP can't use last year as a motivation. But last year does matter to a degree because I'm sure GP has been motivated by that drubbing they received. Alcoa will use last year's game in a positive way as well. GP needs to remember that you're not king of the hill until you knock the king off. Mark it down, Alcoa is a better and more efficient team than last year. Whoever wins this game better hope they play the game of their lives and that Alcoa is overlooking them (which won't happen) and has a few turnovers. GP better not lose sight of Milan because if they do, an upset could occur. Obviously, Milan is way better than their record indicates. But I will pick GP in this game because I want to see a rematch and like the rest of the Alcoa fans I want to say, "Bring it on!"