MaryvilleRebels

Rain coming down pretty hard. Not sure if it is hitting Shield's Stadium. Some rain out there could make the game that much more interesting.

There is a place for handicapped people to sit right up near the fence on the home side, and often times some of their family sits there with them. I am not sure what you need to do in order to be able to sit there though. You might also be able to sit on the visitor side just off of the bleachers. What ever you decide to do be sure to get there very early or you won't have many choices.

High school sports have existed as local sports for decades. That is what is traditional and that is what makes it great. Just because there has been promotion of interstate games within the past decade or so does not mean that this is how high school sports was meant to be played and should be played. I, for one, do not want high school sports to become essentially college sports. The fact that it is kids playing against neighboring schools and communities is what makes it fun and what makes it great. Whole communities come out to see the games and you have parents in the stands talking about when they played the cross town rival that their son is now playing. Those are things that make high school football different. The more you make this an ESPN/Fox/Media commodity the more it is going to be solely about money and the more it is going to become like college and pro football and less of what really makes it great.

This topic has always bugged me. In the early 2000's people were all upset that Maryville was dominating 4A and they said that they would be terrible in 5A and they wouldn't be able to beat the likes of Riverdale and the "big boys." Then Maryville moved up to 6A and they were immediately competitive and began beating those teams that people said they wouldn't be able to beat. Now they cry because Maryville isn't playing the big time out of state teams. What will they say if Maryville beats a lot of those teams? Should Maryville step it up and start playing college teams? Anyway, if you ask me high school football is not about playing the out of state teams. It is about local sports. It isn't meant to make people travel to different states to watch their kids play. It is about rivalries with cross-town or cross-county high schools. It is about playing those familiar teams with a sprinkle of playing the unknown in the playoffs. That is what makes it fun and great. Sure, I would like to see Maryville play a competitive team every single weak and have there be a lot of drama in the games, but I don't think that Maryville should seek out better competition from out of state schools. That isn't what high school football is about.

Well this definitely got pulled out of the woodworks.

Saw that billboard not too long ago and really considered trying to take a picture of it, but I figured I'd be better off keeping my hands on the wheel. Maybe sometime soon I'll hit the redlight and be able to snap a picture of it.

Wow... it's pretty crazy that we play 3 straight home games to start the season and then head on the road for 3 straight games. Looks like there should be plenty of games to keep us entertained. Not looking forward to having to head all the way to Science Hill though.

I literally laughed out loud at this. Luckily no one in the office was around me to look at me like I'm crazy. Can't read it without at least a chuckle. This thread is amazing.

Extremely well put! Outstanding job.

The old adage is that to be number 1 you have to beat number 1. Ravenwood didn't beat number 1, but they gave number 1 all they could handle and with just a touch more luck they would have won it. That alone makes them number 2 in the state in my book. Putting them 9 is a disgrace. Also, I think Oakland is a bit high. I'd put West above them IMO. And Brentwood Academy is WAY too high. Probably would look more like this if I was drafting a ranking: Maryville Ravenwood Fulton MBA Ensworth West Oakland Blackman CPA Memphis University It isn't easy to draft because of classes, but I think the work some teams do make them more deserving of higher rankings, even if they don't have the same depth as other schools.

Can someone clear something up for me... At the beginning of overtime they did the coin toss. Maryville called the toss and lost. Ravenwood's player said something about wanting to defend. The ref then asked Maryville if they wanted to go on offense. The Maryville player nodded and then the referee turned back to the Ravenwood player and asked them which side they wanted to defend. Is this right? Shouldn't the team that wins the toss choose to defend or play offense and then the team that lost the coin toss should choose the side to defend? I don't think it matters at all, but I still don't know that it was proper. Thanks in advance.

Although the Rapper's Delight was probably the moment of the night from the Mafia. lol

I really enjoyed sitting amongst the Mafia as well. Although, I was a little disappointed that I didn't hear too much out of Stars, at least I couldn't hear him from where I was perched. Usually you can hear him from two blocks away.

You know, it is a little arguable that the penalties could have helped Ravenwood had their field goal not been blocked. The penalties allowed them to eat up more clock. Now, of course, they might have been able to put it in the endzone without those penalties, but they really never took too much of a shot for the endzone down on that end. They seemed to be pretty content to eat clock and go for the field goal. Of course it is all speculation...

TD Blackman was a hero, but some big time shoutouts have to go to Richie Koons. That kid played with 100 percent heart. With a knee injury that continually hindered him, he continued to head back onto the field to help that outstanding Maryville defensive line. Also to Derek Ensley for coming in and throwing some excellent passes to help get Maryville back into the game. Simply an amazing game. Ravenwood came out throwing haymakers, but somehow Maryville withstood the blows and scratched their way to an incredible win.

The Maryville students need to take notes from the Ravenwood students. Not sure I've ever seen a student section that large. Huge props to those kids for supporting their team.

HOLE-EE-CRAP

I'll be at the stadium shortly bulldawg. Just finishing up my meal at Crawdaddy's.

Mountain, that could be huge for Maryville! They keep the passes short and love to run the read option. Ravenwood should be fondant formidable opponent but if the wind plays a factor it could really hurt them.

This Webb/BGA game is pretty ugly... tons of turnovers.

I think he overshot his target! He should have landed that bad boy at Cookeville High School where there is an old runway! He should be coming in right here:

The original RHINO!!! haha

I think it might depend on just how much it is raining. A light drizzle won't have much effect, but a heavy rain will make it pretty hard to pass the ball. I think that will play into Maryville's favor. Maryville has a big and solid defensive line with TD Blackman anchoring a good linebacking corp. They will not be easy to run on, and anytime a team is or becomes one-dimensional against Maryville I like the Rebels' chances. Throwing the ball will be a bit harder for Maryville as well, but they rely more on a shorter passing game, hitting people on curls, and outs, as well as in the flats. That should make it a bit easier to handle than looking to go deep(er). So, I think Maryville will still be able to be a little less one-dimensional with a shorter passing game. Ravenwood can certainly do the same thing, but the Maryville secondary has been quite good at handling shorter passes and making sure tackles in front of them. That would mean that Ravenwood would have to dink and dunk their way down the entire field. Not sure that's a recipe to beat a Maryville team that will take advantage of any mistake. An extra thought... a lot of ran makes for a slippery ball. Maryville has had some issues with fumbling the ball this year. So, that could definitely play into the hands of the Raptors.