MaryvilleRebels

Just to play devil's advocate Gov91... how many games would Jones have won if Worley hadn't gotten hurt? I think it is pretty arguable that without Dobbs they very well could have lost against South Carolina and possibly even Kentucky. He breathed life into the entire program and entire fanbase. Without him I think it is very possible that you'd have an entirely different outlook on Jones and this season. But... high school football... which East Tennessee teams are going to win tomorrow & Saturday? Will this be another year where East Tennessee takes home the most gold balls?

Well it could be because Ravenwood saved us from Da Haven fans.

Depends on how much I've been drinking. haha

It obviously depends because each is different, but many of them play other sports. Basketball usually at least has a few football players. A good handful run track and play baseball as well. Most of our kickers are also soccer players. However, for most these guys football takes priority. I would imagine the number of multi-sport athletes isn't much different than any other school.

Don't even get me started about John's Place! I spent way too much time in that place, and you can't beat a John Dog!

That place is pretty good as well Stars. Another great donut shop is Big O's on Jefferson. It's open 24 hours in case the late night munchies hit!

Crawdaddy's is always a good choice Stars. I went to college at TTU, and spent a good bit of time at El Tapatio on Willow, so I am pretty partial to there. Also, Cosmos north of town on Willow is a great place to get some wings, and you might want to stop by the gas station, T-Mart, on the corner of Willow and 12th to get Momma Stars some awesome pizza rolls for the ride home. I'm hungry just thinking about those things! haha

Looks like Ravenwood might be one of the more complete teams we've faced. That should make it a great game. If Maryville has a weakness it might be the secondary. If Ravenwood can get the protection then their big time receiver can exploit the Maryville secondary. However, the Rebels have a defensive backfield that will take advantage of almost any mistake and will look to get interceptions. We get one of those early and it could shake the confidence of the Ravenwood passing attack. Should be a fun game on Saturday. I'm glad the Rebels have made it back to the blue cross bowl. By the way, what's everyone's favorite Cookeville eatery?

I have a love/hate relationship with the swap. I like to go to new stadiums and experience their crowds, their fans, and their atmosphere. However, I also hate having to leave Maryville because it is always a scramble to make sure we actually get seats to see the game. Not that we even use the seats for half the game, but I have to have somewhere to sit during halftime. I also like to see our guys play on the road... some of our road wins have been extremely hard fought and it really shows their grit, heart, and determination when they come out and overcome the hostile environment to get a win.

I was a transplant kid. I have lived in Kentucky, and in Murfreesboro, Clarksville, and Maryville. All of my family is from Crossville. I tell you that because the only place I lived that I constantly heard about high school football was Maryville. I moved to Maryville in late elementary school and I still remember guys like Brandon Waters, John Raulston, Drew Galyon, and a good chunk of the class of 2003 talking about winning state their senior years. They were convinced that they were going to do it. Even when we played middle school football and teams like Cleveland would beat the snot out of us... those guys still believed they would win state their senior year. They ended up winning their first ring in 2000 as sophomores, and didn't stop winning them until they graduated. I think after that point the other classes believed they could win. They didn't want to let everyone down. So, I think that is one of the biggest factors... a lot of confidence and heart. Next... we have the best offensive line coach in the entire state. David Ellis has been at Maryville for a long time. They've been running the football with guys who aren't D1 talent (other than Carl Stewart) for a long time. They are able to do this because Ellis can take almost anyone and make him an amazing fundamental offensive lineman. For years we didn't have big kids... John Raulston being the perfect example. Raulston runs about 5'10" or so and weighed maybe 215 pounds and yet he consistently graded out as our best offensive lineman in the early 2000s. (Sorry if I didn't get your measurements right John, lol). Now Ellis is working with some bigger kids, but I think since 2000 Maryville has had maybe two or three guys that ended up as D-1 offensive linemen. You also have to take into account that Maryville is probably one of the only schools to have two state championship head coaches on their coaching staff. On the other side of the ball Coach Jim Gaylor continues to impress. He won a state title as a head coach and has been on the MHS staff for a long time. He doesn't do anything too fancy with defense, but he demands his players give 100 percent and he does a darn good job of getting almost every team we face out of their comfort zone. If you run he is going to make you have to pass the ball. If you like to throw it then he's going to make your QBs day a long one. I think the Helton kid from 2001/2002 is still running and having nightmares about Drew Galyon. Last week it was kind of amusing watching the Maryville warmup and the Oakland warmup. They were standing back to at one point and the Oakland kids were by and large much bigger and more physically imposing than the Maryville ones. You can look at some of the Maryville kids and you don't see them as being able to compete with the size of Oakland, siegel, Riverdale, Blackman, Science Hill, etc. What they lack in size they make up for in discipline and fundamentals. They don't make many mistakes, and make fewer when it matters most. They might not physically beat their guy, but they will be put in a position to make a play and they make it the majority of the time. Anyway, this is getting a little long winded so I will wrap it up. I could probably rant about it for quite a while. lol

Thanks for clearing it up. It was impossible to see live in those low to the ground bleachers, and watching the clip didn't really clear it up too much. Glad we had eyes back at home to keep us in line!

I still don't know how No. 7 made that catch along the Oakland sideline. Watching Stork's video it still doesn't look like he gets a foot inbounds, but it is hard to tell. If he doesn't make that grab then I really think that Oakland doesn't make their comeback.

Maryville was really pumped up last night when they were out there. They wanted that game bad. I think the seniors will once again want a golden ball just as much as ever. So, they will be out there swarming. I'm not sure when the last time Ravenwood made it to state, but how they respond to the big stage might play a factor. From what I understand they are pretty balanced that that will be huge for them. Maryville can usually handle one-dimensional teams. Hopefully it is a fun and exciting game, and that Maryville heads back East with another title!

Starz is busy charging his megaphone.

Anything can happen in a football game. Maryville has to prepare to face one of the biggest and fastest teams that they have seen all year. Because we have seen Maryville handle this in the past, our fans believe that we can handle it this year. However, this deep in the playoffs all teams have earned the right to be there and all are extremely talented. I don't know that Oakland, who seems to be more one dimensional, matches up extremely well with Maryville, but that didn't stop Whitehaven two years ago. So, they can certainly jump up and get the best of Maryville. To add to that, they are playing at home and will be hyped for this game. As I said before, I think whoever makes the least amount of major mistakes will win this game. Maryville has been prone to turn the ball over in some games. If they do that against Oakland then they could get into some trouble. If not then they might be able to take care of business and head to Cookeville once again. Whatever the case, it should be a fun game and I hope that both teams leave the field injury free.

This guy agrees that it was a bad call: "Asterisk! Asterisk! Asterisk!" - Larry Culpepper

Pretty sure that won't go so well for you. We've got a lot more gold ball pictures to share. In fact, we have so many gold balls I'm not even sure we take pictures of them anymore.

One thing you should never do is underestimate the extensive football knowledge and research of Maryville garbage collectors.

Should be a pretty amazing game. I don't know how much the two teams will score, but I have a hard time believing that there would be 28 points scored by either team. Oakland has only give up 28 points once, and that was the 1st game of the season, and Maryville has not given up more than 21 points, and even that was in a blowout win. So, I have to believe that this will be a pretty low scoring game. I think the home field advantage is going to be big for Oakland. The key is going to be who plays the cleanest game. Last week Maryville played extremely clean. I don't think they turned the ball over at all. In doing so they rolled Science Hill. If Maryville turns the ball over then Oakland will be much harder to beat. That goes both ways. If Oakland turns ti over Maryville will take advantage. Can't wait to eat some smoked turkey and head to The 'Boro.

ND... as a fan I would love to see those games, but at what point can Maryville stop trying to prove itself? When I was in high school, around the time this website started, everyone clamored that 4A Maryville would not win a title against 5A teams and that their schedule was weak. Several years later we bumped up to 6A and faced many of the teams that their fans claimed we wouldn't beat. Now that we're in the highest classification in the state, and we're still consistently in the state championship game, many fans are clamoring that Maryville should be playing Ensworth or out of state powerhouses. I know that to be the best you have to beat the best, but I think that Maryville has proven itself enough and shouldn't have to run out and play out of state teams or private schools in order to prove themselves.

lol yep. I always practice pro se!

I think this was my favorite part of the game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2h4PhgobI8

That tweed was classy. For a minute I thought I was back at work instead of at a football game. Objection your honor!

Those touchdown brownies must be special considering I heard they were going for $5.00 a square. haha