v_i_k_i_n_g

It's my understanding that the new THS enrollment numbers are less than 1100 (closer to 1050) for next year. That's taking the graduating class numbers out and adding the number of upcoming 9th graders. What's going to happen when the TSSAA reclassifies schools this year?

The Vikings are clicking on all cylinders right now and have beaten 2 of the states top 5A teams the last couple of weeks. Seymour's record is only 4-6, but it looks like they've played several teams tough including close losses to Daniel Boone, Jeff County, Sevier County, and Mo. West. I would say that Seymour is a much better team than their 4-6 record shows. I don't know much about the Eagles...what should we expect next Friday? Who are the players to watch? What do you run on offense and defense? What's the kicking game like? GO VIKINGS!

This is the game of the year in the Big 8 Conference. The Vikings will be riding high after their win over Daniel Boone. Can the Rebels bring the Vikings back down to Earth and knock off the undefeated and number 1 ranked Vikings??? Let's hear what you have to say. GO VIKINGS!!!!!

Way to go Vikings! This was your biggest test of the season so far and you came through like champions. Hats off to the Trailblazers. I personally didn't think that you would be able to hang in there with the Vikes and for a while in the first quarter it looked like things were going to get ugly. Your kids never gave up and stormed their way back to make a game of it. Numbers 50, 58, and 16 had great nights on Defense and never let us establish our running game. Stopping the run came with a price though...our receivers were able to get behind the secondary for big plays. I really thought that the Vikings were in a no-win situation. If the results of the game had turned out a blow-out then everyone would have said that Boone was over-rated. If the results of the game were very close then everyone would have said the Tennessee High was over-rated. The score turned out to be just about right for the Vikings. Taylor Harmon had an outstanding night throwing the ball and the THS receiver corps looked as strong as they have all year long. The defense gave up some points, but the bend and don't break mentality came through again. The Viking kicking game was great as usual. Brandon Rutherford put 7 balls into the endzone on kick-offs and the other 2 gave the Trailblazers the ball on the 18 and 23 yard lines...what a weapon. Tyler Graham pounded through 6 more XP's and the 31-yard FG. The THS coaching staff should get a lot of the credit for this win. They did a great job preparing the players and finding the weaknesses in the Boone defense. The play calling on both sides of the ball was outstanding. There were some comments made about the officiating. I think that went both ways. The guys in the striped shirts did a fair job, but I think that when they reflect on the game they'll probably come to the conclusion that they missed some calls on both sides of the ball. Now it's on to South...the MAROON MACHINE is back!!!!

Here we go! Can D. Boone hand the Vikings their first loss of the season or will the MIGHTY VIKINGS take it to the Trailblazers? It's going to be an interesting matchup of two of the states top ranked teams. GO VIKES!!!!!!

The Vikings are riding high after their 5-0 start. This is a complete mismatch on paper. Can Volunteer catch the Vikes looking ahead to their big game with Dobyns-Bennett and pull the biggest upset of the year or will Stubbs keep the Viking ship headed in the right direction?

I don't know if I'd put too much weight on the outcomes in the Mountain Lakes Jamboree. The only team that I saw play like it meant anything to them was South. There was some excitement from the other teams, but it appeared that they were just going through the motions and trying to keep everyone healthy. I'm not even sure why they put on the jamboree to begin with (just ask Sullivan Central)...just to show off the individual talent in the skills competition? South looked pretty good and they are the defending champions. I would have to give them the nod until somebody finds a way to knock them off their pedistal. Tennessee High has a lot of talent and if they can stay away from any more injuries they will give South a run for their money. The rest of the league looks like a toss-up. Sullivan East, Johnson County, and Elizabethton appear to be poised to vie for playoff bearths, but don't count out Unicoi County, Sullivan North, or Sullivan Central. I think that the parity of the conference will produce some upsets along the way this season. MLC Picks... 1. South 2. THS 3. Johnson County 4. Sullivan East

When will the TSSAA decide to add swimming & diving to the list of sports it governs? I know that TISCA is the organization that controls high school swimming in Tennessee now, but they seem to cater to the larger USS clubs as well as the private schools. The state swim meet was held this past weekend. There were almost 1000 swimmers who competed in the meet with about 1/3 of those swimmers coming from private schools. That 1/3 of the swimmers took over 1/2 of the awards at the meet. I don't think that the public schools are playing on an even field with the private schools and it really shows at the state meet. I would love to see a public shool championship meet. I've heard the arguement for a long time that if TSSAA took over swimming that they would not allow swimmers to compete for USS clubs during the swim season. The last time this issue was brought up, TSSAA said they WOULD allow the swimmers to compete for their USS clubs. With the right guidance, TSSAA could make a real go of swimming & diving in the state of Tennessee and the sport of high school swimming & diving would flourish!

Here are the picks.... Region 1 and 2 Sullivan South v. Daniel Boone - SULLIVAN SOUTH Morristown East v. Johnson County - MORRISTOWN EAST Tennessee v. Volunteer - TENNESSEE HIGH Unicoi Co v. Morristown West - MORRISTOWN WEST ----- Region 3 and 4 Maryville v. Brainerd - MARYVILLE Rhea Co. Knox Central - KNOX CENTRAL Knox West v. Cleveland - KNOX WEST Powell v. Red Bank - RED BANK ------ Region 5 and 6 Hillsboro v. Rossview - HILLSBORO Mt. Juliet v. Tullahoma - TULLAHOMA Maplewood v. Clarksville - MAPLEWOOD Springfield v. Stratford - SPRINGFIELD ---- Region 7 and 8 Munfors v. Raleigh-Egypt - RALEIGH-EGYPT Fairley v. Brighton - FAIRLEY Henry Co. v. M. East - HENRY COUNTY Hardin Co. v. Melrose - MELROSE 2nd round winners: Region 1 and 2 Sullivan South v. Morristown East - SULLIVAN SOUTH Morristown West v. Tennessee High - TENNESSEE HIGH Region 3 and 4 Maryville v. Knox Central - MARYVILLE Red Bank v. Knox West - RED BANK Region 5 and 6 Hillsboro v. Tullahoma - HILLSBORO Maplewood v. Springfield - MAPLEWOOD Region 7 and 8 Raleigh-Egypt v. Fairley - FAIRLEY Henry County v. Melrose - MELROSE Quarterfinals Sullivan South v. Tennessee High - TENNESSEE HIGH Maryville v. Red Bank - MARYVILLE Hillsboro v. Maplewood - HILLSBORO Fairley v. Melrose - MELROSE Semi-finals Maryville v. Tennessee High - MARYVILLE Hillsboro v. Melrose - HILLSBORO State Championship Maryville v. Hillsboro - MARYVILLE

There really wasn't much that the Vikings could do to hold the score down. They played on a very short field all of the 1st Quarter and scored 28 points. They returned a fumble for a TD in the 2nd Quarter and then ran the 2nd half kickoff back for another TD. The starting offense didn't see action in the 2nd half. All of the scoring was done by the second string...and they looked pretty sharp. They ran their basic offense and North had a hard time stopping them. North moved the ball pretty well at times, but shot themselves in the foot with turnovers and penalties. This game reminded me of the Unicoi County game. The Vikings just dominated. GO VIKES!!!!!!!!

Tennessee High had better come out ready for a tough game. North still has an outside chance at a playoff spot, so this game is a must win for them. If the following scenario plays out, North will be the 4th playoff team... Johnson County must beat Elizabethton (probable) Unicoi County must beat Sullivan Central (probable) Sullivan East must beat Sullivan South (well...) Sullivan North must beat Tennessee High (another well...) Tennessee High needs the momentum heading into the playoffs. I see a big win by the Vikings....35-14. ********************GO VIKES*********************

The officiating was bad? I would have to say that the officiating for the entire season has been horrible. Tennessee High has to be the most penalized team in Northeast Tennessee. I've been in attendance at every THS game this year and it looks from my point of view that the officials are very one-sided against THS. I'm not saying that THS is not guilty of the penalties that we've gotten, but it seems like the penalties that could be called on the other teams are just not called. I think this unfair attention drawn by the officials has been one of the tools that the other teams have used to help stay in ball games. They goad the THS players into a lot of the penalties...and I know that it's usually the second guilty player that gets the flag. The problem is, you would think that once in a while the officials would see this. I just wish that the officials will allow players decide the outcome of next weeks game in Mountain City. From what I've heard...there's a lot of home cooking that goes on up there!

Why wasn't Elizabethton the same team? All the posts in the forums last week talked about how everything would be different against THS. Elizabethton was simply outmanned and outplayed. The THS defensive line manhandled the Cyclone front...they were in the backfield all night long making all of the stops. The "O" line also dominated the Betsy defensive line. How many tackles did the Elizabethton safety have to make last night? I watched the replay of the Elizabethton-Science Hill game from a week ago. The only thing I can say is that I really didn't see much difference in Elizabethton from last week to this week. Does all of this mean that THS will have an easy time with Science Hill? I doubt it very seriously, but I do think that Tennessee High will overpower the Hill. Final Score THS - 31 SHHS - 14