Rockwood V.S Cosby ? predictions

[CosbyEagle]

How about the "6th man" for The Eagles that was a factor tonight...!!!

 

The Cosby Faithful came in big numbers tonight and stayed behind the team

even after the tough start. This was one of the largest and loudest crowds

I've been a part of for an away game in a long time.

 

Keep it going Eagles, we're proud of you.

[cosbybasketball30]

I would like to thank the ''Eagle Nation'' for the outstandind support. Sorry for the scare in the first quarter. You guys certainly are the best. We're gonna take care of bussiness next week and let you guys do your thing up at Cosby one more time. I love all ya'll and let's keep this thing going. By the way, you are the Man Seth. keep up the good work. ''Who dat Talkin' bout' beatin' em' Eagles. Who dat, Who dat.

[goosevol]

I know I'm asking for trouble here, but I didn't think the Cosby crowd was as loud as it was in previous tournaments that I've seen them play (maybe it was the big gym). I'm used to that one man that's usually louder than everybody else in the gym by himself getting the Rockwood fans in an uproar by himself, but he seemed a little calmer tonight. Although he was still louder than anybody in the gym.

No insult intended, Cosby still has the loudest cheering section this side of Unaka.

Edited February 26, 2006 by goosevol

[UCSportsFan]

I attended this game last night to see the #1 team in the state (on paper) play last night and i was not impressed. Rockwood should have won this game. Cosby played a 2/3 zone for almost the entire game, and yet even when Rockwood went up by 8 or more which they held for most of the game, they never one time made Cosby come out of the zone. They just kept running up and down the floor, no get the ball and take the last shot at the end of any quarter, nothing. Very small crowd compared to what i'm used to seeing in Middle Tn but a rowdy crowd none the less. It was an exciting game though, and in the end Cosby found a way to win and that is what tournament time is about. Good Luck to both teams.

[goosevol]

The crowd was smaller than what I thought it would be also. But I guess most people felt Cosby would win by 26 or more for a third straight time. It didn't help that all four teams had to drive at least 45 minutes to get there.

[UCSportsFan]

Cosby actually played a lot of man-to-man last night. They started the game and started the third quarter in the 2-3, but they definitely played a lot more man than they normally do. I really think switching to man late in the first quarter helped get them going. I really thought Rockwood would have a big advantage against the man because of how well they set picks with their big guys, but I thought Cosby was actually better when they played man.

 

We must have been watching two different games then. I never seen them come out in man until late in the game. The whole third quarter they were in a zone and Rockwood just kept trying to drive through it with a lead. With an 8 point lead like Rockwood had i would have stayed at the top of the key and made Cosby come out of the zone. I never seen either one go into any kind of triangle to ice the game but hey i guess its a different kind of game in East Tn. It was an exciting game none the less and was glad i got to see it.

[PTSportsWriter]

We must have been watching two different games then. I never seen them come out in man until late in the game. The whole third quarter they were in a zone and Rockwood just kept trying to drive through it with a lead. With an 8 point lead like Rockwood had i would have stayed at the top of the key and made Cosby come out of the zone. I never seen either one go into any kind of triangle to ice the game but hey i guess its a different kind of game in East Tn. It was an exciting game none the less and was glad i got to see it.

 

Cosby went 2-3 to start, then finally went man when Rockwood (well, Gilmore) went crazy from three-point range.

 

Even former Eagles coach Brad Flatford told me and coach Coggins after the game, he was going crazy before Cosby went to man.

 

They played man a majority of the second half.

 

But it seems that Cosby will play better man when Jody Lowe is in for Todd Jenkins. But that does take away a scoring threat.

Edited February 27, 2006 by PTSportsWriter

[UCSportsFan]

Cosby went 2-3 to start, then finally went man when Rockwood (well, Gilmore) went crazy from three-point range.

 

Even former Eagles coach Brad Flatford told me after the game, he was going crazy before Cosby went to man.

 

They played man a majority of the second half.

 

But it seems that Cosby will play better man when Jody Lowe is in for Todd Jenkins. But that does take away a scoring threat.

 

Its really irrelevent but watch the tape they came out in a 2/3 zone for most of the third quarter. It was driving me crazy just watching it because the whole time Rockwood had the lead and i kept asking why do they not pull it out and bring them out of that zone. They played man in the fourth but like i said its irrelevent. It was a good game to watch and hopefully we'll get to see them in the state!

[PTSportsWriter]

Its really irrelevent but watch the tape they came out in a 2/3 zone for most of the third quarter. It was driving me crazy just watching it because the whole time Rockwood had the lead and i kept asking why do they not pull it out and bring them out of that zone. They played man in the fourth but like i said its irrelevent. It was a good game to watch and hopefully we'll get to see them in the state!

 

You may be right, especially about the third quarter.

 

Because coming out of the half - Manning, Jenkins and Blakely all had two fouls each.

Edited February 27, 2006 by PTSportsWriter

[PTSportsWriter]

Eagles claim District 3-A crown

By SETH BUTLER

NPT Sports Writer

 

KNOXVILLE – It wasn’t easy by any stretch of the margin. But when the calendar reaches the last of February and the first of March – things are no longer easy.

 

The Cosby High School Eagles had blistered Rockwood by twenty-plus points in each of their two regular season meetings, but still – it was Rockwood, and there was a championship on the line.

 

And when championships are on the line, it takes a spark to put a team over the edge. A spark was just what Cosby got at the correct time.

 

The Eagles’ stars Timmy Blakely, Dexter Manning and Todd Jenkins get all the press – but it was a duo of unheralded players that gave Cosby the spark they needed to overcome the Tigers.

 

Defensive play by junior Jody Lowe – who caused turnovers and havoc for Rockwood point guard Billy Moffitt in the fourth quarter, including a momentum swinging fourth quarter five second call; and offensive play from Matthew McGaha, was the spark to put Cosby over the edge on this night.

 

Those special sparks, along with the usual headline grabbing performances from the Cosby stars – including a 20-point night from Blakely – powered the Eagles (30-1) over Rockwood (23-6) 61-58 for their fifth consecutive District 3-A championship. The win marked the 21st consecutive win for Cosby, dating back to their loss on December 19 to Pigeon Forge.

 

Yet it was still the scare of the season for the Eagles.

 

Rockwood got off to the best possible start they could, connecting on their first seven of nine shots on the night, including three three-point baskets. Meanwhile the normally solid shooting Eagles began on what was their worst possible start, hitting on zero of their first eight shots from the field, and not denting the scoreboard until the 3:18 mark of the first quarter.

 

Those performances saw the Eagles dig themselves an 18-3 first quarter deficit.

 

“I think they played the best possible first quarter they could’ve played, while we probably played the worst we could’ve played,” said Cosby senior Timmy Blakely. “We just had to regroup and get it together and play our style of basketball.”

 

Despite the scare, Eagles first year head coach Richard Coggins may consider this as a statement game that answered a question or two posed toward his squad.

 

“We were down 16-3 and we came back and won by three, so that means we outscored them 16 after that,” said Coggins. “A lot of people have criticized us and said we could not play in a close game, I think that answered the question tonight.”

 

“We fought back and fought back and beat a very good basketball team tonight.”

 

“Rockwood’s lost six games this year, and all of them [Pickett County, Cosby (three times), Tennessee Temple, and Kennesaw Mountain, GA] are in the top ten in the state,” continued Coggins. “And Kennesaw is in Class 5A in Georgia, so that speaks for itself right there.”

 

“I got a little rough with them in the timeouts,” said Coggins of the poor first quarter start. “But I’m proud of Kelvin Rone tonight – he played an outstanding game. And Jody Lowe too, he came in and did a heck of a game defensively for us.”

 

“Matthew [McGaha] is Matthew. Matthew came in and gave us a big boost of energy and gives 110-percent,” said Coggins.

 

“And Dexter [Manning] and Timmy [blakely] were their usual self and Todd [Jenkins] – the last five ballgames, Todd’s played the best we could have asked him too. His legs have been bothering him a bit, but without him we wouldn’t have been here either,” said Coggins.

 

But Cosby was close to not being there on Saturday evening.

 

Momentum was up in the air from the opening tip, and was almost seized by Cosby before being taken and ran away with by Rockwood.

 

Off the tip, Blakely got the ball on a one-on-one opportunity. It appeared as if Blakely was going up for a monster jam, to only lay it on the rim. When the ball fell rolled off the rim, the Tigers took momentum and shot lights out against Cosby’s 2-3 zone defense.

 

The Tigers connected on seven of their first nine, including three 3-point baskets from Michael Gilmore, to race out to their 18-3 lead – forcing a pair of timeouts from Cosby during the run.

 

“Coach got on us pretty good there, and we just had to get our heads in the game and start playing,” said Blakely.

 

Cosby began chipping into the lead when they adjusted and went man-to-man on the Tigers and began hitting shots of their own. Turnovers, which played a big role in the game, did not help matters for the Tigers as they had 7 in the first quarter. Two big buckets from Rone trimmed the Rockwood lead to 22-12 at the end of a quarter.

 

The Eagles began the second period with a 7-0 run to close to one-point of the Rockwood lead, before two runs of Rockwood gave the Tigers a comfortable advantage. Rockwood increased their lead to 29-21 at the four-minute mark when Gilmore sank a big three and Chris Harris controlled the paint with two buckets.

 

The Eagles again closed the gap down to 30-26, only to see Rockwood hit two big buckets down the stretch and widen their halftime lead to 36-30.

Cosby helped slow down the Tigers by switching their defenses from zone to man, but it came at a price as Manning, Jenkins and Blakely all ended the half with two personal fouls each.

 

An 8-2 Cosby run to start the half tied the contest when Jenkins hit a clutch 18-foot jumper in the key and Blakely found McGaha on the low block for a lay-up.

 

However Rockwood claimed the lead back just when Blakely picked up his third foul at the mid-point of the third quarter. With three fouls, Blakely found his way onto the bench as did Jenkins in favor of Jody Lowe.

 

The move may have paid dividends in the long-run, but the third quarter continued to swing back and forth as Manning and Rone were the lone offensive threats for Cosby. But both came up huge as Manning tied the game at 40 with 1:40 to play and Rone gave the Eagles their first lead of the night with 1:05 left.

 

But Rockwood closed on a 6-2 run as 6-4 forward Jamie Hackler took advantage of the absence of Blakely for six straight points inside to put the Tigers up 47-44 at the end of the period.

 

Things began to turn Cosby’s way as McGaha found Blakely with a nice dish inside, followed by a Rockwood turnover, and Manning three-point basket to close the gap to one.

 

Then came the defensive play of the game – or perhaps the season – by Jody Lowe. Lowe picked up point guard Billy Moffitt in front court and hounded him. Lowe followed Moffitt left to right and trapped him at the top of the key. Lowe’s tenacious defense forced the five second call, bringing the host of Eagles fans to their feet as the 5-8 junior celebrated at mid-court.

 

“Jody just came in and played his butt off on defense for us,” said Blakely. “He made a difference in the game with his defense.”

 

Another Blakely score off another McGaha assist gave the Eagles a three-point edge with 4:15 to play in the game. A costly Eagles turnover saw the Tigers convert with a Zach Peddicord hook shot to close it back to one.

 

Rockwood took another turnover as Peddicord took the steal for the coast-to-coast lay-up for the lead with two minutes to play. Peddicord gave the Tigers two more points to give them a three-point lead with 1:50 to play before Manning drilled a huge three-point basket with 1:30 left in the game.

 

Rockwood turned the basketball over with 1:14 to play, setting up a Blakely three-point play, off another dish from McGaha at the one-minute mark. Rockwood made it 59-58 on a David Morgan jumper off an offensive rebound with 45 seconds remaining.

 

Rockwood elected not to foul immediately, as Cosby ran 35 seconds off the clock before Rone was fouled with 10 seconds to play. Rone hit one of two free-throws putting Cosby up two, giving Rockwood a shot for the tie or the win.

 

Rockwood instead turned the basketball over to Cosby on the baseline, as Peddicord stepped on the baseline. A cross-court inbounds pass was intercepted by Willis as he called timeout to give the Tigers one more shot with 6.7 seconds to play. But Rockwood turned the basketball over immediately as Moffitt took three steps before dribbling on the ensuing inbounds to wrap up the Eagles win.

 

Blakely scored 20 points for the Eagles with Rone scoring 15 and Manning 14. Jenkins added eight with McGaha scoring four.

 

Gilmore led Rockwood with 15, all coming on three-point baskets. Hackler added 13 with Peddicord scoring 12. Moffitt scored nine, Willis scored seven and Morgan added two.

 

Rockwood shot 23-46 from the field, 7-14 from the free-throw line and 5-12 from three-point range. The Tigers committed 23 turnovers and pulled down 27 rebounds.

 

Cosby shot 21-50 from the field, 14-18 from the free-throw line and 5-20 from three-point range. The Eagles committed only 12 turnovers and pulled down 23 rebounds.

 

District 3-A All-Tournament Team

 

All-Tournament Team members announced after the finals included: from Harriman, Julian Goins, Dominique Chapman, and Shawn Williams; from Midway, Austin Parkison; from Rockwood, Jamie Hackler, Chris Willis, and Billy Moffitt; and from Cosby, Dexter Manning, Todd Jenkins and tournament MVP, Timmy Blakely.

 

Up Next

 

The road to Murfreesboro does not get any easier as they move on to the Region 2-A tournament this week in Oneida.

 

Cosby (D3-#1) will tip-off regional quarterfinal action on Tuesday against Coalfield (D4-#4) with tip-off time at 4 p.m. Other quarterfinal action includes Oliver Springs (D4-#2) against Harriman (D3-#3) at 5:30 p.m. in the upper bracket. In the lower bracket, Wartburg (D4-#1) plays Midway (D3-#4) at 7 p.m. and Rockwood (D3-#2) goes against Oneida (D4-#4) at 8:30 p.m.

 

The Cosby/Coalfield winner will play the Oliver Springs/Harriman winner in Regional semifinal action at 5 p.m. on Thursday, with the Wartburg/Midway winner facing off against the Rockwood/Oneida winner at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Wins on Thursday qualifies teams for Friday’s Region 2-A finals (7 p.m.) and a sub state berth on Monday, March 6 at 7 p.m.

 

WLIK 1270-AM will have the live broadcast of all Cosby Eagle post-season basketball, as Brian Evans calls the play-by-play.

[UCSportsFan]

I just want to add this comment. I seen the Cosby coach physically grab one of the players by his ams with both hands and shake him pretty hard is this common place at Cosby? Just curious.

[PTSportsWriter]

I just want to add this comment. I seen the Cosby coach physically grab one of the players by his ams with both hands and shake him pretty hard is this common place at Cosby? Just curious.

 

I'm not sure if you saw - but the kid was pretty upset, and rattled. The big run for Rockwood and he made a turnover and a stupid foul - and he was all upset at himself. The kid slammed his chair and slapped it.

 

Either coach was trying to calm him down, or tell him that was pretty stupid as it could've drawn a technical.

 

Of course, I'm the kind of fellow, who doesnt mind stuff like that - or a coach grabbing a kid's facemask in football.

 

I'd rather my (future) kid(s) to learn discipline.