6A Championship Oakland v. Whitehaven

[kwc]

null

6 hours ago, AlwaysAPatriot said:

We have our share of athletes, but I have no idea who 'eers' even is! He keeps getting on here saying that we are being 'modest', but I honestly think that this should be a great game. You guys look loaded. So are we. We have our share of 'studs', (the entire defensive line and their backups are nasty (South Carolina commit and several FCS offered players), the secondary is incredibly big and athletic (Oklahoma commit and several Power 5 offered players), all of the backs run hard and can take it to the house at any time (an Illinois State commit with others to follow for some of the other backs), the quarterback has several NAIA/Division 3 offers, the o-line is big and nasty)but that's not what makes this team go. They are physical, fast, and hungry. They play for each other and couldn't care less about who does what, as long as we win. I personally witnessed 100 yard rushing games by more running backs than just Xavier Myers. The team didn't care who toted the rock. I also saw several games where we threw the ball for more yards than we ran it. Again, the team didn't care how we scored. Our fullback, wingbacks, quarterback, and kicker/punter have all been players of the week in the Rutherford County paper. What makes them great, in my humble opinion, is that they don't care who gets the carries, passes, catches, TDs, interceptions, sacks, tackles for loss, etc. They play for the man beside them and it's obvious from the stands. These guys, for the most part, have played together since 6th grade. I would suggest that is what makes them as good or better than the 2016 team.

KWC, that's as good as I can give you from my perspective.

AlwaysAPatriot you have given me quite a bit. Let me see if I can help some.

 

From the class of 2019 … According to Rivals list of Top 40 in TN

 

Oakland High School

Woodi Washington (CB, 6'-0", 175 lb.) … 4-stars, rated #1 in the state of TN - committed to Oklahoma

Joseph Anderson (SDE, 6'-4", 265 lb.) … 4-stars, rated #4 in the state of TN - committed to South Carolina

 

Whitehaven High School

Keveon Mullins (WR, 6'-2", 205 lb.) … 4 stars, rated #5 in the state of TN - committed to South Carolina

Coromantae Hamilton (TE, 6'-3", 230 lb.) … 4 stars, rated #8 in the state of TN - committed to Ohio State

Melvin McBride (OT, 6'-4", 310 lb.) … 3-stars, rated #19 in the state of TN - committed to UT

Devin Boddie (ATH, 5'-11", 170 lb.) … 3-stars, rated #22 in the state of TN - committed to Vandy

 

From the class of 2020 … According to Rivals list of Top 40 in TN

 

Oakland High School

De'Arre McDonald (CB, 6'-1", 180 lb.) … 3 stras, rated #15 in the state of TN - uncommitted

Aaron Moore (LB, 6'-2", 200 lb.) … 3 stars, rated #21 in the state of TN - uncommitted

 

Whitehaven High School

Bryson Eason (ILB, 6'-2", 230 lb.) … 4-stars, rated #1 in the state of TN - uncommitted

Martavious French (ILB, 6'-3", 235lb.) … 4-stars, rated #8 in the state of TN - uncommitted

Tamarrion McDonald (S, 6'-2", 220lb.) … 3-stars, rated#19 in the state of TN - uncommitted

Cameron Sneed (RB, 5'-10", 180lb.) … 3-stars, rated #29 in the state of TN - uncommitted

Andre Gooden (ATH, 5'-11", 170 lb.) … 3-stars, rated #31 in the state of TN - uncommitted

 

This list isn't comprehensive by any means because both schools have players getting scholarships to play football to smaller schools perhaps that aren't on Rivals. I know of three off the top of my head right now for Whitehaven that are holding  offers from MTSU and others that are similar type schools. However, this list gives you an idea of the talent that will be on display Thursday night.

Edited November 27, 2018 by kwc

[PIONEERS12]

How does Whitehaven have 3 losses with all the talent?

[Governm]

2 hours ago, BlackHavenSenator said:

No one but Da Haven and after last week's 1st half I pray that all of that foolishness is out of our system. 

Will the Senator will be rollin in with the system bumpin?

[BlackHavenSenator]

1 hour ago, PIONEERS12 said:

How does Whitehaven have 3 losses with all the talent?

We played 3 teams with 0 Ls going into the playoffs. We honestly should have beat Lausanne from where I was sitting. I heard N. Little Rock had the refs throwing flags on our band whenever we got within 1 score of them. Germantown was a perfect storm of injuries to key players and disciplinary action taken against the student-athletes that forgot they were STUDENTS, first. 

[Haven04]

1 hour ago, PIONEERS12 said:

How does Whitehaven have 3 losses with all the talent?

Early season injuries and inconsistencies. We just got healthy in the playoffs. Those losses were against 2 of the best teams in the state and a top 25 team in the nation. They helped us grow tremendously as a team and learn to overcome adversity. 

[BlackHavenSenator]

7 minutes ago, FightOnForWilliamBlount91 said:

Will the Senator will be rollin in with the system bumpin?

I may save all my energy on the road trip and bump out to the Award Winning band only

[PIONEERS12]

Thanks BlackHavenSenator and Havengrad04 for the insight.

I have seen Oakland twice this year and they are extremely talented.  I was also at the championship game 2 years ago when Oakland led Whitehaven the entire game until 2 minutes left and they couldn't stop the Tigers. They couldn't sustain a drive late and got pushed down the field to lose. Being a fan from Region 3 6A I have to root for the Patriots again this year, but I'm not sure they have everything it takes to pull it off.  I can't wait to take the short drive to watch everything unfold Thursday night.

[kwc]

18 hours ago, Havengrad04 said:

Early season injuries and inconsistencies. We just got healthy in the playoffs. Those losses were against 2 of the best teams in the state and a top 25 team in the nation. They helped us grow tremendously as a team and learn to overcome adversity. 

If you remember, our starting corners were disciplined at the beginning of the season as well by the HC. One corner didn't play until the 4th game of the season and the other didn't play until the 8th game of the season. Both were rusty when they returned. Took them a couple of games to get back into the swing of things. Overall the team had a LOT of adversity to overcome to get to this stage.

Then there was the Jalen Hurts/Tua Tagovalloa QB type of situation that WH had going on as well. That's all history now though.

Edited November 27, 2018 by kwc

[Lost Old Dad]

34 minutes ago, PIONEERS12 said:

Thanks BlackHavenSenator and Havengrad04 for the insight.

I have seen Oakland twice this year and they are extremely talented.  I was also at the championship game 2 years ago when Oakland led Whitehaven the entire game until 2 minutes left and they couldn't stop the Tigers. They couldn't sustain a drive late and got pushed down the field to lose. Being a fan from Region 3 6A I have to root for the Patriots again this year, but I'm not sure they have everything it takes to pull it off.  I can't wait to take the short drive to watch everything unfold Thursday night.

Like I said in my earlier post, the Haven always plays a full 48 minute game with never a second of 'give up'.  You forget that and they WILL beat you.

[kwc]

1 hour ago, Lost Old Dad said:

Like I said in my earlier post, the Haven always plays a full 48 minute game with never a second of 'give up'.  You forget that and they WILL beat you.

We are a 2nd half team. We are even more deadly when we get a fast start. However, I've seen us be a front runner and then I've seen us give up a lead only to come back and win it. We've done it a variety of ways this year, TBQH. 

Ultimately it comes down to us never quiting ... even when we've lost ... we never quit. It's kind of rare to see it in this current generation. 

Edited November 27, 2018 by kwc

[BlackHavenSenator]

1 hour ago, kwc said:

We are a 2nd half team. We are even more deadly when we get a fast start. However, I've seen us be a front runner and then I've seen us give up a lead only to come back and win it. We've done it a variety of ways this year, TBQH. 

Ultimately it comes down to us never quiting ... even when we've lost ... we never quit. It's kind of rare to see it in this current generation. 

BIG FACTS (Money Bagg Yo voice)

[BlackHavenSenator]

The Memphis version of since we got the Williamson Co. spin already