Region 2- 5A Offseason Thread

[TheBigLebowski99]

Thanks to Central, the last two champions have came from this conference. South Doyle will be down after losing so much talent. Central has got a "new" coach and we will have to see who he brings in to run the offense since that was Rosser's expertise. Carter also has a new coach and it will be interesting to see what he does with Carter. What does Gibbs, Halls, Sevier County and Seymour have returning? How does everyone think this region will end up after next season?

[Rerun92]

Interesting question.  I'd like to hear people's thoughts too.  Halls was up.  Central lost quite a bit.  So did SD.  I have no idea who the favorite is right now.

[dawgs82]

I think Coach Rosser leaving will be a big issue. Central lost a lot of players in 2018, especially most of both lines of scrimmage. Yet they rebuilt the lines to a point of another state title. And again, with Dakota and the players they lost this year, there will be another rebuild. Central has some good players returning and a kid that will step in do a good job at QB. Defense should again be their strength with what is coming back. I look for both Fortner's to make an impact on both sides of the ball. They need to replace 2 of the 3 LB's, but I think they can with their numbers. And that's the big PLUS, they have numbers! A lot of players and that's where Coach Rosser excelled. Kids wanted to play for him and this staff. Craney knows what it takes to get kids to give their all.

That being said, I think you will see this region the closest it has been in a few years. SD has some good players back and Coach Duncan will have them ready. Halls has numbers and will be competitive. I look for Carter and Gibbs to be better. I think Seymour's game with SD last year was a big inspiration to their program. I know, Elijah Young was out of the game, but that being said, SD should have still won that game. Seymour worked to win the game! Sevier Co. will be the question in terms of competitiveness. Just don't know what to think of them. The growth and new schools in the county has really hurt the program.

Don't mean to move away from 2-5A, but Powell, West and Oak Ridge will be hard for this region to deal with in 2020. Fulton MAY be a year away, hard to tell, But then again, I thought Central might struggle getting to the playoff this year with what they lost in 2018!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Other schools, jump in! It's the off season, opinions are opinions! Right now we are all just die hard high school football fans waiting for the next season when we can start bragging and feeling proud. 

[osunut2]

On ‎1‎/‎24‎/‎2020 at 8:03 PM, dawgs82 said:

That being said, I think you will see this region the closest it has been in a few years. SD has some good players back and Coach Duncan will have them ready. Halls has numbers and will be competitive. I look for Carter and Gibbs to be better. I think Seymour's game with SD last year was a big inspiration to their program. I know, Elijah Young was out of the game, but that being said, SD should have still won that game. Seymour worked to win the game! Sevier Co. will be the question in terms of competitiveness. Just don't know what to think of them. The growth and new schools in the county has really hurt the program.

I think SD has to prove that they are/were more than just Elijah Young. Their loss to Seymour was telling, so I would expect SD to come back down a bit next year. You have to think that Central is still the favorite in the region, even with all of the attrition they will have to deal with, including the loss of Rosser. I would also expect Gibbs and Halls to be in the top 4 conversation, simply because Carter, Seymour, and Sevier Co were so far behind the top 4 last year; those 3 teams would have to take a pretty big step forward, or have one of the top 4 take a big step backward, to clinch a playoff spot.

In region 3, I wouldn't expect much change in the top 4. With all of their returning talent, OR, West, Powell, and Fulton should be your playoff teams. I would be surprised to see one of Karns, Clinton, and/or CC nab a playoff spot in that brutal region.

But who knows. It's only January  

[WillieTheWildcats]

20 hours ago, osunut2 said:

I think SD has to prove that they are/were more than just Elijah Young. Their loss to Seymour was telling, so I would expect SD to come back down a bit next year. You have to think that Central is still the favorite in the region, even with all of the attrition they will have to deal with, including the loss of Rosser. I would also expect Gibbs and Halls to be in the top 4 conversation, simply because Carter, Seymour, and Sevier Co were so far behind the top 4 last year; those 3 teams would have to take a pretty big step forward, or have one of the top 4 take a big step backward, to clinch a playoff spot.

In region 3, I wouldn't expect much change in the top 4. With all of their returning talent, OR, West, Powell, and Fulton should be your playoff teams. I would be surprised to see one of Karns, Clinton, and/or CC nab a playoff spot in that brutal region.

But who knows. It's only January  

Sounds to me, you have a good grasp of both Regions. 

[EaglePlayCaller]

Has Central hired a coach yet?  Any word on who its going to be if not?  We are just wondering who its going to be.

Edited February 13, 2020 by EaglePlayCaller

[TheBigLebowski99]

A couple of things that have me worried. Obviously, with Rosser leaving and Craney taking over, will Central have a drop off? No disrespect to Craney, but he isnt Rosser. Will there be a similar effect to Central that happened to Sevier County when Linginfelter took over for Brewer? We have all seen that disaster. Next, with Elijah Young gone, is South Doyle going to collapse? We saw what happened when Elijah was booted in the Seymour Game. Is that going to be a season long issue? I believe Gibbs and Halls will surprise a lot of people. They are going to continue running the ball and controlling the clock. That leaves Seymour, Sevier County, and Carter to fill out the last three spots. Who knows about these teams. Honestly, the last couple of years, you could combine those three teams and the talent just is not there to be successful or to compete at the highest level. 

[dawgs82]

On 2/14/2020 at 1:43 PM, TheBigLebowski99 said:

A couple of things that have me worried. Obviously, with Rosser leaving and Craney taking over, will Central have a drop off? No disrespect to Craney, but he isnt Rosser. Will there be a similar effect to Central that happened to Sevier County when Linginfelter took over for Brewer? We have all seen that disaster. Next, with Elijah Young gone, is South Doyle going to collapse? We saw what happened when Elijah was booted in the Seymour Game. Is that going to be a season long issue? I believe Gibbs and Halls will surprise a lot of people. They are going to continue running the ball and controlling the clock. That leaves Seymour, Sevier County, and Carter to fill out the last three spots. Who knows about these teams. Honestly, the last couple of years, you could combine those three teams and the talent just is not there to be successful or to compete at the highest level. 

BigLe, very good points! I think the thing that gets Craney through all of this is that Rosser surrounded himself with coaches with personalities like his own, and the kids loved playing for them. But so much of it has to do with the horses you have to get to the finish line. Graduation has hit Central hard the last two years. This coaching staff felt 2 years ago that next year's QB could be a good one, time will tell. They have some very good players coming back, including a two-time all state DE. Craney will work his magic with the defense. I think he will have a very capable person running his offense. All this being said, SD still has a lot of talent. Young's little brother, Ezra, will be good. The QB that was forced into duty last year when Mason went down should be better from that game experience. I still think it is a 2-horse race.

Halls will give people trouble, but I just don't think they have the athletes to advance. The Gibbs offense isn't able to score a lot of points against quicker team. Their plays take too long to develop. Yes, they beat Central at the end of the season, as did SD. But that was with key defensive players missing for Central and we saw the results when Central was at full force. I think you may see Carter slip into the top four if they get ADMINISTRATIVE  and COMMUNITY support.

It's hard to judge the talent of teams you beat from one season to the next. Young teams you beat one year can blow up in your face the next year. In an area (Regions 2 and 3) where speed is so important, you better have a wide open, balanced run/pass offense if you want to advance.

[chsbobcat09]

I think one thing people will soon realize is that Craney is not the same as Rosser. Sure, they share some similar beliefs but two totally different motivators and types of Coaches. Once the kids accept Coach Craney’s way and style we’ll be fine I believe. However let me be first to say, we have a LONG way to go as things stand right now. We have a very young overall team, not a lot of game experience returns. Now with saying that, we do have a few STUDS returning, two come to mind in particular. I do believe by the end of next season, those two will be household names around our area as I’ve predicted they would long ago. But make no mistake, it’s gonna be a long tough road to go for a third Championship. Perhaps we’ll be lucky enough to contend. Two things I predict now. Boone will be a force coming from NET AND our rivals from down Broadway will be back in the mix and be tough for ANYONE to deal with.

[sx1234]

It appears the two big dogs (Central and South Doyle) are down a little after last year.  The other two competitive teams (Gibbs and Halls) may be up....  Could mean this region is a 4 horse race.  Also, I know region 2 and 3 are both the Greater Knoxville area, but they don't meet until the semi-finals.  So all the talk about how region 3 is better, and tougher, and yada yada should just be saved until Thanksgiving.