Elizabethton @ Boone @ ETSU

[noonesfool]

16 minutes ago, blazer1set said:

To all the Doubting Thomas's posting here.... does the number 2 ring any bells?

Well if there isn’t a rash of penalties or turn overs on either team, I believe Boone wins 28-7 over a hard playing Betsy.

[formerblazer]

1 hour ago, blazer1set said:

To be fair to Cherokee, they were missing 5 players (possibly covid but not sure), plus they had to start a freshman at QB.

 

1 hour ago, blazer1set said:

To all the Doubting Thomas's posting here.... does the number 2 ring any bells?

I feel like you left high school an just decided to be one of the people who just yak yak yak and be negative. There ya go Boone you get to be team 3.  Everything so far this year you’ve been wrong about so far.  Just stop.  Boone knows what Betsy is they know the history and if the job ain’t done at ETSU that’s all on the kids cause there are no excuses this year.

also, Cherokee is having rough rough rough times, those 5 kid would make zero difference. 0-10 year for Cherokee 

[blazer1set]

6 hours ago, formerblazer said:

 

I feel like you left high school an just decided to be one of the people who just yak yak yak and be negative. There ya go Boone you get to be team 3.  Everything so far this year you’ve been wrong about so far.  Just stop.  Boone knows what Betsy is they know the history and if the job ain’t done at ETSU that’s all on the kids cause there are no excuses this year.

also, Cherokee is having rough rough rough times, those 5 kid would make zero difference. 0-10 year for Cherokee 

My bad, I mistakenly thought this was a place for open discussion of HS football.  Boone 14-6, happy?

[pujo]

6 hours ago, blazer1set said:

My bad, I mistakenly thought this was a place for open discussion of HS football.  Boone 14-6, happy?

I hope you guys make a deep run, My favorite big school in the area, You've for sure got a SOLID bunch and a heck of a Coach.

[blazer1set]

Let’s talk some X’s and O’s….

 DEFENSE:  Boone is solid top to bottom and side to side, having not allowed any points except a garbage TD against Cherokee late in the game.   Boone has several fumble recoveries and interceptions and has scored a safety.   Elizabethton is not bad, the defensive backs seem to be out of position a lot but Greeneville never exploited it, partly because Greeneville only has 2 pass plays:  60 yards down the field or sideline screen and nothing much in between.    Elizabethton did have a fumble recovery and an interception against Greeneville, but they need to wrap up and complete the tackle better.

Edge:    BOONE

 

OFFENSE:  Boone has a nice mix of run and pass, the blocking is good but there are way too many false start and holding penalties.  There are several guys with some serious speed and when they get into the open look out…   Elizabethton is on the struggle bus offensively, #18 and #5 running the ball are about all there is.   Blocking is okay unless there is a LB blitz and then nobody even looks at the guy.  #4 for Greeneville was in Elizabethton’s backfield as much as the QB/RB.  Elizabethton seems very gun-shy about passing, not sure if that’s on the receivers, blockers or QB.

Edge:    BOONE

 

SPECIAL TEAMS:  Boone’s kicking and punting is as good or better than anyone in the state in any classification.   Special teams have blocked several punts and recorded 3 safeties.  Almost every kickoff goes out the back of the end zone.  Elizabethton kicking is decent and punting is average, however punt coverage is terrible.

Edge:   BOONE

 

COACHING:   Jenkins does a great job year in and year out given what he has to work with.  Witten has had some outstanding talent on the field in recent years but give him credit for being in the 4A state title game the last 3 years and making a serious playoff run nearly every other year against some stout competition.

Edge:   EVEN overall, maybe leaning slightly towards Elizabethton.

 

GAME PLAN:  Boone needs to keep up the good mix of run and pass, preferably passing early in the game because it took Elizabethton quite a while to get their defensive backs in good coverage against Greeneville.  Defensively Boone’s cornerbacks are good enough to cover the receivers without a safety so I would not be surprised if the safety plays up close, almost like an extra linebacker, as Boone sells out to stop the run because Elizabethton is not going to beat anybody by passing.    Elizabethton has got to find some type of rhythm on offense and not be so predictable.   Maybe work out a halfback pass play or try some screen passes.   It not then it will be a long night for the Cyclones because this Boone defense is for real and they will eat your lunch on nearly every play.

 

HISTORY:  Well let’s get to the elephant in the room.   Boone has had Elizabethton on the ropes so many times over the years and still ended up losing the game.  No matter where you side on this aspect you have to admit that a 2-34 record against any opponent creates a lot of uncertainty.  My opinion is that for the first time in forever Boone is way better than Elizabethton, I’m talking 20 points better.   NOT saying Boone wins by 20 but the potential is definitely there and it would not be surprising.

 

Final thoughts…. Wishing both teams a healthy and safe game with good sportsmanship on both sides, zero personal fouls on either side, and have fun in the exciting ETSU venue.   Go Blazers and let’s knock HISTORY on its back and bring home the win.

[Tab]

How can you say even coaching?  That is funny. Game at Boone 2 years ago says it all. Your coach was afraid to win and played for a FG that never had a chance. Boone has made it to the 3rd round of playoffs I think 2 times.  Need to worry about Knoxville in November 

Edited September 4, 2022 by Tab

[iamtheboonenation]

16 minutes ago, Tab said:

How can you say even coaching?  That is funny. Game at Boone 2 years ago says it all. Your coach was afraid to win and played for a FG that never had a chance. Boone has made it to the 3rd round of playoffs I think 2 times.  Need to worry about Knoxville in November 

He literally said “leaning towards Elizabethton” lol

[Tab]

Slightly

[formerblazer]

16 hours ago, blazer1set said:

My bad, I mistakenly thought this was a place for open discussion of HS football.  Boone 14-6, happy?

It's absolutely fine to talk football, but you always try the ho hum we are going to lose.  Yeah, been a lot of games we should have won, been a lot of games we shouldn't have won but did, but when your immediate reaction is "Boone lose, everyone else good" it gets old.  The 2022 Boone team is for real, in my opinion anything that isn't 10-0 this particular regular season is an underperforming team.  Playoffs.... well that's the Knoxville hurdle that we can worry about in November.

[formerblazer]

4 hours ago, blazer1set said:

Let’s talk some X’s and O’s….

 DEFENSE:  Boone is solid top to bottom and side to side, having not allowed any points except a garbage TD against Cherokee late in the game.   Boone has several fumble recoveries and interceptions and has scored a safety.   Elizabethton is not bad, the defensive backs seem to be out of position a lot but Greeneville never exploited it, partly because Greeneville only has 2 pass plays:  60 yards down the field or sideline screen and nothing much in between.    Elizabethton did have a fumble recovery and an interception against Greeneville, but they need to wrap up and complete the tackle better.

Edge:    BOONE

 

OFFENSE:  Boone has a nice mix of run and pass, the blocking is good but there are way too many false start and holding penalties.  There are several guys with some serious speed and when they get into the open look out…   Elizabethton is on the struggle bus offensively, #18 and #5 running the ball are about all there is.   Blocking is okay unless there is a LB blitz and then nobody even looks at the guy.  #4 for Greeneville was in Elizabethton’s backfield as much as the QB/RB.  Elizabethton seems very gun-shy about passing, not sure if that’s on the receivers, blockers or QB.

Edge:    BOONE

 

SPECIAL TEAMS:  Boone’s kicking and punting is as good or better than anyone in the state in any classification.   Special teams have blocked several punts and recorded 3 safeties.  Almost every kickoff goes out the back of the end zone.  Elizabethton kicking is decent and punting is average, however punt coverage is terrible.

Edge:   BOONE

 

COACHING:   Jenkins does a great job year in and year out given what he has to work with.  Witten has had some outstanding talent on the field in recent years but give him credit for being in the 4A state title game the last 3 years and making a serious playoff run nearly every other year against some stout competition.

Edge:   EVEN overall, maybe leaning slightly towards Elizabethton.

 

GAME PLAN:  Boone needs to keep up the good mix of run and pass, preferably passing early in the game because it took Elizabethton quite a while to get their defensive backs in good coverage against Greeneville.  Defensively Boone’s cornerbacks are good enough to cover the receivers without a safety so I would not be surprised if the safety plays up close, almost like an extra linebacker, as Boone sells out to stop the run because Elizabethton is not going to beat anybody by passing.    Elizabethton has got to find some type of rhythm on offense and not be so predictable.   Maybe work out a halfback pass play or try some screen passes.   It not then it will be a long night for the Cyclones because this Boone defense is for real and they will eat your lunch on nearly every play.

 

HISTORY:  Well let’s get to the elephant in the room.   Boone has had Elizabethton on the ropes so many times over the years and still ended up losing the game.  No matter where you side on this aspect you have to admit that a 2-34 record against any opponent creates a lot of uncertainty.  My opinion is that for the first time in forever Boone is way better than Elizabethton, I’m talking 20 points better.   NOT saying Boone wins by 20 but the potential is definitely there and it would not be surprising.

 

Final thoughts…. Wishing both teams a healthy and safe game with good sportsmanship on both sides, zero personal fouls on either side, and have fun in the exciting ETSU venue.   Go Blazers and let’s knock HISTORY on its back and bring home the win.

Seems like Betsy has two things it does well - Deep curl to flats and that QB sweep/pitch.  That seems about the only thing they did against Greeneville last game.  Betsy has to find an offensive answer to stay in this game.  Betsy got lucky on an official seeing a kid drop from Elizabethton on that punt return but it was more like a slip and fall vs a block in the back.  Should have been 28-0.  That being said, no one can say they don't work hard or aren't well coached, they got both of those.

Don't see why Boone can't win by at least 20 as well.  I think Greeneville's defense is pretty dang tough, but I think Boone is just a tough there and is bringing some wicked special teams play with them as well.  That being said, South Greene tune up game had some stuff to clean up, West Ridge is not as good as was advertised, God Bless Cherokee and I hope someone over there has patience to work with those kids, Elizabethton is looking at a 0-3 start and may be one of the most dangerous 0-2 teams based on history.  First state championship team rolled on Boone 35-12, repeat won 23-21, last year 20-13 decision for Elizabethton.  Don't think history is going to matter come Friday.  Offense has to come alive tho and the rest of their schedule ain't looking any easier.

[NETNSportsFan]

Blazerset1 either got some bad intel early on or just doesn't have confidence in his team. Not sure which. 

Boone has not faced a passing team yet this year, and since Elizabethton had a total of 3 passing yards against Greeneville I'm not sure they'll see it yet. BUT... Eliz. at least did what I thought they should and move #18 to the QB spot. He just didn't get a chance to do much at Greeneville.  Boone's secondary is fast, but the team seems much better at stopping the run game than the passing game. There have been a couple of throws that if they were on-the-money they would have been TDs against Boone. So we'll see. 

As far as the kids on this team... the seniors are the only ones who remember getting "beat" by E-town. Last year Boone was in it the whole game... just couldn't score on that last drive.  At that time Jenkins still couldn't make up his mind about who was going to be QB and THAT messed with their heads and their performance more than any other team did.  Like they say, if you have two QBs you have none. 

The year before it was a doomed field goal before it was even kicked because you could clearly see they weren't covering the kid who blocked it. Coach should have called a time out and changed the play. 

So I don't think this team has any "fears" of Elizabethton nor do they care about past records. They feel cheated that they didn't win the last two times they played and they are ready to win this one.

Witten is a very good coach and he's eventually going to figure out how to win without the studs from last year. I think this will be the toughest opponent Boone has faced to date.  But if the Blazers can get a handle on those holding penalties (still way too many) and use a more diverse offense than just run up the middle, Boone should win this one easily.  

 

[blazer1set]

10 hours ago, Tab said:

How can you say even coaching?  That is funny. Game at Boone 2 years ago says it all. Your coach was afraid to win and played for a FG that never had a chance. Boone has made it to the 3rd round of playoffs I think 2 times.  Need to worry about Knoxville in November 

Yeah might have to back-pedal a bit on that one, you can't deny what Witten has done the last few years.    The difference is that Elizabethton has had a lot of stud players in the system whereas Boone has mostly average guys year in and year out.    I would be okay giving the edge to Betsy on coaching