William Blount 2023

[Red Rebels]

On 6/3/2023 at 7:21 PM, BarneySox2007 said:

The DNA in William Blount came mostly from Friendsville High School back in 1978 where football was hit or miss but mainly a miss but basketball saved the school from total humiliation just as it's decendants at WB carry the same torch brought down from one generation to the next. Unfortunately the program was bred like this from the beginning and it has beaten many coaches down that have tried to change it. The last coach (Shad) let the cattle out of the fence and let them run wild  especially during fall break time. It will take a miricale to even get this program back to Friendsville standards which wasn't much. The Union County game will be the one to watch for the Bottom Breeders Cup Award for 2023 I believe.

Friendsville was known for having good looking cheerleaders. 

[BarneySox2007]

I just left the game at halftime between Sequoyah and Williams Blount and the Govs are ahead 27-6. I didn't stay for the second half because we all know that's when everybody gets to play even the waterboy. Most of William Blount's touchdowns were home run plays. 

[Tonto10]

16 hours ago, BarneySox2007 said:

I just left the game at halftime between Sequoyah and Williams Blount and the Govs are ahead 27-6. I didn't stay for the second half because we all know that's when everybody gets to play even the waterboy. Most of William Blount's touchdowns were home run plays. 

Is that good or bad??

[BarneySox2007]

18 minutes ago, Tonto10 said:

Is that good or bad??

Actually it's positive news for William Blount. That will be I slow rebuild but it's going in a positive direction.

[GovMan]

On 6/3/2023 at 7:21 PM, BarneySox2007 said:

The DNA in William Blount came mostly from Friendsville High School back in 1978 where football was hit or miss but mainly a miss but basketball saved the school from total humiliation just as it's decendants at WB carry the same torch brought down from one generation to the next. Unfortunately the program was bred like this from the beginning and it has beaten many coaches down that have tried to change it. The last coach (Shad) let the cattle out of the fence and let them run wild  especially during fall break time. It will take a miricale to even get this program back to Friendsville standards which wasn't much. The Union County game will be the one to watch for the Bottom Breeders Cup Award for 2023 I believe.

If your logic on the "dna" and "Friendsville" was correct, then explain why Heritage has never had long-term success?  I mean, after all, their "dna" came from Walland High School.  Friendsville was not considered the Class A "powerhouse" that Walland was, but they had several good football squads down through years.  Won several Foothills Conference championships.  The 78 team you mention, I guess it was "hit".  I know a little bit about that team.   Finished the year 8-3, losing to eventual state champion Alcoa, choked the next week against Porter, and then lost to Madisonville 7-6 in a bowl game.  Defeated Webb, Seymour, and Gat-Pitt that year, who were all three quality programs.  Charlie Finley and Kenny Byrd, Jr were coaches and they were outstanding.  And a lot of that team was underclassmen.  Friendsville sent a quality core of players to WB.

I'm not arguing that the program has hit bottom, but it's not Friendsville's fault. 

 

[RichyRich]

55 minutes ago, GovMan said:

If your logic on the "dna" and "Friendsville" was correct, then explain why Heritage has never had long-term success?  I mean, after all, their "dna" came from Walland High School.  Friendsville was not considered the Class A "powerhouse" that Walland was, but they had several good football squads down through years.  Won several Foothills Conference championships.  The 78 team you mention, I guess it was "hit".  I know a little bit about that team.   Finished the year 8-3, losing to eventual state champion Alcoa, choked the next week against Porter, and then lost to Madisonville 7-6 in a bowl game.  Defeated Webb, Seymour, and Gat-Pitt that year, who were all three quality programs.  Charlie Finley and Kenny Byrd, Jr were coaches and they were outstanding.  And a lot of that team was underclassmen.  Friendsville sent a quality core of players to WB.

I'm not arguing that the program has hit bottom, but it's not Friendsville's fault. 

 

I thought Lanier was the better football school between Friendsville ,porter and Lanier. Heritage is walland,Everett, and Townsend right. I see the point your making. I wish more 1a schools were kept instead of consolidation, it helped very few in my opinion.  I think madisonville and vonore would be better off as their own schools, I think all the 1a Blount county schools were better than Wb and heritage. I think englewood and Etowah were better than mcminn central. I  think Jacksboro and lafolette  was better than  Campbell County.  I think consolidation benefited Jefferson county,Rhea County,  and walker valley (charleston)

[Red Rebels]

7 hours ago, GovMan said:

If your logic on the "dna" and "Friendsville" was correct, then explain why Heritage has never had long-term success?  I mean, after all, their "dna" came from Walland High School.  Friendsville was not considered the Class A "powerhouse" that Walland was, but they had several good football squads down through years.  Won several Foothills Conference championships.  The 78 team you mention, I guess it was "hit".  I know a little bit about that team.   Finished the year 8-3, losing to eventual state champion Alcoa, choked the next week against Porter, and then lost to Madisonville 7-6 in a bowl game.  Defeated Webb, Seymour, and Gat-Pitt that year, who were all three quality programs.  Charlie Finley and Kenny Byrd, Jr were coaches and they were outstanding.  And a lot of that team was underclassmen.  Friendsville sent a quality core of players to WB.

I'm not arguing that the program has hit bottom, but it's not Friendsville's fault. 

 

Fly High Falcons! 

[BarneySox2007]

8 hours ago, GovMan said:

If your logic on the "dna" and "Friendsville" was correct, then explain why Heritage has never had long-term success?  I mean, after all, their "dna" came from Walland High School.  Friendsville was not considered the Class A "powerhouse" that Walland was, but they had several good football squads down through years.  Won several Foothills Conference championships.  The 78 team you mention, I guess it was "hit".  I know a little bit about that team.   Finished the year 8-3, losing to eventual state champion Alcoa, choked the next week against Porter, and then lost to Madisonville 7-6 in a bowl game.  Defeated Webb, Seymour, and Gat-Pitt that year, who were all three quality programs.  Charlie Finley and Kenny Byrd, Jr were coaches and they were outstanding.  And a lot of that team was underclassmen.  Friendsville sent a quality core of players to WB.

I'm not arguing that the program has hit bottom, but it's not Friendsville's fault. 

 

I'll tell you what I know about Friendsville. They started the football program in 1954 under three coaches as a shared position to get it started coached by L.A Campbell, Ernest Davis and Hugh Hamil. The following year Warren Headrick came over from Porter and was head coach from 55- 60. Don Moore who was an assistant under Headrick took the program over in 61 and stayed until 72. Bill Wallace took over in 73 until 76 then Charlie Finley moved up and took the position for the last two years. The stadium that now exist which is in horrible condition was built in 1968 and named after long time principal Fred Sentell who actually came from Townsend High from the same position but also helped coach the girls basketball team and some years the football team. The stadium runs parallel with the main entrance but the old bleachers went the other way that were replaced. Friendsville in 1954 went 1-7 and played all their games away because they didn't have a field and played Lanier who also didn't have a field at Everett High in their very first game September 16 losing 0-21 the following week they travelled to Midway and won 34 -0 but were shut out the next 6 games. Overall Friendsville was 103-129-10 in a 25 year history of the program for a winning percentage of .425. Coaching records were the first year going 1-7. Headrick 26-22-4. Moore  48-67-4. Wallace 19-21 and Finley 9-12. The very last game Friendsville played was at Seymour in the Foothills Classic Bowl against Madisonville which they lost 20-26. Charles Finley, Kenny Byrd Jr. were all great coaches and even better men. Friendsville was known as a great basketball school for so many years. Both Lanier and Friendsville ended with respectable last years going into the William Blount Program. Going from 1A to 3A was a jump , the same with Walland going into Heritage. Back many years ago Cliff Irwin had the Lanier program running big time so the county promoted him to the Everett job when Bobby Berrong left and turned out only one winning program which wasn't even ask to be an assistant on the first Heritage team. The DNA remark really isn't a dig at Friendsville but how those things still stayed the same even til today. They had some great players and all the reason to be proud especially ending on a great note going out.

Edited August 10, 2023 by BarneySox2007

[GovMan]

Barney, thanks for the correction on that final bowl game score.  I spent that evening at Blount Memorial with a broken leg, but I guess my brain must have been addled as well.  Curious, where did you get your Friendsville football history?  Coach Moore is my uncle.  He's still going strong.

 

[BarneySox2007]

1 hour ago, GovMan said:

Barney, thanks for the correction on that final bowl game score.  I spent that evening at Blount Memorial with a broken leg, but I guess my brain must have been addled as well.  Curious, where did you get your Friendsville football history?  Coach Moore is my uncle.  He's still going strong.

 

I do a lot of research and have been for a little over 20 years. That information didn't come out of a book, I personally found most of that on my own. Back in 2001 when they were tearing the old Everett elementary building down which the park and rec sets on now I was on the front porch of a house I had built for an older man watching as the building went down. That man played for Maryville on the 39 40 and 41 team and he told me Everett's first football field was exactly where the elementary building was when he played. I didn't know that at the time and it got me interested in finding out more about the history of all the schools in the area. As time has went on I started doing more research until I have a great knowledge of East Tennessee. I have been to dozens of places that no longer exist and have been gone for 60 years or more. I've met some good people along the way that have shared lots of stories with me that are no longer here. Without their help I might not know as much as I do. I'm glad that I got out there and asked a lot of questions to the right people. On the Friendsville side of what I know I'm very grateful to have talked to Mr. Wallace and actually Hugh Hamil who was there in the beginning and stayed on with Warren Headrick for a few more years when he came on board the second year.