FORREST AT CASCADE 2023: The Battle for 3rd in R4 2A

[cascadehomer]

3 minutes ago, tradertwo said:

Might want to tell your lawyers that it's HIPAA, not HIPPA... wouldn't want them to expose you in a liabel suit over a technicality.

Good looking out

[RaiderzFan]

5 hours ago, Southtowner said:

Bump.

I hate this for Salem and The General. 

If you boys wanna switch sides,  South Pittsburg would love to have ya.  

Moore Co is much closer….

[Southtowner]

43 minutes ago, RaiderzFan said:

Moore Co is much closer….

Yeah,  but they don't have the Pirates or a Southtowner. 

[GeneralForrest]

As I watched this game....the first half was Dickens-esque:

First Q:

- Cascade jams it down the Rockets throat. 7-0. 
- Forrest fumbles. Cascade scores AND coverts  2 pt'er. 15-0

Second Q:

..I said to myself "Forrest is playing hard and pretty well.." I even toyed with the idea of a mostly supportive post, win or lose. 

- The offense was the most interesting it's been in a long time. 
- Fields was getting hot
- Both Bells and Gavin Grissom, are having success on the ground and the rotation of carries was done well. 
- It was 15-7 and Forrest was in Cascade's red zone with a about a minute 25 before halftime. 

As is par for the course, the confusion that too-often happens with getting plays in, left Forrest with only 1 timeout at this point. 

This is where Coach Eli decided to bare it for the world to see. It was cringe. 

3 plays. Terrible clock management. No sense of urgency. Time runs out. 15-7 at Half

Classic Coach Eli.

Third Q was dominated by Forrest.

It was 22-22 late in the game, and Forrest just couldn’t stop the run, and when they could run, they eventually needed to pass and the plays just didn’t come together.

Cascade and Forrest are about the same level. Cascade made the plays they needed to. Forrest didn’t.

I still saw enough to think Forrest can win the Gordonsville game. Marion, Fayetteville, and Moore are likely losses. So 5-5, a 3 seed and a trip to East Robertson to get curb-stomped.

Is that good enough for everybody?

[cascadehomer]

7 minutes ago, GeneralForrest said:

As I watched this game....the first half was Dickens-esque:

First Q:

- Cascade jams it down the Rockets throat. 7-0. 
- Forrest fumbles. Cascade scores AND coverts  2 pt'er. 15-0

Second Q:

..I said to myself "Forrest is playing hard and pretty well.." I even toyed with the idea of a mostly supportive post, win or lose. 

- The offense was the most interesting it's been in a long time. 
- Fields was getting hot
- Both Bells and Gavin Grissom, are having success on the ground and the rotation of carries was done well. 
- It was 15-7 and Forrest was in Cascade's red zone with a about a minute 25 before halftime. 

As is par for the course, the confusion that too-often happens with getting plays in, left Forrest with only 1 timeout at this point. 

This is where Coach Eli decided to bare it for the world to see. It was cringe. 

3 plays. Terrible clock management. No sense of urgency. Time runs out. 15-7 at Half

Classic Coach Eli.

Third Q was dominated by Forrest.

It was 22-22 late in the game, and Forrest just couldn’t stop the run, and when they could run, they eventually needed to pass and the plays just didn’t come together.

Cascade and Forrest are about the same level. Cascade made the plays they needed to. Forrest didn’t.

I still saw enough to think Forrest can win the Gordonsville game. Marion, Fayetteville, and Moore are likely losses. So 5-5, a 3 seed and a trip to East Robertson to get curb-stomped.

Is that good enough for everybody?

Thanks! On to the next one...

[RocketHouse]

The first quarter Friday night looked like the 5th Quarter of last season's matchup and I'm sure both fanbases were thinking here we go again. This time this team chose to fight back instead of lay down. 

The Good: #1 continue to make everyone on both sides hold their breath every time he has the ball. We should have three more seasons to watch him.  #4 had his coming out party on offense. He's been a staple on special teams for three years and gotten better every game on D and is now a solid contributor in all three phases. #6 and 22 played their tails off like they do each week for us. Offensive line was solid when we finally mixed things up with play calling and Cascade didn't know exactly where we were going. Props to #68 for consistently moving the 300 pounder he was facing 4-5 yards downfield. After a shaky start #12 settled down and delivered. Stats aren't available but he has to have a chance to set the single season completion and perhaps passing yardage records. Team effort was good. Not throwing in the towel by any means. 

The Bad: Terrible start. The biggest game of the year saw us sleepwalk to a 15-0 deficit before fans got settled in their seats. Defense played well at times but essentially let a one-dimensional team win the game by doing their one thing. They have a big RB who runs 4-5 yards and turtles up until a few big lineman get to the pile and start pushing and he turns a 5 yard gain into a 15 and eventually breaks one. All game instead of locking his legs up Forrest was content to try to strip the ball (they never did) and go for a ride.

Forrest has lost heartbreakers over the last 5 seasons that came down to us having the ball and needing 5 yards or a 2 point conversion to win. Friday the sad realization came to me that we still do not have a 2 point play or any clue what to do in that situation even today. Forrest converted the onsides kick (great call) and drove down and scored. Trailing 15-13 coach signaled "2". Our offense stayed on the field in the huddle. 25, 24, 23.... Our kids were fired up; Cascade had their heads down. 17, 16, 15,..  Kids eagerly looking to the sideline 12, 11, 10. Players start to panic 3,2,1 Forrest takes the delay, never sends a play out, or tries to at least make the defense jump offsides,  and then tries the extra point like nothing happened. 15-14. Can't make this up. Finally, where is #25. He's 6'3', 190 pounds, can out jump anyone on either team, will knock your head off or run over you, and he just punts three times a game? Thankfully, TSSAA doesn't have a transfer portal.  

Speaking of TSSAA, they could intercept a busload of Greg Abbott's illegals headed to New York and pull 7 guys off that didn't know English or anything about football. They could give these guys striped shirts and yellow flags and they would do a better job than what we saw Friday. Every run on the Cascade sideline their coaches would scream holding and the low T sideline official would timidly drop his flag to make the yelling stop. There was zero holding on those plays. The biggest play of the game saw a Forrest RB get to the Cascade 15-yard line with 2 minutes left and was speared in the back on the ground well after the whistle. No flag was thrown until the Forrest players protested as the trainers ran out to their writhing teammate. Then Forrest was flagged for unsportsmanlike. A first and goal turned into a 3rd and 20. Game over. There were more strings of incompetence and we spent as much time watching officials gather in conference in the 2nd half than we did play football. If this is the best they have to ref an important region game we're in trouble. That group isn't qualified to ref a youth JV game.

The Real: Barring upsets Forrest earned a 4 seed and a road trip to Smith County in November. Forrest has gone from a program winning regions and battling the likes of Marion, Meigs, Adamsville, Tyner, and Riverside in the postseason to battling (and losing) to Cascade for 4th or 5th place in a region they should be competing for the championship. We have people collecting a salary tasked with the job of figuring this out. 

[GeneralForrest]

7 minutes ago, Salem said:

Forrest earned a 4 seed

not sure why i said 3 seed. too much um (see pic)...

[TCSports1]

First of all, we met some great people Friday night. We were sitting outside in the stands doing the broadcast and were seated around Sawyer Lovvorn’s family and Coach Tyre’s parents.  They are quality folks, we had some fun, and they represent Cascade well. Also, Coach Geil is great! He goes out of his way to help a visiting media and it is certainly appreciated on our end. That’s what a high school game should be. Two teams playing hard and two fan bases that are passionate but respectful. Win or lose, you head back home and wait for next week and are thankful for friends made and experiences shared. That’s what you got Friday night, but I am also so frustrated at what we saw in the last three minutes I had to post. I waited to post this because I wanted to watch a replay again, but the no call on the spear in the last 3 minutes was inexcusable. If you as an official were even remotely paying attention to the action, there is no way you miss that. It’s a 7 point game with 3 minutes left and the trailing team has the ball threatening to score. Pay attention!! It’s not like it was a running clock. You should be glued to the game. The hit was was 2-3 seconds after the runner was down. Did that one play cost Forrest the game? No. We had other chances. It is however a shame that we as fans didn’t get to see what would have played out otherwise. Forrest goes from 1st and 10 from just outside the Cascade 10 still trailing by 7 if the penalty is called to 3rd and 19 after we get the unsportsmanlike for arguing the no call. Cascade played well and won but it would have been nice to see if the Rockets  (1) score (2) go for two or kick the extra point after scoring (3) would Cascade have any time left to try and score to win in regulation and (4) what would an OT look like? We will never know and that’s what stinks about this whole situation. We were cheated out of the natural ending. 1 thing I do know however is that I am proud of the way the Rockets fought and that I hopefully made some new friends Friday. Whew! Done.

[cascadehomer]

2 hours ago, TCSports1 said:

First of all, we met some great people Friday night. We were sitting outside in the stands doing the broadcast and were seated around Sawyer Lovvorn’s family and Coach Tyre’s parents.  They are quality folks, we had some fun, and they represent Cascade well. Also, Coach Geil is great! He goes out of his way to help a visiting media and it is certainly appreciated on our end. That’s what a high school game should be. Two teams playing hard and two fan bases that are passionate but respectful. Win or lose, you head back home and wait for next week and are thankful for friends made and experiences shared. That’s what you got Friday night, but I am also so frustrated at what we saw in the last three minutes I had to post. I waited to post this because I wanted to watch a replay again, but the no call on the spear in the last 3 minutes was inexcusable. If you as an official were even remotely paying attention to the action, there is no way you miss that. It’s a 7 point game with 3 minutes left and the trailing team has the ball threatening to score. Pay attention!! It’s not like it was a running clock. You should be glued to the game. The hit was was 2-3 seconds after the runner was down. Did that one play cost Forrest the game? No. We had other chances. It is however a shame that we as fans didn’t get to see what would have played out otherwise. Forrest goes from 1st and 10 from just outside the Cascade 10 still trailing by 7 if the penalty is called to 3rd and 19 after we get the unsportsmanlike for arguing the no call. Cascade played well and won but it would have been nice to see if the Rockets  (1) score (2) go for two or kick the extra point after scoring (3) would Cascade have any time left to try and score to win in regulation and (4) what would an OT look like? We will never know and that’s what stinks about this whole situation. We were cheated out of the natural ending. 1 thing I do know however is that I am proud of the way the Rockets fought and that I hopefully made some new friends Friday. Whew! Done.

   Even a Homer like me agrees with you… I enjoyed the broadcast yesterday-thanks…Watching live, I missed the late hit but of course I’m not an official!  

[RocketHouse]

21 hours ago, TCSports1 said:

First of all, we met some great people Friday night. ,, Whew! Done.

Worst officiated Forrest game since 2019 Riverside. TSSAA should assign officials based on importance & competitiveness of the game but that would require some work with no financial incentive so not holding my breath.  

[GeneralForrest]

On 9/25/2023 at 1:27 PM, TCSports1 said:

First of all, we met some great people Friday night. We were sitting outside in the stands doing the broadcast and were seated around Sawyer Lovvorn’s family and Coach Tyre’s parents.  They are quality folks, we had some fun, and they represent Cascade well. Also, Coach Geil is great! He goes out of his way to help a visiting media and it is certainly appreciated on our end. That’s what a high school game should be. Two teams playing hard and two fan bases that are passionate but respectful. Win or lose, you head back home and wait for next week and are thankful for friends made and experiences shared. That’s what you got Friday night, but I am also so frustrated at what we saw in the last three minutes I had to post. I waited to post this because I wanted to watch a replay again, but the no call on the spear in the last 3 minutes was inexcusable. If you as an official were even remotely paying attention to the action, there is no way you miss that. It’s a 7 point game with 3 minutes left and the trailing team has the ball threatening to score. Pay attention!! It’s not like it was a running clock. You should be glued to the game. The hit was was 2-3 seconds after the runner was down. Did that one play cost Forrest the game? No. We had other chances. It is however a shame that we as fans didn’t get to see what would have played out otherwise. Forrest goes from 1st and 10 from just outside the Cascade 10 still trailing by 7 if the penalty is called to 3rd and 19 after we get the unsportsmanlike for arguing the no call. Cascade played well and won but it would have been nice to see if the Rockets  (1) score (2) go for two or kick the extra point after scoring (3) would Cascade have any time left to try and score to win in regulation and (4) what would an OT look like? We will never know and that’s what stinks about this whole situation. We were cheated out of the natural ending. 1 thing I do know however is that I am proud of the way the Rockets fought and that I hopefully made some new friends Friday. Whew! Done.

i think you do a very nice job overall. i like the nicknames for the kids and you call out coaching when you see it. for a guy that just loves the team and has a passion for broadcasting, i think we are spoiled a little to have you, honestly. and noble is noble. he plays off you well and you guys have a good chemistry. i dont know if ive ever said that on here. 

i do agree that the penalty was bad. at a very bad time.  but forrest lost this game because they could not stop the run  we knew it was coming and i think cascade just out physical-ed us up front. it wasnt complicated. they just beat us. 

i also think the tssaa refs are horrific. they are too old and slow to call a fast game.  they screwed up in our favor at some point, giving us the ball after a turnover on downs. it was riverside in revers.e 

i think forrest wins if they get the flag on eli bell. but i still think they didnt lose because of it. even if coach eli doesnt get the flag, forerest still has a shot. but no penalty on cascade plus the unsportsmenlike on forrest, it was all she wrote. 

i also appreciate the broadcast calling out the horrible end of the first half time management. 

[TCSports1]

Thanks General! We certainly have fun and enjoy what we do. We hope that comes across above all. I am amazed at the kids that we have helping us (Peter and Cayden) make it awful easy for us old guys to just sit there and talk. We are certainly humbled by all the support we’ve gotten. BTW, we are going to broadcast the Forrest Middle School championship game on Thursday for anyone that might be interested. Looking for win #23 in a row and our third championship in a row. Go Rockets!