Melvin

How are those guys doing these days?

Excellent! Eating at The Railyard is incentive enough to make the trip, but when it's another afternoon game it's even better. Wonder why it's GoFan only? We use the online services for every game we attend and love it, but there was a decent line at the ticket window yesterday for people buying them at the gate. Having ours ready on GoFan probably saved us 10 minutes.

Made my first and last trip to Central about 6 or 7 years ago. We got there about 15 minutes before kickoff, as I usually stand at the fence anyway. I didn't realize I was going to need binoculars to watch the game.

According to MaxPreps, his name is Gabe Sneed and they list him at 6'5 245. MaxPreps rosters can be notoriously wrong sometimes, but he is indeed a big dude.

Think Central is a tough place to coach? Yesterday, Fort Pierce (FL) Westwood hired their 11th coach in the last 13 years. Amazingly, the Panthers managed to make the playoffs with winning records in 6 of those 13 seasons. Their biggest problem has been other schools poaching their players, which is rampant everywhere down here. This past year, Westwood lost 4 starters to Vero Beach. Their QB, a DB who is headed to Indiana, a WR who is committed to FSU in the class of 23, and a DE. They also lost a starting OL to Treasure Coast HS. Down 5 quality starters and losing several others to injuries, the Panthers finished 0-9 and had 27 players dressed the last time I saw them play. Who did they hire this time? It's a guy who is a radio host for the local ESPN radio station. Yeah, Wise is probably a tough place to coach, but it can always be worse...

The Nashville metro area continues to explode and Kevin Creasy has the Oakland program on a roll with no signs of stopping.

I can vouch for the Wooden Pickle. Love it. When I was working, we had a large outdoor sign place in Bluefield that used our resin. We were doing some product trials there one day and they took us out to lunch at a place that was in an old house, and I can't remember the name of it. The she-crab bisque was fantastic. That's probably been 15 years ago.

No idea about the privates, but..... A - Should be a great battle between South Pitt and McKenzie. I'll go with McKenzie over the Fightn' Roy Dillards in a close one. AA - Love to see Hampton pull it off, and if they can grind the ball on the ground, they have a shot. I'll go with Westview by 10 though. AAA - Alcoa with a running clock to start the 2nd half. AAAA - Should be another great game. I'll go with Betsy in a tight one for a three peat. AAAAA - Powell by 10 AAAAAA - If Oakland can contain Destin Wade, they'll win comfortably. If not, this will go to the wire. Oakland by 10.

I think 5 classes would suffice in Tennessee. Maybe even 4. There are only 12 schools with enrollments of over 2K. In contrast, Florida has 149 schools with enrollments of over 2K, including 19 over 3K, and 5 of those being over 4K. Cypress Bay in Weston has nearly 5K.

No, Tennessee has separate divisions for the privates. Down here in Florida they don't, and the lower divisions are dominated by the privates. St Thomas Aquinas even dominates class 7A, but really from 4A on down, the privates are the teams to beat. You'll have a public program like Cocoa or BT Washington in 4A who will make a run, but they will usually meet somebody like The Bolles School or Cardinal Gibbons in the finals.

Interesting. Of course, what could be more American than suing? Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and lawsuits....🙄

....When did the VHSL start allowing private schools to participate in the playoffs? Looking over their schedule, I'd guess Abingdon (or Abintun, as mamaw used to say) is a big underdog. I've lived out of state for 30 years now, but I thought the VHSL didn't allow the privates to participate in the playoffs.

Alcoa 23 Giles Co 0 10:58 2nd

I can't handle the cold, so I think I'll stay in and stream undefeated Palm Beach Central v 10-1 Treasure Coast. It's amazing that there will be three state semifinal games within 18 miles of each other in Carter Co going on. Cloudland v South Pittsburgh - It's tough to play on Roan Mtn in brutally cold weather, but the Pirates are too athletic for them. SP by 3 TD. Hampton v Trousedale Co. - This one will be a little closer. Trousedale by 10 Betsy v Upperman - Betsy shooting for three straight titles, and I don't see Upperman getting in the way. Betsy by 20. Murville v Oakland - Murville got destroyed in this game last year and I don't think the gap has closed by much. Oakland by 21. Alcoa v Giles - There's just no way for the other 3A schools to prepare for Alcoa. I'll go with the Tornados by 28 West v Powell - Should be the best game of the night. I'll go with West by a TD.

His teams always expected to win. I was telling a D-B fan friend of mine after their first loss to Alcoa that one of D-B's problems is that they don't expect to win games like that. D-B had a lead late and could have salted the game away with a first down. They didn't make it, and you could see their body language say "we're going to lose".....and Alcoa went down and scored the game winning TD, then picked off a D-B pass to seal the win. I told him that the old PV/Appy/Gate City teams always expected to win when they took the field, even if they were an underdog. Alcoa was/is the same way. That was the least physically imposing Alcoa team I'd ever seen, but at no point in that game did those kids believe they would lose.