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From the
Upper Deck
Stormy
Start
To Season
By Jim Steele
steele@mckenziebanner.com |
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It
seems the football season was christened in fine fashion
Friday night. A severe Thunderstorm moved into Carroll
County Friday night and interrupted several area
football encounters, including Huntingdon's jamboree and
Gleason's battle with McEwen.
It
was a testament to the folks at Huntingdon High School,
the officials, the teams and the fans for making a bad
situation better by responding in an orderly fashion.
Everybody was on top of the situation and pretty much
everybody was safe when the high winds, lightning and
rain pelted Paul Ward Stadium.
As
for the jamboree, it, as always, is hard to get a read
on what anybody has. Yes, we know Huntingdon is going to
be explosive. Yes we know Bruceton can move the
football. Yes, we know that McKenzie can sling it around
effectively.
But
how much was for show? How much did teams hold back?
It's hard to say. Most folks don't necessarily scheme
for things as much as they want to run their own offense
and defense. That's the jamboree for you. It doesn't
count on the worksheet and it's good practice for the
real thing, which starts this Friday night for most area
teams.
Speaking
of the real thing, I begin my 20th year in print
canvassing the sidelines. It hardly seems like 19
seasons have passed before me, but I've had the
privilege of covering five state semifinal teams, six
Mr. Football finalists, two Mr. Football winners, two
NFL players, an NBA player, a MLB player and a zillion
football all-staters starting with Mike Freeman (Gleason
1984) to John Craig Howell, Cody Cook and Ricky Mathis
in 2002.
It
also marks the 20th edition of Peerless Predictions, for
which I've compiled an 80-percent success rate through
the years. Mind you, my picks may not reflect who I want
to win; just who I think will win. When evaluating
teams, you do so with your head, not your heart. Don't
take it personally.
So
here's to this year's exercise in prescience:
McKenzie
over Obion Central: I think the Rebels will win this
one, just like last year.
Huntingdon
over Hollow Rock-Bruceton: The Tigers are good, but the Mustangs have depth and firepower.
West
Carroll over Trinity: The War Eagles will face a tough
test, but will be up to the challenge.
Nicholls
State over Bethel: This Louisiana bunch is rated No. 25
in the latest Division 1-AA poll.
Rosemark
over Gleason: This might be a close game, but Tim
McFerran's Rosemark team has nearly 50 players on its
roster.
Tennessee
over Fresno State: The Vols need help at defensive
tackle, but not so much they can't beat the Bulldogs.
Elsewhere, I see:
Ballard
over South Fulton; DCA over JCS, FACS over Middleton,
South Side over USJ, Chester Co. over Trenton, McNairy
over Adamsville, Crockett Co. over Westview, Union City
over Hillcrest, Milan over Henry County, Lexington over
Riverside, Fayette Academy over Bolivar, Dresden over
Gibson Co., Brighton over Frayser, Haywood over
Covington, Memphis-North Side over Hardin Co., Dyersburg
over Dyer County, Millington
over Munford, JCM over Bartlett, SBEC over Halls. |
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