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11
Washington & Lee 17, Emory & Henry 14
Nov 03, 2007Check Sunday’s paper for the official write-up. Here are some quick notes:
__
Another tough loss for the Wasps, who have now dropped four straight games.
Emory & Henry (4-5, 1-4 Old Dominion Athletic Conference) controlled the second half and held a 14-10 lead with 1:20 left in the fourth quarter.
But Generals (6-2, 4-2) quarterback R.J. Varner connected with wideout Jack Martin on a crossing pattern near the Wasps’ 40-yard line, and Martin ran untouched into the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown at the 1:07 mark in the final period. Varner’s pass was a tight spiral that somehow floated just out of reach of two E&H defenders, and Martin (six receptions, 156 yards) made an excellent catch, stopping the ball with his left hand and bringing it into his midsection.
For Washington & Lee, the Varner-Martin connection was a perfect call at the perfect time. For the Wasps, the play was poison.
Emory & Henry’s defense was blitz-heavy and blitz-happy throughout the game. It was the right call for the most part. The Wasps recorded four sacks, held the Generals to 14 first downs and shut down W&L’s run game (37 rushes, 99 yards). But there’s a reason even pro teams are hesitant to blitz when the game is on the line—it sets you up to fail and leaves you prone to big plays. And this is exactly what happened on Saturday.
The Generals were on their heels and staring at 3rd-and-9 when they broke through. Yet Martin was able to get a lead on two E&H defenders and burn through the Wasps’ middle unchecked on the 61-yard game-changer. According to Martin, Emory & Henry was playing man-to-man. Would a zone defense have stopped the completion? Probably not. But it almost certainly would have left a wall of at least two Wasps defenders standing between Martin and the goal line.
Now, with the loss, E&H has watched its 4-1 start slowly turn into a losing record. And the Wasps simply aren’t getting any breaks. Granted, the saying “you make your luck” probably exists because it’s true. But Emory & Henry has now dropped four straight games by a total of 19 points. And just like the Wasps’ 17-14 home defeat to Bridgewater on Oct. 20, the tough-to-swallow heartbreaker to Washington & Lee came in the game’s final two minutes.
Still, Emory & Henry coach Don Montgomery remained resolute after the game. He realizes his team is young, and that tough defeats equal tough teams the following season. The Wasps are still building, still learning, and these last four games will go a long way in shaping next year’s team.
“There’s a lot of little victories in that game,” Montgomery said. “We played aggressively on defense. We ran the ball well against the league’s top defense. Our quarterback came back and played valiantly.
“Sometimes you have to go through this as a program to get to the top. No one likes it right now, but it’ll make it all that sweeter when we get to where we want to be.”
Washington & Lee 17, Emory & Henry 14
WL 3 7 0 7—17
EH 0 7 7 0—14
Scoring Summary
WL—Mark Snoddy 22 field goal
EH—Jonathan Hawkins 26 pass from Daniel Booher (Luke Hawk kick)
WL—Stuart Sitterson 4 run (Snoddy kick)
EH—Matt Gillespie 4 run (Hawk kick)
WL—Jack Martin 61 pass from R. J. Varner (Snoddy kick).
Team Stats
First Downs: WL 17, EH 14; Rushes-Yards: WL 37-99, EH 49-170; Passing Yards: WL 234, EH 137; Comp-Att-Int: WL 14-24-0, EH 11-25-1; Fumbles-Lost: WL 3-1, EH 3-1; Penalties-Yards WL 8-76, EH 8-60; Punts-Average WL 9-43.4, EH 9-41.9.
Posted by Brian T. Smith Friday’s scores
Nov 02, 2007Scores from Friday night’s games.
Northeast Tenn.
Mountain Lakes Conf.
Tennessee High 21, Sullivan South 28
Unicoi Co. 6, Elizabethton 17
Johnson Co. 40, Sullivan North 20
Sullivan Central 7, Sullivan East 23
Big East Conference
Science Hill 14, Dobyns-Bennett 38
Southwest Va.
Black Diamond Dist.
Hurley 12, Twin Valley 8
Clinch Mountain Dist.
Virginia High 0, Lee 40
Cumberland District
Castlewood 27, Coeburn 20
Rye Cove 28, Twin Springs 14
St. Paul 40, Thomas Walker 6
Hogoheegee District
Chilhowie 7, George Wythe 14
Patrick Henry 13, Rural Retreat 39
Lonesome Pine District
Appalachia 6, Powell Valley 41
Pound 0, Clintwood 48
Southwest District
Abingdon 20, Marion 28
Carroll Co. 21, Graham 29
Grundy 14, Richlands 47
Non-District
Honaker 36, Tazewell 17
J.J. Kelly 0, Haysi 42
Ervinton 6, Jenkins, Ky. 52
J.I. Burton 7, Gate City 33
John Battle 43, Northwood 18
Friday Night Prep Scores
Nov 02, 2007Virginia
Amherst County 42, Heritage-Lynchburg 13
Appomattox 33, Nelson County 12
Armstrong 26, Atlee 24, OT
Bassett 28, Martinsville 12
Bath County 6, James River-Buchanan 0
Battlefield 47, Culpeper 33
Bayside 27, Frank Cox 0
Bethel 20, Kecoughtan 14
Blacksburg 52, Hidden Valley 14
Bland County 48, Fort Chiswell 21
Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot 42, Southampton Academy 14
Brentsville 7, Woodstock Central 6
Briar Woods 21, Potomac Falls 13
Broad Run 49, Freedom (South Riding) 7
Broadway 21, Turner Ashby 20, OT
Brooke Point 49, Riverbend 30
Brunswick 56, Bluestone 6
Buckingham County 50, Randolph Henry 26
Buffalo Gap 34, Riverheads 28
Caroline 53, Spotsylvania 42
Castlewood 27, Coeburn 20
Central Senior 35, Amelia County 7
Chantilly 21, Edison 14
Churchland 52, Woodrow Wilson 12
Clintwood 48, Pound 0
Clover Hill 34, Cosby 20
Colonial Beach 52, Mathews 12
Colonial Forge 20, Mountain View 14
Courtland 49, King George 13
Covenant School 41, Hargrave Military 28
Deep Creek 35, Hickory 14
Dinwiddie 42, Hopewell 28
Episcopal 33, Bullis, Md. 8
Falls Church 41, J.E.B. Stuart 28
Fauquier 21, Osbourn Park 6
Floyd County 41, Auburn 7
Forest Park 17, Gar-Field 14
Fork Union Prep 53, Christchurch 7
Franklin 16, Sussex Central 7
Fuqua School 41, Fishburne Military 13
Galax 21, Narrows 13
Gate City 33, J.I. Burton 7
George Marshall 27, James Madison 20
George Mason 17, Manassas Park 0
George Wythe-Wytheville 14, Chilhowie 7
Giles 42, Eastern Montgomery 14
Goochland 48, Cumberland 14
Grafton 27, New Kent 7
Graham 29, Carroll County 21
Great Bridge 38, Nansemond River 0
Green Run 6, Kellam 3
Gretna 43, Dan River 0
Halifax County 35, Franklin County 28
Hanover 24, Lee-Davis 14
Harrisonburg 39, Waynesboro 14
Haysi 45, J.J. Kelly 0
Heritage-Newport News 28, Gloucester 17
Hermitage 35, Deep Run 7
Herndon 35, Oakton 34
Highland Springs 39, Huguenot 0
Honaker 36, Tazewell 17
Hurley 12, Twin Valley 8
Isle of Wight Academy 35, Greenbrier Christian 0
J.R. Tucker 21, TJ-Richmond 6
James Monroe 35, Chancellor 13
James River-Chesterfield 20, Monacan 0
James Robinson 24, Fairfax 0
Jefferson Forest 28, Liberty-Bedford 0
Jenkins, Ky. 52, Ervinton 6
John Battle 43, Northwood 19
John Marshall 21, Douglas Freeman 14
Kenston Forest 33, Portsmouth Christian 12
King William 36, West Point 21
King’s Fork 22, Grassfield 9
Lafayette 56, Warhill 0
Lake Braddock 63, Hayfield 14
Lake Taylor 24, Norview 0
Langley 41, McLean 7
Lee High 42, Virginia High 0
Liberty-Fauquier 28, Loudoun Valley 21
Lloyd Bird 33, George Wythe-Richmond 6
Lord Botetourt 13, Northside 7
Loudoun County 14, Dominion 3
Louisa 42, Fluvanna 0
Madison County 35, Rappahannock County 0
Manchester 35, Midlothian 14
Marion 28, Abingdon 20
Massaponax 37, North Stafford 20
Maury 12, Granby 3
Meadowbrook 34, Matoaca 28
Mills Godwin 43, Patrick Henry-Ashland 42
Monticello 42, William Monroe 8
Mount Vernon 24, Wakefield 0
Nansemond-Suffolk 41, Hampton Roads 6
Norcom 18, Booker T. Washington 14
Nottoway 64, Greensville County 24
Ocean Lakes 21, Landstown 20
Orange County 49, Western Albemarle 14
Osbourn 36, Stonewall Jackson-Manassas 14
Oscar Smith 49, Lakeland 13
Park View-Sterling 33, Heritage (Leesburg) 15
Parry McCluer 42, Craig County 17
Patrick County 23, Tunstall 17
Petersburg 49, Colonial Heights 12
Potomac 28, C.D. Hylton 26
Powell Valley 41, Appalachia 6
Powhatan 57, Prince Edward County 13
Princess Anne 12, Kempsville 7, OT
Radford 40, Glenvar 13
Richlands 47, Grundy 14
Roanoke Catholic 32, North Cross 14
Rural Retreat 38, Patrick Henry-Glade Spring 13
Rustburg 13, Staunton River 12
Rye Cove 28, Twin Springs 14
Salem 49, Cave Spring 14
Salem-Va. Beach 55, First Colonial 6
Sherando 27, Millbrook 12
Smithfield 42, York 13
South County 35, Annandale 16
South Lakes 21, TJ-Alexandria 14
Spotswood 33, Fort Defiance 7
St. Annes-Belfield 27, Blue Ridge 12
St. Paul 40, Thomas Walker 6
Stafford 41, Albemarle 28
Stone Bridge 45, W.T. Woodson 7
Stonewall Jackson-Mt. Jackson 28, Page County 8
Stuarts Draft 28, Rockbridge 9
Surry County 28, Charles City 0
Thomas Dale 35, Prince George 14
Varina 36, Henrico 16
West Springfield 35, Lee-Springfield 21
Western Branch 20, Indian River 17, OT
William Byrd 49, Alleghany 13
William Campbell 21, Chatham 13
William Fleming 20, E.C. Glass 7
Wilson Memorial 31, Luray 14
Woodberry Forest 26, Norfolk Academy 0
Woodbridge 24, Freedom (Woodbridge) 7
Woodside 36, Menchville 0 POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Arcadia vs. Col. Richardson, Md., ppd. to Nov 5.
Westfield vs. Centreville, ppd.
Tennessee
Alcoa 42, Loudon 6
Anderson County 42, Stone Memorial 21
Antioch 49, Glencliff 13
Arlington 35, Kossuth, Miss. 28
Austin-East 9, Kingston 7
Bearden 31, Jefferson County 8
Beech 42, Portland 19
Bolivar Central 40, Chester County 6
Bolton 49, Memphis Overton 13
Brentwood 40, Clarksville NE 7
Brentwood Academy 42, Father Ryan 7
Brighton 54, Obion County 7
CAK 38, Rockwood 16
Camden 44, Waverly 7
Campbell County 21, Karns 7
Cascade 31, White House-Heritage 21
Chattanooga Central 20, Brainerd 16
Claiborne County 20, Pigeon Forge 14, OT
Clarksville 41, Springfield 14
Clarksville Academy 34, Nashville Christian School 30
Cleveland 21, Walker Valley 3
Clinton 35, Powell 34
Coalfield 35, Sunbright 0
Columbia Academy 17, Zion Christian Academy 15
Cookeville 34, Warren County 7
Creek Wood 35, Spring Hill 0
Cumberland Gap 49, West Greene 14
David Lipscomb 41, Montgomery Central 0
DCA 28, Ezell-Harding 0
DeKalb County 7, Macon County 0
Dickson County 28, Ravenwood 14
Dyer County 30, Crockett County 14
Dyersburg 22, Covington 19
Eagleville 28, Community 12
East Ridge 42, Grundy County 28
East Robertson 20, Franklin Road Academy 10
ECS 34, Briarcrest 12
Elizabethton 17, Unicoi County 6
Ensworth 24, BGA 21
Fairview 31, Loretto 6
Farragut 42, Oak Ridge 7
Fayette Academy 35, Middleton 0
Forrest 47, Middle Tennessee Christian 13
Franklin 40, Centennial 8
Franklin County 56, Cumberland County 20
Friendship Christian 56, Mt. Juliet Christian Academy 0
Gallatin 14, McGavock 0
George Carver 20, Oakhaven 14
Giles County 29, Marshall County 8
Gleason 36, Union City 21
Goodpasture 43, CPA 32
Gordonsville 49, Clay County 14
Grace Christian 19, Cosby 6
Greenbrier 141, White House 17
Greeneville 35, David Crockett 6
Greenfield 40, Lake County 6
Hampton 48, Cloudland 13
Happy Valley 26, Chuckey-Doak 10
Harding Academy 34, Rossville Christian 21
Harriman 35, Oakdale 13
Haywood County 34, Ripley 0
Henry County 42, Hardin County 13
Hickman County 48, Richland 14
Hillsboro 42, Shelbyville 0
Hollow Rock-Bruceton 38, West Carroll 14
Humboldt 10, Gibson County 7
Hunters Lane 21, Hendersonville 7
Huntingdon 41, Adamsville 3
Huntland 20, Cornersville 18
Independence 42, Columbia 13
Jackson Christian 49, Dresden 0
Jackson South Side 57, Lexington 3
Jo Byrns 42, McEwen 7
Johnson County 40, Sullivan North 20
Kenwood 55, Rossview 14
Kingsbury 47, Raleigh Egypt 34
Knoxville Carter 35, Rutledge 32
Knoxville Catholic 55, Scott County 6
Knoxville Fulton 36, Livingston Academy 0
Knoxville Halls 21, South Doyle 13
Knoxville Webb 24, Baylor 7
Knoxville West 28, Knoxville Central 21
Lebanon 17, Siegel 16
Lewis County 44, East Hickman 6
Lincoln County 13, Coffee County 10
Lookout Valley 53, Copper Basin 7
Maplewood 12, Stratford 3
Marion County 28, Sequatchie County 14
Maryville 34, Lenoir City 7
MBA 21, McCallie 0
McKenzie 48, South Fulton 7
McMinn Central 21, Howard 20
McMinn County 40, Bradley Central 0
McNairy Central 28, Fayette Ware 6
Meigs County 40, Sequoyah 24
Midway 34, Wartburg Central 6
Milan 30, Westview 24
Millington 40, Cordova 0
Mitchell 31, Sheffield 12
Moore County 55, Perry County 13
Morristown East 21, Daniel Boone 14
Morristown West 44, Cocke County 0
Munford 40, Central-Merry 0
MUS 49, St. Benedict 0
Nashville Overton 47, Hillwood 0
Oakland 28, Blackman 23
Oneida 42, Greenback 8
Ooltewah 28, Soddy Daisy 0
Peabody 37, University-Jackson 7
Pearl-Cohn 20, Station Camp 3
Polk County 27, Notre Dame 26, OT
Red Bank 55, Hixson 16
Rhea County 42, White County 13
Ridgeway 23, Bartlett 20
Riverdale 21, LaVergne 20
Riverside 20, Houston County 12
SBEC 14, FACS 7
Science Hill 38, Kingsport Dobyns Bennett 14
Seymour 43, Gibbs 0
Silverdale Baptist Academy 32, Whitwell 12
Smith County 46, Cannon County 14
Smyrna 28, Wilson Central 23
South Greene 57, North Greene 0
South Pittsburg 72, Grace Baptist 19
St. George’s 55, Bishop Byrne 32
Sullivan East 23, Sullivan Central 7
Sullivan South 28, Tennessee 21
Sweetwater 41, Oliver Springs 6
Sycamore 55, Harpeth 21
Temple 20, David Brainerd 16
Trinity Christian Academy 52, Halls 15
Trousdale County 52, Red Boiling Springs 6
Tullahoma 28, Lawrence County 24
Tyner Academy 26, Boyd Buchanan 6
Unaka 34, Jellico 21
Union County 36, Hancock County 0
Volunteer 19, Cherokee 15
Watertown 21, Monterey 14, OT
Wayne County 21, Collinwood 20
Westmoreland 38, Jackson County 21
White Station 42, Houston 17
Whitehaven 35, Wooddale 6
William Blount 42, Heritage 2
York Institute 52, Upperman 21
Posted by Brian T. Smith Performance aside, confidence not an issue
Nov 02, 2007In its last two games, Tennessee’s mostly young, definitely not-ready-for-prime time secondary has yielded career games to Alabama’s D.J. Hall and South Carolina’s Kenny McKinley.
Just don’t tell Volunteers secondary coach Larry Slade this group needs a boost of confidence.
“I think they have plenty of confidence,” he said Tuesday. “Come watch them practice. There’s not a confidence problem with this group.”
Maybe so, but it can be safely assumed there’s a “covering receivers” issue. Opponents are throwing for nearly 260 yards per game against this crowd and completing 59 percent of their passes.
A lack of sacks hasn’t helped—UT has just 10 through eight games—and running six different starting alignments out there in the first eight games explains other things as well.
But another reason might be self-inflicted. Figuring that a constantly-changing group of players would be better served with simple schemes, the coaching staff has opted for soft coverage instead of an aggressive approach.
“We’d like to play more bump-and-run coverage,” cornerback DeAngelo Willingham said. “But you do what the coaches ask. It’s real frustrating [at times], but you have to play your coverage and assignment.”
Willingham and fellow corner Brent Vinson might get their wish if Slade’s response to a question at Tuesday’s press conference is any indication.
“It’s what we believe,” Slade said of the defensive philosophy. “It’s a matter of experience. Brent and those guys are outstanding athletes and they’re very capable of doing [press] coverage. You’ll see more of it.”
It might be worth taking a chance on, particularly tomorrow against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Vols do have good safeties in freshman Eric Berry and senior Jonathan Hefney, so why not take the training wheels off for a week?
Richt had it right
Some say what Georgia coach Mark Richt did last week was provocative.
I say even though it drew two 15-yard penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct, what he did helped the Bulldogs beat Florida.
If you haven’t heard, Richt told his offensive players to celebrate in the end zone as a team when Georgia scored its first touchdown Saturday.
Moments after Knowshon Moreno’s dive broke the goal line’s plane, the Bulldogs followed suit ... all 70 of them. Jumping up and down, Georgia drew the ire of Gators coach Urban Meyer and a pair of flags which forced it to kick off from the 8-yard line.
This act from another program—say the early 1990s era Miami Hurricanes—would have been seen as an exhibition of thuggery and intimidation.
But Richt is one of the sport’s classier coaches and he had more than built up enough equity in this instance. Remember last month, when some of his players jumped up and down on Vanderbilt’s logo after a game-winning field goal?
An angry Richt shoved them away from the logo, shook coach Bobby Johnson’s hand and apologized for the display.
So cut Richt some slack here. This didn’t incite a thing, other than a big win for his program.
Which, by the way, was one call we got right in this space last week as we went 5-1 to make us 14-4 over the last three weeks. Kentucky’s unaccountable tank job against Mississippi State kept us from a perfect record.
Now for this week’s batch of picks (wagering should be done for entertainment purposes only, hehehe):
Vanderbilt at Florida
The Commodores definitely have the better defense and nothing to lose. But I don’t think they have enough offense, particularly with injury concerns about their top two quarterbacks. And remember that the Gators haven’t played a home game since Sept. 29. This could be close, but I just don’t see a scenario under which Vandy wins. Florida 27, Vanderbilt 13.
Troy at Georgia
Talk about your trap games. The Bulldogs can’t help but look ahead to next week’s biggie with Auburn on some level. The Trojans and dual-threat QB Omar Haugabook are just dangerous enough to make this a game going into the fourth quarter. But in the end, Georgia is physically more superior and enforces a win. Georgia 30, Troy 20.
Northwestern State at Ole Miss
Bad I-AA team goes to bad I-A team. With LSU and Mississippi State left on the schedule, this may be Rebels coach Ed Orgeron’s last chance for a win. It’s getting harder by the day to imagine him being the coach of this team next year. Ole Miss 38, Northwestern State 17.
Tennessee Tech at Auburn
Wonder if Tommy Tuberville tried to use Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32 as an excuse to fire up his players for this one? If so, I’ll bet his players just laughed. Tennessee Tech is 4-5 and just here for a healthy paycheck. Auburn 42, Tennessee Tech 7.
Louisiana-Lafayette at Tennessee
Should be a great game for Erik Ainge, Arian Foster, Montario Hardesty and a bunch of wide receivers to pad their stats. But don’t be surprised if the Ragin’ Cajuns run for about 250 yards or so and a lot of the post-game calls gripe about the run defense. Nevertheless, this will be a much-needed breather for the Volunteers. Tennessee 56, Louisiana-Lafayette 24.
LSU at Alabama
Should we call it the Saban Bowl? Or just what it is—the game of the year to this point in the SEC? LSU had 33,000 requests for its allotted 7,000 tickets at Alabama, a clear indication its fans want to see Saban take a drilling. Only thing is, the Crimson Tide are better than anyone imagined, a reflection on Saban’s ability to fashion the most from what he has. Nevertheless, the Tigers have more talent and at some point, doesn’t talent trump Xs and Os, particularly when that talent has had a week to heal up? LSU 27, Alabama 20.
South Carolina at Arkansas
I think the Gamecocks will win this one—if they play with the aggression they showed in the second half at Tennessee. But you can’t tell which version of Blake Mitchell will show up from one week to the next. Nor can you predict if South Carolina’s run defense can hold up against Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. Even so, the Razorbacks seem too one-dimensional this year and one-dimensional teams rarely succeed in this league. South Carolina 30, Arkansas 28.
Wave goodbye to Coker
Nov 02, 2007LaMarcus Coker was officially declared out of Tennessee’s football program Friday.
Coach Phillip Fulmer dismissed the talented but troubled tailback two days after Coker drew his fourth suspension as a Volunteer.
“He did not do what was asked of him,” Fulmer said in a press release. “I want a positive environment for our athletes to learn and grow. LaMarcus is a talented young man with a lot of life in front of him.”
Coker led UT in rushing last year, but was suspended for several practices before the team’s Outback Bowl loss to Penn State.
He then drew a three-week ban in August for undisclosed medical reasons and sat out the Vols’ opening game, a 45-31 loss at California. He appeared ready to claim more playing time after rushing for 101 yards in a home win over Arkansas State.
Coker’s only other highlight, though, was a clutch 37-yard kickoff return last week to set up a game-tying field goal at regulation’s end against South Carolina.
When Coker was originally suspended for Saturday’s game with Louisiana-Lafayette earlier this week, writers and columnists around Tennessee questioned why Fulmer didn’t boot him then, recalling Fulmer’s comments in August after he allowed Coker to return.
“He understands he’s on his last chance,” Fulmer told The Tennesseean.
That last chance ran out today.
(For more details and a full preview of tomorrow’s game, read my preview in the Herald Courier)
