Maryville at Alcoa highlights Pea-Pickin' Picks

I'm not happy with a 28-10 first week for the Pea-Pickin' Picks. Although, I feel Tennessee Ernie Ford would be happy with me I strive to be better. To be the Mack-daddy of Tennessee Prep football the percentage has to get better this week.

Week 1 is full of rival contests that could go either way and there is an opportunity for some of the schools to step out to 2-0 for the first time in a long while.

The Game of the Week is in Alcoa where Varsity Sports Media's Tennessee Football magazine's No. 1 ranked Maryville comes calling.

This is a war of neighbors.

Two superior teams. Two superior coaches in Gary Rankin (Alcoa) and George Quarles (Maryville).

The oldest rivalry in the state takes place in Jasper where South Pittsburg rolls in from just seven miles away to take on Marion County in the state's longest continuing rivalry.

There's pure darn hate in this game that goes way back.

The Hatfields and the McCoys and the United States and Cuba get along better than these two rivals.

Have fun this is a great weekend for football.

Pea-Pickin' Picks Week 1

Maryville over Alcoa
William Blount over Dobyns-Bennett

McMinn Co. over Walker Valley

White House over Portland

Rockwood over Midway

MBA over Independence
Franklin over McCallie
Oakland over Coffee Co.
South Pittsburg over Marion Co.
Sevier Co. over Knoxville Halls

BGA over Davidson Academy
Brentwood Academy over Ravenwood

Smyrna over Brentwood
Trousdale Co. over Livingston Academy
MUS over Kingsbury

Melrose over Mitchell
Pearl Cohn over Maplewood
Cleveland over Bradley Central

St. George's over Briarcrest Christian
Fulton over Oak Ridge

Chattanooga Central over East Ridge
Tyner over Brainerd
Hixson over Notre Dame
Silverdale over Riverside Christian

Bowman Plays To A Higher Level

Many former Tennessee High School football players will open their college seasons this weekend with a lot of attention.

But none will be anymore in the spotlight than former Chattanooga Notre Dame player Adarius Bowman.

The Oklahoma State Cowboy could be one of the top 10 players selected in the 2008 NFL Draft. He’s developed into one of the nation’s top big-play receivers during his record-breaking junior season and was voted Big 12 offensive newcomer of the year and first-team all-league by the coaches and Associated Press.

When he was at Notre Dame he often appeared to be playing football at a level above the rest of the players on the field.

Bowman hopes to be able to play at that level when the Oklahoma State Cowboys invade Sanford Stadium to face the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.He was a 2006 semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top receiver.

The 6-4, 220-pounder has Terrell Owens size and speed and is athletic enough that he spent the spring semester as a member of Sean Sutton’s Cowboy basketball team.

Bowman finished the 2006 season 11th nationally and second in the Big 12 with 90.85 receiving yards per game and was fifth in the Big 12 with 4.6 catches per game. He caught 12 touchdown passes and set a Big 12 record with 300 receiving yards against Kansas in 2006.

That effort against the Jayhawks was the 11th best game in NCAA history and included 13 catches and four touchdowns.

Bowman finished the season with 1,181 receiving yards and in known for his long hauls. In 2006 he had scoring catches of 75, 69, 64, 55, 54 45 and 34 yards. The 75-yard grab at Houston was the 11th longest TD reception in OSU history. Adarius Bowman is a special athlete who will one day be a star on Sunday’s in the NFL if he remains healthy.

Saturday night he will keep the Georgia secondary glued to No. 12 wherever he goes.

Fantastic finishes are to be remembered

I remember almost every big play from the football games I played and coached in. But I have none of them on tape. They’re only there in my mind to tell over and over again for those who will listen.

There’s a local television station employee in Chattanooga who will tell everybody who will listen that she doesn’t like to hear me talk about the old days.But we didn’t have the luxury of computers and video to record all of the big plays and therefore we have to depend on old brains to pull us through.In the past few years I have been blessed to see some fantastic finishes in High School football.Many of them I now have recorded on DVD. On Sept. 3, 2004 it was the "Miracle on the Banks of the Tennessee River."

Just when it appeared Boyd-Buchanan had stolen a win from heavily-favored Baylor on the Red Raiders' campus the unexpected happened. Baylor quarterback Cody Romans (now a Chattanooga Mocs QB) hurried to get a pass to sophomore Brandon Joynes as precious seconds of the game ticked away. But, instead of Joynes catching the clock-killing pass and running out of bounds to stop the clock he made a now-you-see-me, now-you-don't move on the Bucs’ Drew Akins (now a QB at Carson-Newman) and sprinted in front of the Baylor sideline 72 yards for the winning score.

I will never forget how the Boyd-Buchanan fans looked on in amazement as the Baylor faithful celebrated a 28-25 win.

On August 27, 2005, just short of 10 p.m., the Boyd-Buchanan fans watched sure victory stolen away at Finley Stadium. Gordon Lee quarterback Patrick Mattos found a way to win.

Trailing by seven points on the last play of regulation, Mattos threw a pass more than 50 yards in the air to junior Rob Crowder, who fell into the endzone for a touchdown. Mattos then tied the game with the point-after and forced overtime. He later raced 15 yards for the winning touchdown in OT.

Mattos' summer baseball teammate, B.J. Coleman, helped pull off another football miracle on Friday Aug. 25, 2006 at Finley Stadium.

The players and coaches of Class 5A Tennessee state power Mufreesboro Riverdale never knew what hit them. They were prepared for a Blue Tornado when McCallie quarterback B.J. Coleman hit them with a tsunami.

Coleman connected on a Hail Mary touchdown pass to Walter Dozier on the game's final play. He rifled the pass high into the night air more than 50 yards away from the endzone. The pass was tipped four times to Dozier, who had slipped behind a group of defenders.

The play was miraculous.

But McCallie having the opportunity to win the game was foolish. The Blue Tornado was two touchdowns behind with 2:40 left on the scoreboard clock. Coleman took his team 90 yards and found Dozier for an 11-yard strike to bring McCallie to within a touchdown with 1:35 left in the game. The Blue Tornado was out of timeouts, according to the scoreboard.

Instead of kneeling, Riverdale took a bow.

The Warriors fumbled a quarterback sneak and McCallie had another opportunity. Coleman took his team to the glory land and found Johnny Newman on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left in the game. Joel Bradford hit the PAT and the game was tied.

With overtime looming for both teams, Riverdale elected to attempt the Warriors' third pass of the game. And finally somebody caught a Riverdale pass. Unfortunately for the Warriors it was McCallie's Thomas Green who picked off the stray aerial.

After a shot to get Bradford in field goal range fell incomplete, Coleman and Dozier hooked up on the play that shocked the state of Tennessee. Dozier was already known in the Chattanooga area for his big play ability. In 2005, Dozier picked off a tipped pass against Baylor and dashed down the sideline 101-yards for a touchdown that turned the rivalry game around.

The 2007 season will again have fantastic finishes we will all remember forever.

Do you have your favorite fantastic finishes?

OK, so I missed a few

OK, so I missed 10 of my 38 picks for a 28-10 record after the first week of the Tennessee High School football season.

But, I have an excuse. I have to put my solar-powered Crystal Ball outside during the day and when I bring it back in at night into the air conditioning for some reason it fogs up. But, I have a different place to put it this week.

Stump's Pea-Pickin' Picks

Tennesseee Ernie Ford made the saying "Bless your pea-pickin' heart" famous during his time on television. So, if I'm going to pick the high school football games each week in Tennessee then why not call them "Stump's Pea-Pickin' Picks?" In other words, if your team loses or you pick wrong then bless your pea-pickin heart.

WEEK 0 PICKS

Alcoa over Spring Hill
Houston over Bartlett
Bearden over Carter
LaVergne over Blackman
Brentwood Academy over Independence
Boyd Buchanan over CAK
Chattanooga Central over Notre Dame
Knox Central over Cookeville
Gordonsville over Cheatham Co.
Farragut over West
Hillsboro over Franklin
Wilson Central over Franklin Co.
Jackson South Side over Obion Co.
Pope John Paul II over Greenbrier
Ravenwood over Goodpasture
Giles Co over Humboldt
Mt. Pleasant over Lewis Co.
Lincoln Co. over Tullahoma
Trousdale Co over Macon Co.
MBA over Antioch
Silverdale Academy over Oliver Springs
William Blount over Sevier Co
Morristown West over Knoxville Catholic
Riverdale over Oakland
Ooltewah over Whites Creek
Jackson Central-Merry over Haywood
Raleigh Egypt over Kirby
Loudon over McMinn Central
St. Andrew's - Sewanee over Temple
Jefferson Co over Greeneville
Gatlinburg-Pittman over Tellico Plains
Howard over Brainerd
Pearl Cohn over Memphis East
Christian Brothers over Melrose
B. T. Washington over St. George's
Smyrna over Siegel
MUS over Ridgeway
Maplewood over Trezevant

XOS changes the way we view X's and O's

I grew up drawing football plays in class trying to figure out an offense that could not be stopped.
I would diagram the X’s and O’s on each and everything imaginable. Of course, my mother couldn’t figure out why my grades were suffering and I wasn’t about to tell her what I was doing.
I would also bring home the little colored pencils from the golf course and use an ink pen to write numbers of my favorite Dallas Cowboys on the pencils. I would then get down in the floor or on a table somewhere and conduct a football game with play-by-play and the crowd cheering.
I was so far ahead of technology and just didn’t realize it.
Yeah right!
I grew up wanting to be a football coach like Tom Landry. But I honestly don’t think I ever wanted to wear that hat he wore.
I studied under Dal Shealy, Charlie King, Fred Sorrells and Ken Sparks at Carson-Newman College. Lynn Murdock first taught me football at Rossville High School in Rossville, Ga.
I still have my Coaching Football 301 Playbook that I used to learn the split-back veer offense that Carson-Newman has been running since the early 1970’s.
That makes me qualified to coach the 6-under Boynton Bruisers and my hard-hitting linebacker grandson Austin Taylor Chastain.
But if I had the technology that is available today I can't imagine how good of a six-year-old coach I would be today.
That’s why I was astounded Tuesday when Tennessee unveiled its latest training tool. It's an inovative quarterback simulator that was demonstrated during an exhibition at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center.
My friends from XOS Technologies, Inc., who provide this website for Varsity Sports Media and also for many colleges across the nation, have taken coaching football to a step that is almost unbelievable.

The Tennessee Volunteers football team is the first to leverage the XOS PlayAction Simulator Powered by EA SPORTS for virtual-reality training consistent with EA's Madden NFL Football and NCAA® Football video game engines.

This is the same type stuff I do when I play Madden NFL 07 and NCAA Football 07 on my X-box. A University of Tennessee press release said the XOS PlayAction Simulator Powered by EA SPORTS debuted in May with a series of athletic training tools built upon EA's TDT Engine -- the same engine used to drive EA's top-selling Madden NFL 07 and NCAA Football 07 video games.
The release states that by using the XOS PlayAction Publisher, UT head football coach Phillip Fulmer and offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe have uploaded their custom playbooks into EA's familiar 3-D video game, fully engaging the Vols in tactical skill development via a well known and frequently used medium.

On Tuesday, Vols quarterbacks Erik Ainge and freshman B.J. Coleman manned the game controls and talked of the benefits of the virtual simulator.

Fulmer said, "We're leading the nation by taking advantage of this cutting-edge technology and we couldn't be more pumped about it. UT football has a long and storied tradition of success and because we look to pioneer groundbreaking concepts before anyone else, we'll proudly continue that history. The XOS PlayAction Simulator begins a new chapter for UT and we're pleased to add it to our football training regiment."

This is a breakthrough that will allow the football players today to go deeper in the game than those of us who came along decades ago.

Best Prep Game I Ever Saw

The start of the 2007 high school season brings back thoughts of some of the best Tennessee football games I have ever seen. Many come to mind but the best game I've ever seen was on Oct. 19, 2001.East Ridge running back Charles White willed the Pioneers to a 40-38 Region 4-4A win over Red Bank and superstar Gerald Riggs. Never have I witnessed two running backs put on a better show on one field in the same game.White had a season-high 299 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns. Riggs was blessed with more God-given talent, size and speed than White. But, the Pioneers dynamo refused to be outdone. It wasn't about ability that night.White and his East Ridge teammates won the game on what old-time football coaches used to refer to as guts and heart.The effort allowed White to rush for 1,964 yards and break the Chattanooga single-season rushing record set by Ooltewah's Patrick Flanigan two years prior.Riggs was just as impressive as he always was. Anytime Gerald touched the ball he was one step away from paydirt. With Tyler Rich and Jimbo Thurmond taking turns blocking at fullback, Riggs amassed 247 yards and two touchdowns.Neither team could stop the other one. But, after East Ridge scored late in the game to take the lead at 40-38, a rare occurrence happened.Riggs fumbled the ball and an East Ridge defender fell on it to save the game for the home team.Later that night White appeared on Stump On Sports. I will never forget when he walked into the studio and stood behind the camera where the television audience couldn't see him.Earlier that year the newspaper ran a picture of Riggs dressed in a Superman outfit. To me that was appropriate because he is the best high school back I have seen in person.White waited to the next commercial break to tell me he had found something outside of the fieldhouse where Red Bank had dressed. He raised his sweater and there was a Superman shirt. White wouldn't show the shirt on camera, but there's one thing I will always remember more than the shirt. It was the smile White had on his face.One day I want to sit down with Charles White and talk to him about his childhood. That night, and the paths he followed to get there makes up a story worthy of publication, and maybe even a made-for-television movie.It was simply the best single performance and the best high school football game I ever saw.

I get cramps just thinking about it

CRAMPING MY STYLE

Where are the salt pills?

It's too hot to get out of the office or the house today. But across Tennessee there are thousands of football players practicing in heat indexes of more than 100 degrees.

When I was playing high school and college football in the late 1960s and early 1970s we didn't have Powerade or Gatorade.

But we had those hard yellow salt tablets that we would chase down with one slurp of water to prevent cramps.

I still believe the ulcers I have today are from the many salt pills I took. But it didn't make any difference, I still cramped.

The thoughts of preseason football practice bring back memories of awakening in the middle of the night screaming with cramps as big as golf balls in my legs.

We didn't have many water breaks back then. "High-quality H2O," as the Waterboy would say, was something you got if you did well in practice and something you didn't get if you were having a bad day.

But, I remember it being pretty hot out on the practice field for two-a-days.

The ground would be so hot that those old rubber-bottomed soccer shoes would burn the bottoms of your feet.

We did finally figure out that if we pulled the bottom of our thick cotton/rayon practice jerseys up and tied it with the string to our shoulder pads that our stomachs could get enough air to make us cooler.

Guys would store ice in their helmets during break in an effort to get a little more water. Others would soak their practice jerseys and suck the water from them.

All that couldn't have been healthy.

But we made it just fine.

I remember the first time that our coach bought this simplified weather station on a pole that he would use to determine whether it was too hot for us to practice.

I only remember one time that we had to wait a little later to practice. That contraption either didn't work right or coach didn't know how to read it.

If he had asked the team we would have told him it was too hot.

Looking back, I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. The scars are still there and I'm proud of each and every one of them.

My neck hurts daily and I'm sure it is because we were taught to tackle by putting our foreheads in the numbers.

The left knee is gone and one day will likely have to be replaced from a kickoff team injury suffered at Carson-Newman.

But, my memory is still there, I love to communicate and the fingers love to type.

That should give me a job in this business for a day or two.

TRAINING CAMP DISCIPLINE

Team rules are team rules. But for some reason the transition from fun summer behavior to disciplined football practice always has casualties.

Talking to teams across the state there are some players who are now serving sentences handed down from the head coach for breaking team rules.

Late for practice, not showing up at all, too much alcohol and the list goes on and on.

But what's new?

As long as there has been football there have been boys breaking training and getting in trouble. Not that is is accepted or endorsed, but it is a fact.

Rowdy football players often make for rowdy young men off the field.

Such was the case in high school when I attended a summer football camp at Carson-Newman and Coach Dal Shealy walked in with Coach Ron Case and found Morristown East quarterback Carter Davis, Rutledge quarterback Jerry Davis (cousins) and myself in a place outside of Jefferson City where we shouldn't have been.

There was a yard marker every five yards on the football practice field and it had to be longer than 100 yards. Ten suicides (or did they call it hunting Easter eggs?) meant start at the goaline and go touch the first five-yard marker and run back. The process continued until each five-yard stripe had been touched and you had raced back to the goaline. That equaled one suicide.

But the old red-clay hill that separated the practice fields was tougher. We sprinted from the bottom of the hill to the top over and over and slid back down to go again.

Then we did something where we would do a forward roll at each yard stripe.

Coaches always have a way to teach players lessons that they will never forget. I can truthfully say that coaches made me puke more than anything else in my life.

OK, enough of the trip back in history. But 40 years after my first preseason practice there are still memories that will likely never be forgotten.

So enjoy it guys.

Would I do it all over again?

Without a doubt.

Holding the new baby in my hands

Of course it took my wife Deb nine months of pregnancy before delivering our daughter Misty on Feb. 7, 1980. Although she has not been the perfect daughter, she has been everything I expected my child to be and more.

I remember the first time I held her in my arms and how proud of her I was, although I knew nothing about raising and providing for a daughter.

On Friday, I got to hold Varsity Sports Media's Tennessee Football magazine in my hands for the first time.

Like my daughter it is not perfect, but as managing editor I'm darn proud of it.

Could it be better?

Oh sure, I can tell you things I will change and different paths I will take the next time.

But I'm proud. Not of the mistakes. But of the product that was produced by the Varsity Sports Media Tennessee Football magazine team that never quit believing in what we were doing from April 1 until now.

I'm proud of those who sold the ads, wrote the stories, took the pictures and did whatever it took to get the magazine to the newsstands.

This is my first baby when it comes to magazine publications.

I'm not sure more than 20 years in the newspaper business completely prepared me for this venture. But more than 100 days this year have taught me many lessons that high school and college didn't.

The magazines hit the stands this week and I just wanted you to know that this is your publication and http://www.tennfb.com/ is your website. What we make out of it is now in your hands and mine.

I need people to supply me with information, pictures, sound clips and video from your school and organization about football in Tennessee.

I will have a team out there working with you, but I need more depth on this squad.

The Varsity Sports Tennessee Football magazine family is expecting another baby about the same time next year and the information you provide during this football season will help us to provide another product we will be more proud of.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to those who sent in your questionnaires and the team that made this all possible.

I can't wait to hand the magazine to a player with his story inside and watch him thumb through to find his page.

As the "Church Lady" that once appeared on "Saturday Night Live" would say, "Now, that's extra special."

smartin@actionsportsmedia.com

Chattanooga debuts new look

The new-look Tennessee-Chattanooga football Mocs made the right decision to make a change. The UT-Chattanooga Athletics Department unveiled a new website, new football uniforms to a standing-room-only crowd at the UTC Bookstore Wednesday.

The Mocs took a hint from Tennfb.com and launched a new website in partnership with XOS Technologies, which now features live and archived audio and video streams, live in-game statistics at athletic events, an on-line store and auction as well as many exciting features and a fresh look.

The event was streamed live and available on GoMocs.com around the world.
Athletics Director Rick Hart explained the process and the idea behind the new looks for Mocs Athletics.

"We spent some time reviewing our department's brand and saw the need to eliminate some of the fragmentation that existed in several areas, such as with our color scheme and with some of our logos," Hart said. "We have not changed colors. We are simply utilizing the true old gold and navy blue that are our official school colors."

Head Coach Rodney Allison introduced senior Chris Johnson and redshirt freshman Cody Romans, both of whom modeled the football team's new uniform. The jersey features the school's true gold color with the numerals and the word Chattanooga in navy blue trimmed in white. The Mocs will wear white pants with dark blue shoes and white socks. The gold jersey will serve as the team's home and away uniform shirt.

The helmets are navy blue with the new C mark. The C is gold trimmed in blue and outlined in white.

"The uniform change has excited our players," Allison said. "This makes them feel special, and I know come August 30 (season opener), they will be chomping at the bit to get out on that field against Carson-Newman with our new look."