Pea Pickin' Picks Round II

Smyrna's Sonny Gray (left) is looking for an upset win on the road at Lincoln County.

The second round of playoffs will bring on some outstanding games and rematches.

One of the best match-ups could be in Maryville where quarterback Jake Ryan and receiver Ken Easterly take another shot at the No. 1 Rebels. Earlier this season Maryville defeated West 35-21.





Maryville won its first-round playoff game 42-18 over Rhea County. The Rebels have remained No. 1 in the Varsity Sports Media’s Tennessee Football magazine’s Top 25 Power Poll since the publication was released in August.





Maryville is drawing national attention with three consecutive Class 4A state championship and six in seven years.





Coach George Quarles’ team has now won 56 consecutive games and 109 of the past 111.

Whitehaven and Millington should be a battle in West Tennessee.

Millington is at home and undefeated. Nevertheless, Whithaven has some outstanding athletes.

Quarterback Garrick Jones can throw the ball and he has Tenarius Wright (TE), Marcus Hightower (Ath), Marcus Rucker (WR), Rico King (WR) and Chavez Scott (RB) that can all get the job done.

A very good White Station team has given the Tigers their only loss.

Last week The Great Stumpola was 91-28, which brings the season total on the Pea-Pickin’ Picks to 379-122.





Here’s a look at this week’s Pea-Pickin’ Picks

East


Anderson County at Knoxville Fulton
Austin-East at Knoxville Catholic
CAK at Alcoa
Cumberland Gap at Gatlinburg-Pittman
Dobyns Bennett at Farragut
Friendship Christian at South Pittsburg
Harriman at Midway
Knoxville Halls at Red Bank
Knoxville West at Maryville
Morristown West at Sullivan South
Oneida at Hampton
Volunteer at Greeneville
William Blount at Bearden





Middle


Antioch at Independence
Cascade at Mt. Pleasant
Ensworth at Brentwood Academy
Fairley at Henry County
Father Ryan at MBA
Franklin at Hunters Lane
Greenbrier at White House
Hickman County at Lewis County
Lookout Valley at Gordonsville
Maplewood at Clarksville
Marshall County at David Lipscomb
Mt. Juliet at Hillsboro
Pearl Cohn at Station Camp
Smith County at York Institute
Smyrna at Lincoln County
Tyner at DCA
Wayne County at Jo Byrns
Wilson Central at Riverdale



West
Bolivar Central at Fayette Ware
Davidson Academy at SBEC
Dyersburg at Mitchell
FACS at St. George's
Fayette Academy at McKenzie
Goodpasture at Camden
Haywood County at Dyer County
Hollow Rock-Bruceton at Trinity Christian
Houston at White Station
Huntingdon at Milan
Kingsbury at Melrose
Peabody at Carver
Whitehaven at Millington

Football Still The Same In Red Bank

Pictured on the left, quarterback Jake Ledbetter and fullback Tracy Sims.

Friday night’s in the fall haven’t changed much in the past 40 years in Red Bank.

Football games are still a big event and the community turns out in droves.

You can stop off by Cooley’s Fine Clothing and Jimmy Cooley knows all about the Lions and their families. He has likely fitted most of the players for the prom.

The Downey family has been backing the Lions at Downey’s Florist for more than 43 years and can probably tell you the favorite flowers of the cheerleaders.

Tommy Reese of Reese’s Plumbing is one of the biggest Red Bank fans and he loves to cook hot dogs.

Sally Worthington has decorated more Red Bank lettermen jackets than anyone could ever fathom at Athletic Specialties just off of Dayton Boulavard. Can you imagine how many white chenille R’s Sally has sewn on royal blue jackets?

In addition, Tim Ledbetter and his booster club work seven days a week to make sure the Red Bank players and coaches have the best of everything.

Nevertheless, it all starts at the top where head Coach Tim Daniels towers above the players, coaches and fans.

Daniels is the “Big Daddy” of the Red Bank family. He continues to make autumn in the shadows of Signal Mountain festive.

When the big guy speaks everybody listens.

His Lions are 11-0 this season and will host Knoxville Halls in the second round of the 4A state playoffs on Friday.

The former University of Tennessee offensive lineman will send one of the most successful senior football classes in Chattanooga prep football history on the field Friday night.

The Red Bank seniors are a part of a 41-8 four-year mark and have had perfect back-to-back 10-0 seasons.

Only Maryville with 108 wins in the Rebels last 110 games have defeated the Lions in the past two seasons.

Quarterback Jake Ledbetter has thrown for more than 5,000 yards in his three years as a starter.

Ledbetter refers to himself as a Red Bank football fan and Daniels describes the 5-10, 187-pounder as “the most blue-and-white guy on the team.”

He watched as his brother Jason Ledbetter was a part of the Red Bank 2000 team that won the Tennessee 5A state championship under Tom Weathers.

Tracy Sims has started for four years and joined Ledbetter as an All-state selection in 2006.

The 5-11, 238-pound running back/linebacker blows opponents up when he hits them.

Maryville head coach George Quarles said after the playoff game last season that Sims was "as good a linebacker as we’ll ever see.”

Seniors Tim Benford (6-2, 195) and Dominique McDuffie (6-2, 190) are big playmakers.

Kerry Maddox and Jared Mitchell have done more than was expected of them in the backfield.

The offensive line at Red Bank is massive and has a mean streak. Some of that toughness might come from facing the Lions defensive front each day in practice.

Twins Taylor and Tylor Chambers are the best brother duo since Josh and Daniel Bullocks at Hixson.

The pair remind me of former Dalton twin offensive linemen Jason and Jeremy Carroll, who signed with Clemson following the 1997 football season.

The Red Bank defensive front is so much fun to watch. With Miguel Sanchez leading the way, the defensive wall has an ultimate fighter mentality.

And don’t forget the contributions of Corey Emory and Jeff Reece on the line.

When I watch this team play, I think about the old football days at Red Bank. I remember players like Mike Ducker, Joe Cook, Bobby White, Randy Reagan, Allen Ridge, Gary Partrick, Jeff Price and Bill Price to name a few.

The new generation brought players in like kicker John Becksvoort, Jeff "Shamu" Stephens, Justin Barnes, Gerald Riggs Jr., Victor Ellis, Gerald Ware, Cory Simpson, Mike Kelley, Marty Lowe, Jim Thurman, Bart Rich, Jamichael McGoy, Cole Goins and Kell Harvey.

There are too many good ones to name them all.

Is there another program in the Chattanooga area today that can boast the longevity of outstanding teams and players?

The 2007 Red Bank football team is special. Nevertheless, the Lions have an opportunity to become extra special if they play as a team with one purpose and one heartbeat in mind.

Red Bank, Tyner and Lookout Valley are carrying the Chattanooga banner in the TSSAA playoffs and nearby South Pittsburg looks to be the bully of 1A. But the road to Murfreesboro is paved with challenges.

The next few weeks will be fun to watch.

I’m not ready for high school football to end.

TSSAA Playoff Picks

OK, I admit it now. The time spent working on the Varsity Sports Media’s Kentucky Basketball magazine was worth it for the Great Stumpola.

The round mound of profound, who looks like me when I look in the mirror, had the best week of prognosticating in 54 years.

Are you ready for this?Try a 31-4 record in Tennessee high school football last Friday. The only four losses were Tennessee Temple’s upset over David Brainerd, McMinn Central defeating Howard, Goodpasture downing CPA (should have known better) and Pearl Cohn knocking Station Camp from the unbeaten ranks.

Now add a 5-1 record on college selections with the upset pick of Alabama over LSU going astray.

And finally, a 4-0 record on pro picks with the Atlanta over San Francisco upset looming large.

That’s a total of 40-5 for the week.

That gives the Great Stumpola and his crystal ball an 11-4 mark in the you’re-not-going-to-believe-it upset specials,

Now here’s the grand total of picks for this football season, minus weeks working on basketball.

The overall record for this season is now 287-94.

But the going gets tough this week with the playoffs starting in prep football.

Playoffs, did I hear Jim Mora say playoffs?On behalf of Tennessee Ernie Ford here’s a look at the winners and losers for the weekend of Nov. 8-11 in the form of the Pea-Pickin’ Picks.

Why not make a prediction on every playoff game in the state?

East
Anderson County over Knoxville Carter
Austin-East over Seymour
William Blount over Campbell County
Knoxville Halls over Cleveland
Hampton over Coalfield
Knoxville Catholic over Gibbs
Greenbrier over McMinn Central
Cumberland Gap at Happy Valley
Harriman over Cloudland
Farragut over Jefferson County
Morristown West over Johnson County
Midway over Knoxville Grace
Brainerd over Knoxville West
CAK over Loudon
Sullivan South over Morristown East
Oak Ridge over Dobyns Bennett
Bearden over Ooltewah
Pearl Cohn over Howard
Red Bank over Powell
Maryville over Rhea County
Rockwood over Gatlinburg-Pittman
Knoxville Fulton over Rutledge
Greeneville over Sullivan East
Alcoa over Sweetwater
South Pittsburg over Trousdale County
Oneida over Unaka
Tennessee High over Volunteer
Lookout Valley over Watertown
Tyner over Westmoreland

Middle

Hillsboro over Beech
DCA over Bledsoe County
Giles County over Bolivar Central
Smith County over Boyd Buchanan
Hunters Lane over Brentwood
Friendship Christian over Chattanooga Grace
Cascade over Collinwood
Smyrna over Cookeville
Goodpasture over CPA
Antioch over Dickson County
Brentwood Academy over ECS
Independence over Gallatin

Maplewood over Kenwood

MBA over Knoxville Webb
Lebanon over Lincoln County
York Institute over Marion County
Mt. Pleasant over McEwen
David Lipscomb over McNairy Central
Station Camp over Meigs County
Jo Byrns over Moore County
Franklin over Nashville Overton
White House over Polk County
Henry County over Raleigh Egypt
Lewis County over Richland
Clarksville over Shelbyville
Gordonsville over Silverdale
Hickman County over Stewart County
Mt. Juliet over Tullahoma

Riverdale over Warren County
Wilson Central over Coffee County

West

Carver over Booker T. Washington
Fayette Ware over Cheatham County
Millington over Collierville
White Station over Cordova
CBHS over Ensworth
Harding Academy over FACS
Camden over Fairview
Father Ryan over MUS
Dyer County over Frayser
Fayette Academy over Gleason
McKenzie over Halls
Fairley over Hardin County
Sheffield over Haywood County

Arlington over Houston
Milan over Jackson Christian
Melrose over Jackson South Side
Munford over Kingsbury
Hollow Rock-Bruceton over Manassas
Jackson South Side over Marshall County
Westview over Peabody
Whitehaven over Ridgeway
Mitchell over Ripley
Dyersburg over Trezevant
Trinity Christian over Union City
Huntingdon over Westwood
Wayne County over White House Heritage

College

Georgia over Auburn
Tennessee over Arkansas
Vanderbilt over Kentucky
Alabama over Mississippi State


Pro

Tennessee over Jacksonville
Atlanta over Carolina
New York over Dallas
Indianapolis over San Diego
Email StumpOnSports@aol.com

Weathers resigns at Soddy-Daisy

SODDY-DAISY -- One of Chattanooga’s finest football mentors ever to hang a whistle around his neck said goodbye to coaching today after 36 years.

Tom Weathers, 67, resigned as the head coach of the Soddy-Daisy Trojans where he was 16-26 in four years.

Weathers was one of the best at molding boys into men and teaching lessons that would benefit them later in life.

East Ridge coach Tim James called Weathers a Chattanooga coaching icon.

“He’s a fine man, very competitive and I consider him a friend,” James said. “Some coaches choose not to continue and get into administration, but Coach Weathers’ love of the game and love of kids kept him in it.”

Weathers coached at Red Bank from 1974-2001 where he guided the Lions to the first undefeated state championship season in the school's history in 2000.

The 5A title was the first by a Hamilton County team in the state's largest football classification since Baylor won it in 1973.

In 1978 his Red Bank team lost in the state championship finals.

Tim Ledbetter’s son Jason was a member of the 2000 Red Bank 5A state championship team.

“He’s a good man and was very disciplined,” Ledbetter said. “He was good for the program and did a lot for the Red Bank community.”

Weathers took over at Red Bank for Frank Cofer in 1973 and found a home at the foot of Signal Mountain before departing for Dade County, Ga. after the 2001 season.

He guided the Wolverines to back-to-back 2-8 seasons in Trenton in a rebuilding effort.

However, he returned to Hamilton County as the head coach at Soddy-Daisy in 2004.

That 2004 team was 9-3. Many of us will never forget when he guided that squad against Ooltewah and his former player, Ted Gatewood, with both teams undefeated.

The Owls prevailed 21-17 in one of the most memorable prep match-ups in Chattanooga history.

Steve Garland has enjoyed working on Weathers’ coaching staff at Soddy-Daisy.

“It was an honor to work with someone of his stature,” Garland said. “We all gained a lot of experience. He has forgotten more about football than we will ever know.”

Weathers won 248 games and lost 131 as a head coach.

The Columbus, Miss. native came to the area to attend the University of Chattanooga, where he was a standout football player in the late 1950s.

I watched him play football when he was a member of the Chattanooga Cherokees semi professional team.

He coached the game quietly and didn’t often seek publicity.

Weathers will long be remembered as one of the best coaches, not only in the Chattanooga area, but in the state of Tennessee.

The football field at Red Bank is named after him and I honor him annually with the Tom Weathers Offensive Player of the year Award with Stump On Sports.

If I was an artist and asked to paint a picture of a football coach the finished product would look like Tom Weathers.

Title Path Runs Through K-town

(Pictured is the Maryville banner prior to the 4A championship game in 2006.)

Playoff teams in the TSSAA 2A, 3A and 4A classifications will likely have to beat a Knoxville area team to win a 2007 state championship.

Knoxville has long been a focal point of football in the state as the home of the University of Tennessee Volunteers.

Now the Knoxville area is a “Bermuda Triangle” where opposing teams go to disappear in the playoffs.

Class 4A Maryville (10-0), 2A Alcoa (9-1), and 3A powers Fulton (8-2) and Knoxville Catholic (10-0) form an area of great danger for programs throughout the state.Maryville is drawing national attention with three consecutive Class 4A state championship and six in seven years.

The Rebels completed their sixth consecutive undefeated regular season and pushed the regular season win streak to 66 games with a win last Friday.

Coach George Quarles’ team has now won 55 consecutive games and 108 of the past 110.

Alcoa and Fulton joined Maryville in capturing football state championships in 2006.

Rhea County (6-4) goes to Maryville this week. It will be a tough task for the Eagles. Rhea County has not defeated a team with a winning record this season.

A win by Brainerd (7-3) over Knoxville West (6-4) out on Moore Road in Chattanooga Friday night will likely send the Panthers back to Maryville again this season.

Coach Marvin Jones’ Panthers put a scare in the Rebels last postseason before falling 30-26 in the only close game Maryville encountered in its 4A title march.

If Red Bank (10-0) wins on Friday night at home against Powell (5-5) Coach Tim Daniels’ Lions would need a victory over the winner of Cleveland (7-3) and Knoxville Halls (7-3) to get the opportunity for a rematch with Maryville in the quarterfinals on Nov 23.

The Rebels dispatched the Lions 38-14 in the playoffs last season at Red Bank. It is the Lions only loss in their last 22 games.

Alcoa (9-1) won its third consecutive Class 2A crown in 2006 and fourth in the last seven years.

Gary Rankin’s Tornadoes have lost three games in the past two seasons. Neighboring Maryville has beaten Alcoa twice during regular season match-ups and 3A state champion Fulton defeated the Tornadoes in 2006.

Fulton (8-2) has won three 3A titles in four years.

Nevertheless, the best team in Knoxville in 3A this season is Knoxville Catholic (10-0).

The Knoxville area also has a strong group on 5A teams this season.

Bearden (9-1), Farragut (9-1), William Blount (8-2) and Oak Ridge (8-2) all have highly regarded playoff teams this season.

More Pea-Pickin'Picks

Nov. 3-5
Have you missed me?

I have missed presenting the weekly Pea-Pickin’ Picks for the past three weeks.

But, I was called to duty to help put together Varsity Sports Media’s Kentucky Basketball magazine.

The basketball fans in Kentucky are going to love it.

But it’s time to get back to what I love to do.

It’s time to write about football across the Volunteer State.

This is the final week of the regular season for the preps and there are still some postseason spots to be determined.

The TSSAA playoffs are a fun time.

Every team that makes it to postseason starts all over and has the dream of bringing a gold ball back to the school and community.

The Great Stumpola doesn’t have a Gold Ball, but has found his Crystal Ball and is ready to get back to work.

Stumpola’s overall record for this season is now 247-89.

On behalf of Tennessee Ernie Ford here’s a look at the winners and losers for the weekend of Nov. 3-5.

Pea-Pickin’ Picks NOV. 3-5

Alcoa over Loudon
Austin-East over Kingston
Knoxville Webb over Baylor
Bearden over Jefferson County
Tyner over Boyd Buchanan
Brainerd over Central
South Pittsburg over Chattanooga Grace
David Brainerd over Temple
Farragut over Oak Ridge
Red Bank over Hixson
Howard over McMinn Central
Knoxville Catholic over Scott County
Knoxville Halls over South Doyle
Maryville over Lenoir City
MBA over McCallie
Ooltewah over Soddy-Daisy
Polk County over Notre Dame
CAK over Rockwood
Dobyns Bennett over Science Hill
Silverdale over Whitwell
Ensworth over BGA
Cascade over White House Heritage
CPA over Goodpasture
David Lipscomb over Montgomery Central
Brentwood Academy over Father Ryan
Lewis County over East Hickman
Riverdale over LaVergne
Hillsboro over Shelbyville
Smyrna over Wilson Central
Station Camp over Pearl Cohn
Millington over Cordova
Dyersburg over Covington
ECS over Briarcrest
MUS over St. Benedict
St. George's over Bishop Byrne

COLLEGE
Alabama over LSU
Georgia over Troy
Florida over Vanderbilt
Tennessee over La-Lafayette
MTSU over La-Monroe
East Carolina over Memphis

PRO
Tennessee over Carolina
Dallas over Philadelphia
Atlanta over San Francisco
New England over Indianapolis