The Advocate and Democrat

The final touches have finally been put on the Pigskin Preview, which can only mean one thing.

It’s nearly time to put on the game jerseys, turn on the lights, and see what high school football teams across the country have got.

As I’ve said before, there’s really no way to know what to expect out of the three teams in this county.

But I’ll try to sort it all out below, along with a couple of other quick thoughts.

Sequoyah scrimmage

The Chiefs have been the talk of the county with football fans wondering how the team would look and what changes would be made.

It was obvious more than a couple of people were interested as a big crowd, as big a crowd as I’ve ever seen for just a regular scrimmage, came out to get their first look at the team.

While there are still areas Sequoyah needs to fine-tune before Aug. 22, the team was still further ahead than I expected.

While Jacob White will receive most of the attention, and deservedly so, the Chiefs showed no shortage of weapons. Many players, including Nick Carson, Adam Brewster, Storm Corvette, and Shane Breeden, have taken big steps in elevating their play.

A couple of areas the team will still need to work on include being more consistent on offense and not allowing the big plays on defense.

After starting drives well, Sequoyah’s offense stalled after three or four plays. Finishing a drive is equally as important as starting one, but we’ll chalk that inconsistency up to it being the first scrimmage.

Defensively, Sequoyah got stops, and turnovers, when it mattered but gave up a few big plays.

Teams can’t always rely on turnovers to work their way out of a jam, so limiting the big plays will be crucial for Sequoyah to have success.

Sweetwater scrimmages

The Wildcats woke up just in time against Meigs County to win their first scrimmage and pummeled Middlesboro (Ky.) in the second scrimmage.

Sweetwater showed a trend last season of playing well one game and not showing up the next.

This team has got talent. They’ve filled the holes left by key players from last year’s team that graduated.

The Wildcats could actually be better this season than last, assuming they stay away from injuries and off-the-field issues.

But this team has to figure out how to play at the same level each week. Again, consistency is key, especially in a region that leaves as little room for letdowns as any other region in 2A football.

Final thoughts

This week, the Chattanooga Times Free Press predicted Sequoyah and Tellico Plains to finish seventh and eighth, respectively, in Region 3-3A. With all due respect, a little more homework on that paper’s part might have done some good.

I don’t expect either team to be a doormat in the region, especially considering how little each team lost in comparison to their region foes.

Both teams, especially Sequoyah, could make that prediction look pretty silly.

No flip-flopping

Give credit to Sweetwater head coach David Staff.

One year ago, he wasn’t a fan of the new playoff system for 2A football. A year later, after his Wildcats benefited from the system more than anyone, he still doesn’t like it.

It’s not that he doesn’t like how it’s done.

He doesn’t like going into the last week of the season not knowing a team’s playoff status, which was his complaint last year at this time.

Give him credit for not flip-flopping and sticking to his original position.

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