HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL WEEK 1

The High School football season started last Friday night with a few Week 0 games. The game that I went to was the Gaffney @ Boiling Springs game. What was a blowout statistically and score wise through three quarters turned into a fight for survival in the 4th quarter for Gaffney. The Indians stopped a 4th and goal at the 2 yard line with 33 seconds left to preserve the victory 21 to 14.

We have made it to Week 1 of the High School football season which is the official opening of what should be another exciting season in South Carolina. There are some very interesting games on the schedule, so lets look at some of them.

Dorman @ Gaffney..... The Indians played last week and held on to defeat Boiling Springs 21 to 14. Dorman played in a jamboree and was impressive against Laurens. These two rivals have a history of close games and this one should be no different..... Dorman 17 Gaffney 13
For a more in depth preview of this game go to the Tribe Blitz link on this page.

Hoover, Alabama vs Byrnes @ Rock Hill, SC..... This will be an interesting game to see if Byrnes can play with Hoover with all of the graduation loses the Rebels had from last season..... Hoover 24 Byrnes 16

Union County @ Spartanburg..... I see the Vikings building from the momentum of their strong showing in the playoffs last season..... Spartanburg 23 Union County 14

South Pointe @ Northwestern..... This is another national game as it is on TV after the Byrnes vs Hoover game. South Pointe might have the best player on the field, but Northwestern has the best team..... Northwestern 27 South Pointe 20

Chase, NC @ Chesnee..... The Eagles are hoping to get off to a flying start against Chase. They will..... Chesnee 28 Chase 10

Boiling Springs @ Greenwood..... The Bulldogs didn't quit last week against Gaffney, but fell short. They give another good run this week, but come up short on the road..... Greenwood 20 Boiling Springs 16

Chesterfield @ Timmonsville..... The three time defending 1A Champion Chesterfield Rams start their season where they left off last season, with a win..... Chesterfield 27
Timmonsville 14

Greer @ Rock Hill..... The Yellow Jackets were impressive in their Week 0 opener against Seneca. They will have a much stronger opponent this week as they play the Bearcats..... Rock Hill 21 Greer 14

McBee @ Blacksburg..... The Wildcats of the Iron City try to get off to a winning start against McBee. They will come up short..... McBee 17 Blacksburg 14

The ArmChair Coach will be at the Dorman @ Gaffney game Friday night. Go out and support your favorite team.

Until Next Week.

TALE OF TWO QUARTERBACKS

With the start of the College football season just a couple of weeks away, there are two Quarterbacks that continue to be in the news together. I am talking about Clemson QB Kyle Parker and former Clemson QB Willy Korn. Last year they were battling each other on the practice field to see who was going to be Clemson's new starting QB. As we know Kyle Parker beat out Willy Korn and led the Tigers to the ACC Atlantic Division Title and a birth in the ACC Championship Game. Since the end of last football season, both QB's continued to be in the news with Willy Korn deciding to transfer to Marshall and Kyle Parker having an outstanding season for the Tigers baseball team fueling speculation as whether he might be a high draft pick in the Major League Baseball draft. While leading the Tigers to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska the Colorado Rockies made Kyle Parker the 26th pick of the first round in the MLB draft. Willy Korn was preparing to go to Marshall University and win the starting QB position for the Thundering Herd. Kyle Parker and his family had set the date of July 20th to sign with the Rockies to play baseball only. Reportedly the Parkers wanted $3 million to play only baseball and the Rockies offered $2.2 million. So around midnight on the 20th Kyle Parker informed Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney that he was going to play football this fall. As the fall camps for College football teams began to open around the country the speculation about whether Willy Korn could go to Marshall and beat out 4 or 5 other QB's for the starting job began to mount. Down at Clemson, as Kyle Parker was going through fall practice with the Tigers, the speculation of would he and the Rockies come to a contract agreement by the August 16 deadline was on the news and sports talk shows on a daily basis. Up at Marshall late last week the news surfaced that Willy Korn was not going to be the starting QB for the Thundering Herd. He was not going to be a QB at all for the Herd. He was 5th on the depth chart and Marshall Head Coach Doc Holiday was moving Korn to Safety. Reports were that Willy Korn was ok with the move. Korn was not present at the Marshall fan day on Sunday fueling speculation that he might be thinking of transferring. Back at Clemson the news all day on Monday the 16th was will he or won't he sign with the Rockies. Minutes before midnight Kyle Parker and the Rockies came to and agreement and he signed a contract for $1.4 million. It cost Kyle Parker $800,000 to play football for the Clemson Tigers this fall. I know Clemson is a great place but $800,000 great! He must not need the money like I do. Meanwhile in the Willy Korn camp, the speculation about Korn transferring again turned out to be true as he has now enrolled at Division 2 North Greenville University. Surely he can win the starting QB job with the Crusaders as they are in bad need for a QB! The stories of these two young QB's continue to be interesting and connected and The ArmChair Coach wishes both of them the best.

DID YOU KNOW? Kyle Parker is the only Division 1 athlete to throw 20 TD passes and hit 20 HR's in the same school year. He did it during the 2009-2010 school year.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL WEEK 0 GAME

Gaffney @ Boiling Springs..... The Gaffney Indians were 10 and 4 last season losing to eventual State Champion Dorman in the state semi-finals. The Boiling Springs Bulldogs were 8 and 3 last year and banned from the playoffs. I don't see many points in this one..... Gaffney 19 Boiling Springs 10

To see a more in depth preview of this game go to Tribe Blitz. There is a link on this page.

Until Next Time.

FOOTBALL FEVER ANYONE??

Well after a hiatus for a few weeks, The ArmChair Coach is back and he has a very bad fever to deal with. The doctor has diagnosed me with a severe case of FOOTBALL FEVER! Does anyone else have FOOTBALL FEVER? For those of us who are suffering from it I would like to look at some of the interesting story lines that I am looking forward to seeing how they will play out as the season gets underway in a few weeks.

(1) Will he or won't he? I am talking about Brett Favre and his status of retiring from the NFL or playing for the Minnesota Vikings for a second season. The ArmChair Coach feels like that he will play if his injured ankle heels enough to allow him to suit up in the Vikings purple again. It will be very interesting.

(2) How will the Clemson Tigers do without star C.J. Spiller? Being a big Clemson fan The ArmChair Coach is really interested in how this story plays out. I feel like that Andre Ellington and Jaime Harper are very good backs and will do a good job. The Tigers will probably have more of a power running game and ball control offense. Stay tuned.

(3) Will Interim Head Coach Dan Jones get the permanent job with the Gaffney Indians? I am a huge Gaffney Indians fan and I was very upset when Phil Strickland left back in the spring. I feel very strong that the Cherokee County School District did the right thing keeping Dan Jones as the Interim Head Coach for the 2010 season. Dan Jones has been a very successful Defensive Coordinator for the past seven years and he knows what it takes to win State Championships. The ArmChair Coach says The Pride and Tradition Continues. Stay plugged in.

(4) Will Carolina Panthers Head Coach John Fox keep his job past this season? With no Jake Delhomme on the team this season, the Panthers have to find a new QB. Matt Moore played well at the end of last season and goes into the season as the starting QB. Will he be pushed by second round draft pick Jimmy Clausen for the starting job at some point during the season? The play of the QB's could be a major factor to John Fox keeping his job or not. Do I see Bill Cowher roaming the Panther's sideline next season? Maybe.

(5) Will the SEC win another National Title this season? With LSU, Florida and Alabama winning titles the last three years, who wins this year? I see the SEC being a little down this season. Could Arkansas or South Carolina sneak into the title picture this season? Probably not. Could we be crowning Boise State National Champs this year? With the SEC's big three down a little this year you never know. It will be a very interesting season. Stay tuned.

These are some of the many intriguing stories we will get to see unfold as the 2010 football seasons begin soon.

Until Next Time.