Carter County has always been a hot bed for high school football as a large portion of the schools have experienced much success in the regular season and regularly advancing to post-season play.
Elizabethton, Hampton, Cloudland, and most recently Happy Valley have carried the banner for Northeast Tennessee advancing as far as the state quarter and semi-finals.
One school that has experienced some lean years has been the Unaka Rangers who have fought valiantly to reach the same level as the others.
However, there seems to be a change in the air as this season there is a different attitude and sense of Ranger Pride that may have been missing in past seasons.
They say that the attitude of the team begins at the top and new Unaka head coach O’Brien Bennett has brought an air of team spirit and community pride that now has his youthful Ranger team turning the tide toward a brighter sunset.
You can sense this pride by just walking into the local Wal Mart and seeing all the new Ranger t-shirts being worn by students, parents, and members of the community.
As I was writing this week’s Sports Chatter, the one word that kept storming back into my mind was perseverance.
Unaka is a team that only one season removed was forced to forfeit its playoff game and as a result be handed a two-year penalty on participating in the TSSAA playoffs by the governing board to a team which now fields 36 players and is gaining more and more support and momentum every week.
This is a group of kids, coaches, parents, students, and school administration who have longed to reach the same level as the other schools surrounding them on the gridiron.
However, what makes this team special and successful beyond the green turf of the football field is the fact they never gave up and never surrendered.
They have persevered above and beyond all those who talked of shutting down the Ranger football program to avoid embarrassment to those who now are proud once again to talk about Ranger football and the grit and determination this team has shown this season.
I find myself on the sidelines of the game I cover on Friday nights trying to connect to CoachT scoreboard just to see how the Rangers are doing.
It was an exciting time last week to see how the Rangers fought back against Hancock Co. and came within a two-point conversion of forcing overtime.
So, this week I want to salute Coach Bennett and his staff, the players, cheerleaders, band, student body, community, and school administration.
Great things lie ahead for this program including earning playoff bids into the post season and advancing deep into those same opportunities.
Unaka Ranger football should teach us all the lesson on why it is important to continue one’s perseverance no matter the circumstance.
Life will throw a lot of curveballs, but you should stand strong and never give up. My hat is off to the 2017 Unaka Ranger football team—Unaka Proud, Unaka Strong!
Oh, give me a break UT fans
I am finding it more and more frustrating to listen to many Tennessee Volunteer fans who seem to try and find something to moan and groan about.
After a fantastic opening game Monday night in Atlanta that saw my Vols battle back and tie the game to force overtime against Georgia Tech and earn a big ‘W’, all the talk was about all the yards that the defense gave up.
Listen, I don’t care if the Vols give up 700 yards rushing yards, the bottom line is if they win the game what does it really matter.
All everyone really wanted to talk about during the off-season was if Butch Jones could win the big games and keep his job.
Well, he won a BIG game Monday against a Tech offense that is going to be tough for anyone they play to contain this season.
Mark my words this week—Georgia Tech will be a serious contender in the ACC Atlantic and don’t be surprised to see games of huge yards being gained.
What was lost in all the conversation was the fact that Quinten Dormady had the best first game of any quarterback who has ever started for the Volunteers.
Also, the blocked field goal that prevented Tech from winning at the end of regulation was made by a non-scholarship player, Paul Bain, who is having to work two jobs just so he can proudly wear the orange and white and be able to pay his tuition.
There should be students with collection buckets at Saturday’s game to collect money to help pay his way.
Shoot, if everyone gave two dollars apiece that supports the Big Orange, there should easily be well over $100,000 collected.
If you are truly a fan, it’s time to either support the Big Orange or go and find another team to support. There’s already too much negativity in the world without listening to groaning over a win!