[bear claw]

I think you are dead on HDE. If we can win 7 in the regular season and get hot in the playoffs then that could put coach at 300.

[Patriot]

I feel confident that he will be over 300 before he retires. So far there hasn't been the yearly this is Larkey 's last year rumors....but it's early yet.

[Dad]

Yes he will. Big Bear supporter. He gets it in 2014!

[Quickkickonthird]

I don't think saying 9-1, 10-0, 15-0 is putting pressure on the players. They are in the weight room in January because they are trying to go 15-0. I will guarantee Coach doesn't care about 300. Someone had to tell him when he won 250 at Lee VA a few years ago.
They're are different "supporters": those fair weather ones that gave up after Belfry last year, or bad mouth the coaches, or the people that said I hope they don't open that stadium against Bell County because they'd hate to lose the first game there, or only come to the big games, the ones who question teenagers, then there's the ones win or lose are there waiting on the team in the parking lot to tell them how proud they are, or the ones who almost fight an old man in McDonald's over them. I'd say the ones of us on here talking about this in January are ones that will be there through thick and thin.

I guess I'm not a realist just the crazy one that tried to start an uprising on Madison Southern for staying the night in HC.
Picking your team to lose is just my biggest pet peeve.

Picking your team to lose is wrong?? The Dallas Cowboys are my pro team so I have to pick them 16-0 and a Super Bowl win?? Its not wrong to be a little realistic. Kids go into a season losing a game or 2 that EVERYONE picked them to win, it really causes the kids to get down on themselves. It makes practices much more difficult. Its much harder on the coaches to get them prepared for the next game. The kids hear some of the "fans" talking about the coaches, causing the kids to question the coaches in their minds. Its just all-around bad business. Look at the expectations for the past year and what happened. I thought that they had an outstanding year considering the schedule, but I guarantee some of the kids feel like the season was a failure due to the expectations they were hearing. Setting high goals is an absolutely good thing, but they should really be realistic. Dont set the bar so high that the kids can never get over! I understand your feelings and I respect them, but I sure dont want to make it any tougher on them next season than its already going to be!!!

[Granny Bear]

I think this is difficult if not impossible to predict!! Those three losses in mid-season last year really shook our confidence. That, and add the drama that we all know about, but don't need to talk about, and we ended the season probably as best as we could.

Now, all the crap that went down at the Johnson Central game really killed us. However, I will remind you that JC beat Belfry last year, and as we all know, Belfry ended up winning state. Greeneville, TN was very close to winning state last year. I believe Fulton beat them out in semi-finals. We couldn't hold on to the ball in that Greeneville game if it had handles on it.

Bottom line, Larkey deserves the 300 win club. I sincerely hope he gets it. We have some important positions to fill in our line up, but we'll get it done. I do NOT question the coaching staff OR the heart and soul of our players. I know what they went through last year, and to be honest with you, I am proud of the ones who stayed and how they represented Black Bear football.

I love these boys, and will miss the Seniors!! They were a special group.

Oh, and FYI, I saw Derek Akal at a basketball game this past week WITHOUT a neck brace; which is the first time since football season ended. I'm so grateful that he's made a full recovery. He was a great senior leader.

[Quickkickonthird]

I think this is difficult if not impossible to predict!! Those three losses in mid-season last year really shook our confidence. That, and add the drama that we all know about, but don't need to talk about, and we ended the season probably as best as we could.

Now, all the crap that went down at the Johnson Central game really killed us. However, I will remind you that JC beat Belfry last year, and as we all know, Belfry ended up winning state. Greeneville, TN was very close to winning state last year. I believe Fulton beat them out in semi-finals. We couldn't hold on to the ball in that Greeneville game if it had handles on it.

Bottom line, Larkey deserves the 300 win club. I sincerely hope he gets it. We have some important positions to fill in our line up, but we'll get it done. I do NOT question the coaching staff OR the heart and soul of our players. I know what they went through last year, and to be honest with you, I am proud of the ones who stayed and how they represented Black Bear football.

I love these boys, and will miss the Seniors!! They were a special group.

Oh, and FYI, I saw Derek Akal at a basketball game this past week WITHOUT a neck brace; which is the first time since football season ended. I'm so grateful that he's made a full recovery. He was a great senior leader.

I think that you are correct on all counts Granny. However, the JC game was a freak of nature. We have all seen games in which something bad happens, then something else, then something else bad happens and you look at the board and you are down 21 early. Then, you have to start doing things that you are not comfortable with and that causes you to get in a further hole but you have no choice. Then, you look up and your down 35. Now, its very hard to keep the kids up to do what they need to do to claw back in. I think everyone that has been involved in fb have seen these type games. They are anomalies. However, JC had an outstanding fb team and, for the record, HC would have had a hard time stopping them. You can only slow them down and hope the offense can do its job if you can manage to get them the ball with a little field position now and then. Actually putting more points on the board than JC could have scored would have been a monumental task but thats the reason they play the games.

And there are some holes to fill but I can guarantee you that the coaches are thinking night and day about the problem and working to find people who will step up and someone always does. They may not be the player that the senior that left was, but then again, who knows how they will perform until you put them on the field. This is another part of coaching. They will be fine!

[EKUAlum05]

It can be done, but IMHO it will require a 10-3 season to get there.

That means a Regional Final loss to Pulaski County and going 1-2 vs. Belfry, JC, and Greeneville.

With all respect I think on paper HC has a chance vs. JC. The Golden Eagles not only lost a whole slew of talent to graduation but the departure of Belcher will make them considerably greener than year's past.

Belfry and Greeneville will both be tall tasks...especially with Belfry on the road. The one thing HC has working for them is Belfry's offense will still be a bit fresh that early in the season.

Still if I were handicapping I would predict HC to go 9-4 next year.. IMHO best case scenario looks like 10-3 and worst case would be 7-5 with Bell jumping up to bite them and a potential pitfall vs. Madison Southern in Round 2

[Patriot]

Picking your team to lose is wrong?? The Dallas Cowboys are my pro team so I have to pick them 16-0 and a Super Bowl win?? Its not wrong to be a little realistic. Kids go into a season losing a game or 2 that EVERYONE picked them to win, it really causes the kids to get down on themselves. It makes practices much more difficult. Its much harder on the coaches to get them prepared for the next game. The kids hear some of the "fans" talking about the coaches, causing the kids to question the coaches in their minds. Its just all-around bad business. Look at the expectations for the past year and what happened. I thought that they had an outstanding year considering the schedule, but I guarantee some of the kids feel like the season was a failure due to the expectations they were hearing. Setting high goals is an absolutely good thing, but they should really be realistic. Dont set the bar so high that the kids can never get over! I understand your feelings and I respect them, but I sure dont want to make it any tougher on them next season than its already going to be!!!

I can guarantee that you will not find me saying anything derogatory about the Black Bears! They know I've got their back!
And yes in my opinion picking your team to lose is wrong!