Tarboro?

[Tigertown_a_Rick]

Thomasville first year in 1a was 1997 they finished the season at 12-1,losing in the second round to Rosman 14-7,people forget how great that tville defense was,those 14 points they gave up to rosman were the most points they given up on defense all year

I attended that game, and when I saw Thomasville come out of the dressing room, I turned to my brother, and said , " I think we may be in trouble tonight"....Fortunately, the weather gods brought the rain, drizzle and overall miserable conditions that night that the Tigers needed to upset the Bulldogs with their Wishbone offense..Tigers were a 3 TD underdog entering the game.....Rosman beat Albemarle the week before on the road in the first round, and also beat Cummings and Starmount to make the state title game.... Still hard for me to believe to this day that a little ole school from the mountains with only about 350 kids total, could even compete against those 4 schools who were all 2A schools the year before in 96' before realignment...

The week of the game Rosman received a new washer for the Field house from the Thomasville area and inside it was a small note that simply read...."Enjoy your long bus ride"....Go Bulldogs!

That was the best Rosman team that we've ever put on the field IMO, and that was maybe the best playoff run for a team our size in the history of the 1A playoffs....A fact that legendary Swain County Coach Boyce Deitz reiterated to me at the Brevard/Maiden 2nd round playoff game several years later in Brevard when I casually ran into him at the game, and we started talking football before the game ....A conversation that I thoroughly enjoyed....

 

[HowerinJr]

Tarboro played Southern Nash twice within the last five years. They lost 23-20 in 2015 and lost 21-10 in 2016. I was at both games and they were extremely competitive. Tarboro had leads in the 4th quarter in both. In 2015, they needed a defensive stop, but the Firebirds size and depth was too much late in that game. They pounded out a 10+ play drive on the ground and sealed it with a touchdown with less than a minute left. In 2016, Tarboro defensively played like they were calling Southern Nash's plays for 3 quarters. Up 10-7, the Vikings completely unraveled in the 4th. There was a bizarre sequence where they couldn't even line up 11 guys on offense and run a play. They had 2 procedure penalties, a delay of game and burned 2 time outs to avoid delay of game on consecutive plays. The Firebirds took full advantage of the lack of composure and scored 2 TD's in the 4th and that was that.

This year's team is more dominant than those teams were. As a fan though, you really would like to see how good your team is. Playing Rocky Mount would be awesome. I loved seeing them play Southern Nash. Southwest Edgecombe may be a stronger challenge this season. Its nice to win, but I'm kind of old school. Wins don't mean much if there isn't a struggle. Yes, Tarboro is dominant now, but it was frustrating that we couldn't get out of Duplin County our first few years in 1AA playoffs. The struggle makes you a better team, so its my belief that Tarboro needs to have those kinds of games on the schedule.

 

[swe98]

They may be interesting games to see, but I dont think they actually need to play games like that. They are in the 1A division. The only thing they need to prove is that they are the best 1A team. No matter what 1A and 2A schools do, the supporters of bigger schools always say "they should play 3A or 4A schools to see how good they really are." But they never advocate that their schools play a division II college. Smh. Teams should just live where they live, unless it's just for an interesting matchup. I'd love to see SWE play Rose but not to prove that we are a top team in the state, but because its an area team that we've never played. Tarboro doesn't need to play anyone out of state. They dont need to play Mallard Creek. They need to continue to prove that they are a top team in their own division.

 

[btango]

No matter what 1A and 2A schools do, the supporters of bigger schools always say "they should play 3A or 4A schools to see how good they really are." But they never advocate that their schools play a division II college. Smh.

If a lot of people were not slapping their gums about their 1A team could win the 3A state titles and may be the 4A championship they probably would not get told to play those larger schools.

If Tarboro can handle a bigger school it may be a good test to have them ready in the playoffs if they come up against a seasoned squad. It may be the wrong decision. That is for the coach to decide.

2001 Albemarle fans talked big about a matchup with Indy. They are 33 miles but worlds apart. Matchups make games and I think that would have been a 77-14 type of game. That does not mean that a 1A school cannot compete but that was a bad matchup just like Davidson Day playing Albemarle in 2011 (61-6) the matchups doomed them.

 

[HowerinJr]

If a lot of people were not slapping their gums about their 1A team could win the 3A state titles and may be the 4A championship they probably would not get told to play those larger schools.

If Tarboro can handle a bigger school it may be a good test to have them ready in the playoffs if they come up against a seasoned squad. It may be the wrong decision. That is for the coach to decide.

2001 Albemarle fans talked big about a matchup with Indy. They are 33 miles but worlds apart. Matchups make games and I think that would have been a 77-14 type of game. That does not mean that a 1A school cannot compete but that was a bad matchup just like Davidson Day playing Albemarle in 2011 (61-6) the matchups doomed them.

I have heard a lot of people saying Tarboro could win 3A state titles, but I'm not sure who among them are actually Tarboro fans. Like I alluded earlier, I think the Vikings would be competitive with strong 3A teams like a Rocky Mount or Southern Nash. Tarboro would not get run off the field by anyone, but the notion that Tarboro would dominate in any classification isn't rooted in any reality. When Tarboro was winning 2A state titles with Todd Gurley, the Vikings didn't win by more than a touchdown. We were in 1A 4 years and never got to a 1AA state championship thanks to stiff competition from James Kenan and Wallace-Rose Hill. Tarboro was a very good team last year, but there is nothing in that body of work that says we would win in the higher classifications. Tarboro beat SWE by 28. SWE got slaughtered in the second round of the 2A playoffs by SW Onslow, who themselves got absolutely slaughtered by Wallace-Rose Hill TWICE last year! Please don't misunderstand. I love Tarboro football, but you have to give every opponent due respect. There is no way you would find me making an argument about the greatest team of all time when there is still football yet to be played. All a team can do is win the next game, but the spectators can and do say the most ridiculous things.

 

[btango]

No issue with you KW. You "get it" and a top notch poster.