CoachesAid.com set for Pirates-Bucs blogs

CoachesAid.com is a Web site geared toward high school sports. It has expanded into Tennessee this year, and a representative will be making a trip to Chattanooga for South Pittsburg's football game tonight at Boyd-Buchanan.

The Web site's corporate office is in Oklahoma, where the business originated. John Ferguson is Tennessee's content coordinator and will be blogging live from tonight's game.

Ferguson said his goal on Fridays is to target a game of high interest. For instance, on Aug. 28 he attended Maplewood at Montgomery Bell Academy -- one of the Nashville area's top Division I programs vs. one of its top Division II programs. The next week he attended Pickett County at Red Boiling Springs to check out the community buzz in the aftermath of a program that a week earlier had ended a 61-game losing streak.

"We try to show the big picture -- we feature rankings and top performers -- but we also try to tell the human-interest stories. It depends on what comes out of it," Ferguson said.

Ferguson plans to return to Chattanooga for the girls' soccer state tournament Nov. 4-7.

Calhoun in rare spot

When Calhoun travels to Chattooga's Little Big Horn tonight for a Region 7-AA first-place showdown, the top-ranked Yellow Jackets will be, for the first time this season, facing a team with more speed. It's a scenario that has given the team problems in the past, and coach Hal Lamb says his Jackets will have to tackle well.

"They have a lot of speed all over the field," Lamb said of the 5-0 Indians. "We've got speed in certain areas, but overall they have more. It's a major concern for us and we have to play well defensively. They don't do a whole lot offensively or defensively, but what they do they do very well."

Chattooga coach Brad Waggoner sees the game as a prime opportunity for his team, but he knows a quick start will be key.

"We're playing a team everybody believes is the best team in the state, so no one expects us to win," he said. "That's why you play the game of football, though, to see what happens on a Friday night.

"We have to limit the big plays. In their five games, other teams have given up big plays and had miscues on special teams, and Calhoun has been able to take advantage of those and get big leads."

Yellow Jackets recall

His Grundy County teammates are remembering Kyle Parson, who died last month. According to Yellow Jackets coach Nick Bryant, the team is wearing No. 52 decals -- his number -- in Parson's memory.