WillCo Sports Power Hour – Dec. 2, 2024

The WillCo Sports Power Hour featured the Ravenwood High School and Page High football teams with Raptor players Lane Sumerel and Maverick Chance along with coach Will Hester. Page was represented by seniors Austin Johnson, Brenden Anes, Eric Hazzard and William Wiebush along with coach Charles Rathbone.

Episode Transcript

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The Wilco Sports Power Hour features Williamson County High School Athletics.

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The show is hosted by Charles Pulliam of the Williamson Herald and Garth Bolden of Gateway
Tyrant Service in Franklin. The live broadcast every week is brought to you by Tim Thompson,
Premier Realtors and aired on location at Tony's Eat and Drink in Franklin.
All right, this is the Wilco Sports Power Hour tonight brought to you by Tim Thompson,
Premier Realty. I'm Garth Bolden of Gateway Tyre joined by my co-host Charles Pullam.

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And I tell you what, we might have one of the greatest shows of the year here with us tonight.
But before we get started into talking about our sponsors, I want to say something from Charles
and I, if we can have everybody's attention. We've been doing this together for, I don't know,

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four or five years. Gateway Tyre, as we've sponsored the athletes of the week now for,
I don't know, 13 or 14 years. But anyway, tonight, this is why we do it. You all, the parents,

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the student athletes that are here tonight, we couldn't ask for a better crowd. And we're
very, very thankful for you all. And, you know, to Ravenwood, a classy group fell just short of
your goals and our goals for you all. And Paige, once again, returning to where you guys ought to

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be as well. So thank you all for being here tonight. It's cold outside, it's snowing a little bit,
but you know what, it's hot in here and we're going to have some fun. So stick with us for a
little while. We'll start off with Ravenwood, but I'll let Charles go over our list of sponsors that

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we have. So take it away. Again, thank you all for being here. This is the Wilco Sports Power Hour.
We're live here every Monday night, always special, bringing a platform for our student athletes and
coaches to talk about here. A fun show here, all football, it fits the weather here. We're going to
talk Ravenwood for the first half, we're going to have Paige in that second half. But our great

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sponsors that make this happen, Tim Thompson from EREALITERS, Gateway Tyrant Service, Toyota Cool
Springs, Stone Gate Homes, Matthews Team Sports, Trucking Fork here in Tennessee, Southern Trophy,
and John Mayer Builders. Again, I'm the sports editor at the Williamson Herald here too, always
trying to do so much for this community at all times, but really neat to see everybody come

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together for a fun one here tonight. Looking forward to this. We got a lot of players we're
going to talk to on both sides. We got both coaches we're going to chat with. It's going to be a fun
one, Garth. Yeah, it is. And you know, arguably some could say, you know, they would disagree with
this because, you know, they're just fans of other teams. But these two teams right here that are

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that are presented here tonight, they're the class. They're the class of Williamson County.
And congratulations to all of you all for what you do in the community of Williamson County.
You make it fun. So, you know, with that, we're not we don't really have a Toyota
of Cool Springs school board tonight due to the holidays. You know, unfortunately Ravenwood lost

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page one. So page continues on to play in Chattanooga. So that's our Toyota Cool Springs
school board. So we're going to learn a lot about what happened last week. We are looking forward
to it. Again, thinking of what's going on here currently too. So it's great to have these football
teams set up here. We're monitoring a lot of wrestling. We've got some national contenders

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and cross country still Brentwood girls are out there. Also, we have Asher Oates of Independence,
who qualified in a national setting there. Do want to mention on wrestling high school hoops.
You're going to find a lot of coverage on the Williamson Herald. But we still have a fun week
of football here. And I think we got to dive right in Garth. Let's bring Ravenwood up.

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Coach Hester, do we want to start with you? I think we could bring Coach Hester up and chat for
a little bit as well. Coach Will Hester of Ravenwood High School, come on up.
The Raptors finishing up 13-1. And what a season it was. Coach, happy to have you back on board
with us as usual. Man, coach, tell us a little bit about this season and just how special it was

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running with these guys. Yeah, I mean, obviously a great year. Anytime that you're practicing on
Thanksgiving, it's been a heck of a year. I think that's one of the most special things about the
Tennessee high school calendar that regardless of it feels like when we started always the semi
finals always falls on that week of Thanksgiving. So when you are practicing that week, you're doing
something special and we had the opportunity to do that. Memories that these guys will never forget.

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We had some big wins over the season, went to Alcoa and won, went to Oakland and won.
Basically our league wasn't as great as it's been in the past, so it wasn't much competition there.
So, but obviously we played well in out of region stuff and went to Houston on the
Friday, you know, came up a few plays short. I like to say that we just ran out of time,

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but yeah, there was five or six, seven plays, you know, if we could have got a two or three of them
to go our way, you know, it would have been a different outcome. But 24-21
gets the defending state champs, you know, proud of our guys. They fall into the end, but
just came up a few plays short. Let's talk a little bit about that game too, because again,
we're trading blows in this one here too. They, I still, I go back to the

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end of the first half, they had a crucial score there, but then you guys are really trading
touchdowns, trading scores and a few miscues on top of that too. Give us a little rundown of what
that second half especially was kind of like 10-7 game into, you know, at half,
your guys are down by three, but tell us a little bit about coming out and just what you saw from
the guys in that second half. Yeah, I mean, I think you got to look at the very end of the

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first half too. I mean, we score to take the lead in the first half, but we're still in the
second half. We score to take the lead seven to three with 42 seconds left, good kickoff return
there, screen pass and a penalty, and now they're in the red zone and they score right there before
the half to make it 10-7. So going to the half down three, which, you know, we were down to

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Alcoa at the half, we had been down to Oakland at the half, it wasn't something that we were
accustomed to. Came out, played well in the second half, kind of traded touchdowns there. We took the
lead 14 to 10, they took the lead back 17 to 14, we took the lead back and it was just back and
forth. Both teams had a turnover in there. We took a fumble away from them first, had the ball up

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forward driving a little bit, we turned it over again to give it right back to them. That's when
they drove down and scored to take the lead. Then we have some opportunities to get inside the,
we had the ball at the 31-yard line there with about two and a half, three minutes to go in the
game. Had a fourth down opportunity there that we were unable to convert, but that kind of ended the

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game. Now beyond that, thinking, summarizing this year a little bit, you guys go into this game,
we're unbeaten, we're 13-0. I got to, you know, chat with guys like Van and on your staff,
Chris Rowland, people like that. When you finish an unbeaten regular season, coach, the accomplishments
on this team, we see our all-region setups here too in terms of your MVPs, everybody coming across

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here. How do you even begin to summarize what a special year this was and what it meant for these
Raptors to get as far as they did too? Yeah, it's probably hard, you know, 48 hours out from it being
over to kind of reflect appropriately onto the things that were accomplished and were done.
Clearly, we've kind of hit on them. You beat two perennial state powerhouses in their

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house on the road during the course of a regular season. You know, the schools, whatever, 22 years
old, Malagare's been around Ravenwood for a long time, it'll only be the second team to go, you know,
10 wins. And part of that's because of the out of conference schedule that we play and things of
that nature. And, you know, I think that's a big deal, you know, something for these kids to hang

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their hat on. And then, you know, to be practicing on Thanksgiving, playing in the state semifinals
in the last four teams. And, you know, clearly, you know, we feel like there were some things we
could have done different to be successful. We didn't go to Memphis and get, you know, blown out
or anything like that. It was a good football game and one of the best high school football games
I've been a part of, to be quite honest. But in the end, we weren't the team that were victorious,

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one team was, and now they get to move on and play. But, you know, we had a team meeting today,
we took up the stuff today, we loved on our seniors a little bit and what they've accomplished and
and kind of passed the torch to the young guys. And, you know, this thing never really ends,
right? It just kind of recycles and every team is different, you know. Coach Saban, I think,
says the best, you know, that winning is not a continuum. You know, that's what's so impressive

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about what Paige has done over the course of the last several years, you know. It doesn't just
happen, you know. I mean, it takes a lot of work, takes a lot of effort to be, you know, playing
for your fourth state championship in a row. Pretty unbelievable. You know, a lot of Ravenwood people
rooting on the Patriots this week as they go play. Obviously, you know, Williamson County feels like

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a big place, but, you know, when it gets right down to it, it's a small community and I think
we all want to see each other be successful. So, coach, you mentioned this earlier. You've
been around the Ravenwood for so many years, as well as I've seen Ravenwood with the ups and downs.
When you close out the season like you just had, how do you remind these young men about

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the impact that they've had compared to the years that you've coached? I mean, you said it best. I
mean, they're only the second team to do what they've done. And in the end, you know, I don't
know that any one team is better than any other team. You know, there's some arguments, you know,
especially with the Rowlins hanging around the office. They like to fight over which teams are
better. I'm sure they do. Because, you know, it's just what they do, right? So, but in the end,

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I think every team stands on its own. I think every set of circumstances and every set of memories
that have been made, all the things that have happened, you know, whether you're 13 and one or
whether you're, you know, six and seven or whatever, you know, I mean, I think, you know, that senior
group is going to, has made memories that are going to last a lifetime. Some of them are great
memories and positive and make you smile. And some of them are sad memories. But I mean, that's what

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this life is all about. You know, if you're living this life to the fullest, good things happen, bad
things happen, right? And one thing I told the guys today is that, you know, losing the game may be
something that propels someone else to do something special. And what I mean by that is, you know,
it's like a death almost, right? You got to mourn the death or whatever. But you also got to learn

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how to deal with bad things. You know, in my opinion, there's three times in life, right? You're
either coming out of something bad, going into something bad, or dead in the middle of something
bad, right? And so learning how to deal with adversity and negative things, you know, that's
all part of this life, right? So, I mean, I think it's a special opportunity for us to respond and

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see, you know, what kind of people we are coming out of a negative. Coach, we get to chat with a
couple of your guys here, obviously, and we could chat with so many of them. But specifically, we
have Lane and Maverick we're going to talk to tonight a little bit. Let's chat a little bit
about Lane's season and what he brought to this team. Yeah, I mean, one of our, you know, natural

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leaders on our team, you know, we have a player council. We don't, we do game captains, but we
have a group of guys that we call the player council that are elected by their teammates that
kind of, you know, epitomize who the teams views as the leaders of our team. And, you know, I think
we have four or five seniors on there, four juniors, three sophomores, something along those lines,
and they're elected each spring or summer by their teammates. You know, Lane is one of those guys

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that's been on there for several years now, elected by his teammates, a guy who plays with
a lot of passion, a lot of intensity, a guy who, you know, quite frankly, when he's on the field
those 48 minutes, he's not really a guy that you want to mess with. He's also a guy that cares
greatly, passionately, loves hard, you know, may hold a grudge or two against people or some in his life,

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but in the end, you know, that's got to be a part of who you are, right? Something has to motivate
you, something has to be that chip on your shoulder, and, you know, Lane finds a way to channel
that energy. And so we've had Femi on here. You embrace this two quarterback system all season,
and it's been so impressive to see, kind of reinventing a wheel in some ways here, but having

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Maverick on as well. Tell us a little bit about this junior quarterback for you. Yeah, I mean,
I think we talked a lot about both of them the last time we were on, but I mean, they're the same
guys they were a month ago or whenever it was that we were on here last time. I mean, they both
are kind of the yin and yang to each other. They both, you know, Fibi's more the vocal guy, Maverick's
more the, you know, follow what I do kind of guy, and I mean, they both are just great leaders in

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their own right. You know, go back to that player council. You know, there was a time where, you know,
those guys were sophomores elected to be part of the player council, playing the same position,
fighting for the same stuff, but their teammates both already identified them to be excellent
leaders. And, you know, Maverick is just kind of the ultimate competitor, right? I mean, there's,

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he's going to do whatever he feels like he can possibly do to help the team be successful. And,
you know, there are times where he's begged to play every position on the field and,
and quite frankly, probably could, you know, I mean, we probably could put him in at safety year,
linebacker, long snapper or nose guard or wherever, and he'd be successful. That's just the kind of
kid he is. But, you know, he's also a pretty dynamic quarterback in his own right. You know,

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that that's been about three weeks ago, I believe. And in that evening, I had so much admiration
to hear you talking about those two getting along the way they do. And they, you know, they get
literally room together in college. It sounds like they get along so well. But, you know, if you if
you remember, I bought I brought Maverick up here and I'm gonna call him Chance some point tonight

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because you wouldn't be lying because part of his name because my son's name is Chance. So I'm going
it's going to come out but I pulled him up here and had so much admiration and it's so fitting
that he's back here tonight and we get to recognize him for his accomplishments but also,
you know, the character but to be about to being able to put up with a two quarterback system. I

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just, you know, I've never ever seen how that works to where these two get along the way they do.
And I've been talking about this for 20 weeks now. So to be quite honest with me, I'm kind of over
the whole two quarterback thing. They're football players, right? I mean, you don't say it's a two
nose guard system or a two left guard system or a two wide receiver system. There are two football

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players that play quarterback and they both play. I mean, it's just and they're both good. It's just
the system. They're both good and they could start and play every possession on other teams.
So you're just very fortunate to have both of them. Coach, before we let you go and bring these guys
up here, you mentioned about, you know, just the small community vibe of a high school football

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season and teams here and connections here. And I want to have the opportunity because just a couple
weeks ago, you brought in a former player to speak to your kids. And that's one of those things you
do oftentimes. And I think it was Austin Burt that's actually one of those guys that spoke before a
quarterfinal or a semifinal there. There's that connection right there to the Hazard family,

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everybody here. That's the older brother. And when you think of, you know, having Austin and
starring for your teams for so long there and then having, you know, this young Eric Hazard hanging
out there too. I'm sure he was watching lots of games and stuff. But can you just kind of speak
on that connection and how kind of kind of cool that is to connect these two communities and these

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two schools? I mean, it's all kind of intertwined, right? I mean, you know, Eric's dad and my wife
went to high school together. I mean, and there's a whole lot of, you know, stuff that winds back
through that deal. But, you know, obviously, also was a very good player for us. This is actually
the second year in a row that he has spoken to our team. He came with another one of our former
players, Stephen Nash. And yeah, I mean, you know, Eric was running around. He was a little

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toe headed kid kind of running around and, you know, 10 years ago when his brother was playing.
So obviously, he's a lot bigger now, a lot better player than Austin was. But obviously,
you know, it's cool that it's all kind of intertwined. You know, I mean, like I said,
you know, Williamson County is a big place. There's a lot of football teams, but there's
you can get it real small, real easy if you look at all the things that are connected.

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Yeah, I mean, if you go back throughout the years, especially the 22 years you had kids zoned
for Ravenwood now that are zoned from no one's for page, you know, it's it's split up now so
many different ways that it's hard to keep up with. But I mean, I graduated from the school
across the interstate, right? That one school. Yeah. All the people that live in Nollinsville now

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that are zoned Nollinsville, those some of my best friends at that school were lived in Nollinsville.
So that community's all been, you know, chopped up and moved around and done different things.
I mean, the Rowland brothers literally live two doors down from from that high school now. So,
Coach, congratulations on on another very successful season. It was a lot of fun

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following you guys through this year. Really looking forward to next season already for you.
I know it's you're probably already planning on that route too, but let's go ahead. How much time
do they get off? I mean, do they get any time off? The state requires us to take three weeks off, which kind of gets us to
exam week, you know, so I mean, we'll crank it back up on January the 6th at 5 30 a.m. Why not?

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Love it. Coach Hester, thank you so much for your time here. Appreciate that. Congratulations, coach.
Thank you again. This is the Wilco Sports Power Hour live here at Tony's Eat and Drink.
If you can't make it, we're live on the Williamson Herald Facebook page, the Gateway Tire and Auto
Facebook page. We'll be out on YouTube later, Spotify as well. And we got to give a shout out

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to our Outside the Lines crew that are here as well taking photos. We're live on Instagram on
Outside the Lines. So really neat to to have all that. But if we can get Lane Summerall up here,
we'll chat a little more Ravenwood football. And that's a big crowd back there in the back.
Yeah, I like it. That's a big crowd. It's a neat mingle here.

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Lane, here's a spot for you. Thank you so much. Hey, coach said obviously a lot of great things
here. Tell us about your perspective here of of this season and just what it meant to be a part
of this this group here with the Raptors. Yeah, I mean, obviously super special group.
So kind of hurts that we didn't get it done. We kind of manifested what it was going to be this

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year since our freshman year. Yeah, just super special group. Unfortunately, we didn't get it
done. But I'm going to cherish these memories forever. I see. Tell us, tell us a little bit
about this game going over to the Memphis side playing in Germantown, playing at the defending
champs, the build up to that and just kind of what it was like and what you guys, I guess,

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everything about that experience because, again, turkey and football is so special and you guys had
that opportunity and then going on the road at the defending champs. Tell us a little bit about all
that. Yeah, I mean, Coach, as you always talked about practicing on Thanksgiving is a super,
super special thing that many people don't get to do and we're super fortunate that we got to do it.
I mean, we knew we knew they had some dudes over there. But I know I mean, we weren't scared to go

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on the road. We've done it before. We were just another game. But yeah, I mean, now can this is
Lane Somerall, the senior here for Ravenwood. I think he ended up with maybe fourth on the team
and tackles here. But just one of those guys that we've talked about this page defense a ton. Tell
us a little bit about this Ravenwood defense because this was another standout group here in

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Williamson County and in the state. Yeah, I think I just saw your tweet. I think it was a
tweet. I think it was after the Stuart Scrut game talking about how many points we allowed.
I mean, yeah, we got a lot of dudes that can just play ball. Secondary is deep. Our linebackers are

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deep. D-line is deep. You and I talked about our D-line. Yeah, no, super special group and
solid. Let's go back to just, you know, finishing a regular season 10 and 0 a little bit and
entering the playoffs there. Being one of those teams to beat. Obviously, you guys had, you know,
knocked off some really great teams on that coach alluded to that. Your Alcoas, your Oakland's,

(21:04):
things like that. But just tell us about that regular season and how special it was to get an
unbeaten one there. Yeah, I mean, we knew it had only done be done one time in the history of our
school year. Wanted to get it done another time. It was super rewarding to go out there and get it
done as tough as our besides our region, like coach, as I said, but as tough as our schedule was to go

(21:26):
get it done. Yeah, I mean, we're super proud of that. Wish that I could have led over to the
playoffs and kept the record going, but super special. I got you. I got you thinking of this
team as a senior here. Tell us a little bit about your expectations, thoughts for the future of
Ravenwood here. Because again, I know it's a big group of you guys that have been playing together

(21:49):
for a long time, but what's what's the future for Ravenwood? Yeah, I mean, cleaning our lockers
today is pretty pretty sad. But, um, yeah, I got to talk to a couple of the dudes that are juniors,
better be seniors kind of like I just said, we're giving them the torch. You know, I hope
the senior the senior class kind of showed them the expectations for what needs to happen for

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for y'all to go undefeated. And hopefully they can get it done in the playoffs. Tell me a little
bit about this player council that coach was talking about. You've been a member of it for a
for a few different years. Tell us how does that work? I mean, I want to hear more about that.

(22:34):
So instead of just coach, like a lot of schools do coach, pick a few players to be the captains
for the whole year. He leads it up to leads it up to the players. At the beginning of the year,
and I think this spring going into the summer, each player gets a card, they write down who they
think from each class, they get to pick a couple seniors, a few juniors and a couple sophomores.

(22:59):
And that's what they want to represent the team. And then you send it in, go just take all the
papers, count them up. And then whoever has most votes gets to lead the team. And then
Coach Esther is pretty good about we'll meet throughout the year, just us and we'll decide
whatever it is, where to take action and what not to do and what to do. So he's allowing

(23:22):
he's allowing you all as players to sort of handle the morale or whatever needs to be handled in the
locker room when when things arise. I mean, that's, that's, that's actually a great approach because
in business a lot of times, you'll find out real quick from your staff, you know, they'll, they'll

(23:45):
take care of it. You don't have to discipline the staff will take care of it themselves. That sounds
sort of like what you guys are doing in house as a football team. Yes, sir. I mean, I think it
speaks volumes about our team and especially Coach Esther for our team is player led. Coach Esther's
great. You all know that. But that's what made us so special too is when something happened, it

(24:07):
wasn't just a coaching thing. It started with the players. And a lot of times we get that done
within ourselves and coaches didn't even have to touch it. Adds a whole other measure of accountability
to you guys as the council to stand up for your teammates and so forth and say, Hey, this is this
is the way we see it. You go to the coach and you know, you can work through things that's that's

(24:28):
that's neat. Well, Lane, introduce your your quarterback here in Maverick Chance up here.
Before we get him up here, tell us tell us something about Mav. Mav's a solid dude. I think Coach
Esther covered it. He could play literally any position on the field. Great teammate. He'll do
anything to win. And that's that's what makes him so special. He's gritty. And he'll do whatever it

(24:53):
takes to get it done. Lane, we appreciate you take some time to come and chat with us.
Congratulations on a great season. Lane Summerall, one of those leaders on that great defense there,
really special. Again, this is the Wilco Sports Power Hour brought to you by so many of our great
sponsors, Tim Thompson, Premier Realtors, John Mayer Builders, and of course, Stonegate Homes.

(25:13):
If we can get Maverick Chance up here. He was one of our recent gateway tire athletes of the week,
actually leading into our Thanksgiving week. So yeah, right before the thanks for giving break.
Maverick, come on up a junior here for the Ravenwood High School Raptors. Maverick,
thanks for coming on board, man. Well, tell us tell us a little bit about just how you're feeling

(25:38):
right now. It's just been like 48 hours, we know, but how how we managing? Pretty tired.
A little tired. Got a little bit of a brace on his knee as well. So he came up here with a little
bit of hobble. So you're not feeling the best in the world right now? Not really. I mean,
I kind of woke up a little sick today, too. Oh, gosh. Okay. All right. I see. Well, Maverick,

(26:03):
tell us. Let's let's go right into into this semi final game here. And you guys trading some blows
here with the defending champs. Tell us a little bit about the atmosphere of that game and what it
was like on the field. I mean, it was pretty cold. We went out and we're pretty confident ourselves

(26:26):
because we've been beating everybody we've come across and it's just we were ready. They were good.
So it was a tough game. Let's go further back there because we're recognizing you for that
for that win against Stewart's Creek and again, kind of leading the offense there, getting things

(26:49):
going. Tell us a little bit about what you were trying to do and how you impact the offense here,
because again, we talk about you splitting some time with Femi there and you guys make the best
of both opportunities at all times and you're supporting one another. Just tell us about your
approach to that game against Stewart's Creek. I mean, just go out, run the plays, go to Esther

(27:14):
Coles and do the best of my ability and win the game pretty much. Sounds pretty simple, right?
What Coach Esther says. You're awfully soft spoken to be out there and hit anybody that gets in your
way. I mean, there's got to be a bull or something inside of you because I've seen you get out there

(27:37):
and you're not afraid to hit anybody, but you're so soft spoken. I mean, I guess I just... How do
they hear you in the huddle? I guess sometimes they don't like... That's why you have to run
the football so much is because they don't hear you in the huddle, right? You're busy calling your
number, huh? I guess so. Well, not quite. Okay. I'm just picking on you. I mean, you're a heck of

(28:04):
a football player. You wouldn't be up here to be it, but Lane said it best, you're gritty
and you're a winner. You don't back down against anything that's put in front of you.
Obviously, you guys go to Houston with a ton of confidence. You had every right to be confident.
What in that game threw you guys a little bit of curveball that you guys were not expecting?

(28:30):
What presented itself a little bit of a challenge?
I guess they're just better than everybody else we've played. So we kind of just weren't ready
for that. Come out and smack us in the mouth. But we fought hard and we came back and smacked them
in the mouth too. So didn't work out too bad. Well, they knew you were there. I mean, obviously
you guys left and they knew that y'all were there. So you made a big impression. Not only to hear

(28:58):
Houston, but to the rest of the state. I mean, because for those of us on the outside looking in,
there's a lot of great outlook to see coming forward next year with this group. There's a lot
of depth that's coming back. So you guys left your mark and you fell just short.

(29:24):
And as Coach Hester said, just a few plays could have gone the other way. You guys would be playing
Friday night. And so, you know, heck of a job. I mean, yes, this award is from the Stewart's Creek
game. I don't remember the stats you had from that night. But, you know, when Charles and I talk,
I'm like, that's our guy right there. I mean, but there again, you know, that's our guy.

(29:52):
There again, you're awfully soft spoken. I guess so. Hey, that's fine. That's fine. Well,
Charles and I both are pretty vocal, you know, and Coach Hester, he's really vocal.
Tell us, I guess, a little bit about the future plans here a little bit. I mean, what is this
group going to be like next season? I know it's kind of tough to even jump into that, but as

(30:16):
Coach said, we're almost, you know, you get, we do a few weeks off and then we come right back to
the grind here and start prepping. And that's just kind of what it takes to have that success. So,
tell us a little bit about your thoughts on what you'll be working on and what this team needs to
do. We got a lot of guys coming back, but a lot of spots that need to be replaced by younger guys

(30:38):
that need to step up into those roles and really make a difference with the team too. Now, a few
weeks ago when we had Femi up here, we let him talk a little bit about you. And I want you to
have the opportunity to chat a little bit about him as well too. Yeah, because I believe I saw him
come through here a little bit earlier. Give us a little story about Femi. All right, Femi.

(31:00):
Maverick's going to tell us the truth. That's the opportunity. Don't hold back and be vocal at this
point. I mean, we've been friends back since like third grade, so. And we started playing football
together then too. And we switched off pretty much every year and seven on seven after that. So,

(31:25):
pretty used to that. And I mean, it's pretty easy to get along with him since we've been such good
friends for so long. You know, it hadn't been that long ago that he was a little scrawny kid.
I mean, he lives right down the street from me and he was a little scrawny kid walking that dog
of his. But I mean, that gun, you guys put a lot of time in the weight room. I mean, he's gotten big,

(31:51):
gotten tall, and you, you know. I bet you can bench more than him too, can't you? Yeah. Okay.
Oh, there we go. He probably doesn't put much time in the weight room, right? No, I don't think so.
I don't think so. Look at him. Look at him. Ah, now we're getting to where we need to be.

(32:15):
We're getting vocal now. Anyway, you guys, you're awesome. And we'll wish both of you guys the best
two of our Gateway Tire athletes of the week are happen to be quarterbacks. So,
you know what? Congratulations. I know you guys are going to work hard. Best of luck next year

(32:36):
moving forward. Okay. Maverick, here you go, man. Maverick, and I did not mess it up. I didn't mess
it up. Congratulations. Again, the Wilco Sports Power Hour brought to you by so many of our great
sponsors, Matthews Team Sports, Truck and Fork here in Tennessee, and Toyota of Cool Springs. Again,
we're out there on Facebook. Check us out. Williamson Herald, also on Gateway Tire and Auto,

(33:00):
will be on YouTube and Spotify a little later. But transitioning to the page side of things here too.
Again, congratulations to Ravenwood on such a successful season. 13-1 state semifinals.
Really, really impressive. That's right. Everybody, let's give Ravenwood Raptors a big hand.

(33:21):
Well, if we can get Coach Charles Rathbone on up here for the page side, we got a few players
we're going to be chatting with as well. Looking forward to hearing on a little perspective,
obviously, getting back into this state championship game. I think Coach is here.
Yeah, he came in. I'm not sure where he went. He's got to find a way to get over here.
Here he comes. Again, we're here at Tony's Eat and Drink. Mondays, always, this is such a special

(33:46):
spot. Great food, great hang, great spot to catch Monday night football and beyond. Always nice to
kick things off here. But we have Charles Rathbone of Page High School joining us now.
Going to have a crowd, a little bit of community feel here, Coach. Tell us, this is the support
here. How do you break down that? Well, I mean, Page is a great community, obviously. I mean,

(34:08):
a lot of special people, Page, a lot of people I call friends that I don't necessarily hang out
with because of my position. But I mean, if I wasn't in this position, it's people I would
hang out with, if that makes sense. I mean, they're really good people, really supportive of the
program, did a really good job raising their kids. So, I think we're going to have a lot of
fun here. Coach, we get to do something pretty special here on Friday night. You guys get to

(34:34):
take this field one more time in a state final. Each season, we've been able to talk about the
buildup to this. We've had the opportunity to chat with you before and after. How do you put
into words just how special this is for a community, for these kids on this team, for you and the staff,

(34:54):
you name it, what's that mean to be able to get into another state championship? Well, I mean,
this is obviously a very special group. It's kind of a mixed emotional moment for me. Obviously,
I hate to see these guys leave the angels and hazards and AJ and Presley and gosh, I could go
down the list and name all these guys. So, it's bittersweet knowing we get to line up one more

(35:18):
time together and see what we can accomplish. And for the last couple of weeks, I've been using the
analogy of we're one body. The entire community, the entire, you know, the parents and the players
and look at it like you got 14 more days to play or live. What are you going to do? And if you think
about it in that way, we got four more days to live. So, I mean, we've got to make something

(35:38):
special happen and hopefully these guys come out and get it done on Friday. You know, coach,
you're beginning to be a pro at this. And, you know, you guys, once again, you're there on Friday
night. And how do you approach this? You know, do you go through the same routine that you've gone

(36:02):
through or are you changing it up a little bit? We're going to be us. You know, the games are won
right now practice through the week. So, we've got to focus on our practice and then we've got to get
through on Saturday or on Friday and we've got to execute football. And that's been the one question
I've been asked a lot this week, you know, going into the fourth straight year of playing in the

(36:23):
championship. You know, we just got through honoring a great Ravenwood team that I promise
you will switch places with us right now. And there's hundreds of teams around the state that
would like to be in our position right now. You know, so win or lose, these kids are not judged
on win or losses. They're judged on their what they are. You know, they're just what they are

(36:44):
every single day, not just what they are on Friday. They're going to make mistakes. If one of those
mistakes cost us the game, then I would hope, I know I will, I'll be the first one, but I would
hope everybody is the first one to put their arms around that kid and love that kid because
it is a game. It is not life. It is not anything that we can't get over. But with that being said,

(37:06):
we are in it to win it. We want to win this game. We wanted to win the last three. We felt like we
should have won two of those. And hopefully we show up and play better. We have the first three this
week. Coach, one of the storylines out of here, and I know we don't like talking about just Coach
Rathbone and the focus is always on the kids, but I just got to bring this up and I want to hear your

(37:27):
take on this. Coach, Love Day on the other side here. You guys, you guys played some football
together. Do you mind telling us a little bit about that connection? Well, he was, we were both on the
Carson Newman National Championship runner-up team in 96. He was a receiver. They moved him to
tight end. And you know, he's a good guy. I mean, he really is a good guy. He ran with a different

(37:51):
group than I ran with. So we went like we were buddies or anything like that. I was more the poor
boy, you know, at Carson Newman. He came from a little bit of money up in Sevier County, that type
thing. So I mean, but he's a genuinely good dude, but I wouldn't say that we're, you know, we hung
out on Friday nights or went and picked up girls together or anything like that. He was much better

(38:12):
looking than I was. He was skinny. So in other words, they're not going to be love lost come
Friday night? No, no, I have love for him. He was my, he was my Carson Newman Eagle brother, you know.
I mean, it's kind of like this team. They'll always have love for one another. I'm just saying
there's nothing like, you know, we're not like, you're not best friends. Yeah, we're not best
friends. I haven't talked to him in 25 years. I'll say see, see, there we go. Yeah, 25 years.

(38:37):
Well, speaking of his team here a little bit, this, this group from the west, I mean, the east side
here thinking about their quarterback setup, they got a young sophomore out there who's throwing for
more than 40 touchdowns. He's got four receivers with more than 40 receptions. I mean, this is an
offense that's been able to get some things done here. Tell us a little bit about what you've seen

(38:57):
looking at some film of these guys and some of the expectations from, from that team. Well,
you know, coach temple on the defensive side have the responsibility of stopping those guys. And,
you know, so I talked to them, but our quarterbacks are really good. He got an offer from Virginia
Tech. He's about 630 180. He can move a little bit, throws the ball well, got a cannon arm,

(39:18):
reminds me of her arm a couple years ago. You remember how strong his arm was. They're massive
up front. They don't particularly move well up front, but they are big. Their right tackle is
going to MTSU. They got another left guard. I believe it was that's signed somewhere a couple
of six, five guys, 300 guys got a six, four, three, 10. So we're gonna have our hands full

(39:39):
up front. This would be the biggest team we faced. There are athletes are very similar to our athletes.
They're not going to blow you away with speed. I don't think, but, you know, if we get out of
position, then they can beat us deep defensively. They hustle to the ball. They fly to the ball. We
think there's some things we could do to be successful against them and hopefully keep our
defense off the field. Well, thinking back to this semi-final, tell us a little bit about how this

(40:02):
team was able to overcome an opening touchdown by Springfield and you guys are on the road at
their spot there. Some home cooking there as well. We won't need to speak on that front, but at the
same time, thinking of how the boys responded to actually trailing and giving up a rare touchdown
on top of that too. But what do you see from the from your guys and how they responded in that

(40:25):
Springfield game? Well, you know, I mean, Springfield was a good team, but there's an old saying that a
blonde squirrel finds a nut every now and then. I feel like that's what they found on that first
drive. Wee Bush was there to make a play. He didn't exactly play the ball. He played the guy and he
learned from his mistake. He didn't let it happen the rest of the night. And our defense just took
over the game and gave us the ball, set up the offense in great field position all year, like

(40:49):
they have all year long. And we capitalize on drives and ultimately our offensive line kind of
took over a game late in the fourth quarter. And that's kind of what we've been this year. We've
had to adjust from slinging it all over the field for the past couple of years to being a more ball
control, setting up our defense, trying to keep them fresh, keep them on the field. So it's been

(41:10):
a philosophy adjustment for me. It's been hard, but we've stuck to it and it's worked so far.
We have a lot of guys we're going to be able to chat with tonight. So many of these guys have
been playing with, you know, for you and with you and alongside one another for so many years.
Tell us a little bit before we get them up here, just the experience side and how close this team

(41:34):
is because, you know, again, going back to fifth, sixth, seventh grade, all these guys have been
playing together for so long. And you got so many of these guys that have been, you know,
starting every game for three, four years now here too. So just give us a little bit of a take on the
experience of this page team. Well, you know, I mean, especially with you, if you look at guys like

(41:56):
Hazard and Ains, they played together for so long since fifth grade. It's almost like their brother
and sister. And I'll let y'all choose which one. But, you know, they compete very well with each
other. They compete against each other. They're both dudes. And then you throw Wee Bush and throw
all these other guys into the wrinkle. I mean, and then our junior class is pretty special,

(42:19):
pretty good as well. So they all bond together. But the most, you know, AJ, he's had to move over
and play a lot on defense as well. He had his best defensive game the other night. He played
extremely well, but he's a dude offensively. You know, I don't want to make him nervous,
but also people will be there on Friday to watch him. But these guys are just no, no pressure. I

(42:40):
mean, he just plays his game. I mean, it's not any pressure. You know, I'll tell you another one,
Knight Wilson. He's done a he's done a great job all year. You know, had a talk to Western Kentucky
today about him. He don't know it yet, but they're gonna offer him over the next couple weeks.
You know, you throw in Jake, who's kind of that clog in the middle that that nobody can seem to

(43:00):
move. He's kind of like an anchor. And then you got Eli and then Sean Cunningham. It's just that we
got a bunch of good players on that team. And they may not all be elite power four players,
but they're very good high school players. And they they eat off each other, they feed off each
other. You know, and then you got Ains and Hazard and Wee Bush, and they're kind of mentoring the
whole group, you know, kind of like the father figure of the whole group, you know, getting on

(43:23):
the others when they're not hustling or doing what they're supposed to do. And that's what it
takes to be successful. My job is fairly easily. Our coach's job is fairly easy in that, you know,
we give them a a mission or a responsibility, and they go out and execute it. And then you start
talking on the back end, we got a little sophomore, Colin Mueller, he had two interceptions, you know,

(43:45):
the other night he had that one-headed interception. So that's a that's a kid that's never played
defense before in his life until until fall camp this year. So I mean, it's a you know, it's a
special group, and they can't have success without each other and each other can't have success
without the team. And that's kind of what they feed off of all year. Well, we're going to have

(44:08):
Hazard names up here in a few minutes. We'll clarify which one, you know,
yeah, we'll be we'll double check on that. Go by the way, figure that out for you if you want to
coach. We'll ask questions, you know, we're not bashful about asking questions. But just make
sure I'm off the stage when you start asking those questions. Well, you know, I think I think the

(44:30):
team's most excited about AJ being up here and talking. He's got a crazy personality.
He's a he's a crazy trash talker on the field. Jake told me some of the trash talking he does
on the field this past weekend. You got to ask him about that. It's pretty creative. So you'll
get a kick out of AJ. So there's there's there's a lot of creativity in this room. That's what
you're saying, right? Yeah, if we went to football team, we could probably be a pretty good band team.

(44:54):
You know, I mean, we there's a lot of creativity and a lot of characters. You should have heard
him singing the Christmas carols on the bus on the way back the other night. It was it was something
weird. So we're not going to have an album anytime soon. But maybe never know chipmunks. Yeah.
Coach Rathbone, is there anything else you'd like to add before we we start bringing some kids up

(45:17):
here? No, I tell these kids all the time and you know, they got three more days left of it.
I love them. They're a special group. And they're gonna do something special Friday night.
All looking forward to it. That's right. Coach Charles Rathbone of Page High School.
You mentioned AJ if AJ can come on up here and join us here. He's gonna kick things off.

(45:40):
He's gonna kick things off. We get to talk to a lot of veteran players here tonight, Garth. It's
pretty special here. He had to get that hat on just right. Well, hey, tell us. Hey, welcome to the show,

(46:01):
man. Thank you for having me. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, there's a few folks here really excited to have
you here. Give us I think there ain't just hear what he's got to say. Yeah. Yeah. Well, maybe we
just give the mic to you here. Give us. Well, how about here? We'll set the stage here Friday night.
Obviously, we get to play a really special game. What are we going to see Friday night?

(46:21):
What are you going to say Friday night? Let's hear the trash talk. What are you going to say to the team?
I'm not sure. What are we? What are you going to say to the opposing team? Let's hear some of the
trash talk. Go ahead and get it on out there. You can practice right here. There's plenty of people
that want to hear this. When I go out there, I don't start off by talking trash. It's just I got to do

(46:44):
my job and I got to make sure I'm doing it well that game before I get confident enough to say something.
So you're not confident enough to be vocal out there until you get hit in the mouth a few times
to see see how you take it. Is that what you're saying? No, no, no, no. I got to.

(47:08):
I just got to go out there and. He asked all the serious questions. I get in. I get into where we
just go right there. We just dive right into it. It actually depends on how I'm doing on defense.
I mean, are you going to smack them in the mouth or are they going to smack you in the mouth?
I smacked him on the mouth. All right. OK. And what are you going to say to them after you

(47:29):
smack them in the mouth? I usually don't say much. I just. Last game, I was pointing with my hands a
lot, like pointing at the ball, stuff like that, because they were just talking. I was just
pointing at the ball when it was past the first line or the first down marker. Hey, you know,

(47:49):
the actions are what what makes it happen, right? You don't have to say much if you get the job done
the way you want to. Right. Yeah. I've got a feeling he's not telling the whole truth.
I was thinking the same thing. You don't just point C ball. There's something that you say
when you say C ball. Yeah. And you probably say something about the opposing team when you say C

(48:11):
ball. Yeah. Yeah. I think. Hey, well said. Well said. You know, your teammates are going to come
up here in a minute and they're probably going to say they're probably going to tell us what you say.
So you go. You're going to get an opportunity right now to say what? Tell the don't don't let
them say what you say. What do you I mean, how do you all around? I'm a pretty humble guy and I don't

(48:34):
like try to I don't try to talk that much, but bone kind of said that. No, you guys are out.
Well, I know. I know. Well, hey, thinking of of your position, AJ, tell us tell us just so much
about what Paige is here is is in the trenches up there, man, and getting things done here.
You go back to the Springfield game, that big eight minute drive, things like that.

(48:58):
And then this defense, of course, too. But just give us give us your perspective about how tight
this team is and how talented it is and what it's what it's like being a part of this. Yeah,
we're big up front and we got a lot of experience and we just first and foremost, we like to run
the ball first and then get the passing going later. And when we're running it, we just like

(49:20):
to keep on running it. And defense, when they're just doing their thing, we're we're just rolling.
Well, coach kind of mentioned about how you've and you even said it to alluding to your game
and how you feel about a game has a lot to do with the defensive side. Expand on that. Explain to
us a little bit about that role you try to play and what you try to do. So yeah, Kaufman started

(49:42):
out the year at a strong end, but he got hurt during the Centennial game. So me and Kirl,
Kirl was working in more. I haven't really been playing that much, but I played it last year. So
me and him switch off. He starts, I come in. So we go drive on, drive off, just kind of get a little
break. So we're fresher for offense and we just were just making the most of it. I see. I see.

(50:07):
Well, this that group you mentioned, Kirl, you know, Jake's there too, and all these guys up
front, Eli. Tell us, tell us about how tight you guys are and how you guys work. Yeah, we just
work as a group defense. Just everyone does their job and shout out to bone and Eli. They go both
ways the whole game. So they got quite a lot of endurance to do that and takes a special player

(50:29):
to do that. And yeah, hazard and aims on the end. They just clean everything up and secondary
having games like they did last week. We're just very good defense and coach temple. Yeah. Yeah.
A lot of credit goes to him for watching film all weekend and then coming out on Monday with

(50:54):
new schemes. And he's a huge part of our defense as well. Thinking about, about this week here a
little bit, what have you seen and what are some thoughts about this, this other team on the other
side we're going to see Friday night? Uh, often sleep their own lines pretty big and, uh, defensively

(51:14):
is nothing we've never seen before. Their ends we've seen, I think number eight reminds me a lot of
44 from centennial. And, uh, we think that there's something we can handle and you got to start,
got to get the run game started early and then we should be, should be good from there. Okay. Well,

(51:36):
one thing, you know, we're going to talk to a couple of guys here too. And before we do that,
I want you to almost give us a little rundown on each of these guys. We've had them on the show.
We've talked to them before too, but being one of those leaders, being with these guys forever,
tell us a little bit about a Brendan names first. Uh, Brendan names, he's, um, all around athlete.

(51:56):
He can play any position on the field and, uh, he's a good leader as well. And he's going to go do
great things at UT. Well, we, we know that give us, give us a little more. Wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait. We can, we can, we can settle this right now. Yeah. We're going to ask,
we're going to ask the question. Okay. What do you got? Well, coach Rathbone said, you know, one was

(52:21):
a boy and one was a girl. So I'm going to ask you something, you know, tendency, tendency, tendency,
tendency, it takes a girl longer to get ready than it does a boy to go out. Okay. So let's talk about
after practice, let's talk about after game, who takes longer to get ready to go out? Aims or hazard?

(52:43):
So after the game, we all kind of like get undressed and changing. You don't have,
you don't have to go into all that. You don't have to go into all that. We get into it, we close and we go home.
I didn't ask all that. I said, who, who takes long, who takes longer to get ready to go? Oh, Eric, for sure.

(53:05):
That's a hazard. That's one down for you. It's like two hours before the game. He's already
getting all this stuff together and yeah, he just does his thing. So he, so he likes to,
you know, look at himself in the mirror a little bit more than Aims. Is that what you're saying?
Yeah, for sure. Yeah. So, so he goes in front of the mirror and flexes quite a bit. Is that what, right?

(53:31):
Um, yeah, yeah. I see him as a, like a big TikToker. Like he doesn't post on TikTok,
but I bet his drafts are like, like drip and. Yeah, now we're getting somewhere. See, I told you we'd
settle this. Yeah. Well, we, we mentioned Ains and Hazard and we're going to chat with both of those

(53:53):
guys. And we're also going to talk to our most recent gateway tire athlete of the week and Mr.
Wee Bush as well. Tell us about William. Uh, William, he's like, he's, uh, I'd probably say
he's the biggest leader on the team. He's always trying to help out with anyone who needs help on
the team. And when he's out of the game, like in the early in our region, he's, he's on the sideline

(54:15):
coaching up more than anybody else is trying to help other people get better. And that's the kind
of person he is. See, again, that's one of those things we get to know following this team and
seeing him play a little bit, but now, uh, tell us a little something, a little more behind the scenes
about him. About our team. Oh, we Bush, we Bush. He's like in between Brennan and Hazard. He's like,

(54:41):
Oh, Brennan is pretty simple. He gets, he's kind of like me and some others. He gets dressed like
maybe 20 minutes before the game starts. Then Hazard, he's dressing, he's dressing early, but
we Bush is in between. He's got his thing where he goes out onto the field. So that's how I, but
he's got a nice truck. He does have a nice truck. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's a recent customer of mine.

(55:03):
So that makes it a real nice truck. He's got a real nice dad gum, right? Yeah. Um, well, is there
anything else you'd like to add about, about this week and just how special it is to go out one more
time with these guys? Um, let's fourth opportunity. We just need to make the most of it. Have had a
good day of preparation today and two more good days the rest of this week and get everything

(55:24):
cleaned up on Thursday and go out there and leave it all in the field in Chattanooga. So are you ready?
Yeah. You sure you're ready? Yeah. Shout out to Chisholm too. Hey, uh, he had an absolutely amazing
week on special teams last week though. All seriousness. You got to know your role players,

(55:49):
right? You got to know, you got to know your role. Yeah. That's good job. Hey, we appreciate you take
some time, man. Great job. Thanks for letting us pastor you a little bit up here. You're welcome.
And, uh, we'll see you Friday night. All right. Sounds good. Mr. Austin. Thank you, sir.
A quick shout out to some of those sponsors here. If we can get Brendan to come up here.

(56:10):
Yeah. I was going to say, where do you want to go with this show? Now? That's the thing.
We're going to keep working down. I try to get in the dressing room there.
Again, uh, we're sponsored by Stone gate homes, Toyota, Cool Springs, gateway tire and service.
We got Brendan Ains, one of two Mr. Football finalists on this team. Mr. Ains,

(56:32):
give us, uh, give us a little rundown. Um, how, how great has it been to get to this point
one more time? Um, as a senior for page here? Uh, yeah, it's really awesome. We got a really special
group of guys. You can all see them back here. Uh, they've been live all night, so that's great.
Um, and you just talked to AJ, you got a little bit of inside information there as you can see. Um,

(56:54):
but now it's awesome. I love these guys and, uh, we're going to do it this year.
Thinking of, of this buildup and playing through this post season here, do you have a little bit
about maybe what you guys might've learned or, or, or things that you've worked on through the
post season that you're pretty excited about? And then how do we get it all together for one more
big game Friday? Um, yeah, no, just throughout the postseason, we've just been kind of doing our thing.

(57:19):
Um, I mean, we've just been balling out really. Um, you know, we just been working on staying
more locked in during the week. Um, you know, Columbia gave us a great game first round of the
playoffs. We weren't really expecting that. Um, they came out hot. Um, you know, so from there,
we had to just kind of take every game more serious, I feel like. Um, I mean, that was really it.

(57:43):
Um, we've been locked in ever since. Um, offense is doing an amazing job, uh, past couple weeks.
It's not just the defense. Um, but yeah. This, this group here, I mean, you see it from,
from parents to coaches to players to younger siblings, you name it here. It's such a cool
community feel here. What's it, uh, what's it been like being a Page Patriot? I mean, it's been great.

(58:08):
Um, like you said, the community here is awesome. Um, nothing but love from all the parents, the
fans, uh, the students. I mean, even the younger kids, like the elementary school kids are always
out there right after halftime giving high fives and whatnot. Um, so it's a great confidence booster
going into the second half and whatnot, but you know, it's an awesome community. I love being a

(58:29):
Page Patriot. It's my turn now. So it's just us. Let's not, let's not, let's forget about that
Facebook over there. Let's forget about that Instagram right there. And let's forget about
all these parents. Last time you were on the show, you made a big life announcement right after our

(58:50):
show. You sure you don't want to tell us a little bit inside something tonight? You remember what
happened the night you were on last time? Uh, yeah, that was like Monday, the week I came into
Tennessee. I'd call that a big decision. Yeah. You didn't, you didn't tell us that on the show.
I mean, you could have let us know we're buddies. No, I can't say that on the show.

(59:14):
I can't, I can't say that on the show. But you know, I'm a VFL too. Yeah. You went to Tennessee?
Yes, I did. That's right. So congratulations. Thank you. That was a big decision. Proud of you.
Thank you. That's right. Proud of you. Thank you. Well, that's, I know I'm going to ask,
I'm going to ask Hazard a question like that here in a minute too. So don't worry. You didn't just

(59:37):
get put on the spot. That's, uh, speaking of that, I know on Thursday, we get to have a special
moment there too, when we actually get to make it official here. Tell us, uh, you know, leading into
this week, knowing that we have that, that final game one more time, Friday, Thursday, where we're
making it official, official. I mean, all those things. How do you sum up such an, an awesome week?

(01:00:00):
Yeah. I mean, it's a great way to wrap up a high school career. Um, I don't think you could draw
it up any better than to have the state championship same week that you're signing. Um, so no, it's
really cool. All right. Well, we, we have two more guys we want to chat with here. Uh, can you
introduce us to Mr. Hazard coming up here? The Duke of Rutterville.

(01:00:24):
Thank you so much, Brendan. Congratulations. Uh, Brendan Ains, everybody of Page High,
one of those many seniors. Eric Hazard, come on up, big man.
Again, this is the Wilco Sports Power live here at Tony's Eat and Drink.
Focusing in on our, our Page Patriots four times now we're in that state finals. Uh, Mr. Hazard,

(01:00:47):
you've been a part of each one of these now and, uh, you're the oldest high school player ever with
your 60th game coming up. Sum, sum that up. What a career. You've had three high school careers in a
career, man. Yes, sir. It's huge. I mean, I owe it all to everything that's come before me and just
having the opportunity to be on such a great four teams. It's huge for me. It's huge for Page and

(01:01:11):
it's put us on the map and I'm just continuing to build. So we've got to chat with a couple of these
other seniors here and we're going to chat with, uh, Wee Bush after this as well to close things
out. But this group, that group of seniors, so many of you guys have been playing together for so
long. How special is it playing alongside those guys? Uh, it's huge for us. I mean, we all go in

(01:01:33):
and work every day and just to see some of these guys come out here and know all the hard work we
put in over the summer to see it come to life. It's big for us and to see it all come in a state
championship form. That's huge. So we need to take care of business. One of the things we've been
doing is, you know, each time we chat, you, you even are by the book and to the business side of

(01:01:55):
things. Cause, uh, you know, that's just, I feel like that's a lot of your personality, but just
give us a little insight into this week as a whole. We just heard from Brendan as well, too.
We make it official Thursday. Somehow we got signing day all into this and, and come Friday,
you get one more high school football game. Um, so many of you guys have that, that next stage

(01:02:17):
already set up here. It's a, it's a lot to wrap your head around. So how do you wrap your head
around that? Uh, it definitely is. And then now that I have the opportunity to sign on the state
championship week, just having that opportunity to show what all the work you put in and to have a
state championship game, you get to go play for Friday. That's really special to us. It's

(01:02:38):
special for the guys that get to sign early and then next month we're going to be in college.
So it's come really fast and now we got to show what we have. One of the things before I let Garth
take over here too, we, we chatted with coach Hester a little bit about it and just the idea of,
uh, you know, your older brother and that photo we were sharing, it's like my young face and your
tiny little face there too. When Austin watching Austin, you know, make it into a championship

(01:03:03):
game and just kind of developing underneath him and getting playing with them and seeing those
things. What was, what was that kind of like? And how do you, uh, how, how did that kind of shape you
in a way maybe at the time I was so young, I didn't really have my head around what a state
championship game was, what all it meant. And then to come over my freshman year and go to the state

(01:03:23):
title first year, I was in high school and to play 15 games through that and now being a senior,
being in my fourth game, I show a lot of my credit to Austin, who's pushed me every year and along
with my parents and grandparents just being here even tonight and just continuing to push me through
it all. Garth, I think you got a couple things you want to go with here, huh? Yeah, I think

(01:03:47):
I do. All right, first thing, who's the most vocal player on the team? If you had to, if you had,
because I'm building up to something that we're going to do here in a little while. So I need to
know something. Who's the most vocal? You, we bush, Brendan, all three of y'all, y'all, you know,

(01:04:07):
when you guys were coming back on the bus the other night, which one of you guys got up and
started singing like a chipmunk and sounding like, you know, which one of you, was it you? Grayson Chisholm.
So he's the cheerleader of the bunch. He definitely is. All right, we'll get him up here too. All right,
so now once again, it's just just us, not that thing over there, not that thing right there,

(01:04:33):
and not all these people out here. You sort of got another offer come lately. It's maroon in color. Now
two of your, two of the other people that have been up here, they've they flipped.
You stand at Louisville. I'm 100% committed. All right, why Louisville? Why not Mississippi State?

(01:04:57):
They've been in the program that's stood out to me from the beginning, just the way they reach out
to me and always contact me and pour into me. I was sitting back there earlier, Coach Hagen called me
D-line coach at Louisville, and that's something you don't see a lot of, so they've really stood
out to me in that way. Every Monday night they call you, right? Every Sunday night. Every Sunday night

(01:05:19):
and Monday night? Well, here's from some of them throughout the week, but Coach Hagen. Because the last time
you were here, you got a phone call from them on a Monday night too. That was the D.C. So you got a call
from the defensive coordinator. Tonight you got a call from the defensive lineman. So they really love you.
Yes sir. Now when you go up there, are you going to spend as much time in front of the mirror?

(01:05:44):
I don't even spend that much time in front of the mirror. I get my clothes on and I walk out.
Uh oh. It is what it is. That's all right. That hat's got to be on just right. I understand. I understand.
With love right here, this young man. Great, great career. Great. Wrap it up on Friday night, all right?

(01:06:09):
Yes sir. We'll get you back up here. Hey, one other thing about AJ Johnson's trash talk. It sounds like
a three-year-old trying to talk trash to their parents. Oh wow. Mr. Hazard, thank you so much.
Our award winner of the hour here, Mr. William Wee Bush, if you can come on up here. Our latest

(01:06:30):
Gateway Tire male athlete of the week. Another one of these seniors here too. Just looking forward to
getting a little more insight here, man. Here, let's go right back to a semi-final win before
we get anything. I know we've recapped a ton here, but what did you guys learn at Springfield and

(01:06:50):
how did you guys pull out a win? Yeah, I think, you know, we were able to pull out the win just by
attacking every possession like it was the first possession of the game being zero zero.
I think we learned too that we need to come out hot and, you know, that even if we do get down 7-0
like we did, we just got to respond just like we did. And, you know, if we can keep doing that

(01:07:12):
next week or this Friday, I think we'll be in good shape. This team here, obviously we have so many
of the guys here, so many of the families here as well, but just thinking of that balance. We
just talked to Eric and Brendan and AJ about that a little bit. How are you finding that balance in,
hey, you know, I'm still trying to have fun. I'm still trying to be a high school kid,

(01:07:35):
but everything's laid out in front of me and I have a championship game to play Friday. How do
you find all that balance? Yeah, finding a balance is definitely hard. You know, on the weekends,
I definitely try and remove myself from football as much as I can. Spend time with my friends,
my family, you know, and then Monday, you know, it's time to work, get back to work.

(01:07:58):
I think also, like recovery is a big part that helps me get my mind off of it, whether I'm,
you know, getting in the hot tub or going, doing cryotherapy. That always helps. And then during
school too, like you can't forget about the studies. That's hard. I do forget sometimes to
take care of that, but I'd say that's probably three on the totem pole. Football first, then family,

(01:08:21):
and then I guess school's third, but mom, I'm probably, you know, not too happy to hear that,
but it's kind of, kind of evident. She didn't hear you. She didn't hear you. She's just glowing
from ear to ear right over there right now. She didn't hear that. Yeah, getting a balance
between all that. It's definitely something I think I'm going to struggle with at the next level,
with it being so important, but you know, I'm excited, definitely. So it sounds like on this

(01:08:45):
bus ride home, we got into some Christmas carols here a little bit, and Chisholm keeps getting
pulled out here to talk a little bit about, can you describe a little bit about what that
atmosphere was like? You know, we were all in the holiday spirit. I don't really know what all went
down because I was asleep, so I can't speak into specifics, but I did hear stories from when I woke

(01:09:08):
up back at school. Okay, well that was a good way to get out of it. He was asleep, yeah. He just
buzzed right there. Okay, all right, so you're in, you play in the, you know, in the back, so you're
up there and you're seeing Pretty Boy Hazard, and you're seeing, you know, Ames up there, you know,
they're ready to attack. So do you ever hear them up there talking smack to the other team? I mean,

(01:09:32):
seeing you're in the back, can you hear them up there saying some stuff, you know? No, not ever.
You know, these guys in the stands, they make it so loud for us when we're on defense. You know,
it's hard just to communicate with the corner right beside us, and I think that speaks volumes
for the fans and the family we've got, you know, making noise, whether we're up 30 points, whether

(01:09:56):
it's a tie game, it's always something to be special, and it's very helpful too that, you know,
the offense can't communicate either. So one more question. I got to know, is your truck ride better
now? Absolutely. I love those tires. It definitely should, yeah, that's right. All right, so you got
you got another serious question. Well, one of the things we chatted about, we had AJ up here,

(01:10:17):
obviously, and you having the opportunity to play a lot of quarterback as well, switching out with
with Mitchell there. Tell us, you know, again, kind of what you mentioned about just how easy it is to
get to do what you have to do when you're under center with guys like that up front. Oh, yeah,
it's they make it so much easier for me than they really should, like the five guys up front, or if

(01:10:41):
we've got a six lineman in there blocking, whether we're passing or throwing the ball, like I'm
running through wide open holes, the backs are running through wide open holes. And it really
helps to like throw into wide open guys. I mean, sitting back there the other night, I don't think
I got pressured at all. You know, I had a pretty, pretty dirty jersey, but it was all from playing
defense. None of that mark, none of the marks on my jersey came from playing offense. And I

(01:11:05):
think that speaks volumes just to how bought in they are up front. One more thinking about on Friday,
I know you guys have been doing a lot more film study on this, this other team, tell us what you've
seen and some expectations and thoughts about Friday night. Yeah, they kind of offensively
remind me of us a little bit. They like to spread the ball around, like to take shots, like to get

(01:11:29):
the ball in the perimeter quick. And then they've got a pretty good run game to go along with it.
And then defensively, you know, they're a really good team, you know, you don't get to be 14 to
know with having holes in your team anywhere. So they're a great team. And I think it'll be a
really good game. Well, so that's pretty much gonna wrap that up. All right. But now we're

(01:11:54):
gonna put the pressure on you. So this has become a little bit of a tradition. This your fourth year
to do this, right? Yes, sir. All right. As you guys, you know, I promised you something, but
sometimes I had to break my promises, but I'm not gonna break it in full. Well, we get to have the

(01:12:16):
guys do it here. That's right. Because if any of you follow Slay, he likes Voodoo Donuts and
he had to get Voodoo Donuts tonight and catch a plane. So he is on a plane now to Charlotte. So
we can't do a call in with Slay. So I want to know from you, Mr. Wee Bush, who is once again,

(01:12:38):
I'm gonna ask you who's the biggest cheerleader, because we're going to do a pep rally right here
with the players. Y'all have heard this three years. So now you're going to as seniors,
you pick the seniors. Because tonight is your night. That's your award. So you get to pick
the seniors that's going to come up here and lead your team. It doesn't have to be just one.

(01:13:05):
Lead the team and all of these parents out in preparation for Friday night. Okay? It's your
moment. I think we got a lot of good options back here. I think right looking back there right now,
it looks like Chisholm's a favorite, but I think I'm actually gonna pass on Chisholm. I think I'm
gonna pick the guy who led all the Carolyn the other night. Merlin, wherever Merlin is. Let's

(01:13:28):
get him up. Oh, he's not here? Oh, then probably Frito. Frito. That biggest cheerleader right here.
Best teammate on the team right here. Let's have that pom-pom right there.
All right. How many years has he been in the program? Four. So you know how the Pep Rallies go here, right?

(01:13:59):
You don't know? Oh, no. You don't know? I don't know. You don't know anything about
lock the door? Any of that type of stuff? Lock the door? What position does he play? Because I know
he doesn't trash talk. Grayson, do you know it? We'll get more up here with you.

(01:14:22):
Hey, bring some more up here. Bring some more seriously. Let's bring Chisholm. Chisholm. Chisholm, come on.
Come on Grayson.
Chisholm. What am I doing? You're leading the Pep Rally. I don't know the chant either.

(01:14:47):
I don't remember that. I don't think I was here. Lock the door? That's all I said.
Hey, Brendan, AJ, Eric, let's get up here. Y'all gotta get up here. I'm gonna give y'all,
I'm gonna give, we're gonna give the mics up. We're gonna give the mics up because you got
to get everybody ready to go for Friday night. Don't let me down, Hazard. All right, hey, so look,

(01:15:27):
everybody on the count of three, we gotta yell at the top of our lungs, lock the door. All right.
Lock the dough? All right, it's different. All right, one, two, three, lock the dough.
Guys, thank you so much. William, I got a

(01:15:51):
Gateway Tire Athlete of the Week plaque for you, man. Best of luck. Yes, sir. Thank you. Really
looking forward to Friday, man. Yes, sir. Thank you. I appreciate it. William Wee Bush, our latest
Gateway Tire Athlete of the Week. Congratulations. I tried. He's not answering his phone. No, we're
fine. Friday night, everybody will be there, obviously. Really looking forward to a great

(01:16:15):
game here. It's gonna be broadcast on WAKM AM 950. Joe Williams, Dana McClendon are gonna be there.
I'll be roaming the sidelines. We had some friends from 615 Preps in the house here, too.
Joe and Chris, they'll be there, obviously, as well. Garth, it's gonna be a busy week.
Thursday, we have BGA versus CPA, thinking in-county games here. And then Friday night,

(01:16:37):
we close things out with another Page Championship game matchup. Yeah, and I think this year is Page's
year. I think they've got it in them. This leadership, just having these young men up here
tonight, phenomenal. These parents are great. I mean, and every single one of them should be proud

(01:16:58):
of the young men that they have raised. And there we go.
I love it. Hey, Page Patriots, Friday night, we'll be there. Watch for all that coverage on
the Williamson Herald and, of course, 615 Preps. Are there great ones out there?

(01:17:18):
They disappeared in the crowd, so I'm not really sure where they went.
Thank you all for coming out tonight. Congratulations again to Ravenwood High
School, another great season. State semifinalist, 13-in-1 year. The unbeaten boys of Page, 14-and-0.
Taken on Sevier County, 14-and-0. Class 5A State Championship. Friday night in Chattanooga,

(01:17:41):
6 p.m. Central time. It's gonna be a beaut. Really looking forward to it.
Yeah, it's gonna be a great atmosphere. These parents from Rutterville, they're gonna show up.
I'm looking forward to it. It's gonna be awesome. But anyway,
thanks to all of you all for being here. Thanks for having a fabulous young man as your family

(01:18:04):
and just allowing us to have a few minutes with them. We enjoy them. Hazard, you hold on a minute.
So anyway, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be a good week.
We'll be back here next Monday. Thank you all so much. Have a great night.
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(01:18:25):
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