It was foretold. By Chad McGhee. On this site. Knox City was predestined to face Throckmorton. With these words: "I truly believe that. I'm just getting that signal that we will meet again and we will be able to beat them." And that's exactly what Knox City will do on Black Friday. Well, the meeting. Not the beating. At least not yet.
This is happening because Knox City beat Walnut Springs 32-14 while 11-0 Throckmorton throckmortoned Avalon 70-22. In the first half. A playoff mercy-ruling. Unheard of. Unthinkable. Intimidating.
As an aside, Chad mentions that "Walnut Springs shouldn't hold their heads down low. They put up a heck of a fight until the end." It's just that the Greyhounds's one-point loss from a year earlier "had been eating away at 'em for a year. They didn't forget it."
Now, there's chatter on SixManFootball.com mulling the potential of an upset.
On the yea side was dawgfan23, who wrote:
I observed Knox City a couple of weeks ago at full strength and Throckmorton had better bring their A+ game because the Knox City team is for real. The spread says Throck by 31, I believe this game will be much closer than that and yes I will go out on a limb and say if there could be a big upset in the playoffs, this could be it.
Grady2012 countered from the nay side with:
i believe you have been living in a fariy tale, you want to talk about Knox City not being 100% your very on coach talked how all his boys were 100% HEALTHy going into that game, now as far as TRock was concerned they were not at 100% you had #7 with ankle issues,#3 with ankle issues and #1 who just came off surgery with his arm 2 1/2 weeks prior to that game he had plates and screws put in but that didnt stop any of these guys from playing and now everyone on the team 110% healthy.
So dawgfan23 dont count on being there for 4 quarters of game cause the THROCKMORTON GREYHOUND EXPRESS will roll over you Knox City Greyhounds!!!!!!!!! dawgfan23 keep living that fairy tale everyone entitled to do that........JUST SAYING>>>>>
What's Chad— who posted a poll questioning whether people think his cheering has an impact on the game's outcome (results thus far: overwhelmingly YES!) — thinking just three days before a prophesy will be realized or denied? Well, he's worried about Thanksgiving travel.
"I'm between a rock and a hard place right now. Struggling badly with it. Tomorrow, I'm heading up to Dallas to spend some time with my family, with my brother who I only get to see once a year. My plans are to get back for the game, but I don't know if I can do that."
Oh Lord. How will the Greyhounds thrive without Chad in the stands?!
"I still think they can win. Me and my friend Perry Clark stopped by to talk to the kids for three hours about working together, teamwork. This team has changed. The way they dress, the way they act, their whole demeanor. It's a totally different team than the beginning of the year. [Throckmorton sits atop the six-man pack at 11-0] and here are the Knox City Greyhounds coming into town. I feel it in my heart that they're going to take care of business on the field whether I'm there or not. I just hope I'm not the artery that inspires them. When they're on the field, they're not thinking about me or the fans. They may feed off of us, but they're listening to Coach Steele and the assistants, focused on the task at hand."
Should they beat the heavily favored Throckmorton for the Region III crown, the Greyhounds will be two wins away from a state title and all-time Texas greatness.
In closing, here's a picture of fans who bought Chad's T-shirt. He posted it on his Facebook page. You should friend him before he reaches Carnac status this weekend.