The long awaited 2023 football season kicks off tonight with the Midway Greenwave welcoming Sale Creek Panthers to the Emerald Forest. SORSN brings their loyal readers along for the ride this season with sideline reporting, in depth interviews and we are happy to announce that the SORSN Pick Panel is returning.
The lights kick-on tonight for the Wave. Head coach Justin O’Toole joins us for this week’s Fireside Chat.
SORSN: Coach, we are just hours away from the start of the football season. Cooling temperatures this week have given a fall-like feel but Coach, that has not always been this case. Tell us about the summer grind the men put in to get ready for the season.
Coach O’Toole: Our guys have worked really hard this offseason. The most impressive thing about them is how hard they work and are willing to learn and be coachable
SORSN: Coach, there are a lot of new names to the staff this season, one of which is a name very familiar with Greenwave fans. Longtime Greenback football coach and Tennessee Football Coaching Association Hall of Fame inductee Bill Satterfield joined the Greenwave staff this season. Coach, tell us how the legendary ‘kee came over to the good side? Is it true that he is checked regularly to see if he’s wearing a wire to feed deep Greenwave secrets to Greenback?
Coach O’Toole: Coach Satterfield emailed me and came to us this spring and watched a few practices. We spoke and he was impressed by how hard our boys worked and expressed his desire to help our team out. He has been a tremendous asset to the boys. He has told me numerous times how much he wants to help our guys out and how he wants them to succeed. He works very hard to make that happen. Being around him has shown me why Greenback has had such a successful football program. I have often wondered why he asks me to speak a little louder and towards his chest sometimes during meetings.
SORSN: Tell us about the reunion Coach Satterfield had with Greenwave icon, coach Glen “the claw” Wheaton.
Coach O’Toole: Coach Wheaton comes by the fieldhouse regularly and checks in. Him and Coach Satterfield met up at Harriman. Boy I wish I could be a fly on the wall when those two talk football. Coach Satterfield has expressed his respect for the Midway program and Coach Wheaton has expressed how he’s glad that Coach Satterfield is now on our sideline.
SORSN: Coach Bill Satterield’s son, Marcus, is responsible for UT not making the playoffs last season. Some SORSN fans may not know Marcus Satterfield who played for Greenback in the 90s and was responsible for some Midway losses, was the OC for South Carolina last season (now with Nebraska) and they put up 63 points on our beloved Vols and ended our hopes of a College playoff appearance. Now that Bill Satterfield is on the Midway staff, can we have his son write a full page apology to all of Vol Nation?
Coach O’Toole: LOL, that’s a good one. Coach Marcus Satterfield did call his dad during one practice and I yelled how about a t-shirt? Two days later there was a Nebraska T Shirt sitting on my desk from him.
SORSN: Introduce us to the rest of the staff.
Coach O’Toole: Coach Mike Dimatteo is our offensive coordinator. He is a retired educator from Illinois. Coach has been at several 8a programs in Illinois. He is an avid student and teacher of the game. He also is over our strength program and does a great job. He has pointed out that we speak with an accent and he does not.
Coach Wyatt Wilson is our running back and linebacker coach. Coach Wilson brings the intensity and demands excellent effort from our players every day. Coach Wilson will also handle our in game special teams adjustments. I lean on Coach Wilson a lot during game planning. We’ve worked a few years together and have gotten to the point where we know what the other is thinking without having to say a word. Coach also traditionally hosts a team dinner at his house each year and it’s really delicious. Coach Wilson is also our high school baseball coach and they had a really great season last year. Being around Coach and hearing him speak of his passion for this community is impressive.
Coach Devries is back for year 2. Coach is our director of football operations and over our WIN teams. Satterfield has referred to him as the MVP because when a job needs done Devries finds a way to get it done. He is a tremendous asset to our program and community.
Coach Caleb Burton is also back for year 2. He is OL coach #2 and our outside linebackers coach. Coach Burton has a tremendous work ethic and is learning daily and is in the beginning stages of becoming a great coach. He has impressed Coach DiMatteo and Coach Satterfield numerous times with his knowledge of the game and work ethic. If given a task I have no doubt that the technique that Coach Burton teaches will be perfect. If we can keep him from poisoning Coach Satterfield to become OL coach #1 it would help out some.
I want to give a shout out to Mrs Leona Long and Mr Chris Marcie. The support they give our program is second to none and I really appreciate them.
SORSN: Coach, tell us about the team this year.
Coach O’Toole: Brennan Reed will be our quarterback this season. We have several returning starters coming back from last season. Honestly I cannot go through and pin point each player because each one is a valuable member of our team and shows great effort everyday in practice. Our effort level is probably our greatest strength
SORSN: What can you tell us about the Sale Creek Panthers?
Coach O’Toole: They are big and powerful and love to run the ball. There isn’t much fancy when it comes to them. They are going to come right at us and say try and stop it. They are an impressive team to watch and Coach Fitzgerald is doing a great job at Sale Creek. I expect them to be a force all season long.
SORSN: Good luck tonight Coach and GBG!