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We’ll know after this game is over. Ridiculous!!!

Should be two really good games tonight. All four teams are extremely well coached. Both are repeats of games played very early in the season with MBA and BA each winning by 3 points. I have no idea who will win, but there will be some great football tonight! I know almost nothing about MUS this year other than the scores of their games. I've just historically seen how they always improve tremendously throughout the year. MBA is always fundamentally sound in every position. They just don't make mistakes. This will be a chess match between two great coaching staffs. McCallie/BA seems to be very evenly matched. Their game in early September was close and McCallie had a chance to win it in the final minute. I don't think McCallie will be as successful in slowing down BA's running game like they were in the first matchup. The BA QB had a lot of success throwing against their zone, so McCallie will likely change that up. It is really hard to beat a fairly equally matched team twice in a year. I think a lot of that is mental ("we beat them before, so we're better than them"). But, I'm going against conventional wisdom today and guessing that MBA and BA both win tight games.

Will the Baylor/MBA game be live-streamed? It’s at 7:00 tonight, right?

Hats off to JP. They executed a great game plan to start the game and were close to going up 28-3 in the 1st quarter before BA’s second offensive possession. After JP converted a beautiful onside kick at 21-3, BA stopped JP on 4th and 1 around the BA 35. BA got some momentum and scored 28 straight. Very impressed with the JP program and how much they’ve improved in the last few years. Great skill players and the soph QB is legit! BA is strong and is playing with a lot of confidence. Almost every game this year has been close, and they’ve won all of them. Semis v McCallie should be fantastic.

Quarterfinal matchups: W4 JPII at E1 BAW3 MUS at E2 Father RyanE3 McCallie at W2 CBHSE4 Baylor at W1 MBA Seems like D2AAA is wide open this year, and anyone can win it. Let's hope COVID isn't a factor. All 4 of these games should be very interesting, and I think every one will be tight. Crazy that both Chatt teams are on the road, but I wouldn't be too surprised if they both win. My guess - and it is a complete guess - is that the semis will be BA hosting McCallie and MBA hosting Father Ryan.

Ahh, yes, I should have caught that. The low number didn't make sense.....

So are we all just assuming the cutoff will be 550 or so, and Ensworth, BA and MUS will play up? Unless I am missing something, here are the top 23 D2 schools with enrollment according to the TSSAA (Current D2AAA teams in bold). There is a natural break between CPA and Notre Dame (448-368). If the cutoff was somewhere in there, that would leave 16 teams in D2AAA. Christian Brothers HS 1,478 McCallie School 1,336 Montgomery Bell Academy 1,134 Father Ryan High School 889 Baylor School 707 Knoxville Catholic HS 643 Briarcrest Christian School 592 Pope John Paul II HS 587 St. Benedict at Auburndale 554 Chattanooga Christian School 525 Webb School of Knoxville 494 Ensworth High School 480 Brentwood Academy 461 Lipscomb Academy 453 Memphis University School 453 Christ Presbyterian Academy 448 Notre Dame High School 368 Boyd Buchanan High School 366 Battle Ground Academy 365 Christian Academy of Knox 361 Lausanne Collegiate School 356 Silverdale Baptist Academy 347 Franklin Road Academy 338

3 teams are vying for only 2 postseason spots in the East: BA, Ensworth and Knox Catholic. Which 2 advance and who is playing basketball Monday? BA (vs Baylor): win and in. OR lose and either Ensworth or KC lose. Ensworth (at McCallie): win and in. OR lose and either BA win or KC lose. Knox Catholic (vs Father Ryan): win and BA lose.

Totally agree! In years past, it was always strange playing regular season games to simply determine seeding. Of course, winning was always important. But losing may have only meant you had to play on the road one round earlier in the playoffs. Now, losing could mean you're not even making the playoffs. Interesting thought: Assuming Knox Catholic wins and Ensworth loses, the outcome of the BA/Baylor game will determine whether it's KC or Ensworth who miss the playoffs. Has Ensworth EVER rooted for BA to win a game??? Ha! (If BA beats Baylor, Ensworth makes the playoffs regardless of the outcome of their game vs. McCallie, right?)

Great, detailed analysis. Friday night will produce a lot of drama! A really good team in the East will not make the playoffs and there will be some great matchups in the first round. One question on your analysis of the East: if there is a 3-way tie for 2nd place at 3-2 (Ensworth and BA win), wouldn't BA be #2, since they would have beaten both Ensworth and Baylor?

I've only seen East teams so far this year, but the top 4 teams in the West seem very close to each other - and all very good. I don't know what to think of the East division - McCallie sits on top, but it seems the next 4 teams all could beat each other on any given night. A really good team will not make the playoffs. We'll know a little more about the relative strength of the divisions after Friday, when BA goes to MBA. MBA already beat Ensworth and looks like they're playing very solid ball. I'm looking forward to some really good games in the playoffs!

Here you go. D2 brackets start on page 5. https://cms-files.tssaa.org/documents/tssaa/2019FBRegulations.pdf

Ahh, yes. Thanks, Boog, I missed that. Very well done.

Huge game Thursday night. If Catholic loses, they will drop to 0-3 in division play and be in danger of missing the playoffs. Only the top 4 teams in the 6-team division advance to the playoffs in D2AAA. BA is banged up and not at full strength. I’m not sure they can go into Knoxville and get a W. Who ya got? And will you be watching on ESPN2?

Big game in D2AAA!! I have no idea how it will turn out. I know McCallie is strong, but I haven’t seen Baylor in person yet. Their new RB is a stud. Wondering if McCallie can force Baylor to beat them some other way. McCallie’s O is really good, but Baylor always has great LBs in their 3-3 defense that fly around and make plays. They’re a really well-coached team. Not sure why, but I’m expecting McCallie to win. Should be an electric atmosphere and a great game. I just hope there’s a cool hype video by one of the student sections that goes viral.