CHS 2007

Region 6 is probally the strongest region in 5A, with five teams that could make serious runs in the playoffs. Franklin has emerged as the strongest of the group and should make a deep run. However, they have had some low spots (Loss to Independence, near loss to Dickson Co.) and although their defense could easily be considered one of the state's best, their offense hasn't been the same as in past seasons. And Franklin still has Centennial, who is playing their best football of the season (Even before the win vs. Columbia). The Rebels cannot afford to look ahead of this game. In short, Franklin will need some improvements to make a serious run towards state, especially against some tough Metro Conference teams.

Like I said in the Dickson Co. post, Franklin would be taking a huge risk by playing their second string. Centennial's playing on an emotional high and we'll likely see some agressive play calling. This kind of play will be new to the younger players on the team and they might not be able to stop it. If I was Franklin, I would definitely not look past this game. Remember, a loss and a Dickson win would knock Franklin from the top of the region.

This was definately an emotional win for us. It was great to see all the seniors pull out a win at home during senior night.

The thing about Dickson is they have 2 great running backs. I'd let Rayburn sit and let that #1 carry the load. As for Franklin, they would be taking a HUGE risk by sitting out their first team. Centennial has been playing a lot better these past few weeks and are caarying an emotional high into Franklin. They're gonna play with nothing to lose and no that we have that first win, you're gonna see a lot more aggressive play calling. The veteran players on Franklin can prepare for that, but I'm not sure a JV team will be ready for that kind of aggressive attack.

I will say one thing, CHS has got a lot of momentum. Not just from that win, but the last few weeks in general we've been playing better as a team. If the CHS offense can continue to click, this game might get interesting.

I'd say if we trade for Todd Campbell and get Josh Frohock suspended for stealing hamburgers from the cafeteria, we might pull out a win.

I happened to see bits and pieces of the second half of the Brentwood / Centennial game last night on the tube - the Cougar offense actually looked good on a few of the plays - including the pass for a touchdown and a scramble by the QB (#5).

 

Both being when the score was 30 - 13, was this against the 2nd and 3rd unit from Brentwood - or their starters? If it was against the starters - Centennial has come quite a long way from when I saw the Fr Ryan game.

 

Curious.

Actually, the starters stayed in for the entire game.

If Indy and Ravenwood both lose one game, Indy will be 7-3 and Ravenwood would be 6-4 overall. I'm not exactly sure what the tiebreaker is (Being a Centennial fan, really didn't have to worry about it) but If going by records, Indy would get the spot. If its head to head, tthen Ravenwood would get the spot. I thought this was like college and the tiebreak was settled by overall records.

I know someone very close to the situation at Columbia and from being around it you can see the problem. Offensively they are struggling because they are starting 9 sophmores and benching some of there better players. The offense will not play anyone who doesnt come to practice period. You dont play if you get a stupid personal foul either. But defensively they are allowed to play. there are kids who dont practice all week and still play defensively on friday nights. now the offense can take all the blame that people want to put on them but they are doing the right thing. kids dont wanna play offense because disiciplie is enforced on that side of the ball. it is not fair to the offensive coaches to take the blame from this situation. they are doing the right thing to try to build character and the other ones are not. until every coach is on the same page on discipline it will never work.

This is very similar to the CHS situation last year. We had some injuries and some Freshman and Sophomores were forced to step in. Although it might seem bad short-term, some of guys (Like Kelly and Scales) are gonna have great experience by their senior year.

I would have to say that Dickson Co.'s running backs are some of the best. The way Rayburn and #1 have been carrying the running game this year have earned the Cougars the title of one the best power rushing teams in the state.

I will say this, if Franklin wants to win the game, they will need to use Campbell more than they have been using him this season

I said this all year, Independence is the MOST OVERRATED TEAM in the midstate. The last two weeks proved that. the Ravenwood stomping really killed this team. The only big win for Indy came against an injury ridden Franklin who was playing sub-par football at the time.

As for Brentwood, the score against Centennial didn;t tell the whole story. They didn't play with any intensity and 21 of their points came with drives starting inside CHS's 20. Centennial came very close to pulling off that upset and I'm sure Crawford wasn't happy with his team's performance. Brentwood REALLY needs to pick up their play level in order to make it this year.

In the end, I think Brentwood will rebound and pick up the win in a close game. I do think that Ravenwood will play tough against Dickson, but I don't think they will pull it off. Indy takes the 4th spot assuming they can beat Columbia.

Brentwood 28

Independence 21

Region standings

1. Dickson Co.

2. Franklin

3. Brentwood

4. Indepndence

This week is the week for us. Our offense is the best its been all season. The only concern is our defense, but Columbia's mistakes should offset that. The Brentwood game really gave the school a buzz and more importantly gave us confidence. This would give us a huge boost for next week.

Who knows, maybe the entire Franklin team will be caught stealing burgers from the cafeteria the day before the game.

Dickson seems to be playing great all-around football this year. I'm gonna go with

Dickson 17

Franklin 10

PS: In response to the Centennial fan thing, nothing could be further from the truth. In our last few home games, a large number of students have been at the game. Just check the parking lot during the tailgate and you'll see the entire right side filled up with students. Centennial football is still tradition and the fans come out to see it.

Centennial really kept it close against Brentwood in a game that no one thought would be that close. Their last two touchdowns came late from generous field position (turnover on downs, interception) and they scored another one off a blocked punt. We've really been coming on as of late and I think this is the week it finally pays off.

Centennial 24

Columbia 14

For a team that doesn't practice outdoors when it rains, Centennial seems to do pretty good in the slop. I don't really know much about Brentwood's running game, but our boys should look for it early and often. Maybe take out a safety and put 8 men in the box. The conditions could turn out in our favor, we just have to compensate on offense.

Don't fool yourself. At least 140 of those came in the fourth quarter against Woodland Middle.

The point is we passed the ball. Something we haven't done much this season. Suposedly, Chase has gotten most of the snaps this week, and should start

Centennial needs more than a spark to get a win. It's really a shame that a Williamson County High School has sunk so low as to simply hope to keep the score from becoming a 21 to 27 point loss.

 

Relative to looking better this week in practice - of course, it's against yourselves!

 

And rumor has it - Grassland doesn't want to play Centennial, Grassland doesn't want to weaken their strength of schedule points

I didn't mean in practice. I was referring to our improved passing game last week. We had about 200 passing yards, but we again either turned it over or stalled out. We need to keep the spark alive in order to have a chance.

PS. Anyone know who's starting at QB this week?

I know this will start something but i think Indy is alittle overrated and gettin cocky and i think ravenwood is flying under the radar and could come back

Finally, someone who agrees with me. Like I said, Indy has beaten a tough team besides Franklin, who was without two of their best players. Now that they're playing some hard teams, their confidence is finally dwindling. I predict losses against both Brentwood and Ravenwood, and that Columbia game might not be a blowout either.

If Franklin wins and Indy wins out,

 

Indy wins the region. So...go Rebels!

 

Here's this to back me up

 

If said result happens, we have

 

Franklin 9-1 (6-1)

Indy 9-1 (6-1)

DC 8-2 (6-1)

 

DC is eliminated on the first tiebreaker (total wins). Indy then holds the edge over Franklin based on head-to-head play. Franklin would finish second and DC third.

 

This region is crazy...Indy has to win out to guarantee that they won't get the 4 spot. If they do, they get the 1 or 2 spot. If they don't (win out), they'll likely finish 4 and might possibly miss the playoffs with a 7-3 record. Crazy.

That would be that whole "Independece is Overrated" coming into play. I've said it all year long, Independence has failed to win any big time games except for Franklin, and that was only because Sellers and Campbell were hurt. Now that they have some tough teams to play against, it's do or die. Should they lose against both Ravenwood and Brentwood, they're done.

Franklin has both a good front 7 and a great secondary. Dickson Co. can't be overlooked either.

I've said all year long that Franklin would win the region. However, I was impressed by Dickson's emergence of the passing game last week vs. Indy. I think that two-way play can solve Franklin's vaunted D. As for the Franklin offense, Sellers has shown some spark, but they have been having trouble giving the ball to Campbell lately.

Dickson Co. 20

Franklin 13

I heard that Ravenwood's quarterback injured his ankle in their game last week. Any validity to that?

Yeah, Becker scrambled out of the pocket and was hit right as he threw. He limped off under his own power, but #23 played QB the rest of the game

Ravenwood 28

Independence-24

Riverdale over Smyrna

LaVergne over Siegel

WIlson Central over Blackman

Oakland over Lebanon

Germantown over Houston

Fulton over Knox Catholic

Maplewood over Hillsboro

Woodale over Whites Station

Kenwood over Clarksville

Heritage over Eagleville