innocent bystander

I would be highly disappointed more than anything. I think everyone knows, or reasonably assumes, that it was their own students. So to hide behind that would be kind of petty. If they did something like that, they deserve no loyalty because they went there. They are criminals and if they are caught, it would be in the paper. They were not at all hesitant to continually publish reports about the Smyrna football player that got in trouble last season even though he was eventually cleared of all charges.

I'm with you on the wanting to catch and prosecute the punks that were responsible. I'm sure the authorities were involved and if there was any evidence it would have been persued. Vandalism of any kind is cheap and cowardly and all parties need to be punished. Personally, I don't think they have "pretended" to be good at anything else... at least not as long as I have been around I haven't been around for a while, but the b-ball team has been anything but successful. Not sure about baseball or soccer, but I don't see a whole lot of teams go around bragging about those teams unless they win state.

I'm sure Blacman is a good school, but I can't see why anyone would want to transfer there to play football right now. That might change in the future, but not right now. I have no idea if anybody was ever caught. I do suspect that it wasn't a kid with green hair and facial piercings, jmo....I wasn't aware that Smyrna had an "all american jock image of a school that likes to pretend it doesn't have misfits and stoners." Just how do you pretend that?

[/quote maybe a chance at blackman? Can we just nip all of that crap in the bud. I can see it now....some kid at Smyrna that isn't getting playing time will automatically be rumored to be transferring to Blackman because the old Smyrna coach is there. Here is the reality of it. This year's Senior class played for him their Soph year, and how many of them actually got to play? They played for the new guy their Junior year. So if you look at it, they have played as much or more for the new coach as they did the old coach. There is no more loyatly for the old coach. He is not there, and 2/3 of the kids on the team (Sophomore - Senior) have never played for him, so why would any of them up and leave to go play for him now? I don't know this particular young man or the situation, but if they said he quit he must have not wanted to play that badly in the first place. Back to the topic....what are some predictions for 09? It looks to be a challenging schedule.

A coach that doesn't have the benefit of teaching/coaching in Williamson County with the big base salary. To me, this will just make the situation even worse. It is pretty easy to get around, in my opinion. In the old system donors would simply write a check to the QB clubs, and then they would spend the money. Now, they will get around it by asking the boosters to cut a check directly to the coach. IRS rules allow "gifts" up to $11K from individual to individual. I think this could really get out of hand with donors issuing "signing bonuses" etc. This is usually what happens when you have too much regulation....it gets worse.

I agree with you....that's my point. I hate it for the kids. If they keep this pace up, there will be many empty seats. I just wish the board would have used a little financial common sense. Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying people shouldn't go, just that many will chose to pass (especially with the economy the way it is). My kids aren't in high school yet, and we'll still go to games and playoff games (for now), but we'll stay home for the championships. It will be interesting to see what the estimates are and what the shortfalls (if any) turn out to be next year.

Mr. Carter is (was) a good bit more than the face of the T$$AA. He had a lot of power to "interpret" things as he saw them, but this is not the thread for that stuff. I personally don't have anything against him

First, I didn't even mention Mr. Carter in my post. I was talking about the board in general which is why I referred to it as "their" decision etc. My main gripe is "their" knee-jerk reaction to simply raise the ticket price. If they would do a little research, I'm sure that they would see the increased attendence they were looking at came at the time when tickets were $5 for a playoff game. It is rather simple. Lower prices, more people come. The die-hard fans and parents are going to pay regardless, but you will lose the casual fan when you raise prices. You can't compare a TN high school football game to a college or pro game....it's apples and oranges. I am just saying that the casual fan that doesn't have a kid in one of the participating schools would rather do something else with their money. I could understand a little when the regular season prices were $5 and they raised the playoff prices at $6. What struck me as funny was when they raised them for the second year in a row, it amazingly caught them off guard that they didn't sell as many tickets and actually made less money. I do not know who is on the board, but you would think they would have a little basic financial training if they are dealing with a 2.5 Million dollar budget.

I don't get it. In an article in today's Daily News Journal (Murfreesboro paper), it says that there was a shortfall of $159,000 in gate receipts from the 2008 football playoffs. What is their answer to this....to raise the ticket prices of the championship games for football and basketball. What did they expect to happen after they raised the rates again for the playoffs to $7. This is simple, high school Economics....Supply vs Demand. T$$AA didn't even consider the scenario that the casual fan wouldn't pay $7 and would rather stay home. I would almost guarantee you that if they dropped the ticket prices down to $5 again for the playoff games, they would have made more money because more people would be willing to pay that. They are about to price the sports out of existence where all that is left at games are devoted parents and a few spectators. It is sad for the players and coaches trying to run a successful program to have money snatched out of their hands. They are raising the Championship game tickets to $12. Why would they do this? The games are on tv, it's usually cold....so......let's raise the ticket prices, that will bring the people out. What are they thinking?!? I for one will probably never go to another championship game, because all it does is go straight to the T$$AA. How much do the schools that are actually competing get? Less than 25% of playoff gates, and I don't even know about the championship money. That is also why there are now 6 playoff divisions for football. They say "competitive balance", "less travel", blah blah blah. It is ONLY to get another vein of cash. It's very sad and frustrating.

I say we worry about 2009 first, but if I must....Smyrna "should" be loaded in 2010. They will be playing mostly Soph's and Juniors this year, so 2010 should be special. 2010's Junior's and Senior's are the most talented groups I have seen in a while....Barring injuries or other special circumstances, they will be contenders.

He is a good talent, that's for sure. He also started (I believe) as a Freshmen on the 2006 State Championship team. The sky is the limit for this kid if he keeps growing and improving.

Great job Oakland. I know it's not over, but they are doing a great job. I had a feeling that the winner of the Oakland/Smyrna game would make it to the Championship, but I didn't want to speak out of turn since I hadn't seen Ooltewah play this season. That game last week was the best defensive high school game I've seen in a while. Oakland made more plays and forced more mistakes from Smyrna, and it seems like they are doing it again tonight.

I remember it was something wierd like that. I remember not understanding the reasoning. That is wierd that it was set up like that. I thought that each part of the brackets were set up the same. One side of the bracket would host one year and the other the next. At least they rectified the situation to be fair to everybody. I know gate money is important to every team

It alternates every year. I am not sure of the reason, but the TSSAA changed the brackets mid-year last year. It was a wierd deal, and I can remember the teams from the East griping which was justified. You will never see a team host a semi-final game two years in a row. Whoever wins tonight will have to gas the bus up and get ready for a long trip next week.

Game day is finally here....and what better way to start it off than with a bunch of flurries. I hope everyone has enough layers on tonight. Hopefully the cold won't keep a bunch of people at home. Captain Obvious says that this is going to be a great game. The last two games, at least, that these two teams have played on that field have been nail biters. I remember the game 2 years ago was really close. I was just starting to follow Smyrna and had heard about Oakland's hot dogs (fantastic), so I decided to go to that one. If memory serves, an Oakland receiver either dropped or was overthrown in the last minute what would have been the go ahead touchdown pass. Then, this year needs no re-visiting. Wrap up and come out to see a great game. I hope Smyrna wins, but whoever wins needs to go win it all.

I will respond to this as tactfully as I can. The other post got closed and this topic should be closed before it gets out of hand again. First off, the article today, I thought, was completely inappropriate and petty. There was nothing new to report so why did the Tennessean and DNJ think it was newsworthy AGAIN to make a major story out of it. It is something that happened 2 weeks ago. As to why he has been allowed to play, there are several reasons....which pretty much all of us are not priveledged to. To sum up what some "relevant and trustworthy" people and posters have said..... He was not as involved as the report or the newspaper made it out to be. Apparantly the other "minors" (brothers) were more involved that he was...he just got in the paper because he was 18 and played football for Smyrna. I don't know the facts, this is just a summary of what some reliable people have said. Trust me, no coach would play a player if it was evident that they were guilty of what he was accused of. The Austin East players were suspended because there was no doubt as to their guilt. Different scenario, different result. And the games are TOMORROW not tonight. I don't know if they play Thursday night High School football in Alaska or not, but TN plays on Friday (mostly).

I think both of you guys are half right. Experience does play a factor into the preparation and confidence factor, but it also doesn't make you block or tackle any better. While the last two years have proved to be invaluable experience in dealing with playoff pressure and knowing what kind of atmosphere to expect, it doesn't mean they will be able to block McAdoo or tackle any of their backs any better. You can look at the 2 championship games to see both sides of this. Two years ago Ravenwood was the favorite and was expected to win just because "they won it the previous year" and they "had been there before". Smyrna came out and took care of business. Then last year Independence showed their inexperience in the first half. They came out and had that "deer in the headlights" look and got down by a bunch early. The experience thing only goes so far. I think all would agree they would rather have the experience than not, but it does not guarantee anything. I don't think Oakland will get caught up in lacking experience, because they can point to the experience of already beating Smyrna this year. I think the experience factor only comes into play in unfamiliar settings...ie the Championship game on the turf, or playing an unfamiliar team in the Semi's. That is when experience or the lack of experience comes into play. This game will come down to who makes fewer mistakes, who blocks better, and who tackles better....simple as that.

I like your optimism, but I don't think either team could sustain 2-3 turnovers...unless the other team gives up 5-6 which is highly unlikely. This game will come down to the team that makes the fewest mistakes. I don't think anyone can say that Smyrna is the better football team than Oakland right now. They have 3 fewer losses and beat them head to head. I think these two teams are about as evenly matched as you can get. Each strength mirrors the others strength. I give the Oakland DL the edge, but the Smyrna LB's the edge, so the front 7 or 8 for both teams is pretty even in my opinion. I think it will come down to the team that hits a crucial pass. Both teams will load up to stop the run, and both teams will establish the run. The X factor is who is efficient in the passing game when they need to be. It seems that both QB's are starting to establish that. As even as I think these two teams are, it might come down to OT (again) and the kicking game.

I agree with you except for the score. It will be much closer than that. I do agree with you that I think Smyrna's D can limit Oaklands O, but I just think Oakland's DL is too good to roll that many points up, especially on the ground. Smyrna will have to go to the air to put those kind of points on the board. It is true, Hicks didn't get that many carries the 1st time. He does have a tendency to wear down a Defense. It takes so much energy to tackle him play after play. If Oakland's DL gets tired, he could get on a roll. I think that is why Smyrna had some troubles early on. Their two backs are so much more effective when they are fed the ball constantly. When both backs only get 12-15 carries, they don't get in a rythym. I think a lot of Smyrna folks were worried when Bryson got the ankle sprain, but it might turn out to be a blessing. Hicks has gotten 25-30 touches for the last 4 weeks or so, and has gone well over 100 in each game, and now Bryson has gotten healthy enough to provide a breather for Hicks and a quick change of pace for the D to contend with. This, in turn, has loosen up the outside giving the young QB much more confidence. If you but 8 in the box to stop Hicks, the QB is efficient enough to hit a pass or two. That touchdown pass to the TE against WC was a thing of beauty. Great call, and great execution. Again, I say this is going to be one of the best games of the year.

I agree, this is going to be a great game. Should be a hard hitting, physical affair. You are right about Hicks. Ever since the Lavergne game, he has run with bad intentions. This game will be won in the trenches. Oakland's DL is tremendous, so trying to neutralize them will be key to Smyrna's success. It will be a tall order. How many of Oakland's linemen play both ways? I can't wait to see this game. I know about the Oakland hot dogs, but do they have some good hot chocolate? It's supposed to be cold.

I guess I am ignorant that I think td's still count 6 or 7 not 22. Instead of complaining about one play, I would be ticked that my team couldn't punch it in from inside the 5 on 4 downs, or that my team went for it on 4th down and 2 at midfield and didn't make it, which led to a Smyrna touchdown.... or the 9 times WC put the ball on the ground (wasted plays). You can't beat an average team with mistakes and a lack of execution like that, much less a pretty good team. WC shot themselves in the foot repeatedly and failed to make a play when it counted. There are between 90-120 plays in an average hs football game. To gripe and moan about 1 of those makes you guys seem uneducated and petty. Also to keep saying you are the better team than a team that has beat them at least 5 in a row and held them to 9 points total in the last two, is pretty weak. Please stop whining.

OK...let's say you're right. Final score Smyrna 24 - WC 9. Does that feel better? Now how did the officials "cheat" WC out of 15 more points? Get over it. Truth hurts...I'm sorry

Wow, where to begin.... I guess I am most sorry that you have to diminish what the Wilson Central players have done this year by griping and complaining. First off, to say that was a terribly officiated game is just grasping at air. Let me try to counter your points...although I admit up front it is a feeble waste of my time to change your mind. 1. After a punter gets rid of the ball, he becomes a defender trying to tackle the punt returner. What you saw was a player on the punt return team executing a block. 2. This play I cannot comment on too much. It was on the opposite sideline on the Wilson Central side. 3. I didn't see anything like this happen...not to say it didn't, but I didn't see anything. To say that the officials never gave WC a chance to win is just ludacris. I'm sure those refs from West or East TN were schooled during pre-game on the established Rutherford County bias that is apparantly such a given.....GROW UP! On the last part, I will not even comment, because it has been beaten to death. I will say that even if he didn't play, WC still would be turning in pads on Monday. Congrats to the players on a great season.

You can talk about class and respect all you want. Maybe you can help me on something? Which fans caused a several minute delay in the game because the ref had to call for an administrator - who in turn had to have an officer go over to confront a rather large collection of fans of a certain school. This business of bad officiating is just comical. I don't even remember a close call or no call. I guess if I were on the opposing side, I would have been moaning about the block in the back whether it was accurate or not (it was correct). Guys, you scored 9 points in 96 minutes of football against Smyrna. Quit making excuse and have a little of this "class" you guys are screaming for, and congratulate them for being the better team. If you choose not to do so, quit saying they have no class, because you have no room to talk.

I agree that a coach has the right to suspend a kid for something done outside of school. I also agree that a principal has the right to suspend a student for something done off school grounds. What I am saying is that the fact that nothing has been done leads me to think that this is either not as serious as it was made to sound, or this kid just happened to get rolled up in it unnecessarily. I wonder what happened to the other minors that were arrested. Are they still in the pokey, or are they back at school? If somebody could answer that, then we would probably know which way it will turn out. The fact that the kid is back in school tells me the school doesn't think it, or he, is much of an issue. BTW, schools WERE in session yesterday. Banks etc were closed, but business as usual for schools