SCRAPPY

I wouldn't count out Shelbyville as the two and Hillwood as three. They play each other week 10. Hillsboro is heads above the rest. Looks to me like Stratford probably wins out, finishing 10-0. They don't play White House and if I remember correctly the deciding tie-breaker is overall record. (Please correct me if I'm wrong). If I was seeding right now, I'd go 1.) Stratford 2.) White House 3.) Pearl-Cohn 4.) Northwest. Coming in, I thought Stratford had enough talent to make the playoffs despite going most of the Summer coachless - but I never believed 10-0. Congratulations to Coach Johnson and the Spartans.

I only catch it on the replays Tuesday night

I find it better to watch with the sound muted.

What does CSS see in Fulton and Sperduto? Listening to those two call the high school games is painful.

Cowboy, I still think you're wrong. Please remember that the regular season is just the window dressing. All you have to do is qualify for the big dance. Once you're there, anything goes. As evidenced by the Brentwood showing, this team is capable of beating anybody - right now. I don't know who peed in your wheaties, but why continually run the program down? What's your vendetta? The team's gotten better every year under Gregory. There are plenty of programs out there that'd be quite tickled to claim they are a 5A playoff team. Outside of last year and the current campaign, Franklin was in no better shape than Centennial. Until Daniels arrived, Brentwood was fairly mediocre themselves.

Cowboy, what's inaccurate about Gregory's statement. Centennial's schedule has been as tough as anybody's and coming out a tough 5-5 and in the playoffs isn't the worst thing. They'll be prepared and believe me, this team is capable of making noise in the playoffs. Honestly - Spring Hill and Warren County are lower tier programs right now. Personally, I appreciate a little honesty out of any coach. The same old Lou Holtz-speak gets old.

Rebel, where you getting those pictures? I need a hook-up with that photographer. Come back.

Rebel27, Did I detect in a recent post that you're now officially giving love to Dickson County? Two weeks ago, I mentioned that I thought the Cougars were pretty good and you wore me out about their schedule. Could it be that I'm a little ahead of the curve? I've got another hot tip for you. Antioch. Saw those guys last week and the Bears left a big impression despite losing. Can't throw it a lick, but they have the most physical defense I've seen yet. Scary big, not just one or two guys - but everybody in the box.

Somebody has to pay the legal fees for the Brentwood Academy case.

Bryant carries the mail. He's not the lead blocker. He averaged 6.6 yards per carry with 1,123 yards and 18 TDs a year ago and he's over seven yards per carry this year. And Aydelott goes out of his way to maintain offensive balance and not feature this guy. Game-high carries was 11 entering last week's slugfest against Antioch, where he got 17 tough carries for 88 yards. Every carry was a street fight in the box. He was giving as good as he was getting from a very mean, physical Antioch defensive interior. I've seen both Holbert and Bryant play at least 10 times during their high school careers. Both are talents. Holbert will probably be a better college player, but Bryant is everything you want in a high school fullback. Concerning the Nunley statement, although his numbers have grabbed my attention - I wasn't aware he was a fullback. If so, you have a valid point.

mid-state TOP FULLBACKS 6.) Sam Reeves (Cheatham Co.) SENIOR. 620 rush yards, 6 TDs for 5-0 Cubs' offense averaging 29.4 points per game. 5.) Michael Motley (Page) 5'11", 220 / SENIOR. 215 rushing yards, 5 TDs while leading 5-1 Patriots' defense at linebacker. 4.) Spike McDaniel (Riverdale) 5'10", 192 / SENIOR. Limited carries with 124 yards and four scores for 3-2 Warriors. Thrives blocking for Gary Rankin's tailback fleet. 3.) David Holbert (Brentwood Academy) 6'1", 234 / SENIOR. 206 rushing yards and three TDs. Another quality blocker allowing Theo Townsend's 140 yards per game. 2.) Ian Van Horne (Brentwood) 6'3", 220 / SENIOR. 170 yards and two scores since Fugate's injury. The anchor to Bruins' team. Rarely off field. 1.) Calvin Bryant (Hillsboro) 6'0", 260 / SENIOR. 389 rushing yards and four TDs in Burros' 4-1 start. Punishes and drags tacklers. Usually requires group effort to get him down.

Wins are over teams with a combined 6-19 mark. Warriors can lock playoff bid with wins the next two week - home against Beech and at Glencliff. Close with Gallatin and Antioch where we'll find out the truth. No shame in the loss to Hendersonville, who's majorly under-rated right now. Campbell's got them very balanced running. The passing game is suspect. It's typical Hunters Lane, physical Metro defense with a solid rushing attack.

I watched parts of both team's games Friday night. Hillwood has one big bopper, Hillsboro has at least five. The speed and pace Hillsboro plays at is a different level. This one won't live up to the hype it'll get. If you want to see one this Friday that's pretty fairly matched and the teams don't really like each other - try Page and Sycamore.

Back to the top

Very impressed with Hillwood's Chris Brown (6'1", 210). Tough, downhill runner with defensive pop. Deserves All-City status. Toppers got a little banged up in big shutout win over Lawrence County. Brown and Hillsboro's Bryant should meet early in next week's showdown of 5-0 Toppers and 4-1 Burros, who grabbed an impressive comeback win over loaded Antioch - who gets Gallatin next week to decide 5-5A top seed. Antioch is good. They're as deep as anybody and feed Coker. Classic Metro. Neither team can throw a lick. Physical, hard-hitting street fight type of game where Hillsboro senior Marcellus Tibbs refused to lose. Antioch needs work on the two-minute drill, they got off only two snaps in a one-minute span - looked confused, didn't execute. Hillsboro's senior, big-game know-how pulled them through. Burros have too much for Hillwood, but the Toppers - did I mention they're 5-0 - will also be favored in three more games before closing with Shelbyville in what looks like a clash for a two seed and home playoff game. Give it up for Stratford, 5-6 a year ago. Spartans host unbeaten Northwest next Friday. Love the fact that new Coach William Johnson's putting some air back in Metro's ball. QB Tim Perkins put some 11-of-16 for 212 and three TD work on Overton in a 19-3 home win. The offense has a solid 60-40 run-pass ratio - averaging 18 pass plays an outing. That's unheard of in Metro since maybe the year Glencliff went to the Clinic Bowl.

From downtown to MTSU campus, go past Murphy Center (sitting on the right) and take the next major right - not the main Murphy sits on, but the next. Entrance to school well-marked.

While I agree that 6-5A should be considered the strongest based on how strong the top four look plus how 6-5A faired in the playoff games last year, but don't discount 5-5A. Gallatin is still Gallatin and capable of beating anybody in the state. Antioch will prove as talented as anyone. Their combined speed is unlike anything 6-5A sees excepting maybe Franklin. And I really like what I see with Hendersonville. It took Dickson a late drive to finish them off at home. They are physical, tough and well-coached with an arsenal of qualified ball carriers. Honestly, there's not a lot of difference between the regions, 6-5A's got more of a blue collar feel. The playoffs will be fun and whoever emerges into the final four should make the trip to Murfreesboro.

David Sharp at Lewis County.

Antioch at Hillsboro. White House at Greenbrier. Smith County at Macon County. Lawrence County at Hillwood. Dickson County at Riverdale. Brentwood at Smyrna. All pretty fair matchups, only the Hillwood tilt is regional.

Antioch's LaMarcus Coker actually won the state in the 200 and finished second in the 100.

From the outside looking in, I see a White House team that is physically solid. Not the most talented Devils' squad I've seen, but solid. I think they've probable been favored in every game thusfar. I question their mental toughness. White House is better than Portland, but the Purple played their hearts out and almost whipped a superior team. Same with Sycamore. White House expects to win and knows how to win, but coasting through the first half to test the waters is a dangerous game to play. If the Blue Devils play 48 minutes and the o-line starts pushing people around, watch out.

The running back suffered an injury a few weeks back. Agree that the smaller 5A schools (Clarksville, Henry County and Kenwood) don't stand much of a chance when grouped with Brentwood, Franklin, Centennial and Dickson - though Dickson's Creek Wood hit will probably affect their program in the next year or two. Those big schools have like 1,000 more kids to draw from (average 500 males). If you can get just two or three legitimate 'players' out of that group it sure makes a difference on the field Friday nights. The program is still viable. They still bring fans on some horrendously long road trips. Seems today, everybody wants the quick fix, fire the coach approach. Centennial fumbled, "fire the coach". Henry County lost, "fire the coach". Brentwood Academy didn't win the state, "fire the coach." If you've got a guy in place that's a solid citizen with in-depth knowledge of the game, who's already proven he can win with talent and graduates young men that are better off for having played football at Henry County - then why in the world would you even consider a change. It's all a cycle. The talent will turn, reclassification will get the Patriots in their proper class and the sun will come up tomorrow.

Guys, I believe you're all selling Gallatin, Antioch and Hendersonville a little short. The Wave's Jamison Link and Antioch's LaMarcus Coker are legitimate game-breakers. Some of you Williamson County guys need to take off the blinders (Rebel27) and go watch somebody else play. Last year doesn't count any more.

Gallatin, Antioch, Hendersonville and Hunters Lane should clash with Dickson County, Brentwood, Franklin and Centennial in the opening round. The club that makes the semis out of that group will - no doubt - be battle-tested. I'd say Antioch is capable of beating each of those teams - and also capable of losing to every one as well.

926, CPA is still a solid 1A club, don't let the losses to Goodpasture and Riverdale fool you. Wayne County gets the nod with a quality 24-18 loss to Lewis County along with league wins over Huntland and Forrest while Collinwood goes to Mt. Pleasant this week and hosts Moore County next for their two toughest games to date. Moore County, same story - at Gordonsville this week and at Collinwood next. It'll shake out pretty quickly. East Robertson has the sexy running back right now, but the three wins are over Red Boiling, Stewart County and Montgomery Central. Westmoreland played Lewis county and Macon County close with a win over Fairview. We won't know for sure until week 10 - when they'll meet for the third seed. Brentwood is now a defensive team and no lock for a home polayoff game.