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My predictions: MUS- 38 White Station- 20 Hopefully WS's coach accepts the ball if they win the toss. One would think that that would be a given if you have a prolific offense and the weather conditions are at least decent. Him not doing so against CBHS was a very poor decision; and would be even worse in this game (provided the weather is good). Arlington- 24 Bolton- 28 Arlington will lose most of its remaining games. I predict that it will start with this one. Craigmont- 26 Briarcrest- 24 The combination of it being mid-season (not early), athleticism, and confidence, for Craigmont, should be enough to overcome Briarcrest's kicking game and home field advantage. Millington- 20 Cordova- 24 Millington's offensive scheme mainly works when they have very good athletes to run it, combined with opponents being physically overmatched and undisciplined. This should be a very close game. East- 20 Melrose- 26 Both have poor kicking games. East may be a little better offensively, while Melrose may be more than a little better defensively. On that basis, I pick Melrose. But, as I said before the season started, this is the worst team that Melrose has fielded in years.

CBHS- 20 Millington- 13 This is just a bad match-up for Millington. CBHS is a big strong team, that is fundamentally sound. Yes, they are a step or two, slow on defense and just have average speed on offense. But, I just do not think that Millington's has the offensive scheme, nor the players to beat CBHS this year. ECS- 31 USJ- 24 This is just based on current records and ECS's history of playing quality teams. MUS- 45 East- 14 Except for East having a couple of exceptional athletes that may make an exceptional play or two, MUS is simply a much better football team.

Though I did not attend any games this weekend, this recap gives me a pretty good visual of the Whitehaven CBHS game. Thanks for taking the time to write this! Congratulations Whitehaven! Hats off to the players and coaches. I am quite sure that fans, administration, and community also supported this effort in spite of the weather and conditions; hats off to them as well. Just a reminder to the coaching staff and kwc. In most years, Whitehaven should win its fair share of games against the better teams out there. Whitehaven's coaching should realize that unlike most inner-city schools, they have qualities that are extremely favorable to fielding more than its fair share of championship caliber teams via performance and not just on paper or how they look getting off the buses. Consistently you have the physical attributes- numbers, size, speed, talent, and social attributes- smart players, incomes (kids can focus on football during the summer as opposed to working to support the family), and community support; to compete with the best teams in the state. So, unless there are serious issues with the administration's support of the football program, Whitehaven's less than average performances against the better teams out there, particularly in the play-offs lies directly with its coaching. No, I do not expect deep play-off runs every year, nor most years. But, I do expect a deep run once in a while. I am not ready to say that Whitehaven's coaching is good; but with a couple more wins like this along with the development of at least a fair kicking game (PATs and field goals), I will. Again, congratulations Whitehaven!

Correction- CBHS's record was 3 wins and 6 losses in 1997; the year they loss to Whitehaven.

Greetings from the Haven As an avid supporter of the Haven I know 4 a fact a lot of the stuff u r sayin is legit... As a product of Whitehaven, I have witnessed times when the coaching staff either didn't want to or couldn't make the proper adjustments during a tough game... On the other hand I have been a part of teams that have dug down deep and came back from a 20-some-odd-point @ G-Town the '01 season so honestly we may have underachieved as a program but ITS NOT AS MUCH ON THE COACHES AS U MAY THINK... I can't argue with U on yo opinion because there have been times that I HAVE WITNESSED SOME "QUESTIONABLE COACHING" but we in the HAVEN have 2 all be DOWN with goin to the next level... We still got folks who wanna do things like how we did back in the day... BACK IN THE WE AINT GET NO RINGS SO WHY KEEP DOIN IT!!! Bro. fourthree, u have made some points that should make any person fimilar with Whitehaven consider and take heed! I know good SCHEMES beat good TEAMS and that's all that u r sayin... I also Charge the Whitehaven coaching staff 2 use their football knowledge first and your athletes' talents second and victories is all we should get!!! Let's GO HAVEN... Thank U fourthree! Senator, Like kwc, you got the gist of almost all that I have said- and I believe clearly said. The point is not about good schemes beating good teams, as you said. The point that I am making is that good schemes tend to beat ill-prepared teams that cannot make adjustments. And it is even worse when the team with the good scheme, matches up well physically, and is fundamentally sound in all facets of the game (including special teams and the kicking game). Yes, from time to time losing to a team that is physically inferior to a large degree can happen to any team, but over the long haul those teams, provided the coaching is good, still have significant accomplishments.

Though the past is the past, here is a little history on the results when CBHS and Whitehaven have played since 1993. CBHS has 8 wins to Whitehavens's 1. During CBHS's worst season in the past 15 years, 1998 in which they had 1 win and 9 losses, that win came against Whitehaven by the score of 30 to 12. Whitehaven's one win came in 1997, by the score of 19 to 14. CBHS's record was 3 wins and 9 losses that year. Yes, given what the Whitehaven coaching staff gets to work with year in and year out (big, fast, strong, smart, middle-class kids, and lots of them), based on play-off results (not just regular season games against CBHS), I would say that the coaching at Whitehaven has been at best questionable for the most part during the past 15 years. Yes, there was a time or two when they were not lucky and ran into championship teams early in the play-offs (ex. Germantown); but still, with the kind of players that Whitehaven fields from year to year, besides coaching, how do you explain their history against good/play-off teams.

LOL! You got most of the gist! Now, I never said "you guys can't coach a team to beat another team with equal talent/depth that has a good coaching staff on a consistent basis" in this discussion. That would be a very high standard for any coach; that is depending on one's definition of consistent. Given that scenario, good coaches would win some and lose some; great coaches would win significant a majority; while questionable or bad coaches would lose a significant majority.

Ok wavelax2315 ... I won't give you any more grief for your picks ... LOL ... It's your pick ... use it however you please ... who am I to question your reasoning. Why on earth are you more worried about lil ole Whitehaven more then White Station? Afterall ... didn't WS beat WH by 20 @ WH? And didn't CBHS just beat WS by 27? ... So ... by that token ... shouldn't CBHS beat WH by at least 47? Well ... the game is at WH ... so let's say 37. kwc, Of all the teams in Memphis, I am most familiar with CBHS. Coaches and knowlegeable supporters of schools like CBHS, MUS, ECS, etc. are always concerned about teams like Whitehaven. Whitehaven consistently field teams that are deep, big, strong, fast, and athletic. This, combined with the fact that the players are bright, have good parental support, and community support, separates Whitehaven from most inner-city programs.

Though I am picking CBHS to win this game, I actually would like to see Whitehaven win. But I just do not think that the coaches are capable of providing these kids with the best chance to beat quality teams like this CBHS team or the teams they would face if Whitehaven advanced well into the playoffs. In my opinion, Whitehaven has been the most underachieving high school football team in the Memphis area in the last 15 years; not due to the kids, but due to the coaching. The last time that I saw these two teams play each other was about 3 or 4 years ago during a Bridges Classic event. If my memory serves me correctly, for Whitehaven, that game was worse for them than the recent game against CBHS was for White Station. This year, there should be no excuses, particularly being that Whitehaven is playing CBHS in the middle of the season, not at the very beginning. The Whitehaven coaches have had enough time to prepare their team. If this game is at minimum competitive, I may change my tune towards Whitehaven's coaching. If this game resembles that Bridges game that I previously mentioned, everyone should conclude that the Whitehaven program has advanced about as far as it ever will with this coach; that is unless there were extraordinary circumstances/conditions that factored in.

CBHS 27 - WHS 14 Athletically, Whitehaven matches up very well to CBHS. They have at least the same size, strength, numbers, and actually have more speed. But due to questionable coaching and not having an adequate kicking game, Whitehaven will lose. The key to this game for Whitehaven will be whether or not its offensive line can do its job and contain/block CHBS's defensive line. If they can, Whitehaven can win a very close game. White Station 22 - East 20 This prediction is based on WS's starting QB playing. He left the game with what appeared to be a minor ankle injury in the CBHS game. Melrose 18 - Mitchell 12 Though this one of the weakest Melrose teams that I have seen in the last 10 years. They still have that swagger and still seem to intimidate most teams to various degrees. You always should factor in Melrose's sense of pride in its program, when picking against them; which is why I am picking Melrose in a very close game. MUS 33 - OB 20 Does anyone realize that MUS has been playing without Keith McBride, its starting running back?! I think he'll get some playing time in this game but will not be 100%. At the Bridges Classic, I was told that he would be out about 4 weeks. Well, that means that he may be back this week, if he hadn't already returned in the Overton game. G-town 23- Houston 13 G-town's ground game will eventually wear Houston down. ECS 20 - Bolton 13 This should be a competitive game with Bolton having one of its better teams this year.

kwc, WS did not score because CBHS completely dominated the line of scrimmage and the linebackers were very disciplined and did not fall for all of the horizontal and misdirectional stuff. CBHS's was able to consistently push up the middle with its front four (sometimes 3, plus a linebacker), and everyone else stayed home or dropped into zone coverage. It seemed as if WS's ball-carriers were just running to CBHS defenders; horizontally at that. Another problem for WS was the fact that the WS quarterback floats the ball. As you mentioned before, he throws a "catchable ball". Against the CBHS defense, that so called "catchable ball" just did not get to the recievers fast enough- not enough zip. This allowed CBHS's well-coached and very disciplined, but slow secondary, to easily react and disrupt the passing plays or be there to make tackles for minimal yards-after-catch.

kwc, No, you did not eat crow on this one. Blackhaven Senator did. With this one, your pick was based on knowledge, logic, and a good assessment of the characteristics- good and bad- of both teams. Now, in some of your Whitehaven picks, maybe your logic was based more on emotion or a hope and a prayer. As you stated, CBHS controlled this game with their excellent kicking game; they also completely dominated the line of scrimmage on offense and defense. Unfortunately for WS, they probably underestimated CBHS's strength and size up front and could not make adjustments that worked. I thought CBHS would attempt that strategy, I just did not think that it would work as well as it did. Being that WS handle Whitehaven's size and strength advantage, I thought that they would be able to handle CBHS's well enough to win the game. I was wrong! Now, I will wait on you to start the CBHS Vs. Whitehaven discussion/thread! Please do not be gun-shy, LOL! We need to represent the west on this forum as well as the middle and east regions are represented.

Spartansfan, The only good thing about that game for WS was no apparent major injuries!

Wow! CBHS simply punched WS in mouth. I did not underestimate CBHS. The way they approached the game did not surprise me at all- my posts reflect that. And yes, the CBHS D is slow. The surprise for me was the manner in which CBHS completely manhandled WS in the trenches and how well their approach worked. Though I knew CBHS was the bigger/stronger team (as they will be against most they play in the regular season with the exception of maybe- Whitehaven and Millington), I thought WS would be capable of using schemes to prevent CBHS from totally dominating the line of scrimmage. CBHS was physical and extremely disciplined the entire game. As I watched this game, I just could not understand WS's offensive strategy. From the onset, some of the coaching decisions befuddled me. If you win the opening toss, why would you not choose to start on offense if your offense is your strong point? Why would you not try to set the tone of the game with such an offense? That was just a very poor decision by the WS coach. That game-opening TD drive by CBHS set the entire tone for the game. And what was up with all the sideline to sideline/horizontal plays? Even if some of the WS offensive players had Usain Bolt's speed, you will not beat someone to the outside if you have to run 40 yards to get there, against a disciplined defense that happens to be controlling the line of scrimmage, with outside linebackers and dbs waiting for you or only needing to run 15 or 20 yards to be in position to make the play for no gain near the sideline. Well, CBHS is a very good team with solid coaching and a complete and incredible kicking game. They are big, strong, and fundamentally sound. This is their best team since the Henry Harris days 3 or 4 years ago. Yes, the CBHS defense is slow, but tonight their physicality and scheme completely negated the WS offensive. I wonder how the time-of-possession stats look. Great team effort! Great coaching! If I am remembering their remainding schedule correctly, this team will only lose to MUS and possibly Mitchell (I'll call that one as it nears and I learn more about them) during the regular season.

Wave80: I can't answer that question but maybe fourthree can because he has seen them twice this year. But, he has already made it known that he doesn't think the CBHS has the speed to contend with WS. The reason Melrose cut the CBHS secondary to shreds is because Melrose has an exceptional QB and speed on the perimeter that CBHS couldn't match. CBHS probably went to zone coverage during that game but honestly ... Melrose did more in self destruction to help CBHS in that game more then anything else. WS poses a very different problem the Melrose. WS has the speed on the wing like Melrose but they also have a Tim Tebow type QB who runs the spread to perfection. This young man is listed at 6'-2" and 225 lbs. When they played Briarcrest I listened on the radio as he made a read play going around the end and took it 70 yards. He's BIG, STRONG, SMART, FAST, and he throws a very catchable ball. WS's offense is balanced and good on the ground and in the air. Wave80 ... If CBHS drops into zone coverage to compenstae for the speed differential ... then WS chews them up with a well balanced running game. If CBHS loads the box ... WS throws it to Julian Burton and company. Even if CBHS drops into zone coverage like a cover 2. WS has ways of stretching a defense and giving their play makers the ball with room to operate. Wow kwc, you are GOOD! You summed that up beautifully! With the exception of Whitehaven, of which you are emotionally attached (I feel that you speak more from the heart than head there), you are dead-on with your assessments. With the exception of a material WS break-down (them self-destructing) or key injuries, I just do not see CBHS winning this game. As far as the comment about addressing the CBHS secondary, unless they use different players than those that I saw in the Melrose and Germantown games, the only thing they can do is use some sort of nickel or dime package to compensate in this game. And if that happens, the WS qb will average 10+ yards a carry easy.

I was also thinking of CBHS's ability to change field positions with good solid punting. If you can pin a team deep on a consistant basis, that's a weapon that needs to be exploited. I think CBHS's defensive mindset will be to make WS go the length of the field on every possesion possible. kwc, You have laid out the things that CBHS should do to have its best shot and winning. Yes, they should shorten the game by running the ball and getting first downs and eating up much clock while keeping the WS O on the sidelines. Their very good kicking game should be at least very good that night- field goals, extra-points, punting and kicking for field position and to limit WS opportunities for big returns. They need to be very physical and have at least a couple of take-aways as well. But the way I see it, doing these things will only keep the game close and competitive, unless WS self-destructs, which is possible when we are talking about 14-19 year old kids and young men. CBHS is better than they have been the last two or three years, but this team does not have the speed, skill, and talent to keep up with this well-coached White Station team; particularly its defense as compared to White Station's offense.

I see that Spartansfan, myself and you all think pretty highly of the WS 'O' and their 'D'. I think the CBHS kicking game will be a definate factor ... but I don't think it will be enough to overcome WS unless there is an injury or uncharacteristic carelessness on WS's part. Well it is not that I think pretty highly of the WS 'D', I just think that the WS 'O' has the right scheme and skill players to take advantage of the CBHS 'D'. The WS qb should have a HUGE game! Plus WS does not have any glaring fundamental weaknesses as a team. You are right about the CBHS kicking game. They are capable of making more 40 yard field goals than missing; which is very good at the high school level.

Ok fourthree: TraderB says it will be .......... WS 20 / CBHS 17; I say it will be ...................... WS 28 / CBHS 14; Cam6 says .......................... WS 21 / CBHS 17; Bigsneaky says .................... WS 10 / CBHS 21; Spartansfan says ................. WS 27 / CBHS 17; We want a prediction from you. What do you think the final score will be? White Station 31 / CBHS 23- But the game will not be as close as this score indicates. My prediction includes some late inconsequential scores. CBHS's D is slow as molasses and will give White Station all kinds of room in the 0-15 yard area. White Station will spread them out. White Station will beat them short, then beat them with the run, and then beat them long with the pass.

I have seen CBHS play twice; wins over Melrose and Germantown. In both of these wins, CBHS was the slower team in my opinion; and with the exception of Melrose possibly having a tad more raw and undisciplined individual speed (not disciplined team speed) than White Station, none of those teams have more team speed and utilizes that speed in its system better than White Station. CBHS will keep it interesting for a while being that they are a well-coached team, have a good kicking game, and will have the home field advantage, but in the end White Station should win this game going away- too much offense- too much speed. In this case- speed kills!

This is probably the best matchup in Memphis this week. Will this game be played at Halle or the Fairgrounds? I plan on attending.

Now this will be a very good test for both of these teams. Unlike Whitehaven, CBHS will try to use its size and strength advantage to pound it out against WS. They will attempt to do what Ridgeway did with much success, except to the tune of 4 or more yards a carry and 6+ minutes a possession. If CBHS has success with its ground game, it will keep the clock moving and keep the WS offense off the field and allow them a great chance to win. But with that said, I predict that White Station will win this game. If this were week 0 or 1, I probably would pick CBHS in a very close game- only due to the advantage in preparation that seems to be the case very early in the season for private schools in most instances and defenses normally being ahead of offenses very early in the year. White Station has good coaching, a decent kicking game, good skill players, and most importantly in this particular match-up- too much speed and skill for CBHS. Due to its sound coaching, kicking game, strength, and discipline, CBHS will make this a game for a while. But with only a slight strength and maybe only a moderate kicking game advantage for CBHS, I see White Station eventually winning this game going away.

My own quote. I wish Whitehaven much success throughout the season. With some improvement and luck, they may make the play-offs. And with even more improvement and luck, they may win a play-off game or two before it's over.

I don't think my comparison is off in the slightest bit because my point of emphasis wasn't the manner in which Melrose went about developing it's championship teams but it was that they HAD TO DEVELOP championship teams ... and it took time and patience and learning ... from coaches to administration to players for that to happen .... THAT was my point, and in that regard ... I hit the nail on the head. Demographics ... Swimographics. WH does not hold a monopoly on middle-class families that supply the school with many kids that are not disadvanatged. If that were the case ... everybody that fits that profile, which would be more then the disadvantaged, should expect championship dominance ... and it's just not going to happen just because mom and dad have good paying jobs. I don't agree with that line of thinking at all. That is way too simplistic and it overlooks the obvious. It never has been about demographics when it comes to high school football. I mean ... if that were the case ... Melrose should NEVER have even sniffed the playoffs ... let alone ... have fielded dominant football teams and played in SEVERAL Championship games in recent history. kwc, Though I think you are a tad off in understanding what I said, I respect your point of view. Enjoy the game tonight. I believe this weather has given me my final reason not to attend any game tonight. I will stick to my original plan and watch a televised game.

kwc, Thanks for pointing out the in between game- Ridgeway. I forgot about that one. I think that you are a bit off with your Melrose comparison. Yes, they had to learn how to win, but some of the things they did or the way they went about it was just different than what I see Whitehaven doing. As you know, some of the things that Melrose did rubbed some the wrong way. I am not saying that one way is better than another. What Melrose did worked for them as illustrated by their Championships and deep play-off runs. But even with their success, they underacheived due to the lack of a kicking game (which is a major component of football). I actually like the direction that Whitehaven seems to be headed. My criticism is that with the resources and talent pool it has, the progress is way too slow; though the direction is good. Unlike Orange Mound, Whitehaven still has lots of middle-class families that supply the school with many kids that are not disadvantaged. With its demographics, you just know that this program should be so much better than it has been over the last 15 or so years.

Since I have not seen Whitehaven this year I will not give a specific prediction on this one game; but, I will forecast how I feel two of the next three games will go. Here it is- Whitehaven will either go 1 and 1; beat WS and lose to Christian Brothers; or go 0 and 2, lose to both WS and CBHS- both teams of which Whitehaven is athletically superior to (faster, stronger, bigger, and deeper). This is based on Whitehaven's typical pool of players, past performances, and coaching. There will come a point in time when the coaching is proven to be not so bright; the playing on the field to be not so smart/prepared/desciplined; and the kicking game to be not good enough or just plain poor. I predict that we will see this at some point in the next few weeks. If this materializes the way that I think it will, this will be the typical two games and out (at best) of the play-offs Whitehaven team that they have consistently been for the last 10 or so years. If Whitehaven beats WS and CBHS, I predict that they will make a deep play-off run and be there at or near the very end.