Govolsknox

For those of you new to D2, welcome. You will not see as many posts on these message boards but remember each post actually counts as 1.8 posts on the D1 board, so in theory it evens out.

Post of the freaking year! Each post equals 1.8. You sir stole a perfect line from me. Why didn't I think of that. My hat is off and humbled by your sense of humor.

No argument about the poverty vs. prosperity part. But that's not what I was talking about. You said FC selects their athletes. It's just inaccurate. Don't confuse FC with the Metro Nashville area privates. There's not a lot of similarity. We can argue about this till the cows come home and we won't see it the same. Those who are blessed to be able to choose private Christian education, often do. Remember also any improvements to the facilities or equipment are from donations. The school has to raise money to just keep the doors open. There are no tax subsidies at any level. It is a sacrifice for a lot of us to send our kids there. I could provide my wife a much nicer car than the '08 she drives now. It is hard for us but we are convinced the investment is worth it. My family has given their life to education...mostly public. I hope this option remains viable for those with the means and inclination.

I agree with everything you said. But using that 08 example is making me look bad. My wife was happy with the 92 Chevy till she read your post. 😉

It will be interesting. I would not bet that there is anyone on USJ's schedule that they can't compete with. Win? Who knows. But if they have a good night and don't just fail to show up (which is not the mark of a CRB team) or have inordinate turnovers i.e. good decisions by the QB, I believe they may be a contender right now, year 1. That is asking a lot from a dramatic wholesale change from the past system, and probably too soon, but frankly I personally would not bet my hard earned money against them....

Well I guess it's about time that I get back on here and comment (so that it can be properly ignored! lol!). USJ has had a great regular season. They were in EVERY regular season game, year 1 under CRB. They narrowly lost in overtime early in the year, and narrowly lost to favored Milan at the end of regular season. While I think my friend BPM was licking his chops for payback before the season or after game one, I don't think that was the case as the Milan / USJ game went to the wire. Regardless of the playoffs, USJ has had a successful season under CRB, and I think this is just the beginning. Congrats to a fine program, school, and coach (and family) that I think the world of. If by chance they end up at the state game, I will be there.

 

To my friend BPM, congrats on a great season! Hope your team ends up at the state game. I will be pulling for you hard!

This board definitely needs life. I think it will pick up.

Reaction, really enjoyed talking to you when we played a couple of home and homes with you guys! I've also followed Boyd ever since. I am glad that with the changes we will converse more, and I would have loved and still love to see CAK and Boyd become a regular game. 2 Great schools and great programs. I will say that I LOVED your concessions, and that CAK also has a great atmosphere, although both are smallish schools. I look forward to taking to you more, and think a lot of the way you conduct yourself. I would be proud to consider you a friend.

I miss Footballdad.........☹ï¸ï¸

FBD has moved on with his life I believe. Great guy, and a great friend. But I believe HS sports were a big part of his life when Footballson was playing. I miss him too, and wish he was still around. No one was more plugged in or contributed more to our program with no compensation than FBD. But now his kids have moved on, and so has he I believe.

 

Let's be honest, we've all seen fans and supporters come and go. Some burned bright and really plugged in. Others just followed their child / children. But in both of those cases, when their kids moved on, so did they. There are also those of us that support a program without a personal interest, and even though they or their kids graduate, they still follow and support the program. This is the way top programs' fanbases are built. I watched it first hand from HS to 50 years old at Oak Ridge, and have watched it at Alcoa, Maryville, and others. For some it is a sprint. For others it is a marathon. Neither is right or wrong. Just different.

Jace Johnson, number 11, had surgery today on his leg. Broken tibia and fibula last night.

I was afraid of that. Looked bad. Prayers for that young man. Tough kid!

Any idea why 14 and 43 are not playing? That is a tremendous loss in the middle.

How's it going my friend? It's been a few years, but I can still remember the great food those wonderful ladies prepared in your concession....and I can still taste that awesome nanner pudding you bought me. Wishing your CAK bunch a safe and successful night!

Great to hear from you my friend! So glad you enjoyed your trip to Warrior Stadium! We are blessed with great banana pudding and the best grilled burgers of any HS I've been to. Hope all is well with you and your family! Safe travel wishes if you're able to make the trip!

I will try to troll more and eat more crow, govolsknox.

No trolling or crow eating necessary my friend. I appreciate your thoughtful posts even though all people see things a little differently. That's what makes the boards worth reading and participating in.

 

Regarding the D2 boards or "boreds" as the case may be, they have been on life support for years. Perhaps this will breathe a bit of life into them. As a protestant, I never really got into the Purgatory thing until I started visiting the D2 boards a few years ago.....

(Please take that as the joke it was intended as; no offense meant.)

Warriors2011

 

 

It was nice to meet you and your wife in Clinton last week. I've seen you around (obviously) for many years, but never had a chance to speak with you. Both you and your wife are enjoyable to speak with, and it was good to get an update on the older member of the family.

 

 

Regarding this week, I give CAK the edge, but this constant attrition of starters is frustrating and eventually has to catch up with a roster the size of ours. Do you see any returners this week? Any new injuries / out this week? Or any likely position changes and movement due to injury or other factors?

McMinn has some GREAT fans! They are a classy program and I always look forward to locking horns with them. Here's hoping for no injuries and a cleanly played game. These are two schools with proud traditions, great fans, and great kids.

its the simple fact that warren county is a 6A school and should just flat beat the brakes off of Sequatchie but it won't be that way Sequatchie with a w remains undefeated. And like I said wrong Alcoa team shows up on Friday when they play Sequatchie Sequatchie could win

Bwahahaha! Literally unless Alcoa forgot it was Friday they would clean your clock. It's just a different animal friend, and the only only only reason you don't already know it proves you've never been there.

Not sure if this is mind or heart speaking

 

24-21 USJ with the kicker making the difference

what are the concessions like? Are there pretty good grilled burgers or other options that might be available for fans to arrive early and eat dinner or is it best to grab something before we get there?

How can any private school remain in D1, LEGALLY.

There may be other catches, but the main catch all that the TSSAA decided to consider "financial assistance" is the fact that most privates cost $10,000 - 20,000 per student per year. So for the benefit of families who have 2, 3, 4, 5 children they offer ALL families a multi student discount on tuition to make it more practical to send a family with multiple children to a private school. Our tax dollars do not help our particular school 1 penny, which it is our choice to sacrifice knowing this. This frankly has very little to do with athletics and just as well applies to multi children families who have band members, cheerleaders, dancers, artsy kids, etc. But it was a good thing for the TSSAA to hang their hat on and they did. No argument from me, only that if they are going to have size classifications, move effectively most if not all privates to D2, then address open zone schools that are used to the fullest advantage within the rules. That is a glaring issue left on the table.

14 is the answer to both of your questions in my opinion.

 

Makes good sense. Now, I'll return back to enjoying THIS season, hope we get some guys back healthy, and have a nice run. Hope to see you (in passing as always) at the game tonight. Was nice to see your oldest as well.

43 is a great athlete and I was pleasantly surprised at how well he ran against Loudon. I have to admit I was leery about having a key D player out there running the ball in mop-up duty. On a going forward basis, he certainly gives the Warriors another weapon in certain down and distance situations. BTW, I peg him at a good 225 instead of 215. He's thick and solid.

 

Yes on all counts. The roster says 215ish I believe but he too looks to have added some good bulk. Yes, I was very nervous with him out there on mop up duty, but was also pleasantly surprised. It also was encouraging as far as his production when the other team virtually knew we were just handing it off to run the clock out. 9 is our best back, but with him playing so much defense now too and not spreading that out with 16, I think CCH has to think about using 43 some as well in the backfield. And it also adds a little change of pace although 9 is a better overall back. Still, a 225lb RB who can move and has some wiggle can give a defense fits, where he is bigger than the entire secondary, most of the LB's we will see, and some decent portion of the DL's we will see. Although we are not a power running team like say an Alcoa, they have made it very difficult on defenses who have to deal with the O line and then get a Tyson or Daryl Warren right behind them. Although 43 is not Tyson or Warren and not 230-240, he is still a load and not like anyone we've had in the backfield in a long time, maybe ever who was not a B back. Even Kolinsky just topped 200 SR year, as did Joseph Bennett, although Bennett had incredible speed and Kolinsky was a very complete back. It will be interesting to see if he gets more snaps. Had 31 stayed healthy, I would have projected him to earn more playing time with some injury issues and hesitation issues I've seen with an older back. 31 is going to be a special athlete before he is done. Of course, all of that and how well 9, 31, 32, 16, 42, 43, 25 and others will have a lot to do with whether we have a surrounding group to let them shine. Hate we lost last year's 5 to Farragut; I believe he would have added some real speed and depth to our backfield.

 

A quick question: If we were unfortunate and 12 went down for a concussion (God forbid) or longer, who do you think would be our "real" starter as QB this year. Also, not to be overly early, but do you have an opinion on who will likely get the starting position at QB next year?

I respect that but you certainly don't think privates don't have an advantage over publics...look at Brentwood Academy back in the 70's 80's and 90's....multiple gold balls with one of the smallest schools in the state....their starting line was from 5 different states....

Sir, honestly I know nothing of the intricacies of the two programs of USJ and Milan. Here's what I do know.

 

1. Reitz tried to give you a pass that Milan had it's own issue of not just playing with who got off the yellow bus. As the old expression goes, people in glass houses are wise not to start throwing stones.

 

2. USJ at LEAST has a separate division to level the playing field, and if they didn't have scholarship players eligible, a multiplier to level the playing field in D1. This is not for recruitment, but because D2 privates have a larger zone they can draw players from, and that they can offer scholarships, some of whom will apply to athletes. This has nothing to do with "recruitment" meaning a school making first contact to try to draw players to their program. Private OR public can be guilty of first contact. Fact.

 

3. I can assure you of one thing. I have no idea whether USJ ever made first contact in the past because I live in Knoxville and am a CAK fan. What I can tell you is that CRB will NEVER, EVER, NEVER, EVER touch any of that with a 10 foot pole. Number 1, he ethically couldn't make himself do it. I could tell confidential stories if I were so inclined of kids / parents coming to CAK to talk football and Rusty didn't give them the time of day, just sent them to the admissions department and told them after they had been through all of that, he'd be glad to talk football with them. You will not find a more anal follower of TSSAA rules than CRB. I admire him, but it is near obsessive. Some USJ supporters may even find it annoying....

 

4. Some times you have something that is good, but not great, and you have to make a change to try for the "great." When you do this, you run the risk that things will go backwards either for a while or permanently, but the powers that be decided that the risk is worth it to achieve greatness. While I have no inside info, I suspect this is what happened here. I'll also make a prediction. This program isn't going backwards....There will be ups and downs like any school has year to year, but CRB is a rock star in the making, with the caveat that he already has proven it.

 

So if someone has a need to hold on to past biases against a program I respect that. I don't know much that could ever get me to pull for Dobyns-Bennett, Maryville, or a few others, regardless of staff changes etc. I really do understand that. But if you can have an open mind, you are going to find that CRB is an offensive mastermind, incredible rising star, and runs as clean of a program that you will find. He also has the wonderful gift of being able to mentor young football players into becoming better men. Add to that he has the attention of a number of college coaches that understand that players under his study get a level of training that is almost unsurpassed for the college game at the HS level in TN, and you will see that he is not only a good hire, but a great coach to pull for.

 

Finally I will just say that the offense is just plain fun to watch. You'll notice fans that had nothing to do with CAK, even a few Maryville fans, that would take their off weeks and come to the CAK game. One might win with say a Wing T, but watching an offense that throws it around the field using patterns and skill more like a small college than a HS is a lot of fun to watch, simply as a spectator with no particular rooting interest.

 

Good luck to both teams this week! Prayers for a clean game and no injuries! And regardless of the outcome of this particular game, good luck to the teams that have to face USJ over the next few years. I truly don't believe they have any idea.

 

Just my opinions. Your mileage may vary. Disclaimer: I am NOT a USJ fan, I am a CAK fan, so I speak only for myself and in no way associate my positions with those of the USJ team or faithful.

Several of the boys have bulked up. They're doing a bit more lifting during the season than under CRB and eating a LOT of peanut butter and chocolate milk. For example, 43 you mentioned earlier has grown since the roster was compiled as well, which is no doubt helping his move to DE quite nicely.

 

My info on 9 is that he's about 6'2 1/2" maybe 6'3" and about 195.

 

Yes regarding 9, that's exactly what I thought. It's a little hard to tell with pads and cleats, but I had him at 6-2 / 6-3, 193-198. We usually don't miss by much. I think his genetics are catching up with him in a very good way. He is going to be a beast before he has graduated.

 

43 looks good at DE, but I have to admit, seeing him as an alternative in some packages with the first team at A back for select situations is interesting. He is a load. Having a 215 lb RB could make for some interesting change ups for the defense to deal with, and he has surprising speed / moves to get outside the tackle or into the backfield and possibly create some mis matches. With all the injuries and a variety of other factors including the need to play 9 both ways, I believe CCH is going to need to think outside the box to give us a chance to win the really tough games.

 

I hope not, but that COULD start with this week. While I would take CAK by 2 scores, you can never sleep on a team that is 5A -6A when you are a private school being multiplied UP to 3A.

21=concussion vs. Kingston, might be back next week, more likely by Alcoa game

 

10=cast for two weeks then hopefully a shorter soft cast he can play in

 

31=don't know his prognosis

 

43 will play DE in both 3-down and 4-down linemen sets. Until some guys return from injury, 9 will have to continue playing Rover and 42 ILB.

 

Thanks for the info. 9 has really impressed me on O, D, speed, quickness, strength and football IQ. However, standing down close to him on the sideline, I feel like he has grown a bit taller and picked up some muscle since the roster was produced. Do you happen to know his current height and weight?

Nobody returning from injury this week that I'm aware of; 21 is out at least this week and maybe one more. 13 will likely return from week 1 injury sometime but I'm not sure which game he'll be back in action.

 

10 was injured in the Loudon game and is out two weeks. Last year, due in part to injuries and also in part because of the offense Clinton runs, the Warriors spent a lot of time in a 3-5 defensive front. I wouldn't be surprised to see something like that this week.

Just watching 21 I would have thought he would have been ok by now; sorry to hear it for that young man. I hate 13 has missed so many games but maybe he sees a few snaps tonight or next week. I saw 10 after his injury and just glad it is likely to be only 2 weeks. I was hoping he might get the right kind of cast that allowed him to play tomorrow. And although 31 is only a freshman, I was hopeful he would be back this week as well. It really has been 2 seasons with a bunch of injuries. I would assume if we play a 3-5 look 43 will play up on the line quite a bit almost like a DE?

good points GC....It'll be a shootout but I still believe defense wins ball games and Milan has the upper hand in that dept....I think Morris knows he has to use his offense as defense...meaning he has to use his running game to keep USJ's offense off the field...Bradley's passing offense torched Milan in the 2011 and 12 Clinic bowls but as a previous poster said, he doesn't have near the QB and receivers now than when he was at CAK...I'm sticking with Milan 38-28...but I could be wrong...and other than a "pay for play" school vs a "what gets off that yellow bus" school, the game is just for bragging rights....

I agree, this game is just for bragging rights. Somewhat like when CAK beat Webb last year, and Webb beat CAK this year. Neither had anything to do with the potential or lack there of to win a state championship. But I am very confident that both teams wanted very badly to win those games. It means a LOT to the kids, the fans, and the coaches. I look for Milan to try to control the clock, establish the run, and then pass when USJ is having to be concerned about defending the run. I look for USJ to do the exact opposite. Establish the pass, make Milan defend it, and then run when Milan is concentrating on the pass.

 

If CAK had a bye this week and the game was a little closer, I would definitely attend this one. I could certainly be wrong, but I expect it to be a close game and a great match up. I think earlier this year, Milan was licking their chops for a little payback to a CRB team. Maybe not quite so sure now.... We'll know in a few days.

What an awesome story. God bless that little girl and her family, and all of the young people that made a memory for her that she will never forget.

I will just be happy if CAK can get through a week without losing another starter due to injury.

We have really struggled with injuries this year. Is there anyone expected back this week that has been out, or anyone that is out that is new? Any anticipated position changes?

To beat a Rusty Bradley offense, you need:

 

Consistent, all-out pass rush, mixing it up with blitzes from different sides each play and up the middle, including delayed blitzes to catch RBs sleeping;

Jam receivers on the line and delay them getting into their routes;

Hope you get enough pass rush to force the QB to make bad decisions or errant passes.

 

Getting a consistent pass rush each play and also jamming receivers takes certain personnel. If you've got those personnel, like Alcoa usually does for example, you can disrupt the offense. If you don't have those personnel, you have to rush some and sit back in zone and just HOPE the QB will make some mistakes.

 

Milan fans who saw the two state championship match-ups against CAK have to bear in mind that those two years were not a "typical" Rusty Bradley offense. The play calling and scheme were "typical" but the personnel were well above average in every aspect of the offense, starting with an O Line that was, in my opinion, easily the best in the state both years. While USJ definitely has a highly touted lineman this year, I don't know if Mark Bradley has had sufficient time to work his magic with the USJ OL as a complete unit to provide the kind of consistent protection that makes that type of offense click.

 

Milan seems to always have some very good athletes and well coached. This should be a very interesting match-up. Good luck to both teams.

 

I'll agree with W2011, and add that the 2 state championship years, CAK had a record setting QB and the best trio of WR I have ever seen in HS football in TN (perhaps not the best ONE but the best group of 3).

 

However, what CRB did NOT have was 80+ players to work with. He has never had that kind of depth. Our best WR played with a thumb that was broken to the point of being sickening to look at, and only got better and tougher. USJ has much more to work with in terms of quantity of players. In addition, while CAK had 2 players that could absolutely fly (Josh Smith, Franklin Murchinson) USJ has more  overall speed than we had those two years. I don't think USJ has the caliber of OL or QB or WR's that CRB developed, but they do have some other tools to work with. My pick is still Milan, but I think this has the makings of a potential upset....And I'm not going to believe that Milan has the athletes to line up and run with multiple receivers until I see it. If they have to play zone I believe the QB will pick them apart with this offense. JMO.