Moronicus

Ummm, your point? You can choose to play up. Hence, all that gross injustice and suffering you Rebels were forced to endure for lo those many years could have been easily remedied. On the other hand, you can't choose to play down. So no, without more I don't see the correlation.

The horror! And of course, Maryville didn't actually choose during that decade to move up to play in the highest classification until the numbers mandated that. Just sayin' not hatin'....

Good post.

A great deal, that's for sure. And with the respect he commands, he should get a bunch of players interested in playing for the Irish. If I were a rich booster at Catholic, I'd be offering to sweeten the pot to make this happen if that became necessary.

Full public school retirement benefits, full private school coaching salary, no teaching responsibilities. What's not to like?

Hmmmm, on looking at SH and its strengths, OR very well might get beaten that badly if SH's QB is as good as advertised. OR has had trouble with the passing game with CC and Anderson County. But I still wouldn't take that bet.

OR won't be within 17 of Science Hill? Perhaps not. But I wouldn't actually bet on that.

Powell's looks pretty good. And it's a mathematical impossibility for there to be that much variation in records among members of districts with comparable numbers of teams. Take, for example... Never mind, I don't feel like doing the heavy lifting for you.

Not in the first round though, IIRC.

I think you all in District 3 are too hard on yourselves, primarily because you judge it against District 4, which has been loaded for the last few years and will be for the foreseeable future assuming things aren't shaken up that much next year. But if you compare it to District 1, 2, 5, etc., D3 isn't weak. It's about on par. So a little perspective is in order here, IMO.

I see pros and cons either way but on balance like the current system better for mostly the same reasons as ReitzFan. It got old in the previous system having to play a team from a certain region in the first round -- usually the same team every year.

I think that's right, ORK. AC jumps a couple of other bubble teams under your scenario and likely gets to face Powell or Lenoir City (or, on an off chance, Columbia).

Good thing Catholic gets to drop to 4A next year. And a win against Bearden this week would be a huge upset indeed.

If Knox Catholic ends with only 4 wins, would that automatically preclude a playoff appearance despite it having more wins against winning teams than some others with only 1 or even zero wins against even a 5-5 team? I would assume so as that's the first column on the standings chart.

All of which leads me to believe that there might be a number of teams that get switched around before it's over with.

Also, if HVA left, district 3AAA would then only have one 6A team -- Powell.

But district 4 is losing a 5A so might it be Karns that gets moved instead because Karns will be 5A next year? And if a team gets moved from district 3, is it left with one less team or does another team take its place?

Probably about right. Central is playing some good football for a change.

Do schools have the option of playing up in class if they so choose? I would think they might request that but the TSSAA would need to determine if there are enough/too many schools in a given classification to grant the request. The reason I ask is that some Oak Ridge fans have said that they'd choose to stay in 6A (others have disagreed). But I wonder whether or not they'd have the option.

I agree with all of your reasons, especially the last one. Bunches of kids who excelled in baseball at Halls could have really helped the football team over the last 4-5 years but chose not to play. I don't think it had as much to do with the coaches at the time as it did an understanding by the parents that their kids had more of a chance for a collegiate future in baseball.

I disagree. I think Powell will outman AE in the trenches and have enough athletes to stop them on the edges. Powell wins by 14.

West 39, Fulton 12

Bump.

It obviously appears you know that of which you speak. This is an interesting dilemma: If Patrick was, indeed, a credit shy of eligibility to play football, he still could have remained at LC as a student. However, the change of guardianship should counsel in favor of a determination that the reason for the transfer was not due solely for athletics.

How? Why would he be ineligible at LC and not at West if, as others have speculated, the reason was grades?