BigRedDad

To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln everyone knows that the TSSAA is an organization "of the public's (schools), by the public's, for the public's". If that were not the case we never would have had the split. Does the TSSAA intentionally slight the DII schools? Probably not, our issues just aren't on their radar. Do we feel like the redheaded stepchild? Sometimes. The problem is that there are only 15 teams is DII AA, 8 make the playoffs. The playoffs are finished in 3 rounds, and the third round is always going to fall during Thanksgiving and before the end of MTSU's season. There are potential solutions to this. Playing each year on Thanksgiving is one ( I really like this idea). Get enough teams in the division that the playoffs last 4 or 5 rounds is another. Find another neutral site to play if MTSU has a home game scheduled. The easiest, cheapest, and probably worst solution is to play on Tuesday night.

First of all I am a UT Sig as well. Class of 1976. The city I grew up in only had 2 high schools until the late 50's (there were 4 when I was in high school), those 2 schools always played each other at noon on Thanksgiving day. It was a huge tradition that the whole city turned out for. The only problem for a State Championship game on Thanksgiving I could see would be the people that would have to travel, i.e. if the game was at MTSU or Vandy and the people from Memphis or Chattanooga might not want to make the trip on a holiday. Of course the solution for that problem is simply for MBA, BA or EHS to beat those teams every year and there would be no worries. Last year the game was the Sat night after Thanksgiving. My son played for MBA, and our family traveled to visit family for the weekend as is our custom, and he had to stay in Nashville with friends. We had an 8 hour trip on Saturday to get back in time for the game. It was worth it though.

This isn't the first time this has happened. The first year they played in M-boro (2004?) the game was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. MTSU has a home game scheduled for Saturday, that is why they moved the game to Tuesday. The other option would be to move the game a week later after the MTSU season is over, but that would be 3 weeks between games. The real problem is because of the "unmentionable", there are so few teams in DII, that the playoffs are only 3 rounds, and the State Championship game is played so early. There never seemed to be this problem when the game was the Clinic Bowl and played at Vandy. The only problem with that was the proceeds went to Childrens Hospital and not the TSSAA.

I think I heard McGugin say something about not being able to schedule until mid-December. It may have something to do with waiting until the public school playoff's are over.

The only thing I can say is that there is some kind of bad juju anytime an MBA team crosses over the Tennessee River from east to west. I think it is in our best interest to stay on the east side and let those Memphis teams come to us.

I went to the BA/Ensworth game and I really expected the BA defensive line to slow down the Ensworth running game, and that didn't happen. Darkwa had over 100 yards on only 14 carries, that is over 7 yds/carry. Jefferson ran all over them, and he was running on a bum ankle. When MBA played BA they couldn't run the ball but they passed effectively. The passing game got MBA first downs inside the 5 twice, and they settled for field goals both times. My point is that a good running team was able to run on BA, and a good passing team was able to throw it. I think MUS is both, and I am guessing that BA will be in for a long night, in what could be a high scoring affair.

I would think that a big part of the challenge of coaching high school kids is that each year everything is new. You have a new group of seniors, new leadership on the team, and new chemistry. The coaches have to figure out how to motivate each group. You have kids who suddenly make an impact you never expected, and kids you were counting on hit teenage crazy. It is a really tough job, and I applaud those coaches that do it well.

The number of boys is irrelevant as girls can be National Merit Scholars too. To set the record straight the MBA class of 2008 had 14 National Merit Scholars, with a large number of them ( I'm not sure exactly how many) being Finalists and receiving scholarships.

I have been thinking about the MBA/EHS game, and I think it may be kind of an anomoly, particularly after watching EHS and Ryan. When EHS and MBA meet there are a lot of undercurrents to the game, a lot of coaches that have moved from one side to the other. On both of Darkwa's long touchdown runs MBA was caught in a blitz with nobody back deep. Did Coach Bowers have a pretty good idea of what defense Coach Rod would call in those situations? Ricky might have a better feel for this then he would have from just watching film. My point is that MBA's defense is better against the run then they showed in the EHS game. The EHS running game is good and will get their yards on just about anybody, but those gaudy numbers against MBA might not be indicative of the real MBA defense, and probably wouldn't happen if they play again.

Andrew Fletcher is our kicker. He is a junior and last year he was MVP in the State Championship game kicking 4 FG to beat BA. He consistantly puts kickoffs in the endzone, and his long FG is 50+ yards this year. Our punter is Fitz Lassing, we haven't had to punt a whole lot this season but he has uncorked a couple of 60+ yard punts. The reason I said we have the edge in the kicking game is because of your game with EHS. Didn't you miss an extra point and a couple of FG's in that loss? That is the only game McCallie has played that we have gotten a lot of details about here in Nashville

I hope you are wrong

I think McCallie is probably a better team then most people think. They have lost 3 games by a combined total of 16 points. Franklin 36-35, BA 17-3, and Ensworth 36-35 in 2OT. I think the Big Red is in for a tough game that they really need to win. MBA has a big edge in the kicking game and fortunately the game will be played in Nashville. What do you all think?

You may not have seen the play, Ryan punted and the MBA player let it bounce. The official blew the whistle, and marked the ball where it hit. I assumed that the ball hit a Ryan player as it came down and that is why the official blew the whistle. Instead they let Ryan re-punt the ball from the same line of scrimmage, with no penalty called...it was a "do-over". There was no explanation. Sure we won big, but we have had a lot of really badly refed games this season. I usually don't rip the refs, but this year they have been really bad. They need better training or something because they are making a lot of mistakes, not just tonight but all season. I watched a lot closer last year because my son was playing and it was not nearly as bad as it has been this year. Maybe MBA has just been unlucky and gotten the bad crews.

Darkwa was carried off the field last week. Bowers was foolish in his play calling when he got hurt last week, and he is foolish to be playing him tonight. It will come back to bite him.

I have also heard that Lassing is really, really good in the classroom. Someone told me tonight he is a nice kid too. I don't want to rip on the ref's but I have been watching football for almost 50 years and I don't think I have ever seen a team be given a "do over". Someone please explain that play to me.

Good question. MBA beat BA and BA beat BGA. Round and round we go.

At MBA thankfully, we had our turn at Greer last year.

I don'r deny that the private schools have advantages, if they didn't I would be a fool to have invested all the money in tuition that I have. They generally have more money for better facilities, they have more money to hire coaches, and the coaches are not necessarily required to teach. Since private schools have to recruit all of their students (that's right no child is zoned to go to any private school, they recruit them all), they can include student athletes in the process. those are undeniable advantages

hatred? some of my best friends are ryan fans. I sat in the ryan section last week at the ensworth game and cheered for ryan. I am just surprised how quiet you all are...especially you, you were one of the most outspoken last year.

Well when you consider that last year Ryan had the best team thay have had in a number of years, dominated by Seniors who liked to get on this board and run their mouths (their center particularly), then managed to put up 6 points on us in 8 quarters to our 70 or whatever it was. Well what do you expect. The Ryan fans are sure keeping a low profile this year.

If I was EHS I wouldn't be in any hurry to play BA. They may have had a disappointing season by their standards, but their d-line is big, strong and fast. It is the best d-line I have seen, and would have the best chance to slow down EHS's running game. You are likely to get them in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Be careful what you wish for.

One last comment on financial aid for the private schools. This how the process works. There is an application you fill out with all of your financial information, you can do this on paper or online. It is sent to a group in Princeton NJ. They will evaluate your circumstances and send a report to the schools you request what your "family contribution" should be. Based on that the schools make up the difference between the tuition and your required contribution. The TSSAA says a student is eligible to play in DII-AA if they receive no more financial aid then allowed by that formula.

One point to make about college (I'm and old fart and have gone through the process 3 times with my kids, my youngest is now a Frshman). It is much like private high school, in that it is not what it costs, but what you pay. We were at an information meeting a few years ago about Tulane, that that admissions director was honest enough to talk about the "sticker price", meaning very few people actually pay it. Don't be put off by the sticker price of fine private colleges or out of state universities. Take the time to learn about the financial aid and scholarship process so you can make the most of it. You might find that when all is said in done Harvard doesn't cost anymore the MTSU.

4000/18000 is over 20% so it is real money I guess. If we play EHS again who wins? The Big Red of course...hahaha. Honestly I think it would be a different game. I think MBA needed a wake up call and they certainly got it, they had been making a lot of dumb mistakes, stupid penalites etc, and it finally bit them. I wasn't at the game, but I was told that on both of Darkwa's long TD runs they caught MBA in a blitz and broke it up the middle. I don't think if they play again EHS rushes for 500 yds, a lot will depend on how effective Darkwa is if he is able to come back. I watched EHS against Ryan, and they didn't throw real well when they had to. If they can use the run to set up the pass they can keep a defense off balance, but if they are 3rd and long and have to throw it is a different matter. That is why Darkwa's status is so important. Without him out there it is the Tavares Jefferson show, and he is not as effective when he is all the defense has to stop. I would also look for MBA to throw more. EHS did a good job of stopping Ryan's running game, but Ryan threw the ball easily against them. So if they play again it should be an interesting matchup, and if it is to happen it will most likely have to be in the State Championship game, and that is no gimme from what I am hearing. I am hearing that MUS is really good. If the string plays out the way most expect it to the second round of the playoffs is likely to be MBA/MUS, EHS/BA. After watching BA I think they have the best chance I have seen for anyone to stop EHS's running game. BA's d-line is impressive, the offense lacks some punch, but MBA had a lot of trouble running on BA.

One last thought. There is a poster on this board Rollredroll. He has all the stats as to how the public schools stack up against the DII schools. The won/loss record is very lopsided in favor of the DII teams. The teams that have won the DII State Championship have never lost to a public school opponent during their championship season.