RedSwarm

Awfully quiet around here. I figure Centennial's the obvious favorite here. They're not as good as they were last year, but neither is HC, and that showed the first time around. I do think that the Patriots have a chance, but they're going to have to give their best defensive effort of the year, especially on the backend. HC should be able to move the ball, but if they can't finish or turn the ball over, it probably won't matter. Either way, I expect it to be a closer game than 2 weeks ago. Thoughts?

I like Brentwood here. Think the Rossview game was an outlier. They've played a great schedule. I'm sure Central will have the guys to make it a game though. Don't know much about them, but I think Brentwood could possibly make it to the semis if they can string together a couple of Friday nights where it all clicks. The staff up there does a good job of putting their players in the right situations.

For context, Northeast upset Brighton in the first round last year. Anybody that's seen Brighton know much? Back when they were region foes, they liked to try to throw the ball out of the spread a lot.

Gonna have to disagree slightly. You'll see the super 32 difference next year. We haven't won a state championship in a few years, but we've been fine. It's a testament to the coaches that even as our talent pool has seemed to shrink a little from 2008-2013 era, we're still looking at a district championship opportunity next Friday. We knew this team was young, we knew there would be bumps. I just don't get the grave concern, which I guess seems to make me part of the minority. Usually I'm in lockstep with you, MSU, but I just don't see what's happening right now as that worrisome. There's plenty of county schools around the state that struggle with keeping talent in the cupboard and would kill to be in the position HC is in.

We have had a few posters that have been a little overzealous, but I guess that's the product of an incredible run of years. Guess it speaks a little bit about the culture when a fan from 3 hours away hops on here immediately to yap, when the majority of us HC fans are levelheaded and want to actually talk football. Anyway, we'll be fine. HS football is weird, this is a young team. Everybody has their preference on coaches, but the truth of the matter is that our staff is more than capable. Be glad that next week isn't the last week, and get out there Friday night and see if we can steal a district championship.

My comment wasn't a dig at the majority of the fanbase, and HC still travels well. You're going to have a tough time convincing me Patriot Stadium has been consistently packed and as loud these past couple of years, though.b

I don't believe the passion, at least on the football side of things, has changed much. Crowds haven't been the same the last couple of years but I think that speaks more on spoiled fans than the team.

Is northeast's back healthy? He had a great game against HC in the playoffs last year. Thought he was just a sophomore.

Looking forward to it. Should be a good game. HC has plenty of motivation, but that doesn't matter much once the first whistle is blown. I don't think you could ask for a better litmus test for week 1. If HC wins, it wouldn't surprise me if the game was similar to 2012 where there were a ton of turnovers. Potentially wet field, 1st game, it's always hard to know exactly what's going to happen. One thing I know for sure is that HC will have to get their offense going this time around. Liberty will move the ball. From what I've seen, this year's offense has more of an identity at this point. Hopefully that translates to a happy ride back to Paris tomorrow night.

And Hester leaves... Can anyone shed some light on the coaching carousel in Wilco?

I didn't include Hillsboro, Hendersonville, Beech, and even Cane Ridge.. but they're all very good teams that won't lay down against anyone. Just didn't fit my Wilco narrative. Trust me, we in Henry County know all about the talent that cycles through Hillsboro. You've got valid points. Blade is a big reason for Indy's success, but he's got a culture in place now. Underclassmen and middle school kids have seen the ultimate objective achieved. They've got a blueprint. It won't happen every year, and may not ever happen again.... but I bet they stay in the 5A Top 10 for a long, long time. Rector leaving CHS surprised me, but I get the feeling that he's a program builder. Gaddis took us to 3 consecutive state semis from 2006-2008. The next season Gallatin ended our season in the 2nd round. He left for a school in North Carolina, and there were rumblings that maybe he had seen the writing on the wall. Enter Coach Counce. 5A State Champions in 2011 and 2013. The writing on the wall was wrong on that one. We'll just have to see about Ravenwood. Hester seems to have a pretty good thing going there. If they drop to 5A, wouldn't that mean that they would have easier competition? Or is 5A stronger than 6A as a whole? .... Sorry. Had to throw that out there to see if I could get that argument stirred back up. It gets boring around here quick once the gold balls are handed out.

Blount County football is special. The success of 2 great programs in particular over the years has a lot to do with that. Williamson County football is quickly becoming special, and it's more than 2 programs carrying the load. Sure, talent comes in cycles. Rapid growth offsets that. Plenty of money in that school system sure helps. I don't necessarily love it, as I'm a Henry County fan and our path in 5A will always go through Centennial, Indy, and from what I hear, Ravenwood soon. Brentwood is still a ways off from being mentioned with them, but anybody with any knowledge of that team knows Crawford is right back where he needs to be. I understand the point of contention here, and I'm not trying to take away from the quality and reputation of football out east, especially in Blount County. But to suggest that Wilco football will "disappear" is about as likely as Maryville and Alcoa not making the playoffs next year.

Banks won't be a RB at the FBS level. Indy should silence the few remaining doubters tomorrow night. No clue where Bunch ends up collegiality, but I could see him thriving in an air raid attack.

I absolutely think we can, and welcome the competition. For all we know we may have the next Henry County legend getting ready to show what he's got at Grove next year. There are going to be areas that we're stronger in most years, and some that we're weaker in. It all goes back to the culture, though. It's never won a team a football game, but it makes a difference. There is no excuse for Henry County to not be in the playoffs every year. Thank Joe Gaddis for that, and thank the Counce duo for taking what he built and absolutely running with it. My point is moreso that it's hard for me to see Wiilliamson County as a whole regressing much, and it's very easy to envision state titles flooding the county soon. I've been wrong plenty, and for all I know there might not be a Wilco team win 12 games next year. I wouldn't bet against it, though. We'll be fine. I just think our margin for error is about as thin as its been in a long time, at least when it comes to the big time games.

I'd be interested to see Wilco's economical and population growth over that time compared to Sumner's. I think there's a correlation between that and what I'm saying. I understand talent is cyclical, but the growth in Wilco is faster than any other county in the state. Gallatin is one of the most storied programs in the midstate, but you guys are struggling as of late (I hope this ends soon). Hendersonville is a great team year in and year out, but how many gold balls? Beech has won titles and is a great program. Station Camp... not so much. Look at how much Wilco football has grown in 15 years. Hard to imagine that county not being one of, if not the best county in Tennessee most years... Look at what Ravenwood, Centennial, and Indy have done since 2010. I know there's not a ton of gold balls in the county, but they're just reloading. Once a system is in place, once a culture is in place, once kids that put the jersey on know what that jersey means... It takes a lot to mess that up.

I've got a great deal of respect for the Sumner County schools, but HHS/Beech/Gallatin/Station Camp is not Independence/Centennial/Brentwood/Ravenwood/Franklin. I know the last 2 in that group are 6A, but still.. Williamson County is the "place" to be. When families relocate to the mid-state area, they're looking for a house in Wilco. The demographics mean that the money will always be there for programs, which means coaching will never be an issue, nor will equipment/weight training. I didn't even mention Summit (another 5A) and Page (a good 4A team). I'm not saying that I think we have no chance.. Just that I think you're underestimating how much talent is floating around that county.

In reply to chaos's prediction of short playoff runs soon, that I don't feel like going 5 pages back for.. You may be right. Very rarely will we have the amount of athletes the Wilco schools do. I think the worst scenario is Crawford inevitably turning Brentwood into a power again and Centennial reloading every year. The Super 32 is a horrible idea, but as long as it is in place, I figure Indy/Centennial/Brentwood will remain 5A for years to come. Somebody more in the know can correct or clarify. Seems like they can't build schools in the midstate quick enough. With that said, the QB is a sophomore, the 2 RB's were a sophomore, there's young talent at WR... I don't worry about OL with this staff. Some year's they have more to work with than other's, but they'll always get the most out of the line. We lose a ton on defense, but we've got some big underclassman as well as some speed. There are plenty of HS coaches across the state that would kill for what our middle school programs can develop, and the last time I checked, Inman still wins a whole lot more than they lose. How did you feel in 2008, right after the Hillsboro game? 2 SEC studs (& Mr. Football winner) with another 4 or 5 that would go on to earn FCS scholarships, and we get bounced out of the semi-finals 3 years in a row, and we were (technically) "moving up" in classification. If somebody tried to tell me that 2 state championships were coming in relatively short order, I would have horse-laughed them. Don't count out the culture. Henry County football has come a longggggggggg way. Kids grow up dreaming of putting on that helmet. The program is not in a bad spot.

True for the most part. Could argue that some years were scheme, some were talent. There's been a few stout years sprinkled in. Seems like teams that can get vertical and high point a ball are our Achilles heel.

2 deep prayers answered for Centennial. That's how the ball bounces sometimes. Still time.

Good post. Defense needs to limit splash plays and make Centennial fight their way down the field. I'd love to see some advanced statistic that measured TD's scored off 20+ yard plays compared to TD's scored by driving at least 9 or 10 plays against HC. Seems like we've been burned by 1 missed tackle or 1 busted assignment for a long gain many more times than teams have been able to impose their will. Offense has to execute and the line needs to be mean. They know what kind of defense they're facing. Can't put the defense in a hole, and they need to be able to sustain drives because I wouldn't be surprised if we see a steady dose of Dodson tonight. There's a ton of great players on that Centennial squad and have limited his carries, but we all know who the workhorse is. He put the team on his back against Southwind, especially on the game winning drive. If this game isn't decided by 3-6 points, either one team didn't bring it tonight, or one team has gotten a whole lot better over the course of a couple of weeks. I'm hoping for a reason to cross the river again next weekend. HC 20 Centennial 17

Ravenwood definitely isn't what they were last year, but they're still a really good football team. I think they'll win, but Dillon Mitchell....

If somebody wants to be an idiot on this board, then they're just joining a segment of posters that already exists. Anyone with any sensibility can eventually learn to tune them out, or at least laugh at them. Making the kind of comments he's making on Twitter directly to players, hiding behind a username and fake picture... That's low. I personally am not a fan of HHS, just like you guys don't exactly love Henry County. But these kids bust their tail, from January's in the weight room to November's on the field. They could be diving off in all sorts of trouble that's easy to find as a teenager, but they're putting hard work in everyday to represent their school and community. It's honestly kind of sad.

I had to look it up on Twitter... Disgusting.

You just clarified everything for me. It all makes sense now. Any insight on last night's CHS-Brentwood game? I really thought Brentwood had turned a corner and CHS was coming off 2 highly-emotional games... Not that I expected an upset, but was a bit surprised to see Centennial handle them like that. From the stats I've seen, it doesn't seem like the game was ever really in question. Also, as far as coaching goes... Is Centennial going to put 12 in the box? That would be new.

Just a question - are you only this arrogant when your team is having the best season in school history? Or will you be singing Indy's praises if they somehow lose? What about next year? I'm all for calling it like it is, and Indy is incredible this year. Just not a fan of hype men who don't respect other programs.