CPA4Ever

If you, the HC team, and HC fans want respect, you have to earn it, and whining about an issue that you have no control over is not the way to earn respect. I can assure you most CPA fans, the coaches and team, respect any team that goes 8-2, makes the playoffs, comes to our house, and competes hard-win or lose. We were one of the Top 5 teams in the state last year in terms of talent, the TSSAA sent us to GP the first week of the playoffs (one week after playing them in the regular season), and we lost to the ultimate state runnerup in O.T.. After the heartbreaking loss, our players congratulated all of the GP players on the field, prayed with them, and wished them well in the playoffs. That is how you get respect. High school football teaches valuable life lessons. One is to change the things you can, accept the things you can't, and have the wisdom to know the difference between the two. Why don't you support your team by helping the boys learn that lesson rather than whining?

Good post and good attitude. Be proud of your team for making the playoffs (a lot don't make it), play whoever you draw to win, and never assume you will get beat until you do. Good luck to all the teams. Looks like my CPA Lions may meet you in the 2nd round, if we both take care of business in round 1. But we have to play one at a time.

CPA has had an interesting year with lots of injuries (6 starters out midseason) and 3 losses to teams that would beat all 2A teams (except Alcoa). They are really peaking at the right time with 3 of their injured starters back, some young players really stepping up who were forced into action due to injuries, and making the decision to play 2-3 of their best athletes both ways rather than 2 platooning. ALso, Z Mason has been given the chance to get his hands on the ball more since mid-season and he is a load to defend. CPA's offensive and defensive schemes make them very tough, and makes up a lot of weaknesses they may have. They are very hard to beat if you haven't played them before because of all the preparation you have to do to figure out all they do. That is the same reason Goodpasture is hard to beat. CPA plays them a lot, knows how to defend and attack them, so they do pretty well hanging with them (and finally beat them this year). Get ready, HC, to be dazed and confused.

Alcoa Marion Co. Lewis Co. Milan Alcoa vs. Milan in semis Alcoa wins it.

Here is my Pre-playoff poll based on real results, not regional sportswriter opinion: 1. Alcoa 2. Milan 3. Lewis Co. 4. Tyner 5. Camden 6. CPA 7. USJ 8. Boyd Buchanan 9. Marion Co. 10. Hickman Co. Just outside: Smith Co., Westmoreland, Loudon, CAK

Congrats to the CPA Lions for finally getting over the hump and beating GP for the Region title after 5 losses to GP in a row. It will be nice to host a home game (or maybe more than one) at the Lions Den. It was a great week for CPA sports. The girls volleyball team made their first trip to the state, the Lady Lions soccer team broke a streak of 8 losses in a row to FRA and continue on in the state, and the football team won the region. CPA's defense was awesome, and they made some outstanding highlight reel plays on offense. The biggest play in the game came in the 2nd quarter with CPA leading 7-3, and they threw a hot screen to a receiver that was hit as soon as the ball arrived. The ball was picked up by a GP player who ran about 65 yards for an apparent score. Two officials signalled TD, but 2 officials signalled incomplete pass. it was ruled an incomplete pass, so CPA kept the ball. It was a very close call, and I would like to see the replay. Regardless, CPA controlled the game defensively, never letting GP break loose with their running game. It was 14-3 at half, 21-3 until late in the 4th, then GP scored on a pass play with about 7 minutes to go, making it 21-10. They failed to get the onside kick, held, got the ball back with about 2 minutes to play, but threw an INT to allow CPA to run out the clock. Credit this one to the CPA defense who kept Cunningham in check, and never allowed GP's running game to break out. How often do you hold GP without a rushing TD? Not often., but the Lions did it.

Now, that there's funny - I don't care who you are! /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

O.K., I agree we have beat this to death. My last post on the issue as well. My original point was that it is not the athletes, it is the programs, primarily coaching. So, here is my last question for you to ponder. Are you saying that if we swapped 100 CPA 1st and 2nd graders for 100 rural public school kids, that (1) the rural teams would be better in 10-11 years when these kids are jr.'s and sr.'s, and the CPA program would struggle to compete? Or (2) would the programs basically be getting the same results as they are now? If you say (1), then you you are implying there is a superior genetics in the athletic ability of a CPA 1st and 2nd grade student. Do you really believe that? If you say (2), you are agreeing with my point that coaching and other factors make a difference rather than just athletes. By the way, LC and Camden look like they have great teams this year. Must have some great athletes /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" /> Good luck to them both.

Our D1 players in the past 10 years (that ended up playing) have been ( I may have missed one or two): David Wallace - Vandy Cooper Wallace-Auburn Steven Ross - Auburn James Corder - Memphis Travis Sikes-Alabama Others: Brian Stone - Florida/Furman David Latimer - Furman Bob Hooper - Samford Conner Lowery - Samford Brandon Fisher - Montana Would they have become D1 at Camden, Lewis Co., or Westmoreland? Maybe only a couple of them, IMO. I never argued that a great coaching staff turns non-D1 players into D1 players. I argue that a great coaching staff turns a group of normal high school football players into a better team than they probably should be based on their talent level.

First, it is "caliber", not calibur. Yes, I believe in every community there are D1 potential athletes, at least once every few years. Maybe not every year or every school class, but at least occasionally. And I believe the majority of them never reach their potential for various reasons: - no parental encouragement or motivation - no positive male role model - no personal motivation - have to work to support family and can't dedicate themselves to their sport - school sports program(s) not conducive to maximize student's development - coaching doesn't develop them - lack of proper weight, speed, agility training - ability to recover from injuries There is nothing special "in the water" of one school of 500 city kids versus 500 rural kids. A lot of rural kids become D1 athletes across America. Kids are kids, and athletes are everywhere. Do they develop their talent? That is the issue.

Good post, Baldcoach. Looks like your BB gang is having a great year, and could end up playing Alcoa in the playoffs. Good luck.

We will have to agree to disagree. I do not believe CPA (my team) has more athletes in their student pool in a given year than a public school with twice as many students, and I never will believe that. I do agree with your statement:"Players who can run the type schemes you alluded to. " But why can they run the schemes? Because of good coaching, which is exactly my point. That is why some publics like Smyrna, Maryville, South Pittsburgh consistently succeed against schools their same size- great coaching. There are DI type-athletes that attend all schools that are never developed to their potential for many reasons. I sense you continue to believe we recruit these super athletes away from the publics. That is not the case, but I have read enough posts on Coach T to understand you will never accept that fact. The DI athletes we have had all went to CPA throughout gradeschool before anyone knew they would be great players. You say: "Good players allow good coaches to be good. Great players allow good coaches to be great!" I say that in high school: "Good coaches help athletes become good players. Great coaches develop great teams with what they have."

Let me start by saying I respect all high school coaches who, for the most part, are dedicated, hard working, underpaid servants for the kids and community. I firmly believe after watching HS football for over 30 years that the #1 key to a winning program is the coaching, followed by team speed, then aggressiveness. Talent and size win at the college and pro level, but they are not the keys to winning in HS - coaching is the key. That, IMO, is why the privates do so well. They have great coaching with great offensive and defensive schemes that are hard to beat when you have not faced anything like it all year, and have relied on athletic ability and size to win games. That is why teams like GP, USJ, Boyd, and CPA with small enrollments and small numbers on their squad can get multiplied, moved to a higher division, and still beat larger schools with more and bigger players. Sophisticated offensive and defensive schemes and well coached, fundamentally sound players will beat smashmouth football at the high school level. I predict a private will meet Alcoa in the semis, and either a private or Milan will be in the Boro.

CPA will be MUCH deeper and MUCH better than last year. A senior dominated squad with more talent than last year, and tons of depth. 7 of their top 10 players back from last year, including Mr. Basketball candidate and top 3 scorers, and they have added 2 other quality players that sat out last year for health and personal reasons. It is very hard to win it all when one bad game (or bad clock operator /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> ) can put you out of the tourney, but they should be preseason favorites. There will be lot of good teams in Murfreesboro this year.

I agree that GP and CPA are a bit down this year, but the reason people say they are underrated in the polls is that it seems each year public schools with weak schedules chalk up impressive win-loss schedules, then get beat by the ABC's in the playoffs, when the ABC's have 2-3 losses. That is simply the fact - look at history. It may not happen that way this year (I believe LC, Camden, Marion Co. and Milan, for example, are very good), but I predict the ABC's will make noise again in the playoffs.

Just for fun, I'll take a stab at the score: CPA 28-GP 21

Boyd wins this one, and Marion Co. has proven they are #2 in Region.

After further review, I agree. How about this?: 1. Alcoa. Solid #1 2. Milan. Solid #2 3. Lewis County - haven't played a very tough schedule, but have taken care of business. 4. Boyd Buchanan - Looking really good. Only loss to SP by 1. 5. Camden - Strong since loss to Milan 6. USJ - Could be Top 5 sleeper 7. Marion Co.- New in Top 10. killed York. Only losses to Boyd by 1 and SP first two games of season. 8. CPA -getting better and healthier. Big game coming up with Goodpasture 9. Goodpasture - Can climb with win at CPA 10. Tyner Interesting note: South Pittsburgh would probably be in Top 5 if they were 2A based on their results against 2A teams this year. Beat Tyner, Boyd and Marion Co..

I started this thread after week 4. Still looks good to me after 5 more weeks.

Doesn't really matter where you go. You have to play, and beat, the best eventually to win it all, which is the goal of the playoffs. DCA went east last year and probably had an easier road to the semis than they would have had in the west. They got the privilege of getting beat by Alcoa one game earlier than Goodpasture. I do agree that 2 teams from the same region should not have to play in the 1st round, which I believe has been corrected.

I have been unable to go to the last 4 CPA games due to work commitments out of town. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if Trent, Matt, and Landon are back playing again and recovered from their injuries. Is anyone else injured lately? Also, I noticed in the box scores that Woodall is getting the ball a lot lately. How have they changed his role in the offense?

I believe CPA has the best chance this year to break GP's string of victories over them. They are very evenly matched IF CPA can keep Cunningham from running wild. That will be the key to the game. If CPA lets Cunningham break away for long runs, GP will win. CPA should be able to pass against GP, and GP will have some trouble matching up with Z Mason. A home game for CPA also helps. Should be a good one. I can't see Ezell beating DCA based on what has happened so far this season unless DCA self-destructs.

Haven't watched 2A very close the last few years if you don't have CPA in your top 14. They have lost 3 games to 3 of the top private big schools in the state, and pretty much handled all of their 2A opponents. History says a 7-3 CPA team will beat most other 2A teams with better records come playoff time. Same is true of Goodpasture. The Goodpasture / CPA game next week will tell a lot. If CPA wins, they win the Region and home field plaoffs games. But, that's a big "if" since they have lost several games in a row against Goodpasture the last few years.

I agree that York's schedule/results are very similar to SC. Hard to say who is better based on season. I had them both out of Top 10 until SC beat Westmoreland, then moved SC up this week. If York beats Marion Cty. this week, I will put them in Top 10, but I think MC will win. SC should win their last 2 games to end 8-2. SC, YAI, and West. should all end season at 4-1 in Region. If that happens, who will be #1 seed?

I started this thread after week 4. Still looks good to me after 4 more weeks.