BurroBall

Ditto! It would be easy from this point. Just don't split the districts for the playoffs.

I agree. I was impressed by that 2008 Henry County team. I'll admit, after the 2006 semifinal game against Henry County, I didn't expect them to be as good as advertised because the vast majority of the teams they played that year were so inferior, I thought for sure when they finally played a good team that could compete with them, they would find themselves illprepared and crumble. BUT they gave HHS all they wanted. Shoot, Marsalis Teague ran around right end for a stupid long TD on the first play from scrimmage and then played CB that game and came clear across the field from the opposite hash to out-jump Eric Gordon in the redzone for an interception in one of the most athletic plays I've ever seen at the high school level. Then, he returned a kickoff for a TD in the final minutes to pull Henry County to the final score of 31-24. I can still remember that game vividly. The atmosphere, emotion, and big-time plays being traded by several future Division 1 athletes scattered all over the field. It was one of the best football games I've seen at the high school level. Congratulations, btw to Henry County's football team on winning their first state championship in football this past year. If I remember correctly, they lost in the semifinals in 2006, 2007, and 2008. I speak from experience when I say, it's always euphoric to finally break down a barrier like that. I have to also throw HHS's 2001 and 2002 teams up for some consideration and I believe I likely would get some Maryville fans who remember those games to agree with that mention. Both went 14-1, losing to some very good Maryville teams in consecutive state championship games by a combined 10 points.

I can certainly testify to this being the case at HHS under Aydelott. It was an extremely rare occurrence to see HHS teams throw the ball when he was there. Look, the Wing-T is not a bad offense in and of itself, by any stretch. It has been plenty successful for various coaches across various levels of football. Where Aydelott's problem WAS (as apparently he has now gone to passing pretty often out of it, and beat Blade's Oak Ridge team in the quarterfinals this past season in addition to Riverdale winning the district) his teams could regularly count on beating teams (SOME very good teams, btw) with tremendous defense and a running game for the ages that would just force opposing teams into physical and mental submission. However, if his team ever did get behind late in a close game, they had a hard time moving the ball and scoring very quickly. I always wonder what would have happened against Maryville in the 2001 and 2002 state championships if Aydelott and Hemontolor would have been less resistant to passing the football, but I digress. Bottom line to me is Aydelott finally being willing to throw out of the Wing-T is best for his success and his program's.

So, why then do people such as yourself feel the need to try to diminish Maryville's accomplishments in these debates by reminding them that even though they just won another state championship they wouldn't beat__________? Maryville's obviously no legitimate threat to DII-AA schools on the gridiron. Why not just let those lunatics who think they are, enjoy their fantasy? I mean that's what the SEC country fans typically do with Big 12 the next generation fans.

Who's harping? I'm just blown away by how many folks continue to try and diminish Maryville football's accomplishments under George Quarles. 9 gold balls and 2 silver balls since 2000 SHOULD kinda speak for themselves. Look, I'm not saying Maryville can't be beaten. Obviously they have been. I'm saying everyone TALKS about how their team would or will beat Maryville. Not many teams have managed to follow through over the recent years. At seemingly every turn, Maryville has been met with attempts to "put them in their place" in debates such as the current one about Ensworth, yet ON THE FIELD, they continue to win far more often than not. As for the college scholarships in DII-AA, you may very well be right.

Well, we can agree to disagree on that. MUS would have likely beaten Maryville in 2009. Other than that, I wouldn't say anything of the of the sort.

1)Congratulations to the Maryville Rebels on yet ANOTHER state championship in football! It's truly remarkable the success George Quarles continues to lead Maryville to in football. 2) How on earth do people continue to try to diminish Maryville football under Coach George Quarles? When they played in 4A, they were told they would never dominate 5A like they were dominating 4A and weren't given the proper credit for playing and beating the exceptional HHS and Melrose teams they faced. Now, they are playing in the highest public school classification and still dominating against those same types of teams as shown by beating Whitehaven this year in spite Whitehaven being an exceptional team themselves. I mean, losing to HHS and White Station in the state championship and Alcoa in consecutive years doesn't all the sudden mean Maryville is a washed up program. As much as I hate their past success against HHS, they ARE the gold standard of high school football in Tennessee since 2000. Ensworth has an exceptional football program, no question, but they aren't Maryville. I'm sure they would probably compete well against Maryville, maybe even give Maryville a good scare, but giving Maryville a good scare and ACTUALLY beating Maryville are totally different things. See HHS, Melrose, and Alcoa's games over the last decade for reference. From those references one SHOULD logically deduce that until you beat Maryville, you end up spending your time merely talking about beating Maryville.

Of course, what would be ideal, is: Keep the 3 Division 1 classifications for the playoffs (rather than dividing them up) and the top 2 from each district make the playoffs. Again, not even remotely mentioned as an option in the article, because as it points out the TSSAA makes more money with more playoff classifications/games. However, THAT is still the simplest to understand, generates the greatest competition, and keeps the nice district setup that is in place currently. Still one of my sports related pipe dreams though I'm afraid, along with NCAA Division 1-A football playoffs (32 team bracket) and a MLB-quality minor league system for the NFL and NBA.

How Does God Fit In at School “They don’t see school as being part of the government,†he said. “They think of them as being ‘our schools’ and as belonging to the community.†Okay, so the next time a high school football team wins a state championship should we hold a victory parade in the federal government's honor instead of the school/community? FYI, for those who want to argue about Founding Fathers' intent, Thomas Jefferson (the one most often quoted by those who would like to force such discussions to occur exclusively inside the walls of a church building) was very likely not a Christian, given that he did not believe in the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Birth, or that Jesus performed miracles (his knowledge of science would not allow him to accept such contradictions to scientific law)...some pretty fundamentally required beliefs. That being said, Jefferson was very upfront about his belief that the Bible and the teachings of Jesus were the highest morality available to humankind. He quoted Scripture and referenced God regularly in his public speeches while POTUS. He also took the time and effort to piece together his own personal Biblical stories in what is known as the "Jefferson Bible". Read About it HerePretty tedious task, compounded by the time period in which Jefferson lived. Also, one more thing about Thomas Jefferson is that while he was one of the great proponents of public access to a free education, he NEVER desired that to be something run or even funded by the federal government, but rather by the local and state levels. Of course, that is why I wanted to draw attention to the quote above from the article. It flies in direct opposition to that idea.

I'll refrain from giving my opinion on the content in the article itself. I will simply say that the success enjoyed during the 10 year period from 1999-2008 by HHS football was not an accident or a lucky streak. 2 time State Champions, 3 time State Runner-Up (all to Maryville), 7 semifinal round appearances, 10 winning seasons and playoff appearances. In all likelihood, it won't be duplicated by any other school in MNPS. Once again, a sincere appreciation and congratulations to ALL those people who contributed to making it possible. TRULY a special group of people that were involved and a special time for HHS.

Congratulations to the Maryville Rebels on recapturing the gold football at the state championship and their first in the state's largest classification! Certainly earned it! I know us who have been in Burro land can certainly relate to the jubilation and satisfaction that comes with claiming gold after two consecutive years of silver!

For example, former HHS RB Jacques Seward.

It's a real conundrum because HHS had all the talent and athleticism at the time to run ANY offense they wanted to. Aydelott's running the Wing-T and refusing to throw out of it actually greatly hindered HHS against Maryville in consecutive State Championship games, BUT at the same time allowed Aydelott to have much of the great success at HHS.

I think we've discussed this before, but keep in mind that HHS didn't have Open Enrollment status until 2003. They were winning before kids decided to jump on board from other areas. HHS football benefited from that status in the long run, no doubt, but that was hardly ALL of the reason for HHS football's success. HHS's growing reputation as the best school in MNPS helped the football program more than the football success alone, in my opinion, but you are correct that winning helped too, I would be naive to think otherwise. Let me know if I misunderstood, but isn't there a new rule in MNPS regarding enrollment and zoning that allows a student to choose where they want to go, pending they provide their own transportation. Therefore, a student basically can go wherever their parents desire within MNPS? If so, that should be very nice for MNPS schools and students, but I maintain that the football programs' successes will be based on the coaching staffs first and foremost. I've seen Maryville outcoach too many uber-talented and uber-athletic teams in the last decade (HHS 3 times, Melrose twice and Maplewood once) to believe otherwise. As for HHS changing districts for football, there were multiple advantages: -Obviously they generate more money being in District 11 than in District 12 where Boy's Basketball is king and crowds are inconsistent (HHS fans included in the inconsistency). -District 11 has been the district for HHS athletics in every sport except football for years. The opportunity to keep continuity was very appealing. -District 11 provides competition that figures to be better long term than District 12 (could change some now though given the new coaches everywhere). -District 11 is still pretty competitive in Boy's Basketball, albeit not at the level of District 12. I think the latter three were definitely in consideration of the best interest of the kids, in ALL sports, including football. The pros of being in District 11 outweighed those of being in District 12.

Some things don't change, no matter what happens on the field. There were/are always games that attract more fans than others, but as a general rule, HHS fans are very inconsistent in attendance.