BurroBall

I do not deny that fumbles were the biggest reason for losing to Maplewood. They most certainly were. However, I also happen to know that there were some attitude issues in 2007 among players that just didn't exist in 2008. In 2008, the players finally bought in completely to what Blade wanted to do, and despite not having the same talent they had in 2007, they were rewarded with a state championship, having their fair share of adversity in the process (such as having a backup QB play essentially all but two series in the semifinals and state championship out of necessity or being undersized and thin on the lines all year).

Absolutely true! I've seen at TOO MANY times at HHS specifically to believe otherwise. I don't know about Moreno as far as his coaching philosophy, as he is a first time head coach, but he is supposedly a great defensive mind. I sure hope the players want to continue to have that kind of success and desire good discipline to continue in their team. The coaches will lead them, but they must being willing to follow. It took them 3 years with Blade before they understood this and they were rewarded with a state championship when they did decide to buy in to what Blade was selling, I hope they learned that lesson and took it to heart, thereby making the transition with Coach Moreno all the smoother and perhaps even bringing another state championship in the future.

On offense, not even close, but I think they will still find some talent at the skill positions. Cody Bilhovde should be a good contributor as long as he can stay healthy. Also, QB Greg Young is returning. Aaron Bryant and Terrell Hamilton should be leaders on defense this year. Yeah, the crazy part is that they blew it the year before in 2007 when they had Jacques Seward, Eric Gordon, Corey Jordan, Demetrius Garrett, AND Alex Crutcher all on one team. They had NO reason for not winning the state championship based on talent alone. However, they didn't have the discipline or attitude required. The 2008 team did and were rewarded accordingly.

I HOPE SO TOO, but I agree that he has alot to live up to. The returning talent is solid at HHS. They are planning to retain the offensive philosophy from Blade's tenure, so it will be interesting to see. The district change and scheduling will be the most difficult challenge in my opinion. The playoffs should seem relatively tame by comparison. I think it will really depend on how bad the players and coaches want to continue having success and what kind of efforts they will decide are personally sufficient.

Wonderful, you do the same....see ya come fall!

Again, so you are saying that Bob Lawson wasn't adequate enough to be an educator in Williamson County? Again, what does that have to do with the fact that there is no one currently in MNPS that is on that level. Why are you telling me about Bob Lawson's time in Williamson County? Are you trying to tell me he wasn't a better executive principal than anyone else in MNPS?...Because the evidence of his work at HHS is in direct opposition to that sentiment.

Excuse me, but what the heck are you talking about? What does Williamson County have to do with Bob Lawson having been a good executive principal? Are you saying he wasn't good when he was in Williamson County? Okay, wonderful if that is true, but make no mistake about his tenure at HHS....he was awfully good in his time there. I said there are currently none in MNPS on that level. What does that have to do with Williamson County? Why did you quote my post to address Bob Lawson and Williamson County? MNPS is ALWAYS going to be inferior to Williamson County in education. What is your point?

Bob Lawson was an awfully good executive principal, but no current ones are on that level in MNPS. HHS has gone downhill very fast since his retirement, of course open enrollment has also contributed greatly as well. I can't speak on Tribue's abilities as I don't have any personal experience with him to go by.

Okay, I see now....Lang, not a good Principal? Yeah no kidding, that's why he has gone from Hillwood to McGavock to Whites Creek in a matter of 3 years. (Sam Braden did something similar several years back.) Lang was an assistant principal at Hillsboro back in I believe it was 2002. However, since when has MNPS been about finding the best person for the job and doing what's in the best interest of the students and teachers?

What I read about McGavock getting a new executive principal (again) doesn't say anything about the other 3 points that cbg made being included.

Did they do it while doing the other things too because that alone won't solve the problems.

It is so fitting that politics can develop from discussion about sports. They go together like peanut butter and jelly.

It will depend on how quick the Oak Ridge players and assistants buy into what Blade wants to do. If it is a "diving in head first" mentality, I think Oak Ridge will compete just fine with Maryville. Even in that case though, it will undoubtedly be a challenge.

Well put, it could be that is why there is more community support in small towns for the high schools than in Nashville and thereby an inherently better educational environment. Now, I am not naive enough to believe for a second that there aren't exceptional teachers and students in MNPS because I have met plenty of both, but the system as a whole setup is what it is: below average and continuing to decline while the administration continues to declare with all their might that they are doing the best they can in the sole interest of the students and teachers. I agree that it is not about test scores alone, BUT even though that is true, I guarantee the low test scores in MNPS are not due to an emphasis on a national standard for test scores by the NCLB program. Rather, they are a product of a bigger problem with the system as a whole. The only thing is, instead of doing the things that would create the best educational environment possible for everyone, MNPS would rather focus on the test scores. Focus and make the former the PRIORITY and the test score performance will inevitably follow. Do the exact opposite and you get what MNPS is now.

Yes, Division II will be playing at Tech as well, but a few weeks before Division I of course. I agree, I actually think it might be a good idea to spread all the championship games out geographically (i.e. D-II in Memphis, 1A and 2A in Clarksville, 3A and 4A in Cookeville, and 5A and 6A in Murfreesboro or something like that). I know it will never happen because it would spread out the revenues too much, but I think that would be pretty neat and the sites wouldn't have to be permanent as far as which classification plays where. 4 permanent sites definitely, but rotate the classifications among the 4 different sites to keep it somewhat even as far as traveling distance.

Tech's field is the same turfgrass field as MTSU's....lots of rubber pellets in the shoes afterward.

Not that there won't be any West TN teams at the championships because there most definitely will be (after all, there are 8 state championship games total for football again in TN), but I highly doubt there will be 8 of the 16 teams from West TN to make that be a large concern. For example, in 2008, only 4 of the 14 teams that played in the state championship were from West TN (Milan, Mitchell, Harding Academy, and MUS). In 2007, only 3 of the 14 teams were from West TN (McKenzie, St. George's, and SBEC, which is technically from North Mississippi somehow). In 2006, only 3 (Jackson Christian, St. George's, and Evangelical Christian) out of 16 teams (Division II had three classifications from 2001-2006). Only 10 out 44 total teams over the last three years that played for the state championship were from West TN. Gotta get the numbers back up West TN!

Au contraire....Tech has the exact same type of turfgrass MTSU installed a few years back. Rubber pellets in the shoes are fun! /dry.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

My understanding is that Moreno wasn't exactly their first choice, but I also think he seems to be a solid choice given the circumstances. As far as HHS, yes they have an advantage over other MNPS high schools, but nevertheless they are an MNPS high school and there are inherent drawbacks that come with that status. As far as a difficult district: Try arguably the toughest district in the state of TN regardless of classification. This is the same district HHS has been competing in for years in every sport except football. They'll know what to expect. Also, remember that while HHS will have a much tougher district schedule during the regular season, if and when they make the 5A playoffs they stand as good a chance as anyone of winning the state championship. With Maryville's move up in classification to 6A, East TN teams will likely struggle in 5A State championship games for a while having to likely face off against the likes of Memphis East, Melrose, Henry County, HHS, etc. Overall, I am very excited and anxious to see if HHS football can continue the winning tradition that has been built over the last decade.

HHS football has already proven with two different coaches that they can have great success. Hopefully, Moreno will follow the precedent and HHS football will continue to flourish despite the reality of the MNPS connection.

Definitely a good traditional high school football rivalry in TN. Both programs are well supported in all aspects by their respective communities and have the elite coaching and tradition to maintain their success. However, with all that being said: MBA vs. BA is the top rivalry in TN high school football, in my opinion. Also, unlike Alcoa and Maryville, they can and have faced each other in a state championship game.

I agree wholeheartedly. I truly hope for his sake he does. I'm glad to hear that about Jacques Seward. I REALLY hope he is working hard on his academics because if he pulls a solid GPA in community college, he can follow the path of Walter Fisher Jr. to a major conference school on scholarship. He DEFINITELY has the talent.

He has things stacked against him. Is he doing something or did he do something wrong recently? He also has all the potential in the world, that his cousin never was able to realize, unfortunately.

There is still ENOUGH talent to win a state championship. Also, remember the offensive philosophy will remain the same. It will be up to the players themselves to give the effort required to win a state championship. However, they know what kind of effort required because they did it last season. They also know what it will take to successfully operate that offense. The question remains though: what kind of cumulative TEAM effort will the Burros make in 2009? The regular season schedule will prepare them EXTREMELY well for the 5A playoffs. It's up to the players: How good do they want to be? All that being said, I am very excited to see how the Burros respond in 2009?

The anticipation surrounding a new head coach/new district combined with the decision to retain the same offensive philosophy is overflowing. THe regular season schedule will be far more challenging than in years past, but should serve the team well for the playoffs. My hope is simply this: the players KNOW what kind of dedication and effort are REQUIRED of them in order to win a state championship. Therefore, IF their desire is to win another state championship, just give the same effort again this season. They can gamble and try to repeat with less of an effort, but again, IF they want another state championship, why would they want to when they already KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO PULL IT OFF!