visionaire

Well...I knew you had to be off base with some of these names. Randy would not be interested period! Wayne is working in Arkansas and drawing retirement in Tn. No way he would take a significant pay cut to get back in the coaching ranks especially at Bartlett. Crutchfield is satisfied where he is and has better athletes at Wooddale. Good luck to the Bartlett Panthers!

Good grief!! Where do you get your information? I can guarantee you that half the names on that list have more sense than to attempt the Bartlett situation. It would be easier to turn a battleship around in a bathtub than get that program to a competetive level on a yearly basis! Makes for great reading but needs to be filed under "fiction!"

I'll take your word for it. I have never set foot on the campus other than to see us play. I do get a great deal of information from our boosters and coaches. If I got it wrong and did not give proper credit to Dowtin, let's just say...my bad! What's Dowtin gonna do now. Any word on your new coach. Sounds like ya'll will be hard pressed to get another as good if things were as you say they were. Good luck except our week!

Never have sent out film simply becuase that's not how I make my living. I do however support another program in the same league as Cordova and am privy to a great many things that happen not only in our program but others around the city and county. Regardless of Dowtin's efforts, the head coach is the one that is credited with "signings"! My comment was based on that point and that point only! Unfortunately, a coach is judged on one thing and one thing only...Wins! Not saying that this is the way it should be, however, it is. You said it in your last comment...no region championships, no deep run in the playoffs. Simply making the playoffs is not an impressive point because of the number of teams that qualify. Am familiar with one situation and I base alot of my opinions on that one fact. I'm gonna ask you a question. Do you think Ryan Heaston would feel that Dowtin did all he could in getting him signed. (All State, great gpa and test score, plus speed galore)? Hope ya'll get a good one. Looking forward to seeing how ya'll compete with us.

Amazing pieces of misinformation...Dowtin has been the head coach at Cordova, 5 years, not 10 or 12 and Cordova has not signed 20 plus players to full football scholarships in this period of time. I can remember vividly Dowtin having the players line up at the principals door when the job came open and having them ask for him as the next coach. Staged all the way. This has been the story from the git go. As for helping players and spending his own money, I can't think of a single coach that hasn't had to do this at some time. Let's get real and talk about winning. Shoot us some ACCURATE stats on that~!

I asked one of the coaches over there and his reply was"they got tired of him being an a-------!"

Came as a suprise to me also. Logical candidate for the job lives in Cordova but don't know if there is any way they could get former East and Munford coach Wayne Randall to come. Randall is across the bridge in Arkansas and is drawing retirement from Tn. and don't know what the financial comparison would be. Do know that he would bring a new look to our league though. Wouldn't suprise me either way. JMO

Reasonably certain it was 1975. I recall that until that time a tie breaker was optional. In 1975...You broke the tie if it was a conference game. Games against out of state opponents was based on the approval of both coaches in tie breaker situations!

Believe that's what I said Einstein! Also..it's woe not wo and its Brute' not Bretu.

Know exactly how this went down....Coaches wanting Helton's job, parents butting into discipline, parents raising heck about the past several seasons, parents, etc. using any and everything possible to paint a picture of a belligerent, threatening, and policy breaking individual. Helton has been a class guy and has put some mighty good football teams on the field. He didn't forget how to coach overnight! You people that put this man in this position will reap your just rewards in the coming years. Sun sets over the Bobcats as Helton departs!

Yep!

SWAGGER? It was more like STAGGER after they got their butts knocked off and humiliated. What's even more ludicrous is the fact that the Memphis City School Administration complained about the penalities been levied as being too harsh. Low class and No class equals Tz football and coaching staff!

The coach won't go! Saw a newscast[ the other day whereby a Tz player was interviewed. "We didn't do nothing wrong!". The news item went on to say how the Memphis City Schools were appealing the action by the TSSAA because, "All of our athletic programs should not be penalized!". The school and the city system simply refuse to accept responsibility for the deplorable conduct of the Tz players and act accordingly..i.e. punish the guilty parties including the coaching staff for allowing such conduct. Will it happen? NO!

Less than impressive is kind. Weak as far as secondary philosophy..loves an 8 man front..Can throw the ball all over the place if he keeps the same philosophy at Haywood as he did at Brighton..Brighton had a cupcake schedule and fared well each year as far as wins and losses were concerned..You notice thought and playoff time the general trend has been one and done.

I hope that everbody in attendance at the 4A State Championship game or those that watched on television don't feel that Trezevant's behavior is indicative of all Memphis City Schools football programs. The players conduct reflected poorly not only on themselves but on Memphis football in general. Personal fouls, ejections, mouthing, etc have no place in sport. This type of behavior lasted throughout the game, causing the television announcer to state, "I believe the officials should just stop this, award the championship to Greenville and get these teams off the field before something really ugly happpens. This is a poor reflection of W. Tn's representation of "our best!" I can't believe that the Trezevant coaches had no more control than they did..I surely expected this type of misconduct to be stopped immediately and it wasn't. Again...Hopefully, W. Tn programs and especially Memphis City Schools won't be judged by the inappropriate conduct of one school!

Right on target Warrior!! I knew as soon as I first saw R'way against East, that somewhere along the line the bubble would burst. Melrose lost 3 chances at a State Championship simply because they could not kick an xpt. They lost 3 games by a total of 5 points..all due to the lack of a kicking game. R'way couldn't punt the ball a foot and consequently didn't try throughout the year. Time and time again they were able to make huge plays to move the sticks. In late playoff action you must have the special teams solid if you are to have a legitimate shot at a championship. Where does the blame lie?...You said it..The coaches have got to prioritize this area if our inner city schools have any chance. Special teams have got to be a part of weekly preparation with more than just a "line em up" approach. Until coaches realize this they will continue to beat their heads against a brick wall. Hopefully one day they will realize how "good" it feels when they stop!

I know it is difficult on the Roadrunners to be as talented, to come so far, and yet fall short. I don't know the answer for the city programs however, I do know that when you put things in the order of importance, Defense is first, special teams are second with offense third. To try and compete with only two thirds of the package puts a huge burden on a team.

I was terribly afraid that the special teams would be the Roadrunners undoing.. Trader B and several others did not see this as a problem however it brought the title dreams crashing down. R'way..... 1. Gave up a td on the opening possession by not covering the opening kickoff. 2. Had a punt blocked and returned to the Roadrunner 2 yd line setting up another td 3. Gave up a ko return for an 82 yd td 4. Missed 2 2pt conversion attempts 5. Had a field goal blocked that could have been the potential winner 6. Had a good punt return called back for an illegal block thereby losing great field position Final score...21-19 R'way lost despite outgaining Hendersonville 4 to 1 in yardage..420 yds to 105 Trader B..I pulled for R'way the entire season. They have great athletes and a coach that I think a great deal of, however, once again the lack of quality special teams led to another inner city school's downfall.

You missed a few things that are necessary to walk off with the "big prize."..You have to 1. Be healthy! 2. The ball has to bounce right at least once 3. You've got to find a way to win when you don't have your "A" game. Having the work ethic, athletes, and coaches are only a part!

Gulp, gulp, gulp...choking on a fat oversized crow! Few comments though...I've seen all 3 of R'ways playoff games and I continue to be amazed at some of the things I see. Fri nite..Less than 2 minutes into the game R'way is facing a 4th down at it's own 30 something and here they go (66 yd td)..4th and 5 at their own 37 and pick up a first...2 2pt conversions missed, 1 xpt blocked, another 4th down situation 33 seconds before half and pick it up by a ft (naturally they score the next play with 33 secs before the half. R'way is making some huge plays!!!! Now understand, I am a R'way fan...I have just been stating my concerns and I still have them.. Hopefully the march to Cookeville will continue but to do so, the Roadrunners must continue to make these kind of offensive plays...Should be interesting with Hendersonville coming in. Only thing I know about them is they beat a very good Henry County team and they are big. Anyway, I'm finished wih my "crow" dinner. Hope all have a happy holiday!

lost 5 of their last 6!!! Motivation and desire was not there after l particular mid-season loss. Down like the Hindenburg....SPLAT!!!

You get no argument from me as to the quality of R'ways players. They have more and better athletes than NS will bring Fri, however, if the Roadrunners go down,,I expect the kicking game and field position will be the culprit.

Mitchell hit a tail-spin at the midpoint of the season and couldn't pull out of the spiral! Hardin Co. was subpar this year, however, McAdams is as solid as they come. He did alot with very, very little. It was enough against Mitchell

To be specific it was a total of 5 points in 3 years that cost Melrose potentially 3 State Championships. However, there is a difference...Melrose did have a kickoff person that could get the ball relatively deep. R'way continues the "huddle" kick scenario and is likely to either onside or slam squib hoping to hit an front linemen. They do have the option of also kicking deep (if you call to the 30 deep). The opponents I've seen had an average "starting" field position around their own 40 (leaving a 60 yd field), hence a "short field." Punting is almost non-existent for the Roadrunners, therefore on a 4th down change of possession, there is not much change in the way of field position. If you punt the ball an average of 20 yds and your opponents average only 35 yds per punt, you lose 15 yds of field position every change of possession. R'way often goes for 4th down relying on a pretty good defense to allow them to take offensive chances. We'll see how it works out over the course of 4 quarters. Again, I'm a Ridgeway fan, however, the kicking game concerns me!!!

The kicker and punter help dictate field position. You have a kicking game and the opponent doesn't, you get short fields and they get long fields..This does make quite a difference. Also, NS doesn't come in 12-0 because they can't score or play defense. I'm pulling for R'way..I just formulated and expressed my opinion. We'll see how it plays out!