13aafanatic

Here you go, GCP. Fussell Verbally Commits to Texas Congrats to the Wings on their big win! Keep up the great work, ladies.

Westview, that's who. They did it once last year (took OT) and almost did it in Martin. Now granted, the Lady Pioneers rolled twice in district and region but nobody was able to stop them then. Gibson Co. will be VERY good. No question. But the odds for back to back aren't in their favor. Only 1 (Austin-East) of the last 5 AA champs made it to state the year after winning a championship, and they lost in the first round. The other 4 didn't even make it out of region. Plus, Russell is one of the best coaches ever in this state but at GCHS: 3 trips to state, 1 and done the last two times. Not to mention that the #1 and #2 scorers in West TN are back, and they both play for other schools in 13AA. Best of luck to all our teams. There will be some exciting games this season.

sls, Didn't realize that Covington returned so much talent. Dyersburg beat them by 30 last year, but the Lady Chargers on 51 did beat North Side. They will be good, probably better than where I had them. Rumor has it that Haywood and Ripley are both planning tributes to the legendary WesCharge when the Martin crew visits their gyms. Can anybody confirm?

3A - agree with Alcoa, Austin-East, Milan and Tyner Sub Goodpasture for Westview Here's the thing about Westview. They return one of the area's quickest backs in Demarcus Williams, a good young QB and a better, stronger defense. This team was really young in '08, but as noted they got lots of good game experience. But look at their first 5 games. #5 Huntingdon, at #4 McKenzie, at #2 Milan, #3 Camden, at #11 Dyersburg Those will set the tone early, and the Chargers could go 1-4 or 2-3. If Westview earns a playoff spot though, they will be ready to battle. Remember that Milan had to beat them on a last-minute FG in the 2nd round.

Finally some roundball talk. 1) Westview 2) Gibson Co. 3) Obion Central 4) Haywood 5) Milan 6) Dyersburg 7) Covington 8) Crockett Co. 9) Ripley

My top ten, same as Indian with one change. Avant, Lausanne Campbell, Blackman Crouch, Hillsboro Fussell, Obion Central Graves, Clarksville Hall, Morristown West Jefferson, LaVergne Newsome, Millington Robinson, Overton Whiteside, Memphis Central

FYI, paid attendance: DI Boys: 22,203 in 2008 and 15,383 in 2009 DI Girls: 17,322 in 2008 and 19,343 in 2009 I'll use the same argument as I did on the football thread. The teams that make it have a bigger impact on attendance than location. Teams like Bradford, Gleason, Clarkrange, Jackson Co., Gibson Co., Westview, Livingston, Upperman, etc. will bring the whole town regardless of where they play. Then some teams from urban areas will bring 50-100 people. Obviously a West Tenn guy myself, but honestly Martin and Jackson have no business hosting the state tournament. There are some great women's basketball programs around (Union, Freed, Lambuth). But we sure struggle to support a minor league baseball program. Keep the tournament in Murfreesboro or move it to Cookeville.

Just for discussion sake, here's how the Prep Performance Ratings say it shakes out. 2A: Humboldt (55.0), Peabody (43.1) 1A: Union City (52.1), Lake Co. (42.0), Halls (35.2), Greenfield (27.0), South Fulton (17.9)

Last year's state tournament teams and the starters they return: Gibson Co. (3), Livingston Academy (2), Westview (4), South Greene (3), Elizabethton (4), Bolivar (4), Hume-Fogg (3), McMinn Central (1) Some other favorites from an earlier thread: Greeneville returns 8 players on the roster Chattanooga Christian loses just one senior Sequatchie Co. returns 3 starters Upperman returns 3 starters Obion Central returns 4 starters

It will be tougher for Milan to go undefeated this year. They have the talent for sure, but Dyersburg and Crockett Co. should be great games. JCS, Huntingdon and Humboldt will be good. Really all they need to do is beat Westview and Gibson Co., and they get the automatic playoff bid. Milan could go 8-2 or 7-3 and still probably play for a 3A championship.

Attendance will be up only if they LOWER ticket prices back under $7. Doesn't look like that will happen, though. The teams playing and the matchup will have more of an impact on attendance than the location. Most of the teams in the new 1A-4A that have played in the state championship recently are either from small towns (ex. Trousdale, South Pitt, Alcoa, Milan) that shut down and bring everybody to the game OR have strong traditions and fan bases (ex. Goodpasture, Lipscomb). These are the fans who would drive probably anywhere just to watch their team play for a state championship. 6A will have a huge crowd because it will probably feature a midstate team like Oakland or Brentwood. Then there might be some schools that don't bring hardly anybody. Bottom line, I'm sure Cookeville will do a great job with the BlueCross Bowl.

Two good QBs moving into DII-A West: JR Jake Overbey, Univ. School of Jackson 2008 stats: 202-336, 3060 yds, 29 TD, 8 INT 2A Mr. Football finalist, West Tenn Offensive POY, All-State SR Cody Jones, Jackson Christian 2008 stats: 199-328, 2683 yds, 22 TD, 13 INT

Capacity is 16,500. Artificial turf. Tucker Stadium

West TN: Huntingdon at Westview (Thursday, 8-20) Dyer Co. at Dyersburg Jackson Christian at Milan Liberty Magnet at Henry Co. MUS at Millington

Corbin Branson, is that right?