13aafanatic

Congratulations to Dyer Co. on winning the AA championship! What an incredible year for the Choctaws. Great to see them have so much success and bring back the first state title to Newbern in 35 years. You guys deserve it! Way to go - DC players, coaches and fans.

Here's my top five. 1) Alcoa 2) Milan 3) Goodpasture 4) Austin-East 5) Smith Co. 6-15, no particular order but by districts: CAK, Loudon, Gatlinburg-Pittman, Tyner, Howard, CPA, Westmoreland, Camden, Lewis Co., Westview

Wow. Sorry to hear that, both for Quan and the Humboldt football/basketball programs. Tough break. But as volfan says, even though he has lots of talent, student-athletes should be just that. Student first, then an athlete. Got to be if you're going to play D-I someday. I'd say Humboldt will be the 2A playoff team, but the race just got more interesting. Union City and Lake Co. are my picks for automatic bids in 1A, and odds are pretty good that a third team (Halls/Greenfield/SF) gets in as a wildcard.

He is one of the most promising players because he plays three positions and is in two different classes. Just kidding. My apologies to Darren Dunbar, the Viking QB, who is quite an athlete himself. Thanks for pointing out the mistake.

Unicoi County 2, Westview 0 (8 innings) Great game! Definitely a defensive battle, with Woods (UC) throwing 8 strikeouts and Shaylon Robb (WHS) throwing 6. Through seven innings, there were only 8 hits (5 for UC, 3 for WHS) and 10 baserunners (6 for UC, 4 for WHS). Five UC hits and a Westview error knocked in two runs in the top of the 8th, and Westview was unable to answer. Best of luck to Unicoi County and Lexington tomorrow afternoon. Westview plays Chattanooga Christian in an elimination game in the morning at 10:00. The game will again be on the radio in Martin.

Heard today that the Westview/Unicoi County game will be broadcast tomorrow afternoon on WCMT 101.3 FM in Martin. Thought those of you here in the area might want to keep up with the Lady Chargers as they make their third straight trip to the state tournament.

Here's some info, thanks to fans and the postseason edition of On the Ball: Union City - The Golden Tornadoes return three key all-region players for their senior seasons: rushers Josh Nicks (773 yds) and Kendrick Price (589 yds), as well as leading defensive player Jacob Worley (68 tackles). Humboldt - Jr RB/WR Quan Campbell (955 yds, 14 TD rushing; 263 yds, 6 TD receiving) is back as one of the area's most promising players. Sr QB Darren Dunbar (380 yds rushing, 5 TD passing) had a solid season, as well. Keep an eye on Jr OL/LB Quincy Woods and Jr RB/DB Brian Harris. Lake Co. - The Falcons bring back their leading passer in Jr QB Sam Hays (2098 yds, 20 TD) and leading rusher in So Ricky Boyd. The team's second-leading receiver, Sr Patrick Robertson (741 yds, 7 TD) returns too. Defensively, leading tackler Chris Rogers (139) is back for his senior campaign. Halls - It was a big year for the Tigers with winning five games and getting back to the playoffs. There are definitely some big holes to fill, with the main one at QB. But seniors Grant Dew (78 tackles), Steven Cessac, Cory Walker and Kenya Brown will be in the mix as the Halls crew looks to keep improving its program. Peabody - The Golden Tide had a tough year in '08, both on and off the gridiron. But good news for the folks in Teapot town is that they lose only 13 lettermen and return some key players who have starting experience. That list includes four seniors - RB/LB A.J. Collier, WR/DB Todd Lumley, WR/DB Corbin Branson and TE/LB Hunter Bush. Greenfield - The Jackets lose several key players from last year's team, but there's still plenty of talent. Sr Tyler Dunning (611 yds, 9 TD) returns to lead the rushing attack, as well as Sr QB Ty Smithson (754 yds, 3 TD). Heading the defensive pack will be last year's leading tackler in Jonathan Benson (80) and all-region pick Chris McMullen. South Fulton - There's no question that the excitement for Red Devil football carries over to this season, especially since some talent returns. In the middle of it all is Sr Johnathan Avent (696 rushing yds, 159 receiving). The defense will have to regroup, though, after graduating three of its four leading tacklers. Long post, but hope it helps.

This district is going to be lots of fun to watch. Top teams - Union City (1A), Humboldt (2A) Then: Lake Co. (1A), Halls (1A), Peabody (2A) Then: Greenfield (1A), South Fulton (1A)

I'll pick Friendship Christian and Cascade in the finals. Best of luck to all eight teams this week!

The competition and pitching arguments for Dyer Co. and Dyersburg are legitimate points. But remember that four schools currently in Region 7AA (USJ, Covington, Ripley, Milan) have combined for five state championships and six runner-up finishes this decade. So while it was basically win one and you're in for those two, they still had to beat those traditionally strong programs during district and in the regional semifinals.

Great first round games. The most intriguing should be the two in the bottom bracket, Camden/Gibbs (who played back in March in the MTSCA tournament, where Camden won 1-0) and Goodpasture/Covington (38-3-1 vs. 34-2). The West has four in the field, but I'd say that Goodpasture is the favorite to win their seventh consecutive state championship and the runner-up will come from the East (Unicoi or Gibbs). Best of luck to all eight teams! Hope these young ladies have an unforgettable week.

Camden and Westview have already punched their ticket to Murfreesboro this afternoon. Best of luck to them and the rest of our area teams in sectional and state tournament play.

Big day of baseball in Dyer Co. Now all the Trojan fans can watch their team win by double digits! Best of luck in the state tournament next week.

Here's my top ten, divided geographically: East - South Pittsburg, Greenback, Knoxville Grace Middle - Jo Byrns, Wayne Co., McEwen, Collinwood West - Huntingdon, Union City, Lake Co.

The new Class 2A is loaded. Four semifinal teams from last season (Trousdale Co., Oneida and McKenzie from 1A, Marion Co. from 2A). Lots of traditionally strong programs, too. I'll give a top ten divided by geographical area: East - Boyd Buchanan, Marion Co., Oneida Middle - Trousdale Co., Cascade, Friendship Christian, Forrest, Mt. Pleasant West - McKenzie, Trinity Christian, Humboldt

Rush and Hannity say it's #2. CNN says #8. Maybe #9 because they didn't want to know the TSSAA without him. Seriously, NSHD nailed it on the head.

Best of luck to Coach Volbert. He is a class act and will be a great addition to Niven's staff at Union. Outstanding job of working with some very talented players at Milan (Carter, Poston, Grey, Glenn, etc.) and building that program back to the top. Think they went from 5 or 6 wins in his first year to 29 wins and the state championship game last year. Big shoes for the next coach to fill.

Congrats to Westview! Westview plays Covington for the regional championship tomorrow. Game starts at 5:30 and will be played at Crestview Middle School. Both teams seem to be on their way back to Murfreesboro! Third straight trip for Westview. Covington has played in the state tournament for at least 11 straight years - the TSSAA site only has brackets back to '98. Coach Lawler has one of the state's top programs down Highway 51. Way to go, Milan on a great year and a tough fought game yesterday.

Good news is that Bradford has proven winners on the coaching staff and some promising young talent. Bad news is that the Red Devils remain in a tough district with Union City, Lake Co., Humboldt, Peabody and Halls. Might be hard pressed to finish in the top five but should compete with Greenfield and South Fulton. They should definitely win more than one game this coming year.

Rural West TN: 13A - #1 Huntingdon, #2 McKenzie 14A - #1 South Fulton, #2 Halls 15A - #1 Trinity Christian, #2 Jackson Christian 16A - #1 Fayette Academy, #2 Middleton 12AA - Camden/Lexington 13AA - Westview/Milan 14AA - #1 Covington, #2 USJ 13AAA - #1 Brighton, #2 Hardin Co.

There's no question about it. The Lady Chargers have gone 9-1 in the district tournament over the past three years. Throw in two straight trips to the state tournament, and Westview has definitely been the top team. Probably have to mention Milan not far behind, though. They have played for the district championship now three times in four years, with a championship in '06 and runner-up last year.

I'm going to be fairly surprised if a team goes undefeated through district play. There are certainly some very good teams, but it's just that competition is so tough and physical every week. Just like 7AAA has been over the past several years, take away Dyer Co., add Milan and Westview. (Or when Milan, Westview and Huntingdon were in the same AA region.) But if somebody does, and a couple of teams have the talent and coaching to do just that, they should be playing in late November. These teams will have a tough non-district schedule, too. Between Milan, Dyersburg and Westview, 8 of their 9 non-district opponents made the playoffs at least once in the past two seasons. But with the tough and physical competition comes some of the area's top programs and most exciting football communities. Hard to beat a Friday night under the lights in Dyersburg, Milan, Alamo, Brownsville, Martin or Covington. The remaining three teams will be good for a few upsets, guaranteed.

Congrats to Heather and Kevin on their honors. They are very deserving. Not to comment either way, but since GCPioneer asked: Heather Butler - 19.9 ppg, 43.2 3-pt., 84.5 FT, 4.1 spg, 1.4 apg Chassidy Fussell - 30.3 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 34.0 3-pt., 79.1 FT, 2.7 spg, 3.9 apg Couldn't find FG percentages. Stats from Jackson Sun.

Sorry about that. The format I posted was used in '06 and '07, but I didn't really follow last year. Thanks for the correction.

Region 7AAA: District 13AAA - Brighton, Dyer Co., Hardin Co., Jackson North Side, Munford District 14AAA - Arlington, Bartlett, Bolton, Cordova, Craigmont, Millington, Raleigh Egypt