oldmetrodog

With all due respect, I don't recall that Gallatin and Hville finished 1 and 2 every year, so "crushed" might be a bit of a stretch. Gallatin fared better than Hville did. Hville had a very good year this year, but that wasn't the norm in that region. With that said, I'm sure that Sumner Co. will be glad to get back to pulling in the gates they missed coming into the city.

Overton had a good run in the early 90's with Wharton, too, but not like they were in the 70's and early 80's. Maplewood was a POWER in the 70's and early 80's (back in the Elrod days). Like I said, 70's bias. We tend, I think, to remember how things were early in our careers. who does?

For a lot of years (and it's been a few now) it was. To me, it's sort of like how, even though you may not like Notre Dame (and no I'm not saying McGavock is Notre Dame) it's good for college football if they are good. Something's missing when the Alabamas, Notre Dames, USC's are down. From having been around metro since the beginning of time, I just think something's missing when McGavock, Overton, Maplewood are down. Call it 1970's bias I guess. Broome is always late to practice?

Would anybody else care to comment, yea or nay, on my overview? I'd like to hear what others think.

What happened at the Dale?

I hear Antioch's had some shake up but I don't know to what extent. Hemontoler to HL is interesting.

And unless the rules have changed, you have to go to the CLOSEST school that offers a course. So anybody can't just go anywhere. Also for school like Antioch and McGavock who are at or above capacity, you can't take anyone out of zone.

I'm not slamming Hillsboro. I'm just saying it's apples and oranges. I believe I said it takes a good coach to maintain even under the best of situations and I think Ron and Blade did a very good job. I'm not sure where you get your open zoning info from.

1. Yes I do, that's why I used past tense. I agree with you. This could really start a domino effect. Hillsboro's open zones make it a great situation. The last two guys have gone on to "greener pastures" so I'm not sure why people won't jump on it. Downside: new region will be MUCH tougher than the old one. 2. I agree 100%. 3. Yes I did. Typed it in word and didn't copy the whole thing apparently. East Lit - Hard to say as of yet. In the same boat as Cane Ride right now. It's not going to be easy, but you won't find two guys who will work together any better than Bubba Spears and his Daddy, Jerry Pigue. Not sure what the rest of the staff looks like but they have two old East Nashville warriors back in the neighborhood. Time will tell about wins and loses, but I know those two are going to have fun. 4. Obviously, Hillsboro will be good. They get another good coach who will maintain. I really don't know who all has what coming back, but I'd bet on Maplewood, Hunters Lane, and Antioch being in the mix.

Are you saying I didn't bash them enough? I'd add Larry Coffee to you your list too.

First post under new name. There's always a lot of talk about metro here and I wanted to give an overview of each school from a guy who's been around it for 1000 years. My apologies for the length of the post. Whites Creek ??“ Don??™t know a lot about Law. They??™ve had a tough time of late, but the talent??™s been down. He did one of the smartest things a young coach (or any coach for that matter) can do. He kept, at least, one old warrior around. Keeping Richard Coure on staff was a great move. He knows the ins and outs of not only football, but metro and WC in particular. If history proves, the talent will come back around and we??™ll see what he can do then. Stratford ??“ I think Smith has done a good job with a really tough situation. He loves the school and works really hard for his kids. In a situation like his, I won??™t say winning is secondary, but there are so many other issues that need to be dealt with. If he turns out a string of good young men, finds a way to get as many as possible to college, and along the way wins some games, he has been successful. I think he is doing those things. Pearl-Cohn ??“ I put the HC job at PC in sort of the same category as Stratford. So many outside issues to deal with. What makes Brunetti??™s job a little tougher is following in the footsteps of a legend. Maurice Fitzgerald was far more to his boys than a coach. Yes, he won 2 championships, but to me, he will be remembered far more for his influence on the lives of the young men he coached. Brunetti seems to have apprenticed well under Coach Fitzgerald. He sent 12-15 young men to college last year. These are young men who probably had no prayer of going without him. Maplewood ??“ Thompson has done amazing things in another really tough situation. Coaching becomes a whole different job when you are coaching kids who may or may not have the essentials of life (food, clothes, home) on a daily basis. I also think he is a very good football guy. I think he is a guy who could go and win most anywhere. He is another one who made an incredibly smart phone call when he dialed up Dorris Armstrong. Dorris is one of the best coaches and DC??™s around. Hunters Lane ??“ Campbell is a die hard metro guy. Very good coach who has had trouble keeping a good staff. He has managed to always try and surround himself with old warriors. From Steve Peden to Gerald Johnson to Jerry Pigue and now (I??™m told) Wes Elrod, he??™s had some great battle tested guys around him. The talent is there right now andd if he can add to Elrod and Moreno on his staff they have a chance to be pretty good. McGavock ??“ This seems to be the one place in metro right now that is in total disarray. Broome??™s been in some trouble, but even before that there seemed to be some serious issues. Broome was a good player, but I think he was thrown into the fire a little early on this one. He seems to be in over his head. There appears to be very little discipline and chemistry. I hope they get this solved because McGavock should be one of the premier programs in town. Antioch ??“ Woodward is one of those who isn??™t a ???metro guy??? so I don??™t know much about him, but may be one of the best coaches in metro. Considering how badly the talent has fallen off in the last few years, it is a job well done keeping them in the playoffs and winning playoff games. The ridiculous talent they had for a few years is a memory and he??™s managed to continue to have the team in the playoffs every year. His big mistake was not doing what others have. He either let Tony Currie go or let him get away (I don??™t know which) and it??™s hurt them. Currie would have made them better because they haven??™t been very good defensively since he left and that, for all the talk of Coker and those guys, was what made Antioch good. Cane Ridge ??“ Jury is out. They had a very good freshmen bunch this year so we??™ll see what happens in a couple of years. Abner seems to have a new lease on life as most would given a new situation. The big question here is how CR and Antioch deal with being a mile or so apart. Is there enough talent to go around? Glencliff ??“ Don??™t really know much about Murray. He??™s another one who made a great phone call and was able to snatch Tony Currie up so they have to be getting better defensively. Didn??™t see them play this year, but from what I??™m told they seem to have picked up the pace. Talent has been nearly non-existent the last few years, so it??™s hard to say how things will go until it picks up. Hillsboro ??“ Blade was another non ???metro guy??? so I don??™t know a lot about him, either, but I thought he did a really good job managing this team. Hillsboro is really apples and oranges compared to the rest on this list. Open zoning has allowed them to function, basically, like a private school. While I think a long list of guys could have done what he did, it takes being a good coach to do it. Blade was a good coach who was lucky to land in the right place at the right time. That??™s part of it and he got a good deal out of it. Hats off. As long as they continue to have open zoning, they will continue to win, and kids will continue to flock to Hillsboro from all over the city. Not really fair to the rest, but I guess that??™s life. Overton ??“ Steady Terry. Anderson is the last of my generation hanging on and is the dean of metro football. Terry is a very good football coach and I??™ve known him for decades. He??™s in the same boat as most good coaches. When the talent is there, he wins. When it??™s not, he struggles. Terry is a lot like Smith at Stratford in that he??™s coaching at his alma mater and he loves the school. He wouldn??™t leave Overton for any other job (I know because there have been opportunities). Don??™t know how long he??™ll hang on, but I??™ll hate to see my generation finally ride off into the sunset. Hillwood ??“ Poor, poor Mose. I can??™t really say how good a HC Mose is because as long as he??™s at Hillwood he??™ll never have a chance. Hillwood has very, very small numbers and very, very little talent. When the school zone changes it??™s only going to get worse. My advice to Mose-run for your life. Take whatever job you can get and be thankful. If it isn??™t a head job another will come along, but RUN!