ColumbiaBlueNScarlet

It's refreshing to hear a high school athlete choose a school for academics. If High's high school career ended this year, he would probably get looks from schools similar to the ones that showed interest in Epperly. High has some things on his side that Epperly didn't have though... a state championship, several state records, and another year to play. In no particular order... I hope High grows a few more inches, gets lots of scholarship offers, breaks some more records, loses to Austin-East in the semi-finals, and signs with the university of his choice.

You've made some valid points. Most parents want to do what is best for their child, and deciding what school(s) they will attend is a big decision. You only seem to be pointing out why CPA is at a disadvantage and how they are doing everything in a "legal" manner as it relates to TSSAA rules. I have some comments and questions... As far as the TSSAA finding “illegalitiesâ€â€¦ Based on the TSSAA website, there are only 20 people on staff, not including the Board of Control and the Legislative Council. The TSSAA is not the NCAA; they do not have an enforcement department or anything similar. They depend on schools self reporting “illegalities.†I’m not saying CPA is not doing things by the book. I am saying that it is my opinion that there are a lot of illegalities going on in Tennessee football when it comes to TSSAA rules being followed. Some blatantly break rules, and some just bend the rules or find loop holes to get around the intent of the rule(s). Benefits of CPA… In one post you said, “CPA's success, as a 347 student school in a district with schools over 1,000 and a division with schools over 700, isn't due to recruiting or violating the rules - it is due to a dedication to success, hard work by the kids, and a tradition that stands for excellence.†You just admitted that it is possible for a parent to pick a school based upon what is best for the student’s athletic future; you even gave an example. I just want to hear you admit that part of CPA’s athletic successes are due to being able to accept students from anywhere as long as they pay tuition and meet an academic standard. Dedication and hard work are a part of it, but you have to admit that most private schools are dealt a pretty good hand when it comes to the quality of the student-athletes they are given from year to year. Finally, you ignored one of the poster’s comments about some new CPA players and their dads receiving coaching positions. Is this true? If so, are they paid non-faculty coaches or are they licensed teachers?

This article is a few years old, but it will give you some information on magnet schools in Knoxville. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/mar/17/magnet-schools-offer-variety-still-have-problem-at/

Good insight about the CAK offense. I figured that the QB was calling the protections up front. I’m also not surprised to hear that High and Epperly are quality guys. About Epperly… What other universities offered Epperly a scholarship? Is Princeton a school that he wanted to go to since he was a little boy?

I'm not ready to concede yet... I can be stubborn at times.

I'm sure there are three other games circled on their calendar too. Austin-East certainly has 4 circled on their calendar.

4 of Alcoa's losses were to the following: 6A state champ Maryvile 4A state champ Greeneville 3A state champ CAK

Through the years, Austin-East has traditionally played Chatt. Howard and/or Chatt. Brainard almost every year. Even though, Austin-East is not a school with a lot of money, they have not been opposed to travel. ...I think they like to travel... they lost to Gibbs in week 10 the last two years essentially making them go on the road for the first three rounds instead of being at home.

I do not know of any athletes that have transfered to Austin-East (through the magnet program) and not had to sit out a year. I can name some that live in our zone and play(ed) at other schools. I don't know if these students transfered or used a alternate (or relative's) address. As far as state championships, see my signature. Just like people say that the state championship was the CAK-Alcoa game, many people used to say the same thing about the AE-Fulton game in the third round between 01 and 04, then Catholic came to the Region and any of those three teams could have won it. For eight consecutive years from 2001 - 2008, Region 2-3A represented the east in the state championship. The region brought home 6 gold balls and 2 silvers. Austin-East lost a lot this year. Most of the 2011 seniors had been starting since they were sophomores. There are a lot of holes to fill, but I do think they will be somewhere in the mix at the end of the year.

Yes, public and closed zone. Austin-East is an inner-city school. Although they lose some talent to other schools due to "no child left behind," Austin-East is usually athletic with good overall team speed. Austin-East is not traditionally that strong in the weight room, but they are one of the more physical teams in Knoxville. They are very inconsistent, but IMO can give most teams in the state (in any classification) a game when they minimize mistakes.

Thanks for the kind words.

I will remember this post.

CAK is obviously #1, but with them winning by a blowout... How would you rank 2-10 at the end of this 2011 season?

A 4.4 pro agility coming off the edge would cause CAK's O-Line some problems. A straight speed rush isn't going to get it.... there has to be some change of direction.

If that is the case, then I agree totally with FBD. Greeneville would get some pressure from time to time, but CAK's QB would have enough time to cause a lot of damage. Everybody is saying that Greeneville's running game would keep the ball away from CAK's offense. Nobody has mentioned the fact that they average 45 points a game... you have to score pretty fast to average that many points.

Yes, pro agility.

It's a complex problem. D2 D1 privates D1 publics D1 publics with open zones... I try to stay out of this arguement because the multiplier seems to make the competition about even IMO. All three of the D1 categories mentioned above have won state championships. ... but the discussion made me think of the following option: D2 contains all private schools. Schools that offer financial assistance have a multiplier that is weighted based on the ratio of total assistance provided versus the total tuition paid to the school. D1 contains all publics. Open zone publics have a multiplier that is weighted based on the ratio of tuition paying students versus total enrollement. What do you think GVK? and everybody else?

Inexperience doesn't necessarily mean less talented or that a team (or portion of a team) is going to be "down." Charlie High was a first year starter with only one start under his belt coming into the season. Four months later, he has broken several state records and led an offense that averaged 41.9 pts/game (5th best in the state in all classifications). ...41.9 pts/game, I'd say they tried to "outscore" people this year.

Define quick and athletic in your mind... In the range of 4.5 in the 40-yd dash and 20-yd shuffle? or In the range of 4.7 in the 40-yd dash and 20-yd shuffle? or In the range of 5.0 or higher in the 40-yd dash and 20-yd shuffle?

Was Greeneville's D-Line quick and athletic or just big and strong?

Disclaimer: Charlie High is a great high school QB. Good schemes are useless if you don't have the talent to execute them; High does a great job executing the CAK offensive scheme. The stats that are listed below came from the Knoxnews prep xtra website. Fromke was the starter in 2008, Epperly in 2009 and 2010, and High in 2011. I included stats from 2008, 2010, and 2011. High has some gaudy statistics, but he is a product of a good offensive system. I haven't seen Quinn Epperly play in person, but I would guess that High is maybe a little better than Epperly (CAK fans please chime in here). When comparing Epperly's senior year to High's junior year, the only significant difference I see in the statistics is that High played in more games... hence better totals. When looking at average statistics for those seasons, High and Epperly are very similar. Fromke has similar yards and attempts per game, but lower completion percentage and not as many TDs. IMO Fromke is not as good as High and Epperly, but still a product of a good offensive system. Number of games: High averaged more yds/game Fromke – 10 (avg yds/game – 224) Epperly – 9 (avg yds/game – 287) High – 13 (avg yds/game – 335) Attempts: att/game is almost identical. Fromke – 307 (avg att/game – 30.7) Epperly – 272 (avg att/game – 30.2) High – 416 (avg att/game – 32.0) Completions: Fromke – 167 Epperly – 193 High – 301 Completion %: Almost identical for Epperly and High Fromke – 54% Epperly – 71% High – 72% Yards: One more yd/att multiplied by approximately 30 att/game equals approximately 30 yds/game for High Fromke – 2241 (avg yds/att – 7.3) Epperly – 2584 (avg yds/att – 9.5) High – 4351 (avg yds/att – 10.5) TDs: att/TD pass is almost identical for Epperly and High Fromke – 16 (avg a TD pass every 19.2 attempts) Epperly – 34 (avg a TD pass every 8.0 attempts) High – 54 (avg a TD pass every 7.7 attempts) INTs: Epperly is slightly better for att/INT Fromke – 9 (avg an INT every 34 attempts) Epperly – 6 (avg an INT every 45 attempts) High – 11 (avg an INT every 38 attempts) College: Fromke – preferred walk-on at UT (don’t know what offers he had) Epperly – Princeton (not sure of other offers) High – TBD IMO, High is not currently good enough to play in the SEC. The scary thing for me and my Roadrunners is that he is only a junior, and Epperly’s stats improved from his junior year to his senior year. High seems to be a great kid and a hard worker. So, I expect him to improve between now and next season… THAT is scary for the rest of 3A.

I understand your arguement, and it's probably a valid one... but IMO, Nix and the defense did not need to be brought into the conversation. Also... be careful using words like "all." It's not good to judge the whole on the words/actions of a few. No disrespect to Milan, but I don't see them slowing CAK's offense down too much. One of the reasons that CAK is able to torch good defenses (aside from the fact that they have good players and a good scheme) is that there are not that many teams that pass the ball like CAK. I think my roadrunners matched up with CAK good, but the secondary was not accustomed to covering WRs for an entire game. We may have had a better chance earlier in the season after summer passing leagues... maybe.

Point taken, but attacking Alcoa's defense was unnecessary. I took another look at your first post... Yes 31 points in regulation (37 including OT) should win a game unless you are playing CAK... a team that has broken several state records on the offensive side of the ball. When you play an offense of that caliber, you have to try to contain them, but you also have to figure out a way to score more points. LaVergne (43-42) and Grace (32-31) were the only two teams that were able to do that this year.

Yes Nix was the DC. No his defense didn’t surrender 61 points in two losses to CAK… it was 62 (55 in regulation). Here are some other things to consider… IMO, Alcoa played the toughest schedule in the state: Maryville – 6A finalist and probably state champion (for the second consecutive year) Greeneville – 4A finalist and probably state champion (for the second consecutive year) CAK – 3A finalist and probably state champion Four of Alcoa’s games were against state finalist and potential state champs. Alcoa’s defense allowed 15 points a game this season on average. The 24 points and 31 points that Alcoa allowed against CAK in regulation were well below CAK’s 41 point average. The least points that CAK scored in regulation this year were against Alcoa (24 points and 31 points) and Grace (31 points). Is Nix a good defensive coordinator? Yes Does CAK have a great offense this year? Yes

Austin-East’s offense was pretty good this year. In the past couple of years, Austin-East has struggled throwing the ball and getting behind the chains offensively. That’s not a good combination. When you get behind the chains and can’t throw the ball, you punt. This year, Austin-East’s passing game improved, especially later in the season. They still got behind the chains too much, but they were able to overcome it some this year with an improved passing game. Defensively, Austin-East is always good.