BackyardLegend

Doubt Rankin would ever look seriously at Cleveland. However,if he did.. It would be lights out for other area schools.

4-6 overall and 2-4 in the district. That is not a very impressive resume. Cleveland will look for a proven winner.

Here's a couple of names that may be a good fit for Cleveland. Cain Ballard at Greeneville. Greenevillis is 10-1. Their lone loss was 14-10 at Morristown West. They beat Alcoa 42-14. They won their first round playoff game 42-8 over Scott County. Greeneville is a well coached team. I don't know if he's interested in leaving Greeneville, but I would make him say no if I was Cleveland. Also, What about Mike Zeller at Lenoir City? They went winless the two years prior to him going there. They have been to the playoffs the last two years. Their record is a little misleading. They are 6-5, but they play in Maryville's district. They did beat Knox Catholic and Farragut, but they got hammered by Maryville. But then again...Everyone got hammered this year by Maryville. He supposedly is a tough coach, but is a good one that cares about the kids. Cleveland High has a lot to offer, so I hope that Cleveland doesn't limit their potential coaching pool to the this area or state. If Rankin was that interested in it last time, then he knew that it was a potentially great job. Just My opinion.

Rumors have it that Crawford has been offered the Cleveland job. He has not made a decision. This is strickly a rumor and has not been verified by CHS administration or coach Crawford.

Congratulations to coach John Brose and his Cleveland High School boys soccer team for achieving a national ranking of #17 in the latest ESPN high school poll. Great job Raiders! Good luck in the tournament! That ranking won't mean anything if you don't take care of business on the field.

Nothing... Just another jealous Raider Hater.

What's everyone's thought on this one. I've not seen Red Bank play this year except the jamboree. It seems that both Cleveland and Red Bank have speed at the skill positions and good sized lines. Both teams have good coaches. I've had the opportunity to see about half of Cleveland's games. They seem to be getting better every week. Obviously, from last night's debacle against Brainerd, the Lions are an explosive squad. So, what does everyone think about this one.

Well...The Cleveland-Riverdale match up could be interesting. I was looking at their schedules. I realize that schedules don't mean a hill of beans in tournaments, but it a pretty good indicator of what "should" happen. The lady Raiders and Riverdale played 2 common opponents. Cleveland beat White County at Sparta 71-33. Riverdale took 3 out of 4 from White County but lost to them in Sparta 62-50. Riverdale beat White County the other 3 times by the scores of 64-48 (at Riverdale), 52-45 (District), and 45-32(Region). The only other common opponent is Franklin County. Riverdale beat Franklin County twice (60-54 and 67-65). The Lady Raiders beat the Rebelettes at Cleveland 64-26. On paper...one would have to give the edge to Cleveland (especially playing at home), but that's why we tip'em off. Good luck to both teams! The BackyardLegend

Either I'm gettin' old and have lost my eyesight....or it's amazing that NOBODY has posted about the Cleveland Bradley game last night. Anytime Bradley plays Cleveland in anything...then surely it's worth posting....right? Anyways, from reading the topic title...ya'll can see that Cleveland beat Bradley last night. Besides the rivalry itself, this game really had no importance unless Rhea County shocks the world and upsets Bradley next week. If that happens, then Cleveland would be first seed in the District tournament and Bradley would be second. Bradley should beat Rhea County and that would give the Bears the regular season championship and secure the first seed in the tournament. The biggest newsworthy thing about last night's game lies deeper than X's and O's. The ol' Backyard Legend strongly sensed a Chemistry problem on Bradley's home front. This squad is very talented. Oglesby is a tremendous basketball player. Keith Dodd and Wes Adams are solid in their own right. It just seems that if you have 3 players of that magnitude, then you shouldn't be dropping 10 games in this area of the state. The Bears have also dropped 3 in a row and 2 district games in a row. There is something there. I saw a bunch of "finger pointing" looks from Bradley players toward each other. I don't believe that it's coaching. Kent Smith has proven himself as one the premier coachs in the state. I don't beleive that it's talent. As I stated earlier, Oglesby, Dodd and Adams are good players. I strongly believe that it lies in the area of team Chemistry. Basketball is a team sport. You must have 5 players understanding their role and those 5 must be willing to sacrifice their personal gains or accolades for the good of the team. It's not about everyone worried about their stats. Not everybody needs to be scorers...but they all need to contribute by utilizing their strengths (Defense and Rebounding...etc.) Most people would say that Cleveland was probably less talented than the Bears, but last night they each played their role in Coach Greens game plan to the best of their ability. Goldston and Dodd are probably the closest Cleveland has to a star, but their role players stepped up. I don't know the stats, but Preston Scoggins battled hard on both ends of the court last night. Houston Phillips really didn't have one his better games, but he came up big down the stretch. Cleveland just wanted it more last night and they showed a lot more team unity. District tourney time is just around the corner. If Bradley is to have success in the post season, then they better make a better grade in team Chemistry 101. Chemistry 101 in basketball is not a Kent Smith thing....It's a player(s) thing. It's gut check time for the Bears. Cleveland seems to be playing better. They have a big test this week at McMinn Central. Central has laid "L's" on the Raiders twice this year. It should be a good measuring tool for Coach Green and his squad. Good luck to the Bears, Raiders and the Walker Valley Mustangs in the tournament. It should be a great one! Until next time...The Backyard Legend is out.

If Cleveland wins, then it will be very close. If Bradley wins, then it will be 9-13 point win.

The beauty of high school basketball is that you don't have to play your way into the playoffs. Your regular season is basically a 20-30 game pre-season. Everyone makes the playoffs. Keeping that in mind, and the history of Kent Smith's tenure at Bradley Central...I wouldn't count the Bears out of anything. By tournament time, I'm sure that Kent will work out a lot of the kinks. Oglesvy is a tremendous talent. When he understands that he doesn't have to score a lot of points to have a good game, then he will live up to his billing as a big time D1 prospect. If his shots aren't there or they're not falling, then he needs to find other ways to help his team win. In closing, I realize that they have lost like 5 of their last 7 games, but I'm not going write this team off. Talent wise...they should still win District 5. They've got 2 good guards and 6'9 post. They should also make a run at the region. Although, I'm still sticking to my guns in saying Red Bank should win the region. Until Next Time...The Ol' Backyard Legend is out of here.

There are a lot of good rivalries in the state. I'm sure everyone thinks that their school's biggest rival is the states biggest rivalry. I'm no different. Bradley Central-Cleveland would be hard to beat. Those two schools just plain don't like each other. They usually have decent teams and they pack out the gyms. Fire marshalls usually cut off the people entering the gym. It seems like either Bradley or Cleveland makes the state tournament. Great players like Vincent Yarborough, Del Baker, Darnell Mee (Denver Nuggets), Alvin Scott (Phonix Suns),Chad Copeland, Josh Hare (Mr. Basketball), Justin Hare, and Kellen Pickel have all played in this storied rivalry. Outside of Cleveland-Bradley, I see rivalry like Maryville-Alcoa as being a fierce rivalry. In closing, I'd like to see some of the rivalries across the state. I'd love to see some them listed in this thread. I bet there are some unreal ones in the Memphis area. Especially since the majority of bling bling (Gold Ball Trophies) end up in the Memphis area. Until next time...the Backyard Legend is out.

Some schools from the Chattanooga area that come to mind are... Kirkman: Golden Hawks Chattanooga City Dyanmos Chattanooga Riverside (Can't remember) Cleveland Day School Trojans (I think) Charleston Panthers

The Ol' Legend went to the annual clash between the Raiders and the Bears hoping to just watch a lil' pigskin, but I was called to duty in harms way. I was summoned to duty on the chain gang. It's not exactly what I had planned, but I either wanted to help out or I just couldn't say no. It may be tomorrow before I figure that part out. It was a perfect setting. A great atmosphere for football. Both school's fan base came out in full force. It was good to see that aspect again. I haven't seen a Bradley-Cleveland crowd that large in a long time. I'd be interested in hearing the attendance on this one. The game itself seemed very wierd. The final score obviously sounded one sided, but I thought Bradley outplayed Cleveland most of the night. Offensively, Bradley moved the ball all night. They either shot themselves in the foot or Cleveland's defense stepped up to the challenge all night long. Time of Posession and total yards had to be in Bradley's favor. The only problem with that is...like the old saying goes "Stats are for Losers". Tonight though...Bradley should have left Raider field with their heads held high. They played a great game. John Allen had a great game plan and for the most part executed it pretty well. I lot of what happened to Bradley tonight was mental. It's hard to explain, but it's almost like John Allen is doing a great job of teaching X's and O's and now he just needs to teach them how to win. It takes 48 minutes of Mental toughness.Tonight the Bears could've very easily won this game, but they had a couple mental lapses that cost them. It was almost like they didn't know how to win.. A 14 game losing streak will do that to any program. I almost think that if the Bradley kids could get a break and win one game....Then they could start to turn the corner in rebuilding this program. Cleveland's offense never seemed to get on track until the fourth quarter. I think a lot of their problems was the fact that it was their first game, they have a new offense, and finally.. Bradley played pretty good defense. I want to give props where needed. Montez Davis fumbled a punt giving Bradley great field position late in the third quarter with the score only 10-0. Bradley proceeded to drive the ball inside the Raider 10. Last year, Montez would've dropped his head, but this year he stepped up and intercepted a pass on the last play of the third quarter to thwart a Bear drive. If Bradley scores a touchdown on that drive, then I beleive they could've "shocked the Raider Nation" and won that game. Then Preston Scoggins executed a "Peytonesque" play action pass and hit Davis for wide open long bomb. That play seemed to take the air out of the Bears. Bradley then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Jamaar Francis scored on a dive play later on that drive. That whole scenario only took approximately 2 and half minutes. Preston Scoggins showed a lot of heart. Will Plummer played hard and made a big play with a punt return. Tucker Tipton also shined for the Raiders. I thought the running back for Bradley (Heffington) ran hard all night long. His effort exemplified what it takes to win games like Bradley-Cleveland. Congratulations to Danny Wilson and his staff for a big win. When things didn't seem to go the Raiders way, Coach Wilson and his staff didn't panic. They made some good adjustments and pulled it out. Also, hats off to John Allen and his staff. Both coaching staffs did a great job and should be commended. In closing, It was great to see Coach Allen gathering up both teams to talk and pray. He congratulated the Raiders and told both teams that as big as this game was...they have nothing without Jesus Christ. Great Message. Then he told the Raiders that he was pulling for them to win the rest of their games. The cheerleaders from both schools were hugging and the players were shaking hands and showing good sportsmanship. It was good to see that in a game of that magnitude. Thanks to the Raiders and Bears for setting such great examples. Good luck to both teams and until next time...The Backyard Legend is out of here.

Well...It's that time again!!!! It's Bradley-Cleveland week. It's interesting how some of the Bradley fans were on here talkin' about how much bigger, faster, and better than they were a year ago. That may be true...but a program is not rebuilt in one off season. Bradley fans need to be patient. John Allen is a proven winner. Game 1 of his tenure should not be how he's viewed as a coach. The Friday night loss to Warren County was a realistic eye opener for the Bear faithfull. Every year, the excitement fills the air as football season approachs. Great expectations and anticipation are part of it. Especially when you have a new coach in a program that has experienced some down years lately. The numbers are up on the team and the players seem to have renewed pride. As Coach Allen said in today's paper..."Better days are ahead for this program". Cleveland fans should bite their tongues this week. They are in the same boat as the Bears in many ways. They're coming off a disappointing season (from a Cleveland perspective). There's a lot of schools that would love the record that Cleveland had last year, but the tradition and storied history of the Blue Raider program has set the bar higher than a lot other programs. They have a new coach. Coach Wilson is under a lot of unjust and unfair pressure to win. When the job came open last year, many of the Raider faithfull were shocked that coach Wilson got the job over former head mentor Benny Monroe and Riverdale coach Rankin. Coach Wilson is a great coach (winning a state championship at South Pittsburg). I hope the Raider fans don't start saying things like "We could've had Coach Monroe or Coach Rankin" everytime the Raiders come up short on the scoreboard. He'll win at Cleveland with a more wide open offense and an enthusiastic style of coaching. Based on what I've seen in their scrimmages, Their defense is good, but it will take some time for the Raiders to gel offensively. Be patient Raider faithful! So, what about the game? Well...neither coach will have to "motivate" their kids for this one. All they have to do is make sure they have their helmets on before they hit the field. I look for Cleveland to win this game by 2 or 3 touchdowns (Maybe something like 28-12 or something close to it). In closing, I hope both Cleveland and Bradley fans show up and cheer their teams on. Let them know you're behind them. Good luck to both teams! Until next time, the Backyard Legend is out of here...

I don't think it's any secret....As Charles Little goes...so goes the Blue Raiders. If he plays to his potential, then it could be a long night for the lions because he'll open up a lot of things for his teammates Alex Goldston and Colby Dodd. If Little decides to "take the night off" mentally, then look for the Lions to potentially send the Raiders home packin'. The "X Factor" to this game has to be Alex Goldston. He's hard to defend, but he also has been unpredictable at times. With everything on the line tonight, I would hate to think that Little and Goldston would take the "night off". Either way, I think the Raiders will win it. Coach Green is a great game coach. If things don't go his way early, then he's great at makin' adjustments. I believe that the Lion's victory over the Bradley Bears on Monday has gotten Cleveland's players' and coach's attention. They won't overlook Red Bank. Good luck to both teams! The Legend

Just ended...Red Bank beat Bradley 78-58 in the first round of the region. Not sure of scoring summary. I just caught the tail end of it on the radio. The radio announcer said that it was not a true 20 point difference. He said Bradley had to foul and Red Bank shot free throws the whole fourth quarter. Either way...it's a disappointing end to a tremendous season for the bears and it's hats off to Red Bank for an obvioulsy great effort. I'll try to find out more. The Backyard Legend

I'd be suprised if anything happens before the new year...but you never know with the administration of the Cleveland city schools. They'll do what they think is right and they may feel that they better grab Rankin before someone else does. It'll be interesting.

Well...The Old Backyard Legend had the opportunity to visit with the "Greatest Coach in Cleveland History" today for about 30 minutes. Benny Monroe spoke to me about desire to return to the sidelines at Cleveland. Let me go on record as saying that I understand that there are certain protocols that must be taken to name a coach at a public school. It is a government job...right? What I don't understand is why Coach Monroe should have to even interview for the job. His resume is on the press box (Benny Monroe Stadium) and his references are in the trophy case (State Championships in 93, 94, and 95). The University of Florida made a terrible Public Relations blunder by asking Steve Spurrier to submit an application. That was truly a slap in the face of the "Ol' Ball coach". Afterall...Florida had never won an SEC title before he got there and they haven't won one since he left. The majority of the Cleveland Raider nation have been crying out for Coach Monroe's return since Coach Brown resigned. It would be a terrible and grave public relations mistake if they didn't offer it to Coach Monroe. I'm confident that the community would rally behind Monroe. Coach Rankin and Coach Danny Wilson are very qualified candidates and Cleveland is fortunate to have this caliber of coaches to interview for their open position, but Benny Monroe has "earned" the right to coach the Raiders again. Finally, Benny Monroe is just what the Cleveland program needsIf hired...Benny probably won't coach anymore than 4-5 years. I believe that it would awesome for someone like Danny Wilson to work with Benny and take it over once Benny calls it quits. So...until next time...the Ol' Backyard Legend is out.

Well....Ol' BackyardLegend's memory ain't what it used to be...but I do recall a great Red Bank team that lost in the first round of the state to Cleveland High School. I can't recall the year, but Red Bank had Marty Lowe (Louisville signee) at quarterback, Cory Simpson (MTSU signee I think) at wide receiver and John Becksvoort (Tennessee signee) as kicker. They were number one in the state and may have had a national ranking. Anyways...Becksvoort barely missed a 40+ yard field goal at the buzzer to win it. Someone with a better memory might have a more accurate description of that game. I apologize for the vagueness. Like I said...I'm losin' my memory in my old age! Until Next Time...The BackyardLegend is outta here!

It will Cleveland verses Soddy Daisy in the finals tomorrow at 2. Cleveland beat McMinn and Athens, AL today. Soddy beat Bradley. Based on the tie breakers, Cleveland will play Soddy in the finals.

If you were traveling through Bradley County tonight, you probably could've exceeded the speed limit without much worry. That was because all the radar guns seemed to be at Cleveland High tonight for the Cleveland-Ooltewah game. No less than 10-12 scouts from major league teams were present to watch Cleveland High's ace Blake Carver pitch. He didn't disappoint those in attendance. He only allowed 1 hit and no runs in 3 innings of work. He did not pitch more due to the fact that district play starts next Monday and they need him to pitch in one of those games. In case your wondering, Cleveland won the contest 6-2. It's amazing how fast news travels. Once a pro team gets on someone, it's not long before all the teams are lookin' at a prospect. The Yankees, Braves, Cubs, and Pirates were just a few of the teams that were in attendance. They had Blake clocked consistantly at 87mph. Throw in a curve ball that seemed to fall off the table tonight, the scouts were nothing less than impressed the southpaw. Blake's popularity among pro scouts can do nothing but help others, from both squads, trying to showcase their talent. One scout was seen clocking Cleveland's second pitcher Jon Koch. I hope others will benefit from the opportunity that is provided. As great of a pitcher that Blake Carver is, He is an even better person. His faith in God and his love for his family is a great testimony. He is very humble, but he's confident in the abilities that God has blessed him with in baseball. The sky is the limit for how far baseball will carry Blake. Anyone that knows or meets Blake can't do anything but hope that the University of Georgia signee succeeds in baseball. So, the next time you hear Blake Carver is pitchin'...Just put the pedal to the metal because all the radar guns will be in use! Good luck to the Raiders and to Blake this year!

Has anyone had the opportunity to see Walker Valley's Freshman sensation Jordan Goff play this year? I hear that he may make all district as a Freshman. I guess only time will tell. Who are some other Freshman out there that are going to make great contributions to their school's team?

Hey tnwareagle!!!! I didn't mean to make ya cry! :justwrestle: The positives and the accomplishments of the Bradley Bear seniors far outweigh the loss Friday night. Celebrate the 100 career victories! Quite an amazing feat! BackyardLegend

Well...Ol' Backyard Legend loaded up the HUV and headed over the mountain in hopes of seeing the so-called "match up of destiny" between Bradley Central and White Station. Everything seemed to be set up. They both won their quarterfinals with ease. So, I used up one of my PTO (Paid Time Off) days from work and went to the 'Boro for the semi finals... to get a feel of what to expect in the finals. Everything went as planned until Jackson North Side rained on the parade of all Bradley basketball fans. I'm sure that White Station wasn't too happy either. I'm sure they wanted another shot at Bradley after falling to the Bears in the Arby's Classic in December. Jackson North Side deserved to win that semi final game. They played great defense and the Delk twins are truly great players. One coach was stated as saying that Jackson Northside is like playing a team of 5 JuJuan Smiths (McMinn County's basketball great). That was a pretty good assessment of the Indians. They were very athletic, they could score from anywhere on the court, and they played very good defense. Congratulations North Side! You're a great team! Enough with my thoughts about the tournament. The real reason that I'm writing this post is to congratulate and thank the Bradley Bears (especially the 8 seniors) for not only a great season, but for a great career. As a true fan of the game of basketball, it has been enjoyable to have the opportunity to watch these guys play the game of basketball the way it is supposed to be played. They played unselfishly and they played as a team. It didn't matter who scored or how many each player got. All that mattered to this team was winning. This was a close knit group of young men. The one thing I'll always remember is when Kellen Pickel broke his hand, I went to his house the next day to visit him. When I got to his house, I wasn't alone. Just about the whole team was at his house. The Bears lost at Oak Ridge the following week. They made it a goal not to lose again until KP could come back. They held up their end of the deal. They won out winning the district and region. This group of seniors have won 3 district championships, 3 region championships and went to the state 3 years in a row. The made 2 final four appearances and was state runner up one year. I'm sure that last night's loss to Jackson North Side was hard pill to swallow. When you're accustomed to winning as much as this group has been, then you know it's got to hurt. My advice to Justin, KP, Kori, Chris, Andrew, Tim and the rest of the Bear seniors is to "Hold your head up! You've got a lot to be proud of!" Each of the Bear seniors have solidified their place in Bradley Central's great tradition and history. Congratulations and good luck in the future! In closing, I'm sure that all of your District 5 and region opponents are thankful for two reasons. First, they are thankful for the fact that you were represented our area greatly in the post season. Secondly, I'm sure that they are thankful that this group of Bradley seniors are finally graduating! Thanks again and congratulations on a great season! Until next time...The Backyard Legend is outta here!