thechief

As someone who played against both Peyton of Benedict and Taylor of Lausanne; I was much more impressed with the Saint Benedict PG. I will never forget that I spotted up in the corner thinking I was gonna finally get off an open three against an aggressive Benedict defense. When I caught the pass, Reggie was standing on the opposite elbow. He sprinted toward the block probably thinking I was going to drive. When I pulled up and released the shot he jumped from about the a foot outside the paint. He blocked the shot sending it into the wall when the ball was probably a good four feet out of my hands and about twelve to thirteen feet off the ground. For a guy who may be 6 feet tall, that was very impressive.

I'm not afraid to comment. But I think that White Station still wins state again this year, even without JBALL. Pigram has done an excellent job leading this team.

Pigram is the best player in the state. Hands down. He is the leader on the best team in the state.

The favorite has to be the two time defending champion Spartans of White Station.

U are exactly right, except for the name. Courtney Pigram can straight up stroke. I was at White Station's game against Kirby last night when Courtney went off for 31 points. The guy flat out made everything he put up, it was ridiculous. I would put him up against any shooter in the state.

I think that a team should play hard from start to finish. If you are beating a team by 30 points; yea, you should have your back-ups in the game, but don't tell them to lay off. They practice just as hard as the starters do during the weak, and they deserve to be able to go out and have some fun in front of the crowd. I completely disagree with leaving starters in the game when up by that much. I think it is stupid because you are putting key players in an unnecessary position to get hurt and you always want to get future players time on the floor in a game situation when possible.

Bolivar is absolutely the better team between these two. BC may be the best non-Memphis team in West Tennessee. However, Fayette-Ware is a very athletic team with a couple of good young guards and quite possibly the best frontcourt in the state with Frank Holmes and Desmond Yates. Bolivar Central would most definately be the favorite in this one, but its in the Warehouse which should give Fayette Ware a huge advantage. Expect a good one, but I think Bolivar comes out on top.

Middleton definately belongs in the Top 5. They have players at every position and truly demonstrate the word TEAM. A different guy steps for this team every night. They should win against Fayette Academy tonight. Expect them to handle Adamsville later this week. I am not sure if Middleton is consistently better than JCS(they won by 3 at HOME) but they are easily the second best team in District 14. Speaking of Adamsville, they better watch out for USJ tonight. The Bruins are a little inconsistent but can light it up on any given night. However, if LaFont and Newell aren't stroking, then it could get ugly in Adamsville's favor. JCS could probably play their JV and win tonight against Scotts Hill, watch out! they may break the scoreboard in this one. Trinity and Madison Academic play in an important game for positioning for tournament seeds(probably 6th and 7th).

Desmond Yates is a terrific all-around basketball player. I think he is more fundamentally sound that Frank is. He is also a year younger than Frank and could improve drastically over the off-season after he is cast from the shadow of Frank Holmes who people in Somerville have been talkin about since he was in the 8th grade. However, Frank has those things that you just can't teach. He is so explosive around the basket which is something that Desmond doesn't possess to the extent that Frank has. Frank has the ability to be a great basketball player and so does Desmond. Fayette-Ware should take advantage of having two players of that caliber in their frontline and do some damage this season.

Speaking of Fayette, I was at the game Friday night when they lost to Clarksburg. True, Cox had 27 and was a completely unstoppable force under the basket; he also had close to 20 rebounds as well. In fact, he also brought the ball up the floor, going coast to coast for the score on occassion. However, Blake Wilson, Brandon Church, and Ryan Bush all three starters who were absent for this games which explains the lack of help for Cox. That also explains the loss. Your completely right about the Vikings lack of defense and rebounding. They have players but seem to lack defensive awareness and do not box out very well. I watched JCS beat Chester County last night and they are definately the team to beat in this region right now.

I agree with Buschman except I would give Madison Magnet a little credit and put them ahead of Trinity. Adamsville should stay number one until someone knocks them off.

You can't tell your star football player to sit for the state championship game. There is life after football, but when you are on a team playing for a state championship, something people prepare years for, FOOTBALL IS LIFE.

#51 for Fayette only plays on defense. He stopped playing on the O-line a year ago. And nobody is going to catch Collin Bodiford unless he runs out of gas because he just made two long runs in a row, which I think was the case when his FG block then return for a touchdown got called back and then he broke a 60 yard run on the next play. I think that Fayette's fans realize that there were bad calls both ways in this game, but the fact that the one's affecting Fayette came when the game was on the line is a little questionable. I don't think anyone is blaming DCA for the officiating either, I certainly am not. I am not accusing the Wildcats of paying off the refs. I do think that the guys in the stripes are happy to see a team from Middle TN in the state championship again.

Well I guess there is a possibility there was a face-mask, but the pass interference call was ridiculous. It doesn't matter now because DCA won and Fayette lost. I want to wish the Wildcats luck in the championship game. They will have to bring their A game to win without Wooden or Meacham this week.

Fayette has only been in Single A for three years now. They have been playing football for like 30 years but were in a Mississippi league for a while then went to Division 2 ball before leaving because all of those teams recruit and Fayette doesn't. Yes, Fayette does lose Collin Bodiford and Winstin Thomas who carried the offense this season. They also lose Brandon Church and James Ginn on defense who made some big plays in the DCA game. They were a very senior heavy team this season. However, half of their offensive line were Freshman and Blaine Feathers who threw one of the best balls I have ever seen to Bodiford for the touchdown is just a Sophomore. I also heard that DCA loses their best player from other night's game. Word is that their Line Judge will be retiring after this season.

First of all, the reason Winstin (#20) fell was because the DCA receiver ran over him. Winstin has ran for over 1500 yards this season so I don't think he has any problems staying on his feet. It's much harder to run when someone is stepping on your legs. I don't think the DCA receiver meant to hit him; Winstin just got in better position and they got tangled up. Next, I have referee'd basketball games before so I understand how hard of a job it is. I thought that the referees did an exceptional job calling the game...............up until the last five minutes. It seemed they only got involved when the game was on the line, which is what referees are not supposed to do. When you have two great teams in a game as important as this one was; you want the players to decide it, not the refs. I was happy to see that the DCA fans do realize that the pass interference and face-mask penalties were BS calls that kept their season alive. Last, I will say that it was very obvious that Wooden was not a 100%. He was a good runningback at probably about 60%, he would have probably been scary if completely healthy. The way he hits the hole is amazing, even when injured. It would have been nice to see the showdown between him and Bodiford. However, DCA fans complain that it would have been ugly if they would have had Wooden healthy, but they couldn't have done much more than they did on offense. Meacham did a wonderful job carrying the load. They just had no answer for Collin Bodiford which is why the game was as close as it was.

A USJ with their #1 QB still healthy. A Bolivar Central that is AAA and only beat them by 4 points. A Chester County that is AA who only lost to Huntingdon(x2) and McKenzie this season, and only beat them by 2 TDs. I don't like Fayette Academy myself, but they will give DCA all they can handle, possibly more than they'd want to. Also, Collin Bodiford was extremely sick in that game against Bolivar and did not play in the second half. I am not using that as an excuse only because the team was better without Bodiford on the field , that is how bad he was feeling in that game.

You are exactly right. Fayette beat Jackson Christian by 2................The second time. The first time they won 28-16, at JCS too. As we all know, its hard to beat the same team twice, especially when it is a good program and team like the Eagles are. Also, the second time Winstin Thomas wasn't playing because of a broken bone in his hand that he received in the first half of the ballgame. About that, everyone wants to talk about Wooden being injured but the star tailback on Fayette's sideline is also fighting through an injury. Thomas only carried the ball against Trinity a handful of times, much like Wooden did against Ezell. Also, Blaine Feathers, another member of the Viking trio, dislocated a finger against JCS, but he seemed OK against TCA scoring 3 touchdowns. Its the end of the season though and players are going to be banged up. I don't think an injury can be used as an excuse because everyone has injuries. This is not an exception for either team in this game.

Fayette Academy is not a Christain school, just a private school. Also, they don't recruit either.

I think this is going to be a great game. DCA has been getting all the publicity this year so most are going to think that Fayette is out of their league. Although Fayette finished 3rd in Region 7 that was on a ridiculous tiebreaker rule. Fayette obviously deserved the Region Championship which they proved come playoff time. Their only 1A loss was to USJ, who then had QB Ryan Ross, in Week 5. That was Fayette's last loss. After Ross went down, so did USJ who lost to JCS in Week 10. DCA had to overcome obstacles to get here as well, avenging their only loss against CPA and overcoming a 14 point deficit against Ezell. I don't think DCA is going to make a mockery out of anyone who is capable of making it to the 4th round of playoffs. I think many people feel that way because Fayette Academy has been underrated all season.

I have seen film and am in agreement that Wooden is a wonderful running back. Probably the best 1A tailback in the state. However, then name of this thread is "Top Athletes in 1A Football" not "Top Running Backs in 1A Football". Athlete means you do it all and that is definately Collin Bodiford. You want to talk about not getting to see Byrd and Wooden meet on the field. Well I have good news. If Fayette beats Trinity and DCA beats Ezell, then everyone will get to see Bodiford and Wooden meet on the field in a little over a week.

Thanks for the support devilman. I am sure Collin is going to play something in college but I don't think anyone knows what sport he will play or where he will go.

To answer your question daddy..............No I do not think link is a player. Coach Kennedy doesn't allow players to talk on boards during season. Link may be a student, but definately not a football player. And yes, if it wasn't raining last year we would have beaten Bruceton. We never lost a game last year on a dry field.

280 and 3 touchdowns is a wonderful game. Not many people can boast those kind of numbers. The only statistical game that I have seen better would be Collin Bodiford a year ago. He ran for close to 350 yards and 5 touchdowns(and threw for another touchdown) against 4A Hardin County last year. Of course, that wasn't in the 2nd Round of playoffs and; therefore, wasn't as big of a game as this one was. Bodiford, who is a finalist for Mr. Football this year, definately had a better season last year than he has had this year. Since the award is normally for seniors he was overlooked last year but nominated this year. I would love to see DCA and Fayette meet in the semifinals because it would be a great showdown of back between Bodiford and Wooden.

Last I heard, Thomas and Feathers both had dislocated fingers. Thomas's was much worse as the bone went through the skin. I haven't heard if they are sure on what exactly happened to him. I think he will be checked out again tomorrow and we should know exactly what his condition is after then. Feathers played throughout the ballgame and is now just waiting on some swelling to go down I think. He should definately be fine on Friday.