FlyBy

This is a painful and sad thread to read. For all of you that do not understand MBA, you must understand one thing clearly: athletics is a part of the MBA tradition, but it does not define the school. What defines the school is the unsurpassed education that is made available to the young men that set foot on The Hill. Every student must make the grades on a set curriculum that is more demanding than any other institution in this area. It is the love for education that sets MBA apart; not its success on the athletic fields. Athletics has in the past and will in the future always play second fiddle to academics. That was the case long before my time, and it will be the case long after my time; the board and the alumni will never allow anything but that. Young men come to MBA to get the best education possible in this area. Are competitive athletics a part of the equation? Yes they are; it is a nice addition to the over all experience. If a young man has an opportunity to go there; he should. Simply stated, it is the best education available in this area for young men; it was that way in 1930, 1960, 1990, and it holds true today. That is neither misguided nor inaccurate; it is simply the truth. Are there other places for a good education in this area? Absolutely. Are there any options for a complete experience that rivals it here? In my opinion there are none. Attending MBA will have a huge impact on this young man. When he walks off The Hill, he'll be able to go to the college of HIS choice based upon his education not just his athletic achievements. Why would you fault anyone for that decision? If I were a parent, why would I not want the best for my child? There are many young men that come to MBA from both Public and Private schools; some are athletes, but many are not. I have yet to hear a misguided, ridiculous, or inaccurate statement about the chemistry or physics studs that leave the public system and end up at MBA. Why is that? I am off the soap box.

A lot has been said on CoachT about Middle Tennessee dominance especially in D-II. A lot of folks on here including myself have had the position that the best ball year in and year out has been played here in the midstate. While that discussion can go on and on and on, there is no doubt who the best team in D-II is this year. I saw MBA, BA, Ensworth, McCallie, Baylor, Ravenwood, Brentwood, et al, and none of those performances were anywhere close to what I saw in Murfreesboro when MUS beat BA. I understand from those who attended the game and from the score itself that the week before in Memphis against MBA looked eerily similar. Congratulations on a fantastic season MUS!

Nick, I completely respect your right to have an opinion; we all have them. Your post: "Best football that money can buy......oh wait forgot about Ensworth" references MBA, BA, and Ensworth and is obviously a jab at all three schools. My response is in support of those three schools, not solely MBA. My approach to this space is one of great appreciation for: the lessons of life that I learned on and off the field in my formative years under the likes of Coach Owenwhat today's school administrators, teachers, and coaches are teaching their student athletesthe effort that today's student athletes put forth in an attempt to be over acheivers just like I wasthe understanding that football is a microcosm of life; there are great highs and lows, successes and failures, and one should learn to keep an even keel through the good and the bad. MBA, BA, and Ensworth along with countless other schools across the Great State of Tennessee prepare their student athletes in the same manner, and their efforts do not need to be maligned by statements such as yours. If you can't understand that now, then you will when you get a little older. Life is short and should be sweet; mindless statements meant to be funny or disrespectful may give you a cheap thrill, but they have no meaning in the grand scheme. Please don't think that I am offended by any comments that you may share; I could have chosen many of the mindless statements about "elite" schools or recruiting; yours just happened to show up on a thread that I was reading to get people's thoughts about MBA-BA. Instead, I read about the "best football that money can buy", and I deem that to be a mindless statement much like your follow up post telling me to "get bent". Please understand that your statement on recruiting does not "strike a nerve with me". I know the quality of student athlete that we place on the field. Their status is not defined by the success or failure of the program; on the contrary, it is defined by their success or failure as gentlemen, scholars, and athletes. When an institution has a 100 year history, there have been many highs and lows; therefore, we learn to ride an even keel knowing that no high should be too high and no low should be too low. Most graduates of MBA and BA understand this, I do not know why it does not resonate with you. I wish you nothing but the best. That is not sarcastic; it is very sincere. Go Big Red, Eagles, and Tigers! FlyBy

I completely agree. That is why I suggested that Nick keep those posts off the thread; it was completely uncalled for and had nothing to do with this game. I doubt that he is a BA grad given the "get bent" comment. In regards to the BA posters and some of the others that have been around like you and me, I think that a lot of us definitely get tired of the recruiting comments from posters unrelated to the teams or the thread. As a result, I certainly have not been on here nearly as much. Headed to your wonderful State later this week and looking forward to it. Take care, FlyBy

Happy B-day! It was good to see you at Homecoming!

Precisely!

Are you suggesting that I am a BA grad? If so, you are sorely mistaken. Nothing hurts me, darlin'. Those statements became old three years ago, and your bringing it up obviously shows that, indeed, you did not graduate from one of those three schools. I know for certain that an MBA grad would never make that kind of statement.

If you graduated from one, then please leave that topic alone. We have enough Katie Couric's on here already.

... and your purpose for making that statement is?

Both of those could certainly happen. I am not sure that either of these teams is playing where it needs to be playing to make the finals at this point. It looked like MBA and BA had injuries to solid starters; I hope that neither is serious. Injuries have taken their toll again this year for the Big Red, and I know that BA has had its share too. Both teams better increase the quality of play if they want to have a chance to make it to the Championship.

Way to go Ensworth!!! I said it early this year that they may be able to make it happen. MBA had no answer for #10 and #3.

This is a football game now! Wow!

Brutal. Ensworth intercepts at their own one and then rips off a 99 yard TD run.

All Tigers so far

If you have enough bandwidth, Ensworth's feed is fantastic. They use the same technology that BA uses. http://inside.ensworth.com/streaming/index.html

This was an exciting game to watch, but it will not be fun in the film room tomorrow. Ravenwood was very well prepared and was certainly capable of winning this game. I think MBA had about 10 false starts when Ravenwood would pre-snap slide gap. There is no excuse for that. MBA is not putting teams away, and it will come back to haunt them at some point this season; I just hope that it is before the playoffs. MBA had two potential TD passes dropped tonight that would have significantly impacted the game early in the 3rd quarter. MBA was out of control defensively in the first half, flying up field and creating running lanes that the Ravenwood RB had a lot of fun with. He is a really good player. MBA's pass rush was also out of control; not until the last Ravenwood drive did an MBA pass rusher stay under control and get a solid sack. A big "hats off" to the Ravenwood QB; he is smooth under pressure, and has a good ability to elude the rush while keeping his eyes focused downfield to find the open receiver. Against the run, MBA stayed level in the second half and eliminated the running lanes that occur when defenders get too far upfield; that had a significant impact on Ravenwood's ability to run. As for the officiating, it was awful. I'd have to say the worst was starting the clock after an incomplete pass by Ravenwood. Ravenwood had to lose 15 to 20 seconds off the clock, and if they would have moved the ball down the field, those seconds would have been critical. Dropped passes and penalties will get you beat at some point this year MBA. Correct it now; it is simply unacceptable for an MBA team; you are better prepared than that. All in all, this was another exciting HS football game. Thanks to both schools for scheduling quality opponents and not ducking the competition. Roll Red Roll

Tonight represented everything good about HS football. Hats off to both teams on a hard fought neighborhood game played the way it should be played. These were two good teams that should play for the title in their respective classifications. For all of us that like to bicker about public/private, these were two evenly matched teams. There were some serious hits tonight on both sides of the ball. #3 for the Burros is the real deal. There was another receiver/back that was impressive as well; he scored on a screen in the third. MBA was not as powerful as what I was expecting. There was not a lot of push up front; I saw the big tackle get a good pancake about 15 yards downfield once, but typically it seemed to be more about engaging and staying engaged. Hillsboro was quick and filled nicely against the run. Actually, both D-lines seemed to play well and dictate the pace. MBA placed a lot of pressure on the QB early, but the QB got rid of the ball quicker in the 2nd half. I hated that either team had to lose tonight. I was very proud of both programs.

Way too early; please kill this thread.

Fri Aug. 22 Antioch W 45-19 Sun Aug. 31 at Archbishop Moeller Ohio vs. USA Challenge 11CDT Fri Sep. 5 at Baylor R Fri Sep. 12 at Hillsboro Fri Sep. 19 Pope John Paul II R Fri Sep. 26 Ravenwood Homecoming Fri Oct. 3 at Ensworth R Fri Oct. 10 at Brentwood Academy R Fri Oct. 24 Father Ryan R Fri Oct. 31 McCallie R Fri Aug. 22 at Knoxville Halls R W 28-7 Fri Aug. 29 Alcoa Fri Sep. 5 Clinton R Fri Sep. 12 at Heritage Fri Sep. 19 at Powell R Fri Sep. 26 William Blount Fri Oct. 3 Knox Central R Fri Oct. 10 at West R Fri Oct. 17 South Doyle R Fri Oct. 31 at Lenoir City R Fri Aug. 22 Independence W 27-14 Fri Aug. 29 at Ravenwood Fri Sep. 5 McCallie R Fri Sep. 12 Smyrna Fri Sep. 19 at Baylor R Fri Sep. 26 at Prattville (Al) on ESPNU Fri Oct. 3 at Pope John Paul II R Fri Oct. 10 MBA R Fri Oct. 17 BGA R Fri Oct. 31 at Father Ryan R Dear Sir or Madam, No one is submitting to you that Maryville has a weak program; on the contrary, most posts on this board speak volumes to the accomplishments of Maryville, especially under King George's reign. That is not meant as anything other than a huge compliment, so don't take that out of context. I know and like George very much; he could accomplish what he has done at Maryville at any place he wants to; he is that good! What Maryville has accomplished as a program is nothing short of outstanding. What most of us "private school boys" are simply saying is that week in and week out, we play a very tough and demanding schedule. Many of those games are hard fought into the 4th Quarter; the schedules above illustrate that point very clearly. The impact of keeping a team's one's and two's in the game for the majority of the contests week in and week out take a toll on the health of a team. I submit to you that the impact of either MBA's or BA's schedule above on Maryville's team and record would be significant to say the least. Could Maryville run the table and beat McCallie, Baylor, MUS, Christian Brothers, Ryan, Brentwood Academy, MBA, and then Brentwood Academy and MBA again in the playoffs while playing an out of conference schedule that includes the majority of the last year's top 5 in the State of Tennessee and throw in a couple of out of State powerhouses? Keep in mind that under the scenario above, even your weaker games will keep your starters in for at least 3 quarters. As a result, you can count on the loss of multiple 1st stringers and be required to replace them if the streak was to continue. Don't make yourself look ignorant by speaking down to the fact that the playoffs in D-II are short; the teams are still among the elite of Prep football in this State, and to beat a solid team twice in the same year is very difficult. Could Maryville beat MBA or BA? You bet they could; anything can happen on a Friday night in TN. Could they run the table in D-II? I don't think so, and that is exactly what MBA did last season. Therefore, to the point of this thread, MBA stands at the top until BA, Hillsboro, Ravenwood, Ensworth, or someone else knocks them off.

Final Score 27-17 Moeller wins Moeller Princetn 1st downs 16 19 Rush yards 136 126 Pass yards 136 300 Total offense 272 426 Penalties 6-40 6-45 Turnovers 0 2 No idea how good Princeton is, but this looks like it was a good game with Princeton leading at the half. It looks like Moeller owned the 2nd half though which, as we all know, is the sign of a good team. Go get'em, gentlemen! Roll Red Roll

Good content, but the quality is pretty rough. Thanks for the report though.

Forgive me, but I have been on the road a lot this Summer and have not been able to check the board. I thought that the board would be buzzing with a lot more scrimmage info and team info, but I'm not seeing as much as I thought I would, In your opinions, is the excitement/anticipation as high as in years past?

That is a good question, and I don't have the answer; maybe an Ensworth parent or student could help. BA and MBA manage to win with small enrollments though. We had 87 in my Senior Class, and about 20 of us played football. With that core group and the help of a pretty good Junior Class, we won 11-AAA, and lost to Gallatin in the 2nd round.

Please correct the 1986 score in the Ryan game to 3-0 Ryan, not 37-0. That was a bad night, but it wasn't that bad. Thanks

My 2 cents, and it's worth less than that, says that this will come down to BA and either Ensworth or MBA this year. I realize that that is not much of a reach, but I truly believe that BA's and MBA's programs are simply the best in the State, particularly in D-II, year in and year out. Starting this year and going forward though, they have company. Ensworth will be very good this year, and they will be a lot of fun to watch.