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Channel 2/WKRN just showed the 70-yard (or whatever it was) FRHS run that set up its first TD. What a disgrace. The FRHS back is on the ground - his whole body - and he reaches out and places the ball forward. Another FRHS player picks it up and runs with it down to the 1. I understand missed calls here and there, but the call looked horrible in person. It was a disgrace on TV. I was told in advance of this game that this was not a strong crew officiating the game. That was an understatement. I am usually strongly against officiating criticism; we're all fallible, and we are dealing with underpaid officials who don't do it as a primary job. But that call alone would get a crew suspended for a few games on the college level.

This must be a regional concept. I know one Middle Tennessee officials association that gives out assignments for the first six weeks of the year in August and then assignments for the last five regular season weeks during or just after Week 5. Furthermore, coaches rate officials and submit those ratings to the assigning officer, who tries to schedule crews that would create the most harmony based on the ratings of the two coaches involved in a game.

The question of whether or not CPA is moving from DI to DII occurred on the Football Boards (maybe it's on the Basketball Board, too, but I haven't looked). It seemed natural to discuss the issue in the context of football. CPA may, relatively, be better now in basketball than football. Its prospects of success going forward may be better in basketball than football. However, IMO, to say football has nothing to do with a potential decision is dubious. I don't know any football-playing school, and any football-playing private school in particular, where football is not a consideration in terms of the athletic department. BA may be the closest thing to a "basketball school" in large DII (based on D. Harrison and B. Wright this past decade), and that would include a large DII with CPA in it, but we all know what the show pony sport is on Granny White. Would the upside in basketball by moving from DI to the large class in DII outweigh the downside of playing football in the large class of DII? CPA has won no boys basketball titles in DI, so they have nowhere to go but up in DII, even in the larger class. But I think even the most diehard CPA fan would say that the downside to football success is much larger in the larger DII football division. I admire the concept of "playing up", but I don't know any school where there is not some level of pride taken in athletics and the W/L column. If BA didn't win those AAAAA titles in 1995 and 1996 after all those years of playing at its natural classification and picking off titles left and right, do you think they would have stayed in AAAAA? And they probably would have had that decision, as the push from Murfreesboro to split the privates may not have occurred any time soon in that era.

Sadly, my enthusiasm for posting was dampened earlier this season by all the "come and git you some" back-and-forth with the East Tennessee brain trust. We can still maintain our texting relationship on Friday nights during games, though. That completes me.

Good point, although while CPA is playing bigger schools now versus ten years ago, that does not diminish the fact that CPA is down considerably in talent from ten years ago as well. The 2000 and 2002 state title teams at CPA were rated in the top 15 across all classifications in both of those years. They would have been prohibitive favorites over the Maplewoods and Pearl-Cohns of that era, and that was an era in which the enrollment gap was even larger than it is now. CPA’s 2000 enrollment per the TSSAA was 28% of that of Pearl-Cohn, 24% of that of Maplewood. Per the 2008 enrollments, CPA’s enrollment was 48% of that of Pearl-Cohn, 32% of Maplewood’s. As for multipliers in other states, I don’t know them off the top of my head, but Tennessee’s is high – maybe the highest there is among states with multipliers. The original premise of this thread was that a move to DII would benefit CPA from a football perspective. I don’t necessarily disagree that its schedule would be a little bit more manageable if they moved to the smaller DII division. However, I don’t think CPA should necessarily rush to clear space in the trophy case for some more gold balls in football. A half-dozen or so of the schools in that Class will be larger, and at least half of those are, in a typical year, going to put somewhat stronger teams on the field if tradition and trends continue. A more important question, is how have the schools that have moved from DI to DII athletically fared academically and financially? Are the whiz kids who need aid being squeezed out for the sake of athletics? Has the amount of aid offered increased, or is it being redistributed?

Is there really any hard, consistent evidence that a private moving from DI to DII would have it easier? I don't see it. Sure, one could point out DA as an example, but one could also point out that Goodpasture's two post-split titles came when moving from DII to DI. There are multiple examples for/against this theory. If it truly is easier to move to DII, then the DI multiplier is too high. I think private school success (titles, deep runs) is going to be cyclical and largely dependent on where a school is in a talent curve and not so much the Division in which it plays. CPA has a good program, but we are gradually creeping away from those late 90s/early 2000 teams that were sending multiple players to the SEC (in other words, "this ain't your father's CPA"). And all other things being equal (i.e., factoring out any abnormal talent levels in a given year), the title paths in the current smaller DII division format are going to go largely through Webb and ECS. Sure, the USJs and CPAs of the world would/are going to be in the mix (and St. George's, which I think has had a modest impact on MUS - not so much to make MUS bad as it has been to make St. George's good), but I think these schools have a little extra something (enrollment for one, also out-of-region scheduling) that is going to give them an edge until another program breaks through on a consistent level. I certainly don't mean to disparage any of the other schools - heck, my wife is a USJ (OHA) grad, so I have no axe to grind - but I'm not convinced that the smaller DII class is necessarily the place to flee as a safe haven to have an easier go of it.

I would amend a statement above to say, “Either you are paying to go there, someone else is paying for you to go there, or there is a mixture of both.†For all of the talk about “full scholarshipsâ€, I would encourage those interested in learning more about financial aid to check out guidestar.org. Pull form 990 (in layman’s terms, the tax return) for a private school, and, for those schools for whom transparency is not an issue (and when it comes to the reporting of school “facts and figuresâ€, the lack of transparency of some schools is readily noticeable), one can find the amount of financial aid provided (call it x) and the number of students receiving it (y). The average aid grant per student (z) on financial aid would be x/y. Next, take z and subtract that amount from the tuition, as posted on the school’s website. One may want to adjust that tuition amount for inflation back to the tax year in question. Tuition less z equals the average amount of money the average student on aid is paying out of pocket to attend school. That amount is going to differ from school to school, but many of these numbers are going to be in the thousands of dollars area, and some of those average out-of-pocket costs are approaching five figures. Many of the schools in question in such a debate have annual tuitions in the $15K-$20K range. The average aid amount, in many cases, is a fraction of that – generally a fraction less than 50%. It would not be uncommon to find a school where the annual tuition is $16K and the average aid grant per student on aid is $8K, which means the average student on aid is coming out of pocket another $8K. In such a scenario, any student that is labeled a “full scholarship†student at such a school has to be offset by an “on aid†student receiving $0 in aid to maintain that $8K average. Of course, a student who receives $0 in aid is not a student on aid (and hence the hole shot in the theory that there are a lot of aid grants at or approaching 100%). These numbers are there for public consumption – no fuzzy math, no smoke and mirrors. Anyone who wants to dispute such numbers is essentially saying a school is submitting a fraudulent tax return – a debate that is largely inane, yet one that some axe-grinders dare to pursue (and yet question why the level-headed run from the debate at that point of futility). Furthermore, I don’t know any affluent families that made their fortunes diverting venture capital/investment dollars to the funding of individual tuitions of progeny not their own. What’s the ROI on a state title trophy for a donor? Any amount above 0.0% is questionable. Personally, I would never try to argue against the benefits of financial aid. But here are my two biggest issues surrounding financial aid: 1. Given the data above – the fact that the average family on aid is still coming out of pocket thousands of dollars – I don’t understand arguments that a private school’s potential pool of students is unlimited or borderless. 2. A family can pay $8K towards tuition at Ensworth and the student, who will be on aid, can play sports. Same family can travel two miles down the road to CPA, pay $8K out of pocket, and be on aid, but less aid, yet the student can’t play sports. Something is amiss there.

You joined the website 12 hours after EHS gets back on the radar... ...your first post is the starting of a thread about EHS... ...and all of your subsequent posts have been about and/or in defense of EHS. Yet, you are not a fan? Doubtful.

Unfortunately, I heard he passed away overnight. I think he was only 48.

Ensworth is a different team from the one that played Oakland. They have remedied the QB situation (i.e., the more natural QB who was the backup early in the season is now the starter), their backs are healthier, and, for the first time this season, played consecutive games for the first time tonight (momentum). EHS is still down a bit from 2009, but their opportunistic defense is good enough to keep them in any game.

Official was apparently coughing up blood. He has had two heart attacks previously and word has it may have been going through another. Fortunately, St. Thomas is right across the street.

I watched the OB-MUS game, and it was indeed good. Replays, running score at the top of the feed, crisp and uninterrupted - it was a strong production. Hopefully the OB players kept the locker room in better order than they did at BA.

The MS fans have been spewing their drivel for years, and it appears this year is no different. I remember reading posts on that site in 2003 after MBA laid sod over Southaven and South Panola did the same by a similar score (MBA won 45-13; I think SP won 47-11). All I could read was how South Panola was "light years" ahead of MBA and SP would win by 6 TDs. In general, you at times get some insight into what must be some pretty pitiful lives on that site the way they respond to losses (happens here and there on this site, too, but it appears to be an epidemic at times over there). Part of the problem lies in the fact that, as good as MS public school football is, MS private school football is not good. Take the best private team in MS in a given year and that team is usually going to be, at best, maybe fifth or sixth in DII-AA in Tennessee. Some of the Mississippians still don't understand that it's a different level when comparing the privates from the two states. Well done, BA. As for MSPowerhouse, well, my guess is he is checking to see if the MSOuthouse screen name is available.

I don't get it. When Maryville plays Maplewood (2007), Maplewood is part of the best competition in the state. Same for Hillsboro (2001, 2002, 2006, 2008). Same for Pearl-Cohn (1997). But, when MBA plays the same schools (and they have played all three - some in the same year), those schools are "yawners"?

Hats off to MUS. You represented your school and your state well. Winners in every sense of the word. State pride still means something to some of us.

Pepvol, Let's take this up offline on PM. The bickering isn't helping anyone. Ready for a truce and was trying to foster one by staying off the threads in question (until brought back in).

Yeah, that bowl game still doesn't sit well 15 years later in Ohio. To the state's credit though, while the article wasn't necessarily the most flattering in the world, the fans in Ohio have been really great as a whole on their message boards. Here's one of the threads (lots of class shown by Gallatin as well): Yappi Now, the Mississippi fans talking about the South Panola-MUS game this week...that's the other end of the spectrum.

Comforting to know college players 1-4 years older are having problems tackling him as well. Impressive opener for a freshman. Good for him.

To some, yes. Like any topic, there are differing views and motives behind the views. Gallatin went to Ohio last week to play the storied McKinley Bulldogs. MUS plays South Panola this weekend. These are great opportunities for the kids, whether it's the experience of visiting the Canton NFL Hall of Fame or playing a renowned program. No one can take away those experiences for the kids, but some certainly do their best to rain on their parade on here. Pretty sad if you ask me, but some people don't like to share the spotlight with others. Remember: Nuts. Vise.

There haven't been many AL-TN matchups in recent years, so there are likely very few people on here who have experienced both. Welcome to CoachT. Word of advice: don't suggest the possibility of the two states getting together for more matchups. You will be taken to task for it. Two words to remember: Nuts Vise

You always say the right thing at the right time. I appreciate it, as does Mrs. Woodroof I'm sure.

I wouldn't expect anything less. Deflecting attention away from oneself is common in such situations.

Agreed, but you're telling it to the wrong person. I really wish someone would jump in over there. One fan said, "Alcoa has beat all privates schools and DII schools the last 21 years!", to which I pointed out that in 1998, 2001, and 2003, there were losses to David Lipscomb and Goodpasture. I assume that David Lipscomb and Goodpasture fall under an "all private schools" distinction (and note the distinction between "all private schools" and "DII schools"), but apparently not.