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Although I graduated from a public high school and a public university, I understand why the privates have thrived since the federal government takeover of the Metro Nashville Public Schools, and I bear no ill will toward the privates. I live in the shadow of MBA and know many parents whose sons have attended MBA. But as an outsider looking in and listening to what those parents have said over the past 20+ years, and having read every post and every newspaper article concerning the most recent firefight at MBA, here are my takeaways. 1) I'm sure there are faculty members at MBA who are of the opinion that the football program casts the rest of the school in a bad light. I'm sure some of the faculty would like to see the football program eliminated. 2) MBA has parted ways with three successful football coaches in the past decade, Bowers, Rutledge, and now McGugin. They didn't leave because they didn't know how to coach and win. Different reasons for their departure have been given by many on this board. 3) An alarming number of assistant coaches have either been shown the door, or found it on their own. 4) It appears that some of the MBA elite resented the way McGugin's father worked behind the scenes to get his son hired. 5) It appears that the recent firing of McGugin was due partly to (a) the backlash due to resentment that has built up over time from the way Daniel was given his job, ( Daniel's mistreatment of certain football players, © the ability of MBA powerbroker faction who detested the McGugins to wield it's power once it learned of the $1,500 payment to a football player's family. This became the "reason" McGugin was fired. "Ha, I say, I say, we CANNOT have a CHEATAH as ourwah futbah coach!" they steamed. The TSSAA violation was the very convenient reason to fire the one they so detested. 6) The $1,500 TSSAA violation, as innocent, good-hearted, well-intentioned as it may have been, spelled Daniel's doom, much to the delight of those who were out to get him. 7) It appears that there is a strong feeling among the MBA patrons that the headmaster has mishandled many of the football coaches over the past decade, which has created a great deal of acrimony within the MBA community, something that seems to fester like an infected wound. 8) There appears to be a long-held opinion among those who have dealt with the headmaster, as an employee or parent, that he suffers from a Napoleon complex. It also appears that this is the type of headmaster the MBA board of trust prefers. Afterall, they have held him in their employ for 17 years. To current employees and parents, if you don't like his style, go and work or enroll your son somewhere else. To those future hires and parents at MBA, approach with your eyes wide open. 9) It appears that some think the head football coaching job at MBA is the best in the state and they site the facilities and financial support. I don't know how much money MBA puts into its football program, but I have seen their facilities. They are good for the Nashville area but I've seen much better in other cities at both private and public schools. Given that there's a revolving door for football coaches at MBA, a headmaster who's difficult to work with, a board of trust that approves of the headmaster's management style and appears to be fractured, good but not great football facilities, and football Dads who think their son should start because they're paying $20k per year for their son to play football at MBA, it appears there are better football coaching jobs at other schools. 10) To have this embarrassing dirty laundry aired in the media and over the internet, unfortunately for MBA, this latest saga makes me think that in the collective mind of the public, on the outside looking in, MBA looks like the emperor who has no clothes. Every character in this sad saga looks bad. The school, the board, the headmaster, the coach, nevermind the students. Even the TSSAA looks bad. There is no one who is better for this. Someone on this board wrote, pride goeth before a fall. That is so true.

I beg to differ...steroids...you are losing sight of the fact that many of these young men and women (let's not be sexist here) at private schools contact the schools because they want the opportunity for a better education and the opportunity to play at the highest level of high school sports in order to get a scholarship to pay for an even bettter education. The Lords of Public and Private schools tend to think it is all about them and it is not. Many have gone over this much more eloquently than me, but let me remind all that every school BA, CPA, MBA, Ensworth, Goodpasture use the same clearing house in New Jersey regardless of whether the student will be able to play a sport or not if the student receives financial aid with parents having to submit tax returns, debt information, etc. This actually helps keep apples to apples. Then although there is a limit set by the clearinghouse the student is able to receive, the school's endowment plays a part in how much each student can receive. In the past, the number of athletes at MBA receiving financial aid was much less than the population as a whole that received financial aid. So how do you define recruiting? In the past there have always been rumors about students at schools where financial aid received meant the student could not play a sport or cheerlead-that some of those students received tuition given to a guardian but paid by a guardian. Is that recruiting? The McFadden boy at Ensworth, a smart great kid went online himself and applied to Goodpasture and Ensworth knowing no one but heard they were good schools and did not know where they were located. He was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in 2010 I believe. When he realized he could not attend Goodpasture and get financial aid (the kids call it scholarships) and that Ensworth was closest to his home on Charlotte, Ensworth lucked out. How much "christian" help did he receive at the school who knows and who cares-good for that kid. Now, I would say that the calls to certain Lipscomb and CPA boys in the last two to three years could be called recruiting but the parents can pay--is that any different than Maryville and Alcoa or Riverdale and Oakland? That did not work out so well for the Bellevue quarterback who some might say the Jefferson boy was "recruited" in over a few years ago at Ensworth. Those parents didn't squeal foul but transferred back to Hume Fogg and played at Hillsboro where the young man still got a scholarship to Navy I believe. This is complicated but it is not about the adults here. Finally, the kwoodruff is much closer to these two programs than me, but the list goes on and on of good men where Gioia's shall we say Napoleon complex has run off the likes of Bowers, Caudill, Hiett, Matthews, Elliott, Rutledge, Whitfield or held at bay such as Ingall Martin or David Pack. If the boys were first at MBA and it was their well-being that was being watched, the day Rutlege was abruptly fired was the day before finals at MBA. Many an upset boy struggled to concentrate when a seemingly oblivious administration was thinking of their ability to hire and fire coaches.

Coach Pack has been pretty vocal to alumni that he will not return to MBA until Gioia has been removed. Seems there is a common thread here.

I wish MBA could have played MUS with the healthy starting defensive and offensive players that MBA had against Moeller plus starting center Owen Lipscomb who did not play against Moeller. But that's football, BA stayed pretty healthy all year and got there in the end and will play a very good MUS team. It should be a good match up very physical on the line however MUS's quarterback will open things up a bit. Should be a good game.

lovehawaiisurf, I see that you are not grounded anymore and I see that your mother gave back your Ensworth issued laptop....try channeling some of that overpriced Ensworth education into making intelligent and mature posts.

Who has offered Ligon?

When will DL grow some balls and actually play good football teams rather than the school for the blind each week!!!!

Honestly I believe the TSSAA needs to investigate BA for this 6-4 season /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> Because When you have 4 senior lineman who are D-1 prospects, 2 junior lineman that are D-1 prospects, 2 tailbacks that are D-1 prospects, two receivers that are D-1 prospects, and finally 2 members in the secondary that are D-1 prospects as well. You should never lose 4 games. Guys that is 12 players who have the chance to play D-1 or D-1AA ball in college there is no excuse for this record. From a outsider looking in, it looks like the players decided not to work very hard this summer because they read their press clippings and don't have a lot of pride in their school.

The Jefferson-Darkwa Tigers are averaging over 450 yards a game and this is true, but the the EHS is really two players and a bunch of blocking dummy's IMHO. But do you really want to compare Alex Bullard vs Will Netterville, or Will Netterville vs Wesley Johnson, Austin Long, etc.. Yes EHS has put up gawdy rushing numbers and yes they have done it twice against good teams in McCallie and MBA. But for a whole season Bullard has played against tougher competition and has still dominated, Netterville is still a good player but I can think of 6 players off the top of my head at the moment that are better.

This is what a football player on EHS's team told me, its for sure a MCL sprain, but I am not sure how bad the sprain is.

The Orleans injury is a sprained MCL and I am not sure how many weeks he will be out but its probably 2-4 weeks for a mild sprain or 6-8 weeks if it was a bad sprain. But as for MBA vs. Ryan Rivalry game, it may not be as intense off the field as far has hype and trash talk. But on the field it is a very physical game still and Ryan still does enjoy hitting or grabbing male private parts /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> All kidding aside Coach Mcgugin knows how important this game is to the alumni, since he is one, he will make sure MBA is extra focused this week and plays well on Friday.

Back: Spencer Wise QB MBA- This kid is having an unbelievable year still, despite having not much of a run game and losing a starting TE(D-1 prospect) to injury, he still continues to carry his team. His Stats are below: COMP ATT % YDS TD INT 105 171 0.614 1373 13 3 Lineman: Alex Bullard BA[]- This kid is impressive with his footwork and strength while blocking. BA is running the ball very well averaging 188 yards per game and doing this without a passing attack. Kicker: Andrew Fletcher MBA- This kid packs a punch in his 150 pound frame and is 7/11 from field goal range with a long of 53 yards. 3 of his misses were at Bengal Stadium in the same type of wind the Titans faced and the field goals are narrower.

St. Paul-Wade Longmire and Owen Lipscomb CPA- Clark Benton and Barret Jacques

You say MBA recruits... Here is where the starters all went to school before MBA QB:St. Henry's RB:St. Henry's,Ensworth middle Fb: Oak Hill Wr:Oak Hill, BGA, Ensworth Middle, Oak Hill (4 receivers who play) TE: Harding Academy Rt:St. Henry RG: Harding Academy C: St. Paul LG:St. Paul Lt: CPA DE's:Harding Academy and Woodland DT: Brentwood middle, Harding Academy, Browner moved from ATL Freshmen year so don't know school, MLK LB:CPA, Oak Hill, Overbrook CB:Ensworth Middle,FRA FS: Croft Middle SS: Oak Hill K: Harding Academy P:Oak Hill So how does MBA recruit because those look like some pretty nomal schools that have been MBA feeders in the past?

Alright then 6 out of 22 starters were original kids from Ensworth that actually played. So the other 16 came elsewhere...you guys are making my point.

David Whitfield is a fine man and I love him to death! But he is not a English teacher TransplantMom!! He is a History teacher and for the reason he left MBA was because of a pay raise he was going to get at EHS. So lets not be cutting down MBA here when you obviously don't know what your talking about. Though it was pretty classless for the EHS parents to be chanting...Hey Hey Hey...Goodbye, towards MBA at the end of the game. So chief lets act like we have one a game before. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

Exactly my point out of the so called 10 players from Ensworth elementry/middle school only 5 start and the others do not play at all. So out of 22 starters, 17 of them came from other schools!! Ricky realized he could not win with just Ensworth kids so he had to go out and get others.

Reeve may start but Bowers does not

Yes i do Michael Dunn-WR/DB Watson Sweat-OL Matt Reed-WR Myers Beard-LB/FB Those are the only starters on the EHS varsity football team who played for the 5th and 6th grade team at Ensworth. That is 4 starter out of 22 starters so...looks like EHS and Coach Bowers are going out and getting the players he wants. But anyways EHS played a great game and won the game at the line of scrimmage. The game really showed how big of a loss it was for the Defensive line at MBA to lose starter Reuben Thomas to a ACL injury as well as Joseph Sloan to the same injury. The O line for MBA also not having starting Center Owen Lipscomb and losing Tackle Clark Benton early in the game as well as Joesph Sloan at TE with his catching ability and blocking. EHS now is the team the beat and they won't be sneaking up on anybody anymore. After watching the game, I would put Tavaress Jefferson and Orleans Darkwa as the best Duo of players in the state...they are Electrifying.

After the referee (yes, the white haired man wearing the white hat) gave the ball back to Ravenwood after Corcoran intercepted it because he judged that MBA had roughed the QB (unbelievably bad call for the pass had been tipped) smugly said to one of the MBA defenders, "It looks like the mighty have fallen!" Another call they missed was the fumble of the Ravenwood QB. The referee (white hat) made the call on a play where he couldn't see the ball. The very first cardinal rule in officiating is don't blow the whistle or make a call unless you can see the ball. I was on the MBA sideline and could see the ball coming out. There was no way the white haired ref could have made the call he did because he was out of position and his line of sight was blocked by the body of the Ravenwood QB. Yet he gave the ball back to Ravenwood. Afterward, two Ravenwood parents said, "We got some bad calls against us, but you guys got jobbed tonight [by the refs]; it was embarrassing. Especially on the interception and the fumble! I sarcastically replied, "You think?" Then they asked, "Where did you dig those guys up?" I said, "We don't get them; the TSSAA assigns them!" Several times late in the 4th qtr. the referee would signal the ECO to start the clock and he wouldn't start (this went against both teams). Then, there were several times when the whistle would blow to signal the play was dead and the ECO would not stop the clock. There was a no call on a Ravenwood defender was on top of and throwing punches at MBA's #53. I've seen players ejected for doing that, twice. Once in a high school game and once in a college game. On third and long in the 4th qtr. MBA's #8 had his man beaten on a fly pattern and as the ball came down the defender reached out and grabbed a hand full of jersey thus keeping #8 from catching the pass...no call! MBA fans went nuts on that one. Had he caught he only had about 20 yards to go for a TD and probably would have scored. This crew was incompetent...it looked like their very first game to ever officiate...their mechanics were poor....they were out of position because the didn't run well...and were biased against MBA...they made a number of no-calls that had they been called against Ravenwood the game wouldn't have been close. Another TSSAA crew that favored the public school over the private school. And when the referee smugly and clearly verbalizes his bias against MBA to an MBA player on the field...if there ever was a crew that deserves a suspension it was this one.

The Spaghetti Supper attracts many from the community at large, not just MBA football fans. There is a surprising number of take-out orders, too. Trust me, MBA folk would be honored if Ravenwood fans joined them to break bread at an Italian pre-game dinner. Correction on the seating at MBA...the home side seat about 2,400 and the visitors side seats about 1,100. The end zone seats about 400. I previously posted that the visitors' side seats 2400. The TSSAA Board of Control consists entirely of officials who work in public school systems from across the state. Their decision making history has favored those students who attend public high schools and neglected those students at private high schools. Case in point, the attempt by the Nashville City Paper to organize a championship game between MBA and Maryville was doused by the TSSAA. Another case in point, drafting legislation that caused the public/private split 12 years ago. I have no idea what their thinking is on the matter you mentioned, but whatever decision they make will probably be divisive and dilutive instead of unifying and edifying. They are trending toward awarding participation trophies IMHO instead of meaningful championships. I don't know what the Gallatin thing is! I learned a long time ago to be careful about drawing many conclusions from scrimmages. All of our games are scouted by upcoming opponents. The coaches trade DVDs, too. So it doesn't really matter. We played Ravenwood last season just before Ensworth and still beat Ensworth without our best O-lineman and our starting QB among other starters who were banged up. Nothing new here, either. This season we are without our starting center and a starting D-tackle, Owen Lipscomb and Reuben Thomas, both seniors. Lipscomb started on the state championship team last year at center and Thomas was in the two-deep at D-tackle. Both suffered leg injuries early-on that required surgery. Their back-ups have stepped-up admirably. The only thing that I'm sure about MBA's football team is that they are focusing on improving their execution and minimizing their mistakes.

aha kWoodruff...can you relate to that? /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

Regarding the fact that MBA didn't fill the stands on its side of the field in last years game...let me try to explain this again Rappy...I suspect that the MBA faithful didn't find last season's MBA-Ravenwood match-up compelling...why?...I would guess that since MBA has a long history of playing football (over 100 years) and that Ravenwood has a very short history of playing football (less than 10 years) and the fact that over the past century MBA has developed some rivals e.g. Father Ryan and Brentwood Academy some MBA fans had rather catch those types of games than the aforementioned contest...an since you can count the number of times MBA and Ravenwood have played on one hand I suspect the matchup is just not compelling to many MBA fans...JMHO. Additionally, the tone and tenor of your post gave the impression that R'wood regularly plays before large crowds (I through out the number 10,000 because that is a large high school crowd). I mentioned Texas because I used to live there and I once attended a game between Plano and Greenville that was played in Texas Stadium before 35,000. Longview High in Longview, TX has a stadium that seats 15,000. They regularly played before 10,000 and 15,000 fans. A large crowd for a high school game in Tennessee (where football attendance is much less than in Texas) is 5,000. Last season, MBA had two, maybe three home games (Ensworth, BA and Father Ryan) where the attendance was north of 4,000. Since R'wood's and MBA's stadiums are approximately the same size I suspect that they are seeing approximately the same attendance at their respective home games. Even though MBA's enrollment is about 450 in grades 9 through 12, MBA's 100+ graduating classes means that MBA has many more alumni than R'wood who support MBA football than does R'wood. Therefore, one might expect MBA to draw more than it does. But I'm pleased to see that the R'wood parents and faculty support the R'wood football team as well as they do. They are to be commended. As for parking, as mentioned by a previous poster the LAX field on the MBA campus, next to the Metro Fire Station on Harding Rd., is open to the public at 5:00 pm. Parking is free of charge. If it is full, the Westminster Presbyterian Church parking lot is available across the street. It too, is free of charge. Brentwood Academy, Father Ryan and Ensworth bring enough fans to fill the visitors stands (about 2,400). I hope that R'wood will do the same. Furthermore, you are more than welcome to come around 5:00 and join us for the Annual Spaghetti Supper in Currey Gymnasium. Tickets are available at the door. There will be plenty of good food and drink. Then hang out in the shady quadrangle until game time. All in all, it makes for a pleasant September evening in Middle Tennessee. (Note: the M in Middle is capitalized because Middle Tennessee is one of the three grand divisions in Tennessee per my high school English teacher.)

Ravenwood is a new school and there is no history between MBA and Ravenwood; therefore, I think there was a lack of interest among many MBA fans. Still MBA put about 1,000 in the Ravenwood stadium last year which is about 10x the fans that would have showed if you had played a Metro school except for Hillsboro. MBA's stadium holds about 3900. Approximately 2400 of those seats are on the home side, 1200 are on the visitors side and the rest in the west end zone. Ravenwood's stadium appeared to be about the same size. MBA fills it side for home games. In Tennessee 4,000 people at a high school football game is considered a big crowd. This isn't Texas high school football where it's not unusual to have 10,000 in attendance. You sound like Ravenwood is used to playing before 10,000 fans every Friday night! Furthermore, MBA only has about 450 boys in grades 9 through 12.