rickk5561

Man, you either have great eyes or had access to video replay. I thought the assist was from the collective "scrum".

McMinn County beat Ooltewah at home 2-1 tonight for Region 3AAA championship. McMinn hosts 4AAA runner-up on Saturday. Ooltewah travels to 4AAA winner on Saturday. Any news on Region 4AAA championship result tonight between Tullahoma and Siegel?

Having been at the game, Cookeville looked to be the better team Sunday and appeared to want the win more. Cookeville looks to play a fairly aggressive trapping defense which could be susceptible against teams with better speed up top than Bearden. Bearden did not appear to be much of a finesse team - not a whole lot of "passing and catching" going on all over the field (at least the two games I saw). Mostly athleticism, physical play, and long balls. Don't misunderstand, Bearden is a fine team. But, if Bearden is considered to be a "dominant" team in AAA, the overall play in AAA is off from where it was a few years ago. Not to go too far from watching one game, but it appears to me that Region 4 is a much improved region with Cookeville, Siegel, Shelbyville, and, as always, Tullahoma playing pretty good ball.

This is an old argument on this message board but is most certainly a real one. Having the games in Memphis makes no sense-I don't really care to hear your argument. I am certain that a viable solution lies in the Nashville or Murfreesboro area. And for the record, Opperman, it's less than a 5 hour trip to Chattanooga from Memphis. But, remember, it's still another 4 1/2 hours on to Tri-Cities from there. Don't insult your or my intelligence by telling me or anyone else that playing a "state" tournament in Memphis (or even Mississippi) makes good sense for high school sports in Tennessee. Forget facilities or $$$. I am certain adequate facilities and $$$ exist in Middle Tennessee. Geography should be the governing rule in this 400+ mile wide state.

AAA Sectional: Region 3 #1: McMinn County-3 Region 4 #2: Columbia-0

"NO GOAL FOR YOU!" SAYETH THE SOCCER NAZI. (don't freak, sweetwater fans. it's a reference to the soup nazi on seinfeld, ok?)

Chip, Why would you care? You can't count to 2! I'm sure you couldn't make it to Dalton with a road map, Yahoo map, or GPS-much less tell time so you'd know when to be there!

drsanders, Your thoughts on Tullahoma's girls commitment and the community's support through rec, club, and middle school ball is more than commendable and much envied from other non-suburban areas. At least from this fellow rural soccer fan's view. Your thoughts on the Germantown teams that Tullahoma had to play in the semis are right on the money. That Germantown team was close to the best, if not the best, high school team I have seen also. Ashley King from that team is one of UGA's top players now. Aside from the Franklin team of 00 and maybe the Baylor team of 99 or 00 (I think), no teams I have seen the last 2 or 3 years come close. If I can associate your name with "your girls", you have much to be proud of. Both were and, am I right, still excellent players. As I have said time and time again, continued Tullahoma success and commitment. Carry the torch for other "country" schools.

festor, Did you see all of Tullahoma's semi-final games at Finley Stadium in 99, 00, and 01? If not, I don't expect you to understand the crux of my point. If you did, you see your team's abilities through rose-colored glasses. The point is that Region 3/4 AAA soccer is perenially the weakest in the state when compared to the other AAA areas (1/2; 5/6; 7/8) which up to this year were only allowed to send one team to the "final 4". Most of Chattanooga's soccer talent the last few years has been concentrated at the private schools (Baylor, GPS, CCS, Grace, Notre Dame) which are either Division II or A/AA. For whatever reason, the Smyrna/Murfreesboro area has not excelled, but seems to be improving. In the years 99, 00, & 01, Tullahoma's presence in the "final 4" was based on geography, not ability. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking what Tullahoma's program has accomplished-in particular looking at their performance the last 2 years. Again, I believe considering the fact that soccer is, for the most part, a suburban sport, Tullahoma outperforms any other "non-suburban" setting in the state that I know of. I hope Tullahoma's program continues to improve. Congratulations, again, Lady Wildcats!

Congratulations, Tullahoma!

I do want to offer this to the Tullahoma program and supporters. I follow McMinn Co. soccer (Athens area). Therefore, I know how hard it is to develop any kind of competitive soccer program while being away from any major urban or suburban area. The kids that do develop locally feel they have to head off to the "city lights" to get good club team opportunities (that's a separate discussion in its own right). My hat is of to y'all. I believe that Tullahoma has done a remarkable job considering their remoteness to major metro areas. Hands down, the best in the state, in my opinion. Continued success in "off the beaten path areas" is built upon hard work, good organization, a good off-season club team/program, and good coaching. Apparently, y'all have all of these. Yes, I saw last year's final and felt that Tullahoma most deservedly earned the right to play for the title. To be honest, based on what I saw at last year's semis, I am very surprised to see Oak Ridge's success this year. Tullahoma should be very proud of their program and past success(es). Personally, I wish them luck against the "city folks".

Hey, reccos, lighten up your crowing about your team Tullahoma. It seems you were offended and you shouldn't have been. Tullahoma's stats are based on weak competition and weak region. I have seen Tullahoma play the last 4 years at Finley. Only once (last year) did they look like a team that "deserved" to be there. Sorry, Tullahoma fans. I think your days are numbered at Finley. Prove me wrong.

K, so you're saying that Red Bank is going to "take someone out" at the McMinn game? Last time I checked, McMinn's girls don't (and haven't) worn tutus. My post was purely a statement of fact, not opinion or accusation. K, for the record, I didn't point fingers at Red Bank, your hot head assumed I did. By the way, there is a difference between physical and dirty soccer. I've seen both and subscribe to the former. Hope you don't get hurt, K. Remember, if you play dirty, get up from that tackle from behind with a smile on your face, K, or you're just blowing smoke.

"For the record", flipper: Last 4 years: McMinn-3 Red Bank-1 Last 4 years: McMinn had 3 players (2 were team MVP's) in three different matches "decommissioned" (2 knees and 1 ankle) for region final in Red Bank game. A pattern? Y'all tell me. I dunno?

I suspect that Baylor could name the score during pre-game warmups. Not much of a match here.