commando98

Wow, the mess continues. From what I can gather, here's the current picture: McGavock 4 1 4 5 Gallatin 3 2 6 3 Antioch 3 2 6 3 Hunters Lane 3 2 6 3 Hendersonville 3 2 5 4 Glencliff 2 4 3 6 Beech 0 6 1 9 Here's where I get confused. Gallatin has beaten Antioch and Hunters Lane. Hendersonville beat Gallatin. Both Antioch and Hunters Lane beat Hendersonville. Do Antioch, Gallatin, and HL get a tiebreaker over H'ville because of the better overall record, or are Gallatin, Antioch, HL, and H'ville in a 4-way tie for second, or is it something different? Can anybody help me out? Either way, it looks like Hendersonville is in a must-win situation this week with McGavock. Gallatin will most likely beat Beech, so they've got a near lock on a playoff spot. Any more thoughts?

oooo, apparently you don't remember the Hendersonville/Smyrna game in '98. Hendersonville lost to Smyrna by 5 points (23-18) at Smyrna, then Smyrna lost to H'ville AT H'ville in the 2nd round of the playoffs, 17-9. Riverdale is on a roll, and is always a tough team to beat, especially in the playoffs. Look out for them in November.

82cat, I hate to dig too far back into the past, but Hendersonville's record vs. Smyrna is actually 2-4 dating back to '97. Here's the rundown: 1997: H'ville 55 - Smyrna 7 1998 (week 7): Smyrna 23 - H'ville 18 1998 (2nd round of playoffs): H'ville 17 - Smyrna 9 (enroute to 12-3 record and Clinic Bowl) 2001: Smyrna 21 - H'ville 14 (H'ville's only loss until BlueCross Bowl in a 13-2 season) 2002: Smyrna 28 - H'ville 17 2003: Smyrna 24 - H'ville 17 Smyrna has given Hendersonville some trouble during the last few years, that's for sure. The Wing-T might be a "boring" offense compared to the fun-n-gun that Smyrna and others like to run, but when it's well-coached like H'ville is, the Wing-T wins football games. H'ville has been to the finals twice and the quarterfinals 5 times in the last 8 years. Smyrna has been to the quarters twice in that span in 4A, and we're still waiting for them to get past the 2nd round in 5A. That being said, Smyrna is always a tough and fast opponent, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the game and season turns out. Good luck to both teams.

If you're asking if Mark Griffin was a good player, I can speak on that. Mark was a year behind me, and although he didn't get excessive playing time as a junior, he really became a force as a senior. The '99 Hendersonville squad began the season with 3 defensive starters and 2 offensive starters, but still went 12-1 with an overtime loss to Oakland in the quarterfinals. He was one of the pillars on the defense and I believe he was selected for the All-State team as a DT or LB.

bhsOL, I was a senior when Shane was a sophomore (98 season). This may not have much bearing, because many high school kids mature a lot during their junior and senior years, but from my experience, he probably did not have the size, speed, or talent to play at a Division I college...that's not an insult to him; most high school athletes don't. As far as playing in Australia, that is highly possible. I was invited, and I'll admit that although I was good enough to start, I was hardly a standout on a good football team. I always saw the Australia trip as a field trip for those who could afford it, not a legitimate All-Star game. To my knowledge, the only All-American out of Hendersonville in the recent past was James Wilhoit, who now kicks for UT. Take that for what it's worth...like I said, the last two years of high school can make a big difference.

I am a little biased, but I have to agree that Coach Bruce Hatfield of Hendersonville is at the top. His team's records are as follows: 98: 12-3 with a Clinic Bowl loss to Oakland 99: 12-1 with an quarterfinal overtime loss to Oakland 00: 6-4 no playoffs 01: 13-2 with a BlueCross Bowl loss to Riverdale 02: 6-5 with a 1st Round loss to Franklin 03: 7-6 with a 1-point overtime loss to Franklin Coach Hatfield's 6-season record is 56-21, for an average of 9.33-3.5 per season. What is most impressive, however, is Hendersonville's playoff performance. His teams average 12.83 games/season, or a trip to the quarterfinals almost every season. Two trips to the State Championship game in 6 seasons, second only to Riverdale's 3 appearances. Character shows itself in the form of results, and Coach Hatfield's influence has been substantial.

Duece, believe it or not I figured out who you are. I was a senior on the 98 Hendersonville team and found the Brentwood scouting report in my pile of old football stuff. My little bro wore my number after me too, and almost got a chance to do what we couldn't do as a senior in last year's BCB, but came up a little short. I agree with you on the toughness of that quarterfinal game between our two teams, it was a classic. You guys had a truly amazing offense, and I'm still thankful that we were able to contain it just enough to win (that's all we could really do since there was no stopping it). You guys and Oakland were the only teams that our defense really had problems with that year, but thank goodness our coaches figured that crazy 3-8 scheme out after that first game (Bwood 27 - Hville 26 in our Homecoming game - ouch!). I was one of the unlucky guys on the three-man rush, and that the most exhausting 48 minutes of the season. It's fun to wonder how you guys would've done against Oakland if you had won that game. They outsized even us, but both offenses would've given the other defenses fits...I bet the score would have been 77-70. Either way, thanks for bringing up some fun memories, and congrats to your brother on the state championship!

Brentwood is smart to practice at least once on astroturf, wether it's indoors or outdoors. Teams like Riverdale, Oakland, and Cookeville who play or played on astroturf for home games have a big advantage, as playing on an artificial surface can be pretty tough for a team that is accustomed to real grass. Brentwood had the right idea in '98 when they had the quarterfinal playoff game at Vanderbilt Stadium instead of at home (it was for capacity reasons as well as getting practice on the surface), and although it backfired on them, Hendersonville appreciated it. Hopefully one week will get B'wood caught up with Riverdale just a little bit. Good luck against the Warriors.

While teams like Germantown and Houston have had a lot of success running a power football game, it seems like they just can't get out of the semis. Houston's power running games in both 2001 and 1998 were shut down by Hendersonville in the semis. The last time a West Tennessee team made the state championship was in 97, when Munford lost to Riverdale. I'm wondering if Brentwood will find a way to stop G'town this year. It does seem like Germantown is totally dominating everyone this year though, and I would love to see them beat Riverdale or Dobyns Bennett in the Blue Cross Bowl. West Tennessee is overdue a Gold Ball, and hopefully this is the team to do it. Good luck against Brentwood.

3 for 5...you're awesome.

I don't mean to be nitpicky, but there's a few things wrong with your poll: 1) Riverdale is 2-0, with wins over Dickson Co. and Whites Creek. 2) Ezell-Harding was not idle on Friday, and is now also 2-0, with wins over Loretto and Upperman. 3) South Pittsburgh is a 1A school, not 3A. 4) Jackson Central-Merry is a 5A school, not 1A.

Before 1996, Hendersonville had only been to the playoffs once (the school's been around since 1941). In 1995 they went 2-8, and then in 1996 they reached the quarterfinals. They have now made the playoffs 5 out of the last six years, winning the region 3 times and going to the state championship 2 out of the last four years. Coach Hatfield will be entering his fifth year as head coach, and is averaging 11 wins per season.

Coach Lassiter left Hendersonville after the '97 season to return to Gallatin, his alma mater, and the two teams met in week 2 of '98. In the 4th quarter with a little more than 3 minutes left, Gallatin led 17-7, but H'ville scored on a long pass to make it a 17-14 Gallatin lead. Gallatin then tried to run the clock out by scrambling the quarterback around in the backfield, but the defense stopped the clock fast enough, and H'ville scored a field goal with 3 seconds left to tie the game at 17-17. In overtime, the Gallatin kicker missed a field goal after a few downs, and then H'ville scored its second field goal to win the game 20-17. The Commando bus left the stadium while being pelted with rocks and coke cans...what a game.

I think the questionable call the Blackman fan is thinking of was a roughing the kicker penalty that allowed the Commandos to continue a drive that led to a field goal. A couple of guys have been screaming bloody murder ever since it happened. That call certainly didn't decide the game...Hendersonville was up by a couple of touchdowns, and the Blaze mounted a good comeback on the 2nd stringers. When the starters came back in, there was still a last minute Blackman touchdown that brought it to 23-21, but the Commandos still controlled the game. Questionable calls are a part of almost every high school football game. Good teams are usually able to rise above calls that don't go their way, and Hendersonville was good enough to get past Blackman and past Gallatin twice. Hendersonville's Memorial Stadium is a tough place to play because the fans are awesome, and the Commandos hate to lose at home.