WesVLT

Good picks, but should one consider a BA win over Ensworth an upset at this point, given the Eagles' four-score win over the Tigers three weeks ago? I ask not as a point of criticism, but as a legitimate question, because I've seen similar sentiments elsewhere. There's no doubt that a second Eagle win over Ensworth would be a major accomplishment, but do people consider the Tigers to be the favorite? As a BA insider, I'm interested in outside perception of this game.

If you're a fan of top-shelf prep football, you live for Fridays like this. Only three games remain in the DII-AA season, and this week's pair are as uncertain and crucial as we've seen all year. Brentwood Academy at Ensworth The Eagles won this game 36-10 three weeks ago, their first win over the Tigers since 2008. That win was fueled by six Ensworth turnovers, including four interceptions thrown by quarterback P.J. Settles. Settles missed last week's 40-11 win over Christian Brothers with an injury. So did star running back D'Andre Ferby. Even with those two in the lineup, the Tigers only managed 227 total yards and 11 first downs against the Eagles. But here's another stat for you: No team has ever beaten Ensworth twice in the same season. Since 2010, the Tigers are 9-0 in playoff rematches, including two wins over teams that had beaten them earlier in the year. That fact, coupled with the low odds of Ensworth turning it over six times again, point to a closer game this time around. Brentwood Academy is clicking at the right time. The Eagles posted 458 yards of offense (299 in the first half) against an outmatched Briarcrest team Friday en route to a 41-6 win. BA has scored 36 points or more in each of its last six games -- four of which were against teams that ended up winning at least one playoff game. Tyler Swafford's 27 touchdown passes are the most for BA in more than a decade -- and second place isn't close. Defensively, the Eagles are surrendering only 10 points per game in the second half of the season. How does the rematch differ from the first meeting? Ensworth will surely take care of the ball better -- it doesn't take much to improve on six turnovers. Without any inside knowledge, I'll assume Settles and Ferby will play, but will they be limited? That will be a big factor. Ensworth must be able to either control the line of scrimmage better or throw the ball effectively. They did neither of those things in the first game against BA. If they can run the ball more consistently and keep the BA offense in check, the Tigers can play a ball-control game and win a low-scoring affair. If the game becomes a shootout, it plays right into the Eagles' hands. I'm interested in hearing your predictions, but since I'll be calling the game I'm hesitant to make my own pick. MBA at MUS These two Super Seven originals meet for the first time since 2009. Interestingly, the Owls have won the last six matchups with the Big Red dating back to 2004. MBA cruised past Baylor in easier-than-expected fashion last week, beating the Red Raiders by its largest margin (21) since 2007. MUS outlasted a resurgent McCallie team to raise its win streak to eight. Now here's the question: How will the Owls respond to the loss of Colton Neel? The team's leading rusher (1,014 yards and 24 TDs) and kick returner is reportedly out with an injury. Can MUS find someone to bear the burden of replacing an irreplaceable offensive weapon? Further, can it contain MBA's power rushing attack, which carried the ball 47 times against Baylor? Either team could win this game and none of us would be surprised. MUS's spread attack has found its groove and its defense is playing well. MBA can run the ball as well as anyone in the state. MUS being without its best player breaks the tie in my mind. Prediction: MBA 24, MUS 20 What are your thoughts on these superb matchups?

Congrats to the Toppers for beating DB and putting together a fine season. I thoroughly enjoyed Brentwood Academy's trip to JC and rooted for you guys the rest of the way. Great setting for football, beautiful stadium and friendly people. Best of luck in the offseason!

Be a better representative of the fine school you support and keep it classy. Coach Potter would be embarrassed by your excuses and pettiness.

Glad you're watching. I'm planning on lobbying for some upgrades during the offseason. We want to make sure the people who are kind enough to tune in are able to have an optimal experience.

Ha! The quarterfinals are easy for anyone. This year's semis will be tougher to predict than Tennessee fall weather.

Yeah, quality has been an ongoing frustration, as it's typically determined by the strength of our internet connection and is therefore largely out of our control. That said, it's still watchable -- and the quality of the team makes the games worth watching even when the internet connection or the play-by-play guy are shady. Thanks for watching us. Technical frustrations aside, it's been a fun year.

Watch our webcast next week. You'll get your money's worth and then some. Be careful painting with a broad brush.

I was only 5-for-8, but I got the Maryville-Mo East score correct. I'll take it!

TSSAA regulations require us to charge for playoff games. It stinks.

You pretend to know a lot more than you actually do. Since you care so much about "developing young boys into men," perhaps you would be pleased to step inside a locker room like Brentwood Academy's. Pregame prayers...a coaching staff dedicated to using encouraging language to build up players...the team required to clean the stadium after games to make the maintenance staff's lives easier...team-wide service projects...yeah, you're right, those things are just about wins and losses on the field, aren't they? While I do not have the same level of familiarity with the other DII programs, I can assure you each coaching staff in this league would laugh at your accusation that it's "all about numbers." If by "numbers," you mean GPA, college scholarship dollars (athletic and academic) or students' future salaries, then yes, maybe numbers are pretty important. Of course, none of us will pretend that wins aren't the immediate focus of any team, but that also applies to programs in D1 -- yes, even the coaches you say are doing things the right way. But the macro focus -- the ultimate aim of prep athletics -- is to develop young adults, and anyone who works with high school kids has bypassed more lucrative, less exhausting professions so they can help kids learn and grow. And, yeah, hopefully win, too. DII teams have "worked hard" and they've "earned their wins." Perhaps your issue is simply that those wins have come against teams you support. And it's okay to admit that. But pretending your jealousy is actually a principled stand is arrogant, nearsighted and dishonest. DII players are not drones. DII schools are not football factories. DII coaches are not win-programmed robots. Until you've met them, stop pretending you know them. Once you know them, you'll find yourself agreeing with what I've written.

Ferby certainly shouldn't be underestimated, and his injury was unfortunate. That said, your blowout criterion also applies to the other guys. BA and MUS also held substantial second-half leads in many games, so Sanders and Perry were limited, too.

Maryville 49, Morristown East 7 Sevier County 48, Science Hill 41 Oakland 28, Siegel 13 Blackman 35, Ravenwood 20 Overton 27, Independence 23 Station Camp 24, Hendersonville 14 Whitehaven 26, White Station 20 Memphis Central 30, Southwind 24

Thanks for the correction. You're right, it was a typo and it's been fixed. Thanks for the kind words. This league gives us plenty to talk about!

Here are the stats for each finalist, per TN Super Prep: Back C.J. Sanders: 43 catches for 653 yards, 12 TD; 11 carries for 40 yards, 4 TD; 1 punt return TD, 27.7 yards per kickoff return D'Andre Ferby: 148 carries for 1,041 yards, 18 TD Devin Perry: 40 catches for 686 yards, 8 TD; 10 carries for 31 yards; 1 interception, 2 pass deflections Lineman Derek Barnett: 44 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble; 7 catches for 113 yards, 1 TD; 3 rushing TDs Alex Bars: 16 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 fumble recovery (returned 93 yards) Michael Sawyers: 21 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 1 sack Each lineman -- particularly Bars and Sawyers -- has also made significant contributions on the offensive line, where statistics are tough to measure.

Back C.J. Sanders, Brentwood Academy Devin Perry, MUS D'Andre Ferby, Ensworth Lineman Derek Barnett, Brentwood Academy Alex Bars, MBA Michael Sawyers, Ensworth I know these awards are subjective and each of these players has done great things. That said, who do you think deserves the award in each category?

This is one of the best posts I've seen in my (too many) years on CoachT. The innovation on this particular board far outweighs the creativity of our league's governing body. If I were just a little less of a realist, I'd suggest we present some of these ideas to the DII committee. Unfortunately, I think we've all seen how hard it is for fresh ideas to survive the gauntlet of stagnancy that is the TSSAA.

DII-AA needs to split away already. In my wildest fantasies, the teams would band together with Trinity, Lousville St. Xavier and the Cincy Catholics to form their own association. Or public-school coaches could swallow their sense of entitlement and let us back in, but that's even more unlikely.

In a league as good as this one, who knows what will happen? The bottom half of the bracket is pretty wide-open, based on what we've seen from these teams recently. A McCallie win over MUS would surprise me more than Baylor beating MBA -- the long road trip, Craig's injury issue, MUS's impressive second half of the season. But we also haven't seen MUS against an East/Middle team since the first week of the season and the West has been down this year, so comparative quality can be tough to determine. The Tornado are reaping the rewards of their tough schedule and are playing well at the right time. The Baylor-MBA game will be won on the line of scrimmage. I know that can be said for any game, but these teams' rushing attacks are so important to their success. George Porter will be rested and hopefully healthier after sitting out against JPII. What makes the difference to me is that MBA has so many dynamic weapons -- Chandler, Jefferson, Euverard, Rolfe, Lacey, Tusie. Baylor can't match that amount of talent, but when the run game is clicking the Raiders are hard to stop. This side of the bracket is so very intriguing.

Real playoff football arrives this week -- unless you're a McCallie or Father Ryan fan, in which case you witnessed a heck of a game last Friday. As the final eight teams in Tennessee's toughest league rev their playoff engines, here's a look at their upcoming clashes. Christian Brothers at Ensworth This game should be a postseason snoozer of the worst kind. The Purple Wave have won three straight games, but they were against teams with a combined record of 7-25. Two of those wins were over 1-10 St. Benedict, including last week's first-round victory. Meanwhile, the Tigers are likely roaring mad after their first loss since mid-2011. The Brothers have the dubious honor of being the victim of Ensworth's post-setback wrath. Prediction: Ensworth 41, Christian Brothers 7 Brentwood Academy at Briarcrest BA's groundbreaking win over Ensworth earned the Eagles a trip to Memphis. While the road trip may be tiresome, the game should be worth the journey for a BA team that has never lost to the Saints. The Eagles average a 31-point margin of victory in the series, and they should ride their wave of momentum to another win. Prediction: Brentwood Academy 46, Briarcrest 13 Baylor at MBA The bottom half of the bracket features two much better games, starting with this gem at Tommy Owen Stadium. MBA took the first meeting 28-14 in early September. Since then, the Big Red are 6-1 and averaging 31 points per game. Meanwhile, Baylor lost three straight games to three of Tennessee's top teams, failing to score more than ten points in any of the contests, before recent wins over Father Ryan and JPII. The team with the most productive running back -- MBA's Ty Chandler or Baylor's George Porter -- should win. I'll take MBA in a tight one. Prediction: MBA 24, Baylor 17 McCallie at MUS McCallie is way too good to have a 4-7 record -- just ask any of its opponents. The Blue Tornado's first-round win over Father Ryan ended a seven-game losing streak against perhaps the toughest stretch of opponents the state has seen this year. Ralph Potter's team has grown through adversity; now it faces an MUS squad that has experienced little of it in the second half of the season. The Owls' closest game since a 1-2 start was a 17-point September victory over a talented South Panola team -- a setback that is the Tigers' only loss to date. Expect to see some points in this matchup. I'll take MUS based on their vast improvement and the questionable health situation of McCallie quarterback JaVaughn Craig. Prediction: MUS 34, McCallie 24

If you aren't able to make it to the game, here's the link to the live CSS broadcast: http://www.csssports.com/hsfbpulse We hope you'll watch!

BA was ranked tenth in one poll, but it was the notoriously unreliable second poll of the season and largely based on BA's 11-2 2007 campaign. The Eagles were down in 2008 -- only in 1971 did they lose more games. Also, keep in mind that Ravenwood had taken BA to the wire in 2005 and 2006. The two programs were pretty comparable at that point. Revisionist history might view the Raptors' win as a monumental upset, but at the time it was simply an impressive feat that no county team had accomplished.

It was a big win, but I'd say Ravenwood's two-seed this year merits far more attention than a one-point win five years ago. Congrats to the Raptors for a great season and best of luck in the playoffs. You have some Brentwood brethren supporting you.

I'll give that a wholehearted second.

I put these in a different thread and no one responded, so I'll put them here: Maryville 49, Bradley Central 7 Dobyns-Bennett 24, Morristown East 20 Science Hill 31, Farragut 24 Sevier County 45, Cookeville 13 Oakland 48, Wilson Central 12 Siegel 34, Antioch 6 Blackman 24, Smyrna 14 Ravenwood 35, Cane Ridge 20 Overton 33, McGavock 6 Independence 34, Rossview 28 Hendersonville 38, Arlington 23 Station Camp 21, Franklin 20 Whitehaven 48, Cordova 20 White Station 27, Houston 20 Collierville 34, Southwind 31 Brighton 27, Memphis Central 13