brichard

Ricky lines-up in multiple postions in Cascade's offense. His primary is wingback, but he will also line-up as a slot receiver, a split receiver and as QB in a "Wild Hog"-type package. He is a 2-year starter at corner, and was All-region his soph. year for his play at corner (obviously, he made the All-region team again this year). Ricky did not have eye-popping stats in any single category this year, but if you add his rushing totals, receiving totals and return yardage, he had approximately 2,000 all-purpose yards. As far as size, he is about 5'8", 160 pounds. He will not light-up a stop watch in the 40, but he has a completely different gear on game night.

The Cascade and Forrest will be having a joint practice session on Thursday, May 15th at Cascade. The session will start at 5:00 PM. The session will consist of the skill players having a 7-on-7 on the game field and the lineman working together on the practice fields. While it is always possible that a short scrimmage may occur in one of these type sessions, it is not part of the current plan.

Ok, I'm in. Mark up one for Cascade in your Region 5 & 6 challenge

O'Charley's, Ruby Tuesdays, Cracker Barrel are all at the Hwy 46 exit (Dickson-Centerville Exit off I-40), as well as the usual complement of fast-food. Applebee's is a little further in towards town on Hwy 46. Shoney's is located right before Hwy 46 dead-ends into 70. More fast-food along that strip. No Outback yet. Also a couple of good Tex-Mex places in town (on par with El Mexico) and, of course, there is a Whitt's along the way. Should be no problem finding someplace to eat. Be aware, last time I went home (Dickson), there were traffic delays on I-40 at Kingston Springs due to bridge construction. May be done by now.

MP/Cascade Scrimmage Information: Friday, Aug 10th 5:00 PM Cascade High School

Entire O-line returns with exception of C Daniel Tucker. Entire d-line returns with exception of DT Seth Carter (and, of course,Daniel played alot of DT as well).

No way this happens. Moore Co will out to get even with Cascade this year. They were embarrassed last year on their home field. I expect this to be a highly competitive game. Moore Co will have the advantage of this being their second game (they open with Eagleville on Week 0) and will have had the opportunity to get past the opening night nerves and work out all the kinks. Cascade will need to be ready to play at a high level or this could be an opening night upset for Cascade. 47 days and counting ...

I have just looked through all the Time-Gazette articles about Cascade baseball this year and I cannot find this exact quote. I did see a reference to the fact that Mr Minor had been a "burr under our saddle". I would really like to see where Coach Parker made a comment about Cacade starting to "dominate district 9A". I want to see that because if he did say exactly what you are attributing to him, then this quote is completely out of character. Coach Parker is always very quick to give credit to every team that Cascade plays and preaches to his team how they can never overlook anyone. Did you actually read this in the T-G, or did someone tell you that he said this? I am not saying you are incorrect, just that this quote does not sound anything like Coach Parker and it sounds like maybe two or three different quotes that have been taken out-of-context and compressed into a single quote. I am sure Forrest will be extremely good again very soon. History states that they will be. However, anyone looking for Cascade to slide back to the middle of the pack had better look at their roster. Three seniors. All three will be greatly missed, but Cascade is not hurting for talent in the future either. I really do not see a day when any school, be it Cascade, Forrest, or any of the others in the district, are going to dominate year after year. Just like the year before last, just like last year, just like this year, the team with the most consistent pitching will win. And, Forrest may never have another Mikie Minor, just like Cascade may never have another duo like Momo Stewart and Tyler Bowman. Seriously, though, if you have access to either an electronic copy, or a hard copy, of the article where Coach Parker said Cascade would start dominating the district, I would like to either have a link to the electronic copy, or have a copy of the hard copy. Like I said, I am not disputing you, I just want a copy of the article since I have all the other articles about Cascade baseball this year. I don't want to miss an article, nor miss the opportunity to joke with Coach Parker about it during football season.

My name is Brent Richardson and I coach the defensive backs at Cascade. I rarely ever respond to anything on these boards, but there are a couple of issues in this thread that I want to address. First, Seth Carter, as a power lifter, is tested for steriods after every contest. He may the the most tested athlete in the TSSAA right now. Therfore, no, he does not use steriods, and has never used steriods or any other illegal performance enhancing substances. Secondly, to BigTuck4242, you have NOT seen a Cascade player ejected for a cheap shot because Cascade has not had a player ejected in the past two years. I repeat, Cascade has not had a single player ejected, for any reason whatsoever, in the past two years. Therefore, whatever you thought you saw, you were wrong. You are correct in that we had a couple of discipline issues during the Forrest game, and those were handled internally by the coaching staff. I doubt there will be a recurrence. As to the comments about the WH-H game, it is my opinion that it was a clean game on both sides with very few "cheap" shots by either team. The two main hits taken by the Cacade QB that everyone was upset about were on defensive offsides by the big defensive tackle from WH-H. On the first, he was unabaited to the QB and did not have to make the hit. However, after looking at the film, it is clear that on the second occurance, he hit our center, not the QB. We did feel that #5 hit our QB late, not a cheap shot, just late (and there is a big difference between a late hit while trying to make a play and a cheap shot). As a staff, we have never advocated that our players take shortcuts or try to injure an opponent. We do preach to our players to be physical, play hard and to play to the whistle. That is the way football is supposed to be played. I do not like to see players take shortcuts, and cheap shots are a form of shortcuts. Taking these "cheap shots" just diminishes the accomplishments of his teammates and is basically just another manifestation of the "look-at-me" mentality. In the long run, this mentality will destroy a team.

"Boo Hoo"? You obviously have a very short memory. Cascade, Forrest and Eagleville were all part of the old 10-team Region 6-1A that you mention. In fact, it was Eagleville entering the region that increased the region from 9 to 10 teams for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The biggest issue Cascade has with a 10-team Region 5 is the one non-region game we can then schedule. Cascade has played Moore County and Huntland every year the school has been in existence. However, with the new 10-team region, one, or both, of these long-time series is going to end, and the ending of old rivalries that have existed for 30 years (Cascade High School opened in 1976) is certainly a sad situation for many of us who still wish that Cascade was competing in 6-1A. While this is just a guess on my part, I would imagine that Forrest feels the same way and will also be losing a game with a long-time rival from their old Region 6 years. How would you like it if the TSSAA passed down a ruling that put the Collinwood-Wayne Co game in jeopardy,or worse, caused it to not occur. No one in either community would be in favor of that ruling. Same deal here in Wartrace. We "ain't one bit" happy about the situation, but the TSSAA has ruled and there is nothing left to discuss.

Offensive co-ordinator Johnny Frost was named head coach at Community (Unionville) High School yesterday. We are not anticipating any other coaches leaving the Cascade staff at this time. Watertown did play well against Cascade. Cascade was missing 10-12 players due to their participation in other Spring Sports, including 5 starters. However, that does not take away from the job Watertown did in the scrimmage. They came ready to play and really "got after" Cascade. They seem to be a much improved team over last year. Cascade will conclude spring practice with a scrimmage on Thursday against DCA at Cascade High School. Last I heard, the scrimmage is scheduled to begin at 4:30 PM and will probably run 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Cascade will have some of thier missing players back (soccer players), but those playing baseball are not being asked to participate in spring paractice since their season did not end until Monday night (only leaves them 3 days).

This statement is incorrect. The Cascade coaching staff has had one unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called against them in the past 4 years, and it was against Columbia Academy in 2004 over a blown call on an on-side kick. Even the referee admitted that it was a blown call, but he would not reverse the decision made by one of the other officials. I can assure you that Eagleville has been treated no worse at Cascade in 2004 and 2005 than Cascade was at Eagleville in 2003. If my memory serves me correctly, the Cascade team took plenty of abuse that night from the Eagleville players and fans. To a certain extent that just part of playing on the road. However, the trash talking by players has gotten out-of-hand at times, ON BOTH SIDES. The comments reportedly made by a Cascade player about the Eagleville player are inexcusible and does not represent Cascade, the Cascade football team or the Bell Buckle-Wartrace-Normandy-Deason communities. They should never have been made, and I am sure the person that made them wishes he had not. I can assure you that Cascade has the utmost respect for the Eagleville program, and Mr. Lillard (I apologize in advance if I have misspelled the young man's name). Eagleville had an exceptional team last year and everyone associated should be proud of the accomplishments by these young men. You are correct that Eagleville did have a big win against Cascade last year at Cascade and they should be proud of that win. It came in a hard-fought and closely contested game in which Eagleville made a couple of big plays in the 4th quarter to secure the win. That is what good teams do. Teams that go 4-6 don't. However, like I said earlier, the trash-talking between both sides is getting way out-of-hand. To the Cascade players, SHUT_UP. You have none nothing since the 2004 season to warrant talking about anything. If you feel disrespected, great. Prove something on the field next year and you will not have to feel disrespected. It is way past time that we (Cascade) quit talking about how great we could, or should, be and start earning respect on the gridiron with our play. It is hard for someone to talk trash to you after you have soundly and completely beat them on the field. Until we start doing that, you are not going to get any respect. And, until we learn to keep quiet and only do our talking with our play, people in other communities are going to feel exactly like goforthegoal. To the Eagleville players and fans that have contributed to the trash-talking, just remember that the 2005 season is now history. You, like us (Cascade), have accomplished absolutely zero so far in 2006. I hope both teams have a great 2006 season and that our game at Eagleville is for the top spot in the region. But there are other really talented teams in the region this year and the competition this year will be better than ever. I really believe that Region 5-1A may be one of the strongest regions in the state this year. Finally, just because I dislike people hiding behind screen names on forums such as this to make critical statements, my name is Brent Richardson and I have been the DB coach at Cascade for the past 3 years, and associated with the football program for over 10 years. I have two sons that played at Cascade. My wife has taught at Cascade for over 25 years. I have as much, if not more, invested in the Cascade program as anyone. And, I despise the image that has been created on this forum about our community, school and football program.

Unionville is in Bedford Co, located between Shelbyville and Eagleville. They are a 1A school and I believe they are slated to join Region 5 for the 2007 season when they start playing a varsity schedule. The football program is in a start-up mode. Last year, they played their first middle school schedule and they are suppose to play a high school JV schedule this year. I am not sure what the plans are for the 2006 season. They should have 3 natural rivalry games within Region 5 with Forrest, Eagleville and Cascade (all three would be huge gates when played at home). This could be a good job for the right coach; they have excellent community support, a strong and supportive administration and some good-looking athletes.

Cascade's pre-season schedule is : Friday, Aug 5th - Scrimmage vs. Unionville Wednesday, Aug 10 - Practice day @Shelbyville Central Saturday, Aug 13th - Forrest Jamboree (Opponent TBA) Thursday, Aug 18th - Scrimmage @ Gordonsville Opening Game: Week 1 Moore County @Cascade

Until someone proves otherwise, Mt Pleasant is the favorite to win the region. It will be very interesting to see who claims the other three spots, however. Huntland and Moore County should both be really good teams. Wayne Co might be down a little from the last two years, but they are still very talented. I would expect Collinwood will be much better this year as well. And, I would look out for Columbia Academy as the surprise team in the region. They have a tailback that is as dangerous a weapon as anyone in the region, plus they closed strong last year with what understand was a relatively young team. I know nothing about Perry Co and cannot comment on them. I would expect that the team that claims the 4th spot may be a very good team with an unimpressive record just because of the balance in the region this year. If I had to guess today, I would say that the playoff representatives will be Mt. Pleasant, Huntland, Moore Co and Wayne Co (not necesarily in that order except for Mt Pleasant). It should be an exciting and very intersting year in Region 6-1A.

Is Coach Nolen still the head coach at McEwen?

I can't remember the complete schedule, but Cascade opens the year at home against Moore County and travels to Huntland in Week 3. They are the only Region 6 teams on our schedule this year.

In addition to this list, Matt Long from Cascade was Punter of the Year for the region.

If you look at the new region/districts for the other sports, Unionville & MTCS are in Region 5/District 9 with Cascade, Eagleville and Forrest. Taking that point into account, it would appear that both are already slotted to join Region 5 for football as well. It only makes sense for Community since it basic sits between Cascade, Eagleville & Forrest. A better arugment could be made for MTCS being moved to Region 4 than Community to Region 6, but I doubt either happens and both are in Region 5. This would make Region 5 a 10 team region for two years. All enrollment projections point to Cascade moving to 2A in football during the next reclassification period, so this issue would probably correct corrct itself. I am not sure, but Community may be in the same situation. Murfreesboro's urban sprawl in southern Rutherford County is starting to put pressure on the northern Bedford County areas that make-up the majority of the Community and Cascade school districts, causing the enrollment at the elementary and middle school grades swell at Cascade to over 120 per grade. I am not familar with the situation at Community, but I would not be surprised if they had similar enrollment numbers in the lower grades.

Both. Our running game has improved each week since week 4. We are now at a point to where we are running the ball about 60% of the time. To complement this, our completion percentage has jumped from around 50% to over 60% in recent games. What most people don't realize about Cascade is how young we really are. We started the year with 2 sophomores and 2 first year juniors at receiver and a sophomore at tailback. Additionally, our line is composed of a junior that has started for 3 years, a first year junior, 2 sophmores and a freshman. Our only experience at the skilled postions was our tight end, slot back, and quarterback. Making this situation worse was an injury to the slot back early in week 3 that prevented him from playing much offense for three weeks. Therefore, early in the year, we were plagued by drops and wrong routes, most of which can be attributed to youth and inexperience. As these guys have gained experience, as we have gotten healthy and as we have been able to incorporate a late arriving, experienced tailback into the offense to complement our sophomore starter, we have gotten better every week. With a quarterback such as David, it would have been nice to have had experienced skilled players at the start of the season. He has thrown for over 1400 yards this season and would have closer to 1800 yards if we had done a better job early in the season. However, we would rather be getting better each week and peaking offensively at playoff time than piling up huge stats early in the year and then leveling off late. The only regret we have offensively is that we were not playing better during weeks 3 & 4. I don't know if we would have beaten either Huntland or Wayne Co if we had been playing closer to the way we are now, but I know we would have given both a better game.

He's on here from time-to-time, so he may see this himself, but I'll tell him today at practice

Region 6-A Week 7 Games: Forrest at Columbia Academy Moore Co at Mt Pleasant Huntland at Collinwood Wayne Co at Eagleville Cascade at Cornersville

Wildcatpride, I understand about your feelings towards the Cascade kicker, but you have made two mistakes in my opinion. First, as you have admitted, your have labeled an entire team based on your opinion of one player. Second, you have formed an opinion of someone that you don't know anything about based on a single incident. Before you start forming opinions of people, you need to know more about them than their appearance before a football game. Based on your post, it appears that you played for Wayne Co. As a former player, you should also know that some players are more intense and focused before games than others. You should also realize that some players have a "game time" attitude that is much different than their regular attitude. This is the case with the Cascade kicker. In addition to these facts, you also need to know a little about what a person has been through in their life before you can form an accurate opinion of that person. Ask yourself, how would you handle the situation if you had lost your last two years of football due to injuries. How would you have handled being told that even though you could be one of the best linebackers in the region, you could only kick during your junior and senior years? You could do nothing else, just kick. I bet you would have some resentment and anger as well. I bet you would sometimes express this anger in ways that would not always present you in the best light. Of course, until you have experienced what this kid has been through with two, major reconstructive knee surguries, you have no idea how you would react. I can guarantee you that anyone that is a competitor and really loves the game would have the same problems dealing with this situation. On top of this, the real spark last week was that he felt that certain Wayne Co players where picking on one of our young managers during the pre-game. Maybe he did not handle the situation correctly, but I can assure you that there was at least some provocation. The entire incident was probably "much to do about nothing", but I like the fact that we had a senior that was willing to stand-up for a younger member af the team. The fact that this member was a manager is even more impressive to me. His reaction may have been wrong, but the motivation was "team first" and all teams need more upperclassmen with that attitude. Finally, in another post you said that Cascade was terrible. You obviously don't remember the 2002 season when a young Wayne Co team came to Cascade to play a Jr & Sr dominated Cascade team. The guys that are now Jr & Sr for Wayne Co were Fr. & So. then. Remember the score of that game. Let me remind you, 35-7, Cascade. And, it could have been even worse. I remind you of that game because now the roles have reversed. A very good Jr. & Sr. dominated Wayne Co team beat a very young Cascade team by basically the same margin. And, yes, it could have been worse. But, your seniors will graduate and our young players will get older, stronger and better. Remember what happened the next year (2003). You can bet that Cascade will remember this year's game just like last year's Wayne Co team remembered the 2002 game.

This should be a really good game and each squad will be looking at the strongest competition they have seen this year. But, since neither team has yet played Wayne County, I believe it is a little premature for whomever wins to start claiming they have the region wrapped-up. Wayne Co. is the defending region champions and are still undefeated, so until someone beats them, they are the team to beat, not either of these two teams. One of the great thing about high school football, however, is that both of these teams will get their shot at Wayne Co and can take over their place as the favorite to win the championship. Also, I'd be very wary of Huntland. They are much better than most people, outside Huntland of course, think. And, neither Mt Pleasant or Collinwood have played them yet either.

I agree, he/she needs to stay off the hard stuff. This will be a close game between two equally matched teams. The kicking game will probably make the difference and, no one in the region has a kicking weapon like Cascade's Matt Long. For that reason, I think Cascade wins, but by 7 or less.