bulldawgs#1

Well, sls and I have harped on the poor play of the secondary all year. But, tonight they played very well. That's the thing about Milan. They can look sloppy all year but come playoff time, Morris pulls it all together. We knew they had the talent. As usual, Morris and Holden tweaked the defense and it looked great. Some dumb penalties and the two turnovers really hurt Milan, but they were able to overcome. Was also impressed by the Milan O-line particularly early. Not a tons of size but they handled CPA early. CPA, though, did have an very good defense.

Good luck Henry County from your neighbors in Gibson County. Would love to watch y'all in the title game.

Good luck to your son, but not too much . Have a safe drive down. It should be a great game in a great atmosphere.

Arkel Coleman (#29) is the MVP of this team. Had around 130 tackles or so as a So. last year. I'm sure he has over a 100 this year and is in the neighborhood of 20 TDs. TB is kind of by committee. I think Jr. Kevius Finch (#3) and So. Trey Belew (#22) get most of the carries. Both are extremely quick/fast. I'd put Finch up against any return man in the state. I'd be surprised if CPA kicks to him. Jr. Caleb Powell hasn't had near the year most of us expected him to, but we saw him throw for almost 300 yards and 4 TDs in the semis last year against GP. I would say Milan's LB's are as good as any group in the state at any level. The RB's are up there too. The O-line is mediocre and secondary is the achilles heel. I would also put Milan's special team against anyone in the states. Kicker/punter are both top notch, and I already spoke of Finch's returning capabilities, and Milan does block some kicks/punts.

Milan has made the quarterfinals each year for the last decade. It's no surprise they're back, but if they want to win a gold ball they'll have to fix the achilles heel that is the secondary.. Milan has enough talent at other positions that they've still been able to win, but like sls said, if they don't get off the field it will cost them. The offense has been playing better but has been inconsistent as well. True Milan is 11-1 and has enough talent to win it all, but they had better start playing like it.

Has Arkel Coleman been playing Tailback?

Sounds like Milan may have one of the worst secondaries to ever step on the field. Wasn't at the game but was told the run D constantly left WV in 3rd and long only to give a large number of those up through the air. Hope Morris and Holden can get it figured out. And hope Fairview isn't real savvy through the air.

Poor weather levels the playing field in terms of talent, especially speed which is a department Milan has a huge advantage in. E.g. 2008. One of the best teams Milan has had. went 14-1 lost to Alcoa 28-14. Best team Alcoa saw all year. Played Westview in the 2nd round and needed a 45 yard field goal in the wind and pouring rain to sneak by 17-14. Crappy weather in the 2nd round between these two teams has happened several times, also in 04 and 07 (may have been in the regular season). Looks good for Friday night, though.

I haven't seen a game since the poor showing against Huntingdon. How are they looking, BF2?

Cannot contain what? The tight end? I wasn't at the game, I only saw the score and read the Sun article. Maybe you're being jocular, I don't know. Containing the TE is not something you typically hear.

In the two games I've seen Milan's defense has spent a ton of time on the field. They've given up way too many 3rd down conversions, particularly through the air. Also in part because of the quick strike offense and short fields. Milan's talented but they look lackadaisical out there. They play without urgency and seem to lack some leadership. As sls has noted, losing might be the best thing for this team. But if Milan can put it together they should run all the way to Cookeville. As for this game, Morris has seen that Wing-T more times than he cares to count. The strength of this team is the front 7, in particular MLB Arkel Coleman. I noticed when #30 was in the game at corner S. Gibson tried to run outside his direction. Might want to watch that. Look for special teams to factor for Milan. The kicker's as good as it gets as are return men Finch and Belew.

Milan has the talent to be the number 1 team in 3A, but if they don't start playing like it, it's gonna come back to bight them. Good to see Huntingdon back to their winning ways.

7 onside kicks? Sign of a johnny come lately.

I was thinking the same thing, sls. This was the first time I've watched a game this year so I cannot speak for previous outings, but there was some sloppy play last night. It's fairly typical to see these types of games from Milan early in the season. Last year the loss to Westview before nearly making it back to the championship. 2 years ago the first 2 games against JCS (24-14) and Huntingdon (31-27) had everyone worried with all the returning seniors. If they don't make some adjustments by week 6 or 7 then yeah, color them overhyped. But, history would show that this is not atypical. Morris likes to rotate a lot of players early in the season, keep everyone healthy. By the time the playoffs roll around he'll have his best 11 on the field. As for last night, Milan's offense looked good. Don't think they punted all night. I doubt we'll see anyone kick it deep the rest of the year. Finch is ridiculous. Passing game looked pretty good. Offensive line looked bigger/better than it has in the last couple years. Defense was on the field all night, and didn't look great but they'll be alright. I'd put our linebackers against any in the state and the D-line looked to be big and athletic (Marshay Nunn in particular) just didn't execute. If they can stay healthy and make necessary adjustments Milan should be playing in late November/December.

Who's carrying the ball this year for Milan? Bryson and Belew? How do they look? Also, what's Finch's status? I know Milan returns the 3 stud linebackers, but what's the secondary and the D-Line look like? Was told a player transferred in from Texas and looked to make a big impact on the corners. Don't really get to keep up with the Dawgs anymore. Any info would be appreciated.

Tallent is a heck of a player as well. His parents are from Milan, after all. Is he being recruited by anyone? Maybe Tennessee doesn't think these kids are good enough to play at Knoxville, but we know how Cobb turned out. I heard that Robinson is already starting and Williamson is getting on the field as well. To be fair to UT, the Kiffins were recruiting Williamson (don't know if they ever would have offered), but Avery did not like Lane. Anyways, another of Tennessee's finest headed to blue country.

Wow. 4 Sacks, 8 Tackles and a FF. Another defensive MVP for a Bulldog. Look to see both of them on the field next year.

"Anti-Alcoa day?" Come on now APB let's shrink the ego a little bit bub. This is a much broader question than one just concerning Alcoa.

You said you didn't make any arguments. So, I said we could call them "comments." And you're trying to call me out. Come on now....

That was sweet of you to wait on him. I guess we can call them "comments."

Govolsknox, the points you made are the ones I have been trying to get at. I hope you have better luck than I have had. And who "appointed APB pope of this thread?" I haven't seen any good arguments out of you yet.

Milan has very good academics as well. My family had a Milan address but lived 2 miles outside the city limits when MSSD went to a closed zone. It took me less than 10 minutes to get to MHS whereas it took about 40 to get to GC, where I was zoned to attend. So, my family moved into the city limits. It's not like the government is telling anyone where they have to attend school. But there are certain rules a lot of us have to play by. BC-Milan doesn't have over 700 students and I don't think ever has. AGAIN, the TSSAA decided it was an advantage so they're being inconsistent in their treatment.

Those benefiting from the open zone sure are quick to defend them with attacks on others. If it wasn't a big deal, those schools shouldn't have any problem going to a closed zone.

Based on input so far it appears there is either a distinction which none of us are aware of, or the TSSAA is being favorable to open zone schools systems or unfair to private schools. The discussion is being clouded by irrelevant material. It doesn't matter if you claim you would've won a gold ball without kids that were outside your school zones. You may think it's not a contributing factor but the TSSAA does, enough of one to multiply enrollments by 1.8. Either private schools or closed zone and private schools have legitimate beef with the TSSAA over the use of the multiplier it seems.

If that were the case GC would never have a successful program would they. I hope no one tries to convince me that students attend Alcoa for academic purposes...