McNine4MVP

I just wanted to pat myself on the back once again for what I saw in this bracket. Get your popcorn ready /popcorneater.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":popcorneater:" border="0" alt="popcorneater.gif" />

Guys, I have yet another bone to pick with the TSSAA. We have some great Regional Quarterfinal games going on all over the state of Tennessee on Saturday evening. Games that would be assured of getting quality gates and lots of mention in communities all over the state. Problem is, the biggest college basketball game in the history of this state will be going on at about the same time these region games are occurring, particularly in the Central Time Zone. My question is, how hard would it have been for Ronnie Carter and the TSSAA to move up the start times for these games two hours so that people would be more inclined to pay for a ticket, go to a great high school game, and then go home and see the epic UT-UM game? It is a Saturday for pete's sake. This is ridiculous. The kids who play the game are not going to even be able to watch it. I just think this is another example of the TSSAA totally dropping the ball. Am I wrong?

May be premature to say this but, I think Siegel got a better bracket by losing to White County. I'd probably rather play Shelbyville than Oakland in a potential second round game, since there is no DeQuan Twilley or Barry Stewart on that Eagles team. I think White County got a lesser draw by winning 7-AAA. Strange, but seemingly true.

So, meddling people want to know. When did this altercation between the mothers of two Siegel players happen?? I've been out of pocket for a while and had not heard about this.

Guys, I don't agree with Pacman being a spokesman for the community. However, the media does not always portray people with facts. Jones has made his fair share of mistakes, but nobody talks about that $15K he spent out of his pocket to outfit Pearl-Cohn's team with uniforms last year. Or how he's donated lots of funds for the other inner-city schools in Nashville. Look, he's no saint by any stretch (he's a hard-scrabble kid), but he ain't all bad either.

Smyrna Bulldogs, The haters still don't respect you. That other ring don't mean a thing Bulldogs. Its time to earn that paper again this week. This game is up to the supporting cast guys for Smyrna. If Will Martin, Jonah Hendricks, and Deon Meadows play good football, I think the Bulldogs win this one. If not, Bearden could be making two trips to Rutherford County in a week.

Beech........ maybe the most miserable weather night I have ever played in. About 38 degrees and a fairly steady rain. They had a really good team that year and nobody thought we could win that one. I was just playing special teams as a sophomore basically and it was dog cold on the pines, LOL! For somebody that was so laid back and seemingly lackadasical, Flip sure had a bunch of long TD's at AHS. I remember a double move against Hillwood that year too that Jay put right on him. Do you remember the officials taking away his TD out of the "Crazy" formation against Pearl-Cohn, the eventual state champs? We win that game and go to the playoffs a year earlier if they don't take that one away. That Beech game really got us going for the next year. We could have packed it in, due to some tough losses against Pearl-Cohn, Maplewood, and LaVergne (I still throw up over that one). I don't say this just because a couple of the seniors on that team post here, but I give that group a lot of credit for pushing our program forward. We lost three heartbreakers that year. But the 1997 season was a lot of fun and I still say if J-Dub and Chris Robinson don't get hurt, we would have made a run.

My goodness, That was one of the most exciting games of my life. The peelback block that Flip McMillian put on that tea-sipper defender on Josh's long run gives me chills nine years later. Those were some good times. We may not have showed it then, but we appreciate everything you did for us, especially considering that the administrative support at the top was not what it could have been.

Man, I also played for Scott Smith in the late 90's when he was an assistant at Antioch (I was a teammate of Quack 4's...and he's not Scott) and I can verify that he is a very good coach. You seem like one of those dudes that just loves to "hate" on people when you see them down. Smith will win again soon. He may or may not get the necessary time and support to get it done at Science Hill, but he'll bounce back. Not taking away anything from Indy's current staff (I think Eubanks and Felts are outstanding...and two Scott Smith hires, BTW), but that is a solid program that was well built from the ground floor and SS has a lot to do with that. So bulldog, would you show some class and back off the guy, unless you can come on here with concrete evidence of where Smith has wronged you! You have made it your crusade to bash him at every turn.

Coach, You know you enjoyed those days /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> ! That did make for some long nights, and for some reason the teachers still wanted us to do homework after those marathon days. It was a lot of fun, but my first two years at the old AHS were way more convenient.

When it gets to this point, always take the team with the experienced QB, and especially if the game is at home. I just can't pick against Smyrna in this game. Sonny Gray has already won a state championship and he can smell another one. Remember all the turnovers he had in October.........................he's been about red letter perfect in November. The kid just knows when to flip the switch. I like what Bryson is giving them as a change of pace and Hagar and Martin are making plays outside and making teams pay for doubling Rod. I am sure Bearden is very well coached and on a mission, but forgive me for picking the defending state champs at home. Middle Tennessee has seemed to have a lock on 5A for a while now, and I don't see it changing this year. Smyrna 24 Bearden 16

Watkins has quickly become the best football player in Metro other than Seward at Hillsboro. The guy is absolutely electric with the ball in his hands. One of those kids who can flat out make big plays. Indy will certainly have to roll a safety over to deal with him, which may open things up for McAdoo down the seam.

Call me crazy, but I really think that Antioch has a chance against Independence. I will tell you why................TEAM SPEED. I know it was early, but my only chance to see Independence was in a scrimmage against Wilson Central, where they looked deathly slow to me. Wilson Central is an extremely well-coached team and has speed in spots, but they aren't near as fast as Antioch. Now, WC whipped up on Antioch too by beating them up in the trenches, but I don't think Indy is as good as WC is up front. Now, let me say that Pettigrew was out and Baugh lasted one play before he got tossed, so they were a little short stacked, but they looked extremely unathletic outside. And against Watkins, McAdoo, and TD, that could be deathly. On the flip side, Antioch's offensive line is not that good, so Independence may be able to get pressure on Davis and make that point moot. I'm an Antioch grad, but I try not to be too much of a homer, but I truly believe that if Antioch just plays OK up front, they'll make some big plays outside.

This one could really be 42-35. Antioch has a lot of impressive athletes at a lot of positions. Independence has some really good athletes at the skill positions and has the X factor in the big bruiser at tailback. To me, he's the difference in this game. I really don't think either team will stop the other, but take the Eagles 41 - 35.

Coach, You're one of the best candidates out there. The absolute best candidate would probably be coaching about 1.4 miles away, but that might be career suicide for Mike Woodward to make that move (even though I think CRHS may end up being a better job long-term than AHS). What about Steve Carson down at Smyrna? He's a guy that is 8 minutes down I-24 and has paid his dues and won big as an assistant. Eric Felts is a natural fit at that place, due to his AHS ties, if he would want it. I'd take either Deadman or Jennings off of Wilson Central's staff, those guys have played good defense for several years. Chad Kirby at Ravenwood is going to be a great head coach for somebody soon, why not ten minutes away at CRHS. I've already thrown out the Terry Anderson setting things up and handing the baton to Trent angle 3-4 years down the road, but there may be some nepotism laws against that, I don't know. But I think Trent could be a good one soon. I really think the Cane Ridge job is one of those that might be that perfect job, if set up correctly. The economics and zoning are favorable. The neighborhood is growing rapidly west of I-24 and south of Bell. And CR is probably not going to have some of the issues that AHS has. I look at this as a quasi-Metro job. Yeah, its a Metro job, but its probably closer, socially, to Ravenwood and LaVergne, its two connecting zones other than AHS. Just my opinion.

I don't know what has gone on up in Johnson City this year, but hate him or love him, I know Scott Smith knows how to coach football. That is not up for debate, not even a little. I know of some other coaches in Middle Tennessee who despise him, but they will concede that fact. He probably just doesn't have the material to do what he wants to do offensively right now at Science Hill. Yeah, he's a little bit eccentric, and I have thought from the jump that his personality was a bad fit for NET (he's a much better fit in the Nashville burbs) but he has done a good job everywhere he has been. Trust me, Indy would not be in as good a shape right now if Scott didn't help build that program. And the comment above from Bulldog is slanted. He's a guy that had a personality conflict with Smith a few years ago in WillCo and can't wait to jump on him at the first sign of struggle. Give the guy some time, and he'll probably get you a winner. But my message to Smith would be this "More Money, More Problems". Sometimes, the fit is more important that the Benjamins. He would be best served at a place like he left, and there will be more opportunities for him in this area soon. He's a guy that Cane Ridge, Stewart's Creek (when it opens in 2010), or even Siegel (if it comes open) would be lucky to get. I think he really probably needs to get back to Middle Tennessee ASAP, but he's going to have to set down some roots at some point. He's got a little bit of Larry Brown in him!

Next year, I believe. That job has a lot of potential and Metro just may screw it up. Abner is a good guy, but I would like a guy with a better resume to get that job.

This game is simply up to Antioch's players. They have more material, but Dickson County is the type of team that can bleed a clock dry if you give them extra possessions. Davis and the other youngster Antioch plays at QB need to take care of the ball first, and foremost. If Antioch has less than two turnovers, they'll win this game. Otherwise, they open the door for a capable Cougar team.

Be careful Smyrna. Be very careful!!

I think these regions will split the four games on this weekend's slate. I'll take Independence, Hunters Lane, Franklin, and Antioch. I think that those are the more talented teams in these matchups. I could see Overton beating FHS and DC beating Antioch, however.

This is a tough game to call. I got a chance to see WC against Independence back in an August scrimmage and came away so impressed by their defense. They hit, and hit, and then hit a little bit more, and that scares me if I'm Smyrna. The Bulldogs are kind of a finesse team and smallish on D. That small issue may not hurt them as much in this game because the Wing-T that WC runs is a perimenter offense for the most part. I do think WC will have issues with Rod, but their coaches do a good job of fitting the rush to their coverages and making QB's make mistakes. Nobody loves Sonny more than I do, but he has really been subpar the past couple of weeks. I wonder if his collarbone is bothering him? With that said, I'm going to pick Wilson Central's experienced offense over Smyrna's youthful defense in this game by a score of 23-21, but I have no good read on this one. I hate that I'm obligated to attend the Riverdale-LaVergne game, because I would certainly attend this one if I could.

Congrats to Coach Eubanks and Indy. I left you all for dead about six weeks ago. Kudos to the coaching staff and the young men there.

Region 4 is the best, and its probably the deepest, although I will freely admit that Region 2 may be the second best. LaVergne has 3-5 D-I prospects and a solid spread scheme with speedy athletes outside and they probably will not make the playoffs. They could win several 5A regions. Smyrna could easily finish 3rd in the region and they are the defending state champs. Lebanon, when they are focused, is a physical bunch that can shove it down people's throats at times. Riverdale's merits speak for themselves. And Wilson Central has been really good for two of the last three seasons. Siegel has some really good players like Harper (a Northwestern commit), Nance, and Hughes and they could be dangerous if they get in. And finally, Mauricio Wallace is a great ballplayer at Blackman.

LaVergne is not ready to win. I just don't think they are tough enough to win against a championship level squad like Smyrna. Sonny will not make mistakes, Bryson will get over 120 yards, Rod will make two huge plays, and the Bulldogs will win 28-17. I look for Crocker to have a decent game and Gray to find paydirt once, but I think their lack of an ability to pound the ball inside the redzone will kill the Wolverines. Too spread dependant. The teams that have had success against Smyrna run right at them. LaVergne probably hasn't taken five snaps under center all year and they aren't going to I-Formation and run downhill. Tillery is a good back, but everything is zone run and bounce plays, which plays into the Dawgs undersized, but fast defense.

Coach, It looks like I gave up on Indy a little too quick!! I might run the table with these predictions.