DS2001

Ryan had 6 pins in the 9 matches they won, and they needed them because McCallie had 4 pins in their 5 won matches.. Looks like the Irish are peaking here at tourney time.. The individuals should be real shootout.

I saw that Father Ryan announced Brian Rector as their new head football coach today. As a Ryan graduate, I hope Coach Rector can bring a little pride back to the football program.  I am under no false illusions, the Irish are behind the eight ball when it comes to stockpiling football players and always will be.. But I do think the right person can come in, show some enthusiasm, create competition, and coach up some kids who are competing in the toughest division in the state. I wish Coach Rector the best.

I watched bits and pieces of that nearly 5 hour meeting with the Board of Control today regarding what to do about Publics and private schools staying together or splitting and I have to say that was one of the biggest cluster f.... of a discussion as I`ve ever heard. It got to the point that I felt sorry for some of those in the room because their intelligence level or lack thereof....After all of that, they made no decision on anything except that the options will be voted on July 16th...That Childress guy is a piece of work...He completely let that meeting get away from him.  Bottom line is that I think the Board of Control wants a complete split, most of the privates want a complete split and most of the publics want a complete split,  but they can`t bring themselves to do it because the privates will ultimately form their own organization and the BofC will lose control of them...If the BofC can resolve themselves to reality, July 16th will be the day of the split.

I agree , it is not over....Only 2 head to head matches between Ryan and Baylor, but Ryan controls it`s destiny by winning the matches it`s supposed to.

Dang, Ryan put 9 wrestlers in the finals on Saturday...That is amazing!

I  heard a rumor this week that the Jojuan Jennings kid may be transferring so that he can graduate early. Evidently Ryan does not allow early graduation. I heard Whites Creek would be his destination.

It was a roller coaster game, but in the end the Big Red held on and squeaked out a 20-17 victory over the Irish,,,,20 wins in a row for MBA over Ryan ...I never would have believed that was possible, but times have sure changed.

The last good Hillwood team I saw was the one with Joey Runion and John Barbero in 1973....The Toppers are in a no win situation as long as their enrollment stays at current levels.....It`s really sad to see that school falling apart in such a nice part of Nashville. It sits right next to a beautiful country club and across the street from a subdivision with high end real estate, yet it looks like it did 40 years ago....a microcosm of urban public education.

Are their any kids in 11AAA that are being looked at by Tim Corbin?....Those are the kids I want to watch.

Coach McAdams was a great example to young men. I`ll remember him fondly....One thing he wasn`t fond of so much was Division II...In the late 90`s Carlton Flatt and Ricky Bowers would make overtures about playing Lipscomb and he would have none of it....He considered the Mustangs to really be a public school in a Private school skin....He wasn`t necessarily a big fan of Goodpasture and their renowned "work study" program for athletes, but was trumped by the Church of Christ on that one....I distinctly remember him voicing his opinion on a potential Board of Control vote that would have completely separated publics from privates...He was adamantly against it...He saw what was coming down the pike and didn`t want to play in that sandbox.....In the last few years, I don`t think he enjoyed all of the traveling that Lipscomb was having to do because of the realigned districts.

Ensworth, Ensworth, and Ensworth

Interesting to see Locastro come out of "retirement" so soon. Guess he had that quality time with his family he wanted and then he was ready to hit it again....Is Lausanne trying to recreate the Ensworth monolith?...Can Ken Netherland be Ricky Bowers Part Deaux? Ensworth has the Frist empire backing them...Who are the the Bigs at Lausanne? Do they have a fleet of little buses ready to scurry around Shelby county picking up the top prospects?

BGA made the prudent decision by giving up the ghost of trying to chase Ensworth, BA, MBA, Baylor, McCallie, et all primarily in football....The landscape has changed dramatically in the past 3 years and the arms race has intensified in Division II. The Wildcats have wonderful facilities on par with any of the big boys, but they lack the infrastructure to get sufficient numbers of "athletes" enrolled and transported to the Franklin campus on a daily basis....... This is bad news for Father Ryan and JPll as it removes another team that both of those teams would have a chance to beat.( BGA has dominated those two recently)......Even Lipscomb and Goodpasture who are not in D-II are feeling the effects of the new landscape.....They are losing potential athletes to the big privates..... I think BGA will flourish along with FRA, DCA, in the lower level.....only slightly more travel to Knoxville and Memphis to play Division opponents

Most logical choice would be Kurt Page.....He could negotiate the contract with himself.

Agree with WESVLT.....Give the guy a chance....I remember a guy name Scott Blade who came from California to coach Hillsboro....Nobody knew a thing about him.....As I recall, he didn`t do to bad.

The Irish won their tourney going away with 248pts..... MBA was second with 134.....Ryan had eight individual champions.....More details in the Tennessean article.....Link below

http://saxo.highschoolsports.net/article/20120108/SPORTS07/301080052/Father-Ryan-secures-wrestling-tournament-title-before-finals?Avis=DN

Alas, this will be another one sided affair as the Eagles will be too much for the Irish....I`ve seen 3 Ryan games this year and their Offense is inconsistent and there defense is not bad, but tends to wear down as the game goes on............I sense that a level of mediocrity has set in to the Ryan football program. Their coaches don`t inspire much excitement among the players. The coaching staff has kind of a "metro school" mentality where they are settled into their jobs with no threat of losing them no matter how the season goes.....I think they know where their place is in Division II East/Middle and there is not much they can do about it , so they accept it and move on....The administration doesn`t see it as a big problem because the overall athletic program is in pretty good shape.....a good percentage of the student body participates in at least one sport and that IS important to the powers that be.....So I suspect the football program will continue on it`s current path, give or take a season here and there where they may knock off an upper tier opponent and jump up a notch or 2 (like 2 seasons ago.........One thing that hasn`t changed much over the years is that the stands are pretty full for all of the home games. The on campus stadium is beautiful and lends itself to being a fun place to come renew friendships and root the Irish on.....That`s why I enjoy coming back.

Orleans Darkwa scored 3 touchdowns in his Freshman debut as Tulane held on for an opening night 27-21 win over Souteastern Louisiana at the Superdome....Darkwa rushed 17 times for 75 yards and returned 2 kickoffs for 27 yards.......Way to go Orleans!!

Thank God for the Dead Period......This is the best rule the TSSAA ever implemented.....This is exactly what the Pros do....get away from everything for a couple of weeks....head to Orange Beach and pick up a few tar balls....scope out some Babes......Then come on back, rested, energized, and ready to get it on!!......Those old codgers at TSSAA got it right on this one....Thanks for saving us from our own coaches!!

on a hard fought 28-24 championship win over a really good Christian Brothers team..... Will Mix 3-2 win in the final match sealed it for the Irish....It feels good to finally win a dual meet championship after finishing 2nd the past 3 years.

Irish hang on and defeat Baylor 21-11 to cap a nice 7-3 regular season and a 2nd place seed in the Middle-East region. Ryan lived on the edge all season including a 1 point win over BA as well as a 1 point loss to Overton and a 4 point loss to MBA....Good luck in the upcoming playoffs

Father Ryan 14 Baylor 11 at the Half

Thanks, if you get a final, please pass it along....DS2001

PHargis, any word by chance on the Father Ryan- St. Benedict DII Semifinal Game? It should be over by now.Thanks

Congrats to the Owls from a Father Ryan Irish fan...Way to go!!