DS2001

Goodpasture most assuredly was in Div.II for 2 years before the returned to D-1

In Div.II Father Ryan defeated JPII 2-1 in Double Overtime

Kurt Page, the former Vanderbilt quarterback who guided BGA and Father Ryan to state football Championships is returning to Nashville to become the Athletics Director at FRA......Page left Father Ryan several years ago to become the AD at the Randolph School in Huntsville Alabama....He has spent the past two years at St. Thomas More School in Houston TX. as it AD and Head Football Coach......Page will oversee new Football Coach David Pack.....Pages`s oldest son will be a Junior this fall and is expected to vie for the Panther QB position....Looks like FRA is finally getting serious about football and competing with the Goodpasture`s and CPA`s of their region.

There is no shame in giving it your best effort... As a Father Ryan alum, I am proud of BOTH teams and the way they wrestled in this tournament...It is quite amazing to think that after all of the matches and twist and turns of each match, that both squads scored an equal number of points...I`ll never forget that 1999 tournament when the Irish lost by a half a point to Baylor, That one was hard to swallow.. I`d rather lose by 50! In this years tournament, a tie was a fitting finish to the season.

Irish win 42-17....several close matches...Marchetti wins 4-2 over Daniel Todd.....Goodrum of Ryan is beaten 5-3 by Max Jerold of MBA.....And now it`s on to the Duals next weekend.

2 Points from a Ryan wrestling fan: 1. The Tennessean has just about gotten out of the business of posting wrestling results in it`s paper....Wrestling scores and results are at the absolute bottom of the barrel unless they are put in to fill space on the scoreboard page...Also, Basketball capsules have also been trimmed back to just a few notable games to allow for more ad space...{This is from my source at the paper} 2. I`ve been watching Ryan wrestling matches for 30+ years and I have noticed a marked decline in fan decorum in the last 5 years....Mostly it is from parents of the kids involved....I don`t know what gives them the right to make fools of themselves and embarrass the child in the process....I suggested to one of the Ryan coaches that they hold a pre season sportsmanship seminar and make it mandatory that all parents of wrestlers attend....The coaches cannot control all fans behavior, but the parents of the wrestlers could be a better example to all .

You will never see Mater Dei return after they were "jobbed" out of the championship back about 7-8 years ago, or so they claim!...The Ryan tourney has turned into a good "local" tournament with a few decent outside of the area teams sprinkled in......McCallie always comes because of Pat Simpson`s former college coach who coaches the team.....Baylor will never come to Ryan on a voluntary basis...only in TSSAA state competition....There are a plethora of wrestling tournaments now as opposed to just a few several years ago.....Many teams go into "Dual Mode"about now in preparation for Regional and state competition....The Ryan Tourney will continue to be a January Wrestling staple, albeit on a slightly smaller scale.

I read the TSSAA article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press that is on the front page of Coach T today.....And reading between the lines, it looks like the only thing that might be changed at the next classification is that the MULTIPLIER WILL BE ELIMINATED because Ronnie Carter says it hasn`t worked...NO SPLIT, NO Nothing....get ready for 4 more years of the same thing as the past 10 years...The rich will get richer and the poor will stay on the bottom.

GHouse you are exactly right, I stand corrected...I was typing Kevin Mix`s name and thinking about Zach Hermann and lumped them together....Darius williams was the deserving state champ in that weight class last year.

That was a tremendous win by Cleveland....Sounds like they were able to get an early lead, then weather a storm and pull out some close matches at the end....I know Father Ryan is still a work in progress...I noticed that Kevin Mix and the Hermann kid, both returning state champs, were not in the lineup. I`m sure that had an effect on how coach Simpson set his lineup.....I would agree they are not the best team in the state Right Now...But Coach Simpson only worries about how you finish at the end of the season. ..That`s why he wrestles the Mater Dei`s ,Clevelands and Collins Hill`s of the world...It will only make you better at the end of the season when it counts......Still, all the credit should go to a good Cleveland squad. They will have to be reckoned with as the season goes along..Congratulations.

Although the Irish will field a strong team this season, they still were no match for Indiana`s premier wrestling program, Evansville Mater Dei On Saturday. Still, it`s a good measuring stick match. And it will give Ryan all the reasons to continue to improve.....The gap between Indiana High school wrestling and Tennessee is quite large.

One..... player who has been largely overlooked for his punting abilities is Mitchell Stoffer of Father Ryan.....He`s been pretty consistent all year despite the fact that he also is the starting safety and has been on the field a lot....He has consistently improved over the past two seasons and I look for him to be one of the top punters in the area next season....He`ll also be in the mix at QB next season with the departure of Justin Guidry.....Stoffer is one of those classic "athletes" who excels at pretty much any position he plays....not to mention his 3+ pt. GPA in mostly honors courses.

I agree wholeheartedly with the post on the first page that this rivalry should be treated with a little more respect...It`s been over 35 years since I roamed the halls on Elliston place, so I guess I`m closer to cro-magnon status....I am under no illusions about the game Friday. MBA should, and, probably will win this game. They have clearly demonstrated their penchant to win against quality opposition this season. They don`t do anything fancy, but they do have excellent execution and don`t make many mistakes....That being said, I`m still proud of the Irish.....They WILL show up at MBA and play the game!! ...They have made steady progress under Coach Lussier......This year, they were able to defeat every team they were supposed to...and , if their 3 losses come to MBA and Brentwood Academy, that`s nothing to be ashamed of.....Considering where we were 4 years ago, I`ll take 9-3...This year has been a lot of fun....In the world of Division II, every game you play is against a quality, well coached opponent. Ryan and JPII will always participate with somewhat of a handicap, but that`s life! As former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld once said, "You go to battle with the Army you have, not the one you wish you had" Go Irish !!

I know Ryan is wrestling in several good tournaments this year including McCallie, Collins Hill Ga. & Mater Dei in Evansville as well as hosting their own tourney......

From a Father Ryan Fan, Congrats to the Big Red...That was a good ole fashion A...whipping....MBA`s ground game was spectacular...The three back rotation simply wore down the Irish...and the MBA defense never let Ryan get anything meaningful going...The MBA touchdown right before the half on the 4th down QB sneak effectively ended the game....Ryan did not get a first down until the third quarter...It was stunning how bad the Irish defensive line was shredded by the MBA backs time after time......They had played pretty well up until tonight...It`s clear to me that Ryan is still a notch below the big boys in D-II...I fear the same will happen next week at BA....There is clearly too much smack talking and not enough playing being done by some on the Ryan team.....On a bright note, Punter Mitchell Stoffer had a good workout tonight and boomed some good punts...........The crowd at Greer was tremendous, I`d say around 7,000.......You can say what you want , but Ryan fans do support their team.......11 in a row by the Big Red over the Irish....I see no end in sight....

One of my fraternity brothers at MTSU was Randall Mash who was one of BA`s first Varsity QB`s....Randall was small but very elusive on our Intramural Flag football team!!

Let me chime in on this Rivalry talk......I graduated from Ryan in the early seventies and I can only remember one Ryan-MBA game that I have missed in that time...For me and friends in my era, this was the ultimate can`t miss game each year....The `71 game at Vandy with 28,000 was as great an atmosphere as I can remember....There have been thrillers as well as blowouts on both sides in the history of this series.......This is the 75th meeting and although the Irish have not won in the last ten years, us older guys still see this as "the game" each year....I have nothing but respect and admiration for both schools as they admirably fulfill their respective educational missions...Except for a couple of years, these two fine schools have been playing each other since 1926....Most lifelong Nashvillians have probably seen at least one Ryan-MBA game....For me, it is an honor and privliege to witness this gridiron showdown each year....Sure, there are the Brentwood Academy and now Ensworth games that have great meaning for MBA as well as Ryan`s budding rivalry with JPII, but I still say Ryan-MBA is "THE Game" Here`s to a injury free and great football game on Friday! I`m sure I`ll see some of my old friends from BOTH schools....

Ryan`s Kicking game is "potentially" good....By That I mean if P Mitchell Stoffer has sufficiently recovered from a leg problem he was having prior to the open date....He`s good when he is healthy....The placekicker, Soph. Nick Pollard has been thrust into duty as a result of the top two kickers leaving school....Pollard can kick into the endzone on kickoffs, but his FG attemps have been mediocre.....I`m hoping he has gained some confidence these past 3 weeks.

As a Father Ryan Follower, I take no team for granted......That almost happened at BGA, but they woke up. Only one of the Irish`s first six opponents has a winning record(BGA). Ryan`s Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville road record is DISMAL! I think only 2-3 wins in those cities in the past 8 years....The Irish Lineup has changed dramatically in the past two weeks due to injuries and key players leaving school....This will be a tough game to win...Webb is well coached and and the Wing T is tough to defend....The last time Ryan faced that offense in recent years was against Goodpasture and Knoxville Catholic and Ryan lost all four games .....This is truly a trap game for Ryan....If they win they have an open date next week and then have momentum going into the final 3 decisive games against Ensworth, MBA, and BA.....On the flip side a loss will leave them stewing for 2 weeks before having to face a hot Ensworth team.

It will be a different Father Ryan team in the 2nd half of the season as 4 players have reportedly been dismissed from school in the past seven days due to school rules violations....3 of these players played vital positions on the team and will be greatly missed...On top of that, RB Ryan Berry had arthriscopic surgery on his knee this week and is out for at least the next 3 weeks....When it rains it pours....Hope the Irish can weather the storm

Father Ryan and JPll both have "Parochial School Nights" for football and basketball where All students from the area Catholic grade schools are give complimentary tickets to the game....Seems to have worked with no problems...

This will be the first meeting between these two schools....Don`t know that much about CPA except that they are well coached under Coach Mathews, and pounded FRA last week 44-0....Noticed that big Zaccheus Mason is playing pretty well ....I`m sure Drew Maddux cringes everytime he takes a good lick as he IS the Franchise of CPA basketball.....As for the Irish, they survived a sloppy performance against McCallie to prevail 17-14....6 turnovers by both teams made for an interesting finish.....Also RB Ryan Berry was injured in the first half and wasn`t very effective the rest of the game, although Josh Hayes came in and performed well....I understand Ryan`s top two placekickers were suspended from the team late last week for school rules violations and the job now falls to Soph Nick Pollard who can boom it into the endzone, but missed two field goals which could have been disasterous had not McCallie missed two also ( Kicking off of that infield dirt must be tricky)......The configuration at Greer stadium is very interesting....One endzone butts up to the third base dugout and the other against the right centerfield wall....If you catch a post route for a TD running full speed you may very well end up IN the dugout!!! They have put up padding on that end of the field like an arena league game.......I also hope the portable scoreboard is working as it malfunctioned last Friday. I`m sure they will have that fixed....There will be a lot of Purple at the game as both teams primary color is purple....Plenty of seats for everyone at Greer and most everbody sits on the 1st base side...Sightlines are very good if you don`t sit down too low....We welcome our visitors from Warner Park!

Just back from the game.....Tremendous crowd...Clock did not work all night....Greer Stadium is a dump, but a fun place to watch a football game....Pretty sloppy game......Ryan forgot how to tackle in the second half......McCallie`s kicker had two realistic FG shots and couldn`t convert....Ryan`s kicker missed a couple also....Turnovers plagued both teams all night.....In the end Ryan sacked the McCallie qb as time expired at the Irish 40 to end the game...Irish go to 5-0 with CPA coming to Greer next week

Yes, this game is being played on Thursday night as an accomodation to MBA`s sizeable Jewish enrollment as the high holy day Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Friday.

Irish come from a 14-0 deficit to score 28 unanswered 4th quarter points and beat a determined buch of BGA Wildcats 28-14....It was looking like big BGA win as thay scored in the 1st quarter and took a 6-0 halftime lead...Father Ryan could do absolutely nothing right....Penalties, Fumbles, poor execution, you name it , they did it......But the turnover bug hit BGA at the end of the 3rd quarter and they fumbled 2 straight posessions...Ryan scored on a on a long run by Ryan Berry and on a run by QB Justin Guidry to tie it and then on their next drive scored again to go ahead....A late Guidry TD Run made it 28-14.....BGA played extemely hard and really execute well...They stood toe to toe for 3 quarters...The Irish have much work to do if they are to compete with the BA`s and MBA`s Their upfront linemen did a poor job for much of the night..It was embarrassing..BGA was consistently able to get to the corner and make some big gains...It was only when the momentum changed on the turnover that they woke up...They really dodged a bullet tonight......Need a better effort next week at Overton