BamaFaninTN

This is slightly off topic but I went down to the South Panola (MS) game versus their big rival Clarksdale and I was equally unimpressed with the performance there. Panola was huge and had some obvious talent on the field but the discipline just wasn't what you would expect from a nationally ranked football team. I think it just goes to show you that there really is no logical way to rank the 25 best football teams in the country -- there are too many teams and too many games to watch for one guy to slop together a top 25. To cut corners they generally look at a team's past credentials which don't have anything to do with the team on the field.

These are the guys I know received All State honors: 1st Team: Cahill (A) Colpini (A), Jackson (D) Banker (D) McClintock (D), Phipps (M) 2nd Team: Witherspoon (A), Morgan (G) HM: Sanders (A), McWhirter (D)

Four All Americans this year, which I think might be too many. All of the guys that received the award deserved it, I just think a little controversy never hurt anybody. The award went to: Cahill (MBA), McClintock (MUS), Jackson (McCallie) and Presley (Ravenwood).

The final: 9-7 MBA in a well played ball game by both teams. Congrats to the Big Red for finally getting one after waiting nearly a decade. Hats off to the McCallie squad too, they dealt with alot of off the field incidents during the season and this just shows the resolve of their team and Coach Kemp.

At the end of the third in the MBA vs McCallie game the score is 7-4. The Big Red closed out the quarter with three quick goals to give them the lead going into the 4th. MBA starts the 4th man down.

I think the score speaks for itself on that question, 77.

How about James Banker from MBA for top defenseman? While Jackson has 6 take aways and 16 loose balls, Banker has 24 take aways and 26 loose balls. Those stats seem pretty lopsided so I wouldn't be saying Jackson is the hands down best defender in the state.

Golden Tate for sure.

I'm sorry for the caustic nature of this post but where do Baylor fans begin to think they can beat MBA? The Bid Red started two backup, sophomore linebackers and still managed to shut down everything Baylor attempted on offense. You've got the size and the looks but you're not going to run the ball on MBA -- no one has run the ball on them since Pearl Cohn's Santonio Beard sprung a 78 yarder from the first play of scrimmage in 2001 (he ended up with 77 total rushing yards). Baylor's had some great backs in the recent past but they did nothing last week to suggest they're capable of moving the ball. Go Big Red. 28-7.

2) Byrnes would beat Riverdale as bad as they beat MBA, maybe worse. 825722231[/snapback] That's kind of a foolish assumption don't you think? I recall Riverdale having some speed to counteract those Byrnes players. Gaston Miller and that big fullback weren't bad either, were they? And didn't Riverdale smoke MBA this summer in the scrimmage? But Antawn, you cannot begin to compare Kilbourne to Byrnes. You said it yourself, Kilbourne is a semifinalist from last year, Byrnes is working with three state championships in a row. There's not a comparisson there.

First off, I have never been as embarrassed as a fan of Montgomery Bell Football as I was tonight. I had friends from the Spartanburg area drive in to witness this matchup of "equal teams" and I couldn't even stand to stay for the first half. With that said, I've watched a ton of MBA teams succumb to superior talent, I've also watched alot of MBA teams defeat superior talent, but we have never had an opponent like that. I will start this discourse by saying this -- the MBA '99 team is the best high school football team I have ever seen assembled. The only reason I dont put the SC team tonight ahead of them is because of the speed and secondary we had that year. The seam routes run tonight wouldn't be possible with Barton Simmons and Moses Osemwegie stalking the middle. But that Byrnes team was pretty flawless. MBA has played against some pretty spectacular talent in the past (at least what I have seen) but this SC team was loaded. I've heard about the backfield from Overton in '69 with Walter Overton as Quarterback, the team who could have out-run the NCAA 4x100 (then it was the 4x110 yd) champions. I've heard about the No. 1 ranked Brownsville team in 1970 who had an offensive line who outweighed the blocking starters for the Minnessota Vikings. I've seen Al Wilson and that kid who signed with VATech from Jackson Central Mary, I've seen Travis Stephens and Marcus Gildersleeve from Clarksville Northeast. I've seen Tito Lee, Kurston Biggers and Austin Kemp at the No. 3 ranked BA Eagles. I watched John Henderson and Bucky Fitzgerald at Pearl Cohn. I watched Bolles and then Brian Brohm at Trinity -- but I have never seen a team as loaded as Byrnes. Will Korn is everything Brian Brohm ever dreamed of being. Not to discredit the MBA defense who bowed up during the Rebels first three offensive possessions, but that QB did what he wanted whenever he felt necessary. They had speed and slipperiness that could not be replicated during a scout session -- a hurry up offense predicated on easy exploitation of zone defenses. They had too many receivers with good hands and good knowledge -- namely the gigantic Quinn kid who didn't drop a pass all night -- he's going to play wherever he wants to next year. It was a battle of men against boys tonight, and MBA folded. I've watched good TN HS football, tonight there was only one good team on the field. To put it into perspective, that Byrnes team would have given the MBA '04 squad that should have finished in the USAToday Top 5 (without the BA debaucle) everything they wanted. They were simply superior athletes with superior skills and they should easily win their state chamionship. I wish all the luck to MBA this year within state, and against Trinity. They are going to need it. I hope we can turn this game against Byrnes tonight into a rivalry because they showed the Big Red what a football team should look like. I'm not pouting, I'm just dissappointed -- MBA usually shows up for games like tonight. Go Big Red and congratulations to Byrnes for stomping a very well coached MBA team -- ya'll were fantastic fans with class and an understanding of the game not normally found within the Volunteer State.

QB - Howe, Cordell RB - Snyder, Johnson, Vinsang FB - William Herbert, Parker Prevost WR - Rob Phipps, Will Hackett, Clint Atkins, Jas Rader TE - Drew Carney, Reed Blackwell OL - Billy Billington, Rascoe Dean, Preston Bailey, Allen Riley, Stephen Dolan(?) LB - Parker Prevost, Luke Brown DE - James Banker, Daniel Hightower, Drew Carney DL - Michael Swett, Ben Daniel, Will Turner CB - Andrew Warfield, Rich Tompkins, S - Gray Palmer, Andy Snyder

This is a post every single year on CoachT and there's only one unanimous answer -- it's The Pit at Lincoln County. I am wholly unbiased to the topic at hand and Tullahmoma TN hosts the best HS football game in the state of Tennessee.

I went to the scrimmage earlier today and it was clear that T.C Jennings was the best player to touch the field . But MBA also looked considerably more confident on offense and much more competitive on defense. Snyder had some creases to run through and the receivers looked comfortable knowing they were going to have to use their size against faster, more athletic cornerbacks. As rollred has said, I was really surprised by Ravenwood's lack of numbers. Still, the majority of the players they had looked like football players, well coached and athletic. MBA's going to be fine this year. Their defense is going to be as good as it was last year once Coach E, Redmon, and Hiett incorporate schemes into situations. All eleven of our defensive starters have a significant amount of game-time experience. I'll never worry about the Big Red Defense, we may be less atheltic than our opponenet but we'll still hit themin the mouth. I am concerned, though, about a seemingly unavoidable quarterback controversy out of the MBA camp. While I understand that Howe is the returning starter, this sophomore (Zach Roydell I think his name is) looks like an Ingle Martin minus a step -- he possesses all of the physical tools to be a major time quarterback. He's 6'3 200lb+ and throws a really good southpaw ball, I was really impressed. We'll see how short of a leash Howe has this season because giving a kid like Zach only one year as a starter (Howe's a junior, Zach's a sophomore) at the helm seems unfair. In 2001 MBA cut their losses and gave the ball to a sophomore, Michael Fisher, over the more experienced senior and things turned out pretty well in the long run. It'll be interesting to watch how/if/when they split time this year. The most important thing, though, is that we're only ten days away from Week 0. It's HS football time in TN.

Alright Gentlemen, and any others that may be reading this post at any point before Week 0: this was a scrimmage for heaven's sake. Granted, I'm the biggest MBA fan on the planet and Riverdale sent us home with our tails between our legs today, but it was a scrimmage, please remember that. While knowing the tendencies of this website, I do not intend for this to digress into a debate about the public-private split, I hope this topic doesn't become that. (even though I, myself, cannot avoid it by definition) To be quite blunt, this is a game that needs to occur during Week 0. Rather than travel to Kilbourne, Ohio or invite Byrnes, SC to Nashville, this is a matchup that deserves national notoriety as the best public-private rivalry, bar none, in the state of Tennessee. It's a matchup people deserve to see. ***This is the part that's really going to fire some people up*** As a student and alumnus of Montgomery Bell Academy I can honestly say I know we do not recruit young men to our institution for the sake of fulfilling athletic expectations. Anyone who thinks we do must consider this -- public school districts are as muddled and confused as the politicians who decipher them. There are undoubtedly public school students living in "grey zones" who decide to attend a specific high school according to athletic prowess or potential. Politics aside, MBA and Riverdale are unquestionably the two most consistent teams in the state -- a home and away series year in and year out between the two would give this state the football credentials it deserves. De La Salle plays Cal Tech Poly every year and the winner of that game is an annual representative in USAToday's Top 5 -- Tennessee should be no different. It's a shame a handful of acute minds (i.e. head coaches and athletic directors) have obstructed the potential for a public/private matchup in the state championship via the US Supreme Court. The last time I checked, Riverdale and Brentwood Academy had a comparable number of 5A championships in the 1990's. So where is the point in enforcing a segregated state championship? The Hillsboro vs. MBA rivalries that once highlighted the regular seasons of so many small town teams have disappeared and that is inexplicable. If nothing else, keep the private-public split during the regular season - allow Riverdale to play Blackman and Oakland, while teams with "so called" money, like Baylor and MUS, travel to play each other during the regular season. In other words, keep DII around as a district/regional qualifier for the state tournament. This would not only elevate the competition within DII but also heighten the excitement for a state championship which included a public school versus a private school, the last of which was Jefferson County vs. Brentwood Academy. Our system is flawed in many of the same ways the Bowl Championship Series is flawed on the NCAA level. Bragging rights should not hinge upon a controlled scrimmage five days after summer practices begin, rather, it should rely upon 22 young men playing on a field they themselves have control over with consequences beyond a 7am practice the next morning. I'm wholly expecting the men from Riverdale to travel to Kilbourne in a few weeks and stomp a semifinalist team of a so called "football powerhouse" state. As I am with the SEC, I'm a fan of whomever takes on an opponent from an opposing state. heck, I'd pull for Father Ryan in any interstate matchup. I would expect the same attitude from colleagues outside the MBA community. Having a unified state championship in Tennessee would only serve to solidify our talent on a national level.[