OmahaVol

Did the city council also approve Maryville to finally step it up and take on an OOS team? I wish they would join the club that includes Alcoa,MBA,BA,Riverdale,Ensworth, and BA. It would go a long way towards justifying their national ranking.......

Yes, there is a mistake here. I guess Siegel beating Blackman means that Blackman should be ranked ahead of them????????

Because it's about branching out there and getting some national recognition. Start nearby with MS,AL,KY,etc then go further if you find success. The national high school football wave is taking over. Jump on board for the ride or you'll be left behind. A lot of top teams throughout the country are doing it. We(TN) need to keep pace.

In OB's defense, they were very down last year. They are definitely better this year. Still, a strong win for BA and TN over MS. Last year's USP team was one of the best I've ever seen though. What's bigger news this year is Baylor....impressive tonight!

Div I signees,# of NFL players, etc are a part of it, but not totally. How the TEAMS perform has to be the most important factor in determining top states overall. I've seen so many teams come in with all this Div I talent and get trounced by a team with a good coach and system. Take Glenville,OH for example. They are loaded with talent all over the field every year, but they have yet to win a state title(terrible coaching). They always lose to a more disciplined team. TN might be bottom half this year(20-30 range), but on the cusp. They are usually TOP half.

Boy, Gulfport must be a very strong small college. USP is down this year. It looks like MS's best team is not even in the largest class, Lafayette(just beat ECA 35-34). ECA got trounced by Tulsa Union the week before 21-0. Let's compare: MS top 5: Lafayette,Olive Branch,Meridian,Picayune,USP TN top 5: Ensworth,Maryville,Riverdale,Baylor,Siegel I think our top 5 would do favorably against MS's top 5. This year TN is a bit down. I would say that both TN and MS are top 30(for states nationally) this year. Usually, TN is a top 20 state. Since Alcoa is down this year TN gets bumped into the 20-30 range, but still slightly better than MS. This year's top 10(so far): 1. TX 2. FL 3. CA 4. OH ***top 4 are usually the same every year(TX,CA,FL rotate every year between 1 & 3) 5. GA 6. SC 7. NJ 8. LA 9. PA 10. WA

Sure wish he would play in some of those real national games that the rest of the nation participates in..... At least MBA,BA,MUS,Whitehaven, and Riverdale stepped it up this year. Even Ridgeway ventured out to challenge a TX power. Kudos to them.

We'll all get a much better outlook on Trinity after the next two weeks. They play Elder and St.X(OH). If they win both of those games comfortably then they are the real deal. TN is down nationally this year. Ensworth and Maryville are the only two that will be ranked in the final top 100, but Trinity would beat both of them by 14+ pts. It was a good win for Riverdale over St.X(KY) and I hope Whitehaven can represent against St.Rita this weekend.

I tried to tell you guys that Trinity is a real national power this year. I predicted they would beat both BA and MBA by 21-28+ points. They really are comparable to the Byrnes team that blew out MBA years ago. I have a feeling they would smash Ensworth, too. The Rocks are for real this year. Their real test will come against St.X(OH, not KY). If they whip them then they are deserving of the top 10 national ranking they possess right now.

Trinity,St.X,Highlands, and Male have been nationally(or regionally) ranked, on-and-off, for the last 20-30 years. The rest of KY is awful. Trinity is the real deal this year.

Sorry if I offended you shakefat. I simply retorted to someone that said it wouldn't be a blowout(and I wasn't rude about it.) I was correct. Obviously, you're not tuned into the national scene. If you were you would've seen this coming the minute they scheduled the game. As far as MBA goes, I think MBA will play them tougher than 38 pts. I will stick to my guns and say a 21-28+ blowout.

WOW!! 45-7! I told you Trinity was way ahead of Tennessee this year. They are comparable to the Byrnes team that blew out MBA 62-14. With the exception of Maryville and Ensworth, Tennessee will be down this year nationally.

Trinity is a powerhouse this year. Both games could easily get out of hand. I am rooting for BA/MBA to represent, but I am seeing 21-28+ point blowouts.

Don't forget about Whitehaven/St. Rita,MBA/Trinity, and BA/Trinity.

Well, I guess if they get blown out by Ensworth we'll know why.......

Oh, don't get me wrong. I've always been an advocate of Tennessee's private powers because they actually will step up and play top-notch OOS competition(ie. Trinity, St.X, S.Panola, Byrnes, etc). I went back and forth last year with the Alcoa/Maryville bloggers about them stepping it up. I was saying that Webb actually had the moxy to take on Maryville and Alcoa down in their comfy confines. I wish Ensworth,MBA,MUS, or BA would do the same. I know, it's only fair for them to have to travel to Nashville the next year for a return game.

We'll all see how Whitehaven is gonna be this year. I believe they play St.Rita,IL in St. Louis. That will be a heck of a game. St.Rita has a lot of tradition up in Chicago and will be a good game for Whitehaven. Also, I hope Oak Ridge is back to its' normal self by next year....

At least the Spartans aren't afraid to play Maryville or Alcoa, unlike the other private powers.....

Yes sir, Trinity has loaded up their schedule with OOS competition. They are gunning for top national recognition this year.

Louisville,KY Trinity only has 3 district games. That means 7 OOS games for them. I know they are thinking of some TN teams. I'm assuming MBA or BA will play them(I wish Maryville or Alcoa would play them, though.) Anyone know which?

No I hadn't heard anything saying that it wasn't on, but I tried to look it up on Riverdale's homepage and there was nothing listed about it(I obviously looked in the wrong areas). I figured a game of that calibur would easy to find on their homepage. I then thought that maybe the deal fell through. Can you give me a site to go to that I can read about it. Thank you for confirming it.

Can anyone confirm or deny whether this game is going to happen next year?

Well, hotshot, I'll tell ya...nothing. Of the 19 games they have played this year, 11 of them are against top 400 teams in the country. They have beaten #40 Chicago Young, #145 San Jose Mitty, and #396 Oakland O'Dowd. They have lost to #1 Brea Olinda,CA/#2 Poly,CA/#5 Bolingbrook,IL/#7 Riverdale/#8 Potter's House,FL/#12 St. Mary's,CA/#16 N.Little Rock/#106 Monarch,CO. That is a brutal slate. After that kind of competition they will be more than ready for the TN playoffs. Don't worry about Central. They will be hanging around till the state title when they play Riverdale again.....

Excellent post, Stonewall!! I couldn't have stated it better myself. I am old school, as well, and have been preaching this for years. It's all about the T$$AA.

I would love for that to happen. MUS/Cocoa has the potential to be a good game. If USP and STA collide that would be titanic!!!