PinU46

I know BA is going, but what other teams are competing in the Briarcrest "Dawg Fight" duals this Saturday?

It was a classic example of wrestlers verses athletes, and the wrestlers won big time! FRHS Wrestlers - 51 BA Athletes - 12 BA only won two matches (a pin at 152 and a pin at 125). Although BA has done a much better job of getting athletes into the wrestling program during the past few years, the team as a whole lacks technical competence. As a result, it was a pretty boring match because the FR wrestlers could not really execute their moves due to BA athletes constantly backing up in the neutral position and basing out in the bottom position. (Rarely was a BA athlete able to ride or control a FR wrestler from the top position.) To make matters worse, there were no good match ups because Cash bumped up to 152 to get away from Marchetti who had bumped up to 145 and Tuani forfeited to Clanton at 215 (presumably to protect his win over Clanton at the Ryan Invitational in order to get a higher seed at the State Tournament). I do not know what is next for BA, but at least we can see some good wrestling at the FR v. MBA match in a couple of weeks!

Okay, when I am wrong, I will admit it. MBA manned up against BA. I expected MBA to wrestle against BA the way the Big Red wrestled against Franklin. (I guess having a region title in sight motivated the boys from West End.) By the way, I eat my crow cooked well done.

Your request is too time consuming -- some of us work for a living. But I will give you my predictions by weight class: 103 - BA by decision (Already beat MBA at Ryan); BA = 3, MBA = 0 112 - MBA by fall; BA = 3, MBA = 6 119 - BA by fall; BA = 9, MBA = 6 125 - MBA by major decision; BA = 9, MBA = 10 130 - MBA by decision; BA = 9, MBA = 13 135 - BA by decision (Already be MBA at Ryan); BA = 12, MBA = 13 140 - MBA by decision; BA = 12, MBA = 16 145 - BA by decision; BA = 15, MBA = 16 152 - BA by decision; BA = 18, MBA = 16 160 - BA by decision; BA = 20, MBA = 16 171 - BA by fall; BA = 26, MBA = 16 189 - BA by fall; BA = 32, MBA = 16 215 - MBA by decision; BA = 32, MBA = 19 285 - BA by fall; BA = 38, MBA = 19

BA, Franklin, and MBA wrestle tonight at BA. Here are my predictions: I will take BA over Franklin in a close one. Although they match up well, BA has the edge due to its upper weights. I think BA will stomp MBA. For the first time in recent memory, BA will get the win and secure second place in the middle region. (It is not going to be close because MBA does not match up well with the Eagles and BA has better athletes in its upper weights than MBA does in its whole school!) I believe that the Franklin and MBA match is too close to call. (But I sure hope that Franklin will let Ortiz wrestle Simpson again in a rematch of the Father Ryan finals.) So, what do ya'll think?

QUOTE BY SMWWREST... "SBA is correct in mentioning affiliations. The rumor at the tournament was that the MBA referee was also an MBA graduate. If this is correct and a referee from out of the area was needed, finding one with no affiliation would have been much smarter. I know many referees that will not judge matches for their alma mater or where their kids attend school, etc. Several times I did the same as a wrestling official." What a joke! The lack of quality referees in Memphis is largely due to the fact that the leadership of the officials' association, much like the leadership of the Memphis local government, is run by petty, self-serving individuals who look after each other at the expense of its constituents. It is widely known and understood that most of the officials in Memphis are tragically incompetent, which explains why the organizers of the Black Horse Tournament had to bring in out-of-town officials and which further explains why no state-level tournament has ever or probably will ever be held on the left side. Heck, like the organizers of the Black Horse Tournament, the TSSAA would have to pay to bring in officials from all across the state (and we all know that the TSSAA does not like to pay, it likes to get paid). As to the rumor surrounding the MBA official, I understand that the Nashville referee (there was also one brought in all the way from Chattanooga – pitiful isn’t it) imported to offset the incompetence of the local officials was indeed a graduate of MBA. However, for someone from Memphis to question or even doubt his objectivity is obscenely hypocritical because there were several Memphis referees at the Black Horse Tournament who were graduates of CBHS! In fact, during finals, at least one of the brothers in black and white managed to get assigned to every mat where a brother in purple and gold was wrestling.

Steelerwhit, surely you realize that a lot of people get on this board just to stir up passionate discussions and to try to get a rise out of posters. That being said, Steelerwhit, "you doth protest too much, methinks" (To quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet) because I saw and heard JPII's head coach (the husky one) tell his kids "not to shake their hands" several times when a JP II wrestler had lost to a Father Ryan wrestler during last year's state tournament. So, as much as it hurts me to have to admit it, the gig is right about that particular point.

Congratulations to McCallie. Quite simply, they were better last night. I also think that Baylor was overconfident and overlooked the fact that McCallie was not going to lay down and settle for 2nd place. Nonetheless, I do look forward to my Raiders having a chance to redeem themselves in two weeks. I know that they will work very hard and go into the Traditional State Tournament focused and determined. From my observations this weekend, I want to offer a word of warning to both the Blue and Red nations -- DO NOT overlook MBA! Were it not for McCallie receiving 6 points for a defensive pin at 189 and a last second (Literally. The clock read 5:59) pin at 130, it would not have been an all-Chattanooga final. I watched MBA wrestle McCallie, CBHS, and Ryan, and they are talented, driven, and well-coached. Undoubtedly, the Big Red have a legitimate shot at the Traditional State Title and could win it if the Chattanooga teams are overconfident. Just the opinion of a disappointed Raider fan. Once again, well done McCallie!

Baylor and victim #1 start at 9:00am Saturday. Should be over by 9:20am.

Result from the CBHS Duals on CBHS - 36 FRHS - 25 103 – William Alsobrook © beat Matt Rosa 9-4 112 – Chaz Griffith (F) beat J.P. Carney 14-4 119 – John Mark Sloan (F) beat David Carney 15-0 125 – Patrick Marchetti (F) beat Dustin Perry 15-6 130 – Joe Pass © pinned Cody Austell 3:56 135 – Peter Bonilla © beat Johan Benito 10-5 140 – Josh Baucke © pinned Matt Lawrence :58 145 – Ryan Miller (F) beat Michael Jennings 9-2 152 – Darius Williams © pinned Michael Goodrum 3:11 160 – Johnny Holliday © pinned Rory Hagerty 5:43 171 – Ed Haaga © beat Andrew Rowan 8-2 189 – Colton Riley (F) beat Joey Prestigiacomo 9-6 215 – Davis Dempsey (F) pinned Terrence Pulliam 5:14 275 – John Lyons © beat Stephen Garrett 4-2 This weekend, FRHS may be able to pull out a win because they will have strengthened their lineup by adding Bateman at 171 and Lawrence at 275. Of course, it truly does not matter because the winner will be ruined by Baylor in the next round and then beat by MBA in the consolation finals!

I do not have a dog in the hunt, but I know it is going to be a great match. Although the Big Red's experience may give them a slight edge on paper, all bets are off when Ryan and MBA hook it up. I am certain that Pat and his coaches will have Ryan mentally and physically prepared for the match. But I am equally sure that Frank and his coaches will have the Big Red good and fired up for the match. After all, all the trash talk posted on the board this week by those naive youngsters at Ryan (Bullit, In Hoc Signo Vinces, and Tin Man) has provided the MBA coaches with plenty of bulletin board material for the Big Red locker room. Yep, as always, it is going to be a brawl, with pin points deciding the outcome. I think I have to go with the experienced team (and the team with the most bulletin board material) and give the nod to MBA.

I was unable to make it to the match. Does anyone have the team and individual match results? Come USA1, you are the man in the know!

BA is greatly improved and, with a chance of finishing second in the region with a win on the line, I think that BA may have a chance to beat Ryan. I was hoping to see the match, but will not be able to make it. So, USA1, BATTS, etc., please post the match and individual results as soon as possible!

Yes, the score of MBA 52, CBHS 15 is correct. In fact, it would have been worse (probably 58-9) had MBA not forfeited 119 to CBHS (John Michael Simpson wrestles 119 for MBA, and he sat out because he was sick.)

Although we did not wrestle in the tournament, I must say that MBA looked tough. In fact, as the scores indicate, MBA had their way with every team they wrestled. MBA - 55, St. Benedict - 15 (Pool Round 1) MBA - 54, Hendersonville - 24 (Pool Round 2) MBA - 55, Kenwood 16 (Semis) MBA - 52, Christian Brothers - 15 (Finals)

IT IS ABOUT TIME!!! After all of Sommers' hot air and after Coach G's failed attempt to "bite his tongue", I FINALLY get an answer to my question about the identity of the Powerful Purple Teams -- Clarksville and CBHS. At first I thought that it was Clarksville chickening out of the Ryan Tournament, and I was right. They never have done very well as a team at Ryan, so why not go somewhere that they can be a big fish in a small pond. But then the "Memphis flavor" hint gave me more information than I had anticipated, and now it makes perfect sense. Last year, CBHS was suppose to go to some tournament out of state (Missouri?) but realized that they would get torched because it was way out of their league. So, at the last minute, CBHS tried to get into the Ryan Tournament as a safe haven (in that they would only get ruined at Ryan instead of getting torched), but they were rejected. This year, CBHS tried to get into the Ryan Tournament again and, once again, they were rejected. Thus, CBHS was in search of a tournament where they would not get torched or ruined and the Dog Pound Invitational fits the bill -- since it is not one of the toughest tournaments in Tennessee AT THE MOMENT. Stay the course Coach G -- you are doing a good job and the tournament will get tougher every year as it matures.

What powerful purple team are you referring to Sommers? Please tell, don't leave us hanging!

Ha, Ha. Now let's be serious. In DECEMBER, it is the McCallie Tournament hands down. In JANUARY, it is definitely the Ryan Tournament. In both cases, there is a mixture of DI and DII Tennessee schools mixed in with a few schools from other states. The GP West Tournament, that's a good one Sommers!

Baylor's straight line-up would beat the best of D-I. They are loaded!

Chick: Are you related to Irishdad? Are you his wife, sister, or cousin? The reason I ask is that you both seem to overreact anytime someone points out an omission or dares to contradict something you said. Also, you both have a tendency to go off on unintelligible tirades about topics that are completely irrelevant to the subject of the post – usually defending your program, which, by the way, does not need to be defended in any way as Bradley wrestling is one of the premiere programs in Tennessee. So, don't get your blood pressure up Chick. I merely wanted to point out that the Rebels GAVE (as in forfeited) 6 points to Bradley at 103. No need to read anything more into it than that! Geez!

Interesting analysis Brickhousechick, but I am afraid it is somewhat biased. You state that the Franklin-Bradley match was between "2 very good teams very EVENLY matched. A toss up pure and simple with Franklin coming through when it counted". You further state that "Franklin had the horses and character to pin 2 of the last 3 matches to come from behind to win by 1". However, you failed to point out that Franklin won the match by 1 point AFTER giving away 6 points by forfeiting 103! All that aside, you demonstrated great class by congratulating the Rebels and, obviously, you appreciated the high level of competition and tremendous determination by both teams just like all true wrestling enthusiasts.

Baylor should win 9 to 10 of the matches. Try as I might, I cannot see how Coach Simpson shifts or changes his lineup to match up better with Baylor -- they are so solid in almost every weight class. Amazingly, we get to see what could easily have been the finals match in the first round of the tournament! It should be a fine display of some of the best wrestling Tennessee has to offer. Best of luck to both teams. Stay healthy for the finale in two weeks!

No, I don't think so. If I am not mistaken, Leach wrestles for Franklin High School, which precludes him from winning the DII 275 title. (Unless Franklin has started recruiting and giving financial aid to all of its Grassland Middle School wrestlers.)

Please allow me to share a few points from someone without a dog in the fight... First, Irishdad, of course you are biased. Mini-Irishdad had to pin and he could not get 'er done! Despite what you think your Irish eyes may have seen on the video, the referee did not see it that way; hence, there was and never will be a pin. Personally, I was impressed with the way that MBA kid went out to not get pinned and put on one of the most incredible defensive fights I have ever seen against what may be the best cradle in the state. (By the way, any coach worth his salt would have sent their kid out to do in the same thing in such a situation.) Second, What is the Bottom Man Doin and Cameroon, you are both wrong. Morales did slam Hall (albeit unintentionally) because I heard the MBA trainer talking to the MBA coaches after the match and he told them that the Hall had a concussion and was out of it. The MBA coaches said that is probably why he stopped wrestling before the buzzer. Personally, I admire the Hall and the MBA coaching staff for getting him to finish the match and NOT take the cheap, easy six points from an illegal slam. Third and finally, although MBA only won by one point (33-32), the score is misleading because they gave away six points due to the injury default at 171. At worst, MBA gives Ryan three points at 171 and, at best, they get three. So, in fact, it was not as close as it appears and should not have come down to the final match. Both teams wrestled very hard and it was an incredible dual match. The wrestling and the crowd were top notch. Sadly, there is not way to see a good rematch because MBA has been further decimated with injuries and I am not sure they are deep enough to re-load for Clarksville. But after last night, I certainly will not count them out. Congrats to MBA: the 2005 DII Middle Region Champs!

Hey, where are all the MBA fans?! I have not heard from the Big Red nation since I had the audacity to state that, in my opinion, Franklin was one of the best teams in the state and that they would beat the Big Red at the Kenwood Klassic in late December. So, let's hear about the Big Red: their record, lineup, best wrestlers, etc.