willy1

Date Opponent Result Fri Aug. 23 7:30 PM Notre Dame W Fri Aug. 30 7:30 PM at Coalfield W Fri Sep. 6 7:30 PM CAK L Fri Sep. 20 7:30 PM at Tyner Academy L Fri Sep. 27 7:30 PM at Hardin Valley W Fri Oct. 4 7:30 PM Kingston D W Fri Oct. 11 7:30 PM at Anderson County L Fri Oct. 18 7:30 PM Scott D W Fri Oct. 25 7:30 PM at Knoxville Webb L Fri Nov. 1 7:30 PM at Alcoa D L CAK, Alcoa, Webb = L Kingston, AC = Toss up. One win @ home vs. Kingston, one loss @ AC Tyner, ND = Toss up. One win @ home vs. ND, one loss @ Tyner Hardin Valley = Toss up. Scott, Coalfield = win. Best case is 7-3 Probable is 5-5 Worst case with losses to toss ups 2-8

Drove past the Big & Tall near West Town mall the other day. Looks like some KCHS admin really put on some weight after swallowing so much.....

Rankin will not go to Catholic. He did his due diligence when Pemberton left. He pulled out after he came to understand that he would not be able to choose his staff. He could have lived with one or maybe two of the Catholic staff that he would have had to take, but not the defensive coordinator. The DC got bounced after Rankin’s assessment proved the obvious after one season under Meadows. Same with the Strength & Conditioning program/provider(s) This is one of the primary reasons Pemberton left Catholic, proving that both Pemberton & Rankin are superior to the AD and Principal when it comes to the evaluation of coaching talent and what it takes to have players conditioned to play both ways if required. Whether Coach Gray or someone else winds up in the HC job, they will not have the authority to implement what needs to be done. Unfortunately the HC will be held accountable when the results continue to disappoint. Simply stated the AD and Principal demand the authority, but refuse to take ownership of the accountability.

Irish will beat Heritage, lose to Bearden & not make the playoffs. 4-6 won't get them there.

Wow. Went to the game & after watching it is hard to believe Catholic would have fared much better playing their last 3A schedule before the reclassification. No way of really knowing, but I think the Irish would have a tough time getting past Morristown West (4-3), Kingston (6-2), Livingston (6-1), Fulton (6-1), and Baylor (4-3), and we do know about Webb (6-1). Probably get past Scott, Stone, Austin East & Anderson County. Morristown West & Anderson County probably could go either way. Best case would probably be 5-5, likely case would be 4-6, and worst case would be 3-7.

Yes, other teams in the area can and do compete. In fact, Webb with a relatively similar enrollment to Catholic in grades 9-12 recently competed well against Alcoa (L 14-7 in 2012). CAK with a stated 9-12 enrollment of 455 beat Alcoa last year. Grace Christian with a lower 9-12 enrollment beat CAK last year & gave them a good game this year. You beat Central which has stated enrollment of 1,100. You beat Cleveland with a stated enrollment of 1,200. Is it only the games in which Catholic loses to a school with an enrollment in excess of 1,000 that creates the perception of a misclassification? Catholic will diminish opportunities to acquire and develop talent from a deeper pool if the feeder program is moving towards a Catholics’ only participation dictate. Should the high school follows suit, the same is true. More numbers equates to a deeper talent pool. You’re reducing the numbers, and playing five card draw with four cards. Would Pemberton have maintained the level of success & respect that Catholic earned prior to the reclassification? I don’t know. Do you think Meske is pleased he didn’t have to find out? Do you think Courtney & Taylor wanted to see if Pemberton could chase them down like he did Buck Coatney & Stanton Stevens, at Fulton & AE? Do you think Quarles really wanted to deal with Pemberton’s 300lb OL & DL, Wing T, waggle, trap-option, belly, counter, ball control, and clock eating offense? You know, the system that allowed for more two way players because playing both ways with the majority of snaps on offense versus defense does not cause the same level of fatigue? I’m not saying Catholic would have beaten Maryville consistently, but by now no one would have looked at the schedule, and penciled in a loss like they do today.

Agree, but Pemberton grew the program. He did not inherit what Meadows did. From the feeder to the varsity, the programs were well run. The first few years that Catholic beat Webb, they were straight-up talent wise. The 1st in the string of seven straight wins by Catholic, Harrison Smith was a freshman who did not play, and only played CB as a Soph. Nick McFadden was the feature back. What Meadows did with the talent he inherited was wasteful. He inherited a team that returned 16 starters from a state championship team that was capable of beating anyone on the schedule within the newly aligned region....including Maryville. In fact, Catholic was up 21-7 with the feature back Cozart having run for 190 yards at 1/2 time. Catholic just pounded it & played very well defensively. Maryville made some offensive adjustments at the 1/2, and Meadows & his DC got tight as Maryville pulled even. On the other side, Meadows made zero defensive adjustments, panicked, didn't trust the run game, and got beat.....then got beat by Heritage. Been downhill since. Sad. Pemberton was/is a good coach who got the most out of his teams in the right way. Look at the Brentwood team he is coaching today. He inherits a 7-4 in 2010, and 8-3 in 2011 team. He's got them at 6-0, and they've outscored the opposition 248-22 in his first year. 6A ball, and he's having to fight off Ensworth, PJII, Brentwood Acad., CPA, FRA, and all the Nashville privates for talent.

Yes chickenhawk. Perhaps Catholic can change there theme song to that of the Free Willy movie sung by none other than Michael Jackson. This tributary song to Meadows could be chorused by the fans. I believe it is titled "Will You Be There." Next?

Remarkable. First: Critical of Coach P's teams playing Chucky-Doak, but "don't dis our kids playing who they're playing." Hypocrisy? Pemberton scheduling/playing Chucky-Doak at that early stage in in the program's development was smart. They were a little DII then, and not in Region 2-3A. That confidence served them well when they did go into that region did it not? Second: Your field was perfect under Pemberton. Nice high grass, kept the speed of the game down, clock running, etc. It only got bad after Meadows/Admin ran off "Mr. "G" the actual guy that maintained the field back then. You wouldn't need to raise/impose upon parents that already spend plenty to spend more on a new field if you had maintained what you had. Am I wrong? Third: Stone, LA, AC, AE, Fulton, Scott, and Kingston were all region games. None scheduled by Pemberton. His non-region games were Morristown West, Baylor and Webb in 2007, and 2008. Those are the games he scheduled, and it seemed to work preparing them for a state championship run. No? Fourth: No way IMO Lowe will carry Meadows' suitcase. Meadows wants out...Wanted the JP II job, among others. JP II said "thanks but no." Five: In Pemberton's last year, the table was run, 15-0. Beat some very good teams (White House, Memphis Mitchell, Baylor, Webb, Fulton, Morristown West, and AE & AC twice each. A meadows team today would not beat any of those teams including AC once, let alone twice. So ask yourself; has Meadows improved the program? When he leaves will it be better off than when got there? How much more damage will be done between now and then? Six: At what point in time does the AD step up and manage this situation? Or at what point in time does the administration step and do what the AD either can't or won't do? Or at what point in time do parents begin realizing that this is too much like watching a plane crash in slow motion and decide that other schools or sports are a better fit? Oops too late.

So, at $4-$5 per square foot installed the Irish are going to spend in excess of $400K to create a greater disparity in athletic ability and speed between themselves and their competition? Brilliant.

QSouth89. A 7th grade team with all the talent in the world does not translate to success. Too many variables over a 3-4 year period. Lets take your comments at face value though, and give you that all those kids wind up at Catholic. Does that equate to a better performance? Below is the talent that Meadows had in 2009 & 2010. KCHS Class of 2009 Tyler Williamson Bowling Green #28 Dorian Cozart UT Knoxville #29 Spencer Mackle UT Chattanooga #83 Reed Bacon UT Memphis #26 KCHS Class 2010 Zach Cooper University of Charleston #72 Joey Gaston United States Naval Academy #69 Kyler Kerbyson University of Tennessee #77 Alex Saah Lindsey Wilson College #63 Cody Shirley Virginia Military Institute Mike Wegzyn University of Massachusetts #11 Spencer Roth Baylor University #36 Dominic DiGiovanni Emory & Henry Jonathan Pfleger Emory & Henry Chase Fox Emory & Henry That data is from the Knoxville Catholic Football website. Two years & fourteen kids playing on Saturdays. One or two play-off wins during those two years. 2008 produced five kids that are playing on Saturdays and Catholic won a state championship. Meadows was handed a cupboard that was stocked, and squandered it. What makes you think that with the talent you believe will go to Catholic that Meadows will develop them into a championship team?

JSamson. I could care less if Catholic wins another game. If you think that GQ was as dismissive of Pemberton when the region was announced, I'd suggest you....well, you'd be wrong. Rankin is no more going Catholic than he is going back to Smith County,,,,,where he, Maynord, and oh yeah Pemberton all have roots. BTW, Catholic would never get beat by Greenback; but Heritage, now that's another matter

Hey footballsense. I get that you care, and I truly hate it for you, the kids, and the families of all those impacted. Fact is that the AD has been posting in this thread under "CoachKCHS", and it is painfully obvious that he is as lost as an Easter egg. The feeder program had two good teams this year...some combination of 6th & 7th grade kids. The talent on those teams will not go to Catholic. The 8th grade team went 3-5, while the freshman and JV teams were not successful, and ultimately unable to field the numbers required to play. KCHS made a decision in 2009 to deemphasize athletics. They came to believe that there was too much focus on athletics at the expense of academic and spiritual development. Pemberton was forced out within months of winning a state championship, and with 15 of 22 starters returning. He had no desire to leave and had looked forward to running his system against the “Big Boys.†He had the program on a roll, from feeder program, to strength and conditioning, to media relations, to a deep a broad network of colleges that knew that they would good kids that would contribute. Courtney, Qualres, Cummings, and Taylor all danced a jig when Pemberton left. No Wing-T, ball control, eat the clock, great pursuit angle, gang tackling, special team mistake free team to deal with. It's over. Actually, it's been over. Good luck.

Meadows had three years to implement an effective system,and the talent required to do so. If you can't coach pass protection, route running, and QB play in that period of time, with that talent; something is wrong. Other coaches have had far greater success with far less talent. You should know. You had one who did it right there. You lost Wharton because his dad was run off, and he had a teaching "position." Your young talent is average as compared to other young talent in the area. They are more experienced now, but that doesn't make for better players...see UT's OL. Your 8th grade team went 3-5, and was well off the pace of Harding Valley, CBFO, and West with whom you'll compete with for talent. Your Jr. Midget & Pee Wee teams were very good, but it is unlikely the talent on those teams will stick through 8th grade and beyond. Hardin Valley, West, Farragut, and Bearden (for the time being) all provide a better opportunity for playing on a successful program. That's just the public schools. Webb and CAK have better feeder programs, and obviously better high school programs. Grace has a better high school program, and is well on the way to having a very good feeder program. The fact of the matter is that the administration does not want to have the school perceived as a "football factory." That is fine. They should just be honest about so that the expectations of families and kids are in alignment with the goals of the school.

The program has underachieved in his first two season at Catholic in a big way. More kids go on to play at the next level out of that program than any other in the area during the previous two seasons, and you you can't get out of the second round....in 5A. I don't think playing a 5A schedule gets you much. Powell, West, Morristown West, Morristown East, Lenoir City, Anderson County, Seymour, South Doyle are improving at a greater rate than Catholic. You're on par with Central. You'd get past Halls, Clinton, and Cocke County. The only cycling going on at Catholic is a counter clockwise flush. You won't beat Webb for at least another four years based on program direction. The program is in shambles. Period. The fault lies with the administration. Period. Not Pemberton, nor Rankin, nor Harbaugh can fix it unless and until the administration gets out of the way. Period. No coach who does the appropriate due diligence prior to accepting the job would take it given that both the previous and current coaches have had incompetent staff forced upon them. Meadows can't fix it, and nor does the administration want him to. Catholic has fundamentally decided against being perceived as any sort of "football factory" and that is fine. Just set the expectation there. 3-7 is OK, 3-7 is OK, 3-7 is OK. Say what you will about Pemberton, but he got you past Livingston Academy, Fulton, AE, Webb, Baylor, and Memphis Mitchell for crying out loud. He apparently learned from the mistakes, corrected course in spite of the administration, and won championships. The concept of learning and correcting is something apparently lost on the current administration as well as yourself KCHSCoach. Learn to reinforce your argument rather than raising your voice son.