deadaim

Hogan-what do he tea leaves predict for the new coach? One of our D 2 brethren again?

Congrats to Jamie Bradshaw, MBA offensive tackle and All Academic D2 AA All Region selectee, for selecting Cornell. He turned down offers from Air Force, Navy, Brown and Columbia and passed on visits to Dartmouth, Yale, Penn and the other Ivy league schools.

http://blogs.tennessean.com/high-school-sports/2011/12/06/elder-named-dii-aa-region-player-of-year/

The dust storm has been swirling at BA long before Potter became head coach. I saw it in 1999 at Overton with a previous coach and Flatt on the sidelines in "retirement". As long as BA was not producing the long run of state championships, the storm continued and never stopped. I bet Chris Sanders applies for the job. Rodruigez at Ensworth is another bet with lower odds on applying.

I got the opportunity to watch this game in person and you get to see some things that perhaps are not shown on television. First, the first play on offense for Ensworth was brilliant- run the stretch right to Elder, hide the fullback and hand him the ball- Baylor bought the flow and the only defensive player between the line of scrimmage and beulah land- a linebacker- had committed to the stretch and could not make the tackle. Seven points before you could take a breath. Next a kill shot on a naked bootleg that should have been anticipated by Baylor as Ensworth went for the jugular was dropped for a touchdown. No problem for EHS as Elder goes untouched next play for six. The called quarterback draws were excellent and Baylor could never get on the edge with its linebackers to stop the stretch- the few times it did the cut back lane was wide open. I thought the keys to the game were: 1. Although Baylor was delivered a knockout punch, it got back up and flipped the field on Ensworth. Baylor, which had established a ground game, then went three and out on three passes. The first was dropped after a big hit on the sidelines. They then called two more passes which failed. I thought that was a mistake. 2. Baylor never blocked the Ensworth middle linebacker who made many tackles. 3. Baylor blew two touchdowns when wide open receivers were overthrown on dual sprint routes when the Ensworth safeties blew the coverage. This would have kept it close when it mattered. 4. Corey Batey shut down Baylor's very fine receiver number 7. 5.Ensworth was reckless in the way they played. I mean that in a positive way. Bowers had a career game too. 6. Speed and big hits are killer. 7. The score would have been worse with Elder in as many times the cutback lane was open. Elder usually hits it and the excellent Ensworth second string back did not. 8. The Baylor adjustment at half out of its 3-3 stack, which has served them well this year, to a five man front, did nothing and perhaps made things worse. The Ensworth team showed everyone that one man is dispensible. I did not believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. The only teams to beat Ensworth the last three years has been MBA and Baylor-there may be more I have forgotten. The only way to defeat Ensworth these three years is to physically beat them up. Baylor did that earlier this year and MBA did it last year and the year before in split decisions after getting mauled in the other game. The moment you fail to do that and get out of your power game and into something else-like trying to match speed and athletic ability- you are a dead man walking. Baylor learned that painful lesson last night.

The advantage, as always in this league, goes to the team that lost the first match of the year. Repeat wins over the years have been few and far between.

Nope. I had hope we could win but I did not believe we would. Hope and belief are two different concepts. Nevertheless, I stayed in the trench with the troops. I should have said that the end was not in doubt until we were taken out of our ball control game in the third quarter and we could not get a yard. MBA has been one dimensional offensively for three years and in the same dimension defensively for many of the games this year. I have watched too many games where every yard was a grind and when MBA has had to go to the air to win, we have not been able to do it. I do not blame anyone for this as it is just a reflection of the kids abilities. We do not have Division 1 players at skill positions. They played tough and never quit. I was quite proud of them and their dedication. Time to move on and we have.

Baylor was the better team and the defensive half time adjustments sealed the fate of MBA. Both teams dropped touchdown passes and Baylor controlled the game the entire second half despite some turnovers that must be corrected for the team to keep advancing. MBA matches up better with Baylor than the other speed teams in the league and that alone kept the game a little closer but the end was never in doubt.

There is one thing that you are right about and that is there are live pipelines into some of the schools. Let me explain to be perfectly clear: there are some coaches in some parts of our community who make sure the best players get to visit the best athletic private schools and the kids end up attending. This has been going on for quite some time back to the mid sixties when the BGA bus stopped every morning on Franklin Road in front of Overton High School. Cross town playing picked up in the seventies when kids from Madison went across Nashville to BA and I played against them from junior pro through high school. The pipeline continues to this day in many schols. I am not saying it is wrong or illegal or a rules violation, I am just saying that some of the kids do not just show up by accident. If there is money paid for players to attend school other than legit financil aid, I do not know anything about it. Each school likewise tries to get the best students and BA, Ensworth and MBA compete against each other for many of the kids from the area private schools. I experienced that first hand. Nothing illegal again-they have to fill the ranks and want the best they can get.

The coaches, in their preseason poll, which seems like yesterday, picked: 1. Ensworth 2. BA 3. Baylor 4. MBA 5. BGA 6. Ryan 7. McCallie 8. JP2 They hit it pretty well as the teams finished as follows: 1. Baylor 2. Ensworth 3. BA 4. BGA 5. MBA 6. McCallie 7. Ryan 8. JP2 Where did the summer and fall go?

Sorry cc. I just got excited after being discharged Friday morning out of solitary confinement/suicide watch due to the MBA season.

It often takes time in the journey of life to find your spirit. MBA had been staring into the abyss the entire year and for the first time saw their own reflection. Friday night,for the first and only time this year, they got mad and turned it up three or four notches with the seniors stepping up. This made the difference. The first half was the typical MBA non spirited country club team performance with the exception of Simonis who made some very outstanding athletic plays, both running and passing, that kept MBA in the game. The officials began to lose control of the game and its tempo with numerous huddles and all the calls against MBA. The third quarter ran as usual heading to a loss, and with four minutes left, was blown by McCallie when they missed two wide open receivers on two plays for certain touchdowns. After continued MBA sportsmanship penalties, the defense got angry and stepped up in a refreshing run which has been missing all year. The late MBA fumble at the five was critical as well as the end zone pitch/fumble and the interception on the wheel route which kept McCallie close. The officiating crew made numerous blunders which is clear on the film. I am not going to discuss all of them. The roughing the McCallie quarterback was blown. Simonis, after a great run, was hit at the five of McCallie and rolled over a player and landed at the two and a half yard line and the ball was spotted at the seven. The interference call on Beckner was the worst call of the game. The crew did get the horsecollar call in the endzone correct as well as 12 men on the field on the field goal attempt. The McCallie kicker is a good player and his troubles started when he hit the low hook on the kickoff which was repeated on the field goal. It is the old addage that you can talk to a fade but a hook will not listen. Some subscribe to the saying that the darkest hour is just before dawn. The truth is that the darkest hour is just before total blackness. Perhaps the seniors have now realized for the first time this year the intensity, strength and courage to close a game and the darkest hour may have passed, at least for now.

The locker room was best described by Lombardi: what we do here, what we say here and what we hear here stays here. This speech is none of our business.

It is always fun going to Ryan and the shuttle rides are not that bad as Ryan has it down to a science. This is the best and most expensive artificial turf field in Middle Tennessee and the great Ryan players from the past usually show up and everyone has a good time. The crowd is full of long time Ryan guys who are faithful to the program. Alot of Metro police, who are Ryan men, will be there too. Unfortunately the game will not be close but Ryan will not quit. They do not have the athletes to compete with BA this year. Also, you cannot get on the field after the game.

Bermuda grass, whether it is common or the older Tifway 419 or some of the newer strains such as Mohawk or Prima HD, is beginning to slow down a little now with the cooler weather. Although we are in the transition zone, these turf grasses should be very good this time of year but will not repair very quickly, if at all, due to lower night temperatures.They will not go dormant until the first frost. A possible explanation here, which is completely unverified, is that BGA overseeded in winter rye which needs substantial water to germinate. Ensworth, rather than overseeding, paints its field to keep it green and it certainly looked good last year after all the other bermuda fields had turned brown.

MBA by 14-maybe more. Ryan cannot pass which is the MBA weakness.

This is a tough one to call-I think the hardest one so far this year. BA has the best defensive line in the league but their offense is really sub par compared to all of the teams I have seen from that school in the last decade. Baylor is big up front and played MBA as if they were in phase 2 of a two day hangover. They allowed an MBA back to rush for over 200 yards and MBA cannot run the ball. Yet Baylor put the wood to Elder and Ensworth in an impressive showing. The line is BA by 2 1/2.If Baylor stops the big plays, they win. This should be a great game.

This quote is obviously from someone who knows nothing about the core of the team and the killer instinct it takes to win in this league. This team is suffering from a scandal hangover, consistent mistakes on both sides of the ball, awful secondary play and no killer mentality. I hope you enjoy sitting in the stands with inappropriate203(who wants to go 1 and 9 with new staff rather than 13-0 with old staff) and enjoy these kids getting their brains beat out. Losing, Madam,breeds losers, and is no way to play in this game or in life. You would be of great help if you stayed at home on Friday night.

Ensworth wins by 17-perhaps more. Baylor will not be able to stop the big plays.

MBA was pathetic in almost every part of the game beginning with grit and heart.The offensive and defensive lines have managed to do nothing in two games.Completely unable to run between the tackles and on defense, no drive. Secondary then gets shreaded. BA was in QB face all night. Offense went three and out and did not get back on the field until a minute left in first quarter. BA had another long pass TD called back after turning two MBA fumbles into points so it could have been worse. MBA last score was on BA second team defense. I have seen BA teams for many years and they have a good and solid team that is improving and is confident. This team is not yet great but has the potential. Make no mistake, this game was a slaughter. MBA must circle the wagons and make some personnel changes or they will be overrun. Those changes will start in the morning.

MBA is much better than their team from last year. Bigger, faster and can put it in the air and over the top for the first time since Luke Colbert was injured against Ensworth two years ago this Friday.MBA also has take it to the house speed at tailback now. BA has lost its two running backs and team speed is not what was last year. However they are big and improving. Will be close and the big plays will decide it. Line is BA by 6 1/2.

I think we need to stay on the topic of the game that is posted. It was a mixed night for MBA that started well but ended in a massacre. Trinity beat MBA at every level of the game and the MBA defense got shattered by both the run and passing games. The Trinity QB was never touched. The Trinity offense was stopped only twice and kicked two field goals of less than 20 yards. The MBA defense could not get off the field and the mercy clock did not kick in until four or so minutes were left in the game. The score could have been 56- maybe 35 but it was not and that sums it up. Coulda or woulda does not count. MBA also got manhandled physically on the line on both sides of the ball. The early loss of 3 or 4 players changed the game- they may be looking at 3 ACL tears and three surgeries this week. The only bright spots were the MBA passing game and the offensive play calling. There were some good individual efforts from a few players and the team did not quit which made it at least bearable. The whipping will make the team better or will set the stage for the remainder of the year. The question will be answered Friday night with BA.