coach77

I don't remember anyone including ICM say CPA would whip Alcoa. I said the game would be closer than you guys thought and it was. But clearly Alcoa was the better team that night. Clearly you've been a great team for many years for a number of reasons including coaching, hard work, etc. i'm not taking that away. I'm just looking at statistical data that suggests the open enrollment system helps an already strong program. If it was only 2-3 kids that didn't make an impact you could declare those kids ineligible and keep rolling but if it is as much as a third of the roster that lives OOZ or even as little as 5-10% then the multiplier should be applied. those kind of numbers make a difference if those kids are making plays. CPA is a 1A school in population playing up to 3A because of the multiplier. We do not have numbers to avoid playing kids both ways. Every team we've played in 3A until Alcoa plays kids both ways. Alcoa had almost no one going both ways in the champ game. The difference in depth was obvious. If 36% of your student population is OOZ then clearly some of those kids are playing sports and playing football. It gives Alcoa an advantage over smaller schools. If you applied the multiplier I think Alcoa would be very competitive in 4A or 5A and probably still win championships. But the numbers of players on the rosters of both teams would be more in line. I'm not whining or crying. I'm not hating. I have much respect for Alcoa. I'm trying to make a logical point. If i am wrong please Disprove my point with logic by disclosing the exact number of guys that play in the top 22 on each side of the ball that are OOZ. People close to that community know who lives there and who drives in. If it truly is only a few players and they did not make plays and you can prove it then you can put this to rest. But if you have starters on either side of the ball making plays zoned to another school then the multiplier should apply. It becomes an advantage when OOZ kids are starters or in the 2 deep. I'm surprised more public schools that do not have open enrollment haven't brought this up before. Most of this board I've read targets private schools who have the multiplier. There was 1 out if 12 teams in champ games that were private and that team lost. Seems like the open enrollment issue makes a bigger impact than private versus public. Treat open enrollment same as private. That's all I am saying. Worthwhile discussion.

I'm not taking shots at open enrollment schools. I think what they are doing is fine if their school and district has room for the kids. The school must be good to attract students. I think students zoned to a poor school should have a choice. I just think if the school allows students from outside their zone that pay a tuition to play sports then they should be subject to the 1.8 multiplier. And Maryville who is already 6A should play DII AA. That would level the playing field. As good as Alcoa and Maryville are they might still win state championships every year. Seems like those schools might want to face better competition anyway as they have dominated their respective classifications. By attracting and adding players from outside their zone it gives them depth other schools don't have. That depth helps them and is an advantage. Any open enrollment school should be subject to the multiplier. They have a wider reach to get athletes much like a private school.

Any truth to the rumor that Alcoa may reclassify itself to 4a for playoffs? Haha! You would get that game with Fulton everyone seems to want.

Plumb69 How many players at Maryville or Alcoa are outside their zone? Sometimes it only takes 1 to shift the power. Let me give you an example. Jalen Hurd attended MBA through the 9th grade and started at TB as a freshmen. Ran into some trouble and ended up back at Beech his zoned school as a 10tj grader. Beech wins state title his junior season. Doubt they would've won it without him. Korn Elder won 3 Gold Balls at Ensworth. He was from Rutherford County. One of those schools missed out. My point is open enrollment and DII privates shift the balance.

Having 3 powerhouse DII teams dilutes the talent for other 3a - 6a teams in Midd Tenn. A lot of those Gold Balls at Ensworth were won with kids from Neighboring counties playing major roles. Not to mention MBA and BA have their share of athletes from other counties as well. In Knoxville there are no DII teams attracting players away from those public schools. But open enrollment policies do shift the power to certain schools in the east. It would be interesting to see what would happen to the balance of power if open enrollment schools had a 1.8 multiplier or if the practice were discontinued altogether. It would certainly level the playing field some. This rule hurts the smaller county schools the most.

Congrats to Alcoa. You have a great team that is very physical at the point of attack. #2 is as tough and physical of a runner as i have seen in TN and weve played Arkel Coleman two years in a row we scrimmage Ensworth and Deandre Ferby. That was a very hard hitting game and Alcoas depth on the lines and # 2's physical running were the difference. I would like to see the two teams play again. The deplorable conditions helped neutralize our offensive attack. So much of our offense is built on being able to mix the run and pass but the wind and rain took that away from both teams. I think it's unfair to criticize #9 as a few posters have. Not his best game but it was near impossible to play both ways in those conditions and be effective catching the ball. QBs couldnt grip the ball, wind blew it off target and when it did hit their hands...they were frozen. Not making excuses. Those ate facts. And On top of that you guys have a great defense loaded with kids playing one way that played great. Have to give your superior depth credit. CPA will be back. We might see this game repeated next two years. Congratulations to Alcoa. You deserved the win. We will be hungry to play you again next year.

This is an Alcoa vs CPA thread Not FSU vs Duke

Everyone agrees weather is going to affect the outcome but neither team can predict exactly where or wihen. In my experience wet and rain usually give an advantage to a power running team which would be Alcoa. However I've seen CB's slip and let WR's run free because DBs react on wet turf while WRs know their cuts. Advantage CPA or advantage neutral. I have also seen wet balls get fumbled easier. Snaps, punts, kicks, fielding punts will be tough for both teams. A turnover caused by a wet ball could help either team at a critical point in the game. We know the weather will affect the game just hard to predict how or when. All I know is to tell them to Bundle up and strap on your chin strap! This one is less than 24 hours away. Go Lions!

I took a few minutes and watched some highlights of Alcoa...impressive! Alcoa will be the most physical team CPA has played this year. Alcoa is very talented. #'s 1,2,23,42,57, and 85 jumped out at me on the film I watched. They have other talented players like #21 but those I listed are the ones that jumped out at me. #42 and #57 are very disruptive in the middle. #1 is big and strong and has the arm strength to get the ball down the field to some talented receivers in #23 and #85. #2 is also big and strong yet elusive enough to make people miss and can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. Stopping #1 and #2 running the ball will most certainly be a major focus of the CPA defense. If I were the coach I would rather force #1 to beat us with his arm in poor weather than let them line up and run over you. The CPA OL vs the Alcoa front 4 will be the match up of the game to watch. If the CPA OL struggles against that interior front 4 of Alcoa as most teams have then CPA may have a tough afternoon. The weather could negate some of both teams' passing games which CPA seems to rely on more than Alcoa. That would make CPA more one dimensional and put them at a disadvantage. I don't think anyone other than Maryville has been able to run consistently on Alcoa and Maryville is the only defense to stop Alcoa' rushing attack. But other than Maryville....CPA is by far and away the best team Alcoa has played all year and I do not think Alcoa is just going to boat race up and down on the field as some posters have suggested. Yes, Alcoa has done that against many of their previous opponents but CPA is better coached, bigger, and more physical than the teams Alcoa has been been playing since Maryville. CPA also has some great skill players at WR, QB, and RB. Alcoa has faced some good skill players for other teams besides Maryville but not complete teams that also had a great OL blocking for them and good defenses on the other side of the ball. Nevertheless, Alcoa is big, fast and strong and will be a huge test for CPA. Upperman was undefeated and had a talented QB but had major question marks on defense going into that game and did not have the OL to slow down the Alcoa front four. Alcoa shoujld expect a much more stout defense from CPA and a much more physical OL. CPA and Alcoa had a similar score and margin of victory in their one common opponent this season, Mapelwood. Both teams put Mapelwood away by halftime and played the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string in the 2nd half so it is hard to draw conclusive evidence from that one common opponent. Yet, it still suggests some level of parity between the two teams. Some Alcoa posters are trying to compare this year's CAK team to CPA because they run similar offenses but that isn't a close comparison in my opinion based on the film I've seen and the fact that CAK struggled with FRA in Nashville earlier in the season. That game tells me and other CPA fans a lot about the level in which CAK was playing this year. I've also watched the CAK vs Alcoa film from the playoffs. CPA is going to be bigger, stronger and faster than CAK. CPA is going to be much, much better at QB and WR than CAK. I know CAK was great the last two seasons but they lost a lot of talent to the college ranks after last year and were in a rebuilding year this year. I expect a one score game between CPA and Alcoa headed into the fourth quarter unless one team has an uexpected rash of turnovers. The tougher more physical team should win it in the fourth quarter. But weather and turnovers can make the unexpected happen and turn this game either direction. CPA needs to win the turnover battle to come out with the victory but no matter what I'm still expecting this game to be a close hard fought on both sides. Prayers for an injury free game and for the rain to subside for 3 hours in the afternoon. See you tomorrow!

If I'm not mistaken I am thinking CPA chose to stay in 3A for football so they could be AA in all other sports with only 3 classificiations. We did not want to be 1A or 2A. Our enrollment was right on the line of 1A or 2A before the multiplier at this last reclassification. I could be wrong but I think we had a choice and wanted to stay in the higher classifications. I think Goodpasture chose the other option to be 2A in football which took them back to 1A in all other sports citing the rule that they couldn't be moved up more than two classifications. Did I hear this correctly or am I completely mistaken?

For Sure! (On other threads)

Yes, most if not all the 3A teams we played had kids going both ways. Sounds as if Alcoa does not though. We played 6A Brentwood and they did not have kids going both ways except on a few key downs. We have a great strenghth conditioning program and will have to compensate that way.

Remember we are really a 1A or 2A team playing up in 3A as a result of the multiplier. We're fielding a team from about 200 boys total in the school. With those kind of numbers we have to have athletes go both ways.

Jay Hockaday is Jimmy's son. Zack Weatherly's dad played QB at Ole Miss in the 60's before a great career as a songwriter. http://www.usatodayhss.com/nashville/article/cpa-quarterbacks-have-fathers-who-played-in-sec--2013309250194 http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2013/10/27/peter-cooper-on-music-jim-weatherlys-train-never-stops/

I don't know how that happened? See it's easy to get misinterpreted on message boards.

ha! jacketman...you would do that! Seriously, great game wtih you guys. We need to be playing a home and home soon. Too close not to do so.

We are extremely proud of our team and all that they have accomplished this far. Their record speaks for itself and we hope our boys win the championship on Friday. I know our young men and coaches will give it everything they’ve got and I am expecting a very close game unlike many of the posters on here. But the reason I think some CPA folks are not on Coach T this week is that those close to the program received an email from Coach Martin a couple of weeks ago after the Fairview game reminding us about who and what we represent at CPA and the responsiblity that goes along with that. He was specificly asking us to remember these things not only in the competitive environments at the games but also at the water cooler at work and even in chat rooms and on message boards. The email graciously acknowledges that we (coaches, players, fans) will all fall short at times but to be relentless in our pursuit of our ideals of being a program that helps build young men of character that walk with Christ. I know I was convicted when reading it because competition always brings out my competitive side and if I am not careful...I can be a real horses.... you get the picture. Only a handful of the guys on the field on Friday will play football after high school, but all of them will grow up to be men. Most of them will also be fathers and husbands and leaders in their workplace, church and community. With that backdrop in mind we've been challenged as a fanbase to remember that fact and to remember our goal of using our football program as a teaching vehicle for the young men on our team. In the bigger picture we also want to be a program known for building positive relationships with our neighbors that extends beyond the football field or any athletic field. We want CPA to be the kind of school that if we suddenly went away from the competitive landscape that other schools and programs would say "we miss those guys.†Yes, we want a spirited rivalry, we want to compete hard, and we are playing to win, but we also want strong lasting positive relationships with the schools we play. I realize we don't always execute that well but these are the ideals we strive to uphold. It’s so easy on a message board to fail and say something you didn't mean and hurt the perception of CPA and of Christians in general. Being a private school competing in Division I and a Christian school at that opens us up to enough criticism (some fair, much not fair) without us adding the need for more with poor behavior on Coach T. I think if you ask some of the schools we've played for the last 4-5 years like Whites Creek, Mapelwood, Pearl Cohn, Stratford, MLK (basketball), and others that they can give great testimony to the positive relationships they've built with folks at CPA. We’re hoping to build those same positive relationships with the teams in our new district and with new rivalries forming with teams in the playoffs. But I'm also not naïve and know that you can find fans at schools that feel differently about us if you ask around. It's incredibly difficult to do all of these things well and to uphold our ideals in a competitive landscape. But at the end of the day I know these are the things our coaches are trying their best to teach our impressionable young men to do and have asked our fans and parents to join them in doing so. That's probably more of an answer than you wanted but I think that is why some are backing off some of the natural ribbing that goes on during game week or at least trying to muzzle it a little. Lastly, I realize putting this out for there for public consumption opens us up for more criticism. I pray that people won't take this the wrong way or run a different direction with it. We are certainly imperfect, fallen sinners that are in need of grace daily. We wish you guys the best and pray for an exciting injury free game on Friday.

Thanks for respnding. Looking forward to Friday. From reading this board and other news clippings it sounds like CPA has their work cut out for them. Alcoa is certainly the favorite and deserves to be. CPA is a well coached team and I expect them to fight very hard though. The CPA offense is a less sophisticated version of what Auburn and Clemson run. It's a spread formation but with lots of Power runs to set up the passing game. They employ two QBs that do different things well. #2 passes more than he runs and #12 runs more than he passes but both can do both very well. Both are very unselfish leaders. The two RBs are effective behind a very well coached offensive line. #9 is the leading WR and headed to play for Missouri. He's very talented and just a great kid all around. CPA will have to relish the underdog role and play their best game of the season to be in this one. But I expect nothing less from an Ingle Martin coached team.

No, I am a youth coach and parent. I'm sure the HS coaches and players have seen plenty of film though. I just thought you guys would enjoy telling us about your team. If not, no big deal. I'm sure it's pretty easy to find stuff if you dig around. I may get around to it before Friday.

What type of offense does Alcoa run? Who are the impact players and what are their stats? Save everyone from CPA a little research time and let us know what we are facing. This will give you guys a chance to promote your great team.

But Ensworth would beat them all. Just sayin'.

From an outsiders perspective.....Sharp is a great coach. Lewis Co was well coached. CPA played more talented teams in terms of size and speed than Lewis Co but none was more disciplined than LC. Option teams have to be disciplined to be good. Option offenses equalize talent. That being said you can pass from those formations effectively if you have a great QB. Keenan Reynolds at Goodpasture was very effective passing in a very similar offense.

Honest Question. If a student lives in an adjoining county but desires to attend Alcoa can they pay a fee and enroll at Alcoa as a freshmen? I assume any student in that county can enroll there as well. Correct?

Lots of credit to Lewis Co. Tonight for great execution of the their Wing T offense and for a great gameplan. They came ready to play and for 3 quarters it looked like it was their night. CPA turned the ball over early with only their 4th lost fumble on the year. And Lewis Co played keep away from CPA's offense most of the night with their methodical Wing T attack. Lewis Co won the time of possession 32:38 to 15:22 and it looked like they were headed for a win after they scored a TD to start the 4 Qtr and took an 8 point lead at 22-14 But the turning point of the game was a blocked extra point to hold the lead at only one possession and at 8 points. Up to that point CPA had only run 3 plays in the 3rd quarter and punted. But now in the 4 qtr their offense came alive. CPA got a good return on the ensuing KO and then went back to their power running game. CPA went 55 yards in just 5 plays capped off by a Jay Hockaday 3 yard touchdown run. CPA converted a 2 pt conversion and just like that they tied the game at 22. By that time a stunned CPA crowd got loud and got behind their team and momentum had swung decidedly to CPA's favor. CPA forced Lewis Co to punt on the next possession and a short kick gave CPA the ball at their own 44 yard line. This time the CPA offense went 56 yards in just six plays with Zack Weatherly hitting a wide open Thonas Richard on a 37 yard pass for the score. That TD put CPA up 7 with 5:53 remaining. Up to the point Lewis Co had done a great job defending Richard on mulriple passes thrown his way but the Lewis Co safety was fooled by the play action on that play allowing Richard to slip all alone behind the defense for the easy score. The CPA defense once again came up big and held Lewis Co to a turnover on downs deep in their own territory when Paul Adams deflected Brennan Holt's pass on 4th down. Max Pressley scored on the very next play from 27 yards out putting the Lions up 14 points after JR Osborn's xp. At this point CPA was up 14 points with 4:14 left to play. And Because of the time consuming style of offense that Lewis Co runs they had a tall task of coming from behind two scores with only 1 timeout left. To their credit they were able to drive 70 yards in 9 plays and cut the lead to 8 with just 1:22 left in the game. But Once again the XP was blocked. CPA was able to recover the ensuing onside kick and after making a first down was able to run out the clock for the victory and a birth to the 3A State Championship game vs Alcoa. Lewis Co has a great team and brought a huge crowd to the game. Much respect goes to those guys for a hard fought game. As excited as I was for CPA to get the win, I hated seeing those seniors for Lewis Co lose their last game. I do want to give the CPA offensive line a huge amount of credit as they opened huge holes all night for Chance Meier and Max Pressley. Pressley!s fresh legs in the 4th quarter were the difference as he had 90 yards on just 9 carries while Chance Meier had 92 yards 12 carries. CPA was more balanced on offense and was able to run a fast tempo at times and keep the Lewis Co defense off balance. Despite the lopsided time of possession CPA was able to win the total yards 326 - 310. Ultimately CPA won the game by coming up with critical stops on defense in the 4th quarter and by making the big run or big pass play when they absolutely needed it. CPA has a huge task ahead of them next Friday in Cookeville but was able to celebrate the victory tonight before heading back to the film room to study Alcoa tomorrow.

Watch the game online if you can't make it or have relatives out of town that want to watch. Pre game starts about 6:55 CST. http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/channels/cpa