LouPickney

(Initially I posted this in the Week 4 thread, but actually intended it for here.) There were some positives for BA. KR #9 has exceptional change-of-direction skill. Under no circumstances should any high school team ever kick to him. DB #0 is a skilled playmaker who is all over the field. QB #12 has the talent to tear you apart when he has the blocking, but I knew that part already. As for the defense, it was almost jarring to see the Irish run the ball so effectively against BA. The RB stretch play actually worked. BA's announcers did a good job of explaining some of the problems, issues like poor defensive angles and arm-tackling. I'm far enough removed now to where I'm not familiar with these teams like I was in the late 2010s, but what they said matched what I saw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDS1usJK2I

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Two tremendous games tonight. FINAL: MBA 28, McCallie 27 McCallie's rally from down 14 falls short on a failed two-point conversion. That last McCallie TD happened on 4th and goal from the 13. The Blue Tornado showed great heart, but their streak of state title wins ends at three. Unbeaten MBA is heading to Chattanooga. FINAL: Baylor 44, BA 39 BA player ruled down short of the goal line to end the game. That was one of the wildest high school playoff games I've seen in a long time, worth your time to watch the last few minutes of it. They're going to be debating this one for years in Brentwood, but Baylor gets the win in a thriller. UPDATE: Another view, albeit also inconclusive. But look at that spot, just shy of the goal line. Baylor was down 9 at one point in the second half. Multiple late lead changes. MBA vs. Baylor in Chattanooga should be a great championship game.

Two very entertaining games thus far. Halftime: MBA 14, McCallie 14 BA 25, Baylor 23

Links to the broadcasts, good luck tonight everyone: Baylor at BA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnkVu9sPUDk McCallie at MBA https://livestream.com/bigred/events/10683742games

Baylor 42, MUS 16 McCallie 38, Ensworth 28 MBA 33, Christian Brothers 14 BA 38, Pope Prep 7 Two great semifinal matchups next week. II-AAA Semifinals Baylor at Brentwood Academy McCallie at MBA

Here's the link to MUS at Baylor on LocalLive (free), mid-Q1 no score. The other II-AAA games begin at 7p CST. https://events.locallive.tv/finalsite/94435 McCallie at Ensworth: https://livestream.com/ensworth/events/10680187 CBHS at MBA: https://livestream.com/bigred/events/10676041 (also on Hippie Radio 94.5 in Nashville) Pope Prep at Brentwood Academy: Ch. 30 local TV in Nashville, NFHS Network

II-AAA Quarterfinals Christian Brothers at MBA McCallie at Ensworth MUS at Baylor Pope Prep at Brentwood Academy This will be MUS' first game at Baylor since the 2006 playoffs.

The Irish have a solid run defense. They beat Cane Ridge, who hasn't lost to anybody else in 2022. We'll see how tonight goes. 6p CDT start time in Memphis. Something I really liked about the old days was how the first couple of rounds usually involved teams that were relatively close geographically. Look at the tournament tree from the 1992 AAA playoffs, the final season before the TSSAA expanded from three to five classifications. Most teams were 8-2 or better. Of course, they're never going back to this for many reasons, which is too bad. Fun while it lasted, and nobody had to drive from Knoxville to Memphis to play a game. https://tssaasports.com/event/bracket.cfm?id=19920103

Div. II-AAA East/Middle MBA 5-0 (10-0) Baylor 4-1 (8-2) McCallie 3-2 (8-2) Pope Prep 2-3 (7-3) Knox Catholic 1-4 (3-6) Father Ryan 0-5 (2-8) Div. II-AAA West Brentwood Academy 5-0 (8-2) Ensworth 4-1 (7-3) MUS 3-2 (7-3) Christian Brothers 2-3 (6-4) Briarcrest 1-4 (5-5) St. Benedict 0-5 (2-8) Last run in the territory for the foreseeable future for St. Benedict at Auburndale and Pope Prep. Safe travels to all, and some of you have some long trips ahead. The top two seeds in each region receive a first-round bye. II-AAA Playoffs -- opening round Knox Catholic at Christian Brothers St. Benedict at McCallie Father Ryan at MUS Briarcrest at Pope Prep

It's kind of weird for me as an Overbrook Elementary grad that my old junior high doesn't exist anymore, yet I understand why they made the change. Once Father Ryan went co-ed in 1970, merging with all-female Cathedral High School, it shifted the dynamic for St. Cecilia. For some Catholic families in west Nashville, Overbrook K-6 and MBA 7-12 ends up being a better fit for their boys. And that was true even when Father Ryan was still downtown on Elliston. And they've always treated me with kindness and respect over at MBA. That includes when I'd show up in a purple shirt to do play-by-play for Father Ryan, back when the school used to actually broadcast its road games. Perhaps again someday. As for Knoxville Catholic, I could imagine scheduling is challenging considering that every region opponent is in another media market. If Catholic could pick its own schedule for 2023/2024 and choose any schools they'd like as opponents, who would they want to play?

McCallie didn't broadcast the game and Baylor's archived version is stuck behind a password. I wasn't joking when I wrote awhile back that high school sports broadcasting peaked in 2018. Here are some highlights from local TV: I wonder who Baylor's opponent will be when they play in Ireland next year. Such a unique opportunity for those students. https://www.wdef.com/baylor-red-raiders-football-going-global-next-year-with-game-in-ireland/

It doesn't get any easier for Father Ryan. Their next three opponents (Cane Ridge, MBA, and Bowling Green KY) are all 3-0. Thanks to 104.5 the Zone for sticking around for the duration of the game. I thought Lucas and Will did a really good job with the radio broadcast, particularly considering the inclement weather. Lucas had to work solo after the long delay and handled it well.

Congrats to Pope Prep on the 49-35 victory. Pope DL #65 had a dominant first half. It's like what happens if your opponent correctly guesses your play in Tecmo Super Bowl, only on every play. Pope QB #4 was as good as advertised. Not many high school quarterbacks can make a throw like this: Father Ryan never gave up, and clearly they came out of the long lightning delay fired up. Glad we didn't get a repeat of Clarksville NE at Father Ryan in 2016 where everyone had to come back on Saturday morning to finish the game. MBA at Pope Prep on Sep. 30 is going to be an interesting game later this season. MBA won at McCallie tonight in a thriller.

Nice job again this week. Provided helpful context, particularly early in the season when initial results can be misleading. The Reggie pick reveal complete with video remains an amusing nice touch. I recommend that you add a link to 615preps.com to the description of the video. It was interesting to see on the website how you decided which schools you cover.

104.5 the Zone will broadcast the Bishop's Cup as their game of the week. So both this and MBA/McCallie (Hippie Radio 94.5) will be on FM radio tonight in Nashville, though MBA's game starts a half-hour earlier. Tuesday morning I woke up having dreamed Father Ryan won 23-16. Nothing but the score. We'll see. I've only seen Pope Prep in hudl videos, and they've looked impressive. Two keys: 1. Pope Prep defense vs. Father Ryan runs/screens outside the tackles. When the Irish started to rally after falling into a big hole early against East two weeks ago, that was part of the equation. 2. Pope Prep QB throwing accurately under pressure. When Brentwood High had time to unload the ball against Father Ryan, or perhaps less hesitation about throwing riskier passes once they were down by 10 in Q4, there were a couple of plays where the receiver got a step on the Irish secondary and the throws were accurate. And that's when the Bruins finally got it clicking a bit more on offense. I'm very interested in seeing how Pope Prep's offensive line performs. The Irish DL has been stout, and JP2 under their prior HC had an especially well-coached OL. Should be an intense game. Father Ryan hasn't beaten JP2 since the 2017 playoffs. The Knights have won six Bishop's Cup games in a row.

MBA vs. McCallie should be a good game. MBA has played very well thus far this season. McCallie hasn't lost since October 2020. It should be an intense battle at Father Ryan for the Bishop's Cup. I've seen the Pope Prep highlight videos on hudl, and the Knights have looked good, particularly passing the ball. But it's tough to gauge how that will translate against the Irish defense.

This game is replaying right now on ESPNU, for anyone looking to check it out. I lived in Alabaster for a year, so I found it especially interesting. Congrats to Lipscomb on the victory.

As JRB noted, BA had some really good run blocking, especially in the first half. I hope BA OG #77 is okay, as he had his leg rolled up on shortly before the second BA touchdown.

I felt that Father Ryan was exceptionally fortunate to win. 1/11 on 3rd down, 0/1 on 4th down, and four turnovers. That seldom equals a victory. Brentwood High had a wide open WR in the first half drop what would've been a sure touchdown reception. BHS has a good kicker with a strong leg and somehow went 0/4 on FG. Run defense for the Irish made the difference. BHS only had five yards rushing on 24 carries. Father Ryan's defensive line was also able to pressure the Bruins on passing downs, particularly in the first half.

BA did a nice job with its broadcast, as usual. Scott and Chris are good guys who have called BA games for years. My attention was elsewhere (Brentwood High at Father Ryan) but one play from CPA/BA really jumped out at me. Late first half and up 7-3, BA had it third and goal from the CPA 2. Eagles went empty backfield with five wide. CPA OLB #2 came off the line unblocked, disrupting what appeared to be a planned quick slant pass to the far side. Somehow, BA QB #12 managed to buy just enough time to get a look at the near side, where BA RB #40 was able to get open in the end zone. The quarterback's quick release made the difference as he got hit almost immediately after the throw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed7uIeVdE20?t=3378