CAH09

So Coalfield hosts Sunbright to kick off the district 4-a games this friday.  Then a few start the next week in Wartburg at Oneida (dec 6), Sunbright at Wartburg (dec 9), Coalfield at Jellico (dec 9), Oakdale at Oneida (dec 9).  

 

Who gets out to an early district lead?  

 

Also, any surprises so far after the first two weeks of action (non district games)?

Coalfield 1-3

Jellico 2-4

Oakdale 1-5

Oliver Springs 3-2

Oneida 1-2

Sunbright 0-6

Wartburg 1-2

Nah, Not really any surprises....at least looking at who they've played.  

OD kept it close vs Harriman and clarkrange...not so much against bigger schools.

A little suprised WB lost at home to Kingston. 

2 or 3 teams are really weak, they'll finish well below .500. SB, OS for sure. Although OS gutted out wins against a couple of (weak) larger schools....that was good for them.

It sounded like CF had 7 or 8 of their top 10 players in Fball, so they'll have to play/practice a couple weeks to get an idea on them. Maybe that could help Jellico steal one from CF this week...?

Games have started. Let's push this thread back to the top. My less than fully informed season beginning rankings:

#1 Wartburg Two really good ones in Carroll and Fountain. More quality role players to help than OD.

#2 Coalfield...FB players back soon, (7 of top 10) they'll need everyone to play to win this district. One outstanding player in Mckinney.

#3 Oakdale. Two good players in Smith and Jackson...unclear after that

#4 Jellico Should be better than last year

#5 Oneida

#6 OS looked really down to me. Lost a lot from a sub .500 team.  We'll see

#7 Sunbright. Likely another tough year

 

If all CF football players play, pretty big gap between top two and the rest... at this point anyway.

Earlier this year, TSSAA voted against going to 4 classes in Boys & Girls Basketball, Baseball, Softball.  They released the classification for 2017-2021 today.  TSSAA classification plan makes no sense whatsoever and is completely unfair.  There are a number of schools that the TSSAA slotted to compete in 4A Football (1102-827 enrollment), but AAA (largest class) in Basketball, Baseball, Softball (2513-1033 enrollment).  So, their Football team will compete for state titles against schools with as few as 827 enrolled students; while their Basketball, Baseball, and Softball squads will have to compete with schools as large as 2513 enrollment!!! 

 

It gets worse ... these same schools that are AAA in Basketball/Baseball/Softball and 4A in Football - are 2A in Volleyball and Soccer!!!  The AA Soccer enrollment numbers are as low as 668 and the AA Volleyball numbers are as low as 583!  To recap, these schools play schools with an enrollment as large as 2513 in Basketball/Baseball/Softball, but as low as 827 in Football; 668 in Soccer; and 583 in Volleyball!!! 

 

How does that make sense?  Whatever happened to playing in a league against other schools of similar size and geographical proximity in all sports?  Why does the TSSAA have 6 classes in Football, but only 3 classes in Basketball, Baseball, Softball? 

 

The following schools should be LIVID: Seymour (1102), Portland (1089), Liberty Tech (1083), Lawrence County (1082), Springfield (1081), Montgomery Central (1077), Kirby (1067), Stone Memorial (1061), Anderson County (1060), Spring Hill (1053), Tullahoma (1042), East Hamilton (1038) and Sequoyah (1033). 

 

If any of these schools advances in the AAA Region, Sectional, State Tournament rounds in Basketball, they will potentially do so by playing opponents that are MORE THAN TWICE THEIR SIZE!!!!!!!!!!!!  In many cases, they have to do this to get out of their own District!!!  For example: Stone Memorial's 1061 has to defeat Cookeville's 2203 to advance from their own District!!! 

 

TSSAA spent a lot of time considering the Division II changes and made sure Football kept their 6 classifications.  Class A schools pushed for the changes that made the majority of private schools to depart Division 1 for Division II.  Now, the large schools are stuck to play the MEGA-SCHOOLS.  But, I'm scratching my head why Baseball couldn't have 4 classes to make for competitive balance? 

 

TSSAA - you can fix this for Baseball - add a 4th class and keep the MEGA-SCHOOLS separate from schools that are LESS THAN HALF their size!

Agree completely. This was needed as much or more than the changes they did make.

who said im a private school hater? if anything i think privates have better everything overall and are better at sports most of the time, but what KC did is downright cowardly.. running from competition like always.. they knew after this szn they wouldnt be as good as this year or last year so they figure out a way to stay public.. disgraceful.. its moves like these that make people hate private schools

I'm gonna side with Catholic to a degree on this. They were looking at 3 + total  hours travel for many of their games. They weren't going to be pooled the local, smaller privates.

 Football is comparatively minor,  small # of away games, on Friday.... that's doable. The other sports.... not so much. Many more games, many more hours for non-revenue sports, plus largely during the school week. I get it, they have more $ to spend than some others. But still, add up the $ and hours for the other sports/ athletes.... the decision makes sense to me. It may shock you, but I doubt football was the primary factor in their decision. I doubt it was in the top 3.

I'm throwing this out for Sportswriter, Parker has thrown for 1,386 yards with 22 TDs and 1 interception. I know he's had several interceptions on defense. Five of six games he has only played a half. With this being said, none of it means squat tonight. Let's get it on!

That's impressive even if it were 7 on 7....much less real games. Good numbers from Harriman QB as well, but nothing like that. Guess we'll see tonight.

I disagree, I think Harriman has the edge. They have been putting their opponents away quick. Also, the loss of the Coker kid doesn't help our D any! Didn't get to see the Sunbright game, I was curious how the Kelly kid looked. I know he scored the first TD. Did he play on D? Anybody want chime in that seen the game?

I said CF has an edge vs common opponents. Harriman has a better win in their pockets. 

Regardless if Coalfield is not as good as expected or what, I know Coach Henry will have them fighting week in and week out. The Jackets are one of those teams that you can't ever count no matter how much or how little talent they have. Coach Henry is one of the best there is around here as well as one of the best in all of 1A in my opinion. I'll take Coalfield in this one by around 10 or so!

Looks like they're where they were expected to be. Hman, CF and Oneida battling for 2nd. Judging by common opponents, CF has a very slight edge to this point. WB scored 20 on Hman in scrub time. OD scored 12 on Oneida, Neither scored at all against CF.  Harriman has the best win...vs Kingston. Harriman and CF probably make it about where they did last year, 2nd or 3rd round.

I heard this as well

who is the starter?

It is going to be exciting to see how it turns out. The teams that get out of the district are gonna have a tough time in the region tournament. OD plays Harriman during the season I think they could sneak up on them and get the W. Coalfield really only has one player they lost the second leading scorer from last year. I don't think they have anyone else that'll be able to step and score other than their only player. WB is always tough they got a great coach. Having him as a coach keeps them in the top 3 automatically. 

Depends...not a lot of shooters in junior/senior classes at CF, but if they all play...it's a ALOT of size and plenty of older bodies. Would return 8 of top 9 upperclassmen + Lowe from OD if he plays....and arguably have the best player in d4. Certainly their 3 - 8 players would be better than OD's 3 -8 with a lot more experience. Still though, I'd give WB the edge overall with all things considered. I think they lost 2 starters from last year....?? Oneida and Jellico should be better as well. 

I'm not really seeing it with OD. They blew their chance when they got thumped by GCA last year in region with the best team they've had in many years. They lost 3 starters and  5 of their top 7 players.... plus Lowe would have started and he is at CF now. Yea, OD has 2 really good players, but it's downhill fast after that. They'll be competitive in D4, probably 3rd or 4th.... an outside chance at 2nd if a couple of the CF kids end up not playing. But no chance in region....zero, zip, nada. one and done...at best.

Basketball is getting close! This region is gonna be exciting to see how it turns out. What is everybody's thoughts about how this region will turn out?

Not exactly brilliant on my part, but GCA is the top team. I think they have the best player in the region in Arnold. I think Coalfield has given them back to back tight games in region the last couple years, as well as Meigs. But GCA just has a little more to work with most of the time than the small publics in region 2. WB and Harriman have a couple really good players, but just not the supporting cast. I'm sure with Meigs student numbers, they'll have the bodies, plus the Moore kid...to have a shot at GCA. Having said that, GCA is a heavy, heavy favorite. 

I hear ya, Harriman has a good squad no doubt... but they have also played 3 of possibly the 15 worst teams in the state in WB, SB & Unaka. With that schedule to this point, I couldn't fault anyone for not ranking them in the top 10. Some better opponents coming up though...wins vs those would do it.

OD has a got some players that have been developing well over the summer they will definitely be the quickest team in the district. I think it'll be either OD or WB taking the number 1 spot. I've heard that a few players from coalfield might not play if they don't I don't see them beating OD or WB.

yea, if CF has a couple older kids that don't play....they'll be in big trouble. Had a couple of pretty good freshman last year, but didn't look like they've grown much. If all upperclassmen play, they'll be pretty pretty decent. Maybe OD has some other kids develop... I haven't seen any in the fall league do much so far from there....maybe I just missed them. WB most stable it seems as of now. None can beat GCA in region as of sept.

This year it'll be a dog fight for Oakdale, Coalfield, and Wartburg for the top 3 spots in the district.

OD has two really good players, but could be shaky after that. WB also has 2 good ones and some decent supporting players. CF has just one really good player...probably a little more help than OD overall, not sure where their 2nd & 3rd scorers come from though. Big dropoff on defense if the Keathley kid doesn't play. Early on, I'd say WB 1st, CF 2nd and OD 3rd...

Kilby hall bunch Byrd Nitzscke do I need to go on

so, now it's zoning issue... Take it up with MC schools. Did any of these folks violate a rule? NOPE, I'm betting not. Again, if a program is a disaster... A small percentage of people will look for better options, others won't play at all. Fix the culture at WB/OS etc and a couple less kids won't leave. On a much larger scale....I'm sure the maryville and Alcoa people say the same things to the heritage people. Meanwhile, heritage folks probably blame some guy named ED, or Fred or whoever at Alcoa or maryville and never look at their own issues. If I lived inMC with kids that played fball...I'd send them to CF too. Who'd want to go 5-35 over 4 yrs....that's what recruits for other schools, not Ed or Ted or Fred.....They might end up with more losses than points scored in 4 yrs.

He's just being snarky, because 3 or 4 kids have moved so they can go to Coalfield to get away from terrible situations at surrounding schools. It has never dawned on him that messy, bad situations cause some people to look around. It's all a big recruiting scheme to him by the folks out at CF. It, of course, has nothing to do with the mess WB has been for most of the last  20, make that 40, years in football.

How is the transfer kid CF got from Oakdale doing? As good as advertised? I'm guessing there a lot of upset OD folks Friday night....? 47-0

No dog in this fight... But a couple things... Seems like old dog's definition of recruiting is anytime anyone says anything to anyone form WB, it's recruiting if they're from CF. Also, ultimately if a school's program is really bad...a number of kids in the school won't play that would have helped and a few kids from that school will seek out better programs in the area, whether someone talks nice to them or not. That's just the way it is in any HS sport. WB is historically not very good in FB... So, a % of kids aren't going to play and a few will leave for a better place. For example, WB doesn't lose many hoops players because they're usually a solid, well-coached team/program.

Did Coalfield strike out 15 Tigers today?

 

Anyways, the point I was getting at, and I felt like I was talking to a wall to be quite frank, was that while Coalfield/WB's ace might be good enough to limit a team like Meigs or Grace to 4 or 5 or 6 runs, it won't matter because if they can't score against the number 3 and 4 guys from Rockwood/TP/Midway, what makes you think they have a chance against Meigs or Grace's number 1 or 2 pitchers?

My point was primarily directed at a couple of folks who said D4 was superweak/ Mickey mouse and that the top four teams in 3a would cakewalk district 4. (i'm NOT saying it's strong, just that outside of GCA, 3a isn't killer most years either...) As well as I should get out out Morgan County more....when I have little or no connection to MC.

3a is ALOT better because of GCA... obviously (and 2 really bad teams in 4a). The rest of the teams most years just depend on who has a stud pitcher come playoff time. 4a has smaller schools in general, so they typically have a couple less bodies...a really good pitcher can equalize that at times... (my overall point) Sounded like last nights Meigs/ CF game was even til late.... Meigs apparently got a couple big hits to win it late. Had CF gotten a couple instead, game probably goes the other way. Oneida won the last 2 yrs... did that make 3a mickey mouse? No of course not. Meigs probably wins on Friday, just like Oneida last yr.

Neutral third party observer here, but strike out 13 or 14? That's literally 2 Ks an inning. Just because a kid puts up gaudy numbers against Jellico, Sunbright, and Oliver Springs doesn't mean he's a stud. I mean sure, he'll strike a few kids out against a GOOD team, but he is also gonna get smacked all around the park too. And then that's one part of the equation. Even if he can limit them at the plate, they still have to score runs on the flip side.

 

Keep in mind, Wartburg lost TWICE to Midway. And Coalfield got run ruled by Tellico Plains. The two last place teams in District 3. Heck even Oneida got shutout by, I am assuming, Rockwood's #3 or #4 guy.

yea, like i said I know.... i saw the scores....one of the parents said CF also sat 3 or 4 starters and pitched their 4th or 5th pitcher against TP... so what does that score mean on a Monday in Region play? Not much. If it was the 3rd game of the week, teams from the tiny schools have zero chance....just dont have the arms or the older bodies. But on a monday, with a stud pitcher, they've got a 30-40% chance ( much less against GCA). Oneida made the state last year. CF has a few state tourney appearances ( and I'm nearly certain a state championship) following that formula. Now, teams like that gotta avoid GCA game one...cause GCA can score enough on a good pitcher and just has more "baseball" players. But against typical 1A teams....That one pitcher for those teams equalizes things a bit. You'll see a team just like that in the 1A state tourney this year from somewhere in the state.... just like a lot of years

Top 4 in 3A would cake walk through that Mickey Mouse District.

 

Coalfield only won 2 games against opponents outside their district(Northview Academy)

 

Strike Out 13 or 14???.......Come on now..........Time to leave the Morgan County bubble and experience real baseball.

 

I'm not from Morgan county and have never lived there. Keep in mind those schools typically have one or two pitchers....they play district games Monday/ Tuesday...no one left to pitch the rest of the week. So tough to take much from a Thursday/ Friday game. What I'm saying is a really good pitcher can always give a decent team a chance....and a couple of the kids in 4a are really good pitchers. Have you seen either of them? I have seen them both and you should get off your high horse and give a modicum of respect where it's due. Those teams typically don't have the bodies to start mostly upper class men and that's a big difference, they're usually playing freshman ..but if the pitcher is good enough to hold a team down....and those two are....then a team with less big bodies can win. Like I said, I wouldn't pick them, but I've seen enough to know how good a couple of those pitchers are.

NOBODY from District 4A will advance anywhere this year.  

 

Number 3 or 4 seed in 3A could easily go undefeated in District 4A.  

 

Grace can go ahead and book rooms at the Boro.

 

Meigs County will prolly have to go on the road to Unaka next Friday for a shot at making a trip.

 

Trust me......District 4 teams will not be a factor this post season.

While I would pick the top three in d3 in a one game deal....I've seen the kid at CF and the kid (healthy now)at Onieda...both are really, really good. They would win some games for those teams in district play vs the top 3 in 3a over the course of a season. Now if CF ends up at Grace in region game one, they' ll likely be out. But if CF is the one seed at home vs Meigs...he could strike out 13 or 14 and beat them. Two WB pitchers are pretty decent, but not as good as the CF or Oneida kids.

Grace must be licking their chops. Haven't even thrown their one yet and might not even have to after everyone else is scratching and clawing to get through the losers bracket. Add in the fact that the other District is super weak...should look good for Grace from here on out.

no doubt, neither 4A team wants to travel to GCA. But neither WB, CF nor Oneida are super weak. Bottom of the district yes, weak... But all three of the top teams are decent teams and all three have a pitcher that could beat most teams in single A. Enough to win at GCA? Doubtful, of course... Tall order for small, rural publics. But either of the three would likely win vs region 1 teams and make a state appearance.

Grace wins 3A and it won't be close. Only way they don't finish first is if they pull a usual Grace and save their pitching until they need it, and even then it may not matter.

No doubt GCA is the team to beat...but GB was right there when they played. GCA's advantages are tough to overcome for the teams in their district and region... would be a good story if GB could break through given where they were not long ago.

Who's coming out of the 3a tourney? GCA and...GB or Meigs? or could those push GCA out with a couple breaks their way?

4a... CF? Oneida?...maybe WB? Oneida has their best pitcher back and CF has likely the top pitcher in 4a. Wburg has been most consistent in district play it appears... although I think Oneida is better overall than them, (pitcher was out when they played) .CF maybe a little light in the hitting dept to win tourney.