USA1

I wish your QB was at least a junior. He is going to be real problem in the coming years. The young running back as well.

I don't think Roane County could have put one more person in that stadium or the town one more banner on a building. That was a festive environment.

I'm still around, as well. I have just transitioned from "poster" to "reader".

MBA's defense did a great job against a very high powered rushing offense. Despite this, I predict that BA will get their points. The thing that makes things close is MBA's improved and, no doubt, still improving quarterback play to go with their already good rushing game. I think it is pretty certain that MBA will score more points than last time.

A salute to MBA's heart. It hurts to be on the other end of that heart. We at BA know first hand. Another salute to some on the money posting by shakeinthefat and Mr. Woodruff going into this game.

I mean, yes, depth will always be an issue for BGA simply from an enrollment standpoint. But the same can be said for EHS as well. Only a select few (BA, MUS, MBA usually) have the benefit of platooning the players. After a point, it can't be used as a crutch anymore. According to the TSSAA, BA will carry a slim enrollment advantage into this game - for what that is worth. Also, BA will two platoon a lot - especially on the line. Division 2-AA Battle Ground Academy, 392 Ensworth High School, 427 Brentwood Academy, 463 Hutchison School, 466 Briarcrest Christian School, 567 St. Agnes Academy, 608 Pope John Paul II High School, 635 Baylor School, 712 Harpeth Hall High School, 736 Girls Preparatory School, 784 Memphis University School, 828 Father Ryan High School, 870 St. Benedict at Auburndale, 983 Montgomery Bell Academy, 1140 McCallie School, 1304 Christian Brothers High School, 1778

BigSneaky, What SPECIFIC info can you give us about Brentwood Academy, in any/all areas? Please be as detailed as possible. I will then give you as much info on Olive Branch as I can remember. That should help enable us all to make a more informed assestment on this game. Thanks. I will give you my assessment, as well. BA is in a little bit of a tough time. They have a young line in a rebuilding year. They have very good fast receivers and running backs, but their starting tailback is out (Victor Cairo) and now their feature receiver and return man appears to have been injured this past week (Josh Pleasant). QB play is much improved from last year, which is to say it is pretty good this year. Very good defensive backs with that young line again. The two senior linemen play both ways. BA has a good kicker. He kicks field goals, punts and kicks off, however he does not kick extra points. Another player who is not as good kicks extra points (I don't understand this, but I am sure the coaches know more than me). From what I hear, we are going to have a very tough time matching up with a very talented and big Olive Branch line. I think if we did not have the typical football injury problems, we would still have a tough time overcoming that match-up.

EHS is pretty close to the target. Another year of very good players. This past Friday was, yet, another demonstration that there is much more to this game than that.

Your theory is as good as mine. It is no fun posting about losses and frustrating issues that go along with them. However, two straight baseball state championships and little to know BA posting there. I think the current generation of BA folks must have other hobbies. More space for you guys. A lot of talent. By far the fastest BA team that I have seen. To this point there is nothing to convince me that we can drive the ball on a consistent basis against a good team. We seem a little soft against the run. Right now it appears we live and die by the big plays.

Coach Elliot did return. He was also named head of the Math department. The newest coach at BA came over from Ensworth. He is a former Titan - Jason Matthews. He is coaching linemen. A lot of talk about his son. I haven't seen him, but I hear he is a very big Middle Schooler.

Well, I was not attempting to get so deep. I just saw a very creative offensive scheme.

If it is the same guy from 4-5 years ago, I am not surprised (or whomever called the offense for Fairview Middle School). They had Brentwood Academy on the ropes both years. We still kid the BA coach for not scheduling them anymore.

An excellent sign that your program is up and coming is when the crying and the bitterness starts. You gotta like this MTCS.

I would expect him to play. He missed the Ensworth game, I understand, due to a disrespectful tone in his voice as he replied to a reprimand from a teacher. I doubt that they would ground him for more than a game for that.

BigRedDad and I are going to get you over heated with excitement. Don't peak too early. Seriously, BigRedDad called it exactly as I saw it, as well. I wish I could argue. Bottom line: BA is going to need some turnovers.

That is really bad news for us. Although we have great receivers, our passing game has been very inconsistent.

Forget about comparing the score with BGA and MBA. In my opinion the variables are too great for that to matter. The reason I will have to pick against my beloved Eagles is the QB disparity. MUS has the type of QB that will be tough for BA to handle (I watched the video). I do not think we will stop MUS. It is just a matter of MUS stopping us. Which, mainly, involves stopping the run and forcing us out of our comfort zone.

I don't know...it very well could be too early to talk about this one.

Coach Eubanks did all he could. He ran the spread and the QB got rid of the ball efficiently. Attempts to rush the ball early in the game were very ineffective, so he did not bang his head into the wall and waste downs. BA started an extremely untested sophomore QB and throwing the ball was not a good option (#1 QB injured and #2 QB moved back to Seattle after failing to win #1 job). Coach Eubanks identified this right away and stacked the box with lots of stunts and run blitzes to slow down the BA running attack. BA's lack of turnovers and strong punting and kicking performance was a major factor, as well.

BA has a lot of great players, but is not that great of a team right now.

In my opinion one of the reasons for your encouragement, is a very, very good coach at Independence.

The running game is still strong. We have the back who filled in for Chris Jordan during his injury and rushed for 119 yards against MBA, which is a major accomplishment. We have the same problem as last year. Huge questions a QB and a lot of work to do in the passing game. If you can't create the need for us to pass (like MBA did twice last year), you could be in trouble.

If Indy plays well and BA plays like they have played the last two weeks, it is anyone's game. Right now we are not close to what I was expecting. Our QB situation is about the same as last year. I expect Indy to come out with the fire and intensity that Oakland and Hillsboro have shown and we have not. I am not panicking, but I am not as relaxed as I thought I would be.

There were several starters not participating. However, the main thing that we talked about was the Oakland intensity level being much stronger than ours and great Oakland execution and poor BA execution. We went through the motions and Oakland played like a hungry team that wanted to win. If BA wanted a chance to beat Oakland, even with the missing players, they would have to step it up several notches. I think Oakland is heading for a great year.

I felt pretty confident last year. I still feel that BA had the talent to beat MBA last year. However, the talent was close and the MBA team executed everything so well. Especially their line. The big hope, this year, would be that our talent on the line can overwhelm that great execution and more importantly, we can develop a passing game.