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. 

7 hours ago, HTV said:

Yep.  Went down to Roane County to watch that one.  

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".

The MBA defense just did a pretty good job against the best rushing offense in the division, but they have been inconsistent, so it'll depend on which defense shows up. I think some key injuries have contributed to the inconsistency, but injuries are part of the game. I thought the MBA D did a good job in the first match-up for the most part, but there were 2 or 3 big plays that really won the game for BA. Should be a great game on Friday. I hope the Big Red comes out like they did last week.

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.

Well Caro is out for the season and pleasant is doubtful. But BGA struggles in the second half because of lack of depth. They just dont have numbers like any of the other private schools. 85% of the offense starts on defense. With that being said it is kinda hard chasing around people in this division and going both ways. The game should be a battle and may the best team win

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

The Eagles lost a tight one to Father Ryan last week and will now travel to Mississippi to take on the Conquistadors of Olive Branch. This is going to be a tough game for BA, as Olive Branch is one the top ranked schools in Mississippi, and have linemen with NFL type size. The Eagles will need to throw the football effectively to gain any ground against the mammoth Conquistador line, and on defense will need to take the MUS approach and submarine the offensive line to allow the linebackers a chance to stop OB's outstanding running back Keyshun Shipp. I will be rooting for the Eagles, but this game, to me at least, looks like it will turn out similar to the Prattville game played last year.

 

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.

I think it was a combination of "recruiting shots" as well as a 5 loses last year that caused most BA fans to stay off this forum.

Last year was a strange season for BA and the fans are still confused on what the future holds this season.

Lots of talent and alot of fight in the players and as the season progresses there will be more BA supporters on Coach T.

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.

Did Coach Elliot return to BA this year?

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.

Guys, with all due respect, comparing high school to middle school is like comparing apples to oranges.

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

around 35 resumes ( some local some out of state) i keep hearing the lead dog is the middle school coach /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

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.

Start recruiting coach.

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

Is Josh Tate going to play in the final?

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.

Excellent points, BigRedDad.

 

You're talking matchups. Matchups. Matchups. Matchups!

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

It's funny how, at the end of the day, something as simple and subtle as matchups... how this often heavily dictates the outcome of a football game.

 

It would appear that BA's team simply does not matchup as well vs this MUS team. Therefore, this game has all the makings of being somewhat one-sided. I'm not saying "blowout;" I'm just suggesting that MUS' team would appear to have an inherent & rather distinct advantage over BA's team.

 

.....that's why they play the game, though.

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.

MUS has excelled at stopping the run, all season long. They have been vulnerable to the pass, however.

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.

USA1 - are you a Brentwood guy(or gal I guess)? I was wondering if you or any other TN folks had any thoughts about Montgomery Bell's game in Cincy this weekend.

I am a Brentwood guy. MBA is our biggest rival. I can tell you that they are loaded with heart, discipline and execution. They were hit hard by graduation, but that will not effect the things that I previously mentioned. I don't know much about Moeller (other than they have 1000 boys), but I know MBA will play their hearts out. MBA has about 500 boys. We have about 220 boys and are coed.

wow - public school vs private school, recruit/no recruit, blah, blah. The debates will never be resolved, so why try here? I think someone a few pages back asked for predictions. Here's mine-

 

Prattville by 20+ if we have an offense, Prattville by 10ish if we don't. BA brings alot more to this game than most of us may realize, especially in the super-important QB spot, as well as some very good trench-warfare guys. However, I don't think the boys from Brentwood will be able to withstand the constant onslaught of power and speed the PrattVegas will deliver, down after down after down, on both sides of the ball. Homecoming in Prattville and our first home game on national TV - we're not going to lose.

Leading up to the season, I felt very confident of Brentwood Academy's chances of winning, based on my knowledge of our returning players. However, based on what I have seen in the preseason and our first game, I could not disagree with anything that you have posted. I am not sure what is going on with us. We have some great players and talent, but not a great team (at this point anyway). Right now, we are looking like a great Homecoming opponent.

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.

I have heard that BA hasn't looked great in their scrimmages, but I still see them as possibly one of the best in the state. Indy has looked a lot better than I thought they would in preseason, which is encouraging, but I still think this year will go a lot like last year. That won't reflect on Indy's season as a whole though. It helps the Eagles to get beat up a bit at the beginning of the year, as they proved last year.

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

I think one can only hope and think that there is not going to be a back this year like Chris Jordan last year or even Tyree Ford the two years before that.

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.