MSURacer

22-play drive. Gotta be a school record.

Good game Big Red! Much tougher test next week, but it's easy to see the potential we've been hinting at during preseason. And nice call @TryNotToSuck. Score prediction was nearly spot on.

Significant step back from last season? That was never a big stretch. We lost one of the best QBs in program history along with an excellent senior class. However, there are still enough ingredients for a solid team. Just gotta see if they all come together.

That's about how I feel. I think this team will have its growing pains, but it could end up a formidable unit by season's end. I know absolutely nothing about Brighton. Game is a total ? at this point.

Same. The whole story is just bizarre.

I expect Hendersonville to be tough. I think last year was an anomaly for them. They were in the 6A semifinals just 2 years ago, and even when they're not particularly strong they're usually still at least competitive. They can beat any team in this region on a given night.

7-6A and 7-5A could switch classifications for the playoffs and it might honestly create some better matchups in the first few rounds. As it stands, I think Clarksville High, Northeast, and Rossview will all do pretty well in this region consistently. Dickson County may even emerge from the ashes. Good luck to all our former region brethren. In the words of that Hunger Games reference people used to throw around back in the District 10-AAA days, "May the odds be ever in your favor."

We’ve been pretty up and down in scrimmages so far, but it’s been against stout competition. It might take some time for this Henry Co team to get its feet under it, but if I had to guess I’d say it’ll be another pretty dang solid one by October-November.

I will always have a soft spot for our 2006 team. That senior class went 1-9 as freshmen and 2-8 as sophomores before making it all the way to the semifinals as seniors. We got demolished by Hillsboro once we got there, but they really got the ball rolling for Henry County’s program after some very dormant years. The 2nd round 35-28 win at Melrose stood out the most to me. Orange Mound was a very tough place to win in those days.

Beech is the best program in this region and should probably be favored to win it most years. Henry County, Springfield, and Hendersonville are all good enough to take the crown in a given year with the right team. Portland could always put together a scrappy team that makes the playoffs if one of the others has a down year. Hunters Lane is likely a basement dweller unless they score some generational talent.

No denying it's a very good hire for Bartlett. 6A will be challenging, but Bartlett could be the next up and coming program.

@reddyrebel6 what’s going on down there?

Not a bad list, although he did say public only. If I had to swap out the 5 privates on this list for 5 publics, I'd probably go with Ravenwood, West, Powell, Beech, and Elizabethton. Pearl Cohn, Haywood, and my Henry County Patriots would all be solid honorable mentions. Also hard to leave out some of the year-over-year dominant programs from the lower classes. But...limited slots I know.

I agree that Beech is probably the best and biggest rivalry we have going currently. Historically, Henry County vs. Dickson County was one of the better ones around the rural midstate, though it has largely died down in recent years as DC’s program has struggled.

I used to be against this idea, but I have come to largely agree with you, mainly due to region alignment issues. It is simply a nightmare to configure 8 fairly sized and fairly grouped regions across six different classifications. As much as I hated the z-plan, it was honestly better for that purpose, as it only required 3 classifications for the regular season. But I think when considering both regular and postseason, the 5-class system from 1993-2008 was best/most optimal, and would probably still work pretty well even with the state's growth.

Semis you mean? Honestly I don't think so. Feels more like a step back year than a step forward year. We lost a lot off of last year's team, and we are stepping into a tougher region. Even making it back to the quarters or semis would be a pretty successful season IMO. More likely I am expecting a 5 or 6 win regular season and a 1st or 2nd round playoff exit.

Agreed. Murfreesboro was the best location we have used IMO, but I am not opposed to the Titans new stadium when it opens up. Crowd size bedamned, I think high school kids would love the chance to play the biggest game of their lives on that field.

Great city, great environment. Horrible location.

Oh no doubt. I would not at all be shocked with 5-5 next year. It's a young team. If leadership fails to establish itself it could be even worse. But I think Coach Counce is good enough to keep it afloat.

I mean, no s**t. The early 2000s kinda proves this. It was literally my point. Didn't you just say HC has a ton of "advantages" a couple posts up?

Now why you gotta do me like that? I honestly don’t have a problem with Wilco, I just felt like grilling MidStateFan. He’s like the only Williamson County homer on this site and I wanted to clap back at his dig at HC. It’s nothing personal, I actually live in Williamson County. As for Clarksville, I do talk a lot of smack, but it’s mainly due to all the lost potential over there. But competitively? I love those guys. Probably the single biggest enhancement factor of HC’s all-time record.

We all understand how population works. That isn’t the issue. The issue is that you are pretending that population, money, and location does not play a role in the Wilco schools’ record against Henry County, when anyone with eyes and a fraction of sense realizes it does. And yes, the Wilco publics have been largely underwhelming given their location, money, and population. They do offer up some parity, but not much else.

A population of 250,000 people, money, and access to one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country is what I'm talking about. But yes, a football period and some indoor weights make all the difference I am sure. Some of the issues you mention actually do explain the lack of dominance from that area though.

I did, but I don't really care. I would definitely agree that Wilco has had Henry's number (as they should, given their resources and generally larger schools). But at the end of the day, it's not something I give much thought. Personally, I find Wilco to be a pretty underachieving school district athletically. Never understood why the Franklin, Brentwood, Centennial, and Page types haven't been more consistent contenders. Ravenwood, Indy, and Summit have had some high flyers through the years, but there's never been a truly dominant program from that area.

Congrats to all the seniors who signed football scholarships. 8 in total. 5 to Bethel, 1 to Lindsey Wilson, and then of course Damron to UT and Brown to Arkansas. Most I can remember from one class since the 2011 group. Awesome job and best of luck!