MSURacer

Not necessarily. We are 5a, and our coaches are fine with the current system.

When will Stewarts Creek open?

That whole stretch from 1991-1996 was a pretty dang good one.

nevermind

Northeast, followed by everyone else. With 2 preseason all state picks in Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Warwick Marsh leading the way, the Eagles are primed for a good season. I think they could have an 8-2 or even a 9-1 type of year with what they have returning. If they were in 4A where they belong, I believe they would be perfectly capable of making a deep playoff run this year. Aside from them, Clarksville High is always one of the better schools from Montgomery County. Kenwood, Rossview, and West Creek always have some athletes, but their depth, or lack thereof, along with some other factors will prevent them from making any noise in a district with Henry County, Dickson County, Northeast, and CHS. As stated above, Northwest will struggle to win a game. I know nothing about Clarksville Academy or Montgomery Central because they're in a lower class.

For the 2012 season we will still be 5A. Beyond that is where it gets fuzzy. We won't know until enrollment numbers come out in September. It's all about where the cut off number between 5A and 6A will be, and we won't know for sure until we know the enrollments of everyone. When the current system was put in place in 2009, Henry Co. was one of the largest schools in 5A (literally right below the cutoff number). Our enrollment has likely dwindled somewhat since then, but there's still a possibility of us ending up in 6A beginning in 2013. That's also when they will decide the district setups for 2013-2016, which raises another interesting topic. I'm wondering how this will affect our district. From what I've heard, Northeast and (I believe) West Creek both have 4A enrollments and could move down, but I'm not sure if they will want to do that or remain in their current spot with the other Clarksville schools due to the traveling advantage it offers them. I believe that's the only reason they're playing in AAA to begin with. If our district does stay intact for the most part, I wouldn't mind having 1 or 2 less teams. Our district is too big. However, I'm not expecting it. I believe the school system in Clarksville will likely want them to play up.

I think there is probably a "jitters" factor for most teams when they go up against Maryville. I played high school fb, and I remember going up against those daunting tests. The nerves definitely go haywire for those games. Mind you, we never played against a Maryville type of program, but we played against some very good ones, like MBA for example. However, I usually settled down after my first few plays on the field, and most of my teammates were the same way. Maryville rarely makes mistakes, so when an opponent does, it gets magnified even more in terms of the outcome. So perception could have something to do with it.

Well I'm glad the current system is being kept in place. However, I think we can all look forward to having the same exact discussion 4 years from now. Hopefully we remain in 5A beyond 2012.

If the TSSAA was going to move back to 5 classes, I hear that there was a very high possibility of OR moving to 4A. If that's the case, then there's an even higher possibility of them going down to 5A under the current system. In fact, if OR doesn't decide to play up, it's almost a lock.

How so?

Some really nice names from District 10. Congrats to all of them. Hilliard deserved it last year. That was an outright snub if I've ever seen one. Another name from Henry County to look out for is Dennis Tharpe Jr. I think he's a good sleeper pick to make the all state team. Brandon Farmer from Springfield is another.

Nothing really remarkable about it. We posted a 10-2 record the year before, and returned 18 starters including the QB, RB, FB, go-to WR, the entire OL, the entire DL, and 3 out of 4 secondary players. We simply out-talented and out-experienced nearly every team we played. The only real test we faced all of last year didn't come until the championship game, and we won that one with heart and guts. That's not a knock on our coaching staff, as I believe them to be one of the very best around. James Counce III is an excellent S&C coach, but that's only one reason why we were able to win it all. Can't win without talent, and experience within that talent most of the time. Just calling it as I see it.

Why would playing against schools of comparable size possibly be considered "chickening out"? Sounds like a smart move to me.

Meeting re-postponed http://www.oakridger.com/sports/x1762347159/TSSAA-meeting-moved-back

Probably because their basketball team has almost as many players as their football team.

No it's not a foregone conclusion, which is why we have to wait until July 12 (possibly even longer if they want to continue lagging) to know for sure. I agree with what you said about the advantages and disadvantages as it pertains to Henry County. I also prefer the current system, but not just for "homeristic" purposes. I just think it's flat out better than the old system.

For my realistic take on the subject; At first I would've agreed with you, but I think their decision could go either way. They like their money, and that much I know. However, they're gonna be raking in the cash for football regardless of whether there are 5 or 6 classes. With the TSSAA having already taken the "rights" to half the playoff gate, I'm not sure having one less playoff class is all that significant in the grand scheme of things. Football season is money season regardless. As for my own personal take on it, when the news first broke, I had no problem with the idea of returning to 5 classes. After looking at it from a wider perspective, and also talking to several current and former coaches, I think the current system should stay in place. It is more advantageous for more schools than otherwise. It seems that the biggest complaints are over playoff seeding, and the disadvantages for schools in 1A, 3A, and 5A having to play against larger teams within their districts. What I fail to understand is why people don't complain NEARLY as much about basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. I mean, we're using the same exact districts for football that we use for those sports. And those 3 class districts have been used for YEARS. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that it's enough of an issue to warrant a complete overhaul. As for the playoff seeding, I'll admit that it's more complicated, and I'll also admit that I find the current system to be far and away better than the top 4 vs. top 4 system.

With it looking like a strong possibility that the TSSAA will reclassify, what is everyone's opinion? Does it help, hurt, or have minimal effect on the program? If they vote the old system back in, we're likely to remain in 5A, considering we're one of the larger 5A schools in the current system. This would probably place us in a region with Dickson County, Clarksville, Hendersonville, Mount Juliet, Wilson Central, and Station Camp (although that is just a proposal, and it could look much different by the time the enrollment numbers come out).

I hope so, but I'm not as optimistic. And as much as it would increase the level of difficulty for football, I can't say I disagree with you about the 4 class proposal. The other sports need another classification badly in my opinion. I actually think it's a very good idea, but it will never happen.

For some places, there simply is no answer. We (Henry County) have been on an island for years in terms of region/district games, and just finding schools who are similar in size to us. That's one of the reasons I don't understand why so many schools complain about it. Until you follow a program who's closest region/district opponent is 60+ miles away, it's hard for me to feel sorry for you. Even with all the traveling, you can be sure that whoever we play will get one of the largest visiting gates of their season when we come to town. Not to mention we do so in a district with a bunch of schools that don't return that same favor. It's a nag, but we deal with it, and deal with it well. I've always believed travel to be a highly overrated concern.

What I don't understand is why the TSSAA fails to use any imagination whatsoever. If it's really as bad as people say it is (which I don't even believe it is), all they would need to do is tweak a few things in the current system and it would be just fine.

I think Alabama does as well, although it's set up much differently. From what I understand, a ton of states use 6 classifications. A few of them use even more than that. Illinois has 8. New York has more than 10. I know population has a lot to do with it, but even still, while I agree it's more watered down than it used to be, 6 classes is not the outrageous number that a lot of people here make it out to be.

You and I agree completely.

While I agree that our region is a good basketball area, it has nothing on Memphis. From "top to bottom", Regions 7 and 8 produce the best teams very, very consistently. That's just the way it is. Memphis hemorrhages basketball talent. Always has. There have been several lowly ranked teams in those districts who could have wiped the floor with the competition had they played in literally any other area of the state. I don't see it changing any time soon, either.

I would definitely classify Paris/Henry County as a "football town", but not "all" of the athletes are strictly gridiron boys. There are several who prefer the round ball, and several more who love, and play both sports. It's just a matter of getting a good level of excitement there for basketball, which Coach Greer has apparently been doing (successfully). Henry County has put some very good, talented, and well coached basketball teams on the court in the past. We've had a couple of down years, but this district is hardly impossible for Henry County to win, let alone compete in. We're only 2 years removed from back-to-back 2nd place finishes, and only 3 years removed from a 22-7 (13-3) season in 08-09. HC can and will compete if the athletes come out and the support is there. I myself was a fan of Coach Wilkins, and I believe he is a very good basketball coach, as is his son (who I believe will be very successful in McKenzie by the way); But I think it is safe to say that there is a replenished excitement for the program right now. We had over 60 students try out for the basketball team this spring; Coach Greer said that was the highest number he's ever encountered for a tryout. I have much respect for Coach Wilkins, and I thank him for all of his accomplishments and what he's done for the community and these players for the past 6 years, but I am more than happy to be moving forward with Coach Greer; And I believe he will represent the community with class, as will his teams. I also believe he can take this program to new heights. The future looks bright!