MSURacer

Is Covington strong in the trenches?

All of his picks are explained in these articles. http://www.murphyfai...Contenders.html http://www.murphyfai...Contenders.html http://www.murphyfai...Contenders.html http://www.murphyfai...Contenders.html http://www.murphyfai...Contenders.html http://www.murphyfai...Contenders.html

For those curious as to who he picked as contenders: Class 1a- Gordonsville, Greenback, Huntingdon, South Pittsburgh, Union City Class 2a- Adamsville, Boyd Buchanan, Humboldt, Knox Grace, Mt. Pleasant Class 3a- Alcoa, CAK, Fairview, Goodpasture, Milan Class 4a- Covington, Giles County, Greeneville, Lexington, Signal Mountain Class 5a- Beech, Centennial, Henry County, Knox West, Shelbyville Class 6a- Brentwood, Maryville, Riverdale, Siegel, Whitehaven

With the pads coming on in just a little over a week, does anyone know of any scrimmages we have this fall before the jamboree?

In response to the bold, I wouldn't include Hillsboro in that sentence. They were easily one of the best programs in the state from 2000-2008, making 5 state title game appearances and winning 2 gold balls in that span, and probably would've won more had they played in literally ANY other classification at that time, because of the Maryville road block in 4A. Even still, they are one of the very few programs who can say they've beaten a George Quarles' Maryville team.

In the current setup, I think a point system of some sort should be used to determine playoff seeding. Let the regular season play out like normal, crown a district champion, put them in the playoffs, determine a 2nd place finisher, put them in the playoffs, and then determine all your wildcards in each class based on the current criteria. That way it doesn't diminish the value of finishing 1st or 2nd in your district because you would still be locked into the playoffs. After that, use the point system to seed them. The point system should reward schools who play difficult schedules, and equally come back to bite schools who schedule cupcakes. I don't have a problem with the 1's and 2's from each district making the post season, but it should have no bearing on their playoff seeding. It would complicate things even more, but it would make things much fairer as long as we have these combined districts.

Congrats Prez!

Okay? Not sure what that has to do with anything I said. You assumed that none of the 1a-3a-5a coaches like the current system. That isn't the case. Furthermore, if the state voted back in the old system, a large number of those 5a schools would be competing with those same 6a schools not only in the regular season, but in the playoffs as well. It cuts both ways. Same thing with the schools who are currently a large 3a or large 1a. I realize the current system is not advantageous for everyone, but my guess is there are probably a good number of 1a, 3a, and 5a coaches who prefer the current system. It's all about the situation. There is no way to make everyone happy.

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.