sportsnerd

ND better team tonight, no doubt. Lots of talent and seemed fresher in the end even with less depth. CPA 3 trips to red zone and no points. Too many mistakes and penalties and no back to get yards when needed like Patterson could get. Would have been a better game with Patterson playing, no doubt. But take nothing from ND, they are very good. Hard to believe ND will be beat in the finals. They will have to beat themselves. Good luck to the Irish - you deserved the big win with a great effort tonight and a lot of talent. Lastly, congrats to CPA for a great season and Coach Martin, who has made at least the semis every year at CPA. I'll bet you right now that these two teams will meet in this same game again next year with different results. CPA will be loaded in 2018.

Patterson probably out. Henderson should play.

Looks like Patterson will be out. Strained ACL. Real shame and will make a difference. He is a difference maker on both sides of the ball.

Look at CPA's schedule this year. Hillsboro (lost by 2), Pearl Cohn (now 6-2), Ensworth (6-2 and just beat MBA), BGA (now 7-1), Independence (blew out Hillsboro). Scoring differential means nothing without looking at strength of schedule. CPA's last 2 region games will be running clocks.

Don't act so hurt, or be so thin-skinned. If you are going to make predictions, expect to be congratulated when you are right and criticized when you are wrong. That is the nature of the beast. If you had been right, you would have been glad to get the praise of those who recognized your wisdom, so take the criticism, otherwise; don't predict. I don't mind anyone posting anything on the boards, that is your prerogative, as is mine. It is not an attack to be called out for a bad prediction. Keep posting.

Nice analysis, but history and analysis don't win games. Never count a Martin coached and motivated team out.

I really appreciate the Livestream and its quality. BUT, the announcer is pretty bad. He misstates the yard lines and yards gained constantly, never gives the time left in the quarter, and didn't even know MBA was playing PC tonight. I knew you could not return a kick out of the end zone, but it took him the whole half to figure (or find) it out on the long FG return. Ensworth looks to be the better team, but TO's are keeping the game close. Clifton is a load and should be the difference in the end.

Biggest line in CPA history was the first state championship team in 2000. Steven Ross, Johnny Shields, Cooper Wallace, James Corder were all huge.

Very good game by Maplewood, especially when they lost the big lead and seemed rattled, but then settled down, made a couple of big 3's and drained almost all of their free throws in the 4th quarter when the game got close. CPA couldn't buy a basket in the 1st half, but credit Maplewood for good D, especially Bo who defended Washburn very well. CPA looked like they were going to win at the end, but Maplewood made 2 very good defensive steals late and hit their free throws to seal the deal. I really thought the 3 by CPA at the buzzer was going in and there would be OT, but with 2 CPA starters fouled out, MW would have won in OT, IMO. Good luck, Panthers.

Here is a statement I always hated: "The better team lost". That is not true, or they would not play and keep score. The team that wins IS the better team, and they proved it by winning. Team strength is not determined by what is on paper, but what happens on the field. So, LT was, and is, the better team. Congrats to them for a great season, and good luck (you will need that and more) against Alcoa. ​Watched the game on live stream and, in general, felt CPA was a little better on defense, and LT was much better on offense, primarily due to the QB and better athletes. CPA can typically win games against more talented teams by making fewer mistakes and winning special teams. ​Last night's game had so many momentum shifts due to penalties, TO's and special teams miscues, it is hard to say "what if" on either side. LT's special teams are pretty weak, and CPA made 3-4 mistakes on special teams they normally do not make. Both teams killed themselves and helped each other with penalties and LT's fumble after halftime got CPA back into the game with a chance to win. CPA TD nullified by a penalty was critical as it put them up 7 instead of 11 in the 4th quarter. So when LT tied the game and CPA got the ball back, they had to gamble to score rather than play field position. However, both teams made a lot of mistakes and in the end, the better team won. Really proud of Coach Martin and his staff in keeping this team's head on straight after starting 1-5 and getting blown out a few times by good teams. Making the semis 6 years in a row and the finals 3 times is a great accomplishment for the CPA program. Congrats, LT - you have a fine team. Enjoy the ride.

Congrats to LT and Alcoa for making the championship game. That was my pick before the playoffs started and I predicted a finals score of 35-7 Alcoa. I watched LT against CPA last night on live stream, and even though LT has some good athletes that CPA had trouble with at times, I don't believe they will be able to score more than once against the Alcoa D, unless Alcoa makes a mistake on their side of the field, and gives LT a short field. ​I don't think Alcoa will have to throw much, and they will also exploit LT's special teams just like CPA did. Wish we could have ended our stay in 3A with another title game against the Tornadoes, but LT deserves their shot. They are a fine team but Alcoa will be too much.

Booger and OldIndian were the only ones to pick East Ridge and they are also perfect picking so far. Just sayin', Boog. Good job.

Always trust your instincts. I had both Stratford and East Ridge picked, then starting reading posts about Stratford's injuries and I overanalyzed DC's schedule/results, then edited my picks for those two games. Sure enough, those were my two losses. Looks like Stratford busted a lot of brackets.

Elizabethton CAK Scott Alcoa ---------- Red Bank DeKalb Co. Notre Dame Sequatchie County ---------- Fairview Goodpasture CPA Cheatham Co ---------- Liberty Milan Dyersburg Raleigh Egypt ____________________ Elizabethton Alcoa ---------- Red Bank Sequatchie County ---------- Fairview CPA ---------- Liberty Dyersburg __________________ Alcoa Red Bank Fairview Liberty _________________ Alcoa Liberty Alcoa wins the Class 3A State Championship 35-7

I agree, they got waxed and looked really bad, but still better than blowing out a team that has no resemblance to the playoff teams they may face. "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger".

With the privates gone, just go ahead and permanently engrave the 3A trophy with Alcoa's name on it. Will be interesting to see how the "public school whiners" advance now that the playing field is "level". For most, they will still be just as mediocre as before and still whining about something, like "open zoning".

IMHO, any team in 3A statewide, except Alcoa, would have 3, and probably 5 losses if they had played the same schedule as CPA this year. The early tough competition has gotten them ready for the playoff push.

Any more expert thoughts on the finals?

Oak Hill won in OT. Key had 20 in finals and won All-Tourney MVP.

My bad, you are right. Good luck to MC. Love to see District 12 do well.

Congrats to all teams that made it - they are deservant and big win for Whites Creek at CPA. Interesting to note CPA was 5-1 against state tourney teams, beating CAK, Westview, and Marshall County 3 times - all wins by double digits. Based on that, I am admittably biased, but CPA is the best team not in the final 8 field.

Does anyone remember this score? Dec.3. CPA 74, Westview 59 at Westview.

Here's a good question: Will any of the 3rd or 4th seeds in a region tourney make the state? I would think not but have not analyzed every region.

Creek Wood will breeze to finals. CPA may have a tough time with Stewart County. Good chance Region 6 semifinalists both make it to state. Not sure Region 5 top teams are as good as Region 6 top teams.

This post, unless I am misreading it, is very disturbing to me on many levels. 1. to say "private school kids aren't the same as those that play at public schools..." demands an explanation. Why aren't they the same? Are they some genetically engineered "super human" cranked out from a laboratory? They are 14-18 year old human beings. 2. If they are different, then so are the kids in the public school teams that are better than MC, GC, and Cascade. Are the Creekwood, White Co. and other public schools' kids "not the same" either? 3. who is criticizing them? You are the first person who has mentioned criticism. Most people have congratulated them and left it at that. There IS something unique about this group, but it has nothing to do with being private. They knew they did not have the talent of previous years and a dominating player, so they were "coached up", worked tirelessly, and bought into a system that demands that each player be able to do a lot of things, play hard all the time, and shoot well. They could have whined about losing 2 HS All-American level players, but they had pride in themselves, love for their school and each other, worked their butts off, and responded to a coach that knows what he is doing and that cares about them beyond just basketball. Seems like a pretty good formula for success to me, for any kid, public or private.