TryNotToSuck

You're fine, It does suck because there's hardly any 5/6A schools in West Tennessee other than the ones in Shelby County. I do keep up with what's going on 6A more because I have a family member playing in a 6A school across the state. I was disappointed in each of the bottom 3 teams for separate reasons. But the top 3 can make an argument to reach Chattanooga.

Two for sure. I would consider 8-6A and Region 7-6A as two that are probably tougher than 7-2A. The reason why I think 8-6A is tougher because all teams that are in the playoffs, have an 8-2 record (combined of 32-8). They also played tough opponents. Germantown played Christian Brothers and MUS, and won both games. Collierville's non region schedule wasn't the best. Bartlett played Hoover, and Houston played Briarcrest. Region 7-6A, had a situation where all four teams could finished 1st, and all four teams could finished 4th. It was a unique situation for those four teams. Now, if you're saying 2A then I can agree on that. But I can't say they're the toughest in the state because you have one team in the playoff that has allowed 56 points a game in game that they lose, which is Camden. Camden's defense is atrocious to witnessed. You also have a team that is currently on a 20+ game losing streak. Gibson County also allowed 50 points in games they lose as well.

Unfortunately, it's not.

That was the impression I had when y'all played Haywood. I think the QB went down for Crockett in that game, but when Haywood went up 14-0, it seemed like the "mojo" and vibe changed from Crockett County. It changed from being competitive against the Tomcats, to "let's get out of Brownsville as fast as we can." The play calling changed in that game as well (again, QB going down had an effect on that), but to me, the white flag was waived too early in that game.

If they weren't "super pumped" for this game, then there's a problem in Alamo. I expect Crockett County to come off firing, and they need to blow the first punch. For South Gibson, they're on a two game losing streak, but the opponents combine record of the two teams they have lost to, is a combine 16-1. Lausanne was the team with the one loss, and that came to Bartlett (Panthers have two losses, one to Hoover and the other was. a one point loss to Germantown). I do expect South Gibson to play with energy and finish the season strong at home. I know they don't want to enter the playoffs with a 3 game losing streak. The Hornets need to reset and just play SGC football. The only problem I have with Crockett, was that it was a roller coaster ride. I will say, someone mentioned the Cavaliers can get 6 wins this year, and they are correct. But they beat Dyer County and Ripley, and they didn't show up against Haywood when I saw them. They beat Bolivar, and then they dropped one to Obion Central. They beat Milan and go on a 3 game winning streak, and then they lose by 24 to Lexington. Crockett needs to get to 35, because I can't see them winning a game when scoring <21. Unfortunately, I don't see Crockett getting to 35, and I have South Gibson winning 35-21. I hope Crockett delivers the first punch, and I expect South Gibson to settle down and play their football.

So, this game isn't just for second place. It's for whoever doesn't want to go to Memphis potentially for two straight weeks (assuming they win round one). Winner will host the first round, and likely will travel to Martin for the second round game. When I look at Union City, the 19 points scored on USJ and the 20 points scored on Westview worries me a little. They've been able to score TD's on all the other opponents, which are pretty bad. Huntingdon has been able to score more on opponents that are better than what Union City has been able to do against their opponents. 41 and 42 on Peabody and Milan respectively, and 33 on Riverside. They been able to get into the 30's. The good news for Union City, they basically had 3 weeks to prepare for this game. So, it wouldn't shock me if they throw a wrinkle at Huntingdon to surprised them. I trust Huntingdon to score 30-35 more than I trust Union City to score 30-35, but the 3 weeks to prepare maybe if the difference if Union City has been able to maximize their scouting time. But Union City probably need to get into the 30's. I can't see them winning a 17-14 type game.

I got Alcoa winning 3A. I should go ahead and tell Covington to not worry about playing the rest of the way. Set in stone

Basically agreeing that Jackson is currently one school too big?

I'm not going to lie, I'm not smart enough to understand all of that. Haha

I apologize, it actually wasn't Mustang people that said that.

It was 41-6 in the second quarter.

Here's your problem, you're assuming. You do this a lot. Y'all (Huntingdon people) just assumed y'all just rolled down to Memphis and play "bully ball" and wear down MAHS last November. Questioning MAHS' physicality and all. Did it work? No. MAHS matched the physicality, and won the game. Y'all were shell shocked when driving back to Carroll County with a loss. You're assuming USJ is not a top 5 team because of scheduling. Why do people not believe in MASE this year? Scheduling. Simple as that. The eye test is different than what's on paper. There's this thing called YouTube, and all of USJ football games are on you YouTube, you may want to chem them out (Hint: I'm not a USJ poster either). USJ isn't hiding any plans or anything. They played Peabody in a preseason scrimmage (which a carry little to no weight on) and USJ did just fine. USJ has never beaten the Mustangs? That's a cool stat. I didn't know that. When was the last time USJ and Huntingdon played in football? In the late 90's/early 2000's? Does that have any effect on the present? No. You just assumed USJ will lose (or have trouble) to Westview and Riverside because USJ is a private school. It's okay to say that. It's okay to be wrong, again. We're all wrong at times, some people are more wrong than others.

What's interesting to your comment is that it is similar to what people are saying about MASE in the other thread. Personally, I do believe that USJ passes the eye test, just like MASE. Personally, I would love to see a USJ/McKenzie matchup. It'll be the best test for McKenzie because they haven't seen the athletes that USJ has. For USJ, I think McKenzie will be the best team they would've seen, with Cassidy and Taylor leading the way for the Rebels. I looked at Huntingdon's schedule, and see what USJ's record would be with the Mustangs schedule. I can see USJ going 8-2 (maybe 9-1) with Huntingdon's schedule. The loss would likely come to McKenzie. I don't think Union City can beat USJ if they were to play today. And I think USJ will give Milan fits because of offense creativity. The other thing I do like about USJ is the ability to be creative on offense. I can throw the ball with Pettigrew, but also have Kevin Finch that has the chance to break one for a score. In the red zone, they have a 6'5 (maybe 6'7) receiver in Davis Sain, who is a transferred from Summit. One on one opportunities is a nightmare for corners. I understand your logic, but I do believe they're as good as advertised.

Why do you think USJ is not a top 10 team?

I was honestly shocked Huntingdon won the game…

Stop trying to find something to gripe about. Coach Miller didn’t make the schedule, that’s out of his control. They passed the eye test, that’s a fact. Saying MASE’s schedule is easy is true, but it shouldn’t be a deciding factor to pick against them in the future.

Didn't realized that MASE did give up 12 points last week to Mantachie (MS). MASE won the game 30-12. Mantachie will play Kossuth tomorrow. Kossuth did beat Adamsville 42-21 earlier this year. Before the MASE game last week, Mantachie was averaging 41 points heading into the game, but only scored 12. Just throwing that out there.

I was trying to figure out why you went to this game. I should've told you this game wasn't going to be remotely close. Are you trying to get a read on MASE? They don't pass the "on paper" test but the eye test is different. Go home, be safe!

If JMCSS invested into North Side and Liberty when they were both winning in the early 2010's, would Tyler Turner, Steve Hookfin, and Tab Vowell leave? I doubt it. They were proven coaches that made deep playoff runs. JMCSS missed that opportunity window to invest into the athletes back then, which is an appreciation for their success. It's sort of a tricker down effect: 1) Raise taxes to build nice facilities like they did in Collierville/Middle Tennessee. Both in the school and in the athletic fields. 2) have a school system that is willing to invest in facilities and is willing to make sure all teams have the opportunity to be successful 3) Coaches see what's going on in from a facility standpoint. They feel appreciated for the success and feel wanted to be there. 4) The on-field product should be better because coaches have the facilities to improve their teams throughout a period of time. Does it work everywhere? No. But I think Milan spent $3 million for a brand new stadium. I do believe they have a new indoor facility opening up, too. It's not a matter of if, but when will Haywood County invest into new facilities? They're in talks of getting a brand new stadium, and potentially an athletic complex for baseball/softball. South Gibson built a brand new baseball (both middle and high school field), a new softball field, a new soccer field, and a new indoor facility for their minor sport athletes. Tipton County school put turf field and those new LED lights for all three of their high schools. Munford and Covington could both be playing in Chattanooga in December. Long story short: JCM played a school in football called Liberty Creek. They're a brand new school in Gallatin that, like JCM, is playing football this year to develop and get ready to start actual play in 2023. Both schools are not actually playing "varsity" football. Not eligible. Liberty Creek has a new double decker type football stadium, with an indoor practice field and top notch weight room inside of that. The investment is already there. And if they have a double decker type stadium and an indoor practice field, I can't imagine how nice the actual school is. Meanwhile, JCM's doesn't know where they're going to be playing high school football in 2023. One team, Liberty Creek, has a foundation in place for their teams to be successful. Unfortunately, JCM does not because they don't have a stadium. If Erit Turner struggles at JCM, it's because JMCSS didn't have a plan in place for him to be successful to begin with. It's 2022, it's not the 1980's anymore.

It's simple, because the city of Jackson under Mayor Gist didn't want to "grow the city" or he was very hesitant to do so. Just heard stories on what Jackson could've been, but Jackson always wanted to take the "cheaper way out" and that's what happened. JMCSS signed off on building a high school in the east side of town, which is Liberty. That, turned out to be a mistake. I believe Liberty had over 900 students one time. Now, they're in the 500's and they're the smallest 3A school in the state. There is one too many high schools in the city of Jackson. I do believe there's also one too many private schools in Jackson as well. JMCSS didn't build their athletic facilities to making it a "state of the art" facilities. Gave Liberty a track, but only 6 lanes and not 8. Therefore, it's not a regulated track to run on in the spring. Liberty's football field house is extremely small for a 3A school. It'll be fine if there was 30 kids on the team, but not 70-80 like they had 5 years ago. The hire of Orenthus Taylor was an awful hire. He tanked JCM before they closed, and now, he tanked Liberty. Coach Akin is paying the price for that. He can't do anything at Liberty, while seeing the enrollment dropped 300+ students. They just built Madison a new school, and the knock on it is that classrooms are too small. It's just another school, nothing stands out. The basketball talent in Jackson is not good, both on the private and public side. I think Casey Prather was the last player to make it to an SEC school. He graduated from North Side 10+ years ago. As good as South Side has been, they haven't been able to send three players to D-1 universities. I do believe those three were AJ Merriweather, Jalen Barford, and Chris McNeal (which he was on a tour when he was in college). McNeal graduated in 2015, and the other two graduated before him. When was the last time Liberty had a major player? Jauwan Long? So, they talent hasn't necessarily been there. You never hear anything from Liberty in basketball anymore. The main reason is because JMCSS hasn't shown any commitment to success when it comes to upgrading facilities. They won't put turf on the football fields, but they will let the middle school teams play on it in the fall. The football fields are being overused during the season (especially North Side because they have girls soccer as well). They haven't upgraded their facilities in the field house (weight room, lockers, etc). In addition, JCM is starting year 3 next fall, and they still don't have any plans for a football stadium. The area beside the Oman Arena is not big enough. Look, Rudesill and Shutes are not the ones getting screwed. The only getting screwed is Erit Turner. He doesn't have a field. Now, they're going to have to play "home games" at the other high schools throughout the city when they're on the road. Politics in the city are ruining the school system in a sports perspective. First, no one wants to raise taxes to build "better" schools. The schools that are being built today should be Collierville/Franklin ish type. Massive schools that look like a small college. That's "state of the art" that will attract people to Jackson (hint: Blue Oval City for an example). In 10-15 years, JMCSS is going to have to consider talking about building a new North Side, and a new South Side. They're going to have to do it at some point. But not raising taxes for build "state of the art" schools and athletic facilities, and not having a school system that is committed to athletic success is a result for why Jackson is not dominating. As much as it the blame should be on JMCSS (which is a lot because they haven't done jack squat to help the athletes), a lot of blame should be put on the city of Jackson as well. I'll give you an example, they built the new Madison right beside the University of Memphis Lambuth. The soccer teams are playing on the football field, the baseball team is playing on the baseball field, and the softball team will play on a field right beside the tennis courts located on the Lambuth campus. Neither of the three fields have field lights. If JMCSS wants to show an commitment and an appreciation, then they should be able to purchase lights for all three athletic teams. I don't know why Lambuth never played their games without lights. It'll cost a lot of money, but it's a necessity these days (to host district tournaments), but will the school system do it? Because Madison athletics simply cannot fundraise the money for that.

USJ, Covington, Hardin County, and Summitt. No more Memphis, unless it’s MASE or a team that’s 3A and up, willing to show commitment

Thank you for all of that, and I hope you copied and paste and not just typed all of that out. However, it's pretty simple to me. If Crockett County wins, then they're in. The unfortunate part for South Gibson is it appears they'll be on the road in the first round. I don't see both the Rebels and the Indians winning this week.

No such thing as playing “keep away” in football.

So, I want to go ahead and hit the refresh button since the majority of our teams were off this past week, and we have just 3 three weeks remaining in the regular season. 1) Haywood 7-0 (3-0) Opponents remaining: vs South Gibson, @ Covington, @ Obion Central 2) South Gibson 5-2 (2-1) Opponents remaining: @ Haywood, vs Lausanne, vs Crockett County 3) Obion Central 4-3 (2-1) Opponents remaining: vs Milan, @ Dresden, vs Haywood 4) Crockett County 5-2 (1-2) Opponents remaining: @ North Side, @ Lexington, @ South Gibson 5) Milan 4-3 (1-2) Opponents remaining: @ Obion Central, vs Hardin County, vs North Side 6) North Side 1-6 (0-3) Opponents remaining: vs Crockett County, @ South Side, @ Milan Haywood wins title if they win vs South Gibson. If they lose, then South Gibson will be in the driver seat with a win vs Crockett County. North Side is not eliminated yet, but they'll have to win out. For a team that has scored 39 total points (and 33 of them were in one game), they're all but eliminated. The team that'll be in on lookout watch is Crockett County. Crockett County/SGC will be a huge game. Assuming Crockett County defeats North Side, and Haywood defeats South Gibson, then Crockett/SGC will have implications for home field in a game (South Gibson), and a team that is trying to get into the playoffs (Crockett). Milan win at Obion Central will put them into a worst case scenario of a 3rd place tie for 3/4. Again, it'll be a little early to find out because we still have an interesting game this week in Troy, but the Obion Central win at Crockett County is starting to play a huge role into this region. Overall, I've been disappointed with West Tennessee overall in football, and North Side is struggling, which is expected. However, we're a Obion Central win away from seeing 5 of 6 teams finishing the year with .500 or better. Which is an improvement from last year.

Knowing Coach Miller's experience with what he went through last year. Trust me, he knows the competition will get tougher. It's not going to be a surprised to him, or any of those players. MASE is going to be fine!