pking34

What kind of game did young Bohannon have? I watched him in a scrimmage and "he ain't no joke".

Not only a win, but a shutout against the defending State Champs. Congratulations to Siegel.

Final: Father Ryan 38- Hillwood 7 Probably about what was expected; no surprises here.

Not going to pick a margin, but MBA wins it.

Absolutely true. The out-of-town corporate ownership has hurt HS coverage (and the problem is they own all the newspapers in Nashville's satellite counties too).

Brunetti seems to be providing a model for "how to get it done" in Metro. The challenge in a Metro program is in getting the kids who CAN play football TO play football. Brunetti's track record for finding his former players college scholarships to continue play is helping him recruit the potential players in his zone. D1A coaches can usually identify the players they need, but there are lots of smaller colleges and JCs that offer scholarship aid who make their player decisions by their associations and contact with HS coaches. Brunetti has built a lot of contacts in those areas that has helped him--- and his players.

Sonny Gray's going to be hard to replace.

I went to the Stratford-Hillwood scrimmage, and based on what I saw, I forecast a long year for Hillwood. Phillips is going to be a good HC there, but he doesn't have the horses right now.

I know one thing Coach Jason Smith (the current Stratford HC) has done since he's been in charge is insist that players in the program be at least passing in the classroom.

I just left the Stratford- Hillwood scrimmage over at Hillwood and Stratford actually was dominating Hillwood (4 offensive possessions for Stratford, 4 TDs, all on lengthy pass plays; Hillwood hasn't sniffed a scoring opportunity). Both these programs are depth-challenged (Stratford suited up 22 players, Hillwood 27), but Stratford has edge speed and elusiveness that Hillwood doesn't have an answer for (especially D'Angelo Bohannon, who turned a couple of short/intermediate receptions into long touchdowns). And Stratford's QB (#12) is a good passer who can get the ball to his playmakers. Objectively, it's probably going to be a long year for both of these teams, but Stratford's skill guys will keep them in some games where they are otherwise overmatched. While it's easier to get support for neighborhood schools, the neighborhood school in Metro has been dead for 35 years, not just 15-20, so while that's a partial explanation for the problems in Metro football programs, it's not the WHOLE explanation. All over Metro, there are tons of kids who have the athletic ability to be good football players who aren't playing.

From THE TENNESSEAN: Coming back: One year away was enough for former Brentwood Academy Coach Carlton Flatt, the winningest coach in state history with 354 victories. He was back on the field Monday as an Eagleville assistant. "I'd just say it's quite an adjustment for me," Flatt said. "I'll always love Brentwood Academy, but based on the pressures and all that stuff, this is a good thing for me. Not to be pushing so hard or spending 12 to 15 hours a day on football … I'm enjoying a different role and basically just getting to work with kids." Reach Jeff Lockridge at (615) 259-8023 or jlockridge@tennessean.com

Sounds like some of the "bigs" need to get their work ethic back up. There was one "big" in last year's Stratford program that was a real hard-working player (got his bench up to over 400, which is astounding for a HS player), and is now playing at Miles College (I believe he was last year's Stratford center). I'm going to come and check the scrimmage out (Hillwood's just a few blocks from my house).

Greg "Mookie" Owens is now playing for the Nashville Storm, and doing pretty well for an 18-year old competing against grown men. He's seen some action in our RB rotation, and is averaging 7.6 yards per carry thus far. I'm pretty surprised the smaller colleges in the area whiffed on him, but he's playing pretty well for us.

I would think that the 2 Metro programs with the best shot at a state title right now would be either Maplewood or Hillsboro (whichever turns out to be better).

BA, I believe, also beat Smyrna ('06 and '07 5A Champ) in the '07 regular season.

Excellent work, Scott, as your videos always are. And Bryson---- hard to believe that's a HS freshman we're watching here.

Tennessee has roughly 300 High Schools with football programs, and giving good coverage to that many programs is a staggering task. With that large of a "field", one can't possibly personally attend everyone's games, so it is inevitable that Murphy's accuracy will be exactly as good as the information he gets from each school. I think Murphy has performed a needed service for many years, and done it as well as I can imagine anyone doing it. And I see nothing wrong with his performance of this service being profitable (we do all have to eat, and that costs money).

Hanover's a good program; Corry Stewart (Father Ryan), the younger brother of Nashville Storm CB Cromwell Stewart (UT-Martin) plays there. We have some college-eligible players every year; if you'll send all your contact info to me at pking34@comcast.net, I'll make sure you get info on each of them, including game film.

LOL. I think the school to which you slyly refer is a school that doesn't take a back seat to anyone as far as academic rigor. Decent football too. I remember when Ryan was this school's main rival (Brentwood Academy didn't exist yet).

That game will be the High School equivalent of when Nick Saban's Alabama squad plays LSU under Miles; both coaches have won State Titles at MBA.

You're right; I sure don't see any guys from the Nashville metropolitan area on this roster, and that's about 20% of the High Schools in Tennessee last time I checked.

Bulls' Noah arrested for possession of marijuana sports-general-20080525-Bulls-Noah.Arrested ORLANDO, FL - APRIL 9: Joakim Noah #13 of the Chicago Bulls reacts during th... 2 hours ago GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) ??” Authorities in Gainesville have charged Chicago Bulls forward and former Florida star Joakim Noah with possession of marijuana and having an open container of alcohol. Gainesville police spokesman Sgt. Rick Roberts says Noah was arrested around 1:50 a.m. Sunday after an officer spotted him on a sidewalk holding a plastic cup containing an amber drink, a violation of city law. During a search at the station, officers found marijuana in his pocket. Noah was released after signing a notice to appear before a judge - standard procedure for such offenses. He could face up to 6 months in jail and a $500 fine for the marijuana charge. Noah led the Gators to consecutive national championships before being selected ninth overall in last June's draft by the Bulls. He averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 74 games as a rookie. Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said general manager John Paxson ``did express to Joakim his disappointment in his actions this weekend'' and added: ``Until we gather further information on this situation, we won't be making any further comment.''

Sounds like Hillsboro's been a very good program for the entire last decade, but their real dominance was 2000-2003. A Hillsboro All-State RB from that era (Marcellus Tibbs) joined the Nashville Storm recently, and he is looking like he is going to be a very good player.

I went and watched that doubleheader last year and it was a superb event; it drew a very good crowd that got into the action, which is something that has been missing in Metro in recent years, at least in the public high schools.

Isn't Clarksville Northeast in MONTGOMERY County??????????