Eagle901

Congratulations to CPA on bringing home the Gold Ball. Great season and a great program. After playing you guys twice last year I was disappointed when our season opener against you got cancelled, as we assumed you'd be the favorites to win it all this year. Was hoping we'd have a chance to meet in the playoffs, but alas it wasn't in the cards. Also congratulations to Lipscomb on a great season. One heck of a run and one heck of a program being built.

Glad you had a positive experience at our school. Wish we could have made it a better game, but playing without our starting RB (and biggest offensive weapon) certainly didn’t help. Not that it would have changed the outcome, though. LA is a very talented football team and played virtually mistake free all night. It was a great season for the Eagles but we just ran in to a better team on Friday. LA vs CPA will be an excellent game for the Gold Ball. Best of luck to both teams.

None of the D2-AA teams in the Memphis area would be likely candidates to move up, unless it's a pretty dramatic drop in the cutoff. All of them are likely sitting in the 300-325ish enrollment range or less.

CPA will be a major factor next year. Lots of youth on that team. BGA will look different next year in year 2 under Jonas Rodriguez. A lot of young OL and DL played this year, but has to replace his QB and playmakers. Look for them to develop a much more physical style of play. Lausanne and ECS will still be a factor out of the West. Lausanne QB and RB both sophomores and will only improve. ECS returns a lot of OL and DL that played a lot this year, so will continue to be a very physical team to deal with. Losing Mr Football winner, but have another year of Mr Football runner up. I really dont know a lot about the East side of the state, so can't comment at all on that.

To all the CPA fans on here and all over, congratulations on a great season. That game was truly a battle of two tough, battle tested, well coached football teams. We knew when we played CPA in week one that the team that would be in the playoffs would be vastly improved from week 1, and boy were they. Very physical, great fundamentals, and well coached for sure. It wasn't the prettiest of games with all the turnovers, but nonetheless it was a true battle between two very good football teams. Very physical, hard hitting game. Both teams looking to get in a phone booth and win it the old fashioned way. I also have to say that both times we played CPA this year, every encounter I had with CPA fans, parents and coaches was very positive. Very complimentary towards us after the game. It is always nice when after the game the parents can appreciate each other and show great sportsmanship. CPA truly has a great football program and we have great respect for their school as a whole. As for next year, CPA will certainly be in the mix for the gold ball again, likely the favorite. Best of luck to them, and I believe we will open our seasons next year against each other again! I appreciate all of the congratulations from all the fans on here. Our football program took a pretty serious dip a few years ago. We've been blessed in the last 3 years to put together a coaching staff that re-established a culture of hard work, accountability and service that culminated this year in a championship. This senior class had 3 head coaches over 4 years, and, as every team does, this year's team had some challenges and potential pitfalls that most fans never see. But to their credit, our seniors and the rest of the team never let those things alter their mindset. As a parent they have been a joy to watch all year. Once again, congrats to all, and now looking forward to a little rest to start building excitement for next season!

It was, as you say, a combination of both. CPA was breaking in many new starters after graduating a very large senior class. Eagles also graduated a lot of talent and depth (15 or so seniors graduated from last year's team), but have been able to fill in with some capable rising players. CPA had a few turnovers to none for the Eagles. Eagles were able to establish the run and defensively played very stout against CPAs running game. One game won't define the season for either team, so will be interesting to see how each team progresses. CPA has an excellent program and coaching staff, so I expect they will learn and adjust from this.

Will be interesting to see how BGA looks style-wise with Coach Rodriguez at the helm. He favors a run-heavy, very physical style on offense (or at least he did in his time at ECS). I don't know anything about their new DC, but I'm guessing he will be like minded with Coach Rodriguez as far as fast and physical on defense. I think BGA will be a very dangerous team all the way through the playoffs.

West is probably as open as it's been in quite a while. Lausanne lost a LOT of starters, but will reload. Hear they have a young RB on their roster that they think is as good as the last one, but they have a lot of holes to fill. ECS lost a lot of depth to graduation, but still have a pretty good roster. Big test to open the season against what will likely still be a very good CPA team. St G always has something to say about the outcome in the west. Their #1 WR is a stud, but replacing their QB is a big question mark for them. They always seem to find a way. A few really good athletes on Harding's roster too could create some havoc in the standings. Their QB is a stellar athlete. Will be fun to watch this year, as I don't believe there's a clear pecking order going into the season.

Watched Lausanne vs ECS twice this year. Eagles gave them all we had, but came up short both times. We were down 6 with about 5 minutes left last weekend, had to punt, punt was blocked, Lausanne scored on the short field, and there was just not enough clock left to get back in it. Lausanne adds one final score on the last play of the game with a pick 6 as we were pressing to make something happen. I'm very anxious to see how both semifinal games play out, but particularly interested in CPA-Lausanne. Lausanne's starters only played a full game 3 times this year, twice vs ECS and their OT win vs Whitehaven. Lausanne isn't quite as good up front this year as they were last year, but still plenty talented. Eric Gray is such a dynamic player, like none we saw anywhere else. Saw the speed merchants from Knoxville Webb in the first game, and Gray is a better back. He's shifty, tough, lightening fast and smart (as anyone who has played against them can attest). Both times we played them his speed and elusiveness basically led to large early leads, and they are tough to come back on. Their QB and WRs are good enough to make plays if you give them to them, but Gray is the straw that stirs that offensive drink. Lausanne's defense is extremely fast on the back end, which negates a lot of chunk plays in the run game. It's very hard to come back on them once they get a lead because of their athleticism. In the first meeting we were able to hit some big plays on a kick return and scored on them with some deep shots in the passing game, but it wasn't enough. In my opinion (which is worth every cent you pay for it), for CPA to win, they are going to have to tackle well first and foremost (miss a run fit, and Gray goes for 60+), make no mistakes/turnovers (tough to spot them a lead and come back), and get some big plays in the passing game. If they can keep Lausanne from the "shock and awe" lead they get on most everyone (including ECS) due to nobody really being ready for just how good Eric Gray is, they will have a shot. I really dont know a whole lot about CPA, but from what I've seen (watched a little bit of them when we were getting ready for BGA), they are an extremely talented team with a bunch of salty seniors ready to leave their mark. Lausanne is a team whose weaknesses are tough to find. Talented senior class that is used to winning. They havent really played in a tough environment against a high quality opponent (Whitehaven was on a neutral field, both ECS games were at Lausanne), so CPA might get a little something from a "home field" advantage, but it will come down to needing to play fundamentally sound, mistake-free football. Good luck to both teams!