Overland

Preseason Poll 1. Summertown - too many big athletic seniors return. 2. Mt. Pleasant - good things happen when quality coaching and athletic players get together 3. Forrest - if offense improves they will move up, if offense regresses they will drop lower 4. Loretto - looking to improve on last year's #4 seed with many starters returning 5. Cascade- lost some good players and only have a handful of seniors. 6. Richland - no respect in football until they have success After watching some 7on7's and listening to coaches interviews I would say Region 5 has two tiers. This may change after watching a jamboree or two. Tier 1: Summertown, Mt. Pleasant, Forrest Tier 2: Cascade, Richland, Loretto

Some MidState teams are playing right now at Riverdale's annual tournament. High school football: 7-on-7 tournaments after TSSAA dead period (dnj.com) 2021 Riverdale 7-on-7 Pool Play and Tournament Schedule Looks like Mt. Pleasant and Forrest are representing 2A against the big boys.

Peabody could have a QB controversy brewing. That backup looks really good. Is the starter more athletic or mobile?

Fayetteville was 1- 9 in 2018. They were talented but horrible. A coaching change led to a 10-0 record in 2019 and then a state championship in 2020. Expect a turnaround for Mt Pleasant this season with some quality coaching.

Any offensive changes for Forrest this spring? Did a QB emerge to replace last year's starter? Is new DC making any changes? I saw a game or two at Shelbyville 7 on 7. A few decent looking athletes but had trouble covering deep balls and did not look to have much overall team speed. Offense has to improve over 2020 to have any success in 2021.

Mt. Pleasant Tigers (2020 Record: 1-8) Coaching Changes: Kit Hartsfield New Head Coach from Blackman HS; Andrew Holcomb- OC Key Returning Players: QB Tevarious Streyhorn, ATH - Demarcus Brown, WR - Jeffrey Williamson, OL - Dontavious Ellison, OL- Hardin Hughes 2021Outlook: Expect a much improved Tiger squad this season with a new coaching staff and an entirely new offensive and defensive systems, outlook, and attitude. Gone is the single wing system of the past and expect the Tigers to spread the field. Mt Pleasant recently took 2nd place at the Shelbyville Central 7 on 7 tournament. They looked very talented compared to the other 22 teams there. Sophomore Darian Mesa, a track and field standout, had a big tournament day. A very disappointing 2020 campaign saw MP lose 4 one score games but they did pick up a win against new region foe Loretto. I predict a Fayetteville City style turnaround this season for the talented Tigers and they will be in the mix for the region crown.

Will be hard for Forrest or any 2A team to replace what would likely have been an All Region player this season and an All State/ Mr. Football nominee caliber player his senior year. Great to see he still has a positive attitude and will still be a part of the team.

Nice play under duress!

List of teams that signed up for Shelbyville's event. Tuesday at Shelbyville (TBA) – Cannon Co., Cascade, Columbia Acad., Community, Cornersville, DeKalb Co. (JV), East Robertson, Fairview, Forrest, Gordonsville, Hickman Co., Lake Co., Marion Co., Mt. Pleasant, Richland, Sale Creek, Stratford, Trousdale Co., Waverly, White Co. (JV), Whites Creek

Highlights from the Shelbyville 7-on-7 championship between Lake County and Mt. Pleasant (tennessean.com)

I watched a clip about someone's favorite Db. A few posts later you used the word amazing. I watched the play with a defender falling for a double move and getting beat. He's trailing the receiver by 4 yards 20 yards downfield. The QB throws the ball way late with nothing on it. The defender showed great effort by not giving up on the play and made a play on a poorly thrown ball. If Peabody's first or second string QB is in there the Db is toast and the receiver is dancing in the endzone.

I can agree with this assessment. DB was toast. QB threw the ball late with nothing on it. On the other hand Peabody's QB/ WR's looked great in the other clips on that guys Twitter page.

If a school Co-ops with another for a sport not offered at one do they combine the enrollment of both schools to determine classification?

I saw the morning session and watched both teams. That would be considered an upset. I had Marion pegged as one of the better teams. Mt Pleasant's play has me reconsidering my Region 5 predictions.

Morning session was pool play so they could have won their 4 team grouping. Afternoon was a single elimination tournament and that's the only part that counts as winning anything. I was told MC looked fast. Who put them out?

From the Shelbyville Facebook page: SCHS football hosted 22 teams today for a 7v7 competition which brought over 600 visitors to our campus. We look forward to having an even bigger crowd and competition tomorrow. Big thanks to all the parents, volunteers, and supporters for your help, we couldn't do it without you. In today's finals, Lake County finishes in 1st place by defeating Mt. Pleasant. Congrats to LC for taking care of business after making the long trip east. The surprise team has to be Mt. Pleasant and their new coach. Other teams competing were Marion Co, Community, Fairview, Forrest, Dekalb, Waverly? Any reports.

With no spring games to discuss this year how are the 1A and 2A teams looking at 7 on 7 competitions? Shelbyville is hosting a big tournament today and tomorrow and Ravenwood had one last week.

The things you learn on CoachT during the offseason.

Cascade coach was interviewed by the Friday Main Event crew a few weeks ago. A few tidbits: Cascade will only have 5 seniors. Big shoes for the new QB to fill after Seth Countess' graduation. They expect to have one of the top place kickers in the state next year. No Region 5 football coaching positions are posted on TSSAA so the staffs should be set for summer workouts. Forrest's Defensive coordinator left the school. Anyone know who the new guy will be? Did a QB step up this spring? How did the new head coaches at Summertown and Mt Pleasant look this spring? Can we expect any new looks in 2021? Does anyone know anything about Richland? Did Loretto show improvement in both the coach and QBs 2nd season?

Good show! Them Lynchburg boosters need to put a cell phone tower at that coach's house. Was his reception really that bad or did he not want to give out any team secrets? We have to wait for that Murphy man's book now. ha

Absolutely it hurts the teams. In theory a team with a great coach and organization could have been in the weight room and doing speed training for two years. In reality with no guidance many kids may have gotten into other things with virtual school and no team structure. Most R8 kids will not have participated in football activities since November of 2019. We were worried about last year's teams missing spring 2020 and not having preseason scrimmages. (BTW, will someone tell TSSAA it's completely safe for kids to scrimmage other teams outdoors.)

Maryville's success says more about the reliability of recruiting grades than the talent on either team. Too many times the number of stars is based on potential based on height/ weight instead of football ability. There was no talent deficiency on those teams like there is right now with the Oakland bunch. McConnell had great success when he had a exceptional QB, RB, and WR on the same team. One season he had great defensive players and he fielded a great defense. He hasn't been able to duplicate it yet at his other 2 stops running the same schemes. When the talent gap closes his winning percentage will go back up. Too many times especially in 1A or 2A I've seen a coach make a deep playoff run with an exceptional class and then do nothing when he gets promoted to a bigger job or he stays and can't reload.

That region may have 3 or 4 of the top five teams in 2A west.

Average coaching with great kids usually beats great coaching with average kids except in the movies. With the top teams dropping to 1A, 2A especially the West, is wide open for a change.

Very little discussion this offseason on the 2A teams out west. There has been much discussion on the teams in the East. So who is the favorite to make a run out of the west and make it to Chattanooga? Region 5: Watered down after Lewis Co and Eagleville departed. Forrest or Summertown could be sleepers. Region 6: Lewis Co/ Riverside winner should be favored. Can Adamsville make a run? Region 7: Huntingdon and Westview are getting all the hype. Union City returns to greatness? Region 8: Who knows what's coming out of Memphis this season. Region 5 Cascade High School (Bell Buckle, TN) Forrest High School (Chapel Hill, TN) Loretto High School (Loretto, TN) Mt. Pleasant High School (Mt. Pleasant, TN) Richland High School (Lynnville, TN) Summertown High School (Summertown, TN) Region 6 Adamsville High School (Adamsville, TN) Decatur Co. Riverside High School (Decaturville, TN) East Hickman High School (Lyles, TN) Hickman Co. High School (Centerville, TN) Lewis Co. High School (Hohenwald, TN) Scotts Hill High School (Reagan, TN) Region 7 Camden Central High School (Camden, TN) Gibson Co. High School (Dyer, TN) Houston Co. High School (Erin, TN) Huntingdon High School (Huntingdon, TN) Union City High School (Union City, TN) Westview High School (Martin, TN) Region 8 Fairley High School (Memphis, TN) Freedom Preparatory Academy (Memphis, TN) Hillcrest High School (Memphis, TN) KIPP Memphis Collegiate School (Memphis, TN) Manassas High School (Memphis, TN) Martin Luther King, Jr. Preparatory High School (Memphis, TN) Memphis Academy of Health Sciences (Memphis, TN) Mitchell High School (Memphis, TN) Oakhaven High School (Memphis, TN)