big red big blue

yeah watching on TV, seeing the BA highlights mixed in was the only redeeming part of the 3 hours I spent watching...

Pretty thorough beat-down that had the highights shown during the Titans game yesterday by Fox as some sort of local area high school game of the week... off topic, but if you are a BA fan, cool piece on Graham Shuler, former Eagle starting at center for Stanford. http://www.campusrush.com/graham-shuler-stanford-cardinal-1418311467.html

I was there and there hasn't been an individual performance like that from a BA player in this game since the two became regular opponents in '95. Maybe greater talent on the field, especially that manifested itself in later years in college (Ramsey, Barnett, Sanders, etc.). A lot credit does go to the BA WR's who made plays over and over--on underthrown passes, passes that were well-defended. sidenote, but pretty amazing to watch the UGA-UT game Saturday and see Derek Barnett, Jashon Robertson, and Rico McGraw--all underclassmen--either starting or playing all game in an SEC contest like that. That's the talent level that exists in D2-AA.

I have to say, of all the great athletes that have walked the halls of BA, I'm not sure if when its all said and done that Oatsvall won't be at or near the top of the list...football and basketball. That guy is just unreal. Credit to him and the BA receivers who just kept making plays all game long. Every time MBA had a favorable down/distance they converted. Man can this BA team put up points quickly. Great atmosphere at BA slightly dampened by rainy conditions. Still great setting for a great rivalry. Proud of MBA and the kids for fighting until the end. Last year was a great year and next year could be another great year. Will build on nights like this one.

Sadly Cole Euverard is now at the Naval Academy and is dearly missed. MBA has struggled to find consistency in the passing game this season. They have leaned heavily on Ty Chandler (think Ensworth during the Elder years). The two backs who back him up and get some carries are also very good--makes you wish they could figure out a way to get them all on the field together somehow. My guess is that MBA will stick with the run and hope that's good enough to come away with the win...the defense had better come to play because after watching the BA-Ens game, it's pretty clear that BA is clicking right now with a lot of great players on offense. There will be a line for the whirlpools Saturday AM because these are two huge, physical lines. Always a great atmosphere at BA; can't remember the last time (if ever) these two have met this late in the season with good seasons underway. Seems like over the years we have played early on. One of those nights that if you love HS football, you should check out.

Those of us who know better know they will be around when it matters. They always are.

MBA had 3 consecutive drives stall due to holding penalties called following plays that resulted in 2nd or 3rd and short. MBA had a long punt return negated by holding. MBA had a qb sneak TD negated by false start penalty even though the play was run on what looked like a silent quick count. The only holding penalty I recall being called against mccallie was the blatant make up call, following whatever happened on the catch/int/incompletion that all of the officials ran to the spot on and signaled....nothing exactly. Which eventually became a mccallie catch for a key first down. Like I said ive seen MBA lose big, lose close, lose heart-breakers, get their doors blown off by the likes of BA and Ensworth but I've never seen the officials blatantly impact a game like that before.

I watched the game on live stream which has come along way over the years and is very good...coach potter has a very imaginative offense. Looks so much like Gus Malzahns offense at Auburn with lots of great athletes running it. It had MBA baffled all night. With that said this was officially the most comically atrociously officiated game I have ever witnessed, at any level, including all of my sons' youth events. Honestly I have never seen anything like that before. I listened to all the MBA parents rant and rave about how bad the officiating was in the Baylor game in Chattanooga last year and attributed it to sour grapes. But after watching tonight I believe them. What a joke and an embarrassment for the TSSAA.

The Murfreesboro School--Riverdale--is the reason we have a split in the first place, after they threw a fit when they lost to BA in the '95 Clinic Bowl. Maryville, to my knowledge, never expressed an opinion either way about private schools. We in D2 would love to have Maryville...who wouldn't? And they would compete every week, and win a bunch, and it would be a lot fun to watch...not really sure why this is a topic though as Maryville has no reason to join a league with no teams in its geographic vicinity....

It's a year like 2013 that has to drive BA people nuts...I went to the BA-ENS game at the end of the season and the BA team featuring Derek Barnett and CJ Sanders absolutely throttled Ensworth at home. BA totally outclassed ENS that night and it looked BA would cruise to the championship. Then somehow, ENS turns around and beats them a couple of weeks later in the play-offs. This was after Corn Elder had graduated. This is definitely a year that BA needs to make a statement in D2, with MBA and Ensworth down from recent years...of course the girls/boys' basketball teams look like they may be winning championships for many years to come, so maybe BA is a basketball school now.

just like last year, PC went up and down the field most of the game against MBA. #5 Grove is the real deal. He caught everything thrown his way, including a spectacular TD catch with 2 guys hanging all over him and no PI called. Looked to me like MBA interfered with him all night and was never flagged for PI. Not sure how he projects on the next level but he is a legit HS WR...as good as you will see in Nashville this year.

Ensworth and Maryville scrimmaging is a big deal...no, it is not just another scrimmage. Those are the two best teams in the state over the past 7-8 years, and those two making the effort to face off, even in a scrimmage, is a pretty big deal. It was a big deal when Ensworth won handily 2 years ago, and a big deal for Maryville to win handily this year...at least, it's a big deal as long as we have this split and the two teams won't face each other for a championship. The outcome of the scrimmage is pretty meaningless for the rest of us, because whatever happens in the scrimmage, neither team is going to be "down" in their respective divisions.

I'm not exactly sure what the lawsuit (if there was one) would be about. BA's argument was that the TSSAA was a state actor and its recruiting rules violated BA's right to free speech. The lawsuit was never about the split...on what grounds would the private schools argue that the TSSAA had violated their constitutional rights (as the prior lawsuit did establish that the TSSAA was indeed a state actor)?

I'm hoping Metro Nashville football can be great again someday, because at one time it was great. I actually think the tide will turn in basketball sooner than football...look at what David Keary is doing with the NYBA here. They are building basketball from the ground up...in 5-6 years, those kids will be on Metro rosters (assuming all the private schools don't grab them up)....they will be able to compete with anyone...

This is a really well-written article...the Free Press has done the best job of anyone covering this subject. Of course, the things the author points out regarding d2 were both predictable, and predicted, and presumably why Childress somehow managed to convince the BOC to vote against the split, despite overwhelming support for it. Specifically, prior to the split in '96, honestly, sports just weren't that big a deal at these d2 schools, evidenced best by the lack of titles in any sports claimed by 6 of the 7 original "super 7." At the highest classification (3A) where most financial aid schools were playing, the last football title claimed at the time of the split was 20 years prior. Mainly that's because there was a limit in each sport to how many financial aid recipients could dress for varsity sports (4 in football, 2 in basketball). Once those limits were released with the split, the money (which was abundant) flowed in across the board...unlimited financial aid recipients, top-notch facilities, massive coaching staffs (go to an MBA, BA, or Ensworth game and count the # of former Titans walking the sidelines as assistants)...it's how a school like Ensworth can become a dominant force in all sports just 10 years after its doors opened. I hate to break it to the Maplewood principal, who is voicing a real concern, but here in Middle TN, the parents WANT the private schools to come to their middle school games. It's an unfortunate side effect of a very bad decision made 20 years ago...namely the horrible state of football in Metro Nashville versus where it was 20 years ago. All these families are dreaming of going to MBA, BA, or Ensworth....I had a dad of a kid who my son plays baseball with--alum of Whites Creek (at one time a dominant team in Nashville)--ask me what the best way was to get the attention of the private schools (as if I knew)...he is sending his 12 year old to year-round football coaching....

I can't possibly fathom why a Gallatin fan of all people would be on here complaining about private schools and what they do. Even with that "grossly unfair advantage" known as financial aid, Gallatin still routinely beat all the private schools in the play-offs, financial aid and all, including MBA several times. Many of those victories were over MBA teams coached by unanimous TSSAA HOF coach Tommy Owen. I always wonder....if we at MBA were coached by HOF coach, and had this unfair advantage to boot, then how is it possible that MBA never even played for a state title in the pre-split play-off era? I mean, were we truly just that incompetent to squander such a clear unfair advantage? I guess so, and the TN Coaches Group really got it wrong putting Tommy Owen in the Coaches Hall of Fame.

pretty amazing really....to consider that all 9 members of the TSSAA BOC are from public schools, and every poll presented in the media indicates an overwhelming majority of respondents in D1 favor a complete split, and yet they somehow can't get it done. Makes you wonder what's really going on here....

BA has a great looking set up. They have to have one of the few stadiums in the state that has actual seats in the stadium...with the flags of the past state champions flying over the seats, and the field house on the opposite side, it looks amazing...I went to the BA-Ensworth game a couple of years ago, with Ramsey, Barnett, Corn Elder et al playing...it was packed that night. of course, I have always loved Alcoa's stadium with the mountain view in the background...can't replicate that in middle TN.

The NE game was at BA. The following week, in the semi's, MBA and BA met for the first time ever in an actual game. I was there that night...I don't know what the official attendance was, but the stadium (BA has seats only on one side of the stadium) was completely overflowing at 5:00 PM, 2 hrs before kick-off. MBA was led by future NC-winning Vol Will Bartholomew. They hung around for a half, but BA ultimately was too good. Hunter Adkins (who began his career at MBA) went off in the second half...they just had too many weapons on that team. MBA also played NE that year...Travis Stephens had a video-game like stat line. He had 200+ yards on like 15 carries. He was unstoppable....but that BA team held him in check somehow in the playoffs.

Best team I have ever seen play....they had waves and waves of depth behind those all-state players you cited. Trying to recall exactly what happened in that NE game, but I think it was something like...BA threw a hail mary as time was expiring in first half, and NE was whistled for PI. BA got an untimed down and scored the game's only TD on last play of half...it was something weird like that.

depends upon how it plays out.... if the TSSAA does what it did in '96, and basically washes its hands of the private schools, leaving them to search all over the country just to get a regular season schedule, then the movement will pick up steam to leave the TSSAA. IT will take years though. If you see a period like we saw in the early '00's, when basically the D2 teams couldn't get games with any D1 public schools, then what's the point of dealing with the TSSAA's arcane rules, Tuesday night state championship games, Saturday crack of dawn state championship basketball games, etc. if on the other hand, the TSSAA does the right thing, and keeps everyone together in the regular season, with games scheduled between both public and private, with separate post-seasons, then everything will be fine and everyone will have a fair outcome. I think this is what will happen and it will be the smartest thing the TSSAA has done in a while...because they are in fact really worried about the private schools leaving, which of course, is their own fault for what they did over the previous 20 years.

That '91 clinic bowl at Vanderbilt was probably the last really massive crowd to watch a state title game. OR v Gallatin. Remember being there very well. Tons of middle tennesseans came out to cheer for Gallatin. Not to be with that great OR team led by Shawn summers. Huge buzz built up in Nashville for that game over the week prior to the game. Those were the days, never to return with 8 title games played in the middle of nowhere today.

That team one of the top 2-3 I ever saw in person. Also Gallatin between '89 and '92 appeared in the clinic bowl 3 of 4 years, winning twice. '90 LC and '92 Gallatin were the last ever to run the table in the 3 class format.

Wait, are you suggesting that the original split was about BA and not financial aid?

What's the "prime cause"? Either financial aid is an unfair advantage or it isn't. I sure wish we had that unfair advantage when I was playing. I'd gladly take it rather than lose to a public school every year in every sport I played.