Quack4

I wanna say Brentwood big, but they have struggled with athletic teams in the past (see Hunters Lane). Brentwood will win, but maybe not by as much as you think.

Not Scott here, Just a former player of his from the old days who defended him in here when things were dark. He's a good man and a good coach. You all are lucky to have him there.

I don't get on much, but I got on and noticed that the Scott Smith haters are pretty buttoned-up this year up in East Tennessee? I guess that 7-2 record in his second year will do that to you. I have not seen you guys play, but looking at the stats, it seems like this coaching staff has adapted to the personnel at hand and built a winner. Congrats to Scott and his staff, and good luck going forward.

Lets do it over the holidays. I'm going to be on the road tomorrow and all of next week working, but after that, I'm pretty free. You pick the place.

HAHA!! That was a flashback. Nobody could get away with a mismatched outfit (head to toe) better than Coach Wilson. He was one of the good guys and he's gonna be missed. I can remember he and Scotty running the concessions at the old AHS gym when I was playing junior pro basketball. Just a cool cat all the way around. Always felt like I learned something from him. I agree wholeheartedly with my coach here. Eric Felts would be a great hire at Cane Ridge. He knows the area, he's young and energetic, he's a disciplinarian, and he doesn't take crap from anybody. Which probably means that Metro wouldn't hire him, LOL!! Seriously, I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago at the Tennessee-Arkansas game and I think he's going to make somebody a great head coach one day. A place like Oakland or Cane Ridge would be silly not to ask about him.

Man, you two are killing me with the flashbacks. As a senior on that team, I would like to have a moment with that official 10 years later. I'd put them Lower Antioch "thumbs" on him!!!

I have a question for WIP, RuntheBall, BigChief, Moonwink, Nununu, and the rest of you guys. What is the solution for Metro athletics? It baffles me that so many of these teams are so bad, when the material that walks the hall, athletically, is far superior to many teams that routinely beat them like a drum. Here are my perceived reasons for the issue: 1. Let's just call it like I see it. Socio-economics. So many kids in the inner-city are growing up close to that poverty line. Kids are having kids and don't have the necessary means to support them, and never catch up. 2. This leads to kids, who feel left out if they don't have the Playstation 3's, 20" rims, and bling-bling, out on the street hustling (which rarely ends good), or the good kids get a job and are just constrained by wanting to "have things", when what they should be having is a well-rounded childhood. I feel kind of bad for talking about this stuff because I was lucky. We weren't rich, but I was never concerned about my next meal. I was lucky enough to have the newest Air Max 95's or Jordan's, but in hindsight, I feel like I contributed to the monster without having to sweat for it myself in some cases. 3. Unsupportive parenting. The parents may love their kid, but they are working, or its a single-parent home where mom is working two jobs to keep things floating. They are too caught up in that to see that football can be great, and fairly cheap (if you want to keep it real) lifeskill instruction for many youngsters. I thank God for my raising everyday. My folks split when I was 11 years old, but they both made time for me. My dad came to practices, both parents talked to my teachers and coaches, knew my friends and my teammates, kicked my butt when I needed it......it has always amazed me how bad some kids have it in this respect. 4. Lack of administrative support. One of the things that has impressed me about Rutherford County in the last 10 years is their almost universal commitment to being successful in athletics. Like my grandfather used to say about professors complaining about Phil Fulmer making over $1,000,000; "105,000 don't pay to see you square your hypotenuse every Saturday". Doesn't make it right, but successful athletics is the best way to sell your institution to a mass market. I don't know how many thousand were at the Smyrna-LaVergne game last month, but it was a bunch. Man, I remember when Antioch and Overton was like that. Its a money maker and a good bragging rights tool. I don't know why Metro never got that. 5. The lack of community schools. Look, as a black person, I understand why they did what they did. However, it has had a negative effect on the support of all schools, inner-city and suburban. Whoever thought the McGavock cluster____ was a good idea 30 years ago was out back chiefing with LaMarcus Coker, Ricky Williams, and hitting a bump with Martina Hingis!!! Ditto with Hunters Lane, but not quite as bad. You closed three or four great schools to create one cluster. There is just no other way to put it. What they did to Antioch stunk too. I don't even really identify with my alma mater. And to be honest, the neighborhood I grew up in will be a Cane Ridge zone. Its amazing that 18 years ago, there was a groundswell to close Antioch High School because it was too white, LOL!!! This was something that was taking care of itself over time. Anyways, I don't get to post on here that often, but its slow around here this morning and wanted to get you guys' thoughts on if there are some solutions to this epidemic that I will call, Metro underachievement.

Man, you guys are hard on Scott. I have no idea what went on up there this year, but it seems like a bunch of drama. I know this from being coached at the QB position by the man, Scott Smith is a darn good offensive football coach. Did he make mistakes this year? Probably.......he'd probably tell you that. Anytime you lose 7, there is blame to go around. Is he Mr. Perfect?..................No Has he been successful everywhere he's been? A resounding yes. The guy knows football and how to coach. Everyone dogs him because his ultimate success came at a private where he did have some athletic "ringers". Well, that's true of almost any team that wins big. But the guy led a nice little run at Greenbrier before they were really any good. And I know another program that he built from the ground up is still playing football this week. The current coaching staff at Independence deserves the bulk of the credit for what's gone on there, but he assembled that staff and raised those players from the ground floor. He did the leg work. To be honest, I hated to see him go up there because I thought it was a bad fit. I may be right. But I know that if Science Hill did the one and done thing with Scott, he would get a job elsewhere. To be honest, there is a job opening (and maybe a second) in Rutherford County that is potentially a MUCH BETTER JOB than Science Hill.

Would these guys be coaching a a 5A team outside of Davidson County that is still playing? One of those guys at the school I'm talking about, with his baseball background and Antioch roots would be a natural fit. And their defensive staff is second to none!

Good luck to Wilson Central in this game. I know first hand how hard those guys work over there and the job they have done with about 40 kids is amazing. And they have lost key players to injuries at key times that tested their depth even more. The way that Aric, Elrod, Jennings, Howard, and the rest of those guys have adapted to the talent they have at their disposal is one of the best coaching years I have seen in Middle Tennessee. That just shows what good coaching and hard nosed players can do. McChurch, Adkins, and Shannon are kids that you would go to war with any Friday night. I got a chance to see them slobberknock a pretty decent Kenwood team in a preseason scrimmage and I knew right then that they were a totally different team than the 2006 version. With that said, they are going to have to play a little over their heads to beat Riverdale. And playing over your head can happen with attention to detail. Eleven guys playing their position defensively. Carrying out your offensive assignments. No busts in special teams. That's all it takes. This isn't the 1995 Riverdale team by any stretch of the imagination. They are still good, but a depleted LaVergne and a mistake prone Smyrna both nearly gave them the business. I have confidence that if Wilson Central can just keep this one close, Elrod may be able to get a matchup that he can exploit.

I would say Riverdale, but I was at that game a few weeks ago with some more guys that didn't have a horse in the race, and I came away more impressed with Smyrna than I did Riverdale. If they play again, I might take the Bulldogs.

This is a job that I have wondered about too. I got a chance to know Abner a long time ago through a summer job I had as a youngster and he is a great guy. But, I have to agree that this job "opening" looks like Metro politics at its best. Instead of getting the best coach they can get, they have somebody basically grandfathered in. I agree with Nio's list that Carson is a guy who should get a shot somewhere soon. I've known him since I was playing at Antioch and he's always been a good one.[/color] I don't know Kirby, but my boss' kid played for him and he and his son speak highly of the guy. I also agree with Jennings. He's a guy that I have gotten the chance to know personally, and the love he has for what he's doing makes him a guy to watch. Bush is a guy who has paid his dues, but he just said he ain't going, so squash that.

I said it once, and I will say it again. Do not be surprised if WC pulls this one out. I bet old Elrod has some tricks up his sleeve.

Don't sleep on WC. They are tough and well-coached. They have one heck of a staff and they've competed well with Riverdale in the past, especially in 2005. You have to pick Riverdale in this game, but I wouldn't be shocked if WC gets them.

LaVergne just shot themselves in the foot in this game. This was my first chance to see Chris Gray and he's a really good ball player. It would be nice if they got him the ball a little bit more!!! That's not a shot at Crocker either, who I thought ran the offense really well. I judge QB's on what they do when they are down and when LaVergne got down 21-7, there was no panic. Shoot, he was great in the fourth quarter. Special Teams and poor playcalling got the Rines beat. First and Ten at the 22 with a minute to go and your playcalls were a low percentage, across the field pass to Gray on first down that almost got picked (why do you roll a guy left and ask him to throw across the field). On second down, you throw another low percentage ball in the corner to #84, who almost made a great catch. And on third, you run a smoke draw that everybody in LaVergne knew was coming and lose yardage. What you do in that situation is throw a bubble screen or run on either first or second down, especially if you're content with settling for the FG attempt. I thought Hester left his kicker out to dry with those last three calls. A 40 yarder in that situation is not a gimme kick by any means. The shame of it is he called a really good game up to that point, but he cost them late. I would have thrown the bubble or the inside screen to Gray or Gardener on first, ran the inside zone on second, and palyed it from there. You, at least, make that FG attempt easier if you do that.