Week 8 Big Games in Memphis

[kwc]

Whitehaven (8-5A) vs Kirby (8-5A): @ Kirby (Homecoming)

 

Whitehaven, 7-0, has an impressive resume'. Not only are they undefeated, but the only cupcake they have played to date is Hamilton. Every other team they have faced is a good quality team that will have a chance to play in the post season. Kirby, 5-2, started the season 5-0, which was a surprise from last season where they were 1-9. They have lost their last two games to White Station (42-6) and Germantown (21-16). The loss to White Station should be looked at with a grain of salt because the head coach for Kirby benched five of his starters because they broke team rules and Kirby took their lumps that game. The 21-16 loss to a 6-1 Germantown team is a better indication of how good Kirby has become. This game is being played at Kirby, so they have a small advantage there but not much because the Whitehaven contingent will travel with their team basically negating whatever home team advantage Kirby would have. This is Kirby's homecoming game and I think that will give the Whitehaven players some added motivation and focus; like they need any added incentive. Also, homecoming can be a distraction to the players living through that week of school. Kirby has a good defense. White Station was an exception to the rule. Germantown and Haywood put 21 points on them and Hamilton put 14 on them; they held Raleigh Egypt, Wooddale, and Fayette Ware to one TD. Kirby is playing to make it to the post season. Whitehaven is playing for being the number one seed. Kirby is a dangerous team. Whitehaven has one of the best defenses around and a very solid running game. Kirby is good, but I don't think they are good enough just yet.

 

 

Man ... this was a good game. I didn't get there until half time ... like I usually do ... by then it was 22-6, Whitehaven. I learned when I got there that our best WR was hurt, on cructhes in street clothes. I think he will be back in 2 weeks though. Our best RB got hurt in the first half and sat out the remainder of the game. The coaches think it's a minor injury and he will be back. The other running backs, #3 ... Jefferson and #8 both had good games, but #11 is the straw that stirs the drink on offense. We have others ... but nobody runs with athourity like he does. That being said ... man ... I love that Whitehaven 'D'.

 

Kirby has ATHLETES galore and they are only going to get better. I saw two OL that stood at least 6'-6" or 6'-7" and they were ATHLETIC ... not overweight ... and I heard that they are juniors. They are bookend tackles and they swallowed our DE's ... Our guys dissappeared on pass plays sometimes only to reappear using their pass rushing speed to get the corner. THEN ... Kirby sends out a TE who was every bit of 6'-5" and athletic ... and he didn't start. They have some WR's with speed and height ... Their starting QB looks to be about 6'-3" and athletic with a VERY good arm. He's as good as the QB's at Fairley and Melrose. The WR/KR ... #4 ... DON'T kick the ball to him! I was impressed. I had not seen anything like it. They have size, speed, height. They are a good team with loads of talent.

[wsttnballer]

Man ... this was a good game. I didn't get there until half time ... like I usually do ... by then it was 22-6, Whitehaven. I learned when I got there that our best WR was hurt, on cructhes in street clothes. I think he will be back in 2 weeks though. Our best RB got hurt in the first half and sat out the remainder of the game. The coaches think it's a minor injury and he will be back. The other running backs, #3 ... Jefferson and #8 both had good games, but #11 is the straw that stirs the drink on offense. We have others ... but nobody runs with athourity like he does. That being said ... man ... I love that Whitehaven 'D'.

 

Kirby has ATHLETES galore and they are only going to get better. I saw two OL that stood at least 6'-6" or 6'-7" and they were ATHLETIC ... not overweight ... and I heard that they are juniors. They are bookend tackles and they swallowed our DE's ... Our guys dissappeared on pass plays sometimes only to reappear using their pass rushing speed to get the corner. THEN ... Kirby sends out a TE who was every bit of 6'-5" and athletic ... and he didn't start. They have some WR's with speed and height ... Their starting QB looks to be about 6'-3" and athletic with a VERY good arm. He's as good as the QB's at Fairley and Melrose. The WR/KR ... #4 ... DON'T kick the ball to him! I was impressed. I had not seen anything like it. They have size, speed, height. They are a good team with loads of talent.

 

 

 

KWC,

 

wish I could say the same thing about our game (ECS vs CBHS). Both teams struggled all night to get the offense going. Both teams ended up with right at 200 yds total offense, most of ours rushing and most of CBHS's passing. We mounted a drive in the closing minutes only to have a holding penalty push us back and ruin our chances of a score. CBHS really struggled with their rushing offense, only had 40+ yards. Their backs don't seem to hit the line of scrimmage very hard. Honestly their passing game didn't seem all that strong, pass defense is our weakness. Although I do believe both of their QB's are nursing injuries of some sort. We struggled with the passing game. Had a few dropped passes, but CBHS does have a good pass rush that had our young QB scrambling all night. He has tremendous speed, but so does CBHS at DE and LB'rs that contained him most of the night.

 

Oh well, we now must win 1 of the last 2 to advance. Looks like our best/only chance will be Briarcrest.

[kwc]

i agree that ridgeway is not very good and if they were to play White Station then they have to stop one threat, Burton. White Station is a one man team when it comes to playmakers. I do not say Ridegway would win because they can't score either i am just saying the Spartans are not world beaters by far.

i think all the 5A participants are average on both sides outside of Whaven and millington.

 

 

I saw WHite Station play against Whitehaven and I must say that Mr. Burton is their best playaker ... but he is not their only weapon. I don't remember the names of the other guys but they have more then just him. I will say this ... watching him play is worth the price of admission.

[TraderB]

Man ... this was a good game. I didn't get there until half time ... like I usually do ... by then it was 22-6, Whitehaven. I learned when I got there that our best WR was hurt, on cructhes in street clothes. I think he will be back in 2 weeks though. Our best RB got hurt in the first half and sat out the remainder of the game. The coaches think it's a minor injury and he will be back. The other running backs, #3 ... Jefferson and #8 both had good games, but #11 is the straw that stirs the drink on offense. We have others ... but nobody runs with athourity like he does. That being said ... man ... I love that Whitehaven 'D'.

 

Kirby has ATHLETES galore and they are only going to get better. I saw two OL that stood at least 6'-6" or 6'-7" and they were ATHLETIC ... not overweight ... and I heard that they are juniors. They are bookend tackles and they swallowed our DE's ... Our guys dissappeared on pass plays sometimes only to reappear using their pass rushing speed to get the corner. THEN ... Kirby sends out a TE who was every bit of 6'-5" and athletic ... and he didn't start. They have some WR's with speed and height ... Their starting QB looks to be about 6'-3" and athletic with a VERY good arm. He's as good as the QB's at Fairley and Melrose. The WR/KR ... #4 ... DON'T kick the ball to him! I was impressed. I had not seen anything like it. They have size, speed, height. They are a good team with loads of talent.

 

Kwc,

 

I good to hear that your Ace RB, & WR are expected to return. Whitehaven will certaintly need them to be back and sharp, once the playoffs begin.

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Regarding Kirby's Offensive Line...

 

1) I was also impressed with the size of Kirby's lineman, especially on the defensive side of the ball, when I saw them vs White Station.

 

2) I was very unimpressed with their actual performance, however.

 

 

Now, since Kirby had some starters out for that WS game, I'm not certain that we're actually talking about the same linemen. Assuming that we are...those huge defensive ehxibited extremely poor technique: The moment the ball was snapped, inexplicably, Kirby's linemen would almost immediately stand straight up! They did this consistently, all night long -- this was on running plays, no less!

 

Hello ... Is "leverage" not a critical aspect of successful blocking?

 

Not surprisingly, White Station's undersized (relatively speaking) linemen pushed Kirby's bigger linemen around-- on both sides of the ball, the entire game!

 

Now, I don't profess to be some sort of expert on the proper technique for linemen, but I would think "staying low & utilizing LEVERAGE" are important in blocking. I mean, somebody correct me if I'm wrong.... If I'm right, then Kirby's linemen certainly didn't get that memo. It was very odd-looking & baffling, all at the same time.

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Questions, Kwc:

 

 

1) Did you happen to notice the technique of Kirby's linemen?

 

2) If so, what were your observations?

 

3) How do you rate Kirby's chances of "running the table, " & grabbing that 4th playoff spot in Region 8?

[cam6]

Cordova returned a punt against Ridgeway for a touchdown and there was nothing crazy about it. Rashard Shaw outran their punt coverage team. Also, Ridgeway was suppose to be so strong on offense with "Mr. Electric" at RB he didn't do anything and neither did anyone else, there whole offense was shut down, but go ahead and not give Cordova any credit. Just for the record, Cordova's starters left the Bartlett game in the THIRD quarter. Bartlett had two first downs before that and the sophmore kids played the entire fourth quarter (with a few seniors who never play defense--2 RB, 1 OL, 1 WR-thrown in). Bartlett NEVER even challenged Cordova, after the 75 yard opening kickoff return Bartlett was out of the game. Rashard Shaw (senior RB) didn't even play the entire second half. You are definitely wrong about the Cordova vs. Bartlett game.

 

I would hardly say he out ran the entire defense, after numerous missed tackles he ran down the sideline and scored. Ridgeway does not have anyone on the offensive side of the ball especially someone called "Mr Electric" so don't act like you shut down a powerful offense and how many short fileds did you have for your scoring drives after turnovers against Ridgeway. I was at the bartlett game and i did see your starters in in the 4th qtr. and i did see shaw in in the 2nd half and i would suggest playing the running back that played in the 4th qtr because he is better, not much speed but at least he can break a tackle or two. I forgot that you had to through 5 yd hitch to the wide side of the field against a bad cornerback that could tackle my granny with 2 minutes left in the half in order to have a 14 pt lead at halftime. If it wasn't for the fact that Bartlett is so bad and their punter averaged 8yds per punt and Cordova started in the Red zone most everytime in the 2nd half, I wonder if they would have even scored the touchdowns they did. Thanks to the 80yd opening kickoff to set the field position for the first score. 14 pts against Bartlett at Half come on man, i think Overton had 14pts at half against Bartlett. None the less a win is a win and you have all the cards in your favor, you are obviously the best team with nothing to worried about because you get to host the region Championship game.

[DashRiprock]

I would hardly say he out ran the entire defense, after numerous missed tackles he ran down the sideline and scored. Ridgeway does not have anyone on the offensive side of the ball especially someone called "Mr Electric" so don't act like you shut down a powerful offense and how many short fileds did you have for your scoring drives after turnovers against Ridgeway. I was at the bartlett game and i did see your starters in in the 4th qtr. and i did see shaw in in the 2nd half and i would suggest playing the running back that played in the 4th qtr because he is better, not much speed but at least he can break a tackle or two. I forgot that you had to through 5 yd hitch to the wide side of the field against a bad cornerback that could tackle my granny with 2 minutes left in the half in order to have a 14 pt lead at halftime. If it wasn't for the fact that Bartlett is so bad and their punter averaged 8yds per punt and Cordova started in the Red zone most everytime in the 2nd half, I wonder if they would have even scored the touchdowns they did. Thanks to the 80yd opening kickoff to set the field position for the first score. 14 pts against Bartlett at Half come on man, i think Overton had 14pts at half against Bartlett. None the less a win is a win and you have all the cards in your favor, you are obviously the best team with nothing to worried about because you get to host the region Championship game.

 

Check out Ridgeways webpage and see Mr. Electric for yourself. You sound like real knowledgeable guy about who Cordova played in the 4th quarter--#65 soph, #62 Soph, #44 soph, #10 soph, #18 soph, #40 soph, #39 soph,#33 soph,#37 senior third stringer, #50 senior third string, #26 small person (midget-literally)senior. Since you were there, I guess you noticed that Cordova gave Bartlett the ball on the 32 and 35 yard lines and neither time did Bartlett score. Shaw NEVER played a single down in the third or fourth quarter--check the film yourself Einstein. Also, two different times Ridgeway had the ball inside the 15 yard lines and NEVER scored either, for the record.

[DashRiprock]

Check out Ridgeways webpage and see Mr. Electric for yourself. You sound like real knowledgeable guy about who Cordova played in the 4th quarter--#65 soph, #62 Soph, #44 soph, #10 soph, #18 soph, #40 soph, #39 soph,#33 soph,#37 senior third stringer, #50 senior third string, #26 small person (midget-literally)senior. Since you were there, I guess you noticed that Cordova gave Bartlett the ball on the 32 and 35 yard lines and neither time did Bartlett score. Shaw NEVER played a single down in the third or fourth quarter--check the film yourself Einstein. Also, two different times Ridgeway had the ball inside the 15 yard lines and NEVER scored either, for the record.

 

Just curious cam6, what is your background? Since you seem to see everyone play and know who has all the talent. You talk about half the teams on here like you know the coaches personally. How is it that you are such an expert on all the top programs and areas top talent?

[TraderB]

..... None the less a win is a win and you have all the cards in your favor, you are obviously the best team with nothing to worried about because you (Cordova) get to host the region Championship game.

 

 

Notice: Cordova will have it's hands VERY FULL with its Region 8's opponent, regardless of who it turns out to be (likely Germantown, Houston or Collierville).

[cam6]

Just curious cam6, what is your background? Since you seem to see everyone play and know who has all the talent. You talk about half the teams on here like you know the coaches personally. How is it that you are such an expert on all the top programs and areas top talent?

 

 

No personal info Dash, you sound fanatical by your post so we will keep the personal info to ourselves. You are correct i do know most of the coaches well in the county except for the head coach at Bartlett. I even know the head coach and another coach at Cordova. I don't think you can call the programs around here Top either. There is nothing expert about it. Everybody comes on this site and talks about their teams and usually they are overstating what ever it is they are talking about especially the talent level of player on their teams. Nothing wrong with that, because the site is for just that. My point is there is a difference in good, great, or outstanding high school players. There are a lot of good players in West TN and there are a some great players but there are only a few outstanding players. This is what many of the fans talk about on the site is "How great" or Unbelievable" their team is and its not true thisyear. Some coaches may have the best team they have had in a while (Cordova) but the fact is 7-5A is the worst it has been in 10 seasons. Even 8-5A is bad this year, They are all battling for the playoff spots again this year but not one team has as good of team as they had last year except for Kirby. Even Whitehaven lost tons of big time players from last year and everyone said they reloaded and they did but it sure is easier when the rest of the teams went Down also. You can be a great team relative to your competition but it does not make that team great. Millington is another example like Whitehaven, They lost tons of talent and players off last years team and returned on 3 starters on offense and yet they are 8-0 looking to win another region title. Thats looks great relative to their league but it does mean they are a great team because they are not as good as last year. You can dispute everything i just said and that is fine but you are lying to yourself if you will not admitt the 5A football in west TN is down this year compared to last years teams and talent levels.

 

Dash, when it is all said and done don't you enjoy having others on this site to go back and forth with on topics, if not just get a book and go read.

Good luck this week against Craigmont, they cannot score, pretty good players but just don't block very well.

[escaladedriver32]

No personal info Dash, you sound fanatical by your post so we will keep the personal info to ourselves. You are correct i do know most of the coaches well in the county except for the head coach at Bartlett. I even know the head coach and another coach at Cordova. I don't think you can call the programs around here Top either. There is nothing expert about it. Everybody comes on this site and talks about their teams and usually they are overstating what ever it is they are talking about especially the talent level of player on their teams. Nothing wrong with that, because the site is for just that. My point is there is a difference in good, great, or outstanding high school players. There are a lot of good players in West TN and there are a some great players but there are only a few outstanding players. This is what many of the fans talk about on the site is "How great" or Unbelievable" their team is and its not true thisyear. Some coaches may have the best team they have had in a while (Cordova) but the fact is 7-5A is the worst it has been in 10 seasons. Even 8-5A is bad this year, They are all battling for the playoff spots again this year but not one team has as good of team as they had last year except for Kirby. Even Whitehaven lost tons of big time players from last year and everyone said they reloaded and they did but it sure is easier when the rest of the teams went Down also. You can be a great team relative to your competition but it does not make that team great. Millington is another example like Whitehaven, They lost tons of talent and players off last years team and returned on 3 starters on offense and yet they are 8-0 looking to win another region title. Thats looks great relative to their league but it does mean they are a great team because they are not as good as last year. You can dispute everything i just said and that is fine but you are lying to yourself if you will not admitt the 5A football in west TN is down this year compared to last years teams and talent levels.

 

Dash, when it is all said and done don't you enjoy having others on this site to go back and forth with on topics, if not just get a book and go read.

Good luck this week against Craigmont, they cannot score, pretty good players but just don't block very well.

 

Keep your head up Dash! Let cam6 hate on the Dirty Dova, we are still proud of our teams accomplishments and usually when people put others down it is because they have low self-esteem or maybe he was never successful as a player or coach and he doesn't want to give anyone else any credit.

[MarkH]

Escalade, you know what you know and I know what I know. I will tell you who I am because I have nothing to hide. Can you do the same? I post under my name. I am the president of the Millington Football booster club and have been their PA announcer and kept stats for the last 15 years. I call them like I see them. If Millington was bad, I would tell you and if they weren't, I would tell you that too. In regards to cam6, he was a heck of a player not only in high school but in college as well playing with Steve Matthews and Isaac Bruce at the U of M. He was also a coach as well. He has been and will continue to be successful in whatever he chooses to do. He doesn't look through colored glasses when making comments. I will give Cordova credit because I didn't think they would be 7-1 but I also know that they (just like Millington) haven't played anybody yet. Yes you did play ECS and to balance that out Millington has played Collierville. But we have both played Central, Overton, Arlington, Ridgeway and Bartlett. Ridgeway is better than what they were last year and the other 4 are pretty bad. Good luck vs Craigmont and see you Halloween night at Cordova. If you are out there, find me and introduce yourself as well as Dash. I am not hard to find. Just ask someone in a Millington shirt.

[Ace5]

I do have to agree with the Millington fans this year, 7-5A is not a good region. Bolton is good year and year out and they are down. I thought Bartlett had turned the corner last year evn though they missed the playoffs but they are down. Arlington will be good in the next year or two. Craigmont and Ridgeway are decent teams at best and I think Cordova is a good team maybe not as good as Millington but we will see in a couple weeks. I still like Cordova, like their players and coaches. They are having a good year.