Milan VS CAK

[FootballDad]

Well, My Buddy FootballDad has always wanted to know who was the best 3A team Alcoa has played the last couple of years, and I've been honest in saying CAK. He always talked about a Milan match-up more than any. Not that he thought Milan was weak, but because the teams would be an interesting match-up and a great game. I am glad he and his son get the honor in representing District 4 this year!

 

Milan I expect to be Milan. Physically tough! Strong running game and few mistakes. Just enough passing game to keep the line and LB's honest. A defense that loves to play smash mouth run defense. I see Milan scoring on some long clock eating drives, with Milan scoring 21-24 points.

 

CAK has a great offense. A very balanced offense. QB, High and WR's Howell and Smith are as good as I've seen at the HS level. CAK will score some points. I expect 35-42 points by CAK.

 

I just do not see Milan slowing the CAK passing game down. Especially it being the first time the Bulldogs have seen a unique passing attack like this. You can study it on film, but stopping it will difficult.

 

This year I see CAK bring the Gold again back to East TN.

 

Best of Luck to both teams!

 

BC, thanks for that thought For the past couple of years all we could hang our hats on was that we had played Alcoa tough but came up short. I have been of the opinion that Alcoa was as good as any team in TN regardless of classification the past couple of years, especially last year, that was a special special team! So, all that was left for me to contemplate was that besides Alcoa, who was the best of the rest in 3A? Milan kept coming up from my respected friends at Alcoa. So I naturally have been curious about a match up with Milan. Now it is going to be a reality.

[FootballDad]

No disrespect for any 3A teams intended...but...let's be realistic here. Alcoa is not in the picture, and the fact of the matter is that Alcoa and Austin East were both 5 loss teams. When was the last time that Alcoa didnt come into the championship game with either one loss, or undefeated...and the one loss was usually a close loss to 6A, juggernaut Maryville. That is not true this year. 3A has to be down with Alcoa not being so dominant as before....3A is down for that reason alone.

 

Also, Milan played a lot of teams close this year, instead of beating them bad like past years...and, they lost to Huntingdon....in fact, I watched that game on the TSSAA website; and Huntingdon shut Milan down in the 2nd half...a single A team shut them down...a single A team that was beaten by Wayne Co....another single A team. So, Milan had a lot more dominating team with the Coleman's and Avery Williamson, and Gibronski Gilbert, and company.....

 

Now, I'm sure that CAK is a good team. Milan is a good team. I hope that Milan brings home the Gold Ball to W. TN....but, c'mon...if Milan wins it all, then that means that 2 single A teams are better than all the 3A teams in the state....Huntingdon and Wayne Co.

I hear what you are saying but football is not a game of deduction. It's a 48 minute game, one week at a time. Injury, inexperience, weather, circumstances, officiating, etc... all play a part. Of course I know you already know that so why assume Huntington or Wayne County is better than all 3A just because they beat Milan. Same could be said of Grace Christian Academy if CAK wins it all, they are a 2A school and they beat us. I just feel like way too much emphasis is placed on classification when determining overall quality of a team. It is a factor, but not the deciding factor, at least not in my book. Not trying to argue with you, just pointing out a different view.

Edited November 26, 2011 by FootballDad

[HUSKER]

From the beginning of this year I have thought CAK to be the best team in 3A and Milan not in the top 10. But Morris pulled these kids together after the huntingdon loss and they have played better than any team in 3A since then. I think that once again we will see a good team from the east. I think this will be a very good game and exciting matchup.

[FootballDad]

Football Dad - I appreciate the love early in the week but you guys have a much nicer school & stadium. I was up your way in July and swung by and watched just a few minutes of conditioning. Your campus is beautiful, plain & simple. You guys have the best of the best and it shows when you turn in the campus.

 

I have seen the Alcoa guys wear you out on the photoshop part and those guys are good. I'll try and toss out some good stuff but I will fail miserably when compared to the Alcoa guys.

 

Now to the game

 

Offensively - We are gonna have to score a lot of points. If the Bulldogs don't put at least 24 - 35 on the board then we won't win. We have talent and playmakers, we just need to get in the endzone on Friday. You will probably see a 80/20 run/pass play selection from us this coming week and maybe a little more to the run side. Much like our regular season competition did to us, we will look to limit your possesions and therefore limit the chances to score. If it is a shoot-out we could be in trouble.

 

Defensively - We are goona be challenged to contain your passing game. We play a bend but don't break zone and I know for sure we haven't seen any passing attack like you guys this year. Heck, by looking at your numbers no one in West Tennessee has seen a passing attack like the Warriors have. We have some good athletes on the defensive side of the ball and they are gonna need to play a great game for the Bulldogs to come out on top. So with that said how do I see it?

 

Bulldogs shock the world and stun the Warriors!!! Score later in the week

 

Well BF2, I was going by what I saw on the video footage on the tssaa.org website. Looks like you have a large beautiful stadium and a large crowd. But I can't say I've been on your campus to see first hand. Are you sure you saw our football team or was it our soccer team? Now our soccer is up their kind of like Alcoa is in football. We are just trying to let people know we play football too, . Heck, we have a trophy case full of Boys & Girls state championship trophies from soccer and the only hardware we have from football is the district championship we won this year, and we haven't even collected that yet. But we are happy with our facilities and are blessed to have what we've got. We finally got out of the port-a-potties and have real bathrooms with running water now

 

As for the game: CAK needs to be patient, both offensively and defensively. Milan will have some success at grinding out drives and chewing up clock. No knock on our defense, which is playing like a completely different unit than we did the first half of the season, but Milan is a well coached, disciplined team with a solid O-line and a real nice back in #29. The defense will just need to find a way to get Milan off the field without giving up points. Offensively, the Warriors are like a race car sitting in rush hour traffic. Anxious to find an opening and take off, but if they don't pick the right opening it could result in a crash (turnover). CAK is a 90% pass oriented team, no secret. If it is 4th and 1 ft. on the goal line with virtually a couple seconds on the clock it would be absolutely no surprise to see a pass. Although we can run it if that is what the defense gives us. In the 2 Alcoa games the first one was won with the run and the second with the pass. Milan's defense looks very good, so that will be a great chess match between the two.

 

F.Y.I: for any of you UT fans (I know it is hard to be one right now, but I still claim to be, ha) we have 3 coaches with UT ties. Our DC and line coach is Mark Bradley (Rusty's dad), he coached in D1 colleges for a very long time and was a coach on the UT national championship team in 1998. Jarvis Reado is an assistant and helps with the OL and he was a member of the UT national championship team. And Jeff Hall is our kicking coach and he was also on that UT national championship team. Just a point of interest, doesn't mean anything else.

Edited November 26, 2011 by FootballDad

[hogheaven]

Congrats to Milan. Bring the title home to west tennessee. Dresden supports you 100%. Go West Tennessee Football!

[GCPioneer]

I've been to CAK's campus as well as I have family that lives about 10 minutes from there. CAK's school/campus is nothing to be ashamed of. Almost all public schools would drool over what CAK has despite it being smaller. Milan has a nice historic field with nice facilities, but CAK's place is prettttty nice.

 

I imagine this will be a GREAT 3A state championship game. Good luck to both teams!

[Abijah]

Lets go CAK make us proud.

Bring the gold ball back to east tenneessee

 

Looking forward to a trip to cookeville. Hey football dad any chance we can set up the helmet on the parking lot as the official tailgating party for CAK? I am sure the blue crew will bring the entertainment!

[bulldawgs#1]

If Huntingdon had played the team that played CPA last night they would've lost by a couple of scores. We've said all year that Milan had the talent but was underachieving. Having said that, Milan is not as good as they were in 03,08,09 and maybe a couple of there years, but if their DBs can play like they did last night, and the O-line can perform like it did in the first half we might just come away with that 5th gold ball. I remember after the regular season a Dyersburg fan (i think) saying that Milan was the worst 9-1 team in the state. You gotta love Milan's coaches and ability to win playoff games.

Edited November 27, 2011 by bulldawgs#1

[Tornadopride]

If the Huntingdon had played the team that played CPA last night they would've lost by a couple of scores. We've said all year that Milan had the talent but was underachieving. Having said that, Milan is not as good as they were in 03,08,09 and maybe a couple of there years, but if their DBs can play like they did last night, and the O-line can perform like it did in the first half we might just come away with that 5th gold ball. I remember after the regular season a Dyersburg fan (i think) saying that Milan was the worst 9-1 team in the state. You gotta love Milan's coaches and ability to win playoff games.

The regular season is just the pre-season games for Milan. They know how to step up and play during the playoffs. Good luck and bring another gold ball to western tennessee.

[sls]

Agree B1. Just like in 03, when Milan showed Huntingdon everything they needed to work on, Huntingdon did that to Milan this year. Huntingdon went on to win AA that year. Hopefully Milan has one more win in them. I have said all year, Milan's pass defense is horrible. It has gotten better, much better. Still some lapses. Should Finch go to a corner, I personally would feel much better. Milan must eliminate the turnovers and the silly mental mistake penalties. It is obvoius CAK can score. Should Milan give them extra opportunities, it could get ugly. This is a young Milan team. Go back and read Coach Morris preseason comments. It took a while. This team is not the seasoned group with D1 players this year. It was possible for them to get here, every one knew that. They survived. Definite underdawgs. Should have shots to make it back for the next 2-3 years, along with CPA, Fairview, etc.. Should Milan win, would be over achieving. Otherwise the silver would is not a bad thing, for this young group. Just like Alcoa, CPA, Maryville, etc., Milan has one goal every season, win a gold! Tradition never graduates! Go dawgs!

[swingjuice]

No disrespect for any 3A teams intended...but...let's be realistic here. Alcoa is not in the picture, and the fact of the matter is that Alcoa and Austin East were both 5 loss teams. When was the last time that Alcoa didnt come into the championship game with either one loss, or undefeated...and the one loss was usually a close loss to 6A, juggernaut Maryville. That is not true this year. 3A has to be down with Alcoa not being so dominant as before....3A is down for that reason alone.

 

Also, Milan played a lot of teams close this year, instead of beating them bad like past years...and, they lost to Huntingdon....in fact, I watched that game on the TSSAA website; and Huntingdon shut Milan down in the 2nd half...a single A team shut them down...a single A team that was beaten by Wayne Co....another single A team. So, Milan had a lot more dominating team with the Coleman's and Avery Williamson, and Gibronski Gilbert, and company.....

 

Now, I'm sure that CAK is a good team. Milan is a good team. I hope that Milan brings home the Gold Ball to W. TN....but, c'mon...if Milan wins it all, then that means that 2 single A teams are better than all the 3A teams in the state....Huntingdon and Wayne Co.

 

Volfan, the pills you took must of really kicked in just before you typed the last paragraph

of the above post. OR, maybe you've eaten too much over the last few days and your brain is only

running about 25% of normal, in either case, you need a nap!!!!

[Govolsknox]

No disrespect for any 3A teams intended...but...let's be realistic here. Alcoa is not in the picture, and the fact of the matter is that Alcoa and Austin East were both 5 loss teams. When was the last time that Alcoa didnt come into the championship game with either one loss, or undefeated...and the one loss was usually a close loss to 6A, juggernaut Maryville. That is not true this year. 3A has to be down with Alcoa not being so dominant as before....3A is down for that reason alone.

 

Also, Milan played a lot of teams close this year, instead of beating them bad like past years...and, they lost to Huntingdon....in fact, I watched that game on the TSSAA website; and Huntingdon shut Milan down in the 2nd half...a single A team shut them down...a single A team that was beaten by Wayne Co....another single A team. So, Milan had a lot more dominating team with the Coleman's and Avery Williamson, and Gibronski Gilbert, and company.....

 

Now, I'm sure that CAK is a good team. Milan is a good team. I hope that Milan brings home the Gold Ball to W. TN....but, c'mon...if Milan wins it all, then that means that 2 single A teams are better than all the 3A teams in the state....Huntingdon and Wayne Co.

 

Put simply, this is just a complete mischaracterization of 3A this year compared to the last few years. The bottom line is that the last several years there have been a handful of teams that would have been competitive with one another had they had an opportunity to play each other. I'm sure I'll leave out some, but for example, CAK, Milan, Camden, Goodpasture, Elizabethton, and a few others were at the top of 3A. Then, there was Alcoa, that was as good as any team in any classification. The fact is that Alcoa, this year, was with the top handful of 3A teams, but they were not head and shoulders above the rest of 3A, able to potentially beat any team in any classification. Bottom line is 3A is not down, Alcoa was down a notch. CAK played last years Alcoa team, a team that would have been a threat to any team in any class, to a 14-3 game in the playoffs. This year's CAK team offense is as good or better than last year's team, and the defense has made steady improvement throughout the year to close the gap on that side of the ball. Alcoa being "down" doesn't constitute 3A being down as a whole. Milan has had an outstanding season although I'm not as familiar with their statistics, and CAK has had a truly record setting season, breaking a number of records that may stand for quite some time (passing yards, completions, touchdowns). Let's let this season playout and see where these teams stack up against the past teams. My contention is that while Alcoa had a year that would have been considered a down year for them, some of the other top 3A teams would be a force to be reckoned with any year.