CAK vs. Darlington (Rome,GA)

[tallpine]

Does CAK still have 'nanner puddin' in the concession stand?

[Appvol]

I would like to see CAK play some Western North Carolina teams.

Edited August 21, 2012 by rjp119

[FootballDad]

Does CAK still have 'nanner puddin' in the concession stand?

We are suppose to, but I won't know for sure until this Saturday. It has kinda become a tradition for our concessions, so I would say yes right now.

[FootballDad]

I would like to see CAK play some Western North Carolina teams.

I would too. That may happen on this next 2 year scheduling cycle. It would be a great time for opponents to schedule the Warriors. I believe there will be a sizable drop in the overall talent level for CAK after this year. I would have preferred to see some of those games with this years team and the past 3 CAK teams.

Edited August 21, 2012 by FootballDad

[Monster00]

I don't know anything about darlington but I'm gonna say cak puts up to many points and blows them out!! Cak a great football team but I agree there are plenty teams in tn area that would love to play them!! Just gotta ask the right ones( no cupcakes) the better teams would love to play cak and prove who has it and who doesn't!! The studs are leaving soon and I don't know much about the underclass men but every team has great years here and there when certain kids like that come around! Best of luck to cak the rest of the year- they are a very fun and exciting team to watch!

[gettozero]

If CAK wants to play the best of out of state competition..give any school in the top 10 in Cincinnati D1 poll a call...they used to have the herbstriet shootout and the top 10 teams from Cincinnati would play the nations best.teams like delasalle,Tyler (Texas),Hoover.AL.and the worst the teams from Ohio ever went was 7-3....wish Tenn would do something like that to see how we stack.up

[CAKDUDE]

Georgia private schools do not have a multiplier and can give athletic scholarships.You can bet that every public school in the Knoxville area was called and most did not return calls. We need local public schools to play us.Darlington will have many scholarship players, most folks can not afford a tuition of 40 k per year.

[SweetScience]

With all due respect, there are not NEARLY as many East TN teams who would play CAK as you think. Fulton was on the schedule last year (or the year before) and backed out. Coach Bradley had to call something in the range of 70-80 teams to find a replacement opponent. We already have several higher division opponents on the schedule, such as Anderson County (5A), Gibbs (4A), Lavergne (6A)(had to agree to a two-year away/away deal with them to get them on the schedule, so we already have one three-hour from home game). I can understand why some higher division schools would be reluctant to play CAK--we don't bring a huge crowd, if you're a 5 or 6A team and beat a 3A team, everybody says "you're supposed to beat them," and if you lose to a 3A school, it hurts your overall record for purposes of playoff seeding. But if you're sure the teams you listed would agree to play us, Coach Bradley can enlist your help next time he needs to fill up his schedule and you can talk one of those teams into adding CAK.

Not many 6A teams wanna schedule a 3A team who has a great chance of beating them. Wouldn't look very good on that team, but CAK isn't your typical 3A team. Only reason Maryville does it is because them and Alcoa have been playing for close to if not 100 years every year. Little different. It's just too big of a risk. Just beinh honest and humble.

[jake]

I can't find much information about Darlington, but thought somebody else may have some insight. What type of team will they bring to Knoxville? Last year we traveled to Lexington, KY to play LCA and knew very little about them other than they had been pretty good just a year or two before. Of course it was a lopsided victory for CAK and so LCA neglected their obligation to return to Knoxville this year and bought their way out of the contract. Very pleased and much respect for Darlington for picking up this game and agreeing to travel to Knoxville this year. I know the schools are similar in size and they wear purple, but thats about all I know about them.

 

Any thoughts about Darlington would be appreciated....

 

I don't know anything about them either, but looking at their website, they seem to have sent many kids on to play some small college football since 2007, and some to schools such as Florida State and Auburn. No state championships in a long time, but routinely have won region championships, but always seem to lose out in the 2nd and 3rd round of the playoffs when they start facing familiar names such as Buford H.S. My guess is that you will see a pretty good team, they play in one of the top football states in the south, however, I would guess that the bulk of their opponents are power rushing teams. When they get on the field with you guys, they will feel like they are playing on Monday night football. I think your passing game will be more than they can handle.

[Govolsknox]

Not many 6A teams wanna schedule a 3A team who has a great chance of beating them. Wouldn't look very good on that team, but CAK isn't your typical 3A team. Only reason Maryville does it is because them and Alcoa have been playing for close to if not 100 years every year. Little different. It's just too big of a risk. Just beinh honest and humble.

 

I think you are right on target here. I am aware of several prominent programs in higher classifications that had zero interest in playing CAK. Until the TSSAA changes the playoff selection / seeding format, it is just too advantageous to schedule easier teams, and virtually no upside to scheduling more difficult teams in East TN. There are some areas, such as NE TN, that might view it as an acceptable risk to face stiffer regular season opponents to be more prepared for a run in the playoffs, but not in East TN where everyone gets plenty of opportunity to face late round playoff caliber competition.

 

In addition to the excellent points Sweetscience, Footballdad, and others have made, there is another factor IMO that I haven't seen previously mentioned. CAK runs a very unique offense for HS ball, unlike any other that I have seen. It is really not even like what I have seen with other "pass happy" teams such as Anderson County. I think many coaches may believe that it is difficult to prepare for, and that they will not have to see another offense like it in the playoffs, which negates any advantage of facing it in the regular season. For instance, I can see that if you thought you might face a tough Wing T team in the playoffs, you might find some advantage is scheduling a Wing T team. I'm just not sure there is another passing attack out there that is very similar to what CAK runs.

 

But to me the bottom line is that CAK is getting a dose of scheduling problems, just like all the other successful programs are seeing. I know Alcoa has a terrible time filling out their schedule. Unless the TSSAA gives more weight to strength of schedule, or provides some additional incentive to schedule tougher teams, this trend is only going to continue.

[FootballDad]

 

CAK runs a very unique offense for HS ball, unlike any other that I have seen. It is really not even like what I have seen with other "pass happy" teams such as Anderson County. I think many coaches may believe that it is difficult to prepare for, and that they will not have to see another offense like it in the playoffs, which negates any advantage of facing it in the regular season. For instance, I can see that if you thought you might face a tough Wing T team in the playoffs, you might find some advantage is scheduling a Wing T team. I'm just not sure there is another passing attack out there that is very similar to what CAK runs.

 

But to me the bottom line is that CAK is getting a dose of scheduling problems, just like all the other successful programs are seeing. I know Alcoa has a terrible time filling out their schedule. Unless the TSSAA gives more weight to strength of schedule, or provides some additional incentive to schedule tougher teams, this trend is only going to continue.

 

Very good point GVK

 

I would just like to add that while we (CAK) have enjoyed much success over the past few years I don't want any discussion of our scheduling headaches to be interpreted as arrogance. I know most of us Warrior fans don't believe we are invincible world beaters and that the traditional upper echelon teams are afraid of us. Alcoa keeps us humble. We just don't have the numbers or overall athletes to stand toe to toe, year to year with incredible programs like some of those schools mentioned previously. CAK does present unique challenges to our opponents and hopefully we have earned some respect on and off the field. I understand the dynamics of why we are having difficulty in scheduling. Not only do we have to find schools willing to play us, we have to be willing to play them as well. Right now our options outside of our district are quickly becoming D2's or schools with approximately 4-5 times the enrollment or schools 200-400 miles away. So I applaud Darlington for coming to Knoxville on such short notice. They may beat our butts up and down the field, or likewise, but I tip my hat to them and hope they win every game they play except for the one this Saturday .

[goosevol]

If they act like Muschamp on the sideline then expect a lot of crying about calls.