Brentwood Academy - Ensworth

[Rainwater]

Maybe Ricky should just stay home on Friday nights. The 2 headed monster of Wade and Rodriquez will have it under control. I have watched a ton of games and seen Ricky have his all his QB's (Jefferson, Campbell, Parker and Bowers) come to the sideline and get the next play. Wade is not normally in that meeting and Ricky is not wearing a headset so how is Wade calling ALL the plays? Ricky also signals, whistles and shouts at his QB to change plays at the line of scrimmage. Ricky is a control freak and has more input in the plays and schemes than you might think.

 

I'm not saying Coach Bowers is not involved. As we all know he is very involved. However, he has surrounded himself with quality people that schematically are more knowledgable than he. Coach Bowers is a great motivator and coach. I think from a schematic standpoint you would agree that he has great people around him. All defensive responsiblities are on JRod. Wade is a great OL coach and playcaller. Wade hasn't won 8 state championships at 4 different schools not knowing what he is doing. Does CB have the authority to audible if needed? Of course he does......he is the HC. The same principle resides on the defensive side of the ball as well.

 

The 2 headed monster of Wade and Rodriquez will have it under control. - Fact: Bowers has never won a championship at Ensworth until Wade got there.

 

How was Ralph Potter working for you?

[AllRegion]

I don't know much about Coach White and his coaching staff at BA, but I have a couple questions for those who are more familiar with the Eagles than I am. First, BA has looked a lot better this year than they have in the past three or four years. Do you believe that this is due to BA going out and getting a top-notch coach, or is this just a talented group of seniors? Also, I'm excited to see how this BA team will look in the future. Are the Eagles a team with a lot of young talent waiting in the wings, or is this a senior-heavy group? I can't wait to watch this game...it should be a great one! Before the season I was completely convinced that Ensworth would run the table, but now I'm not as sure about that.

[shakinthefat]

How was Ralph Potter working for you?

 

I don't follow McCallie.

[meritage]

Allregion - i'll take a shot and try to be brief. I think it is a combination of factors for the better play. Yes there is lots of talent in the Sr class but they are also a very tight group - something i sure have not seen the last few yrs at BA. I know some might roll their eyes at that but from my perspective, this group is really working together to drive the entire team. There were many instances of guys calling each other out in the huddle last yr. I think teamwork goes a long way

 

The coaching is indeed an uptick and it's more about attitude, hard work, respect and getting these boys to push themselves and do more. This is my son's Sr season and it is not even close when you compare the commitment and level of hard work this yr to previous yrs. And the coaches are now on the same pg - working towards the same goals, AND the assts are getting a chance to coach for once. They are not doing anything wildly different in schemes but they are taking advantage of all of their talent - that's been obvious in the box scores - defense and offense. Yes they bring some new ideas for running their offense and defense but they also have shown they will change their plans based on who they are playing. Someone said it earlier - they called the plays from the stands last yr. We all did and we were right almost every time. In any case, the boys love playing for these guys - goes a long way

 

As for upcoming talent - i think we lose some great talent this year but i think there is a lot that is playing/starting now and more to come. Skill and line guys. Outside of mason our best trenches guys are underclassmen. Barnett is a beast and a Jr - same with Pittman - a soph. Both will play big time DI pgms. My opinion is that with 2 yrs into the new system, next yrs team could be very very good. Yes a new QB BUT he has gotten lots of playing time this yr.

 

sorry went too long and off topic to answer your question. I'm sure e-worth will be loaded next yr also but i think the 2 of them will be the top teams again. long way to go yet this season and anything can happen. while i'm nervous about fri nite, it will really matter in Nov

[GameOn44]

I have a feeling Ricky will keep it vanilla Friday night....stick with Corn, set up the play action with Bowers, trust his defense/special teams. That may be good enough to beat BA; maybe not...I don't think he will pull out all the stops to win this one....he's well aware of what it means to face a team twice in this league, especially with these 2 meeting up so late in the season. The new BA coach probably doesn't get that at this point. I think, deep down, Ricky would love to lose this game and use it as motivation for his team going into the play-offs. My guess is that two of his great coaching disappointments have been losing rematches in the play-offs, where he won the regular season game with clearly the better team....State title in '97 (lost to FRHS in Clinic Bowl); '09 (lost to MBA in play-offs). Last year his team throttled Baylor after losing to them in the regular season.

 

My pick is BA 21, EHS 13...no way this is a high scoring game--both defenses are too good.....JMO.....

 

"The new BA coach probably doesn't get that at this point.", Yeah I am sure coaching for programs like Permian High School and Highland Park High School (winningest program in TX history) that have to compete with over 250 schools in their class has not prepared him for little ole DII Mid-Tn football. I mean just because Coach White has had to coach against coaches of 3 or 4 of the top high school football programs in the entier country every years for 20 years, that would not give him the ability to unwrap the great Bowers. Give me a break. From a coaching standpoint, if you have paid attention this year, both staffs will be ready. It will come down to players on the field executing their plan.

[big red big blue]

Guess we'll find out. First year and he's the guy to take down Ricky twice? With that ensworth team? That's some confidence right there....

[meritage]

i would think neither bowers or cody will win twice. pretty tall task.

 

as for helping poor cody...

 

keep it vanilla? corn left and right, corn KO return, corn KO gunner, corn punt return, corn punt blocker, corn defense, corn block punt, corn bubble screen - yep, keep it vanilla. Make sure you save Corn kicking extra points and field goals for the playoffs

 

have you had a conversation with white or met him since you seem to know he does not get it? he is a no nonsense guy - no BS, not full of himself and pretty smart regarding football. you might want to dig a bit and find out about the conversations that went on with playing thurs nite on espn2 vs playing fri nite on espnu. those conversations alone say a lot about the man.

 

he may very well lose fri nite but he'll take that and make the necessary changes when and if they meet again. pretty presumptious of you to think that he "does not get it". let's see his impact a few yrs from now - that will be the true measure of his ability.

[baylorbigdog1976]

No doubt Ricky is one of the top coaches in tennessee along with Quarles and a few others as well ..i do think the BA coaching staff is right up there again with the addition of coach white and his team. So you are right .. Both teams will be prepared and the players will decide the outcome.

[owlbooster]

My prediction is that both teams will remain vanilla because they both know they will see each other again and this game really does not matter, other than bragging rights.

So having to go through Memphis to get to Cookeville doesn't matter??? How did that work out for BA last year? Wow - you really are confident. Notice who has the most gold balls in the last decade; overlook them at your own peril.

Edited October 17, 2012 by owlbooster

[GameOn44]

So having to go through Memphis to get to Cookeville doesn't matter??? How did that work out for BA last year? Wow - you really are confident. Notice who has the most gold balls in the last decade; overlook them at your own peril.

 

Different world amigo, ask anyone close to the program. This BA team is not even close to mirroring last years team. This year BA is a different level. Cody and Norris have brought a much higher level of expectations and their kids are rising to meet them.

[big red big blue]

Goodness gracious in heaven......where are you people coming up with this stuff? It's his first year coaching in this format, that, lets face it is pretty unique. No I haven't talked to him. He hasn't reached out to me. I'm basing that thought (that he may not get IN HIS FIRST YEAR the d2 format) on just about every past example going back to the beginning of d2. What do the next several years have to do with this year, where I'm saying his unfamiliarity with this format might be a factor? That doesn't make sense. Regardless, here are two specific examples:

 

Long time ago Ricky Bowers, who I think is the best coach in the state, didn't get how hard it was to beat a team twice in this goofy format that the TSSAA has left for us all. As I said in the first post, his MBA team played FRHS in the clinic bowl in 1997. FRHS won the rematch mainly because Ricky stuck with the original gameplan that had worked well the first time around, while FRHS made the adjustments. Ryan knew exactly what was coming. Ricky learned from that, IMO.

 

Next example-- your own legendary Carlton Flatt. Winner of multiple state titles, winner against some of the best teams in the nation, head coach of some of the best teams ever in this state ('88, '95-'96), winningest coach in TN history. First time back coaching in the D2 format in 2002....throttles MBA in the regular season. Meets them again in the clinic bowl and same thing-- no changes to the gameplan, MBA wins the rematch easily.

 

So two of the greatest coaches the state has ever seen had to change the way they approached things with this format....but hey, it's easy right? What am I thinking to question whether or not a coach from Texas has it figured out in his first year? Ricky didn't get it. Carlton didn't get it. But I guess Coach White does get it, and this won't be an issue...

Edited October 17, 2012 by big red big blue

[AllRegion]

Allregion - i'll take a shot and try to be brief. I think it is a combination of factors for the better play. Yes there is lots of talent in the Sr class but they are also a very tight group - something i sure have not seen the last few yrs at BA. I know some might roll their eyes at that but from my perspective, this group is really working together to drive the entire team. There were many instances of guys calling each other out in the huddle last yr. I think teamwork goes a long way

 

The coaching is indeed an uptick and it's more about attitude, hard work, respect and getting these boys to push themselves and do more. This is my son's Sr season and it is not even close when you compare the commitment and level of hard work this yr to previous yrs. And the coaches are now on the same pg - working towards the same goals, AND the assts are getting a chance to coach for once. They are not doing anything wildly different in schemes but they are taking advantage of all of their talent - that's been obvious in the box scores - defense and offense. Yes they bring some new ideas for running their offense and defense but they also have shown they will change their plans based on who they are playing. Someone said it earlier - they called the plays from the stands last yr. We all did and we were right almost every time. In any case, the boys love playing for these guys - goes a long way

 

As for upcoming talent - i think we lose some great talent this year but i think there is a lot that is playing/starting now and more to come. Skill and line guys. Outside of mason our best trenches guys are underclassmen. Barnett is a beast and a Jr - same with Pittman - a soph. Both will play big time DI pgms. My opinion is that with 2 yrs into the new system, next yrs team could be very very good. Yes a new QB BUT he has gotten lots of playing time this yr.

 

sorry went too long and off topic to answer your question. I'm sure e-worth will be loaded next yr also but i think the 2 of them will be the top teams again. long way to go yet this season and anything can happen. while i'm nervous about fri nite, it will really matter in Nov

 

Thanks for your reply, meritage! I appreciate your well-thought out post...I don't think it was too long at all, I enjoyed the detail. From the way it sounds, the future is looking bright at Brentwood Academy. I'm no expert on Ensworth either, but it sounds like they are a fairly senior-laden team this year, especially with Elder leaving. If this turns out to be their year, I may say that next year will be BA's.

 

Do you know if BA is playing Trinity again next season, and if they aren't, are the Eagles replacing them with another big out-of-state game? I'd be excited to see something like that.