Gerry Bertier's 3A Top 10 heading into Week 9

[Gerry Bertier]

Only 3 more weeks until the playoffs start. Coach Boone and Coach Yoast use to preach to me you can't win a state championship in October, but you can lose it if you don't put in the hard work and determination at practice during that time. I still remember that day when Blue complained about water, and Coach Boone got all over him. He made us tough and tough and grit is what wins in the playoffs. So lets look at who has the grit and toughness in 3A to make the top 10.

1. Pearl Cohn (6-2) - The Firebirds got a quality win over 6A Cordova this week propels them into the top spot. Up to this point I feel like they have a better resume than Alcoa so Coach Brunetti and Co. take the top spot this week.

2. Alcoa- (5-2)- The Tornadoes lose their top spot in the rankings due to Pearl Cohn's impressive win against a better 6A team than the Tornadoes beat the week before. It is looking like PC and Alcoa are destined to meet in the 3A Championship barring a major upset. 

3. Austin-East (6-1)- The Roadrunners one blemish on the season is a 20-14 loss to rival Fulton. This team can play and will be Alcoa's biggest hurdle in returning to Cookeville. They will need to stay away from the injury and turnover bug to make a deep run. 

4. Raleigh-Egypt (7-0)- The Pharaohs keep rolling along with HC Major Wright. Granted their schedule is not been the strongest, but they have a quality win over Arlington. Great athletes and great coaching= November Success. The Pharaohs could make the trip up I-40 to face PC in the semis if they get through a brutal Quad 4.

5. Covington- (6-1)- We are about to see how for real this Chargers squad is this season as they have a tough 3 game stretch to close the season. Probably the toughest out of any team in the top 10. If they are 9-1 heading into the playoffs, look out for them to make a deep run. 

6. Fairview (6-2)- Since the Jackets drop a double OT thriller to Waverly they have been on a tear outscoring their opponents 180-7 in the last 4 games. They are off this week but they are stepping up in classification with a showdown with Ravenwood. This game will show us if the Jackets can hang with some top notch competition. 

7. Giles County (4-3)- The 1st of two 3 loss teams in the rankings. But Coach O'Conner and the Bobcats have watched a lot of Marshall High School tape from back in my days in Virginia and they love to throw the ball around the yard. Tough to defend offense. I question their defense and line play, but OC has a gold ball on his resume and knows what it takes to win in November. 

8. Red Bank (5-2)- The Lions dropped a close game to Walker Valley this week. The loss to the Mustangs drops them in the poll this week as a begin to question the quality of football in the Chattanooga area. Looking forward to the Week 11 match up with Loudon as the winner of that game will give us an indication who will make the semis to face Alcoa.

9. Milan (4-3)- Coach Morris and the Bulldogs may have 3 losses but I would not want to be a HC who has to face them in November. They have the hardware to prove they know what it takes to be successful in November. Their toughness and perseverance reminds me of Rev, who was a great teammate that overcame a heartbreaking injury to bring us.

10. Loudon (6-1)- The Redskins keep moving along after dropping their 1st game of the year against frequent Cookeville visitor, Greenback. The end of the season match up against Red Bank should give us a clear idea where Loudon stands in the 3A ranks.

 

Next 5 Out: Johnson County, South Gibson, Bolivar, Kingston, and Cheatham Co.

Last week some yahoo from down in the Valley tried to call into question my poll. As Rev use to say, "God we come before you today and ask you to soften Big Bolddust's heart. He does not understand the Squatch is not a top 15 team in 3A this year. So please work on him as he sits in his beat up Ford Pinto everyday watching the Indians practice while he takes meticulous notes that he "shares" with Coach Caine every week that he hopes will be implemented into the game plan but doesn't realize are discarded in the dumpster soon after he leaves the reservation."

 

Discuss.

 

 

[32hammer]

Polls are fun. I would question PC's 3 TD loss vs Cookeville. I think that's the game that stands out.

comparing a few games

Alcoa lost by 4 points to 15 time state champion Maryville (6A)

Alcoa lost to Corbin (KY) in KY by 1 point in OT (Possibly the worst officiated game I've ever seen, heard the ref was former Corbin principal LOL)

Alcoa beats 6A DB at DB by 4

PC won at home over CPA in OT 49-46. CPA since lost to Hillsboro at CPA

PC won at home vs MC by 4

PC beat Cordova (6A) at home 62-47

PC lost to Cookeville at Ckville by 3 TDs

PC lost to MBA by 19 ( major respect for scheduling the big private)

PC hasn't beaten a quality team on the road. PC has let three teams score 45 points on them. Alcoa has lost two games by a total of 5 points. PC has lost two games by a total of 40 points.

Kudos to both schools for scheduling TOUGH teams.

If both make it to Cookeville , should be one heck of a game!

 

 

[payner410]

6 minutes ago, 32hammer said:

Polls are fun. I would question PC's 3 TD loss vs Cookeville. I think that's the game that stands out.

comparing a few games

Alcoa lost by 4 points to 15 time state champion Maryville (6A)

Alcoa lost to Corbin (KY) in KY by 1 point in OT (Possibly the worst officiated game I've ever seen, heard the ref was former Corbin principal LOL)

Alcoa beats 6A DB at DB by 4

PC won at home over CPA in OT 49-46. CPA since lost to Hillsboro at CPA

PC won at home vs MC by 4

PC beat Cordova (6A) at home 62-47

PC lost to Cookeville at Ckville by 3 TDs

PC lost to MBA by 19 ( major respect for scheduling the big private)

PC hasn't beaten a quality team on the road. PC has let three teams score 45 points on them. Alcoa has lost two games by a total of 5 points. PC has lost two games by a total of 40 points.

Kudos to both schools for scheduling TOUGH teams.

If both make it to Cookeville , should be one heck of a game!

 

 

And they will!!!

[CHARGERFAN]

I agree with you about Covington's last 3 games. Per the AP poll, we have South Gibson County (ranked #7 in 3A), Crockett County (ranked #2 in 4A), and Bolivar (#9 in 3A). I don't expect that there is a schedule to match that anywhere.

in addition, we have already played Munford (ranked #7 in 5A) which was our only loss, and defeated Milan at their place (in the top 10 in 3A at the time), and shut out Brighton (a 5A team). 

You are right that at 9-1 the Chargers would be on a roll. However, we could clinch the region with a win at SGC this week. The rest will come one game at a time.

[32hammer]

A-E has only played 3 teams with a winning record.

lost to Fulton who lost to Maryville 41-12

A-E has not beaten a team with a quality win on their resume

 

[BreadTruck28]

2 hours ago, 32hammer said:

Polls are fun. I would question PC's 3 TD loss vs Cookeville. I think that's the game that stands out.

comparing a few games

Alcoa lost by 4 points to 15 time state champion Maryville (6A)

Alcoa lost to Corbin (KY) in KY by 1 point in OT (Possibly the worst officiated game I've ever seen, heard the ref was former Corbin principal LOL)

Alcoa beats 6A DB at DB by 4

PC won at home over CPA in OT 49-46. CPA since lost to Hillsboro at CPA

PC won at home vs MC by 4

PC beat Cordova (6A) at home 62-47

PC lost to Cookeville at Ckville by 3 TDs

PC lost to MBA by 19 ( major respect for scheduling the big private)

PC hasn't beaten a quality team on the road. PC has let three teams score 45 points on them. Alcoa has lost two games by a total of 5 points. PC has lost two games by a total of 40 points.

Kudos to both schools for scheduling TOUGH teams.

If both make it to Cookeville , should be one heck of a game!

 

 

Football is funny.  CPA did lose to Hillsboro but beat Independence 55-20 who beat Hillsboro 49-17.  CPA also beat Ensworth who beat MBA while MBA beat PC and PC beat CPA.

If PC tightens up their pass defense (which may be hard as tall WRs have a big advantage over the PC secondary) and cuts out the personal fouls (can't retaliate and be provoked into such) they'll be hard to beat in the 3A playoffs.

Edited October 10, 2017 by bcd

[DevilMan03]

Gerry please do 4a! 

[FIREBIRD80]

1 hour ago, 32hammer said:

Polls are fun. I would question PC's 3 TD loss vs Cookeville. I think that's the game that stands out.

comparing a few games

Alcoa lost by 4 points to 15 time state champion Maryville (6A)

Alcoa lost to Corbin (KY) in KY by 1 point in OT (Possibly the worst officiated game I've ever seen, heard the ref was former Corbin principal LOL)

Alcoa beats 6A DB at DB by 4

PC won at home over CPA in OT 49-46. CPA since lost to Hillsboro at CPA

PC won at home vs MC by 4

PC beat Cordova (6A) at home 62-47

PC lost to Cookeville at Ckville by 3 TDs

PC lost to MBA by 19 ( major respect for scheduling the big private)

PC hasn't beaten a quality team on the road. PC has let three teams score 45 points on them. Alcoa has lost two games by a total of 5 points. PC has lost two games by a total of 40 points.

Kudos to both schools for scheduling TOUGH teams.

If both make it to Cookeville , should be one heck of a game!

 

 

PC has no more road games left. So if they happen to get beat it'll be at home, where PC hasn't loss since 2011 I think.

[32hammer]

8 minutes ago, FIREBIRD80 said:

PC has no more road games left. So if they happen to get beat it'll be at home, where PC hasn't loss since 2011 I think.

Impressive streak for sure.

[Lead]

1 hour ago, DevilMan03 said:

Gerry please do 4a! 

Greeneville has been #1 in every poll across the state. Don't know why his would be any different.

[DevilMan03]

21 minutes ago, leadfarmer said:

Greeneville has been #1 in every poll across the state. Don't know why his would be any different.

Wanted input of all top 10

[Lead]

6 minutes ago, DevilMan03 said:

Wanted input of all top 10

Gerry is a 3A guy. Don't know who could do 4A. FreeAgent11 would be a good one to do 4A. Maybe we can talk him into it.