FINAL SUMMARY: 1A

[WesVLT]

LEAGUE LEADERS

 

Record:

Cloudland 13-1

USJ 13-1

 

Offense:

Cloudland 41.9...587

Ezell-Harding 41.1...493

Greenback 39.8...518

 

Defense:

Greenback 7.9...103

USJ 8.1...113

Ezell-Harding 9.6...115

 

Victory Margin:

Ezell-Harding 31.5...378

Cloudland 30.9...432

Greenback 30.2...415

 

Winning Streak:

USJ 13

Cloudland 13

 

Comeback Team:

CPA...Started 0-3, Finished 12-3

 

Region of the Year:

Region 5...1 Champion, 2 Top 8, 3 Top 16...8-3 Playoff Record

 

Player of the Year:

Will Healy, Boyd-Buchanan

 

Coach of the Year:

David Pack, CPA

 

Grudge Match of the Year:

CPA vs. Ezell-Harding (Ezell 16-7, CPA 24-7)

 

Perennial Power:

CPA

 

Small Town, Big Team:

Cloudland

 

Summary:

Coming into the season, there were many teams who held legitimate championship aspirations. The Ezell-Harding Eagles appeared to be the favorite since they were the defending champs and had many returning starters. Early in the season, Cloudland, Boyd-Buchanan, and USJ also appeared to be very strong. Greenback started with surprising dominance, and CPA endured 3 tough losses (USJ, Ezell, Goodpasture). As the season rolled on, Ezell beat CPA and Boyd, USJ topped CPA, and Cloudland beat Powell Valley (only a momentous victory on this board). Some other predators started to emerge as well -- Gordonsville, Bruceton, Collinwood, South Pittsburgh. When the playoffs began, there were 5 undefeated teams (Cloudland, Greenback, Ezell-Harding, USJ, and Collinwood). Then the true victors emerged. Collinwood was the first unbeaten team to fall (31-6 to CPA in the 2nd Round). In the Quarterfinals Ezell-Harding (24-7 to CPA) and Greenback (22-7 to Cloudland) were ousted. And then there were 4 -- Cloudland (13-0), Boyd-Buchanan (12-1), CPA (10-3), and USJ (13-0). Both undefeated teams were beaten, and the Lions and Bucs took the stage for the final conquest. In an epic tale of two halfs and a third portion, CPA outlasted Boyd-Buchanan and took home the holy grail (also known as the Gold Ball) with a 26-20 Overtime victory. Region 5 took home its 3rd straight title, and the Lions roared for the second time in 3 years.

 

CHAMPION: Christ Presbyterian Academy

(they would argue that it was predestined)

 

(sorry, I couldn't resist...)

[Edited by WesVols on 12-10-02 5:26P]

 

[Guest 481]

Predestined, nah, but as I said early in the season, the best team religion can buy.

 

Think back over the season and how much coverage CPA received in the media. The money the school has spent on developing the program through facilities and coaching staff. Any well run business would not be satisfied to spend that amount of cash and be satisfied with anything less then a championship.

 

Please leave destiny out of it. It is a focused business with a desire to excellent in football.

[divepix]

481, yes, CPA has good facilities and good coaching. Here's some things you didn't know. CPA played on another school's Middle School field for it's home games for the first 6 1/2 years of it's program and improved it's record each year it was there, making the playoffs 3 times. During that time the families, not the school, raised money to build the field. Here's something else - CPA's first coach was one of the ministers of the church and coached as a side job for "peanuts" pay - yet he led them to more victories every year prior to CPA hiring Coach Pack. Here's another one - Coach Pack turned down a much higher paying job at his alma mater (MBA) last year because he loves CPA and the kids there. It's not all about money. One last thing - there is an advantage at CPA and at other private and public schools as well that are regular winners. That advantage is a dedicated group of faculty, parents and well disciplined kids who are taught that excellence and hard work in all things is a virtue. When the public/private split occurs, what will be the excuse used against Maryville, Riverdale, Germantown and all the other public schools who work towards and strive for excellence only to be accused of being cheaters?

What is the lesson we are teaching the public school kids with the split? That when they graduate they won't have to compete against others who may seem to have an advantage? When they lose that job offer to someone from a private school are they going to go crying to the TSSAA that it is unfair or ar they going to strive harder toward excellence to overcome any perceived disadvantage?

Just some thoughts.

[VolunteerGeneral]

divepix....A good mark! You had some very good thoughts in that post.

[WesVLT]

divepix, can we put you on the TSSAA Board of Control? I think you have more sense than all of them put together...

[sportsfan101]

Great response. I'm sure that if Ezell, USJ, DCA or any other private school had won, the same would have been said. If you're from outside of Nashville, stop by Ezell-Harding on Bell Road the next time through and look at the luxurious fieldhouse and facilities. I'm sure that is what attracts players.

[moonie]

The TSSAA awarded 7 State Championships this year. How many went to private schools and how many went to public schools?

[RyanRowdy]

hmmm (I dont remember seeing that fieldhouse you speak of)

 

No, what really attracted them is to some and sit in the bleachers and cheer for the softball team.

[divepix]

Moonie,

First of all, 2 of the 7 championships only private schools can win because they are private school divisions. Of the other 5, 2 were won by private schools, so what is your beef? My point is that segregation should not occur due to a perceived advantage if the game is being played by the rules of football with kids who are all legitimate high schoolers. Again, what is the excuse you use for Riverdale, Maryville, and other public schools who dominate? Our society is too full of people who place the blame on their circumstances on others, rather than doing what it takes to achieve, excel, and overcome on their own efforts.

The public / private split forced on our kids by adults (and underachieving coaching staffs) tells our kids that the way to be a winner is to segregate yourself from those you think have an advantage. They will never become winners in life living that way.

[OnlineLC]

I agree with Pioneer, WesVols put a lot of effort into gathering information to start this thread so we don't need to place posts that will have the thread moved or locked.

 

I think this year has been the most exciting race we have had in 1A for a long time. If you look at all the numbers WesVols pulled together, there is hardly a mention of CPA or Boyd for the regular season. It certainly goes to show that peaking at the right time has it's advantages. I think it also shows how crucial it is to schedule tough competition during the regular season so you know exactly what level you have to reach come playoff time.

 

The biggest surprise team to me this year was USJ. They were made up of mostly Juniors and Sophomores and were supposed to be in a rebuilding year. If I had to bet on a team to win 1A next year, I would go with them.

[renegade4ever]

Divepix, The question I wish someone would answered is the comment that Ezell coach made in the paper. He made the statement that they simple outwork other (public)school. If that is the case, I can"t remember him having more than a 4 win season while coaching at Greenbrier. Why didn"t he outwork all the other school then. I know that Greenbrier had more students to select from than Ezell. But, I also know that for the last two years Ezell could have won in 3A ball! :confused:

[jsh969]

I don't think that the answer to the problem with public and privates is to split them. The answer is for the public school board to do better with education and other issues in schools. I don't mean to offend anyone by saying this, but the public school system is getting worse and that is why more people are going to private schools. As you can see this doesn't affect larger divisions because public schools won 3,4, and 5a state championships. It is the small public schools that are having the problem, because parents decide to send their kids to a better school, so they send them to Boyd, Ezell, CPA, and schools like that which are smaller. Naturally athletes are mixed in there. Because of that the private schools are getting more athletes and publics are losing them. Of course privates are going to be better because of this. I don't think publics and privates should be split. The school system just needs to get better. If parents don't mind their kids going to public schools after it gets better, then public schools will probably start dominating again.