Williamson County

[WesVLT]

It's time for Week Zero!! Who else is as thrilled as I am? There are three county games on tap for the inaugural friday night of football, and all three feature interregion matchups between teams who made the playoffs last year.

 

Lincoln County at Franklin

Of the three games kicking off in Williamson County this friday, the Lincoln County-Franklin game features the most interesting grudge match. Two years ago Franklin crawled to a 7-6 victory over a mediocre Falcon squad, but last year Fayetteville's finest, much improved from the season before, claimed their revenge, swooping to a 38-33 barnburning victory. Lincoln County fell in the quarterfinals last season, while the Rebels lost in the semis. This season both teams will start a plethora of new players, each squad trying to prove it can return to a comparable level of prominence. Don't expect either team to look quite like it did last year; instead, anticipate a sloppy affair characterized by turnovers and dropped passes. In the end, though, expect Franklin's athleticism to provide the edge as the Rebels take the rubber game of the series and win for the 23rd time in 28 games.

PREDICTION: Franklin 20, Lincoln County 13

 

Centennial at Academy

An unwritten rule graces the football annals of South Nashville: When Brentwood Academy plays a Williamson County team, they win. The Eagles have never lost to a team from their county in 34 years of gridiron action; however, the Centennial Cougars may present one of the biggest threats to the streak. With veteran QB Taylor Scott and returners Curtis Steele and Tommy Buchanan anchoring a proficient wishbone attack driven by a group of oxen, Centennial's offense incites little questions regarding its ability. Its defense, however, raises concerns that could seriously undermine any chance for victory. Last year the Cougars surrendered 27 points per game, and the defensive outlook doesn't look much more encouraging this year. The Eagles will be breaking in a new quarterback -- Senior Brad Bowker -- but he may not be in great need. Though BA lost its top two rushers (Townsend and Holbert), youngsters like Tyree Ford and Ryan White posseess the ability to break the game open, as do veterans Tyler Griffin (one of the best athletes ever to play for BA) and Parker Cason (can be a bruising fullback if needed). The Eagles' offensive line is more than capable of paving many roads for the runners, with D1 recruit and 2-time all-stater Nick Forte anchoring the Eagle hogs. If Brentwood Academy is to exploit the Centennial defense, it will be on the ground. The BA defense looks strong, if inexperienced. The defensive line will be young and talented, and the secondary is extremely speedy; the linebacking corps, however, will set the pace. Tyler Griffin is the hardest hitter in the state, and Parker Cason is not far behind. These two will face the unenviable task of stuffing the Cougar rushing attack, and their speed and tenacity make them more than capable. Brentwood Academy stays undefeated in the county.

PREDICTION: Academy 27, Centennial 16

 

Grundy County at Page

Grundy County returns seven on offense, and six on defense, and is looking to build on last year's second-round fortunes; however, Page returns a comparable amount of ballers and will be playing under a new (to them), highly vaunted coach in Alvin Palmer. The Patriots' problem, however, is the loss of talented two-year starting QB Jared Elliott. Youth at the QB spot will force them to be one-dimensional on the ground, giving the advantage to Grundy's experienced front four. I'll take the Yellow Jackets.

PREDICTION: Grundy County 19, Page 7

 

Tell us your picks and why you're making them.

Edited August 16, 2004 by WesVols

[WatchThis]

I hope you do this every week Wes! Nice preview and predictions. Kudos.

[muffin]

Lincoln Co. in a hard fought game by a score of 23 - 20. Brentwood Aca in a landslide 38-6. Grundy Co over Page 23-8

[FHSrebel27]

Of course Wes will be doing this every week. It's the third year of him doing so... and third year of me chosing whether to disagree or agree with him.

 

For the first time in a long while, I agree with Wes on every game. Maybe that's because there are only three games!

 

Franklin will win. They both lost a lot, but Franklin returns more. The defense is going to be stout with Henry County's former head coach taking the reigns there. And you know that on the offensive side of the ball Danny Nowell is going to have the best game plan there can be. I don't know about dropped passes though, Wes. I don't think you'll see Franklin airing it out much here early in the season. Ball controll is going to be a key to the Rebs this season.

 

Brentwood Academy will win. I certainly agree with that... I just think it'll be closer than Wes predicts. BA will take the lead early, but Centennial hangs around... maybe even a couple lead changes. BA scores with about 5:00 left in the fourth and then Centennial fumbles it to give BA the win.

 

Grundy County will win. I wish Coach P didn't have to start out like this, but it might get ugly. We'll just have to see. Hopefully not.

 

Good luck to every county team this week!

[sportsguy1976]

Just FYI, Wes... your statement about BA never having lost to a Williamson County team is not exactly correct... we've checked the books... here's a score from 1970... Fairview 24, BA 3... The Eagles are 21-0 since that first loss...

 

I just find it funny that Fairview, the most unlikely of teams, is the one that has a win in its pocket over BA... it's good trivia, anyway...

 

Another tidbit about that game... it was BA's first-ever football game... the Eagles went 3-3-2 that year... I wonder if Carlton was worried after that loss?

 

BA records against other teams:

Franklin 8-0

Page 2-0

BGA 4-0

Brentwood 4-0

Centennial 1-0

Fairview 2-1

 

21-1 against Wm. Co. all time

Edited August 16, 2004 by sportsguy1976

[WesVLT]

Just FYI, Wes... your statement about BA never having lost to a Williamson County team is not exactly correct... we've checked the books... here's a score from 1970... Fairview 24, BA 3... The Eagles are 21-0 since that first loss...

 

I just find it funny that Fairview, the most unlikely of teams, is the one that has a win in its pocket over BA... it's good trivia, anyway...

 

Another tidbit about that game... it was BA's first-ever football game... the Eagles went 3-3-2 that year... I wonder if Carlton was worried after that loss?

 

BA records against other teams:

Franklin 8-0

Page 2-0

BGA 4-0

Brentwood 4-0

Centennial 1-0

Fairview 2-1

 

21-1 against Wm. Co. all time 

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Awesome stats! Thanks for correcting me. What archives did you have to check to find those old results? I can't find old BA scores anywhere...

 

What's your BA-Centennial pick?

[sportsguy1976]

A guy called us while writing a book about Carlton for the TSSAA... he had been at BA and looked back through the old yearbooks, along with archived newspapers to find out Carlton's true record... he sent me his findings, year by year, so it was easy to look up...

 

No pick on Centennial/BA yet... still formulating that one...

[BigDogDaddy]

Lincoln Co still has plenty of beef up front(250+ average) and a good RB. Franklin was weakest against 4 yards and a cloud of dust teams last year (Columbia, Dickson County, Hendersonville, Germantown) so it will be interesting to see if Big Bubba Lane puts a stop to that! Look for a comeback win by the Rebels 24-17

 

Centennial needs a leader(Bates is gone) if one shows up Friday they might make a game of it. Better coaching wins ball games...BA 35 Centennial 14

 

Grundy County I know nothing about. Page I know little about. Alvin Palmer runs sweep on first down, up the middle on second down and if its third and three, he'll throw a 30 yard fade route down the sideline! That I do know! Grundy Co. 27 Page 6

Edited August 17, 2004 by BigDogDaddy

[bulldog69]

Page gets by Grundy in a squeaker 14-12. Grundy has no depth and no "home officials" this year. Page defense as tough as always. Too much speed.

 

Obviously the person who said coach P will sweep, run and throw a long one was not aware that coach P was the offensive coordinator last year.

 

BA uses reputation to slip by Centennial who will definitely miss BATES.

 

Franklin over Lincoln in a low scoring game 8-6.

[BigDogDaddy]

Page gets by Grundy in a squeaker 14-12. Grundy has no depth and no "home officials" this year. Page defense as tough as always. Too much speed.

 

Obviously the person who said coach P will sweep, run and throw a long one was not aware that coach P was the offensive coordinator last year.

 

BA uses reputation to slip by Centennial who will definitely miss BATES.

 

Franklin over Lincoln in a low scoring game 8-6.

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Yes I was aware, and I sat in Franklin's stands for 32 games (Three years) while he was head coach at Franklin and bit my lip while the scenario I described was run over and over and over and over ...... I'm glad to here it is different for Page!!

[goodOLEboy]

centennial vs. brentwood academy will be an awsome opener for a great year of tn football. the o line of centennial has its strenghts in the guards, but the key for ba are that the the linebackers set the tone of the game early. watch for the eagle linebackers to employ the "HIT'EM IN THE MOUTH" mentality early on the cougars

 

no predictions