WK 1 Extra Points: Irish deserve more respect, where we were wrong, FHS Defense and more

Commentary, Vines, a Game Ball and a proverbial lowering of the curtain of Week 1 in High School football.  

3 Things We Learned in Week 1

[one_third]1. Coach Lussier has a good football team. 

Yes, Father Ryan squeaked by Overton in Week 0 with a little luck of the Irish but last Friday, their defense kept an explosive Wildcat offense quiet for most of the game.

The Fightin’ Irish led 28-7 after Bryce Vickers returned a punt for 66 yards in the third quarter.Credit BGA for making a game of it but this one was pretty much all Irish.

Remember, this is a team that lost 3 regular season games by one possession and a playoff game 15-12. Last year they were a few plays away from going 9-1, this year they may make those plays.
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[one_third] 2. Swafford & Oatsvall would be starters at many other schools. 

Dawson Knox is good, really good. In fact he has been recruited by a few FBS programs and several FCS. So, when he went down, it was logical to think the Eagles would struggle against a team who had just upset Henry County.

Instead Swafford and Oastvall combined for 15 of 21 passing for 286 yards and two touchdowns. They also combined for 40 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.

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[one_third_last] 3. District 11 is going to be so much Fun

Most people already knew how tough this district was going to be well before the season started. Now that we have two weeks of games to look at it, it’s very clear that the battle for the top spot in District 11 going to be one of (if not the most) challenging in Tennessee.

Ravenwood, Centennial, Franklin and Independence are all serious contenders for the AAA District-11 crown. Not to mention, a Brentwood team that only lost to Franklin and Ravenwood by a combined four points last season.

We’ll get our first look at the standings after Friday night’s games, with every team minus Ravenwood participating in district play this week.

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Where we were most wrong:


If we are going to make predictions we have to be held accountable for when we pick incorrectly.

As a group, our staff didn’t do so bad picking the games but when you’re wrong about the biggest game of the week, it sort of overshadows all of the good.

It wasn’t so much an overestimation of what BGA could do, but an underestimation of how good Father Ryan is.

They have a leader in Cameron Towns, playmaking ability out of JoeJuan Williams, Jack Shoulders and Bryce Vickers and of course an experienced head coach in Bruce Lussier.

Last week the Fightin’ Irish proved us wrong and made me a believer. If they leave Brentwood Academy victorious on Friday, they will have done the same to many others.

Where we were most right:


We swung and missed at our Game of the Week but were correct in picking Centennial to defeat Overton at Overton with the Deon Sanders touchdown in the fourth sealing it.

Centennial is another team that has had to earn back some respect and they seem to have done just that. After hammering Clarksville NE, they come away with a win on the road against a tough Overton team.

I’m not in the jinxing business so I’ll just go ahead and say it.

As long as this group stays focused there is no reason they shouldn’t be undefeated when they travel to Ravenwood for a crucial Week 6 match-up on October 3rd.

The Game Ball: Franklin Rebel Defense


The Rebel defense was the only one to pitch a shutout in week one. Even the group of back ups who entered the game late, did not allow a single point to Clarksville Northeast.

If this is any indication of how good the Rebel D will be in 2014, this team could be scary good.

Breaking Down the Tape:

1. Bryce Vickers return for Father Ryan

An exciting play that ultimately ended up being the game winner.

Father Ryan play

NOW ALL OF IT TOGETHER

2. CPA executes red-zone play against Hillwood.

Inside the five my favorite play is the play-action bootleg. Allowing for a quarterback to read the defender and make the decision to pass or take it in himself. CPA runs the naked-bootleg to perfection here.

CPA Play

 

NOW ALL OF IT TOGETHER

 

3. Brian Coleman and Company draw up some trickery.

It was our play of the Week on Sports Source but it deserves another look here.

Page Play

NOW ALL OF IT TOGETHER