Shelby Metro Area players in TN-KY All Star Game

The 6th Annual National Guard Border Bowl will be played on January 12, 2013 at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, KY. There are 3 players from the Shelby Metro area participating in the game: WR/DB Thomas Adams from Central and RB Antonio Webber & DB George Odum from Millington.

Here is a link to the website with all of the information:

http://ky-tn-borderbowl.com/home

5A and 6A All State Teams

Congrats to all of the area selections for the 5A and 6A all state teams from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA).

5A
Offense
RB-Orlando Johnson-Ridgeway
OL-Christian Morris-East
OL-Lorenzo Young-Ridgeway

Defense
LB-Marcus Robinson-East
LB-Dorian Robinson-Craigmont

6A
Offense
RB-Mark Dodson-Whitehaven
WR-Donald Gray-White Station
OL-Vincent Hunter-Whitehaven
K-C.J. Stafford-Houston

Defense
DL-Frank Herron-Central
DL-Jason Carr-White Station
DL-Christian Johnson-Southwind*
LB-Petera Wilson, Jr-White Station
LB-Adam Collins-Whitehaven
DB-Darius Sims-Whitehaven

*Johnson is listed as being on the 5A team but everyone in the area knows that Southwind is a 6A team so that is where we are placing him.

Here is a link to the entire team:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/dec/21/tswa-all-state-class-5a-and-6a-football-teams/

Coach of the Year-Rodney Saulsberry-Whitehaven

3A & 4A All State Teams

Congrats to Dedrick Guy from Fairley, Johnson White and Carlos Williams from Covington and DeJuan McQuarters and Antonio Gilliam from Mitchell for making the 4A TSWA All State Team.

Guy is listed as on the 3A team but Fairley is a 4A school.
Here is a link to both teams:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/dec/20/tswa-all-state-class-3a-and-4a-football-teams/

2A All State Team

Congrats to Nikia Cathey and Jeremie Glass from Westwood for making the 2A All State team from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA). Here is the link for the 1A and 2A teams:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/dec/19/tswa-all-state-football-teams/

Arkansas All State Selections

The following players were selected for the Arkansas all-state team.

7A Central

RB-Kendall Allen-West Memphis
FB/LB-Jarvis Cooper-West Memphis
LB-Trayvon Olden-West Memphis

6A East

RB/DB/OLB-Brian Scott-Marion
OT/DT- Clifford Thomas-Marion

D2 All State Teams

The TSWA (Tennessee Sports Writers Association) will be releasing their all state teams this week. First up is the D-2 all state teams. We will list just the area players selected.

D2-AA
Offense
QB-Jordan Rodgers-MUS
RB-Ramadi Warren-CBHS
WR-Devin Perry-MUS
OL-Alexander Karr-CBHS
OL-Arbre Jones-MUS

Defense
LB-Peyton Klawinski-MUS
LB-Ford Howell-MUS
LB-Alex Ashlock-St. Benedict
DB-Chris Carrier-CBHS
P-Gary Wunderlich-MUS

D2-A
Offense
QB-Brent Rooker-ECS
RB-Marcus Miller-Fayette Academy
OL-Zach Collins-Harding Academy

Defense
DL-Mack Weaver-Harding Academy
DL-Dylan Young-St. George's
LB-Walker Jones-ECS

To view the whole team, click on this link:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/dec/18/tswa-all-state-football-teams/?CID=happeningnow

Updated area commitments

Player		POS	HS	College
Jason	Carr	DE	White Station	Tennessee
Zach	Collins	OL	Harding Academy	Memphis
Sam	Craft	ATH	Olive Branch	Memphis
Mark	Dodson	RB	Whitehaven	Mississippi
Lenard	Harden	LB	Ridgeway	Memphis
Frank	Herron	DE	Central	LSU
Ford	Howell	LB	MUS	Wake Forest
Justin	Hunt	WR	Whitehaven	Marshall
Cedric	Jones	DB	East	Toledo
Walker	Jones	LB	ECS	Alabama
Alexander	Karr	OL	CBHS	Arkansas St
Marquez	Lanton	WR	MAHS	Arkansas St
Herbert	Moore	DL	East	Mississippi
Christian	Morris	OL	East	UCLA
Dontrell	Nelson	DB	Olive Branch	Memphis
Demaris	Peppers	DL	Fairley	Minnesota
Gerald	Perry	WR	Whitehaven	Vanderbilt
Latevius	Rayford	WR	Central	Vanderbilt
Marcus	Robinson	LB	East	Arkansas
Darius	Sims	DB	Whitehaven	Vanderbilt
Mack	Weaver	DE	Harding Academy	Vanderbilt
Jordan	Wilkins	RB	St. Benedict	Auburn

Whitehaven WR Justin Hunt commits

From our friend Donovan Stewart who you can follow at Examine_Stew...

First Justin Hunt helped Whitehaven win their first Class 6A state title a couple of weeks ago now Hunt is securing his future.

Hunt has committed to Marshall University and becomes the fourth Whitehaven player to commit this season joining Mark Dodson (Ole Miss), Darius Sims (Vanderbilt) and Gerald Perry (Vanderbilt).

Hunt (6-2, 185) chose Marshall over offers from Memphis, Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee State and Western Kentucky.

“Justin is being recruited to play as a wide receiver at Marshall,” Whitehaven coach Rodney Saulsberry said.
“The upside potential for him is off the charts and Marshall did a great job recruiting him and I think he is a great fit for their offense.”

Hunt helped the Tigers cap off an undefeated 15-0 season and a Class 6A state title earlier this month as Whitehaven beat Maryville 36-35 in overtime.

He is the seventh commitment in the Thundering Herd’s recruiting class of 2013 and he is ranked No. 25 in Rivals Top 25 Tennessee 2013 prospects.

All star games in Mississippi

Southaven's Hunter Bull was the only area player in this past weekend's Alabama-Mississippi All Star game which was won by Alabama 21-16. There are a number of players participating in the Bernard Blackwell North/South All Star Game on Dec. 22 down in Gulfport.

Desmond King-Southaven
Kanavos Lyons-Center Hill
Benny McCall, Jr-Lake Cormorant
Brett Thompson-Lake Cormorant

Anthony Jenkins of Hernando is the head coach for the North team. Assisting him are Roy Bolden of Hernando and Nick Nester from Lake Cormorant.

Coaches All State Teams from Mississippi

Here are the area representatives on the 4A and 6A Coaches All State Teams from the state of Mississippi.

4A
First Team Offense
K – Matt Bratton, Lewisburg, Sr.

6A
First Team Offense

TE – Hunter Bull, Southaven, Sr.

First Team Defense
FS – Alfred Dickens, Olive Branch, Jr.

Second Team Defense
CB – Jamil Collins, Olive Branch, Sr.

Post season recognition

Here is the link to the Commercial Appeal's "Best of the Preps" selections for football. As the post season honors continue to be announced, we will provide that information to you.

http://media.commercialappeal.com/media/static/12_16BOPFootball.pdf

Classification changes for North Mississippi schools

Tennessee schools had their classification changes just about a month ago and now Mississippi schools have followed suit.

Lewisburg will move up from 4A to Region 1 in 5A and Hernando jumps from 5A to Region 1 in 6A.

Here is a link to the story from the Commercial Appeal's Chris Van Tuyl:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/dec/13/hernando-lewisburg-move-up-the-mhsaa-ladder/

East-West All Star Game in Cookeville

Before the AutoZone Liberty Bowl All Star Game was played this past Saturday, the 6th annual Toyota East vs West Tennessee All Star Game was being held in Cookeville at Tennessee Tech University. 12 players from the Shelby Metro area participated in the game which was won by the East squad, 41-20. Mitchell DE Jeremiah Blanchard (6'2, 240) had 7 tackles, Fairley LB Dedrick Guy (6'3, 225) had 6, Whitehaven DL Andra Smith (6'4, 265) had 2 tackles while Fairley DL Demaris Peppers (6'4, 255) and Mitchell CB Anthony Williams (5'11, 190) each had 1.  Germantown WR Caylon Weathers (6'4, 189) caught 4 passes for 32 yds and Whitehaven WR Justin Hunt (6'2, 180) caught 1 for 16. Fairley RB Dominique Smith (5'9, 190) had 7 carries for 34 yards. The other players participating from this area were East OL Bobby Billingsley (6'2, 255), Whitehaven OL Vincent Hunter (6'5, 330), Germantown OL Dan Hrvoich (6'4, 290) and MUS OL Arbre Jones (6'6, 310).

Thoughts from the AutoZone Liberty Bowl All Star Game

There were outstanding performances on both sides of the ball. For my money, I thought that the best player on the field was Raleigh Egypt's Denarius Dooley (6'2, 230) of the Blue team. Although they didn't keep stats (why I don't know), Dooley always seemed to be involved in the play/tackle. The LB was all over the field and even scooped up a fumble and returned it 32 yds for a score.

Post season honors for 2 area players

Millington DB George Odom and RB Antonio Webber will be playing in the 6th annual Tennessee vs Kentucky Border Bowl All Star Game. The game will take place on January 12 over at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky. Webber rushed for over 1,400 yds and scored 16 TD's on the year and was the team's leading punter at 35 yds a kick while Odom was second on the team in tackles with 73.5. He had 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, recovered 4 fumbles, had 3 interceptions (returned two of them for touchdowns) and returned a punt for a touchdown as well.

Whitehaven-Maryville controversy

There has been a lot of controversy over the call in the 6A state title game between Whitehaven and Maryville over the two point conversion that was taken away and forced Maryville to kick the extra point to tie the game. Of course, Whitehaven went on to win the game in overtime.

Here is a link to a story in which the TSSAA says the officials made the right call:

http://blountpressrow.com/2012/12/after-further-review/

Whitehaven's Rodney Saulsberry, 2012 Tennessee Titans High School Football Coach of the Year

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans announced today that Rodney Saulsberry, head football coach of Whitehaven High School has been named the 2012 Titans High School Football Coach of the Year. In a rematch of last year’s state final, the Whitehaven Tigers defeated the Maryville Rebels 36-35, ending the Rebels’ 43-game win streak and capturing their first ever state championship.
Saulsberry’s Tigers (15-0) battled throughout the contest, refusing to lose. They gained a 28-21 lead with 3:39 remaining in the game, but Maryville (14-1) slipped in a score to tie the game, 28-28, with 45 seconds remaining and force overtime. Undeterred and determined, the Whitehaven Tigers continued to battle.

Whitehaven began its second possession in overtime down 35-28, but the Tigers made all the right plays and reached the end zone for six points. Coach Saulsberry, determined to win, planned to go for two before his team reached the end zone. The Tigers lined up in a three-back formation that had been added the week of the game. Saulsberry was positive it would work, and his team proved him right with the decisive two-point conversion.

“I have known Coach Saulsberry since he was a young man and I watched him matriculate and learn how to become a great math teacher and leader in our community,” said Dr. Vincent Hunter, Principle of Whitehaven High School. “Everything about Coach Saulsberry is positive, and I not only respect him for what he does on the field but what he does in classroom and as a man. Coach is of great character and has surrounded himself with a great coaching staff, and it has been a total team effort.”

Through the Titans Foundation, team owner K.S. "Bud" Adams, Jr. will make a $2,000 contribution to the Whitehaven High School football program in Coach Saulsberry’s honor.

"High school football enjoys a great tradition in Tennessee," said Adams. "That tradition is based not only on the outstanding quality of play but on the devotion of their coaches who continue to develop high school football players into young men of strong character.  I'm very pleased to underwrite this program that recognizes the efforts of so many talented high school coaches across the state!"

Coach Saulsberry will be recognized prior to the Titans-Jaguars game on Dec. 30, where the Titans will also recognize the 10 weekly 2012 Titans Coach of the Week winners. The Coach of the Year and all 10 Coaches of the Week will be will be available for interviews /photos in the Titans post-game interview room at 10:45 a.m. Dec. 30.

Now in its 14th season, the Adams has awarded more than $151,000 from the Titans Foundation to football programs across the state in honor of the Coach of the Year and Coach of the Week winners.

The criteria for selection include the coach’s impact on his team, school and community.  A statewide media panel votes each week to determine the weekly winner.  All high school football coaches in Tennessee, regardless of their school’s size, league, or division, are eligible to be selected each week.  The program is designed to recognize high school coaches who transform, through their hard work and dedication, student-athletes into the best possible football players and citizens in their community.

Previous Titans Coach of Year winners:
1999 Jim Wilson, Glencliff High
2000 Tom Weathers, Red Bank High
2001 Ralph Potter, McCallie High
2002 Robert Lassiter, Gallatin High
2003 Jeff Morris, Milan High
2004 Buck Coatney, Knoxville Fulton High
2005 George Quarles, Maryville High
2006 Philip Shadowens, Smyrna High
2007 Ralph Thompson, Maplewood High
2008 Scott Blade, Hillsboro High
2009 Anthony Crabtree, Beech High             
2010 Gary Rankin, Alcoa High
2011 James Counce, Henry County High        
              
2012 Titans Coach of the Week winners:
1.   Mac McCurry, Marion County High School  
2.   Kevin Ward, Crockett County High School
3.   James “Bubba” Spears, Hillwood High School
4.   Josh Fronabargar, West Carroll High School      
5.   Bruce Hatfield, Hendersonville High School  
6.   Jason Fitzgerald, Hixson High School   
7.   Brad Taylor, Bearden High School 
8.   Traye Aric, Portland High School 
9.   Philip Shadowens, Blackman High School          
10. Graham Clark, Dobyns-Bennett High School

Just a reminder

There are two high school football all star games this weekend. The 11th Annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl game will take place at 2:30 at MUS. Tickets are $10 and the rosters are jam packed with talent. You can hear the game on Sports 56 WHBQ (AM 560). To view the rosters go here: http://www.libertybowl.org/events/high-school-all-star-game

The other game is the 6th Annual Toyota East vs West Tennessee Classic that will take place at 1 pm at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. You can watch the game on WKNO Channel 10. There are a number of Shelby Metro players participating in the game. To view the rosters go here: http://taca.net/
For more info, follow them on twitter @tnallstar.

TN State Championships

This is from our friend Donovan Stewart. Follow him on twitter at @Examine_Stew. His thought on the recent Blue Cross Bowl State Championships

 

 

Bartlett has a new football coach

Jeff McFerran is the new football coach for the Bartlett Panthers. McFerran was previously the head man at Covington and Tipton Rosemark. In 5 years at Covington, he was 51-14 from 1996-2000 with trips to the playoffs every year. His teams advanced to the semifinals in 1999 and the state championship in 2000. His 2004 Tipton Rosemark team advanced to the state title game as well. McFerran was a standout LB at Germantown back in the 80's and played college football at Vanderbilt and Memphis St before getting into coaching. There were over 30 applicants for the job.

Post season honors for Whitehaven

Whitehaven finishes out the year with the 6A state championship and a couple of national rankings. They are #22 in the National Prep top 25 poll and #25 in the Rivals 100 poll. Congrats to Coach Saulsberry and his staff and the entire Whitehaven football team on their championship season!

Was there a bias towards Shelby Metro players for Mr. Football?

We wanted to update everyone on this article and what we perceive as bias towards players in this area. I have copied the original article with the inclusion of the names and actual winners. I believe that two of the three players should have won from this area. The other is a coin flip.


To further prove that there is a bias towards players from the Shelby Metro area, check this out. I am just going to post numbers to compare without telling you the names. I am not telling you what team they play for although if you follow HS football you should be able to figure it out. I am not telling you what college they are going to or which colleges are interested in them because that should not be a determining factor in this award.

As always, comments are welcome and appreciated.

Choose one:

Player A 
107 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 9 sacks
Peyton Klawinksi-MUS (I think he should have won)

Player B
48 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 7 sacks
Derek Barnett-Brentwood Academy (Mr. Football winner)

Twice as many tackles, more tackles for loss and more sacks. Case closed.

Choose one:

Player C
2,378 yds rushing (9.6/carry) 38 total TD
Corn Elder-Ensworth (Mr. Football winner)

Player D
205-317 (65% ) for 2699 yds passing 34 TD 4 INT, 38 TD's total
Jordan Rodgers-MUS 

You could flip a coin with this one. TD's are the same and yards are pretty close.

Choose one:

Player E
76 carries-997 yds (13.1/carry) 20 TD 25 TD's total
Todd Kelly, Jr-Knoxville Webb (Mr. Football winner)

Player F
129 carries-702 yds (5.4/carry) 11 TD
162-246 (66%) 2319 yds 20 TD 5 INT 31 TD's total
Brent Rooker-ECS (should have won)

Rooker accounted for 3,000 yds and 31 TD's. Even if you factor in Kelly's receiving yards, at best he is around 1,500 and 25 TD's. No brainer as far as I'm concerned