Midnight Madness hits East Ridge

The East Ridge Pioneers couldn't wait to hit the practice field in pads to kick off preparations for the 2007 football season.

The eyelids were droopy, but the spirits were high when veteran Coach Tim James blew the whistle this morning at 12:01 for practice to begin.

"We wanted to set a tone with our kids and let them know we wanted to work our tails off so we can be as good as we can be this year," James said. "There's not many things out there that kids need to be doing at this hour, plus its fun for the kids and they can get their minds on football."

July 30 is the first day allowed by the TSSAA for high school football teams to practice in pads.

As a beautiful moon watched above the field named after James' father Raymond, the orange-clad Pioneers practiced hard for more than two hours before heading for the fieldhouse for some bonding time.

"We wanted to take time for a skull session and character building and we'll feed them breakfast at 6:30 and send them home to get their legs back under them," James said.

The team was scheduled to practice again on Tuesday.

East Ridge is coming off of a 4-6 record in 3-3A and James and his crew were excited to get back to work on a new season.

"I love this team," James said. "They came in to practice in better shape than any I have ever had. They were excited about being here and arrived early."

The Pioneers appeared to be bigger and more athletic than the 2006 team that got off to a slow start.

East Ridge lost its first five games last season before winning four of the last five.

But James insists his team is not one of the favorites to win the region.

"We're a darkhorse, we're not favored at all," he said.

East Ridge will play Boyd-Buchanan at 7:55 on August 17 in the 2007 Krystal Kickoff Classic presented by Stump On Sports at Finley Stadium. The two-day jamboree features 21 high school teams from Tennessee and four from Georgia Aug. 16-18.

Check back at tennfb.com daily for football updates from across the state.

TSSAA 2A Playoff picture changes

TSSAA's best kept secret in years has to be the new playoff structure of 2A football for the 2007 season.

Until Ronnie Carter explained the breakdown of the regions and the playoff structure at the a gathering of the Tennessee Sports Writers last week many across the state were unaware.

In fact, some may still be confused as to how the 2A playoffs will unfold this fall.

First, 2A has added a ninth region.

Second, in an effort to complete the 32-team state playoff bracket in 2A the top three teams will qualify in each of the nine regions.

Now, where I went to school that totals 27 teams.

So, where are the other five teams going to come from?

That's where the fun starts.

In a formula that rivals NASCAR's cup chase, TSSAA will fill the final five spots in 2A with what will be referred to as wild card berths.

The 2A playoffs are then divided into four eight-team brackets with the teams seeded one through eight based on criteria.

This is where the average high school football fan will likely get confused. Come October the message boards will be filled with questions of who is in the playoffs and who is out.

The top three 2A playoff teams in each region will be based on region records. The same formula that 1A, 3A, 4A and 5A will use to determine the top four teams in each region.

Starting with best overall record for the season, the remaining five 2A wild card berths will start with best overall record.

With this as the formula, the question will be whether perennial playoff teams like Alcoa and Tyner will continue with the tough out of region foes the schools play each year.

Alcoa played D-II runnerup McCallie and 4A state champion Maryville in 2006 and face the Rebels again this season.

Obviously, Tyner head coach Wayne Turner didn't realize that the 2A playoff criteria was going to be different when he scheduled a 4A Brainerd team that has beaten his Rams the past two seasons and gave Maryville a scare in the state playoffs in 2006. Nor would he have likely scheduled defending 3A state champion Fulton, McCallie and 1A power South Pittsburg for out of region contests this fall.

Although, wins over those teams could be a boost for Tyner with a strength of schedule factor being added to the criteria for determining the wild card spots.

The new 2A format could allow some regions to place as many as five teams in the postseason.

Plus, some of the teams from the same region could face off in the first round of the TSSAA 2A playoffs.

Football fans from across the state will now have to look much closer at the scoreboards on Friday night and keep up with what is going on from Bristol to the Mississippi River.

Confused yet?

Keep coming back to Tennfb.com and invite your firends. It's my mission to keep players, fans, coaches and business supporters all in the loop.

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The development of the first edition of Varsity Sports Media's Tennessee Football magazine has been a very humbling and gratifying experience. This magazine is dedicated to the players, coaches, fans, parents and business supporters across the Volunteer State. It was an effort to tell the stories of football in Tennessee and honor those who pay the price to make the game great from Bristol to Orange Mound, and from Chattanooga to Jellico, and all parts in between. It has been a labor of love for those who never get too old to remember the great Football Friday nights and the life lessons the sport teaches. The Tennessee Football magazine tells stories of coaches who make men out of boys and mold those from different walks of life into winning teams. The magazine staff believes that football is special in Tennessee and this effort will help to spread the word. Tennessee Vols’ fans will enjoy a breakdown of the type team and players to expect on Shields-Watkins Field when more than 100,000 pack into Neyland Stadium on an autumn afternoon. Could this be the year the Big Orange returns to Rocky Top? The fans can get up close with Phillip Fulmer in a Q & A by Tennessee beat writer John Brice. Readers will meet the incoming Tennessee freshman class and find out why quarterback B.J. Coleman wears a Top Gun cap. Scout.com’s Jamie Newberg and the VSM staff combined to deliver the Power 200, consisting of the Top 200 high school football players from across the state. Readers will meet the Phenoms, the best prep offensive and defensive players in Tennessee by position. And the best prep football player since 1980 is unveiled, and much, much more. SPREAD THE WORD _ Tell your family, friends and business owners about the new professional Team that has come to Tennessee, Varsity Sports Media’s Tennessee Football magazine.