an outside view

Our neighbors to the west in Blount County are feeling pretty good these days. For the fourth consecutive year, not one, but two state high school football championship trophies will call Blount County home.

On Friday night, the Alcoa Tornadoes coasted in its third Class 2A title match with Goodpasture in as many years. Then, on Saturday, Maryville High School matched Alcoa’s achievement defeating Maplewood 28-13 to take the Class 4A title.

Both outcomes were foregone conclusions. It would have been big news if either of them had lost – bigger than Appalachian State and Michigan.

Four straight titles is nothing to sneeze at. It is a testament to the caliber of both programs and is clearly unprecedented in Tennessee prep circles. But please forgive me if I don’t jump on the bandwagon and proclaim this to be the greatest accomplishment in TSSAA sports history. Being able to beat up on obviously inferior teams is no major accomplishment.

Greatness is achieved when you excel against the very best and with all due respect neither Maryville nor Alcoa, as great as they are, can say they’ve done that.

Maryville has won 60 games in a row en route to its four straight titles. Clearly, there are no Class 4A teams that pose a legitimate challenge to the Rebels. Alcoa faces the very same situation in Class 2A.

It’s certainly not their fault that they are the very best in their respective divisions. But again, I ask you what have they really accomplished?

Football is about competing, not winning rings. A true competitor is only satisfied if he knows he was truly tested by the very best. A heavyweight boxer is always looking for that next fight with a guy who is better than the last one he knocked out in the first round. He knows he will only get better if he takes on better fighters. No pitcher in the minor leagues is content on striking out batters in Double-A. They want to test their curve ball against A-Rod and Big Papi. Tiger Woods wasn’t content with being the best amateur golfer in the world. He wanted to match his skills with the best golfers on the planet so he joined the PGA Tour. That’s just the way it is with real competitors.

That brings me back to Maryville and Alcoa.

Isn’t it time they tested their athletes against better competition? Isn’t it time they looked to teach their players to compete with the best rather than to just win? Isn’t it time both schools petition the TSSAA to move up in classification?

Brentwood Academy was in a similar position a few years back. The small private school dominated on the lower levels and continued to move up to higher classifications. They eventually won the state title in the large school classification. They could have been satisfied with dominating lesser teams but they wanted to prove to themselves and others how good they really were so they moved up to take on the big boys.

Maybe it’s time for Maryville and Alcoa to follow suit. Is there anyone out there that doesn’t think Alcoa can compete in Class 3A or even the Class 4A classifications?  If Alcoa played Class 3A, I’d bet the farm the Tornadoes would win the state championship. In fact, if Maryville moved up to 5A, I’d even bet on Alcoa to win it all if they played 4A.

As for Maryville, there is no question in my mind that the Rebels’ program has reached the point it can compete on the 5A level. Would they dominate? No, probably not but they would have a shot and if they won they would know they beat the best.

Wouldn’t moving up in classification and winning be an even greater accomplishment?

In the world of sports, it has always been said you are only as good as your competition. The players on these two teams will never fulfill their potential as long as they compete against inferior teams. Oh sure, they will win more rings but they won’t be the best they can be.

There’s a guy named Quarles at Maryville and one named Rankin at Alcoa. They are both great coaches. They have the coaching skills to compete at the next level. Their players have the talent. They need the challenge that better competition can offer. The rings are secondary.