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The autumn leaves are less colorful this year. Experts say it was from a warmer than usual September; however, a few people are blaming Chris Akers. Who should I believe?

Allow me to clarify. It's not that it had been 6 years since they beat Amherst. Last night's victory was apparently the first for Liberty (formerly Bedford) Middle School in ANY football game since 2012. My 2nd born son is a member of the team (mostly bench sitting WR/DB this year) and he was only in for a couple of plays. But he and his teammates are walking a little prouder this morning. I asked him what they did to commemorate a win the next day in school (like wearing their jerseys, for example). He obviously didn't know. Sorry that this isn't SW Virginia related or probably even of interest to very many people. Just wanted to indulge in my own little Moment of Zen.

Chris Akers wasn’t good enough for you, 10-1 isn’t good enough for you...

To be honest, your 1-5 in pointless when you continuously leave out Bluefield.

It’s gonna be a very depressing next decade for him...

Graham at home would take everything we have and still may not be enough. Graham on the road would probably be a nightmare. Go Blue Tornado 🌪🌪🌪

This week's VHSL official ratings are finally out, so here goes... Pretty simple for Central, they win, they're in. Lose, and they're out. And the outcome of this game should have no impact on the seeding of any other team. Win: 8.) Central-Wise 4-6 180 18.1 9.) Marion 4-6 165 16.5 Lose: 8.) Marion 4-6 165 16.5 9.) Central-Wise 3-7 163 16.3 Richlands/Va High are battling for the #5 seed. Loser gets the #6 seed UNLESS Battle defeats Union. In which case Battle would pass the loser for the #6 spot. Richlands wins: 5.) Richlands 6-4 218 21.8 6.) Va High 5-5 198 19.8 7.) Battle, John 5-5 187 18.7 Va High wins: 5.) Va High 6-4 214 21.4 6.) Richlands 5-5 202 20.2 7.) Battle, John 5-5 188 18.8 Here's the top 4, Assuming Burton over TW, Princeton over Brooke, Alleghany, NC over Elkin, NC, Glenvar over Radford, Richlands over Va High, Grundy over Central and James River over Carroll Co. Grayson wins: 1.) Ridgeview 9-1 264 26.4 2.) Grayson Co 9-1 260 26 3.) Union 8-2 247 24.7 4.) Graham 9-1 245 24.5 Grayson loses: 1.) Ridgeview 9-1 264 26.4 2.) Union 8-2 247 24.7 3.) Graham 9-1 245 24.5 4.) Grayson Co 8-2 242 24.2 Va High over Richlands: 1.) Ridgeview 9-1 264 26.4 2.) Graham 9-1 247 24.7 3.) Union 8-2 247 24.7 4.) Grayson Co 8-2 242 24.2 If Union loses to Battle, they'll drop to 4th. It would take Carrroll Co defeating James River and Marion defeating Graham for Grayson to tie Ridgeview(not sure who wins tie). Can't over take them and Ridgeview can't lose any points as all their regular season opponents are either idle or play each other. Let me know of any questions or "what if's" and I'll be happy to run them. * Disclaimer...All scenarios based on likely wins. An upset might change a spot or two, but not much.

Well.....it's finally happened.....for the first time since running the Pick'em....I won a week. I'm in shock. Nearly a decade of trying..... Ryan4VT 40 GMan 39 stu_bean 37 UVAObserver 36 DB-6130 35 HurricaneWarning 34 sixcat 34 rvtne215 34 mw0729 34 BigO 34 OrangeStreak 34 swva_havok_fan 33 Liam McPoyle 33 Hokie101 33 Tigers_07 33 Bulldogs52 33 rjhall71 33 cityofRaven 33 falconfan1 33 Junkyard 32 bgibb 32 SWVAgridiron 32 bucfan64 32 adsi97 32 Canes00 31 blueinbama 31 BHS03 31 IRISH-FAN18 30 Hokiebird7 30 V-Cats 30 hhsfan11 30 dinkman 29 Single A west 28 Sniper 27 frito gonzales 24

Graham Clark might be able to get the DB job back.

No way we could beat the Patriots now the Dolphins are another story

I think the student's tragic death last week had a major effect on the teams overall attitude in the Graham game. Not to take away from Graham, as stated before, I have family on both teams, but Richlands was not into the game all night long. You could see that they were down, and even the coaches were affected. At their best, not sure they would have beat Graham, but I think it would have been closer than the largest margin of victory for either team in 40 years. Having stated all that; I think this will be a good game and I see Richlands using ball control (or clock control) and coming out with a slim victory. Both teams have had good games and bad games. Hopefully both will do well, and play injury free. Good luck to both in the playoffs and well wishes to either if they play Graham in the first round.

1. Chilhowie 2. Abingdon 3. Graham 4. Ridgeview 5. Union 6-10. Blank After about 5 it's pointless. This one could beat that one, but that one lost to this one. They haven't played a 2a schedule so they can't be better than us. Our best player was out when we lost to them on the road so we should be no lower than 3, right? Maybe Gate City should get a couple of votes now that they've removed the coach. He was obviously the only thing holding them back. Instant contenders.

RC has been more competitive against common opponents and is only a few TDs away from being 6-3 instead of 3-6. RC by 21.

On your football --- stripes or no stripes?

Billy Wagner was a good starting quarterback for Tazewell. That's always my go-to when I hear a Tazewell kid say they wanna concentrate on baseball. But from speaking to college coaches before, one of the first five questions they ask is what other sports does this kid play? The list is endless as far as athletes having success in multiple. Also many of you probably have not seen it but I have, Cam Allen at Graham is known for his football and basketball, but I will tell you that baseball may have been his best sport.

Thanks for the info.

Until the Board of Supervisors allocates the funding, it won’t be possible to say exactly what will happen or what percentage will go to which group. The current school resource officers are paid for by a grant through the Sheriff’s Office and the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. The ultimate goal is to have at least one in each school, and the Meals Tax would help significantly to get the County and the School Board to that point. I can’t say for certainty that it alone will get the County and School Board to that point, but it’s a healthy start. As for fire/emergency personnel, it may not be so much for pay increases as it would be to adequately support the personnel. The equipment in place for fire/emergency personnel is not acceptable compared to what it should be to protect the County’s residents to the level they deserve. The one that comes to my mind immediately is SCBA, or breathing apparati for firefighters. Also, such funding would allow for greater training for the County’s personnel in terms of certifications, etc. The Meals Tax would help provide that sort of support for those great folks. The Meals Tax is projected to bring in approximately $1M-$1.2M per year in revenue, the vast majority of which is from the Pounding Mill area. Though this money would be earmarked, it would allow the County some flexibility in its budget to focus on other critical areas of need.

A very winnable game but will be difficult. Fiser is a good back.

I understand what your saying Unionguy_2017...He's a work in process..LoL I feel that if #43 comes back by the playoffs and Union can limit mistakes, I feel Union can play with anybody! And when they make BIG PLAYS on both sides of the ball during the game, I see that the team feeds off the positive energy from them..

Most of us foolishly had that mindset last year. Not this year though 🤷🏻‍♂️😂

You could go on and on with that list of multi-sport athletes. Ahmad Bradshaw was a heck of a basketball defender. Heath Miller was a great basketball player and baseball player think he only struck out 1 time his senior year. Both Jones Brother's played basketball and ran track. Josh Warren was a heck of basketball player. Calvin Talford was a great football player, baseball player, and broke records in track.

I am assuming whichever one wins they are in, what was the scenario if they both lose? I'm interested because I figure one of them will play us (Ridgeview). Either probably won't provide much of a challenge, but still would like to know who we play.

I was referring to the thread about game not the pick' em. The several in thread were saying Grayson would lose both. 90% was a bit of sarcasm, guess it's hard to catch that in text.

He's a Sophomore Sir, When we are talking off season weight programs, and condition I tell him it starts with himself, there always things that he can do by him self such as running, pushups, pull up, setups, etc. That's a big thing I try to express to him about himself, don't need a team around him, to do things like that. lol

Ridgeview wins the Region D2. Graham crumbles, doesn’t have the moxie. Can’t handle not playing at home it seems. Coach Mullins will handle business on Rose Ridge. I think Union can go a couple games deep. Never count them out though. May go to the region finals. If graham has to come to the park, I go with Union. Grayson Co seems to be struggling late. Richlands is always up for an upset Region D1, Chilhowie is at the top until proven otherwise. Burton isn’t close to knocking them off.

Thomas, Julius, Heath, Josh, and Justin all played 3 sports in high school. If McClung had played football all 4 years he would have still received offers in basketball and Akers might still have a job.

This is one of the worst misconceptions out there in youth sports today. Devoting time to just one sport year round is not making players any better. I'd take an athlete from the 80s who played the big 3 sports over any kid today who focuses on just one.

I think one of the biggest issues with the downturn of football at GC is the sensation of McClung and the rise in popularity of basketball in the youth. At the small school level you have a limited number of top athletes. When your better athletes focus on one sport then the other sports suffer. McClung, Ervin, etc decided to focus on basketball and it brought great support to that program. All the younger kids then start trying to be the next McClung instead of the next Houseright. If they try to do all sports they run the risk of major injury like McCamis at Wise. Plus, to perform at a level like McClung you have to devote to that sport year round. Nothing wrong with that, just an issue that most small schools face. That is why choosing the next coach is so important. Their biggest obstacle isn't going to be just getting what you have in the weight room. Success begins at the youth level. You have to create interest to get as many kids playing as possible so you can optimize your talent when they reach high school.

Graham wins Region D over Ridgeview Chilhowie steamrolls Burton again in 1A can't see any major upsets. No 8 over 1 or 7 over 2. I think Union could defeat Grayson in RD2 if they met and it's in BSG, but if it's Graham Bears are done. No one is touching Chilhowie. Possibly Galax but I'd be shocked if it's not Chilhowie v. Riverheads for 1A title and I believe Warriors have a shot. And Graham has a chance v. C winner, even if it's Glenvar. Winner of Region D v. C wins state title IMO in 2A

Reed had the most talent Abingdon had ever seen his 4 years at Abingdon or his stay here would have been alot like his time at wise.

The competitive phase of this game will be over in the 3rd quarter, if not sooner.

Anyone who thinks that Reed was any more than 1/10th responsible for what happened at Abingdon needs to immediately go to the ER for observation.