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Union vs. Richlands rematch


trumpet1988
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Blues fans, you said this would be a different Richlands team and you were right. That defense was outstanding and knew what every play was when the ball was snapped. Be proud of your boys. They never quit and played with tremendous heart.

It was definitely a typical Richlands/Union game. Coming down to the last minute. Could have just as easily been a Richlands' victory as it was Union's. 

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1 minute ago, TTownTigers said:

I agree, but it's not just this year with Richlands in the playoffs, it's going back over a decade in which they may have very well been the better team in many or at least some of those state-semi and state-final losses which game at the same thing, bailing out on the run, especially on 2nd and 5 or 6 or 3rd and 4 or 5 and killing drives, and they had the same thing many times in these losses (near misses that had a guy open for a TD) only to be dropped or tipped or whatever, but the thing is, if you don't complete it, your drive is over, and High School Football has short quarters.  They go by quick and you only get so many possessions.

Absolutely, spot on...if I recall correctly , in 2015 offense let Appo score on first play. I dare say Mance has cost them more state championships than they've won. Defense has always been Richlands' strength even before Mance was head coach that why it puzzled me when he let Palmer go. 

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4 minutes ago, Gridiron60 said:

Absolutely, spot on...if I recall correctly , in 2015 offense let Appo score on first play. I dare say Mance has cost them more state championships than they've won. Defense has always been Richlands' strength even before Mance was head coach that why it puzzled me when he let Palmer go. 

The argument is this: Were it not for Mance, Richlands wouldn’t be in those positions in the first place.  That’s correct and fair.  But on the flip side, once you’ve assembled that team, how much criticism is fair for the innumerable postseason gags?

 

I think back to Glynn Carlock.  Back in those days, Regions 3 and 4 were king; seldom, if ever, did Regions 1 and 2 have anything to match up.  Graham won 2 state titles with him and lost just the 1, but Carlock lost 5 games in the state semifinals, 4 of which were of the heartbreaker variety, to Region 3 teams that eventually won the state championship.  Carlock was but a turn of fate away from winning 6 state championships and being the best coach in SWVA history.  How do you judge him for those losses in ‘81, ‘90, ‘93, ‘98, ‘01, and ‘03?

 

Then again, did Carlock ever have the overwhelming talent advantage that Mance has enjoyed in many of those postseason flops?

 

More philosophical conjecture than anything.

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Great game.  Seems like after the Johnson fumble early in the game, they went away from him and like most have said away from the run for the most part.

Mitchell is a great player and proud as a Richlands fan that we "contained" him for the most part til that 65 yard game winning td.  Richlands defense was well prepared.

Hats off to Union.  Good luck next week.

Probably the closest 8 vs 1 game you will likely see!!!

Already ready for Blues 2018 season lol  

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33 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

The argument is this: Were it not for Mance, Richlands wouldn’t be in those positions in the first place.  That’s correct and fair.  But on the flip side, once you’ve assembled that team, how much criticism is fair for the innumerable postseason gags?

 

I think back to Glynn Carlock.  Back in those days, Regions 3 and 4 were king; seldom, if ever, did Regions 1 and 2 have anything to match up.  Graham won 2 state titles with him and lost just the 1, but Carlock lost 5 games in the state semifinals, 4 of which were of the heartbreaker variety, to Region 3 teams that eventually won the state championship.  Carlock was but a turn of fate away from winning 6 state championships and being the best coach in SWVA history.  How do you judge him for those losses in ‘81, ‘90, ‘93, ‘98, ‘01, and ‘03?

 

Then again, did Carlock ever have the overwhelming talent advantage that Mance has enjoyed in many of those postseason flops?

 

More philosophical conjecture than anything.

Great topic and I can speak to it because I played against Carlock's Graham's teams and had many relatives play against them in those 90's years.  I think it goes to show how hard it is to win a state title.  I also think that Richlands talent is not terribly different for the current times (last 15 years) compared to Graham's talent of years ago when compared to it's neighbors in current Region D, or the old Region 4.  I think it's insane that Mance has taken Richlands so far so many times and that speaks to coaching and a well ran machine.  Same with Carlock.  It also speaks to.......my point a few months ago about Powell Valley.  No offense, but again, I'm sorry, some of those state titles just ain't happening if Powell Valley is playing (Div 3) in the mid 80's to late 90's like Graham and Gate City did.  Many PV faithful would ask and have asked which Graham or Gate City team would have taken them down on their state title years, but they fell to understand it's not just about Graham or Gate City or Radford (powerhouse back then), it's also about the beast that would await you in (Region 3) back then such as a Rustburg, Martinsville in the 70's to early 80's, a Jefferson Forest, and if you win, you get to tangle with a Tabb, Southampton, or James Monroe which were absolutely nasty back then.  I recall a few years you speak of.  1982 was a P. Valley state title in which they were solid, but they ain't beating Tabb that year in a state title if they were AA like Graham and Gate City.  No chance, no way.  The 89 Graham team would have whipped P. Valley as well, and the Radford of 1989 would have also beat Powell Valley.  The 1990 Graham team would have beat Powell Valley and I watched the 1990 team beat GC in the playoffs in the region, and went on to lose at Rustburg to a team they may have should have won against.  Graham dominated the game, but somehow lost, and had a QB that didn't seem to be able to throw it much, and they ran it all game long.  Both Graham and Rustburg would have beat P. Valley that year.  That's 3 right there.  I never saw the Graham of 95 team play that won it, but the PV of 1995 could have played with them for sure that year more than likely.  They were fantastic.  As for Graham of 2001, this is a team that probably should have won a state title and one could fault Coach Carlock for that one.  It's rare.  He's like Frye.  Their ain't many mistakes and much to fault, but the team I watched in 2001 was far more athletic and talented than the Turner Ashby, Broadway, Harrisonburg (can't remember which team it was) that beat em.  Especially with a kid named Bradshaw that didn't get many touches, but you could tell back then I think when he was a sophomore, he was going to be special.

Overall, it's hard to win a title and Mance is a great coach.  So was Carlock.  So was Phil Robbins at Powell Valley and Fry.  Many fault Coach HF for the losses in the 70's to Martinsville and Southampton, but again, those teams were very talented in which he lost and it just goes to show how tough it is to win a state title.  I still don't think Richlands has a gigantic talent gap compared to other schools in the area.  It may have widened some in the last 5 years since Richlands has been winning, but they've been winning for to long now to simply have a decade and one half of "gold" talent.  This means, much of it is and has to be solid coaching.  It's the same with Graham's Carlock that you mentioned.  I watched Graham come to Lebanon one time in the 80's against a Lebanon team that had a wickedly fast running back named Eric Buchanon who was a very good player, but also a track star.  I set beside his father and he told me, "Graham always seems to have tons of talent."  It was the same back then as it is with Richlands today in that....much of that is coaching, and a good coach can make the talent look awesome, and when he wins, he then has talent that wants to play for him.

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14 hours ago, RJ7 said:

If you are "receiving" transfers;you should play a tougher schedule

"Receiving" code word for recruiting? ? Everyone knows Mance recruits & if it was provable that he's violated VHSL rules, he'd be gone. Didn't I read in one of these threads they tried to get the kid from Bluefield , Collier, to come play for them? 

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If Richlands has at least one play maker on offense, this game would of been in the books. Richlands had the better team, Union just had the better player. Things looking up for Richlands though. Loosing most of the front but all of the secondary returns. If they can find a line and maybe a transfer or 2 ? they are gonna be A okay for next year.

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9 hours ago, UVAObserver said:

The argument is this: Were it not for Mance, Richlands wouldn’t be in those positions in the first place.  That’s correct and fair.  But on the flip side, once you’ve assembled that team, how much criticism is fair for the innumerable postseason gags?

 

I think back to Glynn Carlock.  Back in those days, Regions 3 and 4 were king; seldom, if ever, did Regions 1 and 2 have anything to match up.  Graham won 2 state titles with him and lost just the 1, but Carlock lost 5 games in the state semifinals, 4 of which were of the heartbreaker variety, to Region 3 teams that eventually won the state championship.  Carlock was but a turn of fate away from winning 6 state championships and being the best coach in SWVA history.  How do you judge him for those losses in ‘81, ‘90, ‘93, ‘98, ‘01, and ‘03?

 

Then again, did Carlock ever have the overwhelming talent advantage that Mance has enjoyed in many of those postseason flops?

 

More philosophical conjecture than anything.

Fun game to watch. The bottom line is that Richland team can't score. Their coach is a pass game coach. He probably will never again have the talent for a pass offense (QB& receivers at the same time) like he has had the last few years, and he couldn't win a State Championship with them. 

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5 minutes ago, local_insight said:

If Richlands has at least one play maker on offense, this game would of been in the books. Richlands had the better team, Union just had the better player. Things looking up for Richlands though. Loosing most of the front but all of the secondary returns. If they can find a line and maybe a transfer or 2 ? they are gonna be A okay for next year.

Call a spade, a spade..."a transfer or 2" ?? Richlands has a better "recruiting" system than some colleges. If I'm not mistaken, the only championship they won under Mance was year they didn't have recruits from other schools. I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong.

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6 minutes ago, Gridiron60 said:

Call a spade, a spade..."a transfer or 2" ?? Richlands has a better "recruiting" system than some colleges. If I'm not mistaken, the only championship they won under Mance was year they didn't have recruits from other schools. I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong.

You are 100% correct. However, we are in a new era now. Just gotta pay the school a small fee. Since Mance had a down year, he should be in his recruiting prime.

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9 minutes ago, Gridiron60 said:

Call a spade, a spade..."a transfer or 2" ?? Richlands has a better "recruiting" system than some colleges. If I'm not mistaken, the only championship they won under Mance was year they didn't have recruits from other schools. I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong.

You are exactly right! Most All the schools get their transfers. The other are ticked because they don't!! Transfer s are a way of life wish we had some.

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18 minutes ago, local_insight said:

You are 100% correct. However, we are in a new era now. Just gotta pay the school a small fee. Since Mance had a down year, he should be in his recruiting prime.

A "down year" , how many 7 loss seasons has Richlands had? I dare say not many if any the past 30 years. He better start the lockeroom tours, finding housing, & making promises of scholarships now in prep for next year. 

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1 hour ago, Gridiron60 said:

A "down year" , how many 7 loss seasons has Richlands had? I dare say not many if any the past 30 years. He better start the lockeroom tours, finding housing, & making promises of scholarships now in prep for next year. 

Richland is only 2 games away from playing Union again. You might want to give some thought to trying to be 'RUDE' , because Mitchell is gone next season!!?

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14 minutes ago, chumbucket said:

Only difference between union and richlands is 1. Riclands lacks 1 big time play maker, 2. Unions D line is better.  Richlands has better kicking game.    Thats it.   The game I watched last night was fairly even.

And Richlands doesn’t have a guy named James Mitchell on their team. Rumor has it, he’s an alright ball player.

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23 minutes ago, Suit Up said:

And Richlands doesn’t have a guy named James Mitchell on their team. Rumor has it, he’s an alright ball player.

I guess you don't read between the lines,   but its alright.  Why mention him,   pretty sure everyone on this site knows who he is.

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17 minutes ago, local_insight said:

That was a little harsh, but what can I say. Mance has a kind heart.

 

17 minutes ago, local_insight said:

That was a little harsh, but what can I say. Mance has a kind heart.

 

9 minutes ago, jarhead24219 said:

All in fun brother, just making “light” of all of the Transfers” to Richlands over the years

I don't guess jarhead you wanted anyone to know that #43 DE was a transfer from Lee. Also another player from Wise . I always found it helpful to look at my on actions before I stone someone else.

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11 minutes ago, T52OS said:

 

 

I don't guess jarhead you wanted anyone to know that #43 DE was a transfer from Lee. Also another player from Wise . I always found it helpful to look at my on actions before I stone someone else.

Lee didn’t want 43, refused to play him. He wasn’t recruited.  He came to Union purely on his own accord. 

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