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You probably feel that way because you are a Richlands fan, to me, nothing comes remotely close to Bluefield-Graham. What other game has people coming from hundreds or even thousands of miles once a year to watch the game, regardless of how good (or bad) the teams are that particular season. Also, I'm not trying to be mean or ugly by any means, but this thread is about Bluefield vs. Graham, let's please stick to the topic. You will have plenty of time to discuss Richlands vs. Union.

People forget to give the players much credit for their defensive play. These seniors as 8th graders gave Bluefield Middle team their only loss of the season and held a much faster BMS team to 1 score. And prior to that , They held a Bluefield Cardinal team that scored 40 or more points a game to 1 offensive TD for 2 games in a row. Oh yeah and the opposing teams QB was Devin Lester. These seniors didn’t have that explosive offensive player back then but they were tough, smart and coachable. They were a tremendous group of defenders long before Edwards, Atkins, Ray and even Lester came along. Adding those kids just gave them more confidence with the added speed.

I don't really know what will happen Friday. I stay away from scrimmages and pre season games because I actually don't want to know. Having this as the first game is what makes it special. We have ideas of what to expect but we just don't really know. That is one reason 10,000 people pack the stands. We all know Bluefield is loaded at the skill positions but can they block and tackle? Graham is more balanced this year but will they be able to run the ball and stop the big plays? We really just don't know and that is what makes this game so great. The game has also turned in to a defacto home coming game for both schools. You can see many former grads at the tailgate party from both schools just talking and having a good time. It has turned into an event that can not be topped anywhere for hundreds of miles.

Lots of Confidence out of Bulldog Nation!

People put too much stock into scrimmages and Jamborees. I've seen teams struggle with other teams in Jamborees only to spank them later in the season. You don't win preseason games. You go into them to find what weaknesses you need to work on. Real game Hurley could beat Gate City handily or vise versa.

Any of the Tazewell County teams playing each other. Usually no matter the records of the teams the atmosphere at the games are still exciting!

I wasn’t saying Tazewell was gonna blow them out, I’m just saying when the Bulldogs can put a full game together they could be great! And again why wouldn’t have confidence in a team? Why the hell are we even here if we don’t?

I see this being the only L for the G-Men! But hopefully they pull something out.

I really think Graham's defense will be fine for the year. The offense will come together as the year goes on. Offensive line play will be the sticking point as many have said. Chris Austin has done a great job in previous years of getting each group better as the year progresses. This group will improve as well. We'll all need to have some patience with the offense. We lost Cam and Lester doesn't have a Lester type receiver that will demand a double coverage. I'm sure the two scrimmages we had Tony showed very little as far as plays. Defensively I'm anxious to see how this group responds to a passing team. Losing Cam was obviously huge. We now have 3 new players that are in the secondary.

Graham's defense is way ahead of their offense at this point. For them to have a chance, they need to get to Bluefield's qb and force him into making mistakes. A lot of folks around town are talking about those 5 D1 commits from Bluefield and figure that Bluefield has this game in the bag. Im also hearing a lot of folks believing that Graham will have a serious drop off at qb this season, but I believe Lester will do a great job. Heck, just last season, at the beginning, a lot of folks were questioning the decision to start Allen over Lester. I think this game is much closer than last season. Overall Graham's defense is bigger and stronger than last season and they have good speed at cornerback and safety positions and the defense seems to already be ready ro go (unlike last year). The Offensive line-play for both teams will determine the outcome of this game. I honestly believe it will be a barn burner and a higjly emotional game on both sides, with the both teams dedicating the game to #5. It wont be the same to most of those kids without him on the field. Im not predicting a winner. All of those kids will be winners on that night in my eyes and in the eyes of just about everybody watching them. Both schools will be playing for Little Tony and some things are bigger than football. The love and respect those kids have for each other out there on friday night will and should be the story of that game.

If you come to the Graham vs Beibers game you should try eating at Big Whiskey BBQ...great food!!

I’m saying Bluefield was loaded with even more talent and speed then and Spadaro was also an assistant for Large. The tenacity of Graham’s defense is due to the players. It has shown in the past. Football today is more about the Johnny’s and the Joe’s than it is the X’s and the O’s. Simon and Palmer are good coaches but they would never have their success at a school such as Lebanon or a Montcalm. Great coaching comes in to play when you know the other sideline has more size,speed and talent than you do every week but you find ways to win.

Gate City over RIchlands robbing Mance of his 200th win... ...just kidding! Mance gets his 200th and rides off into the sunset at the end of this season.

My thoughts are the game will be a closer this year than last with Graham's defense way ahead of where they were last year at the beginning of the season. Offense isn't there yet. Bluefield is strong on both sides of the ball. I know most people are handing the game to Bluefield but I'm hoping that Graham can pull out the W. It will certainly be a hard fought contest and great atmosphere for fans.

I have a lot of confidence, but at the same time I’m an honest person when it comes to winning or losing. My personal opinion, it’s gonna be a lot better game then everyone is saying. Everyone is talking about how bad Va High got beat, well look who they played. UNION! C’mon man! Go dawgs!!

Spoken like a true blue, Blue Tornado, lol! Bullitt Park is a great atmosphere too, I agree. Ernie Hicks too but it doesn't get as packed out as it did years ago. There used to be standing room only even around track. One guarantee, Mitchell is always packed out for the first game.

Both teams have good defenses. So when that is the case, you have to look at which offense is better built for the big play. To me that’s Bluefield. I’m afraid that Lester will be running for his life all night long with that shaky o-line. I think Graham can and will score, just not enough to edge out a team like Bluefield.

Bluefield by 2 tds...

Yes . Too much Dickell. Richlands will be a tough out for graham. But Graham will do it. Defense is tough. . Tazewell is gonna be tough. They are better than Marion and Lebanon and should finish no worse than 3rd in the district. Kicker at Richlands is awesome. Sage Webb looks like a different kid from last year and I saw his routes today on huddle. ( Wow). But Lester & Co are flat out nasty. I’ll give them the edge at this point and I don’t count out Tazewell as high as second.

After getting to watch both play/scrimmage I think Graham’s defense is more physical than the Beavers. But Bluefield’s offense seems to be on another level than Graham’s. Should be a good physical game, but I’m taking the Beavers by 14.

Bluefield by 3

I think both defenses are strong.If Bluefield expects the defense from the game last year, I think they’ll be surprised. Graham is going to need some great plays on offensive as I believe it’s still a little shaky from comments I’ve seen posted by those that attended scrimmages. Hopefully, they can do some fine tuning this week. Bluefield (once again from comments made by other posters) , seemed to have a stronger showing against Giles than Pulaski. I think it’s going to be hard to beat them but not impossible. I’m hoping for a great game that comes down to the wire!

Bluefield has an excellent team...Giles moved the ball pretty well against them though...Giles played hard but was just outclassed by Bluefield. Very physical game... Martin and Johnson are special type players....the QB is very Damn good also. Gonna take a good team to beat Bluefield for sure....should be a good one next week with Graham

Going way out but I think Abingdon may be too confident an Battles defence is very stingy, I think Battle 24, Abingdon 21, an yes fingers an toes are crossed.

Scrimmages vs game situation are always deceiving. Most teams dont prepare defensively for the teams they scrimmage and usually try to limit the preparation for benefit games and stay vanilla, balancing getting a good look vs not showing too much for week one. I dont think gate city beat tennessee high by no means. 10 guaranteed plays can help erase mistakes that would kill drives in normal situations. Just my opinion and I could be/have been wrong....

Go Big Or Go Home But Don't Be Surprised!! Burton 26 Ridgeview 20.

With the events the past 3 seasons, I agree that we are lucky. More blessed in a way. We are blessed to have gotten Jeremy back. A man who cares about the kids. That whole staff cares for the kids, a lot of blue blood now on that staff. I believe Barry Jones and Aaron Daugherty are the only none GC grads with Barry being part of the program long enough in the past to be a true Devil. We are moving forward. It’s going to be a long process but we have already made strides in fixing the program. The numbers are low, but those 33 kids have bought into what this staff is selling. I was told those kids were there every day this summer busting it unless on family vacation. I am out of town and didn’t make it last night, but I was told that they laid more hits last night than they did in the last 3 seasons combined. We will get better day by day. Little by little. We may experience losses along the way, but Jeremy and staff are instilling a winning attitude. We will no longer go into a game already down 21-0 in our minds. Do the little things right, and the big things will take care of themselves. The payoff will be huge in 3-5 years. We must ignore the outsiders and control what we can control. The outsiders better get their kicks in while they can. The days of “it’s just Gate City” are limited.

The Pike County Bowl is this coming weekend, always have some good games and doubleheaders but im not sure what the schedule is. Lexington Christian is either at Pikeville or Belfry

If want do some traveling. Bluefield vs Graham is game to see.

3 Tazewell County teams played 144 minutes of football last night, and allowed 0 points. I can’t ever recall that happening. There’s going to be some great football played in Tazewell County this season.

Will these be made public? As always, if you’re so obstinate as to not place teams like Bluefield and Radford on your poll for various idiotic reasons, I feel as if the rest of this site should be aware of the fools skewing the poll, and judge that accordingly.

No T. New design this year