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The only real intrigue in these playoffs is who comes out of Region D. East Rock’s got that half virtually sewn up. It would take a minor miracle for Region D’s representative to beat Radford. Radford’s significantly better than East Rock.

Large gap in the region. It’s Union and Graham — and then a big step back to GC — and then an entire mile back to the rest of the region.

Tazewell beat Richlands by 30, last game of the regular season. I expected Richlands to compete better in that game. Can't say that I'm not surprised by this score, hopefully they can re-group and come back stronger next season.

Union 86, Richlands 33 Final.

Win your region first, then talk. But I do believe Radford is the team to beat this year. I'm sure it will be a challenge for anyone coming out of Region D, IF they play.

Graham up 32-4 at the end of the 1st quarter over Lee.

Not making excuses for Graham, but the first 2 losses to Union (in football) were when Graham was rebuilding a team that had it's tradition seriously harmed by people who didn't understand the hard-nosed "work-horse" type attitude that the G-men had before they took over (or they didn't care). Palmer has restored that tradition and is 2-2 against Union and I expect him to be 3-2 after this upcoming fall season. What we need is some knucklehead to make a "hype" video about how much better Union is than Graham. That worked out well for Graham the last time. I think Union would take 7 out of 10 from Graham this year (in basketball), BUT Graham has yet to reach their potential. If Graham plays to their potential, I think they beat Union. There has been a lot of laziness and un-forced errors this year and a lot of that has to do with a lack of good competition this year. Worry about the team in front of you. I'll guarantee you that Graham will be ready to play when and if they face Union and will probably play their best game of the year (that's what they do under pressure). Todd Baker has a way to get the best out of his team, when a big game is on the line. Will it be enough? Maybe, we will see. On a side note. Graham is miles ahead of where they were before Palmer took over. Coach Carlock would be proud of the way Tony is working with and preparing this team, not only for football, but for life. I am biased towards the SWD. I would like to see Tazewell win it this year (in football), but Graham is the top-dog until somebody knocks them off. Despite the loss of talent, I don't think Graham loses too many steps. They Develop players. The kids are looking strong this year. As I type this, Graham is out to an 18-0 run to start the game against Lee.... Edit: had to come back and edit this, Graham scored 24 points before Lee scored a bucket. That's what I'm talking about, Graham can be explosive and they are very, very quick. They are no team to take lightly.

While this is probably true in some cases I also know that there are some kids who simply don't want to "commit" to the program the way a winning program requires. Their are parents that let their kids quit things when they get tough, don't teach them that when you start something -you finish it. Sitting at at home in front of the video game is much easier than being held accountable for workouts and conditioning. See it every day in the schools systems.

Lots of other opportunities, sports isn't the only game in town anymore.

The truth is in the middle. High school football is not what every 15-18 year old boy aspires to and is inspired by anymore. There are infinite pursuits that are competing for the time of our youth in this millennium, when there were much more limited avenues in yesteryear. With the “rise-and-grind” mindset that’s pumped into the current generation, I don’t think it’s the work ethic that’s lacking. There are some extraordinary things being done by youth that aren’t seen in an athletic context. But it is passion that inspires those pursuits. Getting barked at by a coach doesn’t excite the passion that it did in a previous generation. A kid can just as easily apply himself to something else. A good coach, though one that may be gruff, doesn’t have the entire student body population clamoring to play anymore. It’s not nearly as simple as kids not having a backbone or work ethic.