BandanaVTDavis4321

Can somebody from Richlands let us know if Marion’s boys coach is coaching tomorrow night when they play? 

Earning a football scholarship at a D1 program, whether FCS or FBS, is extremely difficult.  There have only been a handful in SWVA within the past few years that have accomplished this.  A lot of kids are superstars at their high school, but at the D1 level, everybody on the team were superstars at their high school.  These schools are looking for something that sets a particular kid apart from everyone else.  For example, it could be elite speed, size, etc…  You may be on the smaller size, but if you run a legit 4.4 then that will for sure raise some eyebrows at particular positions, or you may be 6’5” 300lbs and that will also have the coaches talking.  With that being said, I do think SWVA tends to get overlooked on some occasions.  There are a lot of High School coaches in this area that need to be better at reaching out to colleges and pushing their standout players. BandanaVTDavis4321 is correct when he says college coaches love to see a kid work their butt off at their program and get better.  If a kid’s goal is to play football and earn a scholarship to pay for school, then they should go wherever that opportunity presents itself.  If they are dead set at playing for a D1 school then talk to the coaches and try to walk-on with hopes of earning playing time or even better earning that scholarship.  Walk-ons earn scholarships all the time with hard work.  

Yeah, I still disagree with the premise that "possibilities are endless." 
Of the 2,053 players that entered the transfer portal in FBS and FCS last year, one (Cody Shrader - Missouri) went from D2 to P5 while 987 found themselves with nowhere to play or attend class. That doesn't rise to the level of "possibilities are endless" in my view.
To put it another way, 52% of players that entered the transfer portal last year found a new opportunity while 48% found themselves on the outside looking in wondering what the hell happened. How many of those kids are just like Clements? I'd wager, most!

Agreed with all points in this conversation.  At the end of the day, 1C is GW and Auburn on one step, Narrows and PM on the next one.  The margin for error for a team like Narrows against that top step is virtually nil and they've got to bring their best. Anything less and it can get away from them quickly.   We've seen it twice this year.  Onward to a home game with PM on Friday. Looking forward to see how they respond.  Especially given the opponent and where it's being played. 

GW and Auburn played 6 times last year with GW winning 4 of those games. Every game was close. I see that being similar this season. 
 
GW is as talented as any Class 1 team I’ve ever seen. Auburn is the best coached team in the western part of the state regardless of classification now that Rick Cormany is retired. Some kind of matchup. 
 
Narrows was unfortunate to catch GW the day after losing a heartbreaker to Auburn 55-50. 

Or your schedule hurt you once again when facing a good team....not throwing shade but your schedule is bad...don't help at the end of the season

GW and Auburn is going to be exactly like last year. Going to play at least 4 times (I think they played 5 last year, but not sure) and all 4 games with either team having a chance to win like the first 2 already this year. They are neck and neck with each other. It's the final game they play that will decide who gets Lancaster or Brunswick for the state title and that final game they play will be in the state semifinals in my opinion.

Gate City beat Ridgeview last night 59-54. The margin if any, is very thin. 
 
Gate City still has to play Abingdon, Union, Central next week

The Galax fans after winning by two safeties and a last second field goal that boinked across the crossbar. 

The coaches could meet at the Bonanza parking lot & last man standing buys dinner and gets #1 seed. 

Am I the only person in this thread to have never eaten at, or even heard of, Bonanza?
Do Hoss and Little Joe help serve?

Leb only lossed by one to Union with even more injuries than last night. Everyone should be back to nearly full health on Friday when they play v high. I’d say Lebanon will still be in the running for the region. Virginia High could possibly beat Union central and Lebanon but I don’t see them beating Graham or Gate City. Central also needs to hope that someone else beats Graham or gate city but I could also see them beating the other teams aforementioned. I’ll stick with the same tier list that I made near the start of the season.

Mountain 7 hosts Region 2D this year I believe, so it'll be at UVa-Wise.  My pick is Gate City will win the region.

They could have 3, as long as they were allowed to start the game they would still beat Giles.

Not many like Yew left. Power run, play defense, run some more, play great defense. I love old school coaches like that. Like most things, they are also a dying breed with the way the game has changed offensively. I wonder if guys like Carlock or Fry would be shocked if they could come back to life and see what football has become? I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just totally different. 
I just hope before I leave this world, I get to see the Bandana Bunch run the ball down somebody's damn throat for 15 games and win another state title. I just want one more man, one more. Greedy? Yep. My guess is that won't happen because if it does, it won't be Giles High anymore.

Agree. The Bland team in 90ish 91 with Patrick Smith and I think Chad King could flat out play. I knew Patrick well. We hung out some partying on Wilderness Road. Patrick could jump out of the gym as they say. Thise teams in the late 80s and very early 90s were very good, but just not deep due to small numbers. If consolidated back then, that extra depth would have got them over the hump against Lebanon in my opinion. I watched them play at Richlands around 1990ish and couldn't believe the fans they brought. I'm telling ya, they must have brought 1000 people to Richlands. Completely backed their side. I simply don't know where all the people came from.

Man, she keeps that thing ready like a pissed off fella chasing a fly in his living room with a fly swatter too lol!
Our girls played them the night before she went off for the triple double against Grayson, and I asked some Bland coworkers about her the next morning. That's when I found out she was Stiltner's granddaughter. I was not surprised at all that she did what she did that night. We definitely reminisced about some of those Bland teams you had mentioned as well. The one I distinctly remember was the Patrick Smith lead team that fell short in the regionals. I believe Lebanon clipped them in the Regional semis that held them back from a GW/Bland matchup in the final. Lebanon went on to win a state championship that year with Scott Allen setting a state tourney record for assists. If Bland and Rocky Gap were consolidated at the time, I have no doubt they would have been capable of winning a state title that year. Truth be told, Bland was capable even without Rocky Gap in 90/91. They were right on par with Lebanon, GW, and Cumberland, who were the clear top 3 teams that season. 
Pretty sure that same bunch also went to the state tourney in 89/90 as well, but I could be mistaken.

I remember he played for them, and maybe Duck Riley?

Just read the write up about Danielle Sanders in the Roanoke Times.  14 blocks?  Who in the heck blocks 14 shots in one basketball game?  For the love of God, all Bland County opponents, STOP shooting the basketball in the paint when she's around.  After 3 or 4......or 7.....or maybe 10 blocks......the picture should be kind of clear.  The NBA record for most blocks in one game is 17.  14 blocked shots is way, way beyond the norm.  It would be in the realm of scoring like 75 points in a basketball game.  It's actually that rare.

So happy to hear this good news.  Man, her granddaddy was something special as was the entire county of Bland in basketball in the 60's and 70's.  Most on here just don't know about how popular basketball was in Bland County in the 50's ,60's,and 70's and even up until the late 80's with guys like Pat Sutfin, who played at Rocky Gap and Radford University, and guys like Patrick Smith at Bland High.  It was basically a county that belonged in the state of Indiana in the 50's,60's, 70's and for a part of the 80's.  What got Bland County was population loss like most of SWVA counties, and Bland had little room to spare to take a population loss to begin with, but they were breeding basketball players over in that county in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Really pleased to hear this about young Danielle Sanders. Kudos to her.  I had no idea Joe Stiltner still had relatives left in Bland.

He made a statement in a press release that it was “just time” after 25 years of coaching and wanted more time for the family. Like you all, I think it’s a little deeper than that. 

This reminds me of the Northfork, WV dynamic in WV before consolidation with their basketball dynasty. They even had a football state title during that era.

For the first time in Bland County basketball history, Danielle Sanders (granddaughter of the Joe Stiltner, Bland Rocket basketball standout in the 70s) set the record for most blocks in a girls' game with 14. The previous record was 10 set by her.  She also achieved the first triple double in the history of BC basketball with 14 points, 16 rebounds, and 14 blocks in a victory against Grayson County.  Bland plays Galax tomorrow night. She's a junior who's probably about 6' 4".  I think Joe Stiltner was somewhere around 6' 9" tall. Congratulations to this young lady! 

Yeah was beside Arby’s the old bonanza is now a just grilling or just melt something like that 

Wise use to have one,  Pretty sure its were arbys is now.  Near  where bonanza was.  Best i can remember it had a little food bar.  The wendys there had a nice little bar too back in the day