Plywood_King

My goodness, I don't know how much they pay Marion's groundskeeper, but it's not enough.

Jim Sacco retweeted
Marion Hurricanesâ€@MarionCanes46 mins46 minutes ago End zones are ready! #Hurricanes pic.twitter.com/r8DtiyZ9a4
      great state    

That endzone is so beautiful I shed a tear

Here you go:

Here you go:

A.   Offense=score points
B.   Defense=stop offense
C.   Whining=A could not stop B

Here's the listing of Hogo teams listed by number of championships won. I'm missing the championships from 1975, '76, and '77, so if anyone knows who won those championships, it would make the list complete. I would be willing to bet that they were won by either Chilhowie or R.B. Worthy. Also, I counted a shared District Championship as a full championship, and the numbers in parenthesis are the number of seasons that team played as a member of the Hogo.

Chilhowie - 13 (44)
George Wythe - 12 (24)
Lebanon - 8 (14)
Rural Retreat - 4 (42)
Patrick Henry - 2 (25)
Holston - 2 (44)
Northwood - 1 (26)
Honaker - 1 (9)
John Battle - 1 (14)
R.B. Worthy/Saltville - 1 (16)
Rich Valley - 1 (16)
Castlewood - 0 (18)
Marion - 0 (1)

A big thanks to HogoOnline, because a good chunk of these I picked up from Hogoheegee.com

Talk about 2 teams that have over came adversity, Northwood and Marion both have managed to hold things together with a combined 11-1 record this year. Marion's one loss was to NW. Hats off to both teams for sticking together during tough times, and espically to the coaching staffs for their leadership and coaching. This shows that young student athletes can over come adversity with the right leadership and direction from wise coaches. Best of luck in the post season. Not bad guys, not bad at all! Be sure to take care of business Friday night NW. It's one game at a time. Great job guys.

Even with the expected losses that Abingdon will find between now and the end of the season, they will still make the playoffs.  I can't wait to see them go up against one of the Roanoke area teams or Brookeville.  Teams as a whole are down in the area but there is still some great ball being played every friday night.  Bluefield is overrated in my opinion compared to the top teams of southwest VA.  Would love to see them go up against Giles, Union or even a healthy GC.  I could be wrong but either way they are still a good team and they (assuming they had all their players) would still probably run all over the birds.
 
BTW Marion had a much better Enter Sandman entrance...
 
LOL

Agreed. I know that it took place outside of the high school, but personally, while I do think that the school acted promptly, I don't think that the coaches did enough. I've always been of the opinion that if you put yourself before your team, you don't belong on the team. The kids knew, or should have known, that everything that they say and do, whether in uniform or outside of it, doesn't reflect on them, but on the school. I was personally disgusted as a fan of the sport that the coaches let the kids stand on the sidelines during their suspension, wearing their jerseys. As long as they're standing there, there is a scapegoat. "Well, if they were playing, we wouldn't have any problems on the field. We could have beaten so-and-so." 

Of course, I'm also of the belief that if you aren't wearing your helmet on the sideline, you are saying that you don't want to play. Maybe I'm too old school for the modern sensibilities of a PC society.

Agreed. I know that it took place outside of the high school, but personally, while I do think that the school acted promptly, I don't think that the coaches did enough. I've always been of the opinion that if you put yourself before your team, you don't belong on the team. The kids knew, or should have known, that everything that they say and do, whether in uniform or outside of it, doesn't reflect on them, but on the school. I was personally disgusted as a fan of the sport that the coaches let the kids stand on the sidelines during their suspension, wearing their jerseys. As long as they're standing there, there is a scapegoat. "Well, if they were playing, we wouldn't have any problems on the field. We could have beaten so-and-so." 

Of course, I'm also of the belief that if you aren't wearing your helmet on the sideline, you are saying that you don't want to play. Maybe I'm too old school for the modern sensibilities of a PC society.

Agreed. I know that it took place outside of the high school, but personally, while I do think that the school acted promptly, I don't think that the coaches did enough. I've always been of the opinion that if you put yourself before your team, you don't belong on the team. The kids knew, or should have known, that everything that they say and do, whether in uniform or outside of it, doesn't reflect on them, but on the school. I was personally disgusted as a fan of the sport that the coaches let the kids stand on the sidelines during their suspension, wearing their jerseys. As long as they're standing there, there is a scapegoat. "Well, if they were playing, we wouldn't have any problems on the field. We could have beaten so-and-so." 

Of course, I'm also of the belief that if you aren't wearing your helmet on the sideline, you are saying that you don't want to play. Maybe I'm too old school for the modern sensibilities of a PC society.

If I am not mistaken, the 100+ mailboxes were destroyed on or about Aug 14-15. Rumors began on social media shortly afterwards, and social media also suggested some football players were involved. As I said earlier, as I read, the ones who committed the felonies began to tell on each other, as teenagers often do. The fact of the matter is, "does the punishment fit the crime", period? To destroy one mail box is a federal offense. To destroy 100+ mail boxes is unconceivable to me, especially without those involved being punished by the court system and the school system, with more than a slap on the wrist. Full restitution of the mailboxes to the owner(s) is in order in all cases such as this. When something of this nature takes place and involves our schools student athletes, we as citizens and tax payers expect prompt and just decisions to be made on the matters at hand from the school officials. If I am not mistaken, back in the spring, some baseball players were suspended a game or two for bullying an African American fellow player. In other words, this is not Marion's first rodeo in dealing with suspending athletes for actions unbecoming to the school and the community. I would think that our federal authorities are involved in this case, and I have confidence that justice will prevail in the end.

I live in the County, and while I had heard about the mailboxes being damaged, I must have been in the half that didn't know who was responsible for it. The first I heard about the whole thing was the day before the Marion/Northwood game. And if it's true that half the County knew about it, why is it that no one reported it before hand? Sure, they're juveniles which would have kept it out of the widespread public eye, but I'm pretty sure that it's still a crime that the kids should be prosecuted for. Maybe UVAObserver could clarify that a little bit better; I don't pretend to know enough about the law to say that with certainty. Regardless, I find it hard to believe that the same school that expelled their star runningback for breaking the law, opening the door for him to transfer to their chief rival, would have let this slide.

I live in the County, and while I had heard about the mailboxes being damaged, I must have been in the half that didn't know who was responsible for it. The first I heard about the whole thing was the day before the Marion/Northwood game. And if it's true that half the County knew about it, why is it that no one reported it before hand? Sure, they're juveniles which would have kept it out of the widespread public eye, but I'm pretty sure that it's still a crime that the kids should be prosecuted for. Maybe UVAObserver could clarify that a little bit better; I don't pretend to know enough about the law to say that with certainty. Regardless, I find it hard to believe that the same school that expelled their star runningback for breaking the law, opening the door for him to transfer to their chief rival, would have let this slide.

Everyone on here talks smack about Abingdon it's a yearly football ritual

A taco would actually make a great mascot for Abingdon. The Abingdon Tacos... I like it.

Coming to a football stadium near you:

A taco would actually make a great mascot for Abingdon. The Abingdon Tacos... I like it.

Coming to a football stadium near you:

That might be a little bit of overkill. The Hogo won four different state championships last year.

Please enlighten us on what powerhouse district your team plays in?

That might be a little bit of overkill. The Hogo won four different state championships last year.

There are a lot of factors that would contribute to that, that have been discussed widely by both school administrators and politicians alike. At the end of the day it comes down to industry, the best example would be to look at the schools in the coalfields and how their enrollments have been on a steady decline for a long time. As a more local example for the Grayson/Galax situation, you can look at the Smyth County schools, who have similar geography and economic opportunities.
 
In about twenty-five years time, Northwood and Marion's enrollment numbers have been cut almost in half, while Chilhowie's have been relatively unscathed, and if you look at the industry that has left the Marion and Northwood (previously Worthy and Rich Valley) school districts since the late seventies into the early eighties, there is a clear relationship. After Olin closed, the folks in Saltville started looking towards Marion for jobs, but as factories started closing in Marion, they began looking toward Abingdon and Bristol. Soon they began moving out of the Valley, because as anyone who has to do it will tell you, having to cross Walker Mountain every day isn't a fun experience. Chilhowie, because it sits in a crossroads between Saltville, Marion, and Abingdon, has seen it's population remain stagnant, despite the fact that most places in the region have seen school enrollment drops. So as younger people from Saltville move toward the Middle Folk of the Holston, younger people from Marion move further up and down the I-81 corridor looking for work and older folks moved towards Marion for retirement, because of its scenery, quaintness, and accessibility, causing their school numbers to drop without effecting the overall town/County populations. 
 
So, to answer the question, people go where there are jobs, and as small-time farming becomes less profitable, rural people go where there are unskilled labor opportunities. If there are no factories, mines, et cetera, they will find a place where those jobs exist. Yes, it is normal for local populations and school enrollments to fluctuate in 15-20 year intervals. However, the overall drop of school enrollments around the region is not normal, and should be very concerning.

There are a lot of factors that would contribute to that, that have been discussed widely by both school administrators and politicians alike. At the end of the day it comes down to industry, the best example would be to look at the schools in the coalfields and how their enrollments have been on a steady decline for a long time. As a more local example for the Grayson/Galax situation, you can look at the Smyth County schools, who have similar geography and economic opportunities.
 
In about twenty-five years time, Northwood and Marion's enrollment numbers have been cut almost in half, while Chilhowie's have been relatively unscathed, and if you look at the industry that has left the Marion and Northwood (previously Worthy and Rich Valley) school districts since the late seventies into the early eighties, there is a clear relationship. After Olin closed, the folks in Saltville started looking towards Marion for jobs, but as factories started closing in Marion, they began looking toward Abingdon and Bristol. Soon they began moving out of the Valley, because as anyone who has to do it will tell you, having to cross Walker Mountain every day isn't a fun experience. Chilhowie, because it sits in a crossroads between Saltville, Marion, and Abingdon, has seen it's population remain stagnant, despite the fact that most places in the region have seen school enrollment drops. So as younger people from Saltville move toward the Middle Folk of the Holston, younger people from Marion move further up and down the I-81 corridor looking for work and older folks moved towards Marion for retirement, because of its scenery, quaintness, and accessibility, causing their school numbers to drop without effecting the overall town/County populations. 
 
So, to answer the question, people go where there are jobs, and as small-time farming becomes less profitable, rural people go where there are unskilled labor opportunities. If there are no factories, mines, et cetera, they will find a place where those jobs exist. Yes, it is normal for local populations and school enrollments to fluctuate in 15-20 year intervals. However, the overall drop of school enrollments around the region is not normal, and should be very concerning.

There are a lot of factors that would contribute to that, that have been discussed widely by both school administrators and politicians alike. At the end of the day it comes down to industry, the best example would be to look at the schools in the coalfields and how their enrollments have been on a steady decline for a long time. As a more local example for the Grayson/Galax situation, you can look at the Smyth County schools, who have similar geography and economic opportunities.
 
In about twenty-five years time, Northwood and Marion's enrollment numbers have been cut almost in half, while Chilhowie's have been relatively unscathed, and if you look at the industry that has left the Marion and Northwood (previously Worthy and Rich Valley) school districts since the late seventies into the early eighties, there is a clear relationship. After Olin closed, the folks in Saltville started looking towards Marion for jobs, but as factories started closing in Marion, they began looking toward Abingdon and Bristol. Soon they began moving out of the Valley, because as anyone who has to do it will tell you, having to cross Walker Mountain every day isn't a fun experience. Chilhowie, because it sits in a crossroads between Saltville, Marion, and Abingdon, has seen it's population remain stagnant, despite the fact that most places in the region have seen school enrollment drops. So as younger people from Saltville move toward the Middle Folk of the Holston, younger people from Marion move further up and down the I-81 corridor looking for work and older folks moved towards Marion for retirement, because of its scenery, quaintness, and accessibility, causing their school numbers to drop without effecting the overall town/County populations. 
 
So, to answer the question, people go where there are jobs, and as small-time farming becomes less profitable, rural people go where there are unskilled labor opportunities. If there are no factories, mines, et cetera, they will find a place where those jobs exist. Yes, it is normal for local populations and school enrollments to fluctuate in 15-20 year intervals. However, the overall drop of school enrollments around the region is not normal, and should be very concerning.