Dawgs4Life

Way to go Blues!! As a Bear fan, I'm pulling for you all to the bring the gold back to SW Va!!

OK, now that my feet are back to earth and my heart has stopped fluttering, I want to say what a game by the Stuarts Draft Cougars.  I know they are devastated to lose a game in the last 8 seconds.  Hats off to them, they made great adjustments at the half and it showed with 4 turnovers by the Blues.  If I could,  I would give them all a bear hug, but since I can't, I send a big shoutout to thank you for an awesome game today.  THANK YOU!!!!

Lol...I just despise it. It just seems so dated, but if that fits your players then do what you do! And I'm an old Appy Bulldog pulling for Richlands now that Union is gone.

Someone please post a picture or two of the crowd on here tonight. Although I'm a Union fan, I will be following updates on this game tonight. BTW, is there a radio link? I won't be able to make it to Appomattox due to work but they have a live stream. I really want a title brought back to SWVA this year and I think any of these three teams have the potential. Good luck tonight and safe travels!!!

The fact that he arguably has a program that is just as good if not better at the moment and is in the area in which he grew up is why it is so hard to believe for me. 

I agree that I thought we may see more kids getting an opportunity to play at the next level and I'm sure we will in the coming weeks. The D1 level for a kid from our end of the state is rare. Having went through the recruiting process last year, kids from here in most cases don't have the exposure not to mention the size/speed for that level. They are great 1A/2A football players and can play at the D2, D3 or NAIA level but D1 is a whole other level. With that said, I agree that after seeing Asbury and Sturgill play QB they will be D1 level next season.

I figured this forum would a buzz with all the great season some of the local teams have had this past year.  Course then again, I havent heard a word about any players from AHS signing anywhere.  Granted they only graduate 7 this year.

Here ya go, Union guys. 

Thanks!!

Feel free to use any of these as you wish. 

So I have to learn the wonders of PhotoShop for some of my college classes. I've had it since Wednesday, and I've been playing around with all the features. I've really enjoyed making wallpapers and things like that. I thought I'd share some with you guys. You can go like my Facebook page and if you have any requests, I can try to make one for you for free. 
 
https://www.facebook.com/Ryan4VTProduction
 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

Even in a bad NET year, their floor is just barely below SWVAs ceiling. The biggest town in SWVA is Abingdon. The biggest schools in NET like Science Hill and Dobyns-Bennett and Elizabethton and such are huge schools that double the biggest school on SWVA and probably triple and maybe quadruple the others. The enrollment gap is just too much for that game to be consistently competitive.

Appomattox had a tragic community story, but that same community rallied around their high school football team and used their success to get through and overcome that tragedy. That's what makes HS football so great. We, in SWVA, have known about this ability for a LONG time. Sometimes, in larger areas, that have more to offer for entertainment, the local HS and the kids that walk its halls become an afterthought.
 
To think that those same stands that were overflowing this season sat virtually empty against Lee High last year is proof that Appomattox gets it the same way we do down here. At least for this season. The article by Jim Sacco in the BHC about Union was awesome, and reminded me of why I go to every game and why I sat in my seat until the Clarke Co scoreboard read 00:00. Those kids deserved it. It's a symbiotic relationship between our communities and our high schools. We support them, cheer for them, and build them up. They, in turn, feed off that energy and use it to learn lessons that will teach them forever.
 
No doubt I was secretly hoping that the Eagles would win yesterday so that I could say Union's only loss came to the state champions. It may have lessened the sting of defeat a little, but to get caught up in if's, and's, and but's doesn't change a thing nor does it predict possible outcomes in HS football games that were never played. They are just kids after all. Perfectly imperfect, youthful, full of energy and life, and prone to mistakes just like any other person.
 
If Appomattox were to go through their same schedule again, maybe they slip up and don't play as good each week. Maybe they lose a game or two. Maybe they don't make it to Salem. Life doesn't give us many second chances, and Appomattox made the best of their chances week in and week out. They didn't need a second shot at anyone. They won each game and took care of business. THEY made it to Salem, and they didn't play Union, Glenvar, Richlands, or Buckingham. They played Clarke Co. and they won. Congratulations Appomattox on a great season and your first State Championship!

Seems to me that, after reading about all of the heartbreak that the Appomattox community suffered, this team wasn't going to lose. It wouldn't have mattered who played Appo. I personally don't know if any of their kids lost any relatives or friends in the community tragedies but as sad as it was, I think it played a major role in their wanting to win that state championship for the community.

All of this is total crap. You can not say that if Richlands had won the appomattox game that they would have won the state championship. You can not predict the future. It's all about match ups and who knows how Richlands would have matched up with the other teams. All credit to appomattox they won every game they played and thats all that matters. THEY determined who won the state championship by taking care of business every game they played and congrats to them.

Only one 2A champ this season.  And that is Appomattox.  Not Richlands, Union, Clarke Co. or anyone else.  I honestly thought the game would be closer today.  Kudos to the Raiders (Appomattox not Oakland.)

True they didn't beat them earlier in the season or it would have been. Season is over, sorry I was just trying to have a nice discussion about it. But you really can't anymore everyone gets salty over everything. My apologies, congratulations to all teams on a great season!

The key thought in all of this is that if you wanted the Richlands - Appomattox game to be the state championship then don't lose to Union early in the season

The beauty or problem is you never know about a bad game or matchup. If you have one, you hope it's in the regular season. Appomattox are deserving champions. My ignorance of Clarke County aside, they played well enough to reach the final. On any given day, Richlands, Union, or Glenvar could have beaten Appomattox as well or each other. Regardless, it was an exciting season.

Thing that stands out to me is the absence of Gavin..no way there are 4 wrs in the conference better than him.

I dont either, Richlands has just as many quality kids as any team around. I believe the turnovers were the factor. People still kind of look eerily about the Union win because it was by one point in OT as somehow an indication that Union is not as good as Richlands is and was lucky to win (No Richlands posters have said it, you guys are all class, but I hear it a lot from other schools, mainly people from Wise), and yes Asbury did throw a couple picks, but Richlands also had one KR TD and another long return to like the Union 10. Its not as if Union was not able to move the ball and put up points and (occassionally lol) stop Richlands. My point is, Richlands did not beat itself, Union beat them. Whether it can happen again who knows, two very evenly matched teams that would probably split 5/5 in 10 games, but Union won outright. 
 
None of that means jack shit against Glenvar lol. A year can change a lot, but a much less effective Union team gave Glenvar all they could handle on the road and lost by 10 after committing eight turnovers. If that number is just five, Union would have been right in it in the end. It was 12-9 when Union was driving before the last turnover, its not as if Glenvar steamrolled Union and the Bears are much better this year *but I am sure Glenvar is as well*.
 
Glenvar has not seen an offense as diverse and capable of Union, that much I know. There is no 2A team out there with a QB capable of making laser throws, lobbing deep balls, escaping the pocket or taking off for an 80 yard TD run (he played DB last year, the speed is there), three legit runners (Summers, Bishop, and Fannon), a big, physical TE with soft hands and a mean streak, and three legit, elite playmaking WRs. You can post all the 40 times you want, but I guarantee Noaks is as fast as anyone on the field. He ran down Cousins and knocked the fumble loose that really turned the tide, and he caught him from behind. Gavin is 6'4 and is capable of beating anyone deep, but if you put your best cover DB on him, Mitchell, 6'5, will either run you over on a bubble screen or beat you deep. Union needs to get more diverse in the passing game tho, it can't be just bubble screens, bootlegs and fly routes. With four guys capable of making plays, run more option routes, and more slants. If Glenvar is getting quick pressure, that means the screen game and the bubble game will be there early and set up the fake bubble go route. 
 
I will be rooting for Union, I believe we can win, but I also believe Glenvar can win and could easily come to the park and emerge with a victory. It wont be easy for either team, but I do believe Union is more battle tested, having played Richlands, Crockett and Graham already. Radford and Giles are good, but Union's opponents had a slightly better combined record and GC brings down the Union average but I guarantee that they are better than most 6-4 teams.

That's right. Graham tied the game a couple plays after he went out...when he left it was 21-14. Even if he doesn't get injured, I don't see Graham winning. On the other hand, if #50 for Union doesn't get injured, I don't see Cousin running wild like he did after #50 was out.

Does anyone know if glenvars fullback returned this season, Union had a harder time stopping him last year than they did with Manns. Not taking anything away from Manns, but he can't be much harder to stop than Cousins was, so maybe we can force them to throw the ball.

Damn dawgs4life don't get me started on the coaches or lack there of lol.