BigWinners

I was critical of RV fans last night for their behavior and this is no better from adults in the BSG area. Yes the RV kid shouldn’t have done what he did, but it doesn’t need a film breakdown and the whole area trying to get WCYB as has been tagged to do a full scale investigation.  
Some extra push-ups and wind sprints after practice on Monday will do. 

I have the same exact read. Union thought it would be easy after going up 6-0 so quick but RV came to play and gave them a helluva fight. Clown show officiating aside, RV has to feel good even in a loss if Honaker isn’t badly injured. They ran the ball well on Union, stopped the run and played extremely well until the Union talent kinda took over after the half. Only RV turnover was the INT which in my mind was wholly on the receiver. No chance O’Quinn makes that massive of a misread. Had to be a wrong route. 

I have no problems with that at all. Phil didn’t really have a ton of success before PV and while he was handed a very successful program, he won six state titles with kids he exclusively coached. No qualms with anyone who has Turner ahead, but the gap is insignificant. 

I’d argue that if both staffs were swapped, you’d have the same result because I never once saw either coach make a single play for PV or Appy either one. All I ever saw was them standing on the sidelines coaching the runs of talent they both had.

The biggest issue with Phil over the years not getting enough credit was most people were giving Barry Jones most of the credit.  Barry was a great assistant but you can’t take away what Phil did also 

The people who argue that PV had better facilities than anyone else have no clue what PV had prior to the 1990s. Until 1991, there was no field house. The players dressed in the basketball locker room, in the hall, in the JV locker room or the PE locker room. There was a sled, a chute, some boards, a few dummies a practice field with an old crossbar, and a weight room in the old health class room, and that was it…and 4 State Championships were won before the field house or any of that ever come along. Hell, Appalachia had a field house years before PV did.

Riggs was exceptional, and Appy wasn't completely void of tradition. It certainly wasn't like Tom Turner took over St Paul, but the Dawgs had three coaches in seven years between JR and TT and the program had declined.  But, no, the cupboard wasn't bare either. And while Appy had nothing on the level of TJ and JJ, they did have the likes Tr Turner, T Clark, Huff, Jessee, Mabe, etc
What keeps Phil Robbins from my top spot was his seeming inability to build a program. He had limited success at both John Battle (15-42-3) and Christiansburg  (32-28-1). Tough places to win, but not impossible. Multiple coaches have since built winners at both schools. It wasn't until Bolling handed him the keys to the Cadillac did Robbins finally excel. But while he didn't build it, he deserves a ton of credit for sustaining the program at an elite level and winning those 7 titles. 
I'm not certain of my final two SWVA Coaches Mt. Rushmore, but Turner and Robbins are no-brainers

Then tonight you were in for a show lol. That was the single most incompetently officiated game I’ve ever saw. They weren’t favoring any team I don’t believe, they were just flat out overmatched. Let the game get too chippy, mangled the clock on numerous occasions, false starts after the play was over, just a clown show. 
 
RV impressed hell out of me. I hope Honaker is okay, that kid is a monster. He was huge all night long on every clutch play. 
Union survived and won, I think they’re the better team but gave RV life on a couple drives with silly penalties but RV was not overmatched at all. 

If Union can hang 100, I hope they do. 

It's hard to dispute any coach that has the hardware after it's all said and done no matter what was there before they arrived.  Just within this region over the past 40 years, there have been more coaches than can be remembered that ran a great program and never had the hardware but still deserve tons of credit.  So, yea I guess that separates the good from the best.

If Union can hang 100, I hope they do. 

Cool story. 

Absolutely. Turner has my vote, but to act like he produced great teams out of thin air is a disservice to a lot of great players who came through the program. 

It’s a small school but let’s not downplay the amount of truly great talent Turner had at his disposal. People seem to ding Phil bc he was blessed with talent but Tom wasn’t exactly playing with a bunch of scrubs either lol. Huff, his son, Travis Clark, etc……he had some serious talent in those coal camps. 

Couple missed tackles right before that on 4th down too didn’t help the Ridgeview player who caught it was determined on that one.  Might’ve been Honaker before he was hurt 

Yeah I forgot the first one. I was thinking of the second one where he just threw it right to Bunch. In my mind, an experienced QB like OQuinn isn’t gonna just make that bonehead throw. Gotta be a miscommunication 

I thought RV played a great game considering how undermanned we were.  This team will grow but I see a second round exit from the p,ayoffs this year.  Which is very good considering what was lost to graduation last year.  
Our fans are great, but some of you need to calm the _ _ _ _ down.  Union was not holding on every play and jumping offsides every play.  The better team won tonight. And don’t yell at the other side when a kid is hurt, when you’ve been trash talking a player the entire game from the stands because you’re 40 and sound like a jack a$$.
O’Quinn played a good game but the interception in the 1st qtr was a bad decision.  I’m wondering if he may be on the field too much.  Qb is his top responsibility. (Except according to a few fans who wanted him benched tonight). I’m still waiting for their explanation on that one. 

I have the same exact read. Union thought it would be easy after going up 6-0 so quick but RV came to play and gave them a helluva fight. Clown show officiating aside, RV has to feel good even in a loss if Honaker isn’t badly injured. They ran the ball well on Union, stopped the run and played extremely well until the Union talent kinda took over after the half. Only RV turnover was the INT which in my mind was wholly on the receiver. No chance O’Quinn makes that massive of a misread. Had to be a wrong route. 

Turner was great, but it would be hard to win a title in D2 if your record vs the best D2 team in your district was 4-19-1.(It has to be recognized that PV never won a state title in a year they lost to Appy) That’s not even counting the D2 teams who were winning titles when PV wasn’t. Another point, Appy played Central of Lunenburg 1 time with Turner as their coach and lost handily. PV won 3 championships at the expense of the same school. I have a lot of respect for Turner and his ability, but I’m also realistic. Appy wasn’t a small school in the same terms of small schools today. Appy regularly had over 300 students until the final decade or so of the school’s existence, and usually loaded with talent.

Oh, you're a better man than I.  I have low tolerance for referees that don't fully understand the rules or are scared to throw a flag in a big moment.  I've seen plenty of both. 

Very much like Mack Shupe was at JJK. Folks hated the man, but his success was without comparison.

I’m one of the people who isn’t a fan of Riggs but I can promise you I have zero influence and have never complained to anyone in any authority about playing in Appy or the horn FWIW. 

I agree with every word of this except a couple. I can’t believe you weren’t aware football was actually invented in BSG and we are kind enough to allow all of you heathens to participate in our sport. 

It’s a small school but let’s not downplay the amount of truly great talent Turner had at his disposal. People seem to ding Phil bc he was blessed with talent but Tom wasn’t exactly playing with a bunch of scrubs either lol. Huff, his son, Travis Clark, etc……he had some serious talent in those coal camps. 

You are correct.  Some just have more than others and it manifests in different ways and the M7 has varied versions of it.  Take Central...we've discussed it here already but I've experienced it from the staff, assistants, volunteers, coaches, etc. more than the dang fans.  It's almost like it is coordinated at all levels..lol.  I figured that it was mostly their love of looking down on those "redneck" Wolfpack fans.  But, as I talked to other fans...Union, Tazewell, Richlands for example, they all said the same thing.  Trenton Adkins told me after a RV/Central win in which they "held" him to less than 300 yards rushing that he had never been cussed more in his life and called some inappropriate names.......and RV won by 20+ points.  Richlands people said that during Mance's last game, in the playoffs at Central, was the worse sportsmanship they had ever seen.  That is saying a lot as that program has played a lot of teams around the state.  
Now, RV fans are rowdy and will argue every....damn....call...on the field.  They are famous for pissing refs off and feeling like "the refs are always against us."  But, I honestly can say they definitely aren't snooty or look down on anyone.  And RV has its own issues but I feel like they are often labeled as too rowdy when the other fans aren't much better.  There are local politics here but I'll be damned if I can figure out why some families have influence and others don't.  It doesn't seem to be financially based.....but there are very questionable player utilization at RV that I just can't square.
Union has their own issues as well.  I hate to say it, and it's not really represented by our Union fans on here, but they often carry themselves like they invented football and the other team should be honored to be on the field with them.  If you beat them, it was an anomaly.  I think the Sproles LB for RV said it best before the big RV/Union game in 2018.....They think they are the only physical team around but they are gonna find out Friday night on the ridge that we are going to knock them in the teeth.   I think Graham pushing them back the last several years is actually good for Union......keep that fire lit.   If you can out-Union Union you will get in their heads for sure. But, Union has earned the right to some arrogance as they have the the track record of performance for over 30 years.
I guess that is why Central irks some of us so much because they haven't really earned the right to act like that in regards to football. I was actually surprised to learn that they haven't won a Mountain 7 title in football. 
Gate City is what you get if you cross RV and Union.  I've never had a negative experience with Lee or Battle and I'm sure everyone just assumes Abingdon is in a higher tax bracket that the rest of us.  Lol.