The People's Champ

They were by far the worst crew I have seen this season, and I usually try to give the benefit of the doubt. When Richlands scored their TD, I really thought the game was over, because they were shutting down the Wilson offense and the momentum really swung in their favor. I'm not sure how many 1st downs Wilson got in the second half, but you could probably count them on one hand, that Richlands D was really shutting them down, so the final td in OT was a surprise to me... I thought it would come down to the kicker again. I heard a lot of talk about the Richlands O and how good they were, but I was more impressed with their defense! Their O was good too, but the D was better (to me) in that game. I would be curious to know what the average starting field position was for the two teams, it seemed like Richlands stayed inside Wilson's territory all game.

Doesn't really matter to me lol, and trust me, I didn't mean what I was saying in an aggresive way (don't let the username fool ya, I'm too old for conflict anymore). I just thought maybe I had overstepped my bounds being on this site and not actually residing in the area yet. Thanks for the welcome and sorry for the sensitivity and thin skin on my part, today's been the Monday of all Mondays! haha In regards to debating something about the game that actually mattered: who hired those darn officials?!?!

That spot you are referring to is the section they had marked off for the student section and that had probably 2 sections of available seating that should have been in use by either team. Folks on the Wilson side were annoyed at that as well. If you think I said that out of hate then you are incorrect, as I was just stating what I saw at the game from an unbiased perspective. I didn't join this board to get into arguments, I love talking hs football history and I just love high school sports as a whole. I joined this site to get some insight on swva football as I've never gotten to attend any games down there, and I am planning a move to Bristol over the next year, and I figured I'd provide yall with some insight to the area teams I got a chance to watch this year (Wilson and Broadway). Now that I have seen which rivalry games I need to attend for next year, I may no longer post on this board anymore, I will stick to twitter, facebook and other outlets, but I'll give it some more time. Same type of stuff made me not renew my membership on the VA Preps site a while back. No hate towards Richlands or their fanbase from this guy. Actually, nothing but respect for SWVA football and their fanbases. Sorry, you took my posts that way.

Wilson and Riverheads are the two that everybody dislikes in the area. Wilson's fanbase for all sports and Riverheads football program are the top two most hated. Odd fact on Riverheads, they have been in 2A for this vhsl cycle, and magically ended up with 475 students for the next cycle, so they will be back in 1A next year. They beat Wilson this year though... and in 1 of Riverheads' 3 state championships, Wilson was the only team to beat them. The guy who built the Wilson program to what it is today is now the head coach/ad at Waynesboro High School (the 16 seed that was a game away from the state semis this year).

I don't think there were twice as many Richlands folks as Wilson at the game. The Wilson bleachers hold 3 times as many people as the away side and it was full except for where they had the student section blocked off (and those students didn't sit there, as they stood along the fence). They also had a bunch of people lining the fence, including near the fieldhouse (as did Richlands) and concession stand. It looked pretty even honestly, but if I had to say which side had more I would say Richlands, but certainly not 2 or 3 times as many people. Still an impressive showing in the rain (for both schools) and with a long road trip for Richlands. Interestingly enough, the guys from the local newspaper didn't think you brought as many fans as they expected. I would love to see how many you have at your home games.

Thanks a lot fellas! Really appreciate it!

What did they do to you to give you that impression? I'm not discrediting what you are saying, but this is a common complaint directed at their fanbase, and I am just curious to know what they did to rub you the wrong way. I LOVED seeing the Richlands fanbase at the game today. Just to be clear, I am not a Wilson or Richlands fan, it was just the game I chose to attend this week, as it was in my neck of the woods. You guys packed the house, and your fans remind me of high school football in Texas, very cool. Not to nitpick, but it looked pretty even between the number of Richlands/Wilson fans in attendance today, but I would bet you would outnumber them by quite a bit, had this game been played at your stadium. It didn't appear to me that there was a 3-1 ratio of Richlands to Wilson but hey, maybe I am off base. Anyway, great game, and I hope to catch more SWVA football in the future, but actually watch the games down there.

Thank you RichlandsRyan!

I have seen Wilson play a couple times this year, and their defense is their key to success and it is most definitely their strong point. Their offense has athletes and gets a lot of love from the local media, but their O feeds off of what their defense does. When they played a consistent offense that was able to make their defense look average, they picked up their only loss (Riverheads) and only put up 14 points. The Wilson offense relies on the defense to get turnovers, provide them short fields, and even score points. I think Richlands has a good shot to beat them if they can attack the weak spots on that defense, honestly, and it sounds like they have the QB to do it. I will say that their back 7 are very good, and that their front line isn't as good (but still better than most). Riverheads won the battle up front in that game, and played 3 yards at a time, without trying to go for the homerun so it took the back 7 out of the game.

Saturday can't get here soon enough! You folks in SWVA may find this surprising but darn near the whole area outside of the Hornet Hive (Fishersville) in Augusta County/Waynesboro is actually pulling for you guys to beat Wilson. There may be some guys in red or maroon jackets sitting alongside your fans, as Wilson is the most disliked fan base in our area. They have been called white-collar-subdivision kids, and the families in their school district tend to be better off financially than the other schools in Augusta County. Makes sense as the community hospital is in Fishersville, as well as many other businesses. I personally like the fans from Wilson as they show a lot of support to their teams, but if you were to ask any of the surrounding schools who their least favorite fan base is, they would say Wilson.

I know it! I hate that I missed seeing them there. I got to see the Green Wave in Salem a couple times but didn't get to see them on their home turf, unfortunately.

I would like to see some games in SWVA over the next few years. What are the can't miss rivalry games I should try to see? And also, are there any stadiums that I should see a game in? I have heard that Honaker has a nice facility and that I should try to make a try to see a Giles home game, any other good ones? I know this question is a little premature as we still have 2 weeks of football left, but any info would be appreciated!

I think it would have been cool if they had taken something from both schools and formed Haywood High school... I've never been a fan of consolidated school names though, it takes a while for them to grow on me, but eventually they usually do. I'm going to miss the green wave as a mascot though, as it's one of the few more unique ones I have seen.

I wish they had come up with a better name than Ridgeview... We have a Ridgeview in Augusta County (Stuarts Draft) that is a private Christian school and schools like Clintwood and Haysi deserve something better than that generic name, but I will enjoy following them next year!

Monticello will travel to Magna Vista. Waynesboro will travel to Broadway for a rematch. They had an OT game earlier in the year, where Broadway spoiled the Waynesboro homecoming night when they stopped the Little Giants on their 2 point conversion. The bracket works like an NCAA March Madness bracket until the final 4, then there is cross-bracketing where the top remaining East seed plays the lowest remaining West seed and the Top remaining west seed plays the lowest remaining East seed. It's like this (this is just an example, I didn't do it with regards to who actually won in vhsl, just hypothetical): First round Second Round Third Round 4th Round (semi) State Championship 1v16 16vs9 9vs5 We'll say number 1, 2 make it from the other side & 5,3 in this example 8v9 4v13 13vs5 1v3 5v12 2v15 2vs10 10vs3 1v5 and 2v3 7v10 3v14 3v11 6v11 Hopefully this clears up things for you!