Mountain Football

Graham is coming off a bye week. That usually translates to coming out flat for most teams. We really need to be able to get over the hump against quality opponents. I hope Cousin has the ball in his hands at least 20 times. 9-15 carries a game isn't going to be enough for the next 3 games.

Are there any HUDL highlights of the Sturgill kid from Abingdon?

I wouldn't exactly say Graham ran it down their throat. It was really quite the opposite. We tried running Cousin down their throat 15 or 16 times and that was it. Union may have I didn't see that game.

I don't believe Ball was hurting in this game. I believe he just had a bad evening with his routes by the way coaches were talking to him on sidelines. It happens. I heard lots of talk before this game on how JLA was going to put up 300+ yds passing against our defense. After watching this one, especially the first half I would put Richlands pass defense in the same "suspect" category as Graham's. I really don't understand why we are not using Cousin more. I thought we threw the ball to him a few times a game last year. This year not so much. I guess we'll see how we bounce back. The staff and kids should've learned a lot last night. That was a great game. On a side note I don't think the kid that let Landon Lowe #80 last night borrow his jersey will be wearing it again. It will be a gown on the kid. Landon had a great game.

Great game Richlands. Halftime adjustments proved to be the biggest difference in the game. That an we seemed to be ok with "shooting ourselves in the foot". The "pooch" kick worked in the 1st half worked ok. Turned out not a good idea in the 2nd half. I am proud to be a Gman tonight. I really believe we are finally turning the corner. Be careful going home!!

I agree. I believe I would jam them at the line as well. But I'm not the next Nick Saban either. I believe our corners have enough speed to stay with their receivers. Although the Howie kid does have a set of wheels.

Watching JLA's highlights in the other thread I didn't think he looked that bad. I realize that it is his highlights and not the entire game film. The schemes and play calling are designed for high percentage throws most of the time it appears. Although he does throw a few deep balls to Scottie Ball. Man that kid looks like he's wearing baseball gloves. Whoever is covering him tonight will have their work cut out for them. I hope this game lives up to the hype........meaning Graham wins!!! LOL.

What is the VHSL rule regarding age qualification? Can't be 19 start of senior year? I can understand parents wanting to hold a child back a year because of grades or maturity. But, from what I see and hear there are very few held back for those reasons. I'm not sure school systems will have attempt to eliminate kids being held back for sports reasons but it seems to me it has gotten a little out of control.

I think we will see an exciting football game Thursday evening for sure. I just hope the GHS band can perform the National Anthem this time without butchering it. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind being a trumpet player and performing the National Anthem in front of 10 or 12 thousand would be tough and my hat is off to all those kids out there doing it. No matter what sport you play hearing our National Anthem and what it stands for can get your head straight and ready to go. A good friend of mine in high school played the Anthem solo as a trumpet player. I always admired him for getting out there and nailing it week in and week out. So GHS band we're pulling for you too!!!

Pretty obvious I'm behind times on this one. LOL....I don't think I've ever heard of a kid being held back "so he can be a better saxophone player". I asked the question because I heard a group of parents are going to hold their kids back so they'll be "older and therefore better in sports". It got me to thinking about several others here and there over time that's been held back for the same reason. I'm agree with SIXCAT, beating up on the younger and smaller kids so to speak can't be that productive in the long run. PLUS......who is paying for these kids to stay in the public school system 1 or 2 extra years?

Is the concept of holding kids back in Jr. High to help them in sports something new? I don't recall when I was in school, which has been a few years, kids being held back for sports. It seems there are more and more kids held back each year.

I'm glad I wasn't in Richlands Friday night. Sounds like there was a whole lot of shooting going on down there!!

I believe Cousin ran the ball 9 times against Tazewell. He's got to have the ball in his hands more than that. I think he's been thrown to once this season. Graham's pass defense will certainly be put to the test. Graham may hold the lead in this series but Richlands has whooped us pretty bad in recent years. If Graham is going to break that streak it's going to be this year. Regardless of who wins I think it will be by a couple of touchdowns.

How is the kid from Graham that had his arm in a sling last night?

Richlands is a fundraising machine. They have a ton of support. My question is why does Tazewell county not have handicap seating on the away side of their stadiums? Neither Tazewell or Richlands has handicap seating on away side. Well poor seating period on away side.

Very Sad. Will definitely keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

What is the seating capacity of Ernie Hicks? I just read in the BDT where Mance said they are expecting 8,000-10,000 people at this game.

I really don't know. But if it's anything like last week's game against Bluefield they'll still be in the first quarter at 8:30.

Giles.

Its ok to have dreams and to dream big. Whether it's a student athlete, parent wanting something big for their child, or coaches. The reality is they need focus on their grades and prepare themselves for the real world......a JOB!!! EH31 and local_insight make excellent points. You hear these conversations all the time. Facebook is a parents best soap box for promoting their child's performance on Friday night. "Parent goggles" can have and adverse effect on a child's career. When the lights go out on Friday nights for these kids and they are not playing on Saturday I hope they have enough about them to get an education and get a job.

This does have all the makings of a trap game. I know Graham's pass defense is suspect. But it's been a while since I've seen Graham even attempt to play defense much less actually put a good hit on someone. Playing corner is one of the toughest positions to play imo. You either look like a hero or zero. It was nice to hear several names mentioned on defense making tackles. Hicks, Workman, Kastner, etc. Names you don't always hear like Cousin and Cooke. The Cousin kid had some great blocks that opened up some nice runs for Meade. He is a really good team player. Good luck next week Gmen! Hope both teams have an injury free game.

I didn't think that game was ever going to end. Proud of those Gmen tonight.

Tazewell has a good group of 8th and 9th graders right now. If they can somehow keep those kids together they should do pretty good. The 8th grade team beat Lebanon Monday and Bluefield last night. Keeping them together will be the hard part. Richlands will probably one way or the other get a couple of them!! LOL...

I wouldn't be surprised. I think the property at Springville may be one of the biggest if not the biggest acreage wise owned by the school system. That, according to a previous principal at the school.

I agree in recent years Graham's fan base hasn't been the best. I've been to a few games when the band shows up it seems like the crowd doubled in size. Home games can be a little misleading due to the size of Mitchell though. I really feel like the team this year will have the opportunity to turn things around for Graham football if they play to their ability. Hopefully this will generate more community support.