Mountain Football

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. 

JLA is good there is no doubt about it. However, I believe that Justin McCracken is still the best QB that I know of to come through SWVA. Only true D1 prospect. Working out with Alabama, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan, West Virginia, and plenty of other D1 and D2 schools. However, his SAT and GPA kept him from going to one of those schools which is extremely disappointing. Months after attending Liberty University as QB he decided he was done with football. 
 
Im not taking away from John Luke or Sturgle from Abingdon because they are excellent QBs. However, I often hear people say yeah so and so could go play at Tech or Tennessee or blah blah blah. But, a lot of people does not understand what a true D1 prospect is. There is not many in this area. Big fish in a small pond, gets exposed to bigger fish in a much bigger lake.
 
With my time I spent at the Youngstown State University, those guys are some serious athletes and most of the guys Ive watched in SWVA would be the typical average Joe out there. Like I said not taking away from the kids and their passion for the game, but Youngstown to say the less, are Ohio State rejects. 
 
I know I am going to get some grief over this post but, just kills me to sit in the stands and here yeah so and so is getting is getting looked at by blah blah blah. 
 
Shall the hate begin.

Nice post.
I think that the way this series has gone over the last few years has caused both teams and fan bases to have a lot of respect for the other !  They both seem so closely matched every year with both teams being athletic and well coached and they know how much work it takes to get to where both of these programs are and have been for several years.............that being said,  they both want to beat each sooooo badly,  kinda like 2 bullies squaring off against each other to see who is the tough guy,  so far Union has had the best of the last 3 matchups with classic games that have come down to the final play,  which if you think about it is really amazing that that could happen 3 times in a row.
This game would not surprise me if it came down to the final play or at least the final couple of minutes of the final qtr.........again,  only this time with a little different outcome.....at least as far as us Blues fans are concerned...lol.
My Aunt & Uncle usually come in every Oct. to visit my mother and stay for a week,  but this year they changed it up and decided to come in this week due in large part so he could come and see this game !
I can't wait for Friday,  it's games like this that make Friday nights so great.
I hope that the experience of JLA and the O will help us win this game,  but I would not be surprised if Union is able to pull out another win.
Good luck to the Union team and fans and please have a safe trip to Ernie and hope you enjoy your visit.............just hope you don't enjoy it too much...lol ! 

I agree with you. Sturgill, Asbury, & even Cousin are all great players and fun to watch how they dominate SWVA, but a lot more than that goes into being a D1 player. Other than their own coaches and fans commenting about them getting D1 looks I haven't heard anything. I haven't seen any rivals recruiting profiles?
 
It's a touchy subject because fans in this area love their players but imo with the stats that those 3 players put up last year and the way the recruiting world is now with Hudl and social media recruiting if they were true power 5 conference D1 players they would already have offers, or at the least documented interest.

I understand the financial numbers and about saving money by consolidating but that is never the arguement I get from a majority of people. I'm a sports guy thru and thru but until someone comes up to me and starts telling me the benefits of consolidating for educational purposes then it's a mute point. My kids and I love sports... they play sports but they are not going to make a living playing sports. I like the advantages of smaller classroom sizes and more one on one with the teacher and students. I get tired of hearing about these mega football or basketball or wrestling teams we could have in Buchanan Co if we consolidate. I need to here something different. Just my opinion

Classic trap game.  I think Graham struggles in this one, but pulls out a close one against a fired up Tazewell team.

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

" tied  23-23-1"
I hope this series continues will into the future,  I think it's been about as good as it gets between 2 very good programs that have great fan bases and atmosphere at both home stadiums !  There's been ebbs & flows in this series where 1 team seems to have the upper hand for 3 or 4 years but then it switches up and the other team get's the upper hand,  but the competition year in and year out is fantastic and helps to prepare both teams for the rest of their season.  Both programs and fan bases seem to have mutual respect for each other and not a lot of vitriol,  although of course like ALL fan bases,  there are a small few that may act like an idiot,  but thankfully it is a very small minority.
I can't wait for the game tomorrow night,  the only thing I would want is for this game and the Graham & Bluefield game to be on different nights.  I have never made it up for that game and would love to make the trip up to see it  but,  I will not miss my blues on opening night !
Good luck to all the teams and their fans and I want to wish everyone ( both players and fans )  a safe trip to and from their games and hope that we have a injury free Friday night !

It's 2nd to Graham Middle. And it's probably the most structurally sound school in the county. Were it not for space considerations, Dudley would close before Springville. This I know.

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 know the rivalry is largely one-sided, but it's not like most of the games were blowouts.
 
Since 1980, 13 of Bluefield's wins were by 1 score. 7 of Graham's wins were by 1 score. That's 20 of the 36 games played. Only 10 of Bluefield's wins were by 20+, and 7 of those have come since Carlock's passing. Graham has had 4 wins by 20+ in that time frame, too.

Aundrey was another one of those "special" talents that Galax has seemingly had for decades.  I believe the 2007 team would have competed for a state championship if they had Dixon coaching.  Sams wasn't to the level of Brandon Brown or Steven Peoples but that isn't anything to be ashamed of.  In my opinion, Brandon Brown could be playing on Sunday's right now if he had been given an opportunity by a D1 program.  6'-2" tall and over 200 pounds, he never looked like he was running hard nor fast but never got caught from behind and his strides were damn near 5 yards wide.  Reminded me of watching Eric Dickerson.  His 2001 team was excellent as well and would have benefited greatly from Dixon but the off-field issues may have been too much for them to overcome.  That team had a starter murdered during the season.
 
I believe Aundrey could have been a quality player at Union University but, for whatever reason, he didn't stay and returned home after a season.
 
Galax has had no less than half-a-dozen, maybe more, players receive D1 attention since that 2001 team.  Not bad for a nonexistent football program prior to Mark Dixon's arrival. 

The River Ridge and Blue Ridge were not formed until 2003-2004 school year, if memory serves.  A little over a decade doesn't scream "history".  The New River has been non-existent for well over two decades and never really produced anyone of note that I can recall.  Some very good athletes came through the New River District but not on a national and even professional level like far SWVA.  I competed in the New River District from 1989-1991.  Donny and Sidney Snell come to mind but not much more than that to be honest other than Shayne Graham.
 
If you want history, look up Calvin Talford on Youtube.  It will be well worth your investment of time.  You will even find a snippet in one of those videos of him dunking on a blonde, white kid with limited ability.  That long lost kid would be me.  Talford was the singular best athlete I ever played against.  He went on to play basketball at ETSU, win an NCAA dunk contest and help lead ETSU to what may be the biggest NCAA Tournament upset of all time.
 
While your on Youtube, check out Heath Miller, Julius Jones, Thomas Jones, Ahmad Bradshaw or Boo Sensabaugh to name a few.  If you wish to speak to some knowledgeable fans with memories going back generations on this board, ask them about Bill Dudley from Bluefield.
 
Radford and other New River schools have produced some fine athletes as well as some talented teams over the years but they pale in comparison to what far SWVA has produced.  Roanoke area schools not named Salem haven't historically had tremendous success against SWVA powers.  I was in Victory Stadium when Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for well over 300 yards and scored 5 TD's as Graham beat PH-Roanoke like a rented mule in 2001, I believe.
 
Just the opinion of someone who grew up in Fries and currently resides in Galax.

I think we'll be able to contain them enough to win this one. Not saying they won't break a couple. My biggest concern with our defense is our corners. When we face a team that can throw the ball well, like Richlands, I can see that getting ugly fast.

Didn't the x ray come back negative. Don't think it is broken. Maybe I'm wrong. Toe injuries can be difficult, depending on severity.
 
Graham has not been tested by a team trying to get to he edge yet. Their linebackers play awfully close to the line of scrimmage. It would be really easy to get caught in traffic and not be able to make a play. I think the lbs need to take a step back and get a better angle to the edge. Thus far teams have been running off tackle against them with zero success. It worries me because our LBs have been making most of the plays so far. . .

I feel like this game could be out of hand very quickly if GC doesn't have a defense. I think GC will be back, but this year could be a bit ugly. 

I hate to hear Collier will be out.  Hopefully he will be able to come back to play some for his senior season.  I don't mean any disrespect to him but I don't think the outcome of the game against Richlands will be affected by his absence.  Richlands will have too many weapons Friday night.  If the stay healthy I believe they will have a really good football season. 

That's pretty impressive Ryan.  Those kids will be able to learn a lot from this.  I believe it was Galax that Graham played last year that had similar technology.  Sixcat may be able to elaborate more on it.  To the best of my memory(which isn't very good) Galax had a camera set up outside the endzone, that sent feed up to the coaches in the box.  They didn't have the ability to view the footage on the sideline like you're speaking of.  That's pretty impressive.

Surprising result, but I'm really looking forward to seeing Graham play both these programs. T-7 days.

I agree. Neither team this evening showed much in the passing department. But what they did do seem to complete passes the few they did throw. I was really pleased with their ability to stop the run. Now, will be they be able to shut down Collier and Reed? We'll find out next Friday. It can't get here soon enough!!

Against Graham, not GC.

Unfortunately falconfan1 the number of kids playing has drastically decreased in the 7 or 8 years I've helped with little league.  There are other options for kids in the fall now that "don't have the risk of getting injured".  Fall baseball, fall soccer, fall basket weaving etc.  As the numbers decline you obviously have fewer teams therefore you have to travel to get competition.  It does seem to some extent the game is under attack.  At this level it seems the amount of drama and/or "Daddy Ball" will sometimes turn kids away until MS or HS.  The Big Blue Bash that Richlands puts on in November is a great tournament that is very well organized.  I hope next year that Tazewell and Graham both if they choose to do so will be able to join the Richlands league.  Good competition.  By the way your Falcons have done very well in the Big Blue Bash each year going against some good competition!!

Not enough footballs at Graham, I guess...

All the speed in the world means nothing without depth to sustain the attack.