SXSW

I am afraid that this trend is going to strike all of Southwest Va. before it's over. With the decimation of the coal industry and the job losses and families moving out, I don't see any other way except consolation to survive. I can see one high school for Russell Co. easily and Buchanan Co. could be done fairly easily. I have even heard rumors of Wise Co. consolidating again. I hope it never happens but I am afraid that this is our new reality here.

That is what happened in Sullivan County with Sullivan North. They took to bitter rivals who hated the ground the other walked on and put them on the same campus like Lee County did. Lee High when they consolidated looked like college team, they had size, speed and were mean on the O-line. It just has never worked for them I have had several members of my family play at Lee and when you ask what the problem is, it is answered with one word, politics.

Think along the lines of Union, It is hard for ego's to be swallowed as well as the pride. As long as the we vs. they faction stays out of it and patience is shown Ridgeview will be successful. If the factions get divided and frustrated it may never gel. I am betting it will eventually. The facilities are to be jealous of because there is nothing in SW Va. like them and I really think that the kids in Dickenson Co. deserve them after the facilities they had to endure for all those years. It took Union a while and it will for you too.

Cocaine is a wonderful drug especially on a rainy night in Haysi.

If the bunch of clowns that hung around the team don't want to be there get out, and get out now. We have seen what the former staff can do, and more notably what they can't do, which is win, and also can't coach up the players. I bet Coach Akers knows more than enough people, between all his coaching stops, to fill a staff at GC. Now if it is August and still don't have enough coaches then it is a problem. All he has to do is ask the fans from the stands if they would like to help, and with all the coaches we have just sitting there, I'd bet we'd have fifty volunteer.

Jeremy Houseright

The Blue Devil faithful have endured the worst five year stretch in program history. The 29-28 record is only trumped by the 1463 points give up during that time span, when you are going through a spell like that, anybody's fan's from anybody's team would be quiet. The fan base is still Huge, but humility is best observed in a quiet place with your own thoughts. The talent is there albeit freshman and sophomores, the Devils will be back.

Coach Norris is kind of in a no win situation, he is Sullivan North's all-time leading tackler and all-time leader in head coaching victories. He has gave his heart and soul to a school that Sullivan County has been trying to close for ten years now (and will following the 2019 school year) and that the City of Kingsport has annexed all the kids except for the poorer parts of Bloomingdale and Lynn Garden. I think he is the best coach in the Sullivan County system (yes better than Haynie at South) he has done more with less than any coach in any part of the area this message board covers, but does he go down with the ship, like good pirates do or bail out and find another job, in the end he chose loyalty over security. He has nothing left to prove and he probably won't get the new Sullivan County job because he doesn't like to politic for things. In life sometimes I am glad that we don't get our "first choices" can you imagine our lives if we all got our first choices I know mine would have been messed up bad, and I would never had met my wife of 27 years and girlfriend for 30 years. Here's to first choices and second or third ones, they work out too.

Hey Gameday I'd worry about Mitchell leaving before McClung, I heard those folks for Christ Academy are already snooping around.

You mean the players who got away with murder under the Houseright regime want be able to do whatever they want to under a new coach. The direction of the program was trending down maybe we need a a**hole to get some discipline and fundamentals back into the program. And please don't add Graham to the murders row schedule at least not right now.

Gate City-Graham games were wars, You didn't bring the wife and kids because of the severity of violence produced by the hits. I was at a game in the late eighties where their wasn't a single pass even attempted by either team.

Let's bring back the The Big Blue Cannonball, and we are the original "Big Blue"

Glad to see this, go represent your school and your part of S.W Va. well, and don't forget to have fun doing it.

The Devils have talent but it is very young talent. I am ready for the process to be over and hopefully GC doesn't have to do this again until the next coach retires. I will support and give the benefit of the doubt to whoever it is. Maybe it will fire up the old guard and get some of those missing boosters back into the game. I also hope the new coach pushes for some upgrade in the facilities.

Thank you redtiger, it is all of the above in the reason department. The former staff never made a point to go see if the rest of the system developed or not, I don't if it was just blind trust, false hope or if they just didn't care anymore.

I'm not on a ledge, but the program has tight roped the ledge for the last five seasons. Offensively serviceable, Defensively challenged until the defense improves drastically the wins aren't going to come: we play to many teams that runs the spread and have learned our weaknesses and exploit them to a tee, they have figured out all they have to do is stay close and in the second half the D always folds.

The '03 GC State Title Team ran the option to perfection, Isaiah Spivey was a man among boys running it. He could throw too, In fact he sat the record for completion pct. in a title game 9-10 and two TD's. I believe that team had three backs over 1000 yards. The blocking on the option it simple and the offense can be lethal ran correctly.

I think the program is in need of a fresh start and I don't think that it really matters, they need a good young coach with a steel set of b***s. The team has deep infighting and division and needs to be cleaned up and for the first time I don't think a whole lot matters other than change. Three of the four finalist are thirty something up and comers, I want the Graham guy myself, as long as it isn't Jeremy.

I was just talking on the football side, his BB teams are competitive every year. No offense meant.

One and the same.

Tiller played at Haysi for James Colley and was an All-State center. He played college ball at E&H before a knee injury ended his career. He has coached at Castlewood, Grundy and C.D. Hylton . He is 38. He currently coaches at Ft. Chiswell. Akers played at Graham for Coach Carlock (the good one) and has coached at George Washington and William Fleming, He is 35. He currently coaches at Rural Retreat. Justin Hilton is South D cord. and is 35.

They wanted Robbie at the low end of the salary spectrum and he asked for the high end, he also had some other concerns not addressed but it was mainly money squabbling. Justin Hilton from Sullivan South is the favorite now, Jeremy did get an interview and is a finalist, as well as Todd Tiller and Chris Akers, Norris was the fifth finalist.

The Scott County school board is having a special called meeting today at 1:00 pm to discuss teaching and coaching hires for next school year, may or may not here something today, but they are having a meeting. I was told by a parent of a player that the interviews started yesterday. Information (rumors) have dried up to a trickle considering all the stuff that was out there two weeks ago.

I was on the VHSL site researching the coaching vacancy at GC, and GC is needing a game in the sixth week for 2017, I wonder who is dropping them or vice versa.

Whether Turner applied for the job or not, (my source still said he did) the problem facing S.W Va. schools is that the area is dying, there are no jobs and no families moving here and if someone can get out and better themselves you must do that professionally. Right now Union has a lot of talent but Big Stone is dying just like Lee Co. and the rest of our end of the state. I wonder how long Wise, Lee and Dickenson Co. can keep afloat. It is depressing to drive up 23 and see the mine silent, the heavy equipment places silent and all the support systems for mining shutting down. When the mines shut down so does Caterpillar and Halliburton and Austin Powder and the engineering firms and the coal dealers and then the car lots and restaurants. Gate City may be down a little but it is kind of insulated from the mines because of Kingsport so it will be back, and Union's talent can't last forever. They should have went to State last season.