SXSW

The situation is very dire in the counties especially bordering WV and KY, Wise (the city) will have a slight advantage over the rest of the county and area because of the college, but when the thousands of people are gone they won't be back. It seems that we are seeing the last great days of our area and way of life, if you won't to see the aftermath of total nothingness (no offense to the people who live there) go to Bluefield and drive Rt. 52 from Bluefield to IIaeger  you can see what will become of our beloved S.W. Va. My Question is how can teams in any sport continue to even find enough players to play football. I had a conversation with some Russell Co folks about this very thing a few months ago. Enjoy what we have left and pray for all of us for the future.

Agreed. But Richlands has enough offensive talent that the defense just has to stop a team three of four times a game. If the D holds they will go far.

Agreed. But Richlands has enough offensive talent that the defense just has to stop a team three of four times a game. If the D holds they will go far.

Agreed. But Richlands has enough offensive talent that the defense just has to stop a team three of four times a game. If the D holds they will go far.

Prayers to you coach Tiller, having just recently lost my father in law I know how precious the family time is. Our lives and problems become unimportant when our loved ones are sick, our wants and needs become secondary. I commuted every day for five years from Kingsport to Pikevillie, Ky. and the ride some days gave me a lot of therapy. I hope all goes well for you and your family, I watched you play in High School heck of a lineman.

This needs a little more attention brought it's way!  The absolute single biggest stumbling block for civil relations between my family and that of my parents, in-laws, aunts, uncles, etc.  
 
We are all a product of the environment in which we were raised regardless of generational classification.  Somehow, we have morphed into a society that refuses to punish the proverbial 5th grader named little Johnny when deserved.  When little Johnny gets into trouble at school, the teacher must be at fault and should be terminated at once!  Little Johnny is then rewarded for his bad behavior and learns a valuable, at least to him, lesson; how to manipulate any situation into a desired outcome.  This concept benefits little Johnny well, at least until he reaches adulthood, where he is abruptly punished for his bad behavior leading to further overcrowding of our prison system.  
 
Where-as, if little Johnny had gotten his ass busted in 5th grade, he may have developed into a functioning adult who adds some benefit to society!

The morale inside the fieldhouse is very high. Akers is establishing himself very well. He is certainly a firm believer in disipline which GC was in need of and he strongly believes in conditioning which costed us a few game last season. He's only held 5 workout sessions since taking over and the kids are buying in 100%. He's a very upbeat person with a lot energy. I'm excited to see what we can do this fall.

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.  

Since Union's consolidation, Union has as many state semifinal appearances as John Battle. Union has as many 3rd round appearances as Virginia High. I find this relevant.

Jeremy Houseright

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.

We know all about that lol. If we aren't scoring 42 points a game, the sky is falling. And the worlds worst is when we get to the state semis and lose in OT to an undefeated team and suddenly Mance should be fired. Makes NO sense.

Glad too see the good ole boys go outside the House rights too hire a new coach, Ayers is a good fit and I love the idea of not hiring any of the old staff, the program was stale with way too much bullying by the coaches--well done school board. Robbie Norris is a great coach and is a great Christian who leads by example of disinclined coaching and love of his kids, he wins their hearts and they win him games.

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.

For those interested, Caleb Spurlin won his third consecutive state championship in wrestling yesterday. His younger brother Josh won a state title also. He is only a freshman.

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.

Some of the best coaches are a-holes...

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.   

It takes a couple of years. Comfort in a new coaches system takes at least a year, weight room gains take 2 years to manifest, it takes a year for a coach to truly grasp his players abilities. For a good coach a program should advance in the 2nd year, by year 3 theres no excuse for being bad(not great sure but not bad).
 
GC has these down years every 6-7 years and everyone acts like the sky is falling. GC will be at the front of the MD this season assuming their new coach is worth his salt, and dominant in another year or two.
 
GC does struggle with Spread teams(a major reason PV went to the spread back in the day was to beat GC and it worked). Idk if that's defensive philosophy, lack of adequate 7on7 reps, lack of diversified competition in middle school/JV or what but its always been a fact. Whoever the new coach is will have to address that glaring issue

In 1977 Gar-Field lost the championship game in AAA to Hampton 12-7. Gar-Field went 9-4-1 and NEVER scored more than 15 points in a game all season.
 
01  00-30  L  St. John's DC
02  06-06  T  H. D. Woodson DC
03  13-06  W  G W Danville
04  06-00  W  Stafford
05  13-00  W  Woodrow Wilson DC
06  13-08  W  Stonewall Jackson Manassas
07  07-14  L  James Wood
08  07-30  L  Potomac, MD
09  15-00  W  Fauquier
10  10-00  W  Woodbridge
11  07-03  W  Northside   playoff
12  13-07  W  G W Danville   playoff
13  14-07  W  James Robinson  playoff
14  07-12  L  Hampton   championship