Tazewell got over that hump in the spring season and almost did it again last year I don’t think the block is as tough as it has been in the past. VA high didn’t have to worry about defense last year because they had Stevie take him away and that becomes a big Liability but the QB and Poku and back correct? That in its self is worth almost 14 a game with the deep threat. And Stevies little brother is very talented that offense may not miss a beat
1. Graham - lost a few very good starters. Return the rest of the HOUSE. I believe they beat Bluefield for the 2nd straight season for the first time in a long time. Rumors of a QB transferring in and a RB / LB transferring in also (but that may just be talk - since those will be the key positions for Graham to fill). But if Graham is solid at the QB position and has a good short - yardage back they will be one of the favorites in 2A again. The lineplay, despite losing Meadows will be very good again. As several have pointed out, they need to be a little more diverse on offense and develop a short yardage passing game, they are a little too predictable.
2. Tazewell - Returning a lot of very good young skill players and young linemen who will only get better. If the lineplay improves somewhat, Creasy and his receivers will be very fun to watch. I think they will have a couple of decent Running Backs as well. Tazewell may have more quality skill guys on the field next season then Graham, however if they want to have a chance against Graham, they will need to live in the weightroom to match Graham's physicality.
3. Richlands - Improved a lot throughout the season this past season, but lost some key players.
4. V-High - Lost a lot, but returns a few good players, not sure if they shouldn't be 3rd.
5. Marion. - They return a lot, sure, but not enough to compete in the SWD, they may sneak up and win a district game this year.
M7 - Don't know as much about the M7, but here goes...
1. Ridgeview
2. Union
3. Central
4. Gate City
5. Lee
VA High lost three starters…granted two of them are Delaney and Thomas, but I wouldn’t exactly say they lost a lot…maybe significant.
In the mt 7 I think it going to be this i do not include Abingdon since they are 3A.
1.Ridgeview- they have one year to try to run it this is the season, but can they finally beat the Bears.
2.Union with a really close game with Ridgeview that might go either way.
3. Central. This may surprise a lot of ppl but the talent doesn't stop coming for the next 6 years they going to be in the hunt
4. Lee High with a lot of returning players and Pending the QB stays healthy they liable to sneak up on ppl
5. Gate City
Cumberland district is a hard one to call but lets give it a jab
1. Twin Springs I think this coach is pretty special believes in the program and the kids are believing in him he makes them want to be better
2. Ryecove with the up and coming talent they have for the next few years there going to ball out
3. Norton they where down last year but a lot of returning players and a coach that really wants to win
4. Eastside still a young team they probably number wise should dominate the Cumberland and be a contender for state every year but for some reason cant put it all together.
5. Castlewood they always are hit or miss
6. thomas walker they have a few kids that will be sophmores this year i wouldn't be surprised if they don't jump to the 3 spot pretty easy.
Southwest:
1 Gmen hard to deny they produce good teams but the talent pull is starting to get low
2. Richlands they will be good maybe back to the richlands of old
Bradshaw is better.. He is a legit Power 5 guy and I think he will do well at Tech if he keeps his nose clean and focuses on football (not saying he is in trouble a lot that goes for any kid from a small high school going to play college ball) with that being said Harris is pretty good too he not on the level of Bradshaw but when you catch as many balls as he did this year even though he played in a happy system I personally think that is first team material. If I am voting on a all state team and one kid breaks a VHSL record and he is the reason his team even made the playoffs even though they got bounced in the first round, He would get my vote over a more talented kid that was surrounded by great talent and hes team had a great play off run. I think both players should have been first team.
The Southwest district may have been the most loaded district in the state as far as receiver talent this year. Bradshaw from Graham, Webb from Richlands, Harris from Tazewell, Poku Va high, and Langston from Marion all had great years and and any given year would have been 1st team all region at the very minimum.
I agree that SWD was loaded with WR talent, along with BEAVERS! Stats do play into it, but also how far your team goes does as well, which shows in the voting!
I’m very curious as to how this is voted on at the state level. I’ve always been a stats matter guy and a one on one matchup guy. The local levels tend to be a bit political and rivalries influence decisions and I would like to think that goes away a bit if you focus on stats and production. I would love to see what goes on behind the scenes. Do they watch tape? Do they compare stats? How much does winning matter? BTW, the rumors are already floating around so it’s been shared with some of the players and teams.
I don't get why people get so worked up about it? People do know who made the team and who didn't. They do compare stats, and each player is also rated coming out of the district and region. Congrats to those that make it, it is always well deserved!
Ok, I understand that, but do you know there weren’t any adjustments or did you just observe that it looked the same. There are a lot of factors go into a game plan I am sure, like personnel. If they had switched to a 40 or 50 front, but had small guys in because they didn’t have size to do it, would that have been better? If your best players are more suited for a 3-3 or 3-5, is it better to leave them or put them in something they can’t play in just for The sake of saying you adjusted something.
I am truly not trying to sound like a prick, if I do I apologize, just having a conversation about what I saw on NFHS. I wasn’t there, but I can only imagine what goes into a game plan at these size schools for these big games. And in game adjustments when you are getting beat 48-13. Does 42-13 or 34-13 change anything.
As a fan, and a follower of Union from a distance, I try not to question what coaches do because we as fans don’t know what goes on at their practice. And to say let’s start a petition to get rid of someone on a chatroom to me is crazy.
It’s more than crazy…it ludicrous and hilarious for those that say it,
I would like to add an observation about Coach Turner from yesterday’s game. In many games this season once Graham pulled starters, some teams left in their starters to score against our JV. I suppose to make the score look more respectable or to prove their varsity was superior to our JV. Coach Turner did not do that. I have great respect for him for that plus he runs a very good program, period (from an outsider’s perspective).
So you expect another team to pull its starters after having their brains beat in as a matter of respect? All that is doing for your "JV" team is making them better, and that will serve well down the line for Graham. As far as Coach Turner, he is a great coach and very consistent. Very well respected in the "ATHLETIC" community, and it is beyond crazy for some to be calling for his job! Many programs would love to have his services, and his ability to push and grow young men! Union's day is coming soon!!
You may get what you wish for, but just look forward to what you are going to get. Travis Turner is courted for every big job in the area, and he always stays loyal. What’s funny is how fans react, and how “SPOILED” some in BSG/APPY are. The 80s-90s were two of the best runs in Southwest Virginia ever by PV/APPY! Whether you want to believe it of not, that kind of talent isnt over there currently. Graham has had a great run of talent, and it shows. There is a lot of “FUTURE TALENT” on its way at UNION. Style of play is one thing, but having the “JIMMYS and JOES” is different.
Either way Union wins but if Union gets their ducks in a row this one will get nasty quick. The Bears will challenge the Bearcats up front and Lomax is a RB the likes of which Virginia hasn't seen yet.
Bears by 21+
I don’t know about nasty quick. I expect a 40-28 type game.
Bearcats are still a very good football team. It's pretty obvious, there's clearly a mental thing going on with them and Richlands. Last night, a couple of those 10 and 15 yard slant in's (inward routes) and the QB for VH overthrows the ball by 4 and 5 yards. Receiver open, just not terribly close with some of the passes. He really hasn't done that all year. This tells me there is something going on upstairs (mentally) with VH when they play the Blues. Richlands showed up and played like it was the SuperBowl. Have to give credit to Richlands. Look, Richlands looked great. They played lights out, but the knock on Richlands through the season wasn't unjustified. They absolutely had NOT beat 1 good team all year long, until last night. I think Va High is still good enough to caused Union problems, if Union doesn't come to play and just shows up and goes through the motions.
Yes. It was a smart ass question. You can find at least 3 threads where va high was coined the 2 seed in the swd for last last few weeks. ( not because of technicalities) , they were pinned in as they had won the head to head . A few posters made reference to the fact that a game still needed to be played. The others said it was as a va high win. Fastest team in the area etc.
Richlands is down , no doubt. But they have been down a couple of times since the late 90s and have never lost to va high during that time. The new coach will probably toughen up that schedule in time. You can’t play Chilhowie , PH, Battle , etc , etc , instead of RV , Abingdon , Crocket , . It kills you late in season. It’s not a fluke occurrence. Richlands at 5-5 played union to to the wire Mitchell’s senior season in playoffs. The next year at 5-5 , they made it to the regional championship, beating RV and Grayson on the way. Doesn't always happen. But a 4-6 , 5-5 that has been tested can usually play well later in season. Va high has improved. Coaching staff has upgraded. They will get better , but no where as good as the hype. Webb and Brown had huge games against them last year , the year before , and this year. So it just wasn’t a surprise to everyone the game turned out that way.
I said the game was going to be close, and I never said VA High was going to win. Why don’t you schedule for VA High next year, and help the AD out. As far as the Hogohegee comment, it was a dickhead comment. Great job by Richlands taking the Wedge package 99.5 yards and changing in the game. They deserved to win and VA High has to learn from those situations. VA High played the schedule the Athletic department made…there wasn’t a TN High or Abingdon on the schedule. I will say this, it has instilled more confidence in the kids and help build depth by getting more kids out and renewing interest in the program. To each it’s own.
I’d argue that Jenkins (GC) is more correctly labeled as an APB which makes me curious about the criteria for positions (% of snaps??). Webb and Bradshaw are slots “Z” which are still WRs, and Harris and Beavers are the closest to a classic “X” wide receiver. Beavers has the best hands and ball skills, IMHO with the caveat that I haven’t seen Harris yet. I would throw underneath to Bradshaw all day long and wouldn’t send him deep. He is absolutely lethal YAC and the toughest to D up. Webb may be the most versatile of all of them. Union’s Jenkins is just in a very crowded WR group this season.
I’d love to see some stats…that’s a big part of it. I remember back years ago that the Bristol Herald used to keep the weekly stats for passing, rushing and receiving for the local high school teams. I really wish they’d do that again.
LOL - The biggest part of it is what coach pushes the hardest, and who they can get to vote with them!
I’m not a fan of the way they are doing it. This whole cross bracket stuff is ridiculous to me. I don’t know why they just didn’t do powerpoints for top 8. I think other regions did it that way or at least reseed after round 1. That’s just me, others may disagree.
I agree!! Here is what is crazy...SWD - agreed to go by District Standings for playoffs to determine 1-4. MTN 7 - agreed to do points for 1-4. The cross bracket is correct though. Odd to say the least!
Like i said i shouldnt have used the word struggling. Didnt catch the whole games. A lot of those points came in the 4th qrtr to Marion. Also against Lebanon it was only 14-0 at half. Im sure u understand where i was coming from. If i was a VHS fan it would have me a little concerned is all. Many other games they were scoring in the 50s and 60s. But of course i didnt know all the circumstances. If they had players out and such. I also couldn't tell it was raining watching online. Im sure if you're not concerned being a fan then they're fine. Just an outsiders perspective.
I would say VA HIgh hasn’t beat Richlands in 22 years, and our “So called?” Injuries are a concern. I would favor Richlands in the game, until VA HIgh proves they can beat them. Just a realist perspective, not a “HYPOTHETICAL” one.
.png.01bb665814ffc257795fe158cb2045c7.png.8a531ac878a82772b21014d7a6167582.png){kind=logo}
Predictions for Next Season
in SWVA Football
Posted