FoxTrot

PV vs Appy 94
PV vs Lebanon - State semi 94

I guess this was remembered by a Haysi fan.  PV physically beat Haysi up and down between the 20's.  PV fumbled a kickoff on the 5 yard line to allow their first score, and of course no one will ever forget Hackney running down the sideline for that kick.  The last play wasn't a shoe string tackle, as the QB decided to run with the football when there was 3 wide - open receivers in the end-zone, when the QB took off.  He ran out of bounds at the 25-yard line.  It was a very physical, sloppy played game in mud that stuck to you!

VA High returns starters at third base, second base, first base, part time ss, cf and lf.  They return 3 pitchers, as well as dh!  Region will be down in baseball next year with teams losing quite a few starters.  Would expect them to make another run!
 

Yep, that went well for them this year in 2 of the Major Sports.  The problem with Abingdon is community arrogance.  Typically in history of the school have never consistently won other than the last few years!  

Now I recall why I never liked Abingdon sports...
 

gatecity is a 2a school playing in a 2a district. abingdon is a 3a school playing down in a 2a district so its not the same. if i was a 3a school i wouldnt worry about playing in a 2a tournament. i would be ashamed to accept the trophy. it would be like john battle playing in 1a cumberland district. there suppose to win that so whats the point. sounds like abingdon likes being the big fish in the little pond. win the region and state in your own clssification then youll have somthing to brag about. winning a 2a tournament and then not winning in 3a region does not say much about a team in my opinion. i guess some people like being the bully and beating smaller teams but unless you win in your classification youve not really accomplished anything.

You are hearing the PC excuses for how they are spinning it.  The reason behind this is because Abingdon already has an automatic berth to regionals in 3A and none of the 2A teams want to play them in the first round with chance of either being eliminated or using up pitching.

I think this is pathetic.  The VHSL redistricts every 2 years because they are too dumb to get it right and now they can allow school principals to decide to not allow 1 team to participate because nobody wants to play them.  What if everyone had decided to oust Gate City from the basketball in the winter?  I don't care what excuses you throw out there, you can't justify taking away 2-3 games and a district championship from a group of seniors just because you don't want to have to play them.

There was no schedule conflict.  Schedule was set with Abingdon hosting.  Last night at Wise would have finished everyone up.  Wise beat Union so the Abingdon/Wise game that was rained out made no difference in seeding.

The main budget drain is that city funded money pit built to bring in stores and of course $$$$, it has been a nightmare for the city of Bristol VA.They will go into bankruptcy in the near future and all phases of the city government will take big hits, police, fire, and school system. There are no easy fixes and it will be decades before the city becomes viable again.Some of the self supporting teams can survive,but there will be hard choices to make and some area business may have to provide support in the form of equipment , and travel .Maybe the former players that have made it big can step in and help out, anyhow goodluck BEARCATS

Again, I don't know a lot of the local specifics, but the City of Bristol has made some perplexing decisions in its efforts to chase revenue -- first entering the cable business and now chasing retail development.
Somebody ought to introduce reversion to Town status as a matter for serious consideration.  (Same is true for all Independent Cities under 20,000 population -- particularly for those south and/or west of Salem.)

If I'm reading the facts correctly (and it's possible that I am missing something), the school system will be receiving an additional $940,000 from the Commonwealth of Virginia.  If the City reduces its contribution by $545,000 then the school system would still be ahead by almost $300,000 compared to the current fiscal year.  How does this qualify as a "cut" in overall funding?
EDIT:  I did see that there is $500,000 of federal money on the table that is likely to be withdrawn from the budget, so that does put the school system in a $200,000 hole (all other things being equal).  I don't know a lot about assessed values in Bristol, but if the folks there want the City to make up that difference it could probably be done for a nickle increase in the real estate tax rate.
Seems that everybody expects an enhanced level of service, but nobody wants to pay for the cost of that enhancement.  Local government is fun.

I know their is alot of optimism coming out of Tazewell, but when was the last time they beat VA High even with their ace?  Last year alone, VHS beat Tazewell 10-0, 5-2, and 7-0.  VHS returns 7 starters to this years team.  Is this the year, that Tazewell gets over the mental hump of playing VA High?  Definitely respect their program and what they accomplished last season, but they are the ones that have to go out and prove it!  Abingdon has top level talent in 4 spots, and should be the best team on the VA side of the region.   

Actually, Sweetheart, that's exactly what you did. If you can determine how good or bad a team is going to be, ya have to know a little something about them.
Someone from Abingdon accusing somebody from ANY other town of being on a "high horse", may be the funniest damn thing I've read on this site, since I joined nearly a year ago.
Abingdon may very well beat VHS twice this year. The Cats are 2-3 against the Falcons over the last 2 seasons, so I don't think its a given. 
Enjoy the final year of the Falcons being relevant in sports in SWVA. You guys have had a cute little run. Since you like to "call" so many things, call me when your baseball program is relevant for 4 decades, like we have been at VHS.😉
 

I think Marion doesn't match up well with Virginia High.  VA High is much stronger up front, and has alot more speed than Marion.  The Canes do have a tough defense, and Ford has potential to keep moving the chains.  Should be a good one!
 

Hate that the dogs numbers are down like they are, and I hope they get back up. The Blues win this game early and big, running clock by the start of the 3rd.

I will say this about the "Bearcats"!  No one in the region expects them to win. Union was surprised at how they were played in what you want to call a "Vanilla" scrimmage. I know this, these boys have heart and are having fun.  Believe it or not, most of them love football more than baseball, and most of the athletes are baseball players.  VA High has a chip on its shoulder, and want to prove how good they are.  There is no fear in the athletes.  You can tell in the way they play.  AHS game will show if they are for real!  

I will put my 2 cents in on this WITHOUT my Orange and Black glasses, as best I can. If you search my post history, I've stayed VERY consistent with my analysis of the Bearcats, dating back to the first "Top 10 poll" when I explained why I put VHS at number 10. I know these kids very well, and there's nothing I would post here that I wouldn't say to them, their families, or the coaches for that matter. They would all tell you the same about me. If I think a kid can't cut it, I say it. If I think a kid has potential, I say it, regardless of team.
Right now, VHS has the potential to be legit. They have a number of things the VHS football teams don't generally have. I can speak on this, as I have nearly a 30 year relationship with this program, as a fan, a former player, and now a father to 2 Bearcats. They have size, speed, athleticism, and depth. They have experience and at least on the field, they have a very tight brotherhood. They have contributors from their Sophomore thru Senior classes, but have a very talented Junior class. #s 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 14, 16, 21, and 28 have been their top non-linemen so far this year. The lines are deep on both sides of the ball. 
Their offense scores a lot with a first year QB who is getting better every game, a RB by committee who all bring something different to the table, and a very deep WR core. 
Their defense has lot of speed that has; been responsible for Tazewell's only shutout, been the last team to keep (my dark horse) JSB under 50 pts scored, shutdown one of the top 1A offenses in the region, and held a full-strength Wise Central to 14 pts, and they have a ton of room to grow. 
Oneof the secrets to their success so far, has been their stellar Special Teams play. They have multiple returns for scores, multiple blocked FGs, EPs, and Punts. 
The two biggest knocks on VHS is that they are a highly penalized team and their schedule is much tougher in the second half of the season, than it has been so far. Time will truly tell where they are. 
To me, the biggest reason for their potential turn-around has been stability at the coaching position.  Wanna know a big reason why VHS is a contender year-in and year-out in baseball? 2 head coaches in the last 4 decades. VHS has had a revolving door at FB coach, for the most part, for the last 3 decades. Coach Crist has done a great job of getting kids to buy in to his program. He has coached higher level high school FB in VA, coming from Amherst. His dad is one of the winningest high school FB coaches in the history of the state. He has football in his blood. He also gets the kids involved in a great weightlifting program, and we are starting to see the results.
I don't believe that they are the most complete team or the "top team" in the region, but I also believe that they are capable of beating anyone in the region, if they're playing their best ball. That is NEVER said about a VHS FB team. They could finish 9-1, or they could finish 5-5. I believe it's in between those at 7-3 or 8-2.

Tazewell is getting better and needs to remind itself that VA High went very vanilla in second half.  35 points at halftime was kind.  Same thing with 44 points at halftime of Graham game.  

This game is big for both teams.  Va High isn't the whipping boy of last year or years past.  This game comes down to can VA High Stop the run, and can Abingdon stop the pass!