Liam McPoyle

Tom Turner's teams would go on those 80 yard, two-day drives that would wear down and demoralize a defense.  Then, those same players would turn around and play defense and demoralize your offense. 

Graham is the best team Union played.
Richlands is the team that played Union best. 

4:06 1Q

There are a few good Appo fans out there, but I've found the vast majority to be arrogant and insufferable.  Five minutes on that other board always makes me extremely thankful for this site.  

When Appomattox came to Marion a couple of years back I had the pleasure of running into some Appomattox fans in the Dollar General by the high school. They weren't dressed in Appy material but, and this is going to sound awful in the modern PC society, they were black, and considering that less than 2% of Smyth County is African American, seeing a couple of African American folks that you don't already know personally is usually a tell-tale sign that they aren't from here. We had a chat and they were super nice, some of the most courteous visiting fans I've ever experienced.
Fast forward an hour and a half, it's pouring rain, and the visitor stands are booing injured Marion players while they're being attended to by trainers on the field.

All it takes are a few bad apples...

There are a few good Appo fans out there, but I've found the vast majority to be arrogant and insufferable.  Five minutes on that other board always makes me extremely thankful for this site.  

Well to the point of being a coach at a small school compared to bigger schools and wins Vs loses let's look at the history books of swva football.  Coach Tom Turner for the Appalachia bulldogs was a 300 plus win coach with multiple state titles and probably never had half the talent on his sideline compared to the teams he faced.  Tom could take a hand full of boys from little coal camps and play Iron Man football and beat schools like gate city,  Powell Valley,  etc. And in years that teams like gate city and Powell Valley beat appy it was seldom a blow out.  If a coach like Tom Turner had the talent that rolled through Powell Valley and gate city he would have won 10 or state championships in my humble opinion.  I've seen mid 90s appy teams with 30 kids that could kick the crap out of just about any team today due to there sheer toughness and coach Tom turners ability to fire em up. 

I give thanks to our Lord for all the blessings he has given us. I pray that our Father will watch over us all and protect us from harm each day. May he bless our children provide them with a loving and caring home. I ask this in the name of our Lord, Amen.

whoooeee, thereis so much chest thumping on that other "YANKEE BOARD", you know the other guys....to hear them talk APPOMATTOX has already won the STATE and the rest of us are playing for second.I will tell you this, last year I thought UNION could play with APPO....wrong. I may be wrong but I think whomever wins region D will also win state, both GRAHAM and UNION have good TEAMS and sometime a TEAM is better than the sum of its players. I know the GRAHAM people want to win , but damn it I want APPOMATTOX TO HAVE TO RIDE  AND RIDE AND RIDE to the real southwest va to the mnts and meet us HILLBILLIES at the PARK , where champions are crowned and the magic of BULLITT  helps the home team win

It all depends on which Galax shows up.  The Galax that shows up 80% of the time will score the clinching TD in the 2nd quarter.  The Galax that showed up against Grayson loses by 7.  

I agree with this list and would add Graham's Tony Palmer as a contender.  

Must agree with IRISH-FAN 18. Chilhowie has an outstanding group of athletes and people saw this coming when they destroyed Abingdon, Gate City, Marion, George Wythe and everyone else they played under eighth grade head coach Matt Snodgrass. Problem is they couldn't beat anyone of equal talent this year. The Warriors are a big fish in a small pond in Region D as it is as weak as I can remember. Going into the playoffs very few people saw anyone staying within 28 points of them. Not taking anything away from Chilhowie just not any competition in Region D.

They are, and there is something to be said about about being able to take care of business, but if you look at their schedule, I don't think Chilhowie beat anyone that folks didn't predict they would beat in the preseason. Chilhowie's a pretty dang good 1A team, but I think most people knew that they would be, and the best item on Robinson's resume this year is that his team beat the teams that they should have. Again, there's something to be said about doing that for the entirety of a season, but I don't know if that's a coach of the year resume outside of the Hogo.

In my humble opinion, Tom Turner was the best coach ever in the Lonesome Pine.  I'm sure he taught Travis well.

Agree.  I think Jeff Robinson would need to upset the Narrows/Galax winner to warrant serious consideration.

Don't get me wrong here, Chilhowie is good, and I expect them to beat Burton. But they lost to Marion, Wythe and VA High.

I’m bias obviously. But I’d have to say Turner. Regardless how the game with Graham goes. Having to retool the offense around his sons season ending injury and still keeping the team focused on the goal. I played for his dad, Tom. He had the ability to make you play bigger than you were. Believe that you were better than you really were. And we would run through a brick wall for him because we thought we could. My point is, Travis has this respect from his boys. They drink the kool aid and want more. He’s blended fierce rivals in Appy and PV through consolidation and Union is a solid program. This is my reason for Travis Turner as COY. 

In my opinion I think a coach of the year award should be awarded to a coach with a great record who led their team to "overachieve." 
We all expect Bluefield, Union, Galax, & Graham to win 8, 9, or 10 games. What most didn't expect this year was Marion start out 8-0, Ridgeview host a playoff game at 9-1, or Narrows to have home field advantage throughout the state title game. 
Carroll from Marion, Mullins from Ridgeview and Lowe from Narrows would be my top 3. 
But I'd give my vote to Kelly Lowe at Narrows. They lost a player that went to play at VT and still went 9-1 and locked up home field throughout. 

I've certainly been impressed this season with Coach Travis Turner and the Bears after Bailey Turner's injury.   I think it speaks volumes that Union scored 49 against my Canes without throwing a pass or James Mitchell scoring.  The Bears have finally found an effective offense after losing #16, while proving they're more than a one-man team.  The speedy G-Men have been impressive all season, while the Bears have worked for two months to overcome adversity.  I think the G-Men win this game in September or October on any field.  But it's November at Bullitt, which should bode well for the Bears.

In my humble opinion, Tom Turner was the best coach ever in the Lonesome Pine.  I'm sure he taught Travis well.

I've certainly been impressed this season with Coach Travis Turner and the Bears after Bailey Turner's injury.   I think it speaks volumes that Union scored 49 against my Canes without throwing a pass or James Mitchell scoring.  The Bears have finally found an effective offense after losing #16, while proving they're more than a one-man team.  The speedy G-Men have been impressive all season, while the Bears have worked for two months to overcome adversity.  I think the G-Men win this game in September or October on any field.  But it's November at Bullitt, which should bode well for the Bears.