Hokie1Pokie

I don't care if GC wins another game either. I also think a person can coach another sport besides football and be successful. I agree with you.

No, you didn't. And.....neither did I. To clarify my statement directed to you is this. You are being rational and objective on the subject. Objectivity and rationale thought doesn't mean much with some who are not. To clarify further.......there are some who actually don't want GC's program to go in the right direction, yet this is disguised as objectivity or claiming to know. Nobody knows

Your basing your statement off of the premise that all posters in this thread are truly objective and truly "feel" that it won't work at Gate City. What some must realize is that some in this thread are not truly "objective or feeling" that it won't work, but it's what they are "hoping" for in that it won't work. I don't know or care either way as long as Graham stays good. I do know the Houseright though, and they are first class. GC in my opinion will get much better, but back to playing for state titles? I don't know about that. That shipped may have sailed, but you never know. Time never lies and always tells the truth.

Bring back Pocahontas, Bland, and Rocky Gap!

Excuse my ignorance on the subject, but what is the downfall or negatives if (big if) hey can get more money from the state? Also, why is there the thought of splitting into two High Schools? I'm assuming (only assuming and that's dangerous) that there is some kind of financial benefit if they are talking about splitting? Last of all, call the one middle school Flatwoods Middle. If your bringing back PG and Jonesville, might as well give ole Flatwoods a shout out. As for Dryden and Keokee, well....it is what it is. P.S. I know about Dryden and Keokee and PG and Jonesville, but where was Flatwoods High located? Rose Hill, St. Charles, Jonesville, etc? Also, of Keokee, Dryden, and Flatwoods, which ones formed Jonesville and P. Gap High or where did these three consolidate into?

Add Bob Pettit to the list. He's the most underrated player in NBA history, but played in the W. Chamberlain era and was overshadowed historically. For his career, he averaged 26.4 ppg, 16.2 rebounds per game, and 3 assists per game, 2 time MVP and 10 time NBA All-First Team. Those numbers above are crazy when talking about an entire average for a career, not just 1 season.

Prayers for Tony's family. I knew him for many years. A great person. Godspeed TW

I don't think 16-7 is that bad for a team that lost 2 ridiculously underrated players. Graham just don't have the experienced bigs under the basket to be a real threat this year. Dalton (inside) and Martin (all over the floor) where very good basketball players.

This needs to stop in my opinion. What is seemingly a crack or knock on Gste City fans is actually hurtful and mean spirited towards Akers. That man doesn't deserve this. And yes, it is mean spirited and hurtful towards Akers even though the jab is towards GC fans. I get that, but the more time that passes by from Akers no longer being the coach at GC, the joke or jabs by keeping this thread alive become more hurtful to Akers than it does to the GC fans on this board. Only my take and I know not popular, but since he's gone from GC, the jabs or joke of keeping this thread alive shift more to Akers expense, and away from GC fans.

The quickest human being I've ever seen on a football field or basketball court.

My preference only. 1. Go to 5 classes or levels of play. 6 is to many and I know this ain't happening and not even considered 2. Continue to play the semifinal game at the highest seed like it currently is. If we have power points, then stick with it. Also, I don't like the turf field thing as a requirement. Why not mandate that all semi games be played on natural grass and not turf? The turf thing makes no sense to me and I don't think it should matter. If your the higher seed in the semis and you have a ugly muddy grass field, then that's where it should be played as it was earned under the current power points system for 10 recular season games. 3. Definitely decrease the teams from 8 to only 4 in a region and add an extra season game for a total of 11 regular season games. This will not happen either. 4. I dont like crossing regions in the semis. For example, can you imagine Union playing at Poquoson or Bruton traveling to Gate City for a semifinal game? That's crazy. Last of all, I admit nothing I prefer will happen and everything I don't want to happen will. When it's all said and done, we will have all turf for semifinal games and a neutral site and regions will cross bracket in the semis even more than the A vs B and C vs D, and the amount of teams will not drop from 8 to 4 making the playoffs in one region, but that's ok because the GMen are state champs.

Names that come to mind but I'm not sure are Div 3 back then...Vic Hall- Gretna 2004 and Anthony Poindexter-Jefferson Forrest 1993. Some near misses but I'm certain were not POY on both sides were Radfords Touchdown Tommy Edwards in 1991, Bryan Randall-VT of Bruton High in 2000 and Percy Ellsworth of Southampton in both 1990 and 1991. Poindexter, Ellsworth, and Randall were all on at least 1 All-American team and all played AA Div 3, equal to 3A now. Southampton may have been Div 4, AA, during Ellsworths senior year.

The pride of Lubbock, Texas

All teams improve usually, but a few improve much greater than others on a given season. That's applicable to both Graham and Bluefield in 2017 and 2018. Graham improved to the point that if they Bluefield at seasons end this year, it would be a close game (I think). Last year, Bluefield beats Graham by 21+ points Easily at seasons end, yet the game went down to the one yard line in 2017. Bluefield improved at an alarmingly high level compared to every team in the area in 2017. Congrats to both schools who represented the area well and I'm sure will do the same thing next year. Next year, I think the Beavers are favored (time will tell) because Graham will be breaking in a host of new starters on the OL, and Bluefields DL will be solid, and early on that can matter. The matchup favors Bluefield, but that's a long way away and things can change, and Graham's defense will keep them in it and give em a chance

Go GMen! If you hedge a bet on Bluefield being good before any season, you will win your bet the overwhelming percentage of the time. I'm a die-hard GMEN, but I will admit, "libra por libra," pound for pound, for the size of that school student population compared to others of the same size, the Beavers are hell. They've been hellacious for not just decades, but for a couple of generations.

Goochland moves up to 3A next year.

I think by the end of the season, all 3 in Fairmont, Bluefield, and Graham were close and we can only speculate who beats who. Fairmont had a great team and so did Bluefield. By seasons end, I think Graham was right there with Fairmont and Bluefield because of the defense that truly improved at a remarkable level. I'm not saying Graham wins, but I think Graham was right there with em

I don't think the play to play officiating was bad. I thought it was good The issue was in "between" plays. Nearly an 8 minute game stoppage on that punt issue and a stoppage that long can hurt momentum of either team. At some point you have to make a decision and go with it The other issue was the spot on the pass interference. 7 officials on the field and they moved the ball from the Graham 29 to the Graham 19. The ball should have been spotted at the 14 and 1/2 yd line. With 7 officials on the field, that's a huge miss for a state title game and they flat out missed that one

Graham's biggest improvement over the season and from last year is the lineplay on both sides of the ball. Guys like Sesco, Dimarzo, Wimmer, and Meadows improved by leaps and bounds since the Union beat down of last year and over this season. A huge difference for Graham that may not be noticed much or felt right now, but it will be was Meadows. You could see it from game to game that the kid was "growing" into his body. By the time he's a junior, he's going to have offers from tons of FBS schools. If you watch him against Union, Richlands, and Radford, he just destroyed the guy across from him play after play. Against Goochland, he got the best of his guy most of the time, but they guy from Goochland was a senior and he held his own pretty well. For next year, Graham does suffer some key losses at some of the skilled positions and obviously Cam, but Graham has plenty of athletes and Lester will put up video game like numbers at QB. The issue for Graham is the offensive line. They lose about 3 of em from tackle to tackle and those guys were monumental in Graham's success. For Graham in my opinion, the biggest question mark and the area they have to work on the most up until next season is finding guys for the offensive line and getting them stronger and bigger. If Graham can replicate what they had from tackle to tackle on the offensive line, they will be tough to beat again, but having the high level of play that they demonstrated on the OL from tackle to tackle this year will be very difficult to match in 2019.

No disrespect to any other team in the Region, but Graham should be a heavy favorite. But, the Region C team that either Graham or whoever it is from Region D will be facing a much better opponent then Radford 2018. That could be Radford again, Glenvar, Gretna, maybe even Giles, but likely Appomattox. That region champion for 2019 will present a much tougher test, but the mistake their fans will make will be the assumption that because Allen is gone, Graham can't possibly be as good. Fact is, Lester is going to put up insane numbers next year as well and he's also an elite athlete.

Dilly Dilly

All the best for the G-Men and hats off to Coach Palmer and crew. The G-Men are not just back to old form after a long absence, the G-Men are once again State Champions!!!!

Either way, not the 19, closer to the 14. It was placed directly on the 19.

The ball was moved from the 29 to the 19. It should have been moved to the 14 and incredibly, the official didn't seem to have his bearings and our entire offensive players missed it as did our coaching staff, but.......stuff happens in heightened emotions. I'm just glad we scored.

And I've never seen pass interference get marked off as 10 yards and the officials miss it, the fans seemingly missed it, and our coaches missed it. Now, if only a 10 yd penalty for pass interference in High School, then I take my foot out of my mouth, but if it's still 15 like it used to be, that's a huge huge blunder by the officials for a state title game.