Fairlawncat

Just read in the Bluefield Daily where the Beavers made the mighty Martinsburg Bulldogs chalk up the two spot in that 7 on 7 round robin contest in Athens, as the Beavers beat em. When I read this, I just set back and chuckled and shook my head. Now I know, it's 7 on 7 only and not 11 on 11, but I have said this forever and stand by it. Libra por libra, pound for pound, mano a mano, size for size, that bunch is one of the toughest outfits on the East Coast. And what makes them this way is the lack of let down. They just don't ever really seem to take a year off. It says a bunch about a program when you come into the season in game one, and you feel like you got a decent chance to win or at least play for a state title seemingly every year. Bluefield was very, very good last year and had that youth everywhere and I have a feeling they are gonna give Fairmont a big ole payback after it's all said and done. Going to be a treat to watch the 2021 Beaves this year.

Any truth to this. Gentleman I work with, who is from Bluefield WV, not VA, tells me Graham has a got 3 transfers which are the kid from LB and not one kid, but two kids from Mount View. Also, tells me the one kid from Mount View will be the RB, and is more talented than any RB Graham has had since Tony Palmer has been HC. Any confirmation thoughts, truth? This guy also told me Riverheads would be playing Bluefield next year and that is apparently hogwash. I don't know what Graham will have on the line. I hear there will be no drop off at QB with Meadows brother under center, and if the Mount View thing is true, they are loaded at RB and already are loaded at WR. The question mark comes on their line. Even with Meadows, it will take some impressive improvements to beat Union. If Graham can not stop Union from blowing them 5 yds off the ball and killing clock and shortening the game, it will favor the Bears. Sounds to me like Region D has Union and Graham as heavy favorites, but I'm not sure Graham is my favorite. Based on the line play from last year and what they return on the line of scrimmage, I lean Union, but have no idea. No way to tell.

The Red Team is Playing their Rival two times and enter LB. They will be more than prepared enough come playoff time. Just like Galax in Region C. Those schedules have both of them way prepared compared to many other 1A schools across the state.

The Beavers of Bluefield are going to have one heck of team this year. They usually do have solid teams, but they will have enough talent returning to make them a possible state favorite. Can't wait to see Pulaski and Bluefield. That series has been missing for far to long. Those games in the 80s and early 90s were fun to watch. Of all the times for the Beavers to be playing PC again, the timing was weird. PC has been down for about 20 years by their standards. They fell off after losing a state title to Lafayette and the not to distant retiring of Joel Hicks in the early 2000s, but with Dixon, it's already apparent where this bunch is going (may already be there) by the clear improvement already seen. That is going to be a tough series for the Beavers, and PC will be more difficult over the next 5 or so years than at any time since 2001. The Beavers return a bunch and have bucket loads of talent. This Bluefield vs PC game will be one to watch and has to be imo, a top 5 game to watch for the regular season in the SWVA coverage area.

Fort Chiswell's problem is not intuitive. Meaning, FC is one of the very few schools in SWVA that is located NOT in the middle of nowhere. This makes it weird. It's located at the junction of two interstates with easy access to a straight shot down to Charlotte, or North/Northeast on 81 towards DC, and the rest of VA etc. It's actually unique in that it is kind of "Not in the Middle of Nowhere," like the overwhelming majority of SWVA schools. "Middle of nowhere* meaning not near the interstate or a good ways from the interstate, highly traveled roads. Middle of nowhere is by no means a bad thing either. I've always been perplexed by coaches leaving FC. I think it's a great area because of its ease of access, and the New River isn't far, Clayton Lake is close, hunting in abundantly close, Blacksburg/VT, less than 2.5 to Charlotte. I just don't get it. Very weird. I have been surprised at why FC can't hold onto a coach. I would think it would be more stable that the majority of SWVA schools regarding turnover.

Kudos to Galax. Just saw West Stokes when scrolling through that schedule and Wo Nelly, West Stokes is a bad outfit. Down in 2020 by their standards with the Covid year going 2-4ish, but two of those 4 were nailbiters. I think West Stokes will be as tough or slightly better than Glenvar and Radford, and not much further down, but a slight notch down from Graham. Galax has a very solid schedule. Very impressive. The ten teams on their schedule better pack a lunch, or it can end in a loss for any of the 2 teams they play. They will be good enough with their on field talent to possibly win all 10 of those games. Odds are they slip up at least 1 time, but you never know.

Cassius Harris to me, was better as a sophomore than Xay Bradshaw, P.J. Prioleau, Javon Scruggs, and Cole Beck. All of these guys are/were studs and all solid as sophomores and I was lucky to see all of them, but the Harris kid as Tazewell is special to me. A game changer. A talent, and just a freak.

My Hokies have for about 15 years, lagged behind in SWVA and Central VA in recruiting kids early. In the 90s, VT was all over it. VT missed on 2 likely future NFL players right now in Scruggs from Appo who will probably be a first or second team All American this year at Liberty and drafted in round 4. Cam Allen at Purdue, from Graham, an upcoming junior will likely be a 2nd team All Big 10 player this year. He will get drafted after his senior year. These are just two examples of VT failures. Another example is Graham"s Bradshaw. It's obvious, he's going to be a star. He's that good and grew up an hour from VT, and as usual, Tech is worrying about leftovers from Southern Oklahoma and Texas instead of building pride and dedication from it's local High Schools and High School Coaches which would help its long term recruiting. Since about 2005, and especially since 2010, VT is a Titanic in the last 2-3 hours of float time in local recruiting and football prowess compared to where it once was, and we Hokies did this to ourselves. Nobody to blame.

Concentration of Crime. MB far larger than Loris. Crime largely centered to small subsection of city, . Loris.....small and dangerous from one city limit to the other. Loris violent crime rate ranks higher than MB. MB property crime rate is much higher. As for Loris, a town with about 2800 people and only 4 square miles in land area and a violent crime rate higher than MB, it's actually a scary place to live. Nowhere to hide. There really, are no nice neighborhoods in Loris. In MB or NMB, there are 9 to 1 more nice neighborhoods compared to bad. 10th S to 10th N carries the overwhelming portion of MB crime. Stay away from those 20 blocks (nicknamed the bad 20 by locals) and MB is not just ok, but very nice and safe. A school like NMB High or Carolina Forest High , Socastee, or St. James Hgh, have nowhere close to the behavior problem kids (percentage-per capita) as Loris High. Some of those small towns along the North and South Carolina border can be deadly. From Loris, to Whiteville, to Tabor City, to Fairmont, Fairbluff, Lumberton, Dillon, Latta are incredibly dangerous. They have high turnover rates for teachers and have had them for a long time. The poverty levels, single parent homes, high school graduation rates, and college attendance rates are all less favorable here compared to Myrtle Beach. One poster mentioned on here that most of the MB crime is not committed by the locals. Interestingly, much of the Myrtle Beach crime is committed by wannabee gangsters (still very dangerous) that are largely from the communities I listed above.

Loris SC is a very very rough town. The crime rate crime is far worse than the small towns of SWVA. Loris is also about 30 minutes driving time (door to water) from Cherry Grove/Ocean Drive) NMB. It's not like Loris is right on the ocean and there is less to do in Loris than there is Richlands, unless of course, you take the 30 minute trip to the ocean. Loris has several kids that are wannabe gangsters and has far.more problem kids than Richlands. Other than the money, and if 30 minutes is close enough, it would not surprise me if Mance returned. Also, Loris is in the conference of Green Sea and Dillon, and they play S. Columbus, a rival school in Tabor City, NC every year. They are basically going to have 3 losses every season that's almost automatic. Then, there are the other games........no surprise is he came back to SWVA Mance would have been better off taking an assistant (OC) job at any of the Myrtle Beach/NMB schools which are bigger than Loris, but far, far less stressful in the area of teaching than Loris. You wouldn't believe the crime that stretches from Lumberton NC down through Highway 9 in towns like Tabor City, NC , Chadburn, and Loris, SC

Check that 37 years. 37 years of coaching experience with 28 of the 37 years at Richlands from what I'm told.

On staff for 37 years to my understanding. He was on staff when Dennis Vaught was Head Coach. He may be the longest coach on staff in Richlands history and that would include guys like Hicks, Mance, etc. Someone would need to check that, but if talking about all coaches in Richlands to include Head Coaches and Assistants, I think Tarter at 37 years would be the record at Richlands. What little I know about Tarter is.....Richlands is about to run the ball down somebody's throat.

The GMen are going to be special and will possibly make a run for another state championship. I understand this group of upcoming seniors have been talked about for a long time in Bluefield, VA. If Graham comes out and beats Bluefield, look out, because I understand the Beavers return to usual form as always. Teams that are going to be very good across the state that have lots of returning juniors and seniors and talent returning and some didn't play this spring are .... King William, Poquoson, Buckingham County, Nottoway - I would take these four or "the field" over Stuarts Draft this fall to represent the East in the state title game. King Williams returns a bunch including 2 FBS players, Nottoway returns a bunch with 1 FBS player, Buckingham County sets on a ton of talent, and Poquoson lost 2 starters including 7 sophomores who started on both sides of the ball this winter/spring 2021. In Region C, we can't touch Appomattox, nor can Dan River, nor can Gretna or Glenvar. They will walk through Region C with what they return.

The folks here in Radford are very happy with the hiring of Crist. It's weird, but Radford (the City of) and School Board often get these things right. Call it good people running the show or luck, but we usually get the right coaches for the job, and we usually get the right teachers for our students. I'm not trying to give a pat on the back here, just saying that our School Board/Leaders are actually pretty good, pretty sharp, just decent people that make pretty good leadership decisions, and that's largely based on having a good culture. I think Crist will be welcomed in with open arms and that he will excel at Radford. Radford's football culture is well entrenched. Crist is a sharp dude, but at Radford, he's not going to have to change the culture or build up the youth feeder leagues, or have run in's with the baseball or basketball coach, He's going to do well imo and the hire was a slam dunk for the Bobcats.

Eric Buchanan would be one of the fastest players probably ever to play in the SWD/Highlands. He's along the lines of kids like Graham's Mylton Byrd, 100 meter VA state champion and 1995 football state title.

Wow, an invite for both Bluefield schools to the Ridge. Graham for a benefit game and the mighty Beavers the next to last regular season game of the year. All the best for Ridgeview and awesomeness for their scheduling. But, playing the Beavers the next to last game of the year is a huge risk. This means Bluefield is in full swing and rolling downhill and Ridgeview will likely have the playoffs coming soon. When you play Bluefield, there's a strong chance of injury. Just a vicious and bad outfit (in a good way.) All the best for the Wolfpack and how they scheduled to get themselves ready for the playoffs. They aren't backing down, but man oh man, Bluefield in game nine is maybe something I would have tried to do different if playing them at all. Meaning, try to catch em in weeks 1,2,3, etc. Bluefield was young last year and like Graham, Bluefield is going to absolutely loaded the next 3 years.

The Buchanon brothers from Lebanon. Are they any kin to the 1980's Lebanon football great Eric Buchanon? If so, they have some good DNA. I knew Eric well and he was also a blur on the track. Won the SWD 100 meters and I think finished 1st or 2nd in the state AA 100 meters. Dude had crazy speed as in world class type speed, and he was a solid running back. I just wonder if there is any relation?

Could add Anthony Campbell from the 1980's to that list. He was a gifted and incredible athlete.

That has to be imo, one of the toughest 2A schedules in the state of Virginia. Appomattox also has a very good one as does Poquoson down on the coast playing nearly all 3A and 4A schools, but Graham's schedule this year seems incredibly tough.and about the toughest I've seen for a 2A school for this coming fall.

Riverheads is a bad outfit. Just no way around it. Appo and Riverheads would be one heck of game I would love to see. Also, Appo is so good its crazy. They can win a low scoring game, a blowout, or a game in the 40's for both teams, just a gifted ability to win in any way, shape or form. Their constant formula seems to be great run offense, win the turnover battle, and win the special teams play. It's a one constant that is seemingly always present with Appo. Riverheads, well, they just seem to beat the heck of people, but can win the same way like a low scoring game against Draft.

Appo is all class. For me, it's impossible to not like em even if you tried. Lots of fans hate or dislike winning teams unless you are a fan of that winning team, but Appo makes it super tough to do that. Their kids on the field and their coaches do it with class and dignity. They're humble winners and just never seem to big headed even with all the success. That's a reflection of their leadership.

Calpreps had Riverheads beating Appo by 1 to 4 points throughout this season until last week. They now have it 35-34 in favor of Appo. I know it's a computer formula, but I have now got to the point over the years that after week 6-7, I trust Calpreps more than myself. I'm serious about that. I trust it more than my gut. It's alarmingly accurate and just doesn't miss very much. It misses just like humans do, but it's scary accurate to me. If Calpreps says it's a close game, then I trust it.

If Appo is going to lose this year or next year, it will be Stuarts Draft this year or Graham next year. Stuarts Draft is athletic in the secondary and very good up front. Don't be surprised if that game is a tossup going into the 4th qtr. In our region, no team will beat Appo next year and that includes Radford. Graham will be a problem for them next year and possibly Poquoson, who was/is younger than Graham and Union. They started 7 sophomore, 3 juniors and 1 senior on offense and defense according to an assistant on staff at Nottoway that I'm kin to. Nottoway was young with only 4 seniors lost that started. The question is, even with guys coming back that are experienced (Nottoway and Poquoson) is it enough to make up for the talent difference at Appo? I don't know, but I do believe an experienced bunch of juniors and seniors at Graham can certainly close that talent gap with Appo.

Next year, Graham will be a major problem. Draft has a senior laden team. Buckingham and King William who didn't compete in the playoffs both had senior teams. (BC didn't play at all.) Poquoson had 2 senior starters and returns nearly the entire team as well as Nottoway. Radford will be slightly better than this year. Don't know about Dan River. Union, with it's bigs up front will be better. Appomatox is very deep on their lines. It's not just the athletes. When you take a QB sneak and the kid runs 70 yds, that's lineplay, and Appo is so deep. They can constantly rotate 8 kids up front and get the same results. Appo didn't do anything fancy against Radford, Glenvar or Union. They just ran the ball down all three opponents throats. They are fast for sure, but their lineplay over the years has been grossly underestimated.

In 1A, Calpreps projected Riverheads by 45 over West Point. It was off........by 1 point. Riverheads won by 44.