Pioneer

Ridgeview 42 Central 14 The pack haven't been tested yet. They have played counting Central 3 bad teams. I'm curious how they will fair when they actually play a decent team. I know they play Virginia High in a couple weeks. Might be their first decent competition.

Would love it if Virginia High pulled an upset, but it's unlikely. Without Radfords QB it would be close. If it only came down to coaching, Virginia High wins. Patterson > Crist Radford 35 - only because of talent, not coaching. VHS 14- improving every game, but need to find an identity on offense and be able to pass some to keep defenses honest.

In a meaningless scrimmage. Teams can look great in scrimmage games and be awful in the regular season.

And wasn't it a scrimmage or benefit game?

Lebanon has lost to 2 good teams. Marion lost to a improved Chilhowie team and beat a bad Central team. I'm saying Pioneers by 7. The passing attack will be too much for Marion.

It's stretching it at this point to call Reece the best ever from LHS. He's definitely high on the list. I do agree that Lebanons coaching staff hasn't been good for quite a long time. Until they fix that issue, you will see the same old decisions. That comes down to an administrative issue when hiring coaches over the years. Could you imagine Reece at a place like VHS where he could showcase his talents with the athletes? Or even an Abingdon? He came close to transferring this go around. I expect the Pioneers will win 3 or 4. They may beat Battle, possibly Marion, Castlewood, Richlands, and honestly they will play with VHS, I just think they will get out coached a lot.

Im calling it, Abingdon may go anywhere from 3-7 to 1-9.

I think its a dry spell in talent.

Im not, Central struggled with a bad Eastside team.

Sounds like Honaker was that good. Pioneers playing tough with a solid PH team.

Sounds like the worst Falcon team in years.

Really? Twice as good? They only beat Eastside 14 to 7. They usually beat them by 3 to 4 tds. Even if Eastside is improved, that isn't encouraging going forward for Central.

Hopefully VHS can get healthy. I wonder if Abingdon may be a bit overrated? Not taking anything away from Battle. It just seems like Abingdon may be going through a down time in talent. I was at the VHS game last night. Virginia High has to get better on the line of scrimmage on offense. They also need to find enough of a passing game to open things up for the run game. I don't think VHS is a bad team, but last night they beat themselves. I expect them to improve. VHS 28 Battle 21

So far nobody has posted this one, so I thought I would. What's your thoughts on this one? Im going with.. Va High 35 PH 21

Sorry but scrimmages have very little bearing on where teams finish. They are pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. That being said, Lebanon will not finish 3rd in the SWD. They may beat Marion and Richlands. Virginia High most likely will finish 3rd. From what I understand they held their own and moved the ball on TN High Friday night. If they play that competitive against a team with double their enrollment then they should be really solid. As for Central, see how they do against Union, Abingdon, Ridgeview before you say they are a sleeper. I say they finish 4th or 5th at best in the M7.

Lebanon does have a talented QB, but they also have had to replace 15 seniors, quite a few on the line. I'm not sure how their line play is going to be. They also lost Hertig and Olsen. Those 2 are hard to replace. I could see them finishing ahead of Marion and possibly Richlands, if they are as down as what everyone is saying. 1. Graham 2. Tazewell 3. Virginia High (well coached with athletes, may be tougher than many think.) 4. Lebanon (Great QB and WRs, but do they have a line?) 5. Richlands 6. Marion. I think 4 and 5 are interchangeable.

I could see that. I know in the spring they were trying to get the schools athletes more interested in playing, but didn't know how it turned out. The school does have good athletes throughout the building. The football team should consistently be decent for that reason, but interest wasn't there for years. Glad it seems to be rebounding and moving in a good direction. If they have the athletes I could see a top 3 finish.

Exactly, it may doable, but I don't see them doing it. I expect them to use a combination of the Stone Castle, EH, or Battle.

That is doable, but I also read they might limit tickets as well, which I don't think is good for the school or fans, hopefully that doesn't happen.

Definitely a step up. I think they will beat Battle and Marion in 2A. I expect them to play tough with most teams on their schedule, excluding Graham, Tazewell, and VHS. I think athletically those teams will blow them out. Richlands I would put as a toss up right now. I think Lebanon would have beat them last year had they played. Lebanon's season in my opinion comes down to finding a strong running game and getting stronger on the line. Their passing game is fun, but they have to find a way to mix things up and be able to run consistently. They also lost 15 seniors. Including Olson and Hertig, so replacing them will be difficult. The Reece kid is a sophomore, along with many of his favorite targets, they could have a special team in a couple of years in my opinion, but I don't think they are quite their yet.

Lebanon lost 15 seniors, the qb is returning, but Lebanon will not finish 2nd. I predict 4 or maybe 5 wins this year. They will most likely lose to Graham, VHS, Tazewell, possibly Richlands, and maybe a talented Honaker team, and PH. I'd say they will beat, Battle, Castlewood, Marion, Rural Retreat. If that holds they will be 4-6. I could be wrong though.

That was a rumor in the spring, but nothing came if it.

He did not transfer.

The Reece kid has been working with LHS during summer workouts most of the summer. There was a rumor but it's just that. Safe bet is that he is not transferring. Nobody at LHS has been concerned over this to my knowledge.

Any thoughts on how the SWD will stack up with the addition of Lebanon? I know Graham is most likely #1, but after that it has to be a coin toss.