Graham review- It was a sloppy win for sure. There is something about when these teams play each other that all fundamentals go out the window. After watching the replay today, the defensive line was not consistent and was standing up and pushed around a lot. Bluefield ran to the same side 90% of the time and we still allowed them to get too many yards every time. Too many tackles up high, missed tackles and way too many yards up the middle.
I thought the OL improved since the last scrimmage in protecting the QB. There needs to be a focus on snaps. I was impressed with Roberts passing.
Penalties- Way too many penalties on both sides. After watching replay, we deserved some of them. However, I still don’t agree with not calling the horse collar and the pass interference call was rediculous in my opinion.
While it was sloppy, I saw some good things too and I guarantee that we will not see sloppy play like this again. I thought Hughes had a fantastic game and a huge asset on offense and defense. I saw where he got Bluefield State Player of the game from Bluefield announcers. Blake Graham with that outstanding TD catch and MVP from Great American Rivalry Series. I thought Roberts did a great job and will only get better.
I sure do hope Clements and Hughes are ok.
It was a W but sloppy. A lot of good teaching moments. Palmer will improve them each week . Their is still alot of youth on this team. Not alot of teams turn the ball over with that many penalties have any chance of winning. Shows the depth , grit , and great coaching Graham has in their favor.
I lived in Roanoke for a decade. My kids were born there. The AD at WB is my cousin.
“Mostly” (as you say) because Bath, Craig and Allegheny are so sparsely populated. But those large bodies LB always seem to have come from Clifton Forge, Hot Springs and New Castle. Just go search the ones playing in college now and look at their home towns.
LB and WB have always taken turns being the top program stealing talent from one another in the process. Pick the sport. It’s been happening for generations.
Fleming and PH players by-in-large end up at Salem. A few have gone to LB over the years but not as many as Salem.
The outlier in the area is Cave Spring and Hidden Valley. Their best football players end up all over. My suspicion is, the area has more money so players can get to outlying programs much easier. CS also ends up with a lot of basketball talent from Franklin County. HV is much more successful in Olympic sports and get those kids from everywhere.
Glenvar traditionally gets the best athletes from Eastern Montgomery. Their staring QB’s brother won a state championship playing basketball at Cave Spring two years ago. Spent last season on the VT basketball roster.
Troy Everette (Oklahoma) the Stephens boys , (Furman) , Z. Horton (JMU) , the Trey Reiter(VMI) the Anderson kid ( committed to OHIO U)playing now (all from Northside). The Howard kid is from W. Byrd (committed to Wake Forest)The two kids from Allegheny who are at VTech , They(LB) did not won their region in the last two years when they were seniors. Their starting running back this year is from William Fleming.
If ya'll want to see a finish. Flip over to NFHS and watch Central of Woodstock vs Riverheads in the final 1.5 minutes. Central is down 7-0 and has the ball at their own 16 yard line. Central drives the length of the field in about 1.5 minutes and scores to make it 7 to 6 with under 10 seconds left in the game. Central is going to kick the extra point and take it to overtime, right? Nope, the Sons of Bitches go for 2 and the get it!! Won it 8-7
I think Yew is a really good coach. He ran into a very athletic team in Graham last year , but his play calling is solid. He did run a fake punt from inside his own 10 last year and converted. He definitely has a set.
After watching lots of football so far early on. This is my take in Virginia Class 1 and Class 2.
Class 2.
1. Graham, Appomattox, Radford, Glenvar, Central-Woodstock, Riverheads, Ridgeview are not as good as last year.
2. Union is better. Poquoson is much better. King William is better. Stuarts Draft is much better than last year. Gate City is better.
3. What does the above mean? I still favor Graham. The gap hasn't closed enough in my opinion for any team to beat them in Class 2, but Graham is beatable. In summary, Class 2 overall is down compared to last year.
4. Graham is the favorite in my opinion in the West. Poquoson is the favorite in the East. I wrote this in July and will stick with it. The Regional A winner in Poquoson/King William will beat the Region B Winner (Riverheads, Central, Draft) in the state semi's.
Class 1.
1. George Wythe, Buffalo Gap, Galax, Essex, Grundy, Central Lunenburg are all not as good (but Essex will still represent the East).
2. Sussex is better (still hasn't close the gap with Essex). Honaker is much better. Giles is better. Rye Cove is better. Eastside is better.
3. Patrick Henry is the same, Holston is the same, Narrows the same, and the rest of the Northern Neck District schools in the East are mostly the same.
4. Fort Chiswell- as always, in a class of its own. No way to know. Might go 8-2. Might not win another game. Don't try to evalute them.
5. As a whole, Class 1 is also down if you look across the board in Virginia compared to last year.
6. Honaker is the favorite in the West. I'm hopeful Giles can maybe overcome Grayson, Galax, and G. Wythe, and win the region. I got Honaker vs Essex in title game.
Above are only my opinions. A shi*ton of football is left to be played and anything can happen. We may see Galax or Patrick Henry vs Sussex or Northumberland, or Union vs Stuarts Draft in the title. Anything can happen. Lots of football to be played and injuries always play a part, but imo, I favor Graham vs Poquoson and Honaker vs Essex.
Good evaluation as usual . In 2A. It's Graham, Glenvar, Central and Poquoson
1A Honaker versus Essex in the finals.
Takeaways: Defenses are ahead of offense for the most part. Riverheads can't score at will against good 2A talent like 1A.
Today at GHS- Senior WR/ CB Braden Watkins signs with Emory and Henry Football and Senior LB Gage Sawyers signed with Old Dominion University.
both were All SW District , All Region and All State first teamers. That is now 4 players off the 2022 state champs going to play at the next level.
I really don't see Snake as one who cares about personal accolades. He just loves football and coaching defense. I agree if there was a Hall of Fame for assistant coaches or DC, his career at Richlands & now Graham would make him worthy of a spot. I'd like to know his win/loss record as a DC & playoff appearances, I bet it's pretty impressive.
I bet it is very good. The kids appreciate his knowledge and efforts for sure.
I been a nervous wreck all week and it’s only Tuesday lol.
Me too! No prediction on this one. No jinx’s or whammy’s . I think VTDavis is very accurate on most of evaluations. The thing is , at the end of the day , these are kids. How do they handle the moment? I always felt like you learn more about kids in high leverage moments than ordinary games. It gets no higher than the title on the line.
How was he predicting a win? All we’re saying is we’ve seen the tape. This game will not be easy. They are better than what you all think.
Just clarifying . It’s going to be all about guts, old school. Very competitive. It doesn’t matter who the favorite is. I don’t think either team gets off the bus thinking they will lose.
Agree with this Central is a very dangerous team. The qb has a good arm and can escape pressure. Good running game. #40 is a beast. #21 and #23 more then sufficient speed. The lineplay is very good. They have 23 seniors. If you ask me, Graham may be the underdog in this one.
So are you predicting a Central win? We are taking receipts. Lol
I am a Radford fan and former player, and I'm not arguing that Radfords Coach is as good as Palmer. I will certainly argue Appomattox's coach is as good as Palmer, and if we continue, my numbers to argue will beat your numbers for at least the next 4 years, and if everything goes your way, they will then be the same.
So no arguing here, I’m a Graham fan but didn’t play here. I will put up Salem numbers against anybody in 2A though. as for head to head, Palmer lead 2-1.
So alot has been said about Coach Smith beating his team with your players. Well , he had 2 Power 5 commits and an FBS commit today and got sparked. Guess that logic doesn’t apply to Coach Palmer , who has an impeccable record.
Very true. I was tough on Graham's offensive staff in the 4th qtr with not enough Clements in the Wildcat as Appo had no answer for it. I was tough when Graham had 3rd and 1's, and would then switch up the offensive set and get a motion penalty when Appo had no answer for Clements in the Wildcat. I stand by my critique, but that's 5% of it. The other 95% tells me the adjustments made by Graham at halftime was marvelous. They dialed it up on Appo defensively. Graham was well prepared and think about how many times another Class 2 team in Virginia has beat Appo twice in a row? It hasn't happened to my knowledge in many years. Graham is now in 3 state title games in about 5 seasons. Credit to Palmer and staff.
Thanks man! I understand the critique. Your opinion is usually spot on. Alot of folks on here just waiting to trash Graham because the teams they root for was eliminated. Graham's adjustment was good and has been all year.
All the non Graham fans to include Radford, Glenvar, and Appo fans. You are cordially invited to the "Thread of Irrelevance " to shit talk about what could be, should be, or any other excuses that may be applicable.
All Graham kids have heard all year is" your not as good as last year. You don't have your power 5 players", "You cant beat Union , they have your number" ," Ridgeview waiting to kick your ass, been waiting and working all year", " Radford is the best team in 2A", "Appo is Appo, Coach Smith is a genius and you can't stop or slow down Pennix " Thanks for the motivation!
Funny, last year he gave up 48 points to Graham in the playoffs
46 minutes ago, SwvaOG said:
Union will be back at the top next season and all the wailing and gnashing of teeth will subside until Graham knocks them out of the playoffs in the Region D championship game. The irony is that if Ridgeview had Union's DC they would have had a shot last week. Lol. I highly doubt he would have allowed Graham 400+ rushing yards.
Just my opinion but in the game against us, I thought Hill was much more of a beast on offense. Not taking anything away from Beavers but if you lost one of the two players, I think Hill is the greater loss.
Not,
It was a matchup issue on a freshman. Was corrected and he was blanketed the rest of the game by a LB.
I dont think Radford had self doubt. i think they have an idiot coach that cant win a game where he doesnt have far superior talent.
Radford was very explosive, but sooner or later you have to play defense. Kids today don't want to do that because all the newspapers and highlights are of touchdowns. Even the max preps and va preps only show value for it honestly.
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Week 1 Updates
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It was a W but sloppy. A lot of good teaching moments. Palmer will improve them each week . Their is still alot of youth on this team. Not alot of teams turn the ball over with that many penalties have any chance of winning. Shows the depth , grit , and great coaching Graham has in their favor.