ImFromOutEast

After the first week of games in the East I'd say don't sleep on Westmoreland (formerly Washington & Lee). They got their QB back after he suffered a fractured ankle in week one a season ago. Also, Northumberland has a number of athletes who should make them a sleeper. I believe the entire 4X100 state champion relay unit is on the team. Also, Sussex Central isn't quite what most thought they would be as they have 5 players from last year's team who are no longer with the program (I'll let you figure that one out, shouldn't be too difficult). Also, Cenral-Lunenburg is now Class 2.

I am surprised that Class 2 King William has only 33 on its varsity roster. Class 1 Essex has 40, but a handful of them are freshmen. After 3-years of great success, Class 1 King and Queen Central has just 17 on is varsity roster. Class 1 Mathews is not fielding a team, varsity and JV. Speaking of JV, several of the small schools out this way are not fielding JV programs. That's a huge problem for Essex which has enough kids for a JV team, but their nondistrict opponents are not fielding JV teams with the exception of Class 4 Jamestown which Essex has not scheduled for a JV game. The fear is Essex might not have a JV team if they can't come up with some nondistrict opponents. If hey only play a district schedule their first game won't be until the second week in October and coaches are concerned kids will quit instead of pracitcing for 9 weeks with no games. when there are a couple AAU teams out this way.

Any similar stories about stadia in SWVA?

I'm going to tell you about the "old" field at King and Queen Central. Before I start let me say the current facility is located on the same property but runs north to south, while the "old" field ran east to west. Central is scheduled to upgrade its lighting system to college level quality in time for the 2023 home opener. Now, Central didn't have a home field the first 2 or 3 years they played football so their "home" games were at West Point. When they finally got a stadium, it was a combo/field with the lighting system supporting the baseball field which had no outfield fence. The football field continuously had mole problems resulting in twisted ankles and turf-monster tackles. One time a running back was en route to a long distance TD run when he tripped over the pitching rubber that had been left on te field! Seating at the stadium was sparse. I'd say it could accommodate no more than 250 so there was a whole lot of standing going on. The scoreboard was just large enough to display the score, the time and had 4 dots below the time to indicate what quarter the game was in. The clock operator sat in a school desk just below the clock. The console was on the desk and had a wire running to the scoreboard. The stadium lighting was equipped with incandescent bulbs which meant the field was dimly lit. I recall a game played there in the rain and you could hear the light bulbs exploding from contact with the rain!

The ironic parking issue in Class 1 out this way is that the school with the most down-trodden football program is Lancaster. Large parking lot with two access points. Only issue is if you leave and go north on Rt 3 your are on a two-lane highway for 17 miles. Rappahannock has 2 lots with the back lot being larger. But if you happen to park in the front lot (which is in front of the school with single spaces down the length of the building) you can depart right on a four-lane highway. That's the only school out this way that has parking along a 4-lane highway, although King William isn't far from Rt. 360 (about 3/10 or 4/10 of a mile) and neither is Essex which is about a mile from 4-lane Rt 17. Middlesex also is about half-a-mile from Rt. 17. But, those distances seem longer when you're backed up in the parking lot or on the two-lane stretch of road leading to the four-lane highways.

Is the Coalfield Progress in Norton still any account? They used to have great coverage, so awesome that I subscribed to it in another lifetime. Had a great football preview section as well although that status changed in my mind when it became a "Fall Sports" guide.

What daily/weekly newspapers (or online sources) provide the best high school sports coverage in SWVA. I would guess that the most drive traffic to their website instead of a print edition. That's what the paper in Richmond does. Next to no high school coverage in the print edition until playoff time and even that is a smattering of games. the Fredericksburg paper once had a great prep staff and staffed 7-8 games on Friday nights with staff or stringers, plus provided an extensive roundup of other games. Its coverage was so good that it got to the point where high school football had its own section (usually 8 pages including college football previews, etc) on Saturday mornings during the regular season. All that ended when they shut down their printing plant and switched to being printed by the Richmond paper with an insane early deadline Now Friday night game coverage -- with a smaller staff -- is included in the Sunday edition. I understand that most Lee Enterprises papers have gone to publishing their print editions only 3 days a week now. I started his topic because someone mentioned one of the football programs in SWVA hosting a media day.

Do any of you know of any schools in SWVA with parking lot issues? Out this way, most parking lots are adjacent to the gymnasiums. I like to get to the stadium early to park close to the football stadium, realizing it might take a while to get out of it once the game is over. There's one school whose football field is well behind the building. It's back parking lot is entirely gravel. Yes, GRAVEL. You park there then have to walk across a foot bridge to gain access to the stadium. There's another school that has about 50-75 spaces next to the football stadium with the primary parking lot up a hill next to the gym. Many folks park across the street at a church. I could go on and on about lots not being large enough to accommodate football crowds out here in Eastern Class 1 football.

Any football played on combination football/baseball fields? There used to be four out this way but that number is two with one simply being played on the baseball outfield. At the other he visitor's sideline is part of the dirt infield but that may no longer be the case as that particular facility is no longer used for baseball.

Some good thoughts and observations right there!

While the small schools in Eastern Virginia have been far from state powerhouses when it comes to championships, I feel part of the issue is that interest in the sport out this way has been on a decline for the past decade or more, especially post-COVID. The quality competition just isn't there. When Essex won its state championship in 2009 they had around 60 kids on the varsity roster and that was without any freshman and a few sophomores. Now they are lucky to get 35 or so with declining enrollment. When they came back post-COVID I believe their JV team had only around 18. Look at Lancaster this past school year. State champs in basketball and track & field and their baseball team reached the state semifinals. But, their football team has been really rotten for years. Some programs out this way are fielding only varsity teams, while I'm hearing Mathews will not field a varsity or JV team this fall.

What high school football stadiums in SWVA have field turf? Out this way none of the Class 1 schools have it nor does Class 2 King William. Go up north in the Fredericksburg area, King George has it as do every school in Spotsylvania County (All Class 4 I do believe). I know there are pros and cons about it. A former coach in these parts didn't like to play @ King George because he said his players would usually come away with more injuries than typically seen playing on a grass field. I saw one talented freshman RB suffer a knee injury @ KG that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.

In 1A, everyone seems to pick Essex......well because they are Essex. But, they took a tremendous hit at graduation time. Probably a year away from being a serious state title contender, especially with enrollment shrinking. King & Queen also took a big personnel hiit as they had around 12 seniors on a 22-man football team. Their JV lost to Essex like 76-0 last year. Colonial Beach won just once last year. I'd say look out for West Point and Westmoreland. In 1B, everything I'm hearing (which isn't much) is that Sussex is the prohibitive favorite. They play Essex in the season opener. In 2A, I agree that it should be a two-horse race between King William and Poquoson. While not as good as their state champioinship team, I'll predict that KW will field a team that was better than the one that lost to Poquoson in the playoffs last season.

Can any team dethrone the Riverheads dynasty?

Casto was head coach at Chincoteague back in 1990. No idea if he was in that role prior to that year or how many years thereafter. It's always strange when stories mention his "career" record his Chincoteague record is not included.