TaterHater

RV needs to be better at the LOS to be able to throw the ball and run. They don't have the line to pull it off this year. The only reason you had success in the second half against Union was the loss of one of their better cover players. Most of the night the QB was under pressure and making bad throws and mistakes. Same thing happened when Abingdon brought pressure all night. The only way you get better at passing is to design plays that allows the QB time to throw (sprint out) or happen in less than 3 seconds.

I guess I confused you by posting a Non-Football article in a football forum. At no time did the writer mention football or football state championships. And YES the VHSL had a 3 class system for all other sports EXCEPT football prior to 2013. By adding the 6 class system they increased the number of OVERALL sports state championships. It was an article about what the possible future of the VHSL will look like when the fall of 2023 comes. Why I referenced it was to make a suggestion that come 2023 Riverheads could be in a classification were they are no longer the big boy in the class whooping all the smaller kids butts.

Getting back to Union vs Abingdon........Abg is going to come at Union with a 5-2 base (3 man front if you only count down lineman 🙂) I'm going to compare them against Christiansburg since they have a similar offensive scheme when you take the T way from Union. Against Christiansburg they had the weak side DE play a wide 9 technique when CB ran single wing. CB had pretty good success running the single wing and single back spread. CB could also throw the ball pretty well so that may have helped with run lanes. CB ran a 4-4 defense against Abingdon. Most of Abingdon's yardage on runs was outside the tackle. Number 24 will be hard to tackle not sure how Union's undersized OLB will fare in this game.

I think bullets were for the LB's, and robber R/L for the rover back.

Can't blame the D ends for the loss to Central. Central gained their yards between the tackles and in the air. Like I said earlier talented players put in the wrong position played a big roll in the defensive wows. Also, under Jones at PV in the 4-4 the D ends were expected to stay home, take on the block and maintain outside contain. The only time they did anything different was a C blitz, rarely called on non passing downs.

My bad.....I didn't realize having the ends play in a 2 point stance changed the defensive front from a Bear front to a hybrid 3-5 formation of some sort.

Bullpoop....they had 5 men on the line of scrimmage on every play against Central. WCYB has the game on their FB page if you want to re-watch. The problem with that game strategy on defense was putting players in positions that didn't suit the talent/capabilities.

I don't think you will see Union run a 3 man front on defense. They have only ran that base defense in two games Richlands and Graham. I'd look for a 4 man front that has been typical for most games this year since Abingdon runs mostly out of I and not a lot of spread formations. Rain could be a problem if the ball stays wet....however both offenses can run the ball well from under the center and that takes away the bad snap potential. It helps that Union has probably the best center in the region.

What about the idea that in 2023 each class will become its own governing body? At that point can 2A say they want to have two sub divisions, 2A-1 with enrollment of 376 - 550 and 2A-2 with enrollment of 550 - 750?

I read some interesting articles about the proposals: https://www.timesnews.net/sports/vhsl-committee-proposes-dropping-from-6-classes-to-4/article_e542e0fc-12ad-58c4-ac9d-fb6a176a9ceb.html https://newsvirginian.com/sports/high-school/vhsl-exploring-classification-changes/article_1c4dc2a4-13f2-11eb-8285-5be7edf23249.html One thing I found interesting was the statement "One interesting twist is that no matter what the classification setup looks like in 2023, the VHSL will start allowing each class to be its own governing body. For example, if Class 1 decides to make a rule change in a sport because of school size, it can do so and it will have no affect on the other classes." Does this mean 2A if they choose can have sub divisions? Also, the using grades 9 - 11 for numbers will shrink a school in size.

What are the possibilities that we see Riverheads competing in 2A in 2023?

The point was that the VHSL seems to be leaning towards a 4 class system. https://www.timesnews.net/sports/vhsl-committee-proposes-dropping-from-6-classes-to-4/article_e542e0fc-12ad-58c4-ac9d-fb6a176a9ceb.html With the proposed 376 - 751 for class 2 things would get interesting, especially for teams like Riverheads.

I guess that's why Union has zero football state championships....If the trend continues the results will be the same.

How would you like 4 classifications? https://newsvirginian.com/sports/high-school/vhsl-exploring-classification-changes/article_1c4dc2a4-13f2-11eb-8285-5be7edf23249.html

Abingdon is strong up front, looks like they run mostly 5 man front against their opponents on defensive side of the ball. On offense they run the I mostly, with a run first mentality. Central had a lot of success running the ball against them using single wing. Union CAN NOT start the game running the spread offense like they did against Central! It will put them behind the 8 ball and they can not afford that. They will need to run an offense with TEs to maintain the LOS. The I formation would probably be there best bet. They tend to leave defensive lineman unblocked in the T and I'm not too sure that will work against Abingdon's defensive front. On the defensive side of the ball Union has to get better at the OLB position. It's KILLING them. They are young and it shows. The MLB play is lights out against the run but wasted on pass plays....they might as well send them on a blitz vs wondering around in the secondary looking lost. The added pressure will help against Abg's passing game. If Union plays Union ball and comes out running and cleans up LB play on defense they can win, it will be close. If Union tries to run the spread against Abg than expect a similar score that Abg posted against RV. If Union fails to clean up the LB play than expect Abg to win by 10 - 14 pts. Side note....does Union believe in special teams play? They seem to give up a lot of points on special teams. You can't win close games and lose on special teams. It could be the deciding factor in this game.

The LPD no longer exists. IMO it was the SEC of VHSL 1A back in the day.

Will this be ugly or a close one?

They'll have to give the kicker a break after all those kickoffs and extra points 😁

1st qtr Central 21....Lee 0 2nd qtr Central 35....Lee 0 3rd qtr Central 42....Lee 0 4th qtr Central 50....Lee 7

Chilhowie struggled with JIB.....the fake field goal late in the 4th was the difference maker in the game. I know it was early in the season but both teams looked pretty equal. It seems like JIB lost the will to win after that game and have continue to lose ever since.

1. The Bunch kid has the size and strength and can throw the ball great across the middle. His coaches could help him out by matching the play calling to his strengths. I think his weakness is deep sideline routes. 2. The Church kid is fast, makes good decisions. I think his coaches understand his abilities and match the play calling to his strength. I think his weakness is physical strength and ability to break tackles. 3. The O'Quinn kid has a great arm. I think his receivers make him look good. His coaches could help him by matching the play call to his strength, quick slant and screens early to open the field. I think his weakness is being young and the bad decisions under pressure.

DC is lagit dumb@$$....who puts in a new defense package during pre-game warm ups??????

If Abingdon can get pressure on the RV QB and RV's run defense allows the same numbers it did against Union......I see a win for Abingdon If RV controls the LOS on both sides of the ball they will win.

The biggest hole he left to fill was on defense. It showed the 2nd half with Ridgeview and at Central.

Does Union bounce back and make a statement? Does Richlands play like days of old and become spoilers in the park?