SwvaOG

I’ll stick to 2A as I don’t watch as many 1A games. M7 1)Union 2) Abingdon 3) Ridgeview 4) Gate City 5) Lee 6) Central 7) Battle Southwest: 1) Graham 2) Richlands 3) Tazewell 4)Lebanon 5) Va High 6) Marion

I actually think this is a good compromise. They get three true home games at their place. I think they rebounded pretty well. If I'm Graham, I'm pushing for five home games in 2026 (whether they are Saturday or not) and then all five home games under the lights by 2027. Once they get there, this will all be a blip.

I will kick it off: Ridgeview: Braxton Deel (S, WR); Sophomore Analysis: RV has tried him at QB put I think he moves to WR where he can be electric. Very good quick twitch and shake/speed in tight spaces. Probably will be a starting DB and should get starting WR looks although RV is loaded at WR.

Who will be each team's breakout players this season. The criteria is that the player did not start last year or was not on varsity at all. Perhaps it was a stud JV player or someone behind a well established starter...or an 8th grader moving up.

I feel like that should be a new thread. I'm a bit more interested in that as well. It isn't the biggest reach to say that the kid going D-1 is someone to "keep an eye on". Lol.

It has some solid points. You can watch the game from any point on the concourse. Most stadiums don’t allow that. It isn’t much further than Ernie Hicks. Ernie just has a steeper home stand. The sound system is top notch, along with the music and sound effects. The fireworks are a great touch and it has the easiest and most ample parking for any stadium. They screwed up having the press box looking right into the sun. And I would have liked for the concourse go under the bleachers. Plus, I would love to see a stadium copy Georgia and do some hedges or something like that.

Not familiar with them. What school are they with?

Agreed. This is their best window in a while although it will open again in two years (Class of '28). The RV squad has a lot of Class of 28 talent as well so those two should battle for M7.

Two talented kids that weren't mentioned and both on the same team.

Slightly closer than Central. RV is closer to numerous KY schools than schools in their own district.

Liam---what is next when you run out of stadiums? You're burning through them fast. Lol.

There are some major hurdles for this region: Obviously low population density and long commute The majority of the region's children are economically disadvantaged, there just isn't a lot of money here Virginia doesn't allow home-schooled children to participate in VHSL activities. This is a strong arm tactic to force parents to send their kids to state schools. Several other states allow home-schooled children to play state sports and some states will do a hybrid model where the student must at least enroll/participant in a few classes in order to earn sports eligibility.

Adkins had several committable D-1 Power 5 and chose Toledo.

Connor Smith, punter from Ridgeview, committed to Arkansas.

They gotta go back to the Michigan style helmets. I always thought that looked good with their colors.

Yes. Often people think of it as “It’s just one kid”. But, take Beavers for instance, looking at an old article he was listed as All Region as a WR, DB, P and PR. That’s four positions. At this level, especially 1A, one or two transfers can really change a team. Not so much as you get to 4A or above.

Wow. That would be devastating to the Warriors. Man, they have fallen from a Region threat in 2019-2021 and busting up Union and RV. BTW, where did their old coach from those teams go to? Did he leave coaching all together? As for RV, I haven’t heard of any additions or subtractions.

RV was badly out coached. I felt bad for those kids. They had more than enough talent to win it all.

Yep. The only one that wasn’t in LL program was Beavers. He moved in from Florida and played 8th grade ball.

Does someone have current pics of Graham's field? I'm curious as to the current state it is in. I don't see how you can't have at least a functioning place to host games for the '26 or '27 season.

Whoaa...I'm not sure about this one. DB and its feeder orgs are still pretty good and I'm not sure Union coaching is better.....more vocal for sure...not sure about overall talent. DB has the luxury of good training and assistants...its the whole program and it is considerable better than a historically average 2A program. A pitcher has to see better hitting talent to get better. Additionally, he will have access to better camps, leagues, medical/sports training and baseball knowledge in that region. The best thing he could do is go play for Francisco, TBH...but DB is a close second. I watched the kid pitch and he is using every bit of what he has, particularly upper body, to get his velo......not much of a strong lower frame. He needs a better two and three pitch if he wants to go to the next level. At that level you have dudes that are 6'3, 210 and can just rock off their core and lower body and hit 90+ with much less effort. Regardless, if he leaves, it will be a big loss for Union...the M7 is a tough 2A baseball conference....and the SWD isn't a slouch.

I think several teams use 7v7 more for their defense than offense. Honestly, if you really think about it...7v7 is the only time the back seven can really focus on coverages and reads. This may honestly be Union's primary focus. Obviously, letting the WRs and QB get on the same page is a key benefit but I think too many people focus on the offensive side of this. I can tell you that I watched RV vs Graham in 7v7 several years ago over at Honaker ...before they met in the Region Championship..2021. Dennis Palmer was extremely active on the field. RV had those good WRs and one them burnt Bradshaw and the CB for a couple of TDs and Palmer was livid and was using every bit of that time to very actively coach up his DBs. Snake was pissed!

Graham needs their own place. They have the chance to make a cozy, right-sized stadium and have it be theirs. The hell with Mitchell.....I always hated playing there....just didn't feel right....like a neutral game. They can make it work using Tazewell's field, especially if they will consider the occasional Thursday game. If I'm Tony and I have a "gimme" game I'd consider a Thursday night game. They could get Graham's field serviceable fairly quickly in terms of brining in some bleachers and a couple of food trucks and portable restrooms.

I think the region as a whole will shift back a bit more toward the run. It feels like the passing attacks have stepped back a bit with Tazewell changing offenses and losing a four year starter, Honaker changing coaches again and RV losing their four year starter and changing coaches. Outside of Tazewell, I don't think people realize that those "pass happy" offenses of the past several years were only throwing the ball about 35% of the time.....not exactly Air Raid. For this region and talent level, I still like a more pro-style, play action based offense that throws it about 25-30% of the time. Think the Detroit Lions....great running game with an excellent play action passing game off that running game.

Will Palmer stay at QB or shift to RB? He looked real good for that middle school team. We’ve heard a bit about Tazewell’s QB replacement and it looks like they will shift away from spread. I’m curious about who replaces Pendergast at Lee. If the coaching staff stays I’m assuming they will continue to throw it. Ridgeview probably starts O’Qulnn’s backup from the last two seasons. He is a senior and a big ole kid. They also have the Deel kid who is cat quick and was the JV starter and the younger Beavers kid who is a big boy and threw it very well on the middle school team last year. Im curious about Abingdon and Gate City as well. Richlands returns their kid and he looks good. Doesn’t VHS return their QB?