SwvaOG

I like Union in this one but it could go either way. Union should be able to do what RV couldn't the last two years....establish a valid running game. If they do that, the QB has a couple good targets at WR and he is very capable as a runner. I could see his legs being the difference.

I like Holston beating Honaker more that I like Graham throwing up a 41-14 win on the Bears. I might watch that Honaker/Holston game. Two excellent signal callers, each in their own way. I feel like Honaker might have one athlete too many for Holston, although the Cavs are fundamentally sound.

Call me crazy but I'm considering drinking the Radford Kool-Aid this year. I'm hesitant because I actually felt they were better last year and they disappointed. I won't go so far as to say Union and Graham are the top two but I'll say they are top-four with tomorrow's winner moving into the Top 2. Union is the only team that can match Graham's coaching advantage and nullify it (despite what the Union fans think, lol.) Union just hasn't had the athletes to compete with Graham the last couple of years.....this year I think they do. As for RV, I had them slightly favored over Union until the injury bug bit them. They lost (5) collective starting positions to those injuries and I felt that Hackney was going to be the best RB in the M7 and an equalizer against Union. That is a big loss. Couple that with the loss of their best deep ball threat and you have an excellent QB and a slot WR left for that offense. As soon as defenses figure out they can shade the slot with OLB, get physical and re-route him, the passing game will suffer some. If they spy the QB with a LB, that will help contain that portion of the offense. I'm still not sold on RV's OL being physical enough to top Union or Graham. I want to like RV's defense but haven't seen them play an offense with a pulse yet.

Union should sell out to stop the run and I think they will do that. Graham won't Ridgeview the Union defense. Union's defensive secondary has some speed, I'll say as much as Graham's WRs but they love them some zone and the safeties get fat off lazy passes between the hashes. One of the biggest travesties last year was RV not punishing the Union odd defensive assignments last year. Union decided to double #7 the whole game and sometimes even shade a third and RV rightfully ran against that and was successful especially with the QB. But several times Union whipped out this alignment and RV never once took the easy TD. I bet if they do this to Graham, the G-men will take it. The photo below is why you leave your OC in the press box, use hand-signals and allow your QB to audible at the line. This particular play was an incomplete 10 yard pass to the left wing in the middle of the field that the MLB should have picked. This is why positional coaching matters folks. You have a CB giving up inside leverage and trying to "funnel" the WR inside where there is ZERO Safety help. This should be a 28 yard TD 9/10 times.

I look at that as not two kids but 4 starting positions not counting special teams. Additionally, they allowed other kids to "slide down" the positional chart and strengthen it. For example, Polier dispatched the #1 LB and #1RB on the team. Well, that #1 LB slid down to the #2 spot and so forth and so on. It is a cumulative trickle effect for improvement. Nothing wrong with it....just needs to be acknowledged that it is a big benefit. If Polier isn't at Union, RV probably wins that game in 2019. If Satterfield isn't at Union, they probably don't beat Graham. Those are pretty fair statements.

I didn't expect Daddy ball to be so bad when I came back to the region. It is everywhere and at every level and in all sports, to include high school. Throw in nepotism like I've never seen. This region almost has a bubble around it that protects these practices. Qualifications seem to be frowned upon in preference for someone "who understands the area". Player development (in specific sports domain and in personal/character) should be THE penultimate goal followed by winning. There is no third on the list....maybe empowering community and school spirit. Player development is severely lacking which is why the area is under-recruited and those that are recruited don't last long. Our kids get to college and are just so far behind the development curve. How do you fix it? Join leagues that require affiliation and coaching certification (Pop Warner, USA football, etc.). Set up camps and have open competitions for positions. That will stop a lot of this Daddy Ball BS. When "coaches" who never played, aren't certified, think concussion protocols are hooey and have never coached at any organized school-sponsored level start showing up in middle school, JV and high school....we have problems. This is why DBs aren't taught basic press or off-man coverage, why WRs and QBs don't understand modern passing concepts and gunners don't cover split outs on punt formations.

I think you are discounting that both of those sports have morphed into travel, camps and year round training as well. I bet that there is almost zero cross over for the All-Region/All-State soccer kids and football. Same with lacrosse...those dudes are hunting scholarships. Baseball is the worst of them all in demanding year-round development. Its so bad that if your kid is only playing from March to June, they not only are behind...they are almost not safe on the field.

Yep, there were a couple years where it was 11 teams, Lol. Then it broke, appropriately so, into the Highlands and the SWD. There were some really good teams that couldn't qualify for the playoffs back then...7-3 and 8-2 teams that didn't make it.

Agreed. I would argue RV was a top 2/3 team last year. Union has had a team or two that might have made a long run if not for Graham/Richlands/Ridgeview. I just like balance. I want to see closer games in the districts and different teams from time to time. I'll say that on the transfer front, Union and Graham are much better positioned than Ridgeview. Union can pull from Lee (and does) and Burton and Central rather easily. Graham can pull Bluefield, Tazewell, Bland and some other WV places rather easily. Ridgeview is much more isolated only "touching" one school boundary with less than a 30 minute commute (Central). It touches Grundy and Eastside's boundaries but those are really long hauls. Point of the story is that sometimes a team is one really good transfer away from being the Region champion.

A quick look at the SWD and M7 since 2017. I use that year as that is when Abingdon joined. 2015 Richlands Union NOTE: Ridgeview's First Season 2016 Richlands Union 2017 Graham Union NOTE: Abingdon's First Season 2018 Graham Abingdon 2019 Graham Ridgeview/Union 2020 COVID COVID 2021 Graham Abingdon 2022 Graham Ridgeview So, several stories: We've moved on from the Richlands/Union power balance of the mid 2010's. The replacement of Richlands with Graham. The rise of Ridgeview as a serious M7 contender and counter balance to Union. Abingdon's inclusion added a legitimate third team in the M7 resulting in (2) ships in the last 5 years. Interesting to note that Central hasn't won a M7 football 'ship but has fielded several good teams that did damage in the playoffs. Also, the winner of this year's Union/Ridgeview game tips the power balance in the M7 in terms of 'ships since 2017. Oh, and Graham wins another SWD title. Lol It is a shame we lost the COVID year as that was a perfect balanced Region where any of four teams could have won it (Graham, Ridgeview, Union and Central).

They've always had talent. When I played them they were always the biggest team we'd play all year....just reloaded 6'3", 290 OL year after year along with big LBs and DEs. From seeing them in the playoffs last year and watching some online...they don't take pride in their defense. If the offense breaks a play, they get down...bad body language and almost not one play where all 11 pursued to the ball. To be fair, a lot of defenses are like that now, though. Poor pursuit to the ball, poor tackling and pursuit angles. If they can get a spark in them on the defensive side of the ball, they would be a problem. I think they are like RV...just a run of good athletes year-in, year-out....with "okay" coaching but RV has a better DC and their OL is a bit better.

Hey Bandana, remember when they jumped on me for saying that Riverheads was the third or fourth best team in 2D last year? Lol. I agree with you although I think RV losing Hackney puts them at #3 behind Graham and Union and the fact that game is at BSG. That magical "home field advantage" wink-wink is hard to overcome in a tight game. The 2D region is well represented by those three teams (I don't include Radford in SWVA). Need a solid #4 and #5 to step up this year. It is getting ridiculous that the SWD can't produce a team to challenge Graham.

Your situation is much different in that soccer and lacrosse have eaten into football numbers directly. Additionally, the good baseball talent in FL aren't spending time on the football fields. I coached youth in Florida and struggled to get kids while being surrounded by overflowing soccer fields. I also think part of the problem is the brand of football this generation wants to play. They want to play spread and pass-oriented offense. The good athletes are often 6', 170 and don't want to be a Wing in a Wing-T. They want to throw and catch the ball. Gone are the days of Power-I and lining up and running your 5'10, 215 pocket muscle RB 25+ times a game. Look at Honaker, Graham and Ridgeview and Union is going that way. They, at least conceptually, are using their athletes. In the past football didn't need the baseball and basketball players....they do now and need to promote a culture of multi-sport athletes. A good AD goes a long way in smoothing this over. It also helps if the head football coach isn't an ego-driven blow-hard and is open to "sharing" athletes during the winter and spring sports.

It is going to be a long year for the Warrior fans. I was shocked at how far they've fallen off defensively. Defensively, they have to take something away from the opponent....either the run or pass. They seemed to do neither.

Yes, Sir! Best athletes on the field....if not, you aren't playing the right kids in the right positions. I'm also a fan of blitz packages with the DBs as well. There are certain situations where you can roll your S over and blitz the CB to a zone (mesh point, etc.) and I like this against running plays. I thought RV should have done this against Graham (and Clements). With the Wildcat this is a good concept that can take away an edge run and funnel back to the middle. You are absolutely right, USE YOUR BEST ATHLETES AS DEFENSIVE WEAPONS!!

Ahhh....no one quite does nepotism like Central. 🤣

They had an identity under the former coach and were a tough out! They would have caused some problems two years ago in the playoffs but Ridgeview was just a bad matchup for them.

The RV-Central matchup isn't what it used to be. Was the nastiest rivalry in the area for the past 3-4 years. Not a lot of fight from the boys in red and white tonight. I miss the nasty matchups and routine upsets.

Central is bad. Defense just isn't what it used to be....seems like teams score so easily in today's game.

Disagree with what? Teaching basic man/press drills because the Safeties aren't being utilized? Seriously? Off man press doesn't disrupt a route...at all. You give up the ability to reroute and affect routes and to protect leverage or areas of the field. There literally is no disadvantage to teaching basic press.....at the very least it teaches your DB's coverage and reaction skills and increases athletic skills. Your gunners on special teams should be DBs and this would aid them as well. Also, numerous concepts employ man-zone....have the S's practice that during their rep. Any decent coach can run two simultaneous drills at once. Why not practice zone blitzes from the S position? Or, most teams have to mix their CBs and S's....usually there are four starters and a fifth that will be the "first in" either position.

Agreed. I think RV had a very underrated big game atmosphere last year and the Ric Flair "Woo!" is fantastic. I hope that becomes tradition along with the "East Bound and Down" after long TD runs or catches. If the stands weren't so far away, it would be a lot better.

I don't think they know enough to teach it in a lot of cases, honestly. I've always felt the least developed position in SWVA is DB, specifically CB.

Pick your poison. I'd taught those DBs to play man-press and throw in some disguised zone. You have to stack the box or you get bludgeoned at 5-7 ypc. What I don't understand is why press is not taught anywhere in SWVA...it isn't in the DC's toolbox. SInce it isn't used then the other team's WRs don't know how to defeat it. A solidly coached set of CBs that can press and follow would mess up those young WRs the whole game and the QB who hasn't seen it either.

The Junior class for RV is good and I absolutely think 3-4 of them should have been varsity last year. I think they missed an opportunity to get those kids meaningful varsity reps and, I felt, two of them should have been starting last year. They have athletes at the second and third level on defense but they don't have a lot of experience. Good thing they get 3-4 "warm-up" games before getting into the meat of their schedule. If I were the RV staff, I'd be working on my defensive game plan for Union now. Stack the box to stuff the RB and you leave those inexperienced but talented DBs exposed and you have to shadow the QB for his threat to run. Last year RV had the luxury of having the fastest kids on the field....don't think they'll have that advantage this year although their team speed is absolutely underrated. If the coaching staffs show up for both teams...that should be a good game.

He could go to Honaker and throw it all over the field.