SwvaOG

They had a two year run with basically zero key injuries and it looks like it caught up with them this year. They will have to out-scheme the Bulldogs to win. We will see if they can do that. I'm not big on Tazewell defensively and I'm not big on RV's offensive scheme. Maybe this will be the game they decide to try to get all the playmakers involved. After watching this team last couple of seasons, I can't figure out the reasoning behind their usage rates for certain kids. It seems like once a defense adjusts to stop a play, they stop using that kid as much. They don't counter. Hell, maybe the staff just like certain kids better and play favorites. That would explain some of the decision making last two seasons.

Something tells me they have a good idea of who it is going to be already.

What about Brandon Breeding? He did a great job with the track program this past year. Obviously has the Blue blood in his veins.

Gents: all good and valid points and material. We need to protect the kids and our beloved sport. I’m shocked that some overarching organization hasn’t been established to govern the safety and establish guidelines for teaching and coaching youth football. Liam: great point about the insurance.

Usually the concussions are from the head hitting the ground. I don't think people realize that "getting your bell rung" is often a mild concussion. If a 10 year old hits an 8 year old, wraps him up and drives his hips on the tackle and there is no helmet-to-helmet (basically a text book tackle). The 8 year old has a good chance of having the back of his helmet smack the field with enough force to move the brain inside the cranium.

I suffered my first concussion doing Oklahoma drill in little league, I was 11 and completely trucked the kid trying to tackle me. My second one came my freshman year doing bull in the ring, going against my older brother who was a senior. I tackled him but he was an All-State fullback and he knocked the living shit out of me. My form was fine but physics came into play. The point being that proper tackling didn't play into either of these scenarios. I probably didn't need to suffer the first concussion. And, listen, my older brother was one of the baddest dudes to ever suit up in this region. Absolutely fearless and played with ill-intent and is, to this day, still talked about by the old-heads. I have no idea how many concussions he suffered but he is now 55 and his mental acuity has greatly diminished over the past 8-10 years. Forgets what he is doing all the time, developed a brutal stuttering habit in the past 3-5 years or so. I'm 100% certain football played a part in that and he suffers from CTE. Not arguing the point for or against Marion but I've always said that there is no benefit for kids under 11 to play tackle football other than their dad's ego and glory.

This is the trend outside of this area. In the south you are seeing a proliferation of competitive flag football and Under Armor sponsors big tournaments and the participation numbers are high. This is the counter to kids leaving football for soccer and other "safer" sports. The push is for less contact early on and I'm sure the science backs it up. I've always said that an improperly ran little league will only drive kids away. Throw in the fact that the majority of little leagues in the area are coached by dad's who kids are skill position players and the focus on safe and proper fundamentals has decreased because the focus is on "scheme plays to get my little Johnny four TDs". When I coached we had to be certified and attended training classes through multiple organizations. There is zero focus on that in the local youth leagues from what I've witnessed. To make matters worse a lot of the youth coaches never played and don't understand the mental side of the game. They run kids off. "Let's see if he is tough enough to stick it out." Football is a fast, physical and intimidating game to young kids, many of who haven't grown into their bodies. Coaches need to teach and mentor those kids and work to keep them in the fold. If I could, I'd pass a law tomorrow that requires all youth coaches to be trained and certified and only allow credentialed personnel on the field.

It isn’t at Union’s level. They finally consolidated into one league two years ago. Strictly Daddy ball coached with no common offense or defense or continuity between seasons. The high school staff isn’t involved at all and I can’t say that I’ve seen open competition….positions seems to be pre-selected. That seems to be the going thing at these smaller schools. It is slowly going in the right direction with the consolidated league, though.

RV can game plan a win here but I’ve yet to see them out scheme an equal team. RV wins IF: Honaker is healthy, Q’Quin is healthy and they scheme short to intermediate routes for their slot #10 and they decide that this is the week to use Scanlon as a Gronklike TE.

A lot of us were. I’ve been pretty consistent with my thoughts about the events and it’s playing out like I warned about.

That offensive scheme isn’t enough to beat the better teams.

Agree. He will not leave although he may regret it in a couple of years. They have most of their talent coming back next year but they have to overcome some systemic issues. They have to diversify their offense and stop being so tendency driven and they have to get back to being a physical, down hill blocking line like they were several years ago during the Adkins years. They have the kids and size but they rarely dominate the LOS, Also, please calls plays for your talent. You have a good slot and a potential All-Region TE if you will use him.

Tarter is a good guy and has his heart in the right place. He was handed a complete shit-show. He stayed one season too long and is getting crucified for it. It is time for him to retire, enjoy visiting his sons and tend to his beloved garden. I wish him a peaceful retirement. Next coach needs to have some piss and vinegar to him and a nice chip on his shoulder. Hopefully the fans will give them some space….gonna take 2-3 years to get good results.

I'm surprised this one hasn't been posted yet as it appears to be a great matchup. What are your thoughts on this one? I'm assuming GC will be looking for some payback for last year's result. I recall RV celebrating the win at mid-field on Legion Field for quite a long time and that didn't sit well with some of the GC fans. Does GC get payback? Can someone in the know give an update on the RV team health status? I know they've been battling illness and injuries quite a bit the last couple of weeks.

Agree on all points. Leaders inspire, motivate and educate and prepare those entrusted in their care for adversity and success. A HC at a good program has to be a fairly energetic person.

Hate to see the tough times at the old Alma Mater. I keep thinking about the what-ifs of if Mance had stayed. If a few things were different the last three years at Richlands probably look a lot different. What if Mance stayed and the two Brown kids didn't move to Florida. If Mance would have stayed Beavers would most-likely have played over there. Adding those three All-State caliber kids and Mance changes the complexion of that team considerably. Not saying Region Champs but definitely much better than today. I think they will start the climb back up to respectability in the next year or so.

I've stated my take on this before. I used to be a "stick it out" hardliner; however, after going through my eldest's high school years/experience, I've change my views substantially. There is a fine line here, though. Parents need to understand that there are absolutely coaches/staffs, etc. that are going to be influenced by nepotism, status and favors in determining playing time and positional choices. There are "hook-ups" and good-ole boy clubs, more so here than any other place I've been. Not all of them and not even most of them, but damn sure some of them. Look no further than Union.....the kid couldn't start at QB at a traditionally run-heavy offense at a 2A school but transfers to a 5A school that has modern passing concepts. Hmmmm.......that's a great move for the kid. Parents must have a realistic assessment of their child's talent. This is where we lose most of the parents. They think their child is D-1 material but have never seen a true D-1 athlete up close. Parents need to understand the impact of their child's positional choice and evaluate if their physical characteristics are capable of that position choice. If your kid is 6'3", 210 and runs a 4.8 40, he isn't a next level WR, he is a TE waiting to happen. Another issue is sometimes your local high school's offensive/defensive philosophy won't allow your child opportunities to shine. This is a valid concern. The talented QB or WR that languishes in a Wing-T offense is hurting their ability to make an impact. I absolutely would relocate my kid if that was the situation. Another thing is sometimes kids want to transfer to a program that is more committed to improving and winning and player development. The good and competitive kids want to win and be in a winning environment. Can't blame them. Now, there are definitely reasons NOT to transfer and not being able to take criticism or compete for starting position are a few of them. This seems to be what most of the board members assumes are the issues in most cases. I don't disagree; however, there are damn sure valid reasons for kids to relocate. There are a lot of talented kids that should have had their college degree paid for or, at least, greatly subsidized through football but stayed in detrimental situations. "But, what about the team?" Good question, so let's ask some of the coaches that. Coach, what about the team? Why did you not start the more talented kid? Most of the time there are good answers; however, sometimes there aren't. So, if you would leave your current job for a better opportunity or more money, can you blame a kid for basically doing the same?

All in the family!

Union should go 50-50 pass (I know they won't be hear me out). There is a lull in overall skill (DB) talent this year and next (IMHO). There just aren't many college (D3 or above) level kids in the region. The region just came off a 2-3 year run of incredible skill talent and not one paper wrote about it. For example, two seasons ago you had the following in 2D alone: WR/Slot: Sage Webb (Richlands) - Penn University (D-1) Cassius Harris (Tazewell) - University of Richmond (D-1) Brandon Beavers (Ridgeview) - Emory & Henry (D-2, had D-1 offer) Koda Counts (Ridgeview) - Bluefield College (NAIA) Cannon Hill (Ridgeview) - No college, several offers (Had D-1, D-2 offers) Carson Jenkins (Gate City) - William & Mary (D-1) Zay Bradshaw (Graham) - Virginia Tech (D-1, Power 5) Haynes Carter (Abingdon) - No college, but All-State WR (Had D-2/3 offers) DB: Bishop Cook (Abingdon) - VMI (D-1) Ethan Mullins (Central) - No college, but 2x All State CB (Had D-2/3 interest) Zay Bradshaw (Graham)- Virginia Tech Koda Counts (Ridgeview) - Bluefield College Braden Wadkins (Graham) - Emory & Henry (D-2) Sage Webb (Richlands) - Penn University Brandon Beavers (Ridgeview) - Emory & Henry Carson Jenkins (Gate City) - William & Mary Cassius Harris (Tazewell) - University of Richmond Haynes Carter (Abingdon) - No college, but All State In that 2021 season you had three kids go over 1,000 yards receiving (Harris and Beavers and I'm rounding up for Carter because he had 950) and Harris set the VHSL single season reception record and still didn't lead the region in TD receptions! (Beavers had 17). The DBs were insane and the weekly matchups were awesome! Bradshaw and Beavers went at each other in the region championship game with each one catching a pass overtop the other. Webb, Harris and Bradshaw battled each other and Webb and Beavers matched up twice and in the Richlands-Ridgeview playoff game the two combined for three spectacular TDs in the last 1:36 of the game....each TD was a "game-winner" until the other guy answered. Carter and Jenkins were spectacular that year with Jenkins being a LEGIT 4.4 guy. Ethan Mullins was an outstanding CB1 and he and Beavers had some good matchups. That kid was talented and had to square off against the other team's #1 WR every game for several years (So he had to cover Carter, Beavers, Jenkins, and Jenkins (Union) just in the M7). He could have easily played ball on Saturdays The region is down talent wise and Union has a cluster of talent in one class--- they need to learn from Ridgeview on what to do and not to do with (3) good WRs. Ridgeview never maximized use of their skill/athletic advantage when they had it the past two seasons. Union WR's basically aren't facing very good DB talent or coverages right now. Union needs to AIR IT OUT!!!!!!

How is the #2 kid for Tazewell doing this year? I can't think of his name (Taylor)...the one who was kicked out of the RV-Tazewell playoff game. He had a lot of physical ability.

RV has one of these every year. Bluefield last year and Abingdon two years ago. Thoroughly not ready and, with teenagers, that is on the coaches. Just my 2 cents but it seems like RV prepares generally for their opponent while Abingdon prepared specifically. Look, there are some capable coaches up there (and several that aren’t a value add) but there isn’t much “fire in the belly” and I think it shows. The DC, IMHO, is the only good defensive minded coach. He needs some help. As for the offense, there are a lot of OCs running around on the Ridge. Not sure how good any of them are. They have several nice players but just seems to lack any type of identity or cohesive plan of attack. Me thinks RV has a new regime in a couple of years. And, it’ll look like more of the same.

It’s ugly on Rose Ridge. Sooner or later they have to face some of their program issues. It will be interesting to see the fall out.

Am I the only one to see the irony in the stadium name?

Thank you!!! I think only Graham has figured this move out.

Agree. The regime change affected him the most. Had RV stayed the course he would be much further developed. His deficiencies are correctable; however, they are the same ones from his Fr year. They haven’t been fixed. Still doesn’t throw short and intermediate routes on time…..waits to see his WR open first and still isn’t allowed to read defenses much. The fact they still try so many deep shots is mind-boggling. Those long TDs from last year were in a very large part due to the WR core. I’m not sure throwing jump balls to 5’8” WRs in double coverage is a smart move.