GMan

From the Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Virginia is using grades 9-12 for the next R&R period (used only three grades like WV in years past). I updated all the enrollment numbers last week based on the figures released by the VHSL as of March 31, 2004.

Carroll County BELONGS in the RIVER RIDGE DISTRICT. If THEY had any BALLS that is where they would be if THEY had done what the VHSL had recommended! Carroll Co. fans can't accept the fact that they are the largest school in Region IV and continually get whipped on the football field by smaller district/region schools. This past season was an exception for the most part...47-16 does stand out though. Maybe Carroll County should change their school colors to GREEN. Grayson Co. will continue to be a Class A school...they are NOT moving up to AA. From what I've read/heard, it really isn't going to matter in a couple of years anyway...the VHSL is planning to go to four classifications in 2007-08...FINALLY! Carroll Co. will find itself in AAA against the likes of Pulaski Co., Salem, William Fleming, Patrick Henry (Roanoke), Bassett, and Magna Vista.

No changes will occur in Region C. Region D has a new addition in the Lonesome Pine District...Virginia High, who will be the second largest Class A school in the state with an enrollment of 677.

Region IV will be down to 14 schools, as compared to 19 schools in Region III, 30 schools in Region II, and 24 schools in Region I. The Highlands will be a three team district...Abingdon, Marion, and Lee. The Piedmont will have six teams...Bassett, Dan River, Magna Vista, Martinsville, Patrick Co. and Tunstall. The Southwest will remain the same with Graham, Grundy, Tazewell, Richlands, and Carroll Co. There will only be three districts in Region III...there will no longer be a Dogwood District...Appomattox Co. will be moved back to the Seminole and Prince Edward Co. will be moved Region I, Battlefield District.

If you are referring to the "R&R" announcement...nothing in SWVA. They are "restructuring" some districts in NOVA/Fredricksburg area.

BR...when it comes from one of the coaches, you kind of figure that there must be some truth to it.

Well, I guess that means there won't be two Graham-Beaver games next year as I had heard possible rumors of from a fairly reliable source. HMMM, maybe Bluefield is ducking someone....

If you ask anyone from Lee Co., its 3.5 hours to ANYWHERE they have to travel. Last season, they refused to play Graham due to "travel time". But when it got down to "crunch time" and they needed a 10th game...guess who they played...and where...BLUEFIELD AT MITCHELL STADIUM. All Lee wants is a "free ride" to play against Class A schools in the LPD.

No one this year...possibly Grayson Co. in 2005 although they are REALLY trying to join the Highlands (of course, Lee is fighting that...go figure). If Floyd were to move up, they would be a natural fit for either the Piedmont or River Ridge (Rt. 8 runs through both Montgomery Co. and Patrick Co.).

He did apply for the position...haven't heard anything else though...I guess we will have to wait and see...

Bobby Wyatt, former Pocahontas head coach.

Steve Meganbauer, former Hidden Valley head coach.

Players from the SWVAF.com coverage area who were listed in the Virginia Preps Class of 2005 Top 100... A.J. Watkins FS Magna Vista Aaron Marcum OLB 6'0 200 Grundy Andre Hairston RB 5'10 185 Salem Bosco Williams WR 6'2 200 Alleghany Brad Robbins QB 6'2 215 Powell Valley Bryan Webb WR 6'3 190 Salem Carlos Wade WR 6'3 185 Laurel Park Cory Byrd ATH 6'2 205 Abingdon Darryl Gresham OLB 6'4 230 William Fleming Ernie Hodge ILB 6'1 225 Pulaski County John Phillips TE 6'6 230 Bath County Judd Carte WR 6'1 170 Hidden Valley Manuel Becker C 6'4 320 Magna Vista Mijuan Curtis ATH 5'8 165 William Fleming Sergio Jones OG 6'3 292 Northside Steven Cobbs CB 6'0 165 Pulaski County Travis Nelson FB 6'2 240 Galax Trey Craddock OG 6'3 280 Bassett Zach Jones OG 6'2 205 Gate City NOTE: Players were not ranked, only listed in alphabetical order by first name.

Yep...he's going for the TRI-FECTA...SWD Player of the Year in Football, Basketball, and Baseball. Actually...that's the first I've heard of it but I'll check it out...

Casey Herald

A lasting legacy By Robert Anderson At a recent sports gathering at the Salem Civic Center, someone asked a question that stumped the panel: "Who was the football coach at Salem High School before Willis White?" Measure the greatness of White's career in the fact that he was the only person at the table who immediately knew the answer. White joined a short list of former Salem coaches Tuesday when the Timesland coaching legend announced his retirement after a 29-year head coaching career - the last 21 with the Spartans. White's retirement will leave a void in stadiums throughout Virginia. "It sure will," said Franklin County coach and former Salem assistant Billy Miles. "But I think the legacy of Willis White will last forever." White, 62, won four VHSL Group AA Division 4 championships and more than 200 games at Salem. White had just one losing season at Salem - his first at 4-5-1 - and 15 district championships and 10 regional titles counting a five-year stint as the head coach at Patrick Henry. White took two Salem teams and one PH squad to state runner-up finishes. His final team at Salem finished 8-2. White said Tuesday he started thinking seriously about retirement in December. "I think I made up my mind at Christmas," White said. "At the end of every season for about the last five I've always felt like quitting because I'm always so tired and worn out. But it was a little bit different this year." White was given a mid-February deadline by Salem school officials but was granted an extension. White also said the Salem administration was prepared to let him retire from his position as a math teacher while continuing to coach the Spartans. "They offered to let me coach and not teach," White said. "I considered it, but I changed my mind." A Salem source said the school board wanted a guarantee from White on the remaining length of his tenure, from one to three years, effectively reducing him to interim status. White did not accept any stipulations. "The only hard thing was knowing 100 percent this was what I wanted to do," White said. "When do you really know when it's the right time? You just get up in the morning and it's the right time." White, who recently became an ordained minister, said he is uncertain of his future plans. "I've got a lot of things that I think I'd like to do," he said. "I've never had a vacation. I've never really been anywhere other than football games. I'd like to see what else is in the world." White's coaching career nearly ended just after it began. After graduating from Concord (W.Va.) College in 1964, he joined the staff of head coach Hubert Ashe as a 22-year-old assistant at Fort Chiswell High School, where he briefly served as the head coach of the baseball and basketball teams. White once sent his Fort Chiswell basketball team against a Bassett squad coached by Sonny Smith, who became a successful college coach at a number of schools including Auburn and VCU. "We couldn't find a basketball coach who could coach football so I coached basketball for one semester," White said. "I didn't do so well." White became head football coach in 1966 and departed after a 1-9 season in 1968. He not only left Wythe County, he got out of public education altogether and took a job in Roanoke as a management trainee for Allstate Insurance. "I decided I wasn't going to teach anymore," White said. "It was too hard. Coaching just burned me up. I worked hard, I mean hard. I worked 24 hours a day and just couldn't get anything done. I never really wanted to be a head coach. You take so much grief from people." White had more on his mind as a young coach at Fort Chiswell. He was diagnosed with melanoma - a form of skin cancer that metastasized into his lymph system. "I was 24 years old and they told me I couldn't expect to have more than six months to live," White said. White, born in Jeffrey, W.Va., won just nine games in three years at Fort Chiswell. He lasted in the insurance business all of six months before newly-hired Patrick Henry coach Merrill Gainer persuaded White to join the Patriots' staff in 1969. White helped PH to the 1973 Group AAA championship, then took over for Gainer in 1978. White's 1979 team reached the Group AAA final, losing 14-6 to Petersburg. However, history was about to change six miles across the valley. Salem's moribund football program had experienced little success from the time the school was formed in the fall of 1977 until White was hired six years later. "His greatest legacy might be in what he did to rebuild that program from the shape it was in when he got there," Miles said. White's initial season produced his only losing record at Salem, where he led the Spartans to the VHSL playoffs 17 years in a row until the streak was broken in 2000 with a 5-5 record. After years of close calls including a 34-27 loss to Spotsylvania in the 1991 Group AA Division 4 championship game, White and Salem broke through with a 20-12 win over Sherando in the 1996 final at Victory Stadium. Salem then became one of just three VHSL schools to win three straight state championships, beating Lafayette 28-18 in 1998, then stopping Park View-Sterling 21-20 in 1999 and 17-10 in 2000. White had a difficult time listing a career highlight. "The people are what you remember the most," he said. White's biggest strength might have been in retaining his assistant coaches. Five Salem assistants - Larry Bradley, Danny Wheeling, Steve Oliver, Mark Yuhas and John Hinkle - were with White for all 21 years. Jerry Scharnus has been on the staff for 20 years, while Miles coached with White for 18 years before leaving for Franklin County. "The biggest reason for our success was our assistant coaches," White said. "We've had continuity other people didn't have. "You can't win with just talent and you can't win with just coaching. You have to put the two together." Salem officials are now under pressure to hire a suitable replacement for White. Miles, Salem assistant Fred Wagner and Hidden Valley coach and Salem alumnus Stephen Magenbauer could be high on the list. White said he won't be involved in the search. "It's not my school system," he said. "If they need to ask me any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. If not, I'll go where they want me to go." White went into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 2001, not bad for the 10th of 11 children born to parents with no more than a fourth-grade education. White learned plenty from his father, Willis, a coal miner, and his mother, Macel. "The thing I got from him was trying to make sure things were done with class and that they were done the right way," Miles said. "I was privileged to be an assistant under Willis White for 18 years." White certainly is leaving a lasting legacy. Anybody remember Carl Richards?

Along with Richlands...Tazewell, Virginia High, and Abingdon are always good on this end of the state...Patrick Co. is usually pretty good out of the Piedmont. V-High has won 5 AA titles since 1981 and have finished 2nd three more times in that same period...they are probably the closest thing to a perennial power in baseball. Here are the results over the last 20+ seasons in the AA Championship game: 2003 - Amherst Co. 6 Stuarts Draft 0 2002 - Turner Ashby 11 John Handley 8 2001 - Poquoson 3 Heritage-Lynch. 1 2000 - Courtland 7 William Byrd 5 1999 - John Handley 5 Rustburg 1 1998 - Dan River 5 Virginia 4 1997 - William Byrd 4 Tabb 1 1996 - Virginia 7 Nansemond River 2 1995 - Courtland 3 Brookville 0 1994 - Tunstall 3 Tabb 2 1993 - Virginia 1 Turner Ashby 0 1992 - Virginia 4 Harrisonburg 3 1991 - Broad Run 5 Rustburg 0 1990 - Louisa Co. 4 Broad Run 1 1989 - York 4 Jefferson Forest 1 1988 - Jefferson Forest 5 York 0 1987 - Brookville 10 York 0 1986 - Waynesboro 2 Virginia 0 1985 - Midlothian 10 Virginia 7 1984 - Park View-Sterling 6 Abingdon 4 1983 - Virginia 1 Mills Goodwin 0 1982 - Fort Defiance 7 Nelson Co. 2 1981 - Virginia 4 Colonial Heights 0 I played for Graham '82-'85...back when the SWD had 11 teams...the SWD had a team playing for the State Championship 3 of those 4 years...no wonder we always got our butts kicked! LOL

Here's the lowdown... Referees controlled the first three quarters (God I hate watching high school basketball because of this), Princeton's coaching (and Bluefield's lack there of) made the game close for three quarters, Bluefield's talent blew the game open in the fourth.

Sorry guys, but Sheldon Clark is AA, even in KY. Sheldon Clark from the KHSAA website. Even if they will be moved up to AAA in KY, with their enrollment they will still be considered Class AA, Division 3 for the VHSL rating system. Scroll down to page 17 of 26...you will see Sheldon Clark, KY 3...Class AA, Division 3 But at least its better than playing a Class A school.

Any team that wins a State Title on the field, court, mat, whatever deserves the right to gloat. I never said Graham fans wouldn't...I merely said that Gretna fans have every reason to since they did have a great team and especailly after what that school/program/fans suffered through just a few short years ago! Win your first State Title in football and then we will see how much you (Grundy) will gloat...I promise it will rival Gretna's "spirit" (if not surpass it)!

Let them enjoy their Championship! After what they went through several years ago...44 game losing streak...they deserve to bask in the limelight...and besides, they had a DAMN GOOD team! Maybe next year Grundy will have a shot at knocking them off...and if they do and go on to win the State Title, then you and your brothers, and all the Golden Wave fans will deserve the opportunity to do the same!

I must admit...as a kid growing up I was a fan of the Big Red Machine! But once the Bluefield cable system started carrying WTBS, I quickly became a Braves fan...yes, I pulled for them when they sucked before the days of Murphy, Horner, and Chambliss. Gonna miss GM in a Braves uni...

Lance...I think you may have to put up another message board soon! LOL

Bradshaw signs (from The Sabre.com)