mhsalum

[ QUOTE ] martinsville is definately improved. [/ QUOTE ] the graham/martinsville game last year was frankly awful to watch. neither team impressed me at all. mhs was especially bad in their first game of the year. in the end (or more specifically in the 2nd half), graham's line completely controlled the game. now having said that, mhs returns nearly everyone off that team that got better and better with every game last year...and from what i've heard so far, the line-play has improved 1000%. graham still has to be the favorite having already played a live game...not to mention it's over 4 hours away at mitchell.

i read a story about a month ago in the usatoday...walker has already played 4 years. his eligibility has run out

no doubt the bulldogs have the pieces to give them a game...last year's contest was just a battle on the lines. martinsville held it's own a bit very early, but was frankly manhandled and worn down after that. this year i'm hopeful that the line problems have finally gotten better. last year's contest was also affected b/c the bulldogs were still trying (and struggling mightily) to implement the spread offense. the fact that the game is on the road doesn't help mhs...a 4+ hour bus ride is never a good thing...especially the first game of the year. also, graham will have already played a game so that doesn't work in our favor. for these reasons i'd have to say the gmen should be the favorite early on. we'll know a lot more the next few weeks after the dogs scrimmage two great football playing schools in william campbell and salem. either way...i'm ready to watch it all unfold.

in my opinion - this has the potential to be the best bulldog team since the teams of the late 90s to around 2000 that made it deep in the playoffs. the speedy athletes, as always, are there...there should be a lot of experienced good-sized kids to go along with that speed. hopefully this year it won't take them 2/3s of the season to finally put it all together.

Area football practices 'heat up' By Andrew Stevens and Matt Becker Bulletin Sports Writers With exactly one month to go before the first official game is played, area high school football teams are in full swing. Martinsville, Bassett and Patrick County all started their practices this week. Magna Vista is in camp this week and will start its practices on Monday. It's been business as usual for each team, but the one thing no one could have predicted was the weather. With temperatures nearing triple digits every day this week, coaches have had to decrease field time and increase water breaks. Bassett Coach Jay Gilbert has cut his outdoor practice time from five hours down to three. "The last two days, we've broken at 11, and gone inside and done weight training and conditioning," he said. "When it gets this hot out, you have to do more indoor stuff." For the players, who try do their best to be ready for any situation, the weather is always an x-factor. "You can't prepare for the heat," senior Jerry Brown said. "All you can do is stay hydrated and take regular water breaks." Patrick County, which started school on Thursday, is avoiding the blazing heat of the midday sun altogether and holding its practices at night. "Practicing in the (evening) helps," Cougars Coach Brad Dalton said. "But we're keeping an eye on them and making sure they're OK." Dalton is one of two first-year coaches in the area, and a lot of his focus is on making a smooth transition. "It's been smooth so far," he said. "A lot of our offensive and defensive schemes are the same as last year." The other new face on the sidelines this season will be at Magna Vista, where John Curia will don the headset for the Warriors. "Since I'm new, there's a lot of terminology, so we've really been spending a lot of time trying to teach that new terminology," Curia said. "This is just our second day out here, so there's a little bit of confusion. Plus, we're teaching the coaching staff too." The learning curve will have to be short for the players, especially the seniors, who have to learn an entirely new system. "It looks like it's going pretty good so far," said senior Jonathan Williams. "I hope it just continues that way, that's all. I hope we don't have any bumps in the road." Since they're still in camp, Curia doesn't know how many players will show up at the first day of practice. He said he won't cut anyone, but if Thursday was any indication, there could be some stiff competition for playing time. "Today we just worked with quarterbacks and receivers, and we had over 30 kids just for those positions," Curia said. Gilbert does know how many athletes he'll have, and he's excited about it. "We had 127 sign up, but not all of them wanted to get out of bed at eight in the morning," he said. "We're down to 106 right now, and we're going to keep them all." Gilbert said those athletes will be divided between varsity and JV, and hopes that enough interest might even lead to the creation of a 9th-grade team. Martinsville has a little more than 70 athletes right now, about half of which will end up on the varsity team. The Bulldogs are also cutting back on their field time, trimming up to an hour off their practices the last two days. But the story at Martinsville this year is not numbers or the heat. Nor is it a new head coach, although it will be next season. This is the last year that Taylor Edwards will work the sidelines for the Bulldogs, ending a career that has spanned more than two decades. "It's just business as usual right now; I'm as excited as ever," he said. "I don't think it will even dawn on me until the season is over."

odd fact....i work with his step-dad (an old narrows grad) in winston salem, nc. yes he drives from princeton to winston to work. i've heard keith was an absolute stud, although i've never seen him play. i get updates on which schools are looking at him quite often.

since someone asked down below....these are the programs with 500 are more victories through 2005...did it fairly quickly, so i hope i didn't miss anyone. Hampton 721 EC Glass 620 Woodberry Forest 582 Episcopal 559 Appalachia 552 Radford 539 Andrew Lewis/Salem 536 Handley 528 Harrisonburg 528 Petersburg 522 Martinsville 517 GW Danville 505 John Marshall 500

how about a little further down the mountain in patrick county....former pchs cougar, turned unc tarheel, turned long-time new england patriot...tim goad.

i know you were referencing the BIG 3 sports....but also magna vista won the golf title....and just for kicks i'll include the facts that dan river just won the girls' softball title while mavahi's girls tennis team made it to the state semis. big year for the piedmont!

i would doubt he's a candidate...first of all he just recently moved to va within the last few years. more importantly, he's as old...if not older...than coach edwards is. i'm sure loads of people will apply.

i wouldn't know for sure, but i think 400 students is a tremendous stretch. they used to have 20-30 students per grade. i realize they have more students now, but i wouldn't think it's more than 40-45 per class now which would put them in the area of 175 students....and roughly half of those would be female and another large part are the kind of kids i mentioned before that simply aren't football playing types. (trying to say that nicely). however, i've always thought it was only a matter of time before carlisle tried to field a football team....either way, it'll be interesting to follow....and as far as replacements for coach edwards...i think both bobby dalton and kelvin jackson both might be interested as far as in-house guys. although coach jackson might prefer the head basketball job instead.

i haven't heard that about carlisle....and it can't be true at this point simply for the reason that they don't have enough students to pull it off. as far as i know carlisle still only has in the area of 50 total boys (at the very most) in the 9th thru 12th grades....and most of those just plain and simply aren't the football playing type. from what i hear, the average carlise tuition paying parent is tired of footing the bill for the so-called carlisle recruits anyways (ask around xdog and see what the yearly cost of tuition is at carlisle - i'll bet that you will be very, very surprised...or shocked!)...so basically what i mean is that i'm guessing that the kids that have left the public schools in the past to play basketball at carlisle is not gonna happen as much as it has lately. just my opinion.

i wouldn't say that's necessarily the case...taylor's been taking heat from the often fair-weather bulldog fans for years! you win 7 or 8 games every year for nearly 25 years...never having a losing season for that same time period and some people still can't be happy. although i guess the 5-5 and 4-6 seasons haven't helped things as of late. also, i would guess seeing some of the talent we've had come through here it's kind of a tough pill to swallow that he only coached one team to a state title...and unfortunately that's sometimes how true success is measured. ***the teams of 1998-2000 may have very well won titles had they been in d3 where they belonged and not had to run up against salem***. (you can't live on 'what ifs' though) this wasn't a very big breaking news story to me; i knew it was coming. of course i've got pretty good sources in and around mhs athletics. the other district foes getting bigger and better certainly haven't helped things, but i wouldn't say they've caused any more heat than he was already used to catching. the varsity team should be fairly stocked this year with returnees and the jayvee team was pretty dominant a year ago, so he's not leaving the next man empty handed.....it should be interesting to see the interest in the position once he's gone...kinda like how crazy it'll probably be once the basketball head coaching position is vacated... and you heard it here first...taylor will go out in his final season as piedmont district champs.

Edwards to call it quits By MATT BECKER Bulletin Sports Writer When Taylor Edwards took command of the Bulldogs' sideline 28 years ago, few could have envisioned the success he would have. The Martinsville football coach amassed 196 wins, 11 district titles, seven regional titles and a state championship in 1988. The Bulldogs also finished as state runners-up twice during his tenure. On Tuesday, Edwards announced that the 2006 season will be his final season at the helm for the Bulldogs. "It's something I've been thinking about for the past few years," he said. "This wasn't something I decided all of a sudden. I've been thinking about it, and it felt like it was time to make a change." Edwards informed Martinsville Athletic Director Bill Scheib and Principal Tom Fitzgibbons on Tuesday morning, then told his team at a meeting later in the afternoon. Fitzgibbons said that despite some initial disappointment, he was both happy for Edwards and appreciative of his timing. "I'm excited for him because I know he has a lot of hobbies and other things he'd like to pursue, and now he'll get to," Fitzgibbons said. "And it's also one of the classier things to do, to tell us this far in advance and give us time to find a replacement. "It's going to be strange (in 2007) to look down on the field and not see him standing there in his shorts, regardless of the weather." Fitzgibbons also said he would like Edwards to play a role in finding a replacement. Scheib also was sad to hear of Edwards' decision, but he said he was grateful for having known him. "When God created a football coach, he created Taylor Edwards," Scheib said. "It's been a privilege and an honor to work with him." While the decision was not an easy one, Edwards said coaching had taken its toll on him over the years, and he felt it was a good time to move on. "I'm 58, I'll be 59 in November, and I feel like I've had a good run," he said. "Being a head coach, you have to be involved in everything. It takes a lot of energy." Edwards said the timing of his decision was based on his concern for the team's well-being. "I thought it was best to get this out front and give the powers that be enough time to find a replacement," he said. "I didn't want to leave a bare cupboard here."

i can't really do a top 5 or whatever, but i'll be the first homer to throw my alma mater's hat in the ring... here's the list i quickly came up with for martinsville (i may have overlooked something, but i believe it's fairly accurate)... 13 state titles in basketball, 3 runner-ups 1 runner-up in baseball 2 state titles in football, 3 runner-ups golf 2 state team titles, 7 runner-ups -----6 individual titles, 5 runner-ups soccer 1 runner-up tennis 3 team runner-ups -----1 individual title, 2 runner-ups -----1 doubles title, 4 runner-ups track 1 team runner-up (with numerous individual titles) wrestling 3 individual state champs i doubt many schools can match that kind of success in all sports across the board

what's more interesting is that the writer barely even mentions why this game was called before it ended...the martinsville bulletin showed a picture though...unbelievable Girls: Bassett 4, Magna Vista 0 By ANDREW STEVENS Bulletin Sports Writer One great thing about sports is that the pains of a difficult season can often be erased with just one win. Bassett's girls soccer team took a big step to erasing some difficult losses this season with a 4-0 victory over Magna Vista at Bassett on Friday. Led by senior Liz Teague, who finished with a hat trick, Bassett (2-5-2, 1-2-1 PD) put together arguably its best performance of the season. "I feel like it came together and it feels good," Bassett Head Coach Lindsay Favero said. "I'm very proud of the girls. I think they played like they could have been playing all along, and they finally believed in themselves. I couldn't be prouder." Teague got her team on the board in the 20th minute of the first half, after taking a pass from Helen Alley and squeezing a shot through the legs of Magna Vista (1-4, 0-1-0 PD) goalie Kerry Zimmermon. Bassett increased its lead in the 35th minute of the first half, as Teague fired a shot from at least 20 yards out after receiving a pass from JaSarah Greer. The blast had plenty of force behind it, as it slipped through Zimmermon's hands, giving Bassett a 2-0 lead. The Lady Bengals held a 7-3 shots-on-goal advantage in the first 40 minutes of play. Teague completed her hat trick in the 17th minute of the second half thanks to an assist from Crystal Durham. Teague's goal increased the Bassett lead to 3-0, making any hopes of a Magna Vista comeback a lot bleaker. "She (Teague) certainly is a strong finisher, and that was proved tonight," Favero said. "She got a hat trick and set up a couple other nice shots for other people. It was only 4-0, and she had three of those goals, and we needed that." Bassett finished off its scoring in the 23rd minute when Kayla A. Brown was credited with a deflection off a Lady Warriors' defender that found its way into the net. The game was ultimatley called in the 30th minute, after a goat wandered onto the field, interrupting the game for the third time. "The ref said that ... there is nothing he could do about it," Magna Vista Head Coach Alton Moore said. "He felt like the goat staying on the field wasn't safe for the players, (and) that he was just going to go on and stop the game now." After a difficult 3-0 loss at Martinsville on Tuesday night, Favero was pleased with her team's ability to respond in the face of adversity. "It feels great, it feels great," Favero said. "I'm very proud of the girls, because we've had a losing season so far. This is our second win. And the fact that they were able to believe in themselves and come back after a tough start like that shows a lot about their courage and determination." Meanwhile, Moore remained confident his team would be competitive in the PD. "We'll be fine," Moore said. "The next time we play them we'll be fine. We'll be ready for districts. We're gonna be fine."

what the writer probably doesn't realize is that with the addition of the river ridge and blue ridge...the "new region iv" will now have the most decorated program in aa in basketball (martinsville), the powerhouse in football (salem) added to the already strong football traditions of several other swva teams, the powerhouse in soccer (blacksburg), the two most decorated teams in wrestling (cburg and grundy), several of the best golf programs in the state, not to mention the stature of the teams like cs and hv in things such as volleyball, swimming and tennis. i think with the new region iv, it will be anything but time to sing the blues.

the last line is the clincher... http://www.shenandoah.com/stories/?headlineID=8120

a good 'all sports' website kinda like the one gw has for their football team would be great. i'm sure loads of people would frequent it if one existed. i keep thinking something like that should be mentioned at a booster club meeting.

martinsville started slow last year, but ended pretty strong. they slipped into the playoffs and had bassett beaten in the first round, but made some mistakes near the end and gave the game back. ANYHOW, that team was still mostly sophs and juniors...this year's team should be very solid. the jayvee team was very good too..... i'm afraid they may lose some players though. one for sure, upcoming junior jd tyree...who was becoming a great DE...is moving to georgia. i know i'm interested to see because it's been a few years now since the bulldogs have been a legitimate threat on the gridiron and they should have that capability this next time around.

no shot on sam here, but he's not the one we'd like to have back. getting snoop back...with a better team attitude...would be a good thing though.

i know two other drewry mason spartans who are now conformed bulldogs of more than 30+ years...my parents! but then again they sent 4 kids through the m'ville school system. anyhow, as far as returnees...i'll take a shot at it...emanuel reid, tracy hairston, ashmond hughes, johnathon burman, arthur dandridge are all juniors (and i guess you could include both sam hairston and victor "snoop" hairston in that group) although they didn't finish the season with the team. d'andrew jackson and mike hughes are sophomores..........as for the jayvees, i believe they went undefeated in piedmont games and won the jayvee championship over dan river. they actually were mostly ninth graders.

Friday 08/18 Away *Scrimmage - William Campbell * -- 6:00PM -- -- -- Friday 08/25 Away *Scrimmage - Salem * -- 5:00PM -- -- -- Friday 09/01 Away Graham -- 7:30PM -- -- -- Friday 09/08 Home Rustburg -- 7:30PM -- -- -- Friday 09/22 Home Halifax -- 7:30PM -- -- -- Friday 09/29 Home Franklin County -- 7:00PM -- -- -- Friday 10/06 Home Gretna High School -- 7:00PM -- -- -- Friday 10/13 Away Magna Vista -- 7:00PM -- -- -- Friday 10/20 Home Dan River -- 7:00PM -- -- -- Friday 10/27 Away Patrick County -- 7:00PM -- -- -- Friday 11/03 Away Tunstall -- 7:00PM -- -- -- Friday 11/10 Home Bassett -- 7:00PM -- -- --

6'7 justin adkins from tunstall

game was very close the whole way. i think it was 45-40 with just under 3 mins to play. great effort by grundy. i'd bet justus scored 20+. bassett looked pretty bad, but i'd suspect the wave's hustle had a good bit to do with that. teams down this way just don't get to see a lot of zone and that threw bassett off some i think...much like what i hear happened at the mhs/abingdon game. grundy dictated the tempo of the game and i'm sure that's the last thing the coaches of bassett wanted.