This one shocked me. Bluefield looked really bad against Richlands. I thought this would be a back and forth offensive showcase. Did Tazewell relax a little after the rivalry win last week?
It was a perfect storm of calamity.
Some of it was that Tazewell’s had a pretty trying week as a program also. Some of it was a lack of intensity after last week’s big win. Some of it was the fact that Fuller had the game of his life at QB, hitting every WR on the numbers in stride. Some of it was that Creasy had without question his worst game of the season and telegraphed passes, which is very uncommon for him.
Aside from one 65-yard run, which was the direct result of a momentum swing, Tazewell bottled up Bluefield’s running game pretty well. The secondary, though…difficult to watch.
Conversely, Tazewell moved into Bluefield territory 9 times on the evening. 4 of those drives ended on turnovers and 2 more ended on 4th down stops.
Bluefield executed nearly perfectly, and Tazewell wasn’t right from the opening kickoff. Bluefield’s still Bluefield, and there’s a reason they played Graham to a 4-point game. I think they’ll revert to the mean from here on out, but they were plenty superb last night. My hat’s off to them.
229 for Union was a typo on my part. Riverheads didn't have Westmoreland on the original master schedule, I hadn't updated theirs since, so that would give them 9 wins.
TW/TS and FC/Hon were basically coin flips for me.
At most I would give CH a win over Meadowbrook, but I truly have no clue about those teams.
As for Lebanon, I think they are really coming around, so I gave them both wins.
And this gets back to Tazewell being in a "hole." 211 or 218, they're still 6th. Very weird to change that many points and not make a difference up or down. Definitely a unique year!
Did you remember to give all the Class 2 teams Class 2 points for their wins over the Class 1 schools? That looks to be the difference.
Under your scenario of Lee and Central...
GC - 8 pts for Richlands, 16 for Radford, 30 for Abingdon, 20 for Marion, 32 for Union, 32 for Lebanon, 28 for Lee, 20 for Battle, 26 for Central and 16 for Ridgeview. Total = 228
Va High - 13 for Tazewell, 20 for Battle, 34 for PH, 26 for Central, 32 for Lebanon, 28 for Honaker, 16 for Graham, 18 for Chilhowie, 20 for Marion and 22 for Richlands. Total = 229
Union - 28 for Lee, 22 for Richlands, 30 for Burton, 16 for Graham, 13 for GC, 26 for TW, 16 for Ridgeview, 26 for Central, 30 for Abingdon, and 20 for Battle. Total = 229
Tazewell - 34 for Va High, 16 for Graham, 11 for Colonial Heights, 20 for Battle, 14 for Riverheads, 30 for Grundy, 22 for Richlands, 22 for Bluefield, 20 for Marion and 22 for Ft Chiswell. Total = 211
We may be differing on Colonial Heights and Bluefield too. I'm not giving either another win. CH just because I know nothing about their remaining teams.
I think it's mainly a difference of rider points between us. I'm a little more optimistic for Tazewell's and more pessimistic for the other 3.
I have Fort Chiswell going 3-7, not 2-8 (I think they're better than Honaker).
I have Bluefield going 3-7, not 2-8 (I think they're slight favorites over Oak Hill).
I have Riverheads finishing 9-1, not 8-2 (I'd favor them over Wilson Memorial and Stuarts Draft).
I have Colonial Heights going 5-5, not 3-7 (I have them going 2-1 between Meadowbrook, Thomas Jefferson, and Petersburg, all of which slightly favor CH).
That's 7 points, which would bring Tazewell up to the 218 (21.8) that I had.
As for others:
When I add your math, I get 227 for Union, not 229 (28 + 22 + 30 + 16 + 13 + 26 + 16 + 26 + 30 + 20 = 227)
I think Lebanon goes 6-4, not 7-3 (I think they'll split Holston/Rural Retreat). That puts GC at 226 (22.6), and would drop VHS to 227 (22.7).
I think Thomas Walker goes 3-7, not 4-6 (Ls to Twin Springs and J.I. Burton). That puts Union at 225 (22.5).
I think I just straight up goofed by 2 points on Virginia, but everything else checks out. My predictions would then be:
(3) Virginia [8-2]: 227 (22.7)
(4) GC [7-3]: 226 (22.6)
(5) Union: [7-3]: 225 (22.5)
(6) Tazewell: [7-3]: 218 (21.8)
If it broke like that, an individual game could be enough to flip this seeding entirely. For example, Richlands beating VHS nets VHS 9 points instead of 22, which by itself would result in:
(3) GC [7-3]: 227 (22.7)
(4) Union [7-3]: 227 (22.7)
(5) Tazewell [7-3]: 218 (21.8)
(6) Virginia [7-3]: 214 (21.4)
TL;DR: Rider points still makes this really wild to project just yet.
Almost nothing. They're an oddity. I could only get them as high as 6th seed no matter what scenarios I put in. The one exception was Union losing to both Central and Abingdon combined with Central losing to GC.
Tazewell could finish at 7-3 and still be as low as #7th. I look for them to be 6th if they beat Bluefield, which I consider a toss-up game. There just wasn't much movement for them available.
Usually our math is fairly close, but I'm seeing the rider points shake out quite differently for some reason. Would you help me reconcile that so I can give accurate information tonight?
As I see it, Tazewell needs help to get above the #6 line. A loss tonight almost certainly entrenches them in 6th, with a small chance of dropping to 7th. I have Lee finishing at 5-5 (L - GC; L - Central; W - JSB; L - Abingdon) and Central finishing at 4-6 (L - Union; W - Lee; L - GC; L - Grundy). Lee or Central would need to score some "upsets".
Since my earlier projection thread was deleted, which wiped away my mathematical calculations, here's what I have in the #3-#6 range if my "favorites" hold:
(3) Gate City [7-3]: 226 (22.6)
(4) Virginia [8-2]: 225 (22.5)
(5) Union [7-3]: 225 (22.5)
(6) Tazewell [7-3]: 218 (21.8)
There's a lot more chaos. It would be extremely unlikely for Tazewell to drop either of their last 2 (Marion, Fort Chiswell). The only semi-realistic chance Virginia has of losing is Richlands. Gate City's and Union's schedules are full of games that have the potential to swing either way, especially Union.
Graham’s a solid football team, per the usual. The G-Men will almost certainly win Region 2D for the 4th time in 5 seasons. But “top 5 in state in all classes” is delusional. There are easily 30+ teams throughout the Commonwealth from 3A to 6A that would thump Graham and thump them pretty handily. It’s simply numbers and the pool of eligible players. Highland Springs has 1845 students. Graham has 510.
I heard from a guy today at work that this is Jme Harris’s last year due to his kids playing college ball, but not sure if it’s true or not? Anyone know anything on this?
This will always be the speculation, since Harris is from Michigan and has no “historic” ties to the area. I’ve heard absolutely nothing to suggest he would leave after this year, and I think I would know if that were the case.
Obviously, “never say never”, but I would be *very* surprised if it happened. As good as this season’s team is, next season’s team projects better. Tazewell loses very few seniors (Harris, 2 starting linemen, a few reserves) but returns everyone else. Would be interesting timing indeed if that happened, as there’d be a team in place that could win and win now.
Virginia High won’t get far enough to face Ridgeview this season. VHS will be seeded anywhere from 3rd to 6th, which means VHS will be playing GC, Union, or Tazewell in Round #1. I’d take Union and Tazewell straight up against them. If “bad GC” shows up, VHS would win. If “good GC” shows up, I’d take GC without thinking twice.
Va High is very good , maybe 2nd or 3 rd best team in the region, it’s going to be hard to defend the GMEN now they have the power game
I’m not sure I’d go that far. Graham was playing with an arm tied behind its back, so a “closer” game was certainly in the cards. Ultimately, a partially-functional Graham team is doubling up VHS in the 4th. VHS’s schedule has been very soft to put it mildly. Tazewell drilled VHS in Week 1 in the only other game VHS has played against what I’d consider a Top 10 team in SWVA. VHS needed OT to escape a notedly average Central team.
Said it over the weekend, the gulf is just too wide on the lines for Virginia High to prevail. Credit to Graham for delivering under some unique circumstances.
While I do not apologize for the opinions I hold, nor would I ever, I should have expressed them in a manner that was not so ferocious and intense. I allowed the conviction in my beliefs to override an even and respectful demeanor, and for that I am deeply regretful. I sincerely apologize for how I have presented myself over the last couple of weeks. I hope, but don’t expect, that the members here will forgive me and “hit the reset button” as it were.
The only thing I would ask: Please do not ever take opinions shared on this board and use them as ammunition to attempt to place someone’s employment in jeopardy. With all due respect, that’s the pinnacle of cowardice, and it affects more lives than just the member you dislike.
Tazewell needs to figure out it's defense or Bluefield might pull the upset. Defense was very lacking against Richlands. They need to find the D that showed up against the Riverheads.
That defensive failure was almost exclusively due to the failure of Tazewell’s DEs to seal the edges and work inside. When #2 was kept inside and forced to tuck-and-run, he only gained between 2-4 yards on average. When he got outside, he took advantage of what were essentially 2-on-1 matchups with slot receivers. Either choice Tazewell’s LBs made were wrong.
This should be fixable with a good week of practice. It should be a nice game Friday evening, but one that is nip-and-tuck all the way.
I think they miss out even at 5-5. Need a 6th win somewhere this year to get in...
I think it’s much more likely that Bluefield finishes at 2-8 or 3-7. Bluefield’s not beating Ridgeview, and Tazewell/Oak Hill are of the toss-up varieties at best. Bluefield’s staying home this year.
Well another big loss for the bears. They are on the playoff bubble now. Coach Turner seems to freeze on 3rd and long. Some decent pass calls near the end of the Ridgeview game but why not call them earlier in the game? Anderson had some good passes but still got no time to throw. On run plays 61 is always down field no touching anyone got good size for his age just need to get a mean streak in him
Union isn’t on the “playoff bubble”, LOL. Not in a region with John Battle, Marion, and Richlands.
I’ve got a question, when was the last time Tazewell won the Southwest District? Was it that 08 team? If I remember correctly we played Graham at home in the first round then Richlands the next weekend for the Regional Championship.
Bluefield was short handed against PikeView and should be back at full strength, except for Hairston who is out for the season with an injury. This is their homecoming game and they will be motivated to win. Tazewell's defense got exposed big time last night. Richlands spread Tazewell's defense out and Brown was able to pick a lane and run, when the linebackers stepped up to try to tackle him, he dumped it off to a wide open receiver. Bluefield has more athleticism then Richlands and their QB is athletic as well. Tazewell needs to figure something out on Defense. I think they can move the ball and score on Bluefield, but can they stop the Beavers? That will be the big question.
On the flip side, Tazewell was reintegrating 2 starters back into the defensive rotation who had been out since Week 2. One of whom, as a RAM DE, did an unsatisfactory job of sealing the edge the entire night. His colleague at the LION DE position didn’t do much better. The failure to keep Brown contained inside forced the single defender in coverage on the slot receiver (usually Kaizon Taylor) to make an either Brown/or WR choice, and Brown without fail made the right read in those spots. When they forced Brown to stay inside, it resulted in 2-5 yard carries. When he got outside, it was chaos.
That is a schematic oddity that is difficult to fix in real time but is very correctable after a week of practice. Richlands running for almost as many yards as Graham and Riverheads combined is a one-off, I’d be willing to wager.
It will be a good game at Mitchell next Friday evening. Tazewell needs it desperately for playoff seeding. Bluefield has some historical milestones riding on it. Should be fun!
I wanted to make a comment about making sure of covering the spread when scoring late, but with humor rather than sour grapes. Anyway, it was a great game. As stated in another thread, a lot of standout performances. No reason to hang your head. I definitely see improvement by the Blues. The overall talent isn’t going to be there every year. Richlands has some youth on this roster. Enjoy this win. I don’t see an over abundance of rising talent in Bulldog country either. This rivalry may experience some parity over the next several years if Richlands can establish some stability.
It’s become increasingly difficult over the years to project high school success based on middle school and JV results. Tazewell’s middle school team last year was by all objective accounts not good, but there are 6 freshman seeing substantial playing time this season. That goes for the JV team also. They have struggled, but Finn Moss is a pretty darned good QB who will get his chance when Creasy graduates.
Lose to RV, Central and Abingdon and I’m not sure you make the playoffs.
The cake is pretty well already baked as to the playoff participants. In an 11-team region, with 8 making it, it’s fairly safe to assume that Battle, Richlands, and Marion will likely be staying home.
No parade, just a police escort....and fire trucks...and people cheering from the side of the street....never-mind. But hey, the folks in Tazewell love their bulldogs!!
Would have added an emoji if I could. The community loves to celebrate its successes, regardless if Richlands is 1-6. There is genuine love and civic pride there, and that’s very special. Parade away! We’re only here for a little while, may as well have a grand ole time.
They complained for years about Bradshaw breaking a simple 31-give for a long TD in 2001 at the end of a 22-0 game.
Harris probably remembered his team easing off the gas a fraction with a 2-score lead in March 2021 and decided to cut the head off the snake when he had the chance.
Proud of the Blues. Tazewell’s defense stopped Richlands 1 time, but it was the time that mattered. Can’t leave 24 points on the field and win a game.
Richlands has nothing to be ashamed about this evening. Dylan Brown put the entire team on his back and turned in a grown ass man performance. Vanover played admirably as a feature back too. The Richlands team that showed up tonight wouldn’t be 1-6 if they had that level of execution and intensity all season long. Thankful for the win in one of the wildest games I’ve ever seen.
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Tazewell Vs Bluefield
in SWVA Football
Posted
It was a perfect storm of calamity.
Some of it was that Tazewell’s had a pretty trying week as a program also. Some of it was a lack of intensity after last week’s big win. Some of it was the fact that Fuller had the game of his life at QB, hitting every WR on the numbers in stride. Some of it was that Creasy had without question his worst game of the season and telegraphed passes, which is very uncommon for him.
Aside from one 65-yard run, which was the direct result of a momentum swing, Tazewell bottled up Bluefield’s running game pretty well. The secondary, though…difficult to watch.
Conversely, Tazewell moved into Bluefield territory 9 times on the evening. 4 of those drives ended on turnovers and 2 more ended on 4th down stops.
Bluefield executed nearly perfectly, and Tazewell wasn’t right from the opening kickoff. Bluefield’s still Bluefield, and there’s a reason they played Graham to a 4-point game. I think they’ll revert to the mean from here on out, but they were plenty superb last night. My hat’s off to them.