PioneerPA

LOL, no, they did not water the field down with a firetruck. Tolsia people will tell you anything just to get you worked up.

In all fairness, the field is located basically on the side of a hill...so it gets a lot of water draining onto it. That said, I'll guarentee you they made NO effort to keep the field dry. But regardless of what anyone says, the field was approved, the two teams played on the same field, and Tolsia earned homefield advantage. Bluefield lost this game in the regular season as much as it did Friday night. I know some of the Bluefield fans won't be happy with that brash of a statement, and I'm not trying to pick a fight or, forbid, defend Tolsia too much...but weather is a big part of football. It's rained 2 times a week all year. I haven't seen a dry field anywhere since Week 1. It's just the way it is...at least until we all can afford FieldTurf.

Directions are REAL easy. From I-64 West going to Huntington, take Exit 1, the Ceredo Kenova exit. Follow the signs to US 52 South. It's a two lane road 98% of the way (its the future I-73 corridor, so part of it is Interstate quality 4-lane). You will drive 30 minutes or so and come upon Fort Gay. Go straight throughh the red light another 10 minutes or so and you'll see the school on the left side of the road. Absolutely can't miss it. If you're hungry, eating at the mall would still leave you about an hour or so away. If you wanted to wait closer to Glen Hayes (where the school is located...a small unincorporated area), then when you get to Fort Gay, make the right, drive no faster than 24 mph through town (its a speed trap), and go across the bridge into Louisa, KY. There are quite a few places to eat over there (Burger King, KFC, etc). Have a safe trip, and I hope the people at Tolsia show you the same respect the people from Wayne did when you came here in 2002.

They played Black Betty when Wayne played there in 2004 too. I guess they shouldn't play Welcome to the Jungle, or Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix was black and died of an overdose, so obviously playing that is racist). I have no doubts a few of their idiot fans made racial comments, and I don't at all condone that, but BLU also made a slanderous, stereotypical statement above. You may disagree, but that's not as different as some people would like to think. But you guys are overstating things to the point you make it sound like there's a chance of getting shot at if you attend the game. It's a safe environment. There are lots of seats, but they aren't necessarily great seats on the visitor's side, so get there early so you can get above the team and see the field. Go play the freakin' game and quit working yourselves into a frenzy.

I'll say this...first, Wayne is the fastest team Tolsia has played this year. This Wayne team is the fastest to put on a Pioneer uniform in my memory. That said, its not Bluefield speed...there are a few who can run, but the team speed does not match up. Tolsia's student section last year was the Blue Zoo, meaning they dressed up like various animals. The monkey went to every game last year, not just the Mount View game. Now they could have been smart and not taken it to the Mount View game just to play it safe, but you know how that goes. For what its worth, the monkey made it to the Wayne game too and ended up in Wayne's lockeroom last year. 95% of Tolsia fans are pretty cordial. You get idiots in every group, and Tolsia is no different...but neither is Bluefield. This isn't the 1960's though. Your team and your fans will be safe in Glen Hayes (Tolsia isn't located in Fort Gay...if you stop there, you'll come up 10 minutes short of the game). They'll be all over you in warmups, just like they are every other team. The best way to get through any racial remarks that may be said is to band together, not stoop to their level, and beat them on the field. Now, people around here call each other rednecks in a joking manner, but its not cool for someone from the outside to make such a stereotypical statement about people they've never seen. That's just as bad a form of prejudice as anything I've seen from Tolsia fans regarding this game. From the quotes...I get the idea that you guys have the sense of "How dare they think they can beat Bluefield?" Well, they're a playoff team and they're pretty strong. They haven't faced a Bluefield caliber team this year, but they play pretty sound football. They can definately be had though. It really doesn't matter to me who wins the game though...I'll pull for Tolsia because they're fellow Wayne Countians, but I have nothing but respect for the product Bluefield puts on the field year in, year out. Take it as you will.

A lot of talk about Wayne...I just want to clear up some things. Wayne lost 21 seniors after the 2004 season. Wayne ran a lot of tandem's on offense that rotated a lot, so let me break it down as such: Wayne lost 1 of 2 fullbacks, Wayne lost 1 of 2 halfbacks, and Wayne lost both wingbacks. Wayne returned its starting WR (which is an oxymoron in its own right...he's the 4th option much of the time). Wayne lost 4 OL from 2004. All Wayne had back from 2004 on offense were Dunkle on the OL, Newell at QB, Runyon to split time at FB, Roland at HB, Marcum at TE, and Ferguson at WR. Everyone else on the offense was new. In 2005, Wayne must replace 19 seniors...a 3-year QB (no easy task, but then again, we don't throw much). 1/2 the fullback tandem is gone. 1/2 of the halfback tandem is gone. The wingbacks are all back. The WR is back. Wayne loses 3 OL and its TE. There are actually fewer losses from a numbers standpoint to this team offensively than there were going into 2005. However, Newell's and Marcum's don't fall off trees around here, and losing 40 seniors in a 2-year span can't be discounted. Add it all together and Wayne will return 6 starters on offense from 2005. Defensively, Wayne lost the following from the 2004 squad: 3 DL, 1 LB, 3 in the secondary. In other words, Wayne brought back 4 starters from 2004. From the 2005 squad, Wayne will lose 3 DL, 1 LB, and 1 in the secondary. In other words, Wayne will bring back 6 starters on defense. I'm not disputing what you all are saying, I'm just trying to put some more information out. Wayne has a strong class of freshmen and sophomores from this year. The talent pool looks to be diminishing beginning with next year's freshmen, which could lead to a small hiccup in the program. The last time we rebuilt like this was 2003. We went 8-4 that year, and lost the 4 games we did mostly because of fumbles. No doubt this team will have its growing pains as well, and opening its season in Welch is no easy way to get started, but this Wayne team isn't going to be bad at all. Maybe not at the level of the 2005 team...but not as much a drop as some people believe. This is not as complete of an overhaul as Weir is going through, or as Bluefield went through after 2004. It's still no easy task. So again, I'm not proclaiming anyone should rank Wayne #1....but don't be surprised if the Pioneers are contenders again this year. If you keep knocking on the door, eventually the darn thing will open...at least...that's the hope around here...

Here is how to get to Pioneer Field: Take I-64 to Huntington Get off of I-64 at Exit 8, the 5th Street East Exit, and make a left. That road is 152 South. Stay on 152 South for approximately 15 miles. You will cross the railroad tracks 4 times. You will then see a KFC on the left side of the road as you come to a stop light. Around the next curve, take the turnoff to the right that goes across a bridge. The turnoff is right as the curve starts to straighten out. You will see the lights from the football field. You should be assisted with parking. If you're looking for some "local" food before the game, hit up the Family Drive-In, which is located near the end of the straight stretch after you cross the railroad tracks for the fourth time on the left. There is a Wendy's and KFC before you get to Pioneer Field, and there is a Subway inside the Wal-Mart, which in many ways springs out of nowhere...lol. Have a safe trip!

I'm just glad the Weir guy hasn't found the other site yet...lol For those in the know...PLEASE don't help him find it...lol.

Hey Coeburn, From a Wayne fan who did the PA of your game as a sophomore at Wayne and saw you in the championship game in Wheeling, congratulations on all you have accomplished. You carried yourself with class on the field. I had more respect for you and Perdue than any of the other opponents Wayne played all year. You two played football the right way...hard-nosed, tough, and clean. I wish Wayne would have been able to compete with you all better in the state championship game...woulda been nice to at least make you sweat. Anyway, congratulations on a successful prep career and good luck at the next level.

Again, you're judging everything based on ONE Wayne game...the worst game they've played in probably 20 years. Do you think Wayne turned the ball over like that all year? They would have been 0-10 if they had done that. Wayne is a whole lot better team than they showed in Wheeling. And if they played Bluefield again, I don't think they'd get thrashed. Beaten? Probably. Thrashed? Not hardly. Perhaps we'll get to meet on the field and you can see what Wayne football is REALLY about. I know Weir's coaches were in Beckley scouting when Wayne had 7 turnovers in their quarterfinal loss to Westside....so perhaps they feel that's how we always play...lol. All I'm going to say about next year is...well...it's not TOO far off...we'll just have to wait and see how everything pans out.

Which ones of you did I meet in Wheeling? As you could probably tell, I was completely out of it (pneumonia whipped me for about 2 weeks) and I know you all introduced yourselves, but I don't really remember everyone (if I didn't have the game on tape, I wouldn't remember it either...and before anyone says it was because of the result, I don't even remember the Shady Spring game from the week before and we won that one...lol). Was just curious! Enjoyed meeting you all in Wheeling. Game didn't go well, but then it might well be what our program needed to take that final step...as crazy as it sounds.

Thanks Bluefield_Rules, Two of those road wins were over state championship Poca teams. We play in the Cardinal Conference...some of those schools aren't that great (although the conference has been represented in Wheeling the past 5 years). Chesapeake is a pretty good Ohio school (always make the Ohio playoffs and sometimes make deep runs...got to the final 8 in Ohio one year). Lawrence County was rebuilding last year...you never know what you'll get from them. One year they lost at Cabell Midland 56-28...the next year they beat Cabell Midland 56-34...and that was a playoff bound Midland squad. They had a coaching change which changed things over there. When you look at it, there aren't a big lot of great teams around here for us to play. And as I stated, Wayne has not lost on an opponent's home field since 1999. That is not to say they haven't lost an away game. A 6-year streak like that is pretty impressive. Sorry for being a fan of someone other than Bluefield (whom I have the utmost respect for).

You know what is interesting about that? Wayne has not lost on an opponent's home field since the third week of the 1999 season. During that span, Wayne has lost 7 games at home, 1 at Princeton (vs. James Monroe), 1 at Beckley (vs. Westside), and 2 in Wheeling (vs. Bridgeport and Bluefield). That's a pretty impressive streak of away game success. There's a good chance that may come to an end this year though.

beaverbaseball, Don't let Wayne's lack of a performance in Wheeling fool you...they're actually a pretty darn good football team (too bad they didn't show it after the first play of the title game). Wayne really didn't start as many seniors as the guide listed (Coach Harmon had exactly 1 two-way starter listed, when in reality, there were about 3). In fact, I can straight up tell you there were only 7 seniors who started on offense...but with the rotation of players Wayne used this year (8-9 different RB's per game), the starters played about equal time with the kids behind them. Defensively, Wayne started 7 seniors as well, but again, rotated in a bevy of players, including a talented freshman LB who saw quite a bit of playing time (and recorded a sack in the championship game). Wayne played so many players last year...probably put 45 or so different kids on the field each Friday night, so they had a lot of experience. Marcum and Newell are excellant players (the pounding Newell took in the championship game should only make him better...it's hard to react to pressure when no one else got any on him all year...don't expect him to be that rattled next fall). Don't expect much, if any dropoff from the Pioneers. I'm not going crazy and saying we're the most talented team ever and no one else is worthy of stepping on the field (cough cough Weir fan on here cough cough), but Wayne will be just as good as anyone in AA next year and I truly think next year will be the best chance Wayne's had at the title since 2001. Wayne returns 3 guys who ran for over 500 yards last year, a 1,200 passing yards QB...so you know they can't be dropping off THAT much. The offensive and defensive lines at Wayne will be a total change from last year's small, mobile linemen to this coming year's big bohemoths. Should be another exciting year in Wayne. And BluefieldRules, I would LOVE to take in a game at Mitchell Stadium. Perhaps in two years. I don't see Bluefield being rated higher than Wayne at the end of the regular season...that's really the only reason I mentioned the game being at Wayne.

They're still Bluefield. I fully expect the Beavers to have an up and down year (happens with young teams) and to be a strong team come playoff time unless injuries or something of that nature take effect. I look for the Beavers to sneak in as a low seed. The difference with them, however, is they won't sneak up on ANYONE in the postseason. In 2002, they hadn't been strong in 3 years, and those kids in high school at the time didn't know what they were all about...and they showed everyone how tough a young Beaver squad can be. That said, it will be hard to replace the crew that left. For any of you familiar with Marshall football, last year's Bluefield team was to me like Marshall's 1999 team. They had a group of seniors that had been through everything...and that special kind of group doesn't come along every year. I'd like to see Bluefield travel up to Wayne for the playoffs though. Would be a great atmosphere for high school football.

Well I've gotta stand up for the good name of my school and its fans . You all should be careful before firing back though...expect more stuff like this before Friday.

Guys, do you really think that person is from Wayne? Give me a break, it's the oldest lil trick in the book. It's either a Bluefield fan trying to pump the team up, or it's a fan from James Monroe, Weir, or somewhere else trying to make us look bad. How would anyone from Wayne who doesn't post on the other boards find this one and suddenly start talking trash? Check the IP...

Riverside played Princeton on that Thursday. Perhaps the administration at Herbert Hoover didn't want the kids to make a 2-hour trip to play football on a school night. Either way, they'll play next week...no one was dodging anyone.

Kanawha County schools were not allowed to play that Friday because school let out early (county policy). Capital, Nitro, Herbert Hoover all had to postpone games because of this. I think you're trying to read too much into what just really isn't there.

Yep, same one...also WaynePioneer on Bluegrasspreps.com. Wayne plays a WV Class A-sized Chesapeake, OH Friday...it's kind of a rivalry game. Then the Cardinal Conference schedule...Herbert Hoover, then road games at Winfield (much improved) and Sissonville (who went to Poca and won 12-0 this week), a home game with Point Pleasant (traditionally played an Ohio schedule...should be pretty good...beat AAA Ripley last week), a trip to rival Tolsia (no matter what, this game is usually pretty tight), home game with 3x defending AA champ Poca (who Wayne has beat 2 of those 3 years), a trip to Chapmanville (3-7 last year, new coach), and a home game to finish the season with Logan (1-9 last year, new coach). All in all, it's still unknown how difficult the schedule will prove to be. Winfield beat a traditionally good Ravenswood team in Week 1, and Sissonville went 2-8 last year, but one of those 2 was a win at Wayne, so you can't take a break with the schedule. Hoover...you never know what you're going to get from them. Wayne should be ok as long as they stay injury free. If they play with the same intensity on offense they did Friday, they'll have a very good year. Defense, I'm not sure about...I believe cramps hurt a lot...it was 22-6 at halftime and that score was aided by a 15-yard facemask on 4th down that was stopped...and another 8 were due to a kickoff return...so I guess we played alright. Hopefully we won't cramp up so much this week...about every defender went down with a cramp for us. Anyway, I suspect Belfry will either have their way with a discouraged LC squad, or they'll get a fight from them if they are proud enough to step up. LC just didn't respond to the Wing-T.

BelfryPirates1, Just wondering if you went to the game and if so, what did you think? That certainly wasn't what I expected...if you had told me before the game we would be accused of running up the score on them, I woulda called you crazy. Lawrence County was very weak against the run, and with teams like Belfry and Ironton, OH on the schedule...well...they just aren't going to be successful. We just came out and hit them in the mouth early...and they responded, but we came right back afterward. I never felt comfortable though until it was 50-20. Wish they hadn't run that kickoff back against our freshmen, but oh well. Good luck to your Pirates next week!

Wayne will be pretty tough, but now I think that's waaaay too much to say about them. They're going to be tough to beat, but are by no means unbeatable. And scrimmage results don't mean a whole lot. Varisty wise, it was 13-7 Wayne, hardly "crushing" them. Wayne appreciates your respect, but I'm sticking with the Pioneers being Top 3 in AA. PS- Belfry Pirate, if you go into the Wayne game expecting to see something amazing, you'll be dissappointed. There are times that Wayne is by no means an impressive team on the field. It's not always pretty football, but it's efficient, pound it out, execution-based football. I'm not even sure we can compete with Lawrence County...they're big on both sides of the ball and really physical. Definately a big test early in the season. And notice who the people are saying Wayne will be great this year...they're not even from Wayne...lol.

I'll tell you how the top 4 will look right now... 1. Bluefield 2. Wayne/Weir 3. Wayne/Weir 4. Poca Shady Spring should make the playoffs, and if it takes James Monroe a year to figure out their offense, how you gonna figure out how to stop it in one? They should be pretty good too. Mount View as well. Keyser will be tough. Frankfort will make the playoffs. Magnolia will be alright. Those are probably the teams you'll see most about. Tolsia won't be bad either.

Wayne has 61 from what I've heard...down a few from past teams...middle school (7-8 grades) is expected to have 30 though, so the numbers will be back up in a year or two.

The legendary coach at Bridgeport was Wayne Jameson (sp?). Legend has it he went for two in the 4th OT of a state championship game because he "wanted to go home, one way or the other". They converted and won the title that year. PS, I looked at your listing of teams that will get to 400 wins in 2004...Wayne, WV has an overall record of 399-378-28, with the first game occuring in 1923. My dad and I (mostly him) did a LOT of research on this a few years back to get EVERY game Wayne has ever played...we just completed it probably not 5-6 years ago, so without a shadow of a doubt, I verify to you that record as accurate.