The old NRD was a gauntlet. Floyd left the NRD for the MED beginning with the 1980/1981 school year. Galax followed suit for the 1984/1985 school year. Narrows came to the MED in 1988/1989 school year. Which was the same year Independence, Fries and Mount Rogers consolidated into Grayson County.
Yep. And prior to their consolidation in the mid 1970s you also had Dublin and old Pulaski High School in the mix. The strength of its components (NRD and SWD) made Region IV football very entertaining in the first 10 years of the new VHSL class system. Also very competitive. Region IV teams won half of the state championships in Group AA from 1970-1979 and finished as runner-up once. (And of course Giles won in 1980, but I was just sticking with a decade reference overall.)
The Southwest District was formed in 1956, basically as a mechanism to make schools in this part of the Commonwealth eligible for Division I state championships. I kind of lost track after the turn of the 21st century, but following is a pretty accurate account through 2003.
1956: Graham, Grundy, Marion, Richlands, Tazewell, and Virginia High
1957-1964: Graham, Grundy, Marion, Richlands, Saltville, Tazewell, and Virginia High (* Gate City was an "affiliate member" in 1959 and 1960)
1965-1969: Graham, Grundy, Marion, Richlands, Tazewell, and Virginia High
1970-1979: Abingdon, Gate City, Graham, Grundy, John Battle, Marion, Patrick Henry, Richlands, Tazewell, and Virginia High.
1980-1985: Abingdon, Gate City, Graham, Grundy, John Battle, Lebanon, Marion, Patrick Henry, Richlands, Tazewell, and Virginia High.
1986-1993: Graham, Grundy, Lebanon, Richlands, and Tazewell
1994-1995: Graham, Grundy, Richlands, and Tazewell
1996-2003: Carroll County, Graham, Grundy, Richlands, and Tazewell
1979 Richlands 3, John Battle 0. Other than being a defensive slug fest (which I tend to enjoy), this ended a four game skid and turned things around to produce a 6-4 record in Coach Heldreth's first season.
1981 Graham 6, Tazewell 3. The "Snow Bowl" at Mitchell Stadium for the Region IV championship.
1987 Richlands 7, Gate City 0. Donnie Hess filled in at QB in this one, which was probably essential to Richlands qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. (And did I mention that I like defense?)
2005 Richlands 23, Liberty(Bedford) 20. State semifinal game between two very evenly matched teams. If LHS had converted FG attempt late in the game, it likely would have gone into overtime and become extremely interesting.
People older than me that kept up with football well before I ever cared about it said that Richlands use to be the whipping post of the county
I can share that a very large portion of the 1970s and 1980s were not fun for Richlands football supporters. There always seemed to be a lot of promise attached to the program but very inconsistent results on the field. (For example, during my four years of high school RHS never beat Tazewell but we won 3 out of 4 against Graham -- and broke even against Beaver.)
Reminder that this game is for 2nd place in Tazewell County and Richlands is 1-5 and Tazewell enters at 3-3.
this rivalry is great for the feud above as neither of these teams is winning anything worthwhile this year.
Don't try to confuse any of us with the facts, please.
As a complete aside, I was trying to explain this rivalry to one of my current neighbors outside the area. Couldn't really make them understand how I could simultaneously state that I hate Tazewell but I have many lifelong friends who are THS alumni, I tend to pull for them in the postseason (unless they face Richlands), and I'd be willing to fight any outsider who makes a disparaging remark about them or the area in general. Perhaps it is due to my heaping helping of Scots heritage.
That's enough for now. Get back at it, Observer and.... Observer.
A day after the meeting and I still don't know where my local high school will be landing. Obviously the decision has been made and several other folks are reporting their results publicly, so I can't understand why the VHSL hasn't posted the minutes yet.
And in my particular case it's like waiting to hear who will win in the category of Best Actor in a Portugese Documentary. Diogo Morgado has a strong fanbase, but nobody is likely to be surprised or upset if it actually turns out to be Joaquim de Almeida. Just tell us already.
Only thing I picked up thirdhand was that James River's request was denied.
Satisfying myself with the notion that I won't be happy with the resolution of Liberty(Bedford) either way. Travel in the Seminole is ridiculously easy (despite the fact that we're likely to get our heads handed to us in quite a few sports). Theoretically we'd be more competitive overall in the Dogwood, but our closest trip there would be equal to our longest in the Seminole.
If the change is approved by the VHSL -- and based on what I've read on this site -- I may or may not be packing whenever we have to play at Gretna.
Is suing for inclusion the same as suing to drop down a classification? Especially considering VHSL hasn't approved a single request to play down.
In my opinion, no. But the VHSL certainly seems to cave easily under any threat of legal action -- and logic doesn't appear to have a high priority for that organization's governing body.
An article in today's Galax Gazette concerning VHSL denying the Grayson County appeal to drop to 1A rather than be moved back to 2A is quite interesting. Grayson County superintendent Kelly Wilmore is quoted as saying "I'm not giving up on the matter. It could definitely end up in court."
Making veiled threats of lawsuits is a bold strategy Cotton. Let's see how that works out for him.
Certainly did the trick for LCA. Perhaps the folks in Lynchburg can recommend an attorney.
That tremendously wide gulf in school enrollments is why VA has 6 divisions. Four, cut somewhat evenly, would be the end of almost every current 2A school having any success beyond the regional level.
I neither like nor agree with the six division setup. But since that's purely a matter of my personal opinion I won't trouble anyone further with my ramblings.
The crucial weakness of VHSL is now the district setup -- which makes absolutely no sense. What's the point of forcing district alignment if it has no direct impact upon the overall competition structure? If we are going to keep 6 divisions, then VHSL should either abandon districts altogether and force scheduling arrangements based on regional alignment or take a stronger central position in managing district alignments based on classification. Once again it seems that we could learn a thing or two from our neighbors in North Carolina.
This is now an important issue for me because my own ox is being gored. If the Executive Committee doesn't intervene, Liberty(Bedford) will be forced to play a district slate comprised entirely of schools that are either in higher classifications or have a license to recruit at will -- putting every single team at a competitive disadvantage in terms of qualifying for the VHSL's REGIONAL playoff structure (let alone the possibility of competing on a statewide level). And the Alignment Committee's rationale for allowing this was basically that the local schools within the same classification as Liberty just don't want to play them.
This seems like as good a time as any for me to share this opinion....
Districts should be comprised entirely of schools within the same classification. With no exceptions. Or there simply shouldn't be any districts at all.
I am surprised that Liberty Bedford was denied going to the Dogwood district when they even had the right enrollment numbers.
What's really surprising is that the Dogwood members are that afraid of Liberty. They will probably wind up facing the Minutemen in the regional playoffs in most sports other than football anyway. It will just be a bit harder for LHS to qualify for the postseason at the Division 2 level if they are still playing within the Seminole District.
"Enrollment at the school has continued to fall and is expected to remain on a downward trajectory. There were 793 students at the school in 2019. That number shrank to 551 this year"
Thats a tremendous drop in enrollment over such a short time
It's possible that the numbers aren't entirely accurate (total enrollment as opposed to what VHSL uses for ADM) but that definitely is a statistically significant drop. And it is present in all three Bedford County schools.
More perplexing is the fact that the school age population of Bedford County (defined roughly as ages 5-17) has steadily increased according to the US Census Bureau for the last 20 years. Even before the impact of Covid approximately 10-20% of kids were not attending the public schools.
This story appeared in the local weekly paper regarding Liberty(Bedford) High School's experience in trying to move to the Dogwood District as part of realignment:
"Haigler said there were no representatives of the Dogwood at last Tuesday’s hearing, but the district did submit a document regarding Liberty’s inclusion. 'We don’t have any idea what was in the document,' he said. 'So, it’s a 50-50 shot. We went up there with a 50-50 shot and coming back I still think it’s a 50-50 shot.'”
Details are important all the time. I thought it was LCA. That's what I read. Anyway, then no surprise. Because......that would have been a 45-0 type game.
Just busting your chops, friend. It's probably hard (if not impossible) to tell from NFHS.
I probably shouldn't say too much about LHS, as my own son decided to pass on football this year.
Appomattox vs LCA Scrimmage Watched From NFHS. I couldn't get off work in time to go to Wytheville.
Complete domination by Appomattox. It's really that simple. They took LCA to the dang woodshed, offensively, defensively, offensive line, defensive line, etc. Alarming for me to see Appomattox look that good. The Lawing kid that graduated after starting 4 years at QB and a team leader who was really, really, good and what do they replace at QB? I think this guy is better. He's smooth and throws the ball right on the money. I don't know what LCA returns or lost or this or that, but I know what I saw. The team in White representing LCA got face punched by the team in Dark Blue representing Appomattox.
That was Liberty, not LCA. And the Minutemen have a first-time coach who just took the reins a couple of weeks ago.
Liberty (Bedford): Liberty requests to move from Seminole District to the Dogwood District.
According to this they plan to join the Dogwood.
I just saw that -- but thanks for the catch, BoBob.
Not sure how you and the rest of our new mates feel about it, but this makes a lot of sense from the Liberty perspective. And I think LHS competed in the district back in the 1980s for a while.
Having lobbed a few darts their way on here, I will now give credit where it is due to LCA for its appeal to "play up" to Division 3. I still have several concerns about them otherwise but I recognize this as a gesture of good will and sportsmanship on their part.
One quibble.... Don't refer to them as "Liberty." The Bedford-based school had that identity long before Jerry Falwell ever co-opted it for use at his (then) small bible college in 1977. And the segregation academy attached to what is now LU was known as Lynchburg Christian Academy until 2005.
Speaking of the Bedford-based school, since I don't see them included in the list of appeals I guess that means that they will continue to compete as a member of the Seminole District -- the only Division 2 school in that league. To borrow a movie quote, that's a bold move. Let's see how that works out for them.
OK, I stand corrected on the results of the 2021 Division 3 championship game. FWIW I generally lose interest in the postseason once Liberty (Bedford) is eliminated from contention -- and lately that's been an accomplished fact around mid season. On another aside... the change in classification for Phoebus is another interesting case in point.
Back to the realignment discussion... If LCA wants to continue to "play up" at the Division 3 level then I don't think there's any doubt at all that VHSL will approve that appeal. My opinion (which isn't informed by inside information on that specific question) is that they will not appeal the reclassification because they will have a significant competitive advantage at Division 2. It's definitely possible that poster ehcwasp may have some insight into the LCA operation that the rest of us don't -- and I will certainly be happy to be wrong in this case.
In case anyone cares, I'm hearing all kinds of conflicting information about Liberty (Bedford) -- which isn't surprising because our athletic department is completely screwed up right now. One varsity coach advised me that we are in fact staying in the Seminole District and his view was that we would petition to "play up" to Division 3. Another assistant coach in another sport told me that we would be dropping to Division 2 and joining the Dogwood District. I do note that "Liberty - Bed" is highlighted in the published alignment plan for some reason. Time will tell....
As I said above, I think LCA wants to stay in class 3. I say this only because I believe they are comfortable with the level of competition and the travel.
I think both LCA and Liberty (Bedford) are planning to remain in the Seminole District -- likely for the reasons mentioned above. But I don't see either school contesting their classification reassignment. The folks at LCA really like winning, they don't mind doing whatever is necessary to make that happen, and they don't seem to have any qualms about that whatsoever. They are pretty proud of their Division 3 football championship -- and are probably planning to build a brand new facility to contain all the Division 2 trophies that they will expect to win at that level.
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District Membership History
in VA and WV Sports History
Posted
Yep. And prior to their consolidation in the mid 1970s you also had Dublin and old Pulaski High School in the mix. The strength of its components (NRD and SWD) made Region IV football very entertaining in the first 10 years of the new VHSL class system. Also very competitive. Region IV teams won half of the state championships in Group AA from 1970-1979 and finished as runner-up once. (And of course Giles won in 1980, but I was just sticking with a decade reference overall.)