RichlandsAlum

You're correct. Adding 'A' to the classification is just a force of habit for a lot of old timers (like me). I think the biggest objection is the addition of Lynchburg Christian Academy to Class 2.

I think the term "caved" is a definite understatement. VHSL apparently didn't put up any kind of a fight at all. LCA basically runs its athletic program with absolute impunity -- to the extent that the VHSL simply accepts enrollment numbers reported by LCA without even questioning them. And that's just one example. I know very little about the legal counsel employed by the VHSL in that situation, but I wouldn't be shocked to find out that the lead attorney was actually named Ben Dover. As much as I would love to see somebody (anybody) challenge both the VHSL and LCA over this state of affairs, I don't know of any entity that would have the standing to do so.

What makes you say that? They didn't appeal when they dropped from 4A to 3A.

Liberty (Bedford) and LCA expect to benefit greatly from the move to Division 2. In football, the matchup between LCA and Appomattox will be interesting and probably have great bearing on state title implications. Liberty (Bedford) expects to be very competitive in soccer (both boys and girls), softball, and wrestling --although staying in the Seminole could impact seeding for Minutemen teams at the regional level. And yeah.... a lot of y'all back home will now experience the joy that is dealing directly with LCA.

Blue was a secondary/trim color used by Marion in the late'70s/early '80s. Pretty sure those great basketball teams led by Clarence Hanley played in uniforms that had some royal blue accent stripes. Fun fact... In the early 1980s football coach Sonny Hagy had his team change from scarlet jerseys to blue between pregame warmups and the actual kickoff. Not sure of the reason why and I don't remember the specific opponent, but I do know that happened.

Probably worth noting that the principal at Marion is Jack's brother-in-law. But if anyone wants to be concerned about nepotism, this is a situation that should work out pretty well -- and Mike Davidson would have been crazy not to make use of the personal connection in this case.

Family connections to Marion (probably biggest consideration). Southwest Virginia guy who would have probably returned sooner if the right situation came along. He was in the process of transitioning away from college football but apparently still had a desire to be directly connected to the game. Just a very good set of circumstances for both him and Marion, IMO.

Jack started the program at North Carolina Wesleyan and had them in the Division III playoffs within five seasons (where they became the first #8 seed to knock off a #1) and he maintained some pretty impressive recruiting contacts throughout his extensive collegiate coaching career. I'm all kinds of biased because the Ginns have been longtime friends of my family, but he is a first rate individual who should have a tremendously positive impact on Marion's program.

That's a brilliant hire by the folks in Smyth County.

Another fun fact related to the Richlands-Harrisonburg series from the 1960s.... As recently as about ten years ago the game ball from Harrisonburg's 20-18 victory over Richlands in 1967 was still displayed in the primary trophy case of Harrisonburg High School. I have no idea why that particular game is so significant to the folks up in the valley but it jumped out at me when I saw it.

When the SWD broke up in 1986 there was something of a scramble to fill non-district schedules again and Richlands wound up scheduling home and home series against a couple of Roanoke area schools (Northside and Lord Botetourt). There were some raised eyebrows but I don't remember a lot of outright complaining about it. Several families (including mine) made something of a getaway out of the trip for the Northside game -- which coincided with Labor Day weekend. A lot of Liberty-Bedford teams schedule a geographic outlier as part of their non-district schedule. But then again Bedford is pretty centrally located and you can hit a lot of interesting options within a 2-3 hour drive of here. Probably not much benefit to Richlands to venture very broadly now unless they absolutely had to. But that has been the case at various times in the school's football playing history.

They played Halifax in 1968 and 1969. The previous two years they played Harrisonburg. The Southwest District played at the highest level of competition within Virginia from its inception in 1956 until the classification overhaul by the VHSL in 1970. Eligibility for postseason honors had a requirement of playing a certain number of other schools at the Division 1 level (I think that was what it was called). Since that number was beyond the membership of the SWD, a lot of SWD schools scheduled regular series against the Roanoke schools and E.C. Glass for most of the 1960s. In the later portion of that decade there was usually a playoff between the SWD and the Western District (centered in the Roanoke area) that was also included. That created something of a scramble to find the minimum number of opponents to meet the postseason eligibility requirement which led to some odd intersectional matchups in the final years of the old classification system.

Nothing like the original comparison of trips to Tidewater and other inter-regional matchups, but I do wonder about the nature of Pearisburg's trip to Richlands in late October of 1935. Guessing that may have been at least partially accomplished by train.

Probably good for Union. The Minutemen wouldn't have given them much of a game and it probably would have been a waste of time to play them. The reason for Liberty's withdrawal (contact tracing) is pretty dubious for a couple of reasons.

In all seriousness, the outcome may strongly resemble Union's game against Lee High from last week.

I'd start it at Union minus eleventy billion. In case anyone is interested.

Just don't start messing with my pension in a few years, you danged whippersnapper. I've already got my AARP card and I know my rights. If it makes you feel any better, those of us born in 1971 aren't happy about the change in Social Security a few years back that upped the age for full benefits. In all seriousness I agree with you about the shift in VRS. The parameters associated with retirement continue to present a moving target for those within the larger generational groups (mainly Boomers and Millenials, paradoxically) whereas Generation Xers like me may be able to pass between the extremes. Some might even employ the words "arbitrary" and/or "capricious" in arguing about it.

Well that certainly ought to make for some fun interactions between the two from this point forward.

The day after the Syracuse game I shared the opinion with some buddies of mine that Fuente was gone. Given Tech's relative financial situation within the larger world of college athletics, I speculated that the new coach would be a "budget hire" along the lines of a position coach at an SEC or Big 10 school or a really sharp FCS coach. If it winds up being Brent Pry, then I think that's a slight step up from what I expected. If one were to think of "big time" college athletics as a swimming pool, Virginia Tech is currently splashing around in the very shallow end with little prospects of being able to venture out into the deeper water.

Since my short game is the bane of my golf existence, I always prefer playing from the farther tees. I'm really strong anywhere from 150 yards or further. And completely useless everywhere from 150 into the green. As per high scores... Have I ever told everyone about carding a 117 in a regulation match at Fincastle back in 1986? I missed a six-foot putt for 116.

I really don't know but I can offer some observations. In the 1950s Ernie Hicks began to outfit his teams in uniforms that closely resembled the Detroit Lions (with silver helmets and light blue jerseys). I don't know if Coach Hicks was a particular supporter of the Lions or not, but given the success and popularity of that franchise in that decade the it is unlikely that the emulation by RHS was simply a coincidence. Not sure whether it happened with Bill Peery or Jim Hammond, but silver was dropped altogether in the late 1960s. The primary color was still a light blue (although it was a shade or two darker than the Columbia Blue version that Hicks had favored) paired directly with white. Helmets were either blue with a white stripe or white with a blue stripe. Pants had the same arrangement. And jerseys were blue with white UCLA-type shoulder stripes at home (with the reverse being used on the road). Shortly after 1970 the football uniforms had switched to White and Navy Blue with red accents of various types. The light blue uniform that I posted began to be rotated in around 1973 or so-- even though Navy Blue and red were also worn more often than not. One of the more confusing outfits was a road uniform featuring the light blue pants paired with white jerseys that had Navy Blue primary numerals, red numerals on the sleeves, and red cuffs -- all topped with a white helmet featuring Navy/White/Red/White/Navy stripes. But other sports, cheerleading uniforms, and letterman's jackets continued to be produced in the light blue color that emerged in the late 1960s. (That particular shade often varied widely from a very light Columbia Blue to a greenish hue almost resembling Aqua.) Todd Heldreth standardized Navy Blue and White when he arrived in 1979 and applied it across the board. Dennis Vaught introduced silver as a secondary color when he arrived, but I think the official colors have been Navy and White effectively since 1979.

In case anyone else is remotely interested, here is a shot of a Richlands player from 1974. The jersey is light blue with red numerals and white cuffs. The pants are light blue with a red/white/red stripe. The helmet is obviously white -- both the stripe and the 'R' logo are red.

Yep. I remember the light blue pants with red and white stripes that we sometimes wore on the road even though jerseys usually had navy accents. A lot of light blue/red foolishness back in the 1970s all around.

There are often exceptions within certain systems based on a variety of factors -- including attaining certain ages. In SC it looks like an individual who has worked at least 8 years can receive an unreduced benefit at the age of 65. Without knowing a lot about Mance's personal financial plans or status, I imagine that he could live pretty well on his combined benefits from Virginia and South Carolina along with Social Security. I've started paying a lot more attention to these kind of details since attaining a certain age myself. North Carolina has a particularly solid public retirement system that occupies a significant role in my contingency planning. But I've also given a lot of thought to SC

If SC is like most other states he probably only needs 5 years to be fully vested in the retirement system.