RichlandsAlum

Turner Ashby by two touchdowns. The Knights are simply too quick for Richlands. [Worked well enough this past week, so I figured what the heck.]

[ QUOTE ] Maybe that is why Alum put all those restrictions with the visit. Were you alone or did you take your old woman and 12 youngens? [/ QUOTE ] There is a completely separate (and more exhaustive) list of requirements for OFISHE8. But in the interest of propriety, I didn't want to post them here. Completely unrelated....anyone have good ideas for removing stains from couches, floors, and ceilings?

[ QUOTE ] huh??? what about ur cow? [/ QUOTE ] I prefer my cow boiled and served with a tiny sprig of parsley. (Sorry, folks. I have to admit that I have no idea where this thread is going.)

[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I asked for the posts to stay on topic, now I would like some predictions. [/ QUOTE ] You didn't ask for predictions...you asked for peoples thoughts............sort of demanding there aren't you prince? [/ QUOTE ] "Now is the time on swvasports.com when we make predictions!"

[ QUOTE ] Call richlands Alumni he has a large home and I know he would welcome any and all folks from the area to stay with him and his wife. just bring your sleeping bag or your camper and he will let you park it in his front yard at no charge. Also he will have free food and drink before and after the game. Just send him a private message and tell him what time to except you. [/ QUOTE ] That's all true. Although there are a few caveats: 1. Probably best to park in the back yard. Space in the front has been almost totally consumed by my collection of rusted out Ford Pintos up on blocks. 2. You'll need to give the password "Tuscarora" at the gate house. Staff there will then summon Jeeves who will direct you to the appropriate guest quarters. 3. Given the change in seasons, we regret that we cannot provide ample grocery items to feed a large contingent of guests. We are happy to share the grill, however we have been forced to adopt a strict BYOP (Bring Your Own Possum) policy. 4. All banjo picking and shotgun shooting activity must desist at 8:30 PM. We've found that if it goes much longer past then, it makes the natives a bit nervous. 5. If our dog "attacks" your leg, it's best just to let him finish. If you can abide by these five simple rules, feel free to come on down. I'll be standing outside to greet you individually.

[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] #77 came over and to a member to "get the f*#%" out of his way and called us "white mother f*#%ers". Never have I seen a team act the way Liberty did. [/ QUOTE ] If that's true then, as a Tech fan, I don't want the guy. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah, given the sterling reputation of Virginia Tech's program, you certainly don't want a guy like that around.

[ QUOTE ] even if it was a penalty it sure didnt make up for the cheap shots, trash talking and general disregard for good sportsmanship that liberty showed. rhs needs to be congradulated on the restraint shown by the blues. [/ QUOTE ] OK folks, this is getting ridiculous. Yes, there were cheap shots. Yes, there was a lot of cheap talk. And yes, two Liberty players in particular were far out of line. But the poor behavior wasn't as one-sided as a lot of people would like to think (I'm particularly interested to know what Jennings said to Robertson after Stanton's TD). It was a great game between two exceptional teams, and it was a solid win for the Blues. Is it possible to leave it at that?

[ QUOTE ] One of the best high school football games I've ever witnessed. Two great teams went to the wire. Great defensive stand for the Blues to hold em' in the end. Great job by the fans, cheerleaders and band. Even Coach Mance turned around and waved his arms to the crowd. The only bad thing about this game were the officials. Liberty got away with stuff all day while Richlands was flagged for anything and everything. If this crew was supposed to be the cream of the crop then give me the bottom of the barrel. Also there were a bunch of Liberty players kicking and throwing punches from the first quarter on. There is no place for that crap. [/ QUOTE ] It did turn out to be an instant classic. Although Richlands had chances to blow it wide open right up until the 4th quarter. Great showdown between pretty evenly matched teams overall, though. Agree about the officiating. Those guys let the game get out of control and never really got a handle on it. Way too much smack talking and cheap play from both sides. A better officiating crew would've nipped that stuff right away. The whole situation was odd for me. I'm a 100% True Blue, born and bred proud Richlands native and fan. But I still felt bad for the Bedford boys. They're a great bunch of kids overall, and they put together a great season. If they weren't lined up on the opposing sideline, they're the kind of team that SW Virginia folks can really admire. Or maybe I'm just biased. Either way, on to Lynchburg! Looking forward to seeing the Blues hoist the hardware in Jerry's backyard.

With the obvious benefit of hindsight, I'm going to revisit my Liberty analysis going in. Point for point, my view of the outcomes are posted in italics. OFFENSE: 1. Same as Richlands -- strike early and often. Liberty has won most of their games this year by putting points on the board and putting their opponents in the hole quickly. They basically beat Brookville (the game supposedly scouted by Mance) by scoring 28 in the second quarter. Obviously this didn't happen. Richlands established the tempo early and forced the Minutemen out of their game plan. 2. Control the line of scrimmage. If the offensive line is able to penetrate the Richlands front, the Minutemen will be able to rip off some huge plays. This is more a key to blowing the game open than simpy hanging tough, however, because the Liberty backfield has speed to spare. If RHS gives up the middle of the field on defense the way it did against Graham, you can probably spot Liberty 28 points heading into the game. The game is won at the line of scrimmage, and RHS controlled it on both sides of the ball. Credit the Blues coaching staff with making good adjustments from one week to another. The swarming defense put LHS on their heels from the outset. 3. Get Zach Webb into the lineup. Webb is Liberty's answer to Caleb Jennings. He was a pleasant surprise at the start of the season, ripping off 586 yards in three games before going down with an ankle injury at Western Albemarle. He has worked hard in rehab, and should be back on the field Saturday. Poindexter and Dobyns have become a potent combination out of the backfield in Webb's absence. Adding Zach back into the mix gives Liberty a big advantage here. Turned out to be a non-issue. Other than providing a bit of emotional lift, Zach's not 100% by a long shot. 3. Avoid penalties. Pretty much a given. Well, that happened. Although it seemed to be more attributable to the fact that the officiating crew didn't see fit to throw the flag for obvious late hits and unsportsmanlike behavior. Almost could have been the difference in the game. 4. Take what Richlands gives. Even if the Blues can bottle up the offensive line, Liberty's backfield should be able to pick up at least 4 yards a pop on the ground. Although the potential for big plays is always present, the Minutemen have won this year mainly by moving the sticks. This actually happened, although it took two quarters for the Minutemen to find their groove on offense. The big plays by Poindexter and Dobyns in the second half are representative of what Liberty's done all season. 5. Keep the defense off the field. Also a given. HS football games are won through a combination of clock management and field position. Mentioned previously, RHS dominated the tempo in the first half. I honestly thought that the game was in the bag when Stanton scored. After that play in which he juked two Liberty defenders, the Minutemen walked off the field in a daze. Give them credit for coming back to make it interesting. DEFENSE: 1. Get penetration from the line of scrimmage. The size and speed of Virginia Tech signee Daryl Robertson and company have overwhelmed opposing offensive lines and bottled up opponents running games. Liberty needs to be in the backfield with Jennings as soon as he touches the ball and force McCracken to throw. Liberty actually did a relatively good job of bottling up the running game most of the time, although the superior size of Richlands was the difference in the trenches. And when Liberty did get penetration, McCracken was able to make them play with a quick release. 2. Pressure the QB. Liberty's pass defense has been suspect, although most of the yardage has been given up against mobile quarterbacks who can scramble. McCracken's apparent tendency to stand still in the pocket will be a major liability. The Minuteman secondary has been adept at picking off underthrown passes when Robertson and the boys get good pressure. Robertson et. al. did a pretty good job IMO. But credit McCracken for getting rid of the ball when he had to. The overall play of the defense and McCracken's poise as QB improved exponentially from the Graham game to this one. 3. Stack the line of scrimmage in general and minimize big plays. Look for Liberty to put as many as 8 in the box on first down situations. If the RHS backfield can still manage to cross the line of scrimmage, Liberty's linebackers and secondary are quick enough to catch most runners from behind. Liberty did a pretty good job, particularly in the second half. But Richlands was able to make them pay for it by throwing the ball. And Stanton's play truly was a back breaker. These two teams are pretty much mirror images of one another. However, in terms of individual athletes, Liberty's guys are probably a step quicker than their Richlands counterparts. Coach Watts and his staff are counting on that being the difference in the game. Going in, I bought into the conventional wisdom that Richlands was bigger than Liberty while the Minutemen were quicker than the Blues. I still think those points are valid, but the deeper story is that RHS wasn't a lot bigger than Liberty and Liberty wasn't that much quicker than RHS. In fact, the Blues were a couple of steps faster than Liberty throughout the first half. Crowd noise shouldn't be much of a factor. The bleachers at Liberty's home field are much closer to the field than the layout at Ernie Hicks. But Liberty's approach to things is more business-like anyway. The players don't interact much with the fans and don't seem to respond either way. I was way off here. Liberty was tentative in the first half. Watts acknowledged some nervousness among the boys. The "big game" atmosphere at Richlands was a new experience for Liberty folks, and probably helped provide an early advantage. Like Richlands, the Minutemen are accustomed to taking the lead in the game first. Therefore, the first team to score will have a good chance of building momentum for the entire game. Didn't take a genius to predict that one. Based on what I've seen from both teams, I won't be a bit surprised to see Liberty win this one by the same score predicted by OFISHE8. Obviously I was off by a little bit there. The end of the game was pretty much what I expected it to be. Frankly, it's a shame that either side had to come out on the short end. Truly was a great game between two great teams.

I was wrong, and I'm pretty happy about it. For the record, I prefer my crow grilled after having it sauteed in olive oil and savory spices (less cholesterol that way).

[ QUOTE ] unfortunatly for me, Sanders' voice wouldn't sound as intimidating as Darth Vader's when he is telling me he's "my father"......I envision the voice of Jar-Jar Binks or Richard Simmons being spewed forth from that toothless hole in his head. [/ QUOTE ] Now I've got a mental image of Richard Simmons yelling "Who's your daddy?" Thanks for pretty much wrecking the start of my weekend, 89.

[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Henderson is obviously something close to you [/ QUOTE ] ummmmm....What? [/ QUOTE ] I believe there's a whole Empire Strikes Back angle here. I believe that Sanders Henderson will magically appear on this message board and post the following: "89Tornado......I am your father."

[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] well if that is the case you had better stay at home and watch Speinger reruns [/ QUOTE ] No worries mate...couldn't pay me enough to go to a high school game...BTW what the heck is "Speinger reruns"??? [/ QUOTE ] I think that's a local access show originating from the Glade Spring metropolitan area. Topic for next week's show is livestock who feel they were wrongfully spayed and/or neutered.

Well it's fairly obvious to anyone who knows anything about hoops that the only thing standing between Graham and a case full of state title trophies is the officials.

[ QUOTE ] Henderson is awful. He called several games I played in years ago. Bad attitude too. [/ QUOTE ] He is certainly a weak link in the juggernaut that is the Appalachian Officials Association, and one wonders how much longer it will be until he falls into the ranks of officiating Midget League games at Richlands Elementary. But my mama always taught me to say nice things about people too. So I have to confess that Henderson's level of personal hygiene is occasionally acceptable (the definition of "acceptable" varying from one county to another, of course).

[ QUOTE ] well i hated that guy [/ QUOTE ] Apparently so did my Algebra teacher. At least that's how I choose to interpret things.

[ QUOTE ] Matt Gilliam's computer is so correct sometimes its scary! [/ QUOTE ] Don't mean to spook you, but his computer predicted that you'd make this post.

[ QUOTE ] Yes, that is the venerable Rev. Jim... [/ QUOTE ] I used to be able to do a pretty accurate impression of him, which endeared me to most everyone except my 8th grade Algebra teacher.

[ QUOTE ] i just got one question do you look like the guy in the picture lol.good luck richlands. [/ QUOTE ] Folks who know me will tell you that is a flattering personal photo of yours truly.

[ QUOTE ] post wasn't directed at you....If you read through the threads, maybe you'll see what I was implying. Some Liberty fans were implying that Liberty and the rest of the seminole district had a tougher schedule than the SWD and Liberty had played tougher competition than Richlands...and mentioned Bassett... anyway, I'm on your side, don't bite my head off. I simply hit reply to a post that I wanted to respond to, I don't have the time or energy to go through all the posts and point out which one it was...hope that answered your question. [/ QUOTE ] It's all good, 'king. GO BIG BLUE!!!

As someone who predicted a Liberty victory, I'll be happy to eat crow. In fact, I'll be happy to host any travelers to Lynchburg the following week. We can dine at the finest restaurant in Bedford (I'll just brown bag my black bird).

Guy in my office just poked his head in. He said that folks back home might be interested to know that several people here in Bedford are already asking about how they can get tickets for next week's game in Lynchburg. And if that information somehow found its way into the RHS locker room, it could be useful. This is the kind of overconfidence I've been harping about on this board. I could try to educate the Liberty faithful about the huge challenge before them, but I don't think I will.... Hopefully life will be very fun for me Saturday afternoon.

[ QUOTE ] In all fairness you did use the word Bassett in the 6th post in this thread when comparing our schedule in going undefeated to theirs with one loss. But I really just wanted to get my prediction in. My prediction: Richlands 26-LB 20 [/ QUOTE ] Good catch. And my apologies to Mr. futbolking on that point. Reading truly is fundamental. In espousing the point that Liberty played a tougher schedule overall (an argument I'm hearing a lot around my adopted place of residence), I offered Bassett as a direct comparison to Abingdon. That wasn't entirely fair, as Liberty's non-district slate was also filled out by Northside and Western Albemarle. In terms of schedule comparisons, those two probably match up with the Highlands schools. Throw in GC and Honaker on the Richlands equation, and the schedule argument is probably a wash.

[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Surely folks have been watering the field at Ernie Hicks continuously since Friday night. [/ QUOTE ] Tha man up stairs isn't the type to kid around. He gave it soaking this morning and afternoon. [/ QUOTE ] Anyone from Liberty who complains about field conditions need only be reminded of the 2002 state semifinal between LHS and Grundy. Liberty hosted the game and the field wasn't fit for a tractor pull. I even accused some of the locals around here of borrowing fire hoses, but that joke didn't work too well because I am in a position to know better.

[ QUOTE ] Bassett??? you've got to be kidding me.... I don't recall Bassett EVER beating a SouthWest District team. I hope you keep thinking that Seminole teams are that much better and your schedule is that much tougher. You'll see when you make the trip and get smacked in the mouth. Do you forget just a couple years back....Graham 52....Liberty 14....and it could've been much much worse, if not for the nearly 150 yards in penalties against Graham... [/ QUOTE ] A few things.... 1. Where does the word "Bassett" appear in this thread? In another thread, I mentioned once that I thought the Bengals _could_ beat Salem. Further down, I acknowledged that this was mostly wishful thinking on my part. Reading is fundamental, you know. 2. Top to bottom, I do think the Seminole District is more competitive than the SWD. And that's mainly because the Seminole has more teams. There really aren't any "bad" teams in either district. All of this is purely my opinion, mind you. That said, the fact is that Seminole teams are required to play a greater number of good teams as part of their district affiliation. 7 is still greater than 4, after all. 3. I really enjoy your "you" references a lot. I'm a Richlands guy (perhaps the user name might've tipped you off). I do happen to live in Bedford, and I follow Liberty closely as a result. But let there be no doubt at all about my allegiance. My main point in posting about LHS here was to make sure that Richlands folks weren't overlooking them. I knew that would be a quixotic exercise at the outset. 4. I remember the 2001 season very well. In fact, I told everyone in Bedford that they were going to get hammered by one of the best Graham teams in that program's history. Since we're dredging up history, I guess you also remember what happened to Graham the following week in the championship game. With all due respect, the G-Men provided the template for letdowns that I'd like to see Richlands avoid. Is there anything else, or are we done here?