RichlandsAlum

[ QUOTE ] You know, I'm not even sure who runs that site. I suppose he just hasn't had the time this year. [/ QUOTE ] I know the guy who runs that site, and he does have some major work-related issues that are probably stealing most of his time.

[ QUOTE ] My opinion I think they are the best team anywhere close to this area but thats "My Opinion" [/ QUOTE ] See? That's where you messed up. We're only posting hard, cold facts on this site from now on. I'll give you an example.... FACT: The poster known as Tarter Ball 28 will require a brand new bowl of Cheerios to replace the previous bowl which apparently was defiled by urine of an unknown origin. That's not hard, is it?

[ QUOTE ] people say to many facts on here that they know nothing about, maybe do a little research next time before saying anything that isnt true...... [/ QUOTE ] Well that wouldn't be very much fun at all. GOSH!

[ QUOTE ] Richlands, Liberty-Bedford, Turner Ashby and Graham are the Division 3 schools in the top 10. [/ QUOTE ] On a serious note, Richlands folks (and Region IV fans in general) shouldn't overlook Turner Ashby. The Valley District is pretty well stocked with great athletes, and they play a pretty fundamentally sound brand of football up that way. I still stand by my prediction that the victor in the semifinal game between Region III and Region IV will win the Division 3 title, but it won't be an easy chore. (I'm wavering a little bit on my prediction that the actual semifinal matchup will be Richlands vs. Liberty, but a good effort by the Minutemen against Staunton River on Friday will boost my confidence once more.)

[ QUOTE ] Richlands - 781 students Liberty - 1037 students Turner Ashby - 712 students Graham - 385 students Looks like somebody has a slight advantage... (Enrollment #s are according to the 2005-06 VHSL School Directory) [/ QUOTE ] There is nothing wrong with the current system at all. Splitting the divisions on a regional basis is fair and equitable. - Don Bock, Chairman of VHSL Executive Committee

[ QUOTE ] My storm prediction: The area team are all down this year we know, definatly when bluefield is contested by Grundy. Anyway, lets see what happends when they get to the playoffs Salem will turn the storm into a summer breeze. Although I would like to see Rhs win State, cause I think it is about time. [/ QUOTE ] Salem won't be a factor for Richlands this year since the Blues were relegated to Division 3. Besides, the Spartans aren't the best team in Region III, Division 4 anyway. That distinction goes to Amherst this year.

Actually, I'll probably take in the Stuarts Draft-R.E. Lee game Friday night. But in my soul I'll be at Tazewell.

[ QUOTE ] THE STORM MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT ONE!!!!!!!! [/ QUOTE ] Pretty sure that Richlands won't have any input whatsoever in the Region III title race. And the Blues are still going to have to make it out of Region IV first (most likely be beating at least one quality team twice in the same season).

[ QUOTE ] boys, boys, boys..... well get to liberty soon enough, just take one game at a time and lets all worry about tazewell first...... [/ QUOTE ] Since I actually live in Bedford, I'll take the responsibility of keeping track of the Minutemen for everybody.

[ QUOTE ] To my knowledge, Western Albemarle has never been AAA. Albemarle HS used to be in the AAA Western District and then moved to the AAA Commonwealth District. [/ QUOTE ] Yep. I'm confusing them with Albemarle. My bad. Chris Watts (coach at Liberty) likes to schedule teams from random places. Recently he has favored AAA teams like Dinwiddie and Franklin County in order to gain ratings points, but they've also played AA schools like Nottoway fairly recently as well.

[ QUOTE ] But in my opinion, BH was a bum.... He did not play the people he needed to play. Things changed when D. Vault came to town and played the right people. [/ QUOTE ] I liked Billy a lot (and still do). Fact that he taught AP Calculus in addition to coaching football speaks volumes about his quality as a human being, IMO.

Since we're speaking of Western Albemarle.... Their football team was coached for three seasons by former Blues mentor Billy Haun.

[ QUOTE ] Western Albemarle is AA, Division 3 in Region II. Amherst Co. knocked them silly in their season opener 58-12 at WA...WA had nowhere near those kind of passing numbers against the Lancers. Don't get me wrong, Liberty is still a good team but they are no longer as "invincible" as they once may have seemed. They do have a D-1 lineman who can wreak havoc but if anyone has the hogs to stop/slow him down, Richlands is the team. I must agree with you about playoff experience being a huge advantage for Liberty but don't forget, C'burg took Gretna to the wire last season...anything can happen. Playing SR this weekend will be good for Liberty in that it will allow them to try and "find" someone to replace Webb without having much concern about the outcome of the game, which by the way, won't be close regardless. [/ QUOTE ] Man, I am way out of the loop in terms of present enrollment numbers. Apparently the athletic staff at Liberty wasn't aware of Western's drop to AA either, because they were specifically scheduled to boost Liberty's playoff ratings down the road. Dinwiddie filled that role the previous two seasons. Word I got directly from a friend of mine on the LHS staff is that the Minutemen should be in good shape through the first half of the season. Their overall performance will depend on how well they can avoid injuries during the second half. Losing Webb is tough, but it's not like he's the key to their whole offense. If anything, he's been a pleasant surprise so far. I think the coaches will be able to make the necessary adjustments and the Minutemen won't miss much of a beat (similar to the way that Richlands has bounced back from key injuries at skill positions this year). We'll know a whole lot more come Friday. And the next Friday. And the Friday after that....

[ QUOTE ] Liberty was actually behind 7-0 before realing off 20 straight points. WA is a passing team, they run the spread 85%+ of the time. Liberty's "weakness" was exposed to the point they gave up big yardage and 26 points. Without the RB that got hurt, Liberty will not be nearly as potent on offense. This game will tell a lot about Liberty's future...they will not beat Amherst Co. now...period! And, the Region III, Division 3 playoff picture just got a little muddier...we all know about Liberty, Christiansburg, and Cave Spring, but lots of folks are overlooking Hidden Valley...the Titans will be a key player in Reg. III, D-3... [/ QUOTE ] I'm not convinced that this game exposed a weakness for Liberty so much as it demonstrated Western's strength. Besides, winning on the road at a Group AAA opponent isn't an easy feat to begin with. If Liberty had actually lost the game, then I'd say that the Minutemen faithful have reason for concern. The fact that they gave up that kind of yardage and still won is a big positive, IMO. Good point about Hidden Valley. Region III will be a crap shoot, but I still think Liberty's previous playoff experience gives them an edge overall. Although they still aren't much of a measuring stick, Staunton River has improved a lot. Liberty's performance against them this week ought to provide insight as to the overall effect that Webb's loss will have. I agree with you about Amherst. I'll be shocked if anyone beats the Lancers this year. But I do think that ending the season against them is exactly the kind of preparation that Liberty will need heading into the playoffs. And if the Minutemen can finish that game within 14 points or better, they'll get a good surge of momentum that will make them hard to handle. Lot of football left, though. And it's already one of the better spectator seasons in my 34 year old memory.

[ QUOTE ] Not counting chickens before they hatch, and not giving the Region IV title to the Blue Tornado just yet, HOWEVER, I thought this was an interesting stat the RHS faithful might want to keep in mind regarding Liberty-Bedford...they seem to be susceptible to the pass... "Western Albemarle (2-2) rallied behind quarterback Mark Jordan, who completed 27 of 38 passes for 361 yards" That's a lot of yards for a good team to give up through the air... [/ QUOTE ] You're reading too much into Jordan's impressive stats. Liberty jumped ahead quickly, scoring on their first three possessions in the game. Jordan is a really good QB and the Minutemen loosened their grip a bit, but I don't think that equates to "susceptible to the pass" by a long shot. If LHS stays healthy on the offensive line, they'll be plenty competitive. Unfortunately, it will be hard to tell exactly how good the Minutemen really are until they play Amherst, and that game is their regular season finale on November 11th. If they stay within 2 TDs of the Lancers, the Region IV champ (whomever it may be) should be strongly cautioned against taking the state semifinal game lightly.

Probably won't change it as much as you'd think. Liberty resembles Richlands in many ways. They've still got speed to burn and the offensive line is largely intact from last year. Frankly, Webb's performance to date has been a pleasant surprise for the LHS staff. They'll have trouble with Amherst (like everyone else will this year), but they're still a hands-on favorite in Region III.

[ QUOTE ] do you have a website for an online copy of the article by any chance?? [/ QUOTE ] Unfortunately, no I do not. And in hindsight, that probably would've been much more useful than what I posted. I'll try to dig something up. If nothing else, I can ask Chuck if he'll send it to me directly.

[ QUOTE ] Actually, that is a candid shot of two posters on this board: OFISHE8 and 89Tornado. [/ QUOTE ] Sorry, that was inappropriate of me to share that kind of information. Regardless of the extent to which OFISHE8 asserts that it is true. To make up for it, following is a shot of his wife and I discussing the issue previously: How did I get "dragged" into this? [/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ] He's in the WVU Hall of Fame if I'm not mistaken. [/ QUOTE ] Yes. You are correct, sir.

[ QUOTE ] Yep, we did that when I played too. [/ QUOTE ] Ditto. And we liked it! We liked it just fine!

[ QUOTE ] IM BRAIN FELLOWS! [/ QUOTE ] Actually, that is a candid shot of two posters on this board: OFISHE8 and 89Tornado.

[ QUOTE ] Yourself included.......... [/ QUOTE ] "Oh no he di'ent!!!"

this week. A column by USAF Major Chuck Boothe about his experience being deployed to Kuwait. I attended RHS with Chuck, so I'm a little biased. But it's a good read whether you know him or not.

[ QUOTE ] i think there should be some sort of screening process before anybody can get an account on this site, every dumbs#*t in swva has an account and none of these tards make any sense. [/ QUOTE ] Come on, Mayor. If it's on the Internet, it must be true.

[ QUOTE ] I would love to see it happen but I think we're more likely to see him on the staff at WVU than at RHS. [/ QUOTE ] That's a definite possibility. If he were interested in working in Morgantown, I'm sure that it could easily be done. He was one of Nehlen's golden boys there, and I know that folks still think a lot of him. Mike's included in several "all-time" team lists for WVU.