RichlandsAlum

Thanksgiving holiday at both. For that matter, a lot of offices (including mine) are closed that day, anyway. I'm pretty stoked about the game, particularly since this week will probably be the last time I get to visit Richlands for any length of time.

Don't know how folks who are reporting this are "in the know," but I wouldn't be surprised if it were true. Could make for a great day of football all around. Blues at 1:30 and 'Dawgs at 7:30.

I was very happy to see the "boycott" lifted by clearer thinking heads a couple of years ago. Unfortunate that it ever had to happen in the first place. Never really lost much sleep over Lebanon, but the inability to play Honaker was a horrible decision that really penalized both schools (RHS and HHS). That's always been a very profitable rivalry for both communities, IMO.

> No offense to anyone from hurley but I dont see why > Richlands even used to play them!!! Then again we did > play teams like pikeview and Bell County.KY Once the Blues starting playing well, a lot of local teams suddenly lost interest in playing them. I know for a fact that Abingdon backed out of a two-game series that would've commenced in 1992 because they preferred to "play somebody that they could beat." Very ironic that Abingdon wound up having to play us anyway, albeit in the regional final that season. They might have fared better if they knew more about what to expect. But I digress.... The state championship season and the attendant problems that came to light thereafter further exacerbated the problem. A lot of schools used Richlands' "reputation" as an excuse to drop them from the schedule. As a result of these kind of issues, Richlands wound up playing something of a crazy-quilt schedule most years. To demonstrate the extent of the problem, the Blues actually opened against a school from Indiana one season (can't remember which year it was -- they all blur together after a while). Anyhow, that's the explanation behind the Bell Countys and Hurleys on the schedule. Somewhat strange but true, but for several years they were simply the only schools willing to play Richlands. Very glad to see that kind of issue put to rest. Hope it stays that way for a long time.

Supposedly he told his players at Jefferson Forest that he would be leaving to take over at VHS. This is the AA head coach in the Lynchburg area that I've been mentioning, and I thought that he would have been the front runner for the position all along given his ties to the area. Sounds like he's got a tough task ahead if the other VHS poster is correct about the attitudes of the players. This business of not being willing to play for certain coaches is poor, to say the least. But I'm sure that Smith is up to the challenge. A very good hire for the Bearcats, IMO.

I think Smith would have to think twice about leaving JF for Bristol now (and that's assuming that he wouldn't have had reservations to begin with). Besides the fact that he has a pretty good setup in Forest, I would think the knowledge that he was no better than their second choice would dissuade him from taking the job if offered. That's why I think the assistant in question probably has as good a shot as anyone right now. And I also think that the situation is unfolding similar to the way he thought it might. I'm extremely biased, but the person we're talking about could prove to be a real diamond in the rough for VHS if he ultimately lands the job.

So they had decided on the candidate from Franklin County? I really thought that the other candidate would've had the inside track given his ties to the area and his pedigree. VHS might be in a real pickle here. The other finalist has a pretty high profile job where he enjoys good support from the fan base. The Bristol folks were going to have to sweeten the deal to entice him away to begin with. Now that they've apparently passed him over once, it looks like they might be back to square one. Based on this turn of events, don't be shocked to see them promote from within.

Between Carlock's demands and Virginia High's expectations. One sticking point was the amount of classroom instruction that VHS expects of its head coach. The divergent viewpoints of the two parties on issues like this indicates that it wasn't a particularly good match for either.

Looks like they're focusing their attention on a AA head coach in the Lynchburg area. Candidate in question has ties to the area (Abingdon grad).

I'd heard that there were three finalists. But I may have misunderstood. Names I heard were a AA head coach and a AAA assistant from the Roanoke/Lynchburg area. Both are move believable than the third name.