GHS89

Just checked The Weather Channel. A solid blob of green looks to be here in a couple of hours. Looks steady and prolonged. We gonna get wet.

Found it below. Oops.

Million Dollar Question: Who was the 1?

1. Ed Clark 2. Julius Jones 3. Thomas Jones 4. Ahmad Bradshaw 5. Jake Houseright 6. Tommy Edwards

[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] spot steele is the "Northern Representative" i belive he covers more than just pocahontas.. [/ QUOTE ] Get a map, find your way out of that hole, save yourself while your still young... [/ QUOTE ] Oh heck, now us Falls Mills folks are going to be getting it now. We ain't got no football team. Don't like stadiums. Like to stand up at football games. Eat at the house before we go. Like to park a long ways off. And prefer "job site johnies". Now just leave us alone. Go G-Men

Maybe not the best thread to post this reply on, but some of those others are wandering like a lost coon dog. No offense to anyone in Grundy. But anyway, something is to be said for the fact that the money spent in rent is not renting a dump. Despite it's difficult situation, the city of Bluefield has been keeping Mitchell in fantastic condition, with the exception of that darn PA system. The old one was so much better. Could it be that they bite the bullet in order to maintain this important community landmark that is so important to the youth of the area? Should some folks to the west be taking a lesson here? Point is I would be a little ticked if the stadium degraded, and the rent money went into street posts. But I think that city acts in good conscience by taking these contracts in and providing a good place to play ball. With no plan for building Graham's own stadium out there, the money is well spent at Mitchell.

Definately too close to call. Only prediction I will make is a total score under 20. Bluefield will be quick for sure, but folks will be very surprised at the speed in Graham's secondary. In my opinion, Graham will do best to run a simple game plan with a little of everything, avoiding turnovers, and everything will work fine. The pressure is on Bluefield to come up with something special to counteract the Graham headhunters. I would look at misdirections (like that darn scissors play) and reverses to take advantage of an overpursuing Graham defense that will be trying to pile 11 players on the ball everytime. HOWEVER, I wouldn't reveal too much of this further than 30 yards from the goal line if it comes down to one big play. Any farther out than this and you will see how fast two of the backs in Graham's secondary are as they will recover and catch runners. Possibly run this misdirection with a wide out so that at least one of Graham's colts will be on the other sideline. I'm very excited about Graham's defense the next few years. Lot's of meanous on this team, no lack of confidence, and some folks that will want to play right in your face. Just some good ole rough necks. Personalities and abilities that made up the great defenses of '89 and '90. And mark this down and watch, an unsung beast will begin to emerge in Graham's #21 (if he hasn't changed #'s). Another Eddie Hall or Marcus Latimer? A man amoung boys? Time will tell. Can't wait. Looking forward to seeing you all at lovely Mitchell, the home of all the boys of the Bluefields.

Can someone provide a list of the school board members, and how they voted on the last vote on the Mitchell Stadium Contract? I figured I would start this on a new thread so folks browsing the site can get the straight skinny on who is voting how. I think that the representative for my area is on the wrong side of this issue. He stood on my porch some years ago and earned my vote then. I haven't missed voting in years and he'll have some answering to do if he lands on my porch again. Bottom line, if the election was tomorrow, he would have lost two of his previous supporters from his last election from this household alone.

If everybody made the trip to Richlands, it would be obvious why the game can't be played anywhere but Mitchell. Talk about a public safety hazard. Has any school board member even seen the crowd that this game draws? I wouldn't anger that bunch.

Graham defeated Bluefield 17-0 in 1990 and went on to an undefeated regular season before losing to Rustburg in the state semi-finals.

If yall are done..... Throw some names out. Who looked good for the G-Men? No need to shame those who didn't, but who performed well? How's the line? It all starts there.

1. Ahmad Bradshaw 2. Leonard Graves 3. Brandon Breeding 4. Cary Perkins 5. Tie. Jacob Dews/Milton Byard

[ QUOTE ] That is EXACTLY the reason at UVA right now. We have that nifty single-sanction honor code: "one strike, you're out." Bradshaw had his strike far too early, but I doubt he would have played much this year. Marshall seems to be the better fit for him. [/ QUOTE ]Unless you are Ahmad Brooks apparently. What Bradshaw did was wrong, but the reason he was gone so quick is that UVA didn't want anybody snooping around there. He was offered as a sacrifice to show just how tough UVA is on offenders (sarcasm).

To explain the reason that western Virginia fields are muddy this time of year one needs to understand the difference between our weather and weather in other areas. Nights this time of the year are almost always below freezing, and most of the time well below. Any rain that falls is usually followed by nights of freezing temps. Water/mud on a field freezes at night and the temp the next day usually spends a few hours above freezing which is not enough to let any moisture dry or soak in. The result is that game times of early afternoon fall in the few hours that the field thaws, hence soft mud. Weather farther east allows fields to stay thawed more allowing more drying and absorbtion. We do not water fields down. And besides, Richlands has great speed, I would think that they want a dry field as much as anyone. A muddy track is of no advantage to anyone in this game. As far as "cleat gate", it was a terrible chapter in SWVA sports, and as much as it hurts, and as long as others choose to remind, Richlands must live with it. You cannot control what happened back then, you can only control the image that you but forth now and in the future.

Nothing would be finer than a Tazewell victory. But that will be an incredible challenge. To address some comments made, normally western Virginia football competes very well with central and eastern football, with the exception of the large tidewater teams. However, this Gretna team is freakish. They are still the offensive fireball of last year, but their defense has shown weakness. That said, in order to beat them you have to "out offense" them, and not count on your defense stopping them. If Tazewell can score 40 points they have a chance. But can they do this with their ball control scheme? Count on this, Gretna will try to shell shock you immediately and score with less than one minute off the clock. Their coach has taught his team the most complicated and timeing oriented offense I've ever seen. If Hall is on, most passes cannot be defended due to the rythmn of the offense. The only chance of blitzing Hall out of this game is to pressure from the ends, if you have interior atheletes to turn him to. That is tough when all available atheletes are trying to cover the 5 receivers in the pattern. In short, everybody should go to see this Hall guy play. The best I've ever seen, and this from a huge Bradshaw fan. And if nothing has changed from last year, he is one cool and gentlemanly character. Another thing that most forget is that if he is throws the ball, at least two of the three possible results are good for the defense, but if Gretna turns to a Rico Reynolds ground attack it won't be a great relief for any defense. I know I've heralded this team like some magical entity, but I've seen them play and I'm a huge fan of their talent. In summary; Go Dogs, but no shame win or lose, and there is a chance that 40 years from now your fondest story you tell your grandchildren about your high school years is that you beat the great Vic Hall, before he was an NFL star.

While it would surely thrill me for a Southwest District team to be the one to break Gretna's streak, I really doubt it will happen. You folks like to talk about Marcum's amazing speed and agility, but your talking about a team with that skill throughout. In Vic Hall you will see something you don't see in Southwest Virginia, a Div I quarterback. Gretna has graduated a few key players, but last year's team was simply the best high school team that most have ever seen, and they were more than 5 graduating seniors better than any AA team. Not to discount that any game they play prior to the state championship will be played in front of the most football frenzied community in the state. Good luck to all who venture there.

Something like that would be nice. Let all our visitors know that champions play football in this town.

Best I've heard yet. But find a better place, such as a newly constructed wall between both stands and the north concession stand. But put them on a wall, together. And I'll concede to Gainer Stadium, it's more relative to me anyway.

Good football chatter going here. The most crucial component of this Richlands goal line situation is that there were no time outs left, and therefore any running play on 3rd down would have been all or nothing. Time would have ran out if the run failed and there would not have been enough time to get a field goal unit on the field. Later in the game, after momentum had swung, run the ball, but given the 3-0 score I still say try the pass, kick the field goal, assure your offense. My play would have been to run from the shotgun, roll the quarterback out with an option to run or pass, and do neither if they were risky, just throw the ball out the back of the end zone.

They probably would have gone for the field goal on 4th. Remember, the quick pass was intercepted at the one on 3rd down. That's why a shotgun set would have been better, more vision for the QB, when a mistake couldn't be afforded.

This isn't as cut and dry as a state line. The whole area between the west softball field at the park and the rescue squad building kind of exists as land that time forgot during the war of northern aggression. Kids of both towns have come together to grow up together on this neutral ground. If the time ever comes that the line through this sacred land ever becomes a true dividing line, then it will signal a terrible turn in the relations of our special community. Kids from both towns have made Mitchell a special field, and coaches from both towns have affected many kids, on both sides of the field. Chmara is indisputedly deserving of the recent distinction, and so is Gainer, and Carlock will be also. Mr. Simon hasn't done too bad, and has alot of years to go. The problem is that there is just so many things that can be named. So my point is that I have no point. For now, and forever, Chmara is properly recognized. Maybe over time someone will figure out how to properly recognize all those deserving. And may the G-Men and the Beavers continue to sanctify Southwest Va.'s and Southern WV.'s holy ground. And on a more fiscal note, I seriously doubt that either team would be able to afford the upkeep of the facility without the contributions of the other. It's symbiotic, we need each other.

Am I hearing this correctly? Two Richlands players have come on here and admitted to intentionally conducting illegal and unsportsmanlike acts during a football game? Say it isn't so. Will some things never change? Doesn't that asterick beside your state championship remind you of what that ultimately brings? As far as the pass at the end of the first half; it wasn't that bad of a call, and here's why. You've driven the ball down the field and trail 3-0 with time running out in the half. It's 3rd down with less than 20 seconds left and you have no timeouts. Run the ball and fail and you have no chance for a 4th down play. The problem was that it should have been a pass from the shotgun, with instructions that if the receiver isn't wide open, throw the ball out the back of the endzone. Clock stops, kick the field goal on 4th. down. When the offense is stalling, which Richlands' was at that point, reward them for their efforts and make it count for something. Things turned out fine for them, but it had the makings of a crucial turning point.

Take away Graham's turnovers and they played well enough to win. But hey, live by the pass, die by the pass. Some coaching decisions could have hurt Graham's effectiveness. The running game wasn't on fire, but no reason to go to the pass so heavily. Graham was in an excellent position for one to complement the other. Matthews' tendency to lock the radar on the intented receiver at the snap was exploited tonight. Ringstaff is about the best "yards after first contact" back I have seen. Richlands deserved the win, and Graham played right out of one. I hated to see what was shaping up to be a nail biter go so awry. And to address the comments of a few, Bluefield still over Richlands by 3 touchdowns.

Compare nothing to Bluefield. There is no comparison west of Roanoke or in WV AA ball. Only one team on their schedule has a chance of staying within 14 points of them.

Some of the most self-destructive football I've ever seen by both teams. Two prime examples and how the breaks went the respective ways are Graham converting a 3rd and 45 for a touchdown and Va. High having a touchdown called back for holding on a player that would have been hard pressed to make the tackle. This game was a battle of ball controlling teams that was probably closer than the scoreboard showed. Va. High brought great size, but lacked explosiveness, which was why Graham could run the middle on them. Graham didn't do as well on sweeps which developed slower, permitting Va. High's backs to string the plays out. The most encouraging thing I saw tonight was that Graham's line is just plain getting good, and with one senior from tackle to tackle. Here's the only prediction I'm ready to make for next week. Total score for the game under 40 and the winner wins by 5 or less.