old_school_blue

Pack loses about 15 yards in three downs and have to punt.

Tazewell attempts an onsides kick to start. Ridgeview recovers and has excellent field position.

Pulling for Tazewell in this one!!! Go Dawgs!!!

Richlands scores again...14-3

Crockett with a FG, 3-0 Crockett.

Turned over on downs, Crockett ball.

Crockett using a version of the 3-3-5 on defense.

Richlands taking the opening kick off and now driving. Near the Crockett 30.

Blues defense picks off a Ridgeview pass at the 1-yard line. Still 7-0. Richlands looking at 99 yards.

Two passes by Ridgeview = Touchdown. Ridgeview up 7-0.

The Abingdon play by play guys are clueless to football, the keep calling the slots, "wings." There is a difference. Abingdon is running a shotgun set that is unbalanced.

Good post! The bottom line is that all programs fall. Sometimes they come back quick, sometimes they don't. It was Richlands' time to struggle. Not knocking Mance, but he probably saw this coming and opted to go south. He seems to be having some success this year and has turned the corner at Loris.

The youth program was not always weak. It has fallen sharply in the last eight to ten years. The key to a successful youth program is to retain and develop players. Too many coaches trying to be geniuses or social icons. That directly correlates to poor performances on Friday nights. "Attracting" talent is a slap in the face to your hometown kids. Retain and develop, both kids and coaches.

To respond to Tornado99 first, Kevin Smith played a little fullback and was a starting linebacker, Kenny "Mossy" Lowe was the starting strong safety, that was more of an outside linebacker position. Matt Deel was a tight end along with Harrison. Brad Salyers was the "fullback" in the split back veer, he was as dangerous as Breeding. Brad was a brilliant student and an exceptional football player and wrestler. Now to the Czar. I feel there are more athletes today and less what I call, "football players." From a safety standpoint, at least in high school, I feel yesteryear was safer for players. These spread offenses place players in positions that have defenders teeing off on them from distances that allow them to get up to speed. As the saying goes, "speed kills." I firmly believe these types of offenses breed injuries especially head injuries. When you think about big hits, passes to the flats, crossing patterns or special teams is where you will find them. A four-yard fullback dive, not so much, too many bodies. I will concede that concussion protocols are now paramount, back then there wasn't any awareness or information available as there is today. One more tidbit about the Marion game, Chris Harrison, who was an all-state player at linebacker and tight end, collected over 30 tackles in the Marion game as it went into multiple overtime periods.

No Tarter was not an assistant. There is no connection between this team and the 92 team, other than Brannon Breeding, who I believe is on staff under Tarter. I was lucky enough to be a member of the 92 team, my ring still reads "State Champion." Football has changed, the game, much like our society has become more about prestige and less workmanlike. The teams were better, the players were tougher, the coaches were more focused on the fundamentals, and yes, better. Dennis Vaught will always have nay-sayers, the people that know him and played for him know better. In my opinion, he is the best pure football coach to ever walk the sidelines in Richlands. If you want to talk about state titles, he won two titles with schools that never had won one before, Lexington and Richlands. He was a throwback coach cast more in the mold of a Bear Bryant compared to today's coaches (high school and collegiate.) In the past, I would get upset when people brought up the cleats. Not so much now, my feelings are mixed. I am grateful that my path crossed his as he taught me many lessons, more about life than football. It also saddens me that the players on that team are not celebrated as they should be. I am sure everyone remembers Breeding and Harrison. There were others on that team that worked their asses off and did not waste their opportunity. Yancy Tabor was the tackle that no one knows, yet he is probably the best pure OL technician to ever play at Richlands. Chris Crawford and Brian Triplett were the guards and Adam Yost was the other tackle, all supremely talented. The center was Sam Barnett. Willis White himself remarked at the VHSL All-Star game in 92 that Barnett was the best High School center that he ever saw. There were Brad Salyers, Terry Monk and Brad Davis, all three exceptional and all three taken from us way too soon. The assistant coaches were all tremendous as well. Richie Thomas, Brian Johnson, Dennis Palmer (probably the best football coach in SWVA right now), Terry Wess...etc. With the mention of the Marion game, I remember that it was a very sloppy field and Marion had run the double wing with a 5'8" 240 lb. full back or "B" back. That guy was impressive and had no quit in him. The mud made him impossible to bring down. The game winner was rung up by Josh Perkins who by far was the best kicker ever at Richlands at that point in history. They have had a few good ones since. Also, Powell Valley pushed us to the brink in Big Stone as we slipped by them 16 to 15, I think. Many good local teams then.

Responding to you and Bandana, as far as the Spread in Richlands, that is their comfort zone and probably all some of them know. It is an ideology in Richlands. IMO, there is no morphing. Same ole, same ole. There is little threat of the pass this year, coaching is not brain surgery. Graham and Tazewell will lock on receivers and dedicate safeties and linebackers to the run. This is exactly what happened to Richlands in playoff games when Mance was here. Sorry, it is true. Spread teams do not fire off in the same manner as teams that run traditional offenses, again, this greatly reduces their ability to consistently run the football. If teams are going to lock corners on receivers and nullify them, why have them in the game. Load up with blocking backs and tight ends, which makes the running game more efficient while working the clock. I equate the spread to having a performance sports car while living in the mountains, it isn't practical. I am not knocking Tarter or any of the coaches. I personally believe at the high school level; coaches should be married to the strengths of their kids and not trying to maintain an ideology. Two examples come to mind, Smith at Appomattox mixing the split back veer with some spread looks. Also, Simon in Bluefield, I have watched the Beavers run spread, double wing and the I formation, depending on the strength of his roster.

late 90's...early to mid were good years.

Richlands fumbles on their initial possession...scoop and score by Union.

I remember a tremendous defensive lineman for Liberty. I think he eventually landed at VT.

My bad, you are right. I had Liberty on my mind for some reason.

I both agree and disagree. I feel Richlands was a better team than Poquoson, actually, I feel they were better than every team they played in the state finals, with the exception of Monticello. They were a phenomenal team that had a super high school coach (Brud Bicknell.) In talking specifically about Poquoson, I think Richlands was beat before they got on the field. IMO, they overlooked their opponent after taking Liberty to the woodshed in the semis (44-7.) Poquoson set the tempo early and ran the ball through out the game. All of their RB's ran like they were playing for a state title. There were too many people (some coaches too I think) telling them how great they were after Liberty and that the semi-final was the de facto state title game. The shame is that the 2010 rivaled the 2006 team in almost every aspect and were very comparable to that team. I was at that game, there may have been some bad calls, but some of the calls, specifically in the fourth quarter, were good calls. Interesting thought regarding Mance's legacy if he lost the 2006 game. I didn't agree with him or his philosophy most of the time, but, I do wish him success at Loris. I feel I need to clarify that first. That being said, the 2006 team was at least 30 points better than Rockbridge County. The decision to "contain" their QB, a kid named Mayo, almost bit Richlands in the ass. Mayo was able to short scramble until receivers became open and hit them for big gains. IMO, they played that game "not to loose" which is what I saw year after year. The dramatic loss to Appomattox (3rd round in 2015) that spring boarded the Raiders program to multiple state championships was Mance's real last chance to win a title. Appo was behind 21-7 with around 6 minutes left, they scored 14 points in regulation to beat Richlands 27-21 in OT. I think that was Dennis Palmer's last year (I think.) Most people in Richlands openly blasted the defense for that loss. However, in my opinion, the defense was not responsible. The offense had the ball on two occasions and could not garner any first downs. They could not run the ball, giving Appo. time and field position. Coach Smith gained the momentum and the rest is history. To me, that loss, (App went on to win the next two games {state semi and state final} by the combined score of 99-12) along with the Poquoson loss in 2010, best represents the Richlands Football program during their impressive run as I feel that no Richlands team actually reached their full potential. The one title Richlands earned, was won late, against an inferior opponent. They did push a great Monticello team, which may have been one of their better state performances. It seemed that Richlands struggled to win outside of our regional area, when they were the favorites. They fared better as underdogs. Just my thoughts.

Honestly, same could be said about Richlands. More than a few playoff games lost due to holding, illegal procedure and personal fouls.

Which brings me back to my point...Richlands kicked Giles' ass that year in a scrimmage. 💥💥

Richlands had several all-state guys left over from the 92 team and some strong underclassmen, including Jeremy McCommons as a sophmore.