old_school_blue

Now honestly.....do you remember a season, in say the last 10 to 15 years, that Richlands wasn't plagued by bonehead penalties? Some years less than others, but, some every year. The defense is loaded with studs, they are young and will only get better. My concern is offense. Specifically, the need to control the clock and keep our young defense on the sideline and not on the field so much. I know what can be done about the running game, Landon Lowe at TE, Gregory Griffith at FB or H-Back, many carries to Chace Collins and James White. With the caliber of WR that we have, a physical running game would be a death lick on any pair of corners in the state. I heard commentators talking about our new great head coach at VT and his philosophy. Simply....run to win....pass to score. Much to gain from that philosophy. My take on that philosophy.....run to punish and pass to scorch.

This team has the potential to be one of the better teams Richlands has fielded. With a little momentum, who knows. At this point, Graham will be a major test, I hope the G-Men have already written us off. But, I kinda doubt they have. Abingdon is a great team, but that is much later in the season. I see a few personnel moves and we will be fine. If and I mean if, we run the table (not exactly impossible) we should be no less than second behind Appo. We could be first, if you guys keep winning (good luck by the way) and A-town only drops one (to us.) We do have to get better though. I would like to the see the offensive fire they displayed in the last half of the 4th quarter for four quarters. The next two games are key, a very dangerous Graham team and a very talented Central squad.

Once that huge Fullback got rumbling, it really opened the double dive/belly play. The only downside to that for Union is it limits Mitchell's touches.

Spot on doppelganger. I was expecting the "T" and we got it. That won a few state titles for Turner's father. Still works too!

Anybody have a score for Honaker @ Castlewood?

I have found my doppelganger!!!!!!!!

Richlands was once known for smash mouth football, lining up and running the ball down your throat. There's a few of us "old guys" that miss that. Call me old fashioned.

I heard that he was there today and from what I heard will be transferring. I will be the first to say he needs to stay at Hurley and finish the season with his teammates. There are not enough footballs at Richlands either. We have several backs on the depth chart and those kids have busted their tail to get there. This is the fourth kid this year to transfer in to Richlands. I can remember when all in Richlands would balk at Salem's multiple yearly transfers and non smash mouth style of football. Now, we have became Salem.

.....................So you're saying there's a chance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have guided the league with continued success. Most people don't realize the sacrifice and the toll it takes to run the league. You have had a tremendous influence on the entire program, as you have coached Smurf level through the Varsity program, not to mention the baseball and basketball programs. We always made a pretty good team. Good Luck this year!

For a little background information on Tazewell. I actually took the Midget League over in 2007. The league voted to run criminal background checks on all coaches in all locations. Twin Valley and Honaker had no problem and was in agreement. The task of this fell on the President at the time, me. The "leaders" from Tazewell basically told us to shove off and thought they would be allowed to run their own background checks, which led to them breaking off to do their own thing. In my opinion, that put a hole in the boat that sunk the ship. Coach Allen was given the Captaincy to a ship that was already under water. Those select few from Tazewell put their own agenda before what was best for their kids and their program. We all know what the result has been. This is not second hand information, it is straight from the horse's mouth. I still have the letter they sent that basically said screw you. The teams that stayed have enjoyed a measured amount of consistently upward success. The last couple of years, Twin Valley has came on hard and it is no coincidence that Honaker is a perennial playoff team. I was still in the league to usher both Hurley and Grundy in. I have a great deal of pride and satisfaction in being able to say that. Lebanon will see an upswing in a couple of years. I was able to oversee all of this without actually having a son or daughter playing in the league. About a year after my son was born, I turned the reigns over to Anthony Cox. If the day comes that my son wants to play and I become involved again, and Tazewell is not in the league, the first person I will seek an audience with is Shane Allen. I really feel that he is a good man with a daunting task. Both Tazewell and Graham need in the League and I have a feeling that they soon will be. I may seem to most on here to be the "anti-Richlands" Richlands fan. The truth is that I am the most misunderstood. I have spent countless hours and some of my own dimes in that League, along with a little blood, alot of sweat and a fair amount of tears. I love that league and the great young men that it has produced; be them Raiders, Cowboys, Devils, Tide, Tigers, Jets, Bengals, Panthers, Rising Waves or Rebels. Hero to some and villain to others. I always tried to do the right thing and be honest with people. That means no agendas and doing right for all. It is more important to me to be a man and establish character, than it is to be politically correct or to be socially accepted.

You need to double check your facts. From what I understand, Tazewell and Graham both requested to play in the league. However, they requested in mid-summer and there was not enough time to get everthing processed. Kind of like Lebanon, they wanted to come in late last year as well. I keep in touch with the board members and they all want both Tazewell and Graham in the league next year. It was a matter of timing. And just for your information, when it comes to letting other teams in the league, all of the other locations have a vote as well. I have a friend in Tazewell that was fired up as well. There is some mis-information floating around. I told our board members years ago that if the league was managed well and was fair, all of the local communities would want in. Kudos to those in the RIchlands Midget Football League, Inc.

You are missing my point, but you have scored points for me. Both teams ran the football, both teams defeated us. How they scored is completely irrelevant. Look at the teams that defeated us in the playoffs for the last few years. You named the last two, Giles, Cave Spring, Poquoson, Monticello and Turner Ashby. All strong running teams. Only Brookville was a Spread team. Rockbridge was a spread team in 2006, which was a team we defeated, but I honestly felt that we were 4 touchdowns better. In summary, when we play good teams that can run the football, we struggle. And I don't think the defense is to blame. Teams that can control the clock have a major advantage. And to be clear, I am the biggest supporter of our kids, this is simply a strategy discussion. And on the defense, as the old saying goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Great defense has long been a staple of Richlands football. These are simply my opinions, doesn't mean that I am right, just my two cents.

What happens when a team lines up and has the ability to cover our receivers or the ability to get to the quarterback? At that point, it too late to say "we have to run the football." When you want a T-Bone steak, you don't go to McDonald's, why? Because McDonald's is not in the T-Bone steak business. Mance's offense is not in the "run the ball" business. You said it in your post, which is my point exactly. We just need one to "spring a long one." You can't base a game plan on broken plays. What happens when you are up by 6 with four minutes left, you have to control the clock, milk it and get out with the win. We do not have that mentality. And I will admit, the spread and lights out defense, has maintained our program, as far as regular season wins, district titles....etc. Past that....not so much. To prove my point, how many times in practice, games....etc, do our O-lineman start the play with a step backwards? They are not conditioned to attack. which you have to do to run the ball. That is mentality. You are asking players to do something that they are not trained or conditioned to do. I completely respect your perspective, but this is how I feel.

For the most part I agree with you. You are correct. However, my concern it getting in the playoffs and not being able to make first downs due to an inability to run the football (Appomattox.) This will happen, it is inevitable. I don't see Lowe running the ball, maybe in a goal line package, that would be about it. Our first four games may be a struggle, I can see this team getting better every week. However there are teams that play solid defense and can RUN the football, that is the Richlands program's achilles' heel.

I disagree completely. James White is not too small, that is ridiculous. He is a more traditional tailback and needs a step to get downhill. The running game will not play a major role this year. In Mance's spread, the RB is a pass blocker or bleeds to the flat. You will not see a game this year in which there is more than 15 running attempts by Richlands. It is what it is.

The defense started to tighten a bit as the scrimmages progressed. Richlands will do well to keep the defense off the field and the offense on. But that is not going to happen.

Sadly, there are no more Tom Turners anymore.

The kid from Hurley would have to be nuts to come to Richlands. He would not get the carries here that he would get at Hurley. Mance has a 1st team all state quarterback coming back, he is not concerned about running the football, especially in 2016. I am hoping the pipeline gets turned off, I am in favor of developing talent from Richlands. The long term effects of having annual transfers, which we are having conversations about every year, will eventually be a detriment to our kids and the program. Not hating or throwing rocks, just my honest opinion.

You are absolutely correct. These teams do not always truly represent the best in the state. Players are used as bartering chips in these meetings by some coaches.

Good Luck brother!! I am pulling for you!!

You going old school on that one with an older running back that many may not remember. Never saw him at Pineville, but, I watched many a Seahawks/Raiders games when he played years ago. That was when the Seahawks were in the AFC West.

No Landon Lowe? B*^%S*%$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have heard rumors.......I heard that the home side needs renovated and would cost more to fix that they want to spend.

If....and I do mean if, you had any credibility. You just blew it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Put the spoon up, this has been stirred enough.