old_school_blue

My first pick.  Richlands - Justin McCracken (2006 State Championship QB.)  Simply the best pro style quarterback that I ever saw in high school.  He had the talent to play on Sunday.

Last pick.  Richlands.  Mike Compton.  All-American Center at WVU, Super Bowl Champion with the Patriots.  Opened holes for Barry Sanders with the Detroit Lions.

Go G-MEN!!!

Go G-MEN!!!

Go G-MEN!!!

Michael Christ should be fired and never be allowed to coach football again.  He melted down and the next play was a quagmire with another unsportsmanlike penalty.  All the talent in the world and he could only call three basic plays.  He is a complete idiot.  How he wasn't escorted out of the stadium I will never know.
 

And showing his ass

I'm shocked Michael Christ is getting outcoached😀

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

Seeing that Taz @ RV is on Fri at 7 😔
 

Bearcats having a field day, or field trip, or field hogging, or something, or everything.  We might kick by 7:15.

Both bands will be wearing pink tonight.   The theme is "Rivals on the field, Teammates against Cancer".  Both of these schools have been hit hard with cancer the past several years.  Tazewell has lost more then its share of students to this horrible disease.  I am proud of the kids from both schools taking a stand against cancer.  We may be rivals on the field, but we are all human and we all have struggles with our lives.  I'm glad to see the schools coming together, honestly both of these schools do a great job of coming together over difficult issues.  All of these kids are winners if you ask me.  Good luck to both teams.
 
Go Dawgs!!

George Wythe ran the ball right down the field on their first possession with some ease.
George Wythe - 7
Graham - 0
7:39
1st

Yeah but only took Union 2 plays to score though.  TW looks to be just keeping game close running play rock down every snap.  Good coaching

It's 2022. Anything can happen. 😂

Well, if you're going to hang out here you need to understand a few things:
Union folk are never happy.
Giles is experiencing a civil war.
Tazewell somehow has become overrated.
Graham is Graham
Ridgeview will only go as far as their Dline will take them.
We can't figure out Gate City
Lee is on the upswing.
Eastside is on the downswing.
We're not sure about Burton.
The whole damn board dislikes Central.
We have our own internal drama, so you may not go directly to the front of the line.
Enjoy.

Not knowing, speculating, or even having a particular dog in the fight, my opinion based on observations in recent years is that the pendulum with the culture as a whole seems to have swung toward the individuals from the team aspect, likely along with the growth of various travel ball sports. That said one of the challenges of coaching that is more complicated than parenting, speaking from limited experience in both roles is advocating for everyone else’s children and not just your own. Sometimes time spent with one child means not spending time or attention with another. Coaches must bear a great deal of responsibility to make reasonable decisions, rather than emotional ones that we parents have to make. In my experience, the truth is usually somewhere in the middle between opposite perspectives. 

This mindset is likely one of the main reasons for the decline in long-term coaching careers. It seems that many of the area schools change coaches almost every other year. The demands of coaching now require dealing with the effects of changing values and prioritization of those values. Among these, expectations of instant gratification in the form of “win now”, despite the culture of “me first” over team. I, imagine, resignations to spend time with family, indeed the right decision, is because the requirement to spend more time year-round to win, without long-term appreciation and support for teaching valuable lessons. Instead, it’s “do what I want, so that I can be a star and get a scholarship.” This isn’t meant as an indictment on any individual, but how our society is becoming as a whole. Coaches are often the means to and end, nowadays. I was very fortunate to have played in an era where the values were more predicated on hard work and teamwork. I can point to the application of those values in my life every day. I can really appreciate those who continue to Coach for the right reason, despite more effort for fewer rewards.

Calm down sugar tits.  You forget to use your words when your amped up. 

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.

I agree, overall. My biggest question is why? I see firsthand how hard the youth program works to revive/strengthen the program. 
The largest factor in my opinion that speaks to the talent situation is simply numbers. There are fewer kids, but still enough to remain in the same classification. It is evident in the number of teams in the youth programs. In the last 10-15 years the number of Richlands area teams has shrunk from 5 to 2.
As I was typing this post, old school blue has replied. My next thought is based upon a sentiment often lamented by him, and that is the toughness and style of play that is better suited to the talent. I often use Union as a standard because there are many parallels with numbers and former success. Their lineplay is second to none most years. Unfortunately, our recent path is more along the lines of Gate City (no disrespect Blue Devils). That is a once, proud successful program falling on hard times. 
 
Finally, coaching is extremely important to success breeding success. While a little turmoil transitioning from Vaught to Mance, generally the bulk of the staff had worked together for years and years. For many of these kids, a lot of change and adversity is a recipe for hard times. No disrespect for any particular coach, again talent is an obstacle. Just searching deeply through my analytical lens for a why?

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.

There's a guy out there named Mark Dixon. And while he might not bring them back to what they were they would certainly be better than they are now. It's been a disaster since the day they hired Wells.

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.