ProudBengal

So putting a 6A school into the existing Piedmont district makes sense football wise???? Most of you (especially people in the Roanoke area) like to bash the quality of play in the Piedmont District as is. On VA preps, someone tried to state that because of high enrollments, the athlete base would obviously be better. That is far from the truth, as you can use Bassett and for that matter Carroll County (mean no offense of course) as fine examples against that argument. The "well to do schools" probably threatened some sort of lawsuit if forced to play (albeit behind closed doors) Franklin County. Do you really think for competition purposes and scheduling that Franklin County wants to play in the Piedmont District?? That argument alone I can understand from Carroll County's point of view. Bassett has been playing some of the current River Ridge schools in various sports for quite a while .....and there is a difference in the level of competition. Don't get me wrong, every now and then one of the Piedmont schools gets a group of athletes coming through that can compete with them, but on average...it is a different beast. Now you add a 6A school to the mix (by the way, Franklin County has been on Bassett's schedules for a while now) ...., it’s not going to be good for the ones that have to or choose (doubt those 4 schools will play them) to play them. I would compare that to this scenario….this move would be like moving a Salem (and I mean this as a complement Spartan fans) that is strong in almost every sport, into the Clinch Mountain or the Black Diamond districts and neither of those districts would have a say in the move. What makes sense is this.....the Piedmont has NEVER had a voice in the decisions for quite some time. Our area has been ravaged by economic problems (like many other areas)that continue to worsen. Unlike areas and schools that are in the River Ridge, the population base WILL NOT return to our area, because there aren't many jobs in the area that will allow you to support a family comfortably. Once textiles and furniture left this area, it has been on a drastic decline as far as population base. How long has it been since those industries left and for how long has our area been one of the top areas for unemployment? As I stated earlier, the Piedmont (AGAIN) has something forced down it's throat.....and there is not a thing it can do about it. What is it Don King used to say.....Only in America......

...I stand corrected.... Not only can Franklin County not appeal the ruling, neither can the Piedmont District. Under the new classification system, that gives the Piedmont District schools that represent 5 of the new 6 classifications. Schools do not have to compete against teams that are classified 3 levels above them, thus (Martinsville, Patrick County, Tunstall, and Magna Vista) do not have to put them on their schedules. Only 3 Piedmont teams will be required to play them (Bassett, GW Danville, and Halifax County). Not only does it hamper scheduling with the current Piedmont District schools, but it severely handicaps Franklin County with their scheduling if the 4 schools mentioned elect not to play them. Can only say this, now I know why you did not hear "publicly" from the other River Ridge District schools (other than Carroll County and Pulaski County)....... They knew what was going to happen....one way or another in a "closed door session" !!!!! http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=34758

This is what I posted on my thread.....but thanks for linking it again.

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/breaking/wb/314288 Thus, the River Ridge will include eight schools, listed with their March 31 enrollments: Patrick Henry (1,953), Pulaski County (1,383), Salem (1,246), Carroll County (1,195), Christiansburg (1,092), Blacksburg (1,075), Hidden Valley (1,053) and Cave Spring (843). The Piedmont will include Franklin County (2,167), Halifax County (1,663), George Washington (1,314), Bassett (1,212), Magna Vista (889), Tunstall (851) Patrick County (789) and Martinsville (657). By looking at the numbers....seems they would be a better fit where they were originally assigned. Oh well, when the wealthy start to speak, they tend to get their way. As usual, Piedmont gets dumped on again and has to bend over and take it....with no lube of course. Oh yeah, Franklin County cannot appeal the ruling. That should make everyone outside the Piedmont rest easy.

Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

Thanks

Thanks

Did the Tazewell vs. Richlands game get rained out? If not, does anyone know the result....thanks.

What happened to the FB/Nose from Carroll County #25? Surprised to not see him listed on anything.

Anyone know where one can be found for the upcoming season? Thanks in advance.

Sorry Golden Boy....3 of the 4 fumbles took place in less than "secure" situations. When you don't take care of the ball in an option style offense....you will pay for it. Not taking anything away from Carroll County.....they played well (as I think I stated previously), but they were not the real cause for 3 of the fumbles. Good luck with the rest of your season.

Carroll played well, but I am not quite sure that the 5 turnovers were necessarily the result of the defense (the interception yes, the 4 fumbles....no). When you are an option style team and you don't take care of the ball, turnovers will occur. The Cavaliers kept the game style wise, more to their liking and played with a lot of intensity. I look for them to be very competitive this season. They are fundamentally sound and my Bengals were very lucky to escape Hillsville with a win. Best of luck to Carroll County the rest of the season. Some unofficial stats from the game: (from Bassett Football Website) BHS 28 Carries 167 Rushing yards (3-11 for 66 yards) 5 TO's (4 fumbles, 1 INT) Carroll County 54 Carries 154 Rushing yards (3-9 for 16 yards) 2 T0's (1 fumble, 1 INT)

Thanks, I actually was able to attend the benefit game this year. I thought my boys played fairly well, still have a lot of work to do. I just finished looking at our schedule......and the Bengals are going to have to continue improving in order to be competitive with their non-district slate. Magna Vista has continued to elevate their program recently, and it appears that the rest of the district has improved as well. You guys have an outstanding team and I have enjoyed my 2 trips to Richlands (went to the 7-6 loss back in either '04 or '05). Best of luck with the upcoming season and at Gate City this week.

Anyone know where one can be found? Thanks in advance.

Does anyone know where I could find a roster for Carroll County? Thanks in advance.

Patrick Martin did not return to the football team this year. From what I understand, he is concentrating on baseball this fall (a lot of showcase tournaments, etc.) in hopes of getting some looks. My Bengals are very young and inexperienced this season.

And if you want to say that it was a gift to the semi's......I guess when you spot a team a (7-0) lead after 3 1/2 innings of play.....(included in that was 6 errors from what I counted)....that would be a gift. Did Hidden Valley give them the Finals as well........give Richlands some credit. They were in the Regional Finals and they are going to State. Best of luck to the Blue Tornado.

You know to make a comment like this about a kid....I assume you are referring to Bassett. That "JV kid" just had an outstanding game in the semi-finals of the Piedmont District Tournament against Patrick County. Dominating type pitcher...no, but I saw that kid pitch 3-4 games during the season and a very effective pitcher when he hit location and changed speeds. Oh by the way, they seemed to hit the pitcher from Richlands pretty hard.....I think it was something to the tune of 11 hits.....3 HR's. Isn't this the same kid that was supposed to be one of in not the best pitcher from the Southwest District. Let me ask you a question.....does that make him look like a JV pitcher....I definitely think not. If you are going to make a comment like that about a kid or team, you need to know a little more about both.

Elite 8: Orange County (region II runner-up) at Poquoson (region I champ) Grafton (region I runner-up) at Potomac Falls (region II champ) Richlands (region IV runner-up) at Alleghany (region III champ) Rustburg (region III runner-up) at Tunstall (region IV champ)

Isn't that what high school sports are supposed to be about. Great comment, and I wished that all the ones that choose to belittle teenagers that put out great effort (regardless of odds), could all look at it that way.

Ghs84, my sincere condolences. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. Sometimes we don't understand why, but HE always has things happen for a reason. Find comfort and understanding in HIM and your faith.

I was well aware that he was your 2nd string QB (if Boo had gone down for us, we really didn't have a backup) and it now appears that you guys may be on your 4th FB since the season started...is that correct? Was just stating that injuries hamper most high schools teams because of lack of depth...not making excuses, just stating a fact. As I said, it is a testament to Salem's program that they have been able to plug guys in right after injuries and not skip a beat. The young men that supposedly have left Salem for other schools probably got caught up in that depth and wanted more opportunity for playing time (unless they relocated, etc.) I firmly believe that my Bengals probably overachieved this season based on what I was expecting at the beginning of the season. We probably had about 4-6 solid players overrall (and then depending on a bunch of upperclassmen that had not paid the price until this year), but when 2 of those go down during the season, and they still were in a position to make the playoffs, I think the team peformed admirably. You can call them overrated or whatever, but you at least have to show them a little respect instead of just bashing them. Not all schools are as fortunate as Salem to be able to pull from such a large population base as well as being able to dress as many "football players" instead of just dressing a large number of bodies on game nights. It will probably be awhile before my Bengals have the chance to make the playoffs again (hopefully not), but either way, I will support the cause. Best of luck.

Much smaller team....you base size on a couple of players. I think that the players from Salem are MUCH stronger across the board when you compare the rosters. Last time I checked, size alone does not make a football player. For the most part, Salem's skill position players were much larger than what we had and much more athletic (obvious by some of the plays they made). No crying over spilled milk here, just get tired of all the bashing from some of your fans on another message board. As of late, I have not seen mention from Bassett fans regarding last season......and no I am not going to go there. I remember 3 years ago, Salem handed it to us pretty good in the State Semi's (35-14), I gave plenty of credit back then, and I give it now. Salem throughly outplayed us Friday, exposed a huge weakness or two, and won the ball game. Best of luck this Friday. I think you will find that respect is given, just wished that it would be returned at times from some of your fans instead of bashing a player, team, and a district (as I said). You fail to remember that we were (2-1) against teams from the River Ridge District this year, what does that say for us or your district? Players leave for various reasons, you guys had numerous injuries this year just like we did. The difference between the two is that Salem runs very deep in terms of depth (2 sometimes 3 deep at certain positions) and have adjusted well to those injuries, we have our starters and then......well we have our starters....nuff said. For your information, Bassett was starting 2 offensive lineman that were not even lineman half way through the season, was missing one main lineman (3 year starter on both sides of the ball), and missing an important receiver. Also missing 3 starters on defense and the big difference is, you guys don't miss a beat when you have to bring in some 2nd and sometimes 3rd string guys. Unfortunately, it is not like that for most high schools. I think that alone speaks volumes about the quality of your program year in and year out.

people have a total disdain for them. http://virginiapreps.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=150&mid=117862955&sid=914&tid=117862955&style=2&Override=1 Salem has a tremendous program and it is obvious by the results that they have year in and year out.......but there are "those fans" from Salem who post things such as this and continue to make myself and others look at them differently. To the true supporters of Salem football, best of luck this coming Friday against Pulaski County, but for the ones that post crap like this about a player, team, and a district........

Great point GMan........LOL