cityofRaven

You Hurley people weren't this pissed when USA Today tried to come in and paint your Rebel flag a rainbow...

Hurley has a solid program and does very well for a school of their size. Do they stay away from 2A schools? Of course and for good reason. This Rebel team is very good but if they graduate 7 starters then the next two teams might not be very good. Its literally year to year for these schools. Appy and JIB were brought up, remember both of those had enrollments well above 300 students in their glory days(JIB was  up around 325-350 in the 2000s) and Appy was just a powerhouse, no doubt about it. But those are 2 programs with dozens of examples of others of similar size that couldn't do that.  Does Hurleys schedule need to toughen up, obviously, part of that is their fault and part isint.
 
Failing to see how larger schools have a decided advantage over smaller schools is idiotic. The VHSL realizes this, as does every other state. If it was a non issues we wouldn't have classifications. Saying "you can only play 11 at a time" is ignorant at best. If you don't understand that then you don't understand high school football. That's not saying a 2A will always beat a 1a, its saying that chances are the larger school will come out on top.
 
Now on to the Rebel fans. Some are good people and understand football, some are hyper defensive of their school/team/community. Ive had my run ins with them on here before. Some of you need to cool it, youre doing the same thing you do almost every year(and ive said this before), you blow them up to be world beaters(on here and in real life) and then when they slip everyone talks trash about them.
 
 
And questioning Stripes integrity is bullshit, plain and simple. Hes a good dude.

Well, the Rebel_Yell, he got ten long days,
In the G-Man's chair, alone he'll stay,
In the Midnight hour, he ran his mouth,
Now in G-Man's chair, he'll have to pout.
Pout. Pout. Pout.

If it wasn't already blindingly obvious from the Graham and Giles threads earlier in the week, I'm a Graham G-Men alum and fan. There. Let the record show, for about the hundredth time since I began posting on this board over a decade ago, where my loyalty lies.
 
It would behoove you to pay attention every now and again.

Yeah, God forbid the kids today have to ride a school bus on a curvy road or across a mountain. 

Extrapolating a bit from the Richlands records, there are a few scheduling dynamics that kind of jump out.
 
1.  Graham, Grundy, Richlands, and Tazewell have played each other on a pretty consistent and continuous basis since the advent of high school football in the 1920s.  The recent withdrawal of the Golden Wave from the SWD was a truly noteworthy and historical event.
 
2.  In the 1930's there appears to be a lot of scheduling reciprocity between the Tazewell County schools and those of Wise County.  Appalachia, Big Stone Gap, Coeburn, and Wise were frequent opponents until about 1950.  Virginia High began showing up consistently on the schedule in the late 1930's as well.  My impression is that the larger schools generally played one another -- don't know if that was due to preference or necessity.
 
3.  The lineup of the original SWD had pretty much taken shape by 1950, with Marion and Saltville appearing as regular opponents.  William King (the effective direct ancestor of Abingdon High School) was also a regular opponent during this time.  Given that and simple geography, I've often wondered why they weren't included in the SWD -- although I suspect it was some combination of enrollment figures and/or local policy.
 
All this is to say that the records indicate that Richlands has played a really diverse number and range of opponents (by my count, 86 different schools), but the Blues have maintained some fairly longstanding relationships with "traditional" rivals over the years.  This has probably served to preclude (or at least suppress) the number of match ups against schools like Chilhowie or Clintwood.
 
Pure speculation on my part, mind you.

The SWD of 1956 to 1970 was effectively participating in the highest level (Division 1) of high school competition in Virginia.  Its champions typically faced off against those of the Western District (which contained many members of the subsequent AAA Roanoke Valley District) for the right to square off against schools from the larger population centers such as NoVa and Tidewater.  Very rare for SWD teams to experience a lot of postseason success in any sport during that era -- although there were some notable exceptions.
 
No disrespect to the LPD (or any other league operating in the region prior to the 1970 reclassification), but there really isn't much basis for comparison with the SWD in this specific time frame.  Division 1 was just a clearly different level of play.

That's right. I remember watching films preparing for Matewan, and seeing the tigers (?) running out of a tent and plowing over some cheerleaders to Ozzy Osborne. Funniest film session I have ever seen.

I'm sure that La Fiesta Mexican Grill will give you all 10% off if you say you are Abingdon fans and playing against Graham...
 
Several places nearby... McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, El Puerto, Italian Village, Bellacino's, Applebees, Bob Evans, Subway. Hardees, Savory Flavors, Dairy Queen on the VA side....  
 
On the WV side.... Railyard, Big Whiskey BBQ, McDonalds, Hardees, KFC, Captain D's, Dairy, Queen, Portabellas
 
In the Mall... Chic fil A, Portabellas, Sunny Days, McAdo's
 
The VA side would be more convenient if coming down 19-460
 
The mall and WV side wouldn't be too much out of the way if you're coming down 81 to 77...

Saltville was once in the SWD back in the days the SWD resembled the SEC of today. 

I live 4.7 miles as the crow flies from my in-laws. It takes me 22 minutes to get there. Surely this isn't your best argument.

Kanes and Walkers!

They finally get someone who knows how to run it? Last time I was there was in 2014 and they had some numbers scrolling where the teams name should be. 

It may be only mid-season but the Butt-Hurt is in postseason form with some of you people...

City of Bluefield runs the stadium.  No extra bulbs for the scoreboard.  They will need to implement a "bulb fee" to the residents.   

Saltville was once in the SWD back in the days the SWD resembled the SEC of today. 

Saltville was once in the SWD back in the days the SWD resembled the SEC of today. 

SWVASports.com????

Bluefield can hire me to recruit the locals. I go to games on Fridays and I'll consult all of you for your opinions. Can't lose

Why so salty? You butthurt? Hurley isn't losing anything by Holston and the three amigos from the Cumberland dropping Hurley after next season. What....ten wins between the four teams? Hurley has their schedule set for 2017 with better teams. The VHSL has approved that field time and time again over the last eight years since the redesign. The VHSL approved t as recently in November for the home playoff game.  
Maybe you should have gotten drunk like the bunch from Twin Springs did this year. The alcohol might have made your experience more tolerable. The stadium was cleaned the next day and where the Twin Springs fans were sitting was where they found about 6 Bootleggers wine bottles and some Budweiser bottles. LOL

It may be only mid-season but the Butt-Hurt is in postseason form with some of you people...

The transitive property has no place in football. Lol. It's all about matchups. :)

It may be only mid-season but the Butt-Hurt is in postseason form with some of you people...

It may be only mid-season but the Butt-Hurt is in postseason form with some of you people...