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is their anybody in swva going to give richlands a game? is richlands that good or is the rest of comp from swva down this year or is their a combination of both?

is way too early to tell that much about early teams with the exception of some trends! richlands is very good, liberty is very good! is blacksburg a little better than people thought they would be! i said they would be!that would be good news for giles county who beat both blacksburg and christiansburg! how will blacksburg do against william fleming? will graham continue to get these tough wins?sometimes a win or close loss can make you a better team-it depends!will pulaski get better and challenge for the district? how will salem do against william fleming? does amherst have one of those unstoppable teams that they had in the mid nineties? they play g.w. danville tonight!that will tell us something!will patrick henry of roanoke continue to get better with coach bob gray?

just some info to throw around-this was an preseason forecast for liberty! coach chris watts last season 10-1 6-0 seminole lost in region 3 division 4 first round to salem 22-14 returning offensive starters 4 defense 5 key players DT daryl robertson 6'3" 308, lb travis tolley 5'11" 195,de frank keeney 6'3" 250,fb mike riner 5'8" 185,C carter brown 5'11" 210,qb julian poindexter 5'11" 180,rm damian dobyns 5'9" 150,ot david harlow 6'2" 245,g jason key 6'2" 260! liberty should have a easier trip to playoffs and aneasier overall road but my personal feelings are the main obstacle will be richlands that may be the state champion although hidden valley and christiansburg have a chance but are they physical enough?

amherst county is big, big, with a great running back in jonathan rose-they are a power team! salem could be in the mix they return a lot,especially on defense and offensive line they are small but quick and have depth!the other teams in div. 4 could be liberty-bealton,harrisonburg, relee,lafayette from the other part of the state!

liberty minuteman extremely big and strong with fast runningbacks have 6'3" 300 lb va. tech signee on defense! mainly a running team but will pass on occasion-last year lost in division 4 semifinal to salem 22-14 in bedford! zack webb had a big first game for them against northside with 176 yards! richlands and graham will be the chief rivals with richlands looking very good early losing to salem in div. 4 state semi last year at richlands 42-28! i believe that the one big area where richlands will have an advantage will be their passing attack and their versatility on offense but can they stop liberty?

glenvar is extremely tough this year?

I REMEMBER BEFORE THE 1999 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN WHICH SALEM PLAYED PARK-VIEW STERLING THEY PRACTICED WITH SOME GILES COUNTY PLAYERS AT VIRGINIA TECH TO TRY TO GET SOME HELP AGAINST THAT SINGLE WING! PARK VIEW WAS THE ONLY OTHER TEAM IN THE STATE TO RUN THAT OFFENSE. SALEM WON THAT ONE 21-20!

it will be hard to pick the winner in the river ridge this year!blacksburg will be much improved, christiansburg has improved every year over the past three and they return their qb, andrew hoffman. cave spring returns quite a bit but they lost their coach so that may be a problem!hidden valley made great strides last year! in fact, the only 2 teams that were not in the plyoffs last year were blackburg and pulaski from the river ridge but pulaski had a great year but just had some rough luck when they fumbled the ball several times against salem and salem took advantage with their speed.pulaski lost some great players, including ernie hodge, but they do return their great running back crouse. salem lost andre hairston and matt shawver- 2 key players during salems playoff run and eventual state championship but they return most of their line and linebackers. for them the qb position will be key if they wish to make a run in this very tough district.pulaski also lost their qb and although they dont pass very much they have a lot of tricky handoffs in that wing-t formation they run so that could be key for them, also!for those of you from richlands i was very impressed by the reception the salem fans received and also with the attitude of the richlands players who would never give up!