Folks tend to forget that Robbins won 3 State Titles in his first 8 years at PV (85,89,90). Thomas Jones first year would have been Phil’s 10th as a the coach. His other 4 all featured a Jones at TB but those weren’t exactly one dimensional teams.
Yes Bolling had the program in a good place and won a state title in 81.
That was 1982...when Phil came to PV in 1983 he changed the offense and the defense. I was in my 3rd year of P-Nut football when he first came and the entire offensive playbook for us changed over and had to be relearned. That is how thorough the program was from P-Nut on up back then, and I doubt it’s changed much as far as the kids learning the basic plays that Union relies on now. As far as Coach Robbins goes, folks can say what they want but he was more tedious in his weekly preparation of his team than any coach I’ve ever been around. He didn’t wear us out in practice, but he made sure we were ready to play. You were never on the field confused or seeing something you hadn’t seen in practice. At times during the games, a play call would come in that the fans might question, but the QB could always change it at the line. He was a great teacher of the game, as was Barry Jones, and it showed in the results on Fridays and Saturdays.
I really don’t know what to make of Morristown West. Last week they struggled to beat a 1-5 Cherokee team. I think if Union shows up and plays well they will have a pretty good chance to win. With the game being in TN, I think it will be a steeper challenge than if it were at home.
I dont believe Appy ever ran it because they ran a different version of the T than what we did.
What is strange is that in the years before Tom Turner took over the Appy program, they ran the same exact version of the T that you guys ran...they had the same coach.
The counter toss is a beauty though. No one runs it anymore though. I dont believe Appy ever ran it because they ran a different version of the T than what we did. Trap them to death and once they suck in, a good fake on the trap leaves the outside wide open. Its a simple play as with many of the T but they work like any other offense. A streaking HB down the middle can really take the top off the D in the T as well.
It leaves the outside wide open with a lead blocker for the back. I never knew of Appy to run it, either. The FB Trap or Blast sets it up and one or the other should be a staple of any run based offense, IMO. You get that counter toss in the hands of a fast back and that's 3-4 big plays per game.
That's why I like PA passes out of the T. It can catch a D off guard.
and in the spread, RUN THE SPREAD! Lol. Run different routes, have four people running routes. Rarely do I see many slants, in routes, posts, etc.. It's all corner routes and streaks
As long as #43 is getting chunks on his off tackle carries, the PA off those would be tough to defend and is an easy pass to complete. Just run flags with both TEs...that is a staple of most T Formation offenses. Union hardly uses it, if ever. The addition of the counter toss off the FB dive would be nice, too. Both of 'em gain big yards if the D isn't honest.
After looking at this again, I know it's rough, but I honestly don't know if it's illegal. Maybe @1in Stripes could tell us.
Definately could’ve been a lot worse. He pretty much just dumped him. He could have driven his shoulder into him as he took him to the ground or came down on top of him with all his weight...but he didn’t. That alone tells me he wasn’t trying to hurt the kid.
From what i seen these 2 teams were pretty equal. Take away the blocked punt and pick six and its a tie ball game. Offenses scored same amount of points. Yes Union deserved to win and did everything right. Richlands has some line problems that im not sure they can fix. Race was back pedaling most of the night as he was passing. But i didnt see either team being the more complete team. Union does have that one standout player in Jenkins that Richlands doesn't have. As far as refs they did an ok job besides the one bad call on the inadvertent whistle. Was a terrible call. Shouldve been bears ball. Seen some holding calls on both teams that werent called but more so with Union. But happens every game. I honestly thought Union was gonna be better. I predicted them to win. Still a good team though. I believe if we see a rematch it will be much closer.
Union is very much still a work in progress. Honestly, I think Union is better on both sides of the line than Richlands is. Even so, Union won the 3rd phase of the game pretty handily...special teams. The blocked punt in the end zone was a direct result of Union’s punter putting the ball inside the 10 on consecutive punts. Union had some pretty nice returns setting themselves up with field position, too. Besides the bad longsnap, Union pretty much dominated that phase of the game and it showed up in field position. When teams are even, special teams is usually the deciding factor. Winning the turnover battle 3-0 doesn’t hurt your chances, either.
I agree BigWinners...it may prove tough to slow down a team who likes to pass a lot. But, at the same time, the D is easy to adapt and adjust, so we will see how it all plays out. I don’t think Union showed much as far as wrinkles and looks on O or D the other night. Another thing...regardless of stats or the boxscore, etc, let’s not forget that Union held a 35-6 lead heading to the 4th, and quite a few of those passing yards came in the final quarter. It will be interesting to see on a week to week basis how the D is tweaked to best defend given opponents. Honestly, I don’t see that base D being abandoned at all. I think it will prove to be more than adequate once the players really find their individual grooves and become more solid in their roles.
I was impressed when Union made some changes, most notably having Guerrant move into more of a strong safety position as opposed to an OLB. Just moving him around allows him to get a cleaner look at the formation. Not often will a good team change their formation in a game, but the best teams always make changes based on personnel. A 4-4 with 8 in the box makes sense if you're facing a run heavy team, but against a team that is spreading the field with four and five receivers, a 4-4 is too slim on athleticism and speed to try and play man coverage. Run a Cover II and make them beat you down the seam or over the top, don't let a team just keep making easy yards underneath. If you're not gonna sub or move guys around to match a formation, then you gotta call plays that keep you from being exposed.
In order to stay in that defense, the CBs have to lock on to the widest receivers, and the OLBs have to be able to cover any receivers split out inside of them. Basically, the safety has to be able to account for a TE releasing downfield. It’s essentially the same D that PV ran for 20 years or so. In order for teams to have success, they usually had to effectively use the TE and slot receivers. If that was the case, it usually came down to whether or not the rush could get to the QB before he could find a receiver. If it did, the offense was toast...if it didn’t, the game would usually turn into a shoot out. Personally, I like that defense...but the rush has to be overwhelming on passing downs or it becomes a boom or bust situation.
Too many times a WR was wide open bc Union relies on that 4-4 with only two corners and one safety with Union never getting physical trying to jam WRs at line. Jenkins plays at one CB, he is not likely to get outran by ANYONE, why not have him jam the receiver? If they get by, his speed allows him to close quickly. Made no sense to me. If Union doesn't get pressure (which at times last night we couldnt), Richlands could score pretty easily.
That’s spot on. With 8 in the box, the CBs are going to have to be on an island with the widest receivers...and be up close and physical off the line. No way around that unless you want to give up easy throws and catches. The OLBs are going to have to be able to cover as well ...which they did pretty well last night. That D is great if you have the personnel to run it, though. Time will tell.
Union was spotty tonight, and definately a work in progress. On D the thing that jumped out at me was the CBs. It would probably help to line them up in a position where it is easier to deny slants or crossing routes and attempt to force the WR toward the boundary. Then, just let them run with the WR and make athletic plays on the ball. The way they are playing the front 7, that seems to me to be the most sensible thing to do. Also, the tackling in the secondary has to improve. On O, it’s a mixed bag of highs and lows, but the one constant is that 43 is a force out of the backfield. In the short term, Union would be best served to grind it out on O and try to limit teams on D. I don’t think the play we saw tonight will resemble the play in mid season. They have enough talent at the right places, just have to get in sync and play hard and they should be fine. That said, I could see this team going anywhere from 10-0 to 6-4 depending on circumstances and/or injuries. They played well enough to win tonight but were really sloppy in spots. A win is a win, though...on to week 2.
I was looking at the BSG P-Nut teams in the local paper earlier. I counted 121 kids spread over 4 teams. Granted, those kids are from both Appy and BSG, but solid numbers none the less.
So,the APPALACHIA TRAINING SCHOOL was the first, replaced by CENTRAL and then replaced by BLAND???, That explains why the two schools used the same colors and mascot. It should be noted that APPALACHIA HS also used the saame blue and gold as CENTRAL/BLAND ,as well as BIG STONE GAP BLUE AND GOLD.I bet it was hard to tell who was who out there. Another side note RALPH CUMMINGS played for the EAST STONE TIGERS DURING THOSE EARLY years , they wore the green gold and white ....like CLINTWOOD
The way I understand it that the Appalachia Training School was renamed Central High, but both were really the same school using the same building. Bland was built because Central High was dilapidated and a new building was needed.
Scaling back equipment would do more to limit concussions than more advanced equipment would, IMO. As a player, if you know you are going to feel it every time you dish it out, it makes you more judicious. I’m not saying to take pads away, but more like keep advancing helmets but leave shoulder pads etc. at mid 90’s levels. Just my two cents.
yes they did , CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL BUFFALOS,my understanding is that all the black kids went there from , BSG,EAST STONE GAP, and APPALACHIA.They were very good
From my understanding, Central was in Appalachia. When the building that presently houses the police station and water department in BSG was built, that school was Bland. The mascot for both was Buffalos. Here’s a link from the SWVA Museum:
You lost this argument before and you’re about to lose it again. First, you’re in the wrong forum. Second, it’s an impressive win, but at the end of the day, it is a 1-score win to a FOUR-LOSS team that was blown out by #3 in its last game. UCF is a Top 10 team. It is by no statistical measure (aside from wins and losses against a schedule that would make VT basketball blush) a Top 4 team.
Exactly how many wins does #4 have over that same 4 loss team? My point exactly...see above. And...you really don’t know whether they are a top 4 team or not. You are just going by your best guess...but I’m sure your best guess wouldn’t have had UGA and Bama both losing to Auburn...and UGA’s loss was pretty embarrassing.
Look at UCF's schedule for the year. They played a lot of cupcakes.
That, and the fact that this was Auburn's 4th loss speaks volumes. Auburn can play at Jordan Hare, but is a mediocre team away from home.
By your logic, UGA and Bama both losing to a 4 loss team speaks volumes as well. Regardless, no team should lose their last game before the selection and get in.
Now, with the win, the folks picking and choosing the CFP teams are left with egg on their faces for the second year in a row. The only undefeated team in the country sits outside after beating a team that owns a win over 2 teams in the playoff. I’m an Auburn fan, but it is what it is.
Folks can say what they want, but through a half, UCF has shown they belong in the playoff. I stand by my original assessment that they do as well. The Peach Bowl should’ve been an Iron Bowl rematch.
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Folks tend to forget that Robbins won 3 State Titles in his first 8 years at PV (85,89,90). Thomas Jones first year would have been Phil’s 10th as a the coach. His other 4 all featured a Jones at TB but those weren’t exactly one dimensional teams.