sup_rbeast

That was PVs first year they won a state title. Hurley had a damn fine team that year.

So exciting it had to be said twice? Lmfao

Guess that happens when you're made to play with wet balls..

Guess that happens when you're made to play with wet balls..

So much for Union not being able to run the ball. This game was the exact opposite of last weeks game for Union...the outcome was the same but that is it. The Bears were looking to replace a RB and a WR lost to injury last week, and showed a lot of resiliency in doing so and finding a way to win.
BTW, I don't buy that coaching cost Richlands that game. On the final drive, Union had 3 4th downs (2 of them over 8 yards...one was 15 yards) that they converted. And they had a more than legit shot at 2 or 3 interceptions. If they make any of those plays, the Blues win. It doesn't come down to X's and O's nearly as much as it comes down to the Jimmys and Joes IMO. Richlands has a good team and a lot of good players...but after the first 8 minutes of the game, they were outplayed...plain and simple.

So much for Union not being able to run the ball. This game was the exact opposite of last weeks game for Union...the outcome was the same but that is it. The Bears were looking to replace a RB and a WR lost to injury last week, and showed a lot of resiliency in doing so and finding a way to win.
BTW, I don't buy that coaching cost Richlands that game. On the final drive, Union had 3 4th downs (2 of them over 8 yards...one was 15 yards) that they converted. And they had a more than legit shot at 2 or 3 interceptions. If they make any of those plays, the Blues win. It doesn't come down to X's and O's nearly as much as it comes down to the Jimmys and Joes IMO. Richlands has a good team and a lot of good players...but after the first 8 minutes of the game, they were outplayed...plain and simple.

Union was 7-9 on 4th down conversions. Just plain inexcusable.

You know, old man Reid's boy.

The Biblical text of Elijah and Elisha is one worth remembering often.  However, I think it's a bit odd to compare Colobro and Reed to two of God's prophets.  Particularly when Prophet Reed has only performed 4 miracles in 21 opportunities as Head Miracle Worker in his previous and current villages.

John Battle is not traditionally a very good team. Usually lucky to win 3 or 4 games a season. This is up to the past couple of seasons. Now, Battle is expected to have almost the usual season.
 
Abingdon, another team that traditionally isn't anything special, beats them 60 to 20. All of a sudden Abingdon is a world beater? If they beat Gate City, a perennial powerhouse, then I would believe it. When was the last time Abingdon won against Gate City? 1998? One of Gate City's once in a blue moon cellar years at 3-7?
 
Gate City will beat Abingdon. I have no logical reason to believe Gate City will lose to them. Abingdon might scare them but that's it.

Union got complacent and kept Clintwood in the game. Clintwood did turn the ball over, but the score was closer than the game IMO. Clintwood was scrappy and played hard, but there was never a time that the game seemed much in doubt to me. The last INT was more of a desperation throw than anything. I will say this, in the 2nd half Union didn't tackle well and Clintwood outplayed them for a stretch, but both teams have some work to do in order to ensue a successful season.

http://www.tricities.com/sports/article_2c3aea74-5e33-11e3-a6d8-0019bb30f31a.html
 
GREGORY: Something we can all be proud of
Posted: Thursday, December 5, 2013 11:59 pm
Allen Gregory | Bristol Herald Courier
 
 
    It's one of the most enduring traditions of Southwest Virginia prep football. At schools across the region, fans gather on the field long after games. They hug the players, shake hands with the head coach and listen in on the team meeting.In terms of raw emotion, nothing rivals these postgame sessions in the playoffs. After a loss, seniors are suddenly confronted with the end of a quest that dates back to midget league.After years of 7 a.m. wake-up calls, repetitive practices in the August heat, muscle-wrenching sessions in the weight room, late-night homework cramming through exhaustion and bonding on road trips and camps, the ride is suddenly over.
    Players often linger under the goalposts or in the dressing room before taking off the pads for the final time. It’s an excruciating ritual, even for a state championship squad. Many men can recite every play from their final game, and they spend years longing for the electricity of those Friday nights.
While fans and players from the other team celebrate just a few feet away, the head coach from the losing team must somehow project a positive spin while allowing his seniors to undergo their catharsis.
    Two weeks ago, first-year Virginia High head coach Michael Crist had the task of consoling his Bearcats after a crushing triple-overtime playoff loss at Richlands. VHS appeared to have the game won before Richlands scored on an 85-yard fumble return with just one minute and 39 seconds remaining.
With rain falling, the VHS players were heartbroken and bitter. But instead of lashing out at officials or the cruel hand of fate, Crist simply reminded his players of how far they had come from a 1-3 start to the season.
    Richlands coach Greg Mance employed a similar big-picture message last week after his team dropped 48-14 decision at Giles. Mance urged his players to look him in the eye while he stressed his pride in the way the Blue Tornado overcame a spate of injuries and bounced back to win their 10th straight Southwest District title.
    For the winning coach, the postgame speech is a time to rejoice and recognize standout performances.No leader in Southwest Virginia was better at the postgame sermon than Don Williams of Lee High. This guy was part evangelist, part ambassador and part war general.Williams knew how to touch on all the key points, especially regional and school pride. When Williams got on a roll, grown men were moved to tears and the community became galvanized behind the Lee Generals.
    Sadly, some coaches, players and fans forget all about humility after wins while rubbing salt into the wounds of defeated opponents. In this Twitter-ized age of five-second attention spans and on-demand video, coaches must resort to unique methods to console and motivate teens. In a simpler age, it was common for elaborate wreaths to mysteriously show up at schools on game day. Naturally, most folks assumed that the flowers and the accompanying “inspirational†cards came from the opposition. Some coaches would also use newspaper predictions and stories to fire up their players. That’s what bulletin boards were used for. Now, Internet message boards are the primary source for boasting, trash talking and motivation.
    Former Powell Valley head football coach Phil Robbins relied on a standard pre-game speech during his highly-successful 28-year coaching run.
“I think you have to be consistent,†Robbins said. “I wanted the weekly practice schedule and game-day routine to be the same.â€Robbins stayed away from the stereotypical “Win One for the Gipper†exhortations. “I never wanted my players to get too high or too low,†Robbins said. “There are ways to motivate kids now, and it might be as simple as a new pair of socks and compression shirt. But consistency is the key.†Robbins shared the themes of his pre-game routine.
“I focused on ball security on offense, getting 11 helmets to the ball on defense, and executing in the kicking game. That was it, and it worked,†said Robbins, who won seven state titles at Powell Valley.
    Win or lose this Saturday, Southwest Virginia fans can rest assured that veteran Haysi coach James Colley will deliver an appropriate post-game speech before the usual throng of red-clad Tiger supporters. After Saturday’s emotional victory over J.I. Burton, the charismatic Colley urged his players and fans to give thanks for their blessings and friends and to spread goodwill throughout the community. Football in Southwest Virginia may have lost some of its star appeal in recent years, but the postgame prayer meeting is one tradition we can all take pride in.

http://www.tricities.com/sports/article_2c3aea74-5e33-11e3-a6d8-0019bb30f31a.html
 
GREGORY: Something we can all be proud of
Posted: Thursday, December 5, 2013 11:59 pm
Allen Gregory | Bristol Herald Courier
 
 
    It's one of the most enduring traditions of Southwest Virginia prep football. At schools across the region, fans gather on the field long after games. They hug the players, shake hands with the head coach and listen in on the team meeting.In terms of raw emotion, nothing rivals these postgame sessions in the playoffs. After a loss, seniors are suddenly confronted with the end of a quest that dates back to midget league.After years of 7 a.m. wake-up calls, repetitive practices in the August heat, muscle-wrenching sessions in the weight room, late-night homework cramming through exhaustion and bonding on road trips and camps, the ride is suddenly over.
    Players often linger under the goalposts or in the dressing room before taking off the pads for the final time. It’s an excruciating ritual, even for a state championship squad. Many men can recite every play from their final game, and they spend years longing for the electricity of those Friday nights.
While fans and players from the other team celebrate just a few feet away, the head coach from the losing team must somehow project a positive spin while allowing his seniors to undergo their catharsis.
    Two weeks ago, first-year Virginia High head coach Michael Crist had the task of consoling his Bearcats after a crushing triple-overtime playoff loss at Richlands. VHS appeared to have the game won before Richlands scored on an 85-yard fumble return with just one minute and 39 seconds remaining.
With rain falling, the VHS players were heartbroken and bitter. But instead of lashing out at officials or the cruel hand of fate, Crist simply reminded his players of how far they had come from a 1-3 start to the season.
    Richlands coach Greg Mance employed a similar big-picture message last week after his team dropped 48-14 decision at Giles. Mance urged his players to look him in the eye while he stressed his pride in the way the Blue Tornado overcame a spate of injuries and bounced back to win their 10th straight Southwest District title.
    For the winning coach, the postgame speech is a time to rejoice and recognize standout performances.No leader in Southwest Virginia was better at the postgame sermon than Don Williams of Lee High. This guy was part evangelist, part ambassador and part war general.Williams knew how to touch on all the key points, especially regional and school pride. When Williams got on a roll, grown men were moved to tears and the community became galvanized behind the Lee Generals.
    Sadly, some coaches, players and fans forget all about humility after wins while rubbing salt into the wounds of defeated opponents. In this Twitter-ized age of five-second attention spans and on-demand video, coaches must resort to unique methods to console and motivate teens. In a simpler age, it was common for elaborate wreaths to mysteriously show up at schools on game day. Naturally, most folks assumed that the flowers and the accompanying “inspirational†cards came from the opposition. Some coaches would also use newspaper predictions and stories to fire up their players. That’s what bulletin boards were used for. Now, Internet message boards are the primary source for boasting, trash talking and motivation.
    Former Powell Valley head football coach Phil Robbins relied on a standard pre-game speech during his highly-successful 28-year coaching run.
“I think you have to be consistent,†Robbins said. “I wanted the weekly practice schedule and game-day routine to be the same.â€Robbins stayed away from the stereotypical “Win One for the Gipper†exhortations. “I never wanted my players to get too high or too low,†Robbins said. “There are ways to motivate kids now, and it might be as simple as a new pair of socks and compression shirt. But consistency is the key.†Robbins shared the themes of his pre-game routine.
“I focused on ball security on offense, getting 11 helmets to the ball on defense, and executing in the kicking game. That was it, and it worked,†said Robbins, who won seven state titles at Powell Valley.
    Win or lose this Saturday, Southwest Virginia fans can rest assured that veteran Haysi coach James Colley will deliver an appropriate post-game speech before the usual throng of red-clad Tiger supporters. After Saturday’s emotional victory over J.I. Burton, the charismatic Colley urged his players and fans to give thanks for their blessings and friends and to spread goodwill throughout the community. Football in Southwest Virginia may have lost some of its star appeal in recent years, but the postgame prayer meeting is one tradition we can all take pride in.

http://www.tricities.com/sports/article_2c3aea74-5e33-11e3-a6d8-0019bb30f31a.html
 
GREGORY: Something we can all be proud of
Posted: Thursday, December 5, 2013 11:59 pm
Allen Gregory | Bristol Herald Courier
 
 
    It's one of the most enduring traditions of Southwest Virginia prep football. At schools across the region, fans gather on the field long after games. They hug the players, shake hands with the head coach and listen in on the team meeting.In terms of raw emotion, nothing rivals these postgame sessions in the playoffs. After a loss, seniors are suddenly confronted with the end of a quest that dates back to midget league.After years of 7 a.m. wake-up calls, repetitive practices in the August heat, muscle-wrenching sessions in the weight room, late-night homework cramming through exhaustion and bonding on road trips and camps, the ride is suddenly over.
    Players often linger under the goalposts or in the dressing room before taking off the pads for the final time. It’s an excruciating ritual, even for a state championship squad. Many men can recite every play from their final game, and they spend years longing for the electricity of those Friday nights.
While fans and players from the other team celebrate just a few feet away, the head coach from the losing team must somehow project a positive spin while allowing his seniors to undergo their catharsis.
    Two weeks ago, first-year Virginia High head coach Michael Crist had the task of consoling his Bearcats after a crushing triple-overtime playoff loss at Richlands. VHS appeared to have the game won before Richlands scored on an 85-yard fumble return with just one minute and 39 seconds remaining.
With rain falling, the VHS players were heartbroken and bitter. But instead of lashing out at officials or the cruel hand of fate, Crist simply reminded his players of how far they had come from a 1-3 start to the season.
    Richlands coach Greg Mance employed a similar big-picture message last week after his team dropped 48-14 decision at Giles. Mance urged his players to look him in the eye while he stressed his pride in the way the Blue Tornado overcame a spate of injuries and bounced back to win their 10th straight Southwest District title.
    For the winning coach, the postgame speech is a time to rejoice and recognize standout performances.No leader in Southwest Virginia was better at the postgame sermon than Don Williams of Lee High. This guy was part evangelist, part ambassador and part war general.Williams knew how to touch on all the key points, especially regional and school pride. When Williams got on a roll, grown men were moved to tears and the community became galvanized behind the Lee Generals.
    Sadly, some coaches, players and fans forget all about humility after wins while rubbing salt into the wounds of defeated opponents. In this Twitter-ized age of five-second attention spans and on-demand video, coaches must resort to unique methods to console and motivate teens. In a simpler age, it was common for elaborate wreaths to mysteriously show up at schools on game day. Naturally, most folks assumed that the flowers and the accompanying “inspirational†cards came from the opposition. Some coaches would also use newspaper predictions and stories to fire up their players. That’s what bulletin boards were used for. Now, Internet message boards are the primary source for boasting, trash talking and motivation.
    Former Powell Valley head football coach Phil Robbins relied on a standard pre-game speech during his highly-successful 28-year coaching run.
“I think you have to be consistent,†Robbins said. “I wanted the weekly practice schedule and game-day routine to be the same.â€Robbins stayed away from the stereotypical “Win One for the Gipper†exhortations. “I never wanted my players to get too high or too low,†Robbins said. “There are ways to motivate kids now, and it might be as simple as a new pair of socks and compression shirt. But consistency is the key.†Robbins shared the themes of his pre-game routine.
“I focused on ball security on offense, getting 11 helmets to the ball on defense, and executing in the kicking game. That was it, and it worked,†said Robbins, who won seven state titles at Powell Valley.
    Win or lose this Saturday, Southwest Virginia fans can rest assured that veteran Haysi coach James Colley will deliver an appropriate post-game speech before the usual throng of red-clad Tiger supporters. After Saturday’s emotional victory over J.I. Burton, the charismatic Colley urged his players and fans to give thanks for their blessings and friends and to spread goodwill throughout the community. Football in Southwest Virginia may have lost some of its star appeal in recent years, but the postgame prayer meeting is one tradition we can all take pride in.

Thing is, that's not what I'm implying.  But, when you replace a fundamentally sound coach with a newbie to the sport, you have a HUGE drop off.  When you replace administrators who were successful in athletics with those who were never good enough to see the field, you have people in charge who actually take some pleasure in seeing the program fail.  It sounds crazy, but that's EXACTLY what happened at PV circa 2005-2006.  It's not like Robbins forgot how to coach or prepare his teams...he couldn't get proven help in his newer coaches or support from his administration. 
 

Final
Union 49
Central 21

Some would look at it as class, while others would look at it as a classy way of rubbin' your nose in it I guess..haha

Some would look at it as class, while others would look at it as a classy way of rubbin' your nose in it I guess..haha

He is the boss so he no doubt does. I just don't understand why, but I guess thats why he is a coach and I am not.  

Lots of folks seem to be piling on Richlands over this loss...I guess because they rarely get the chance.  But, the bottom line is this: When you field a program of that caliber, fans of other teams take joy in any setback that happens to ya whether it's in the field or off.  Same thing happened during PV's glory days.  You get everybody's best shot every Friday and when a team does beat ya, they act like they've won the State Title...and then you get to listen to it from fans of every team but yours tell ya about it all week.  Fact is tho, there are VERY VERY few teams in SWVA capable of beating Richlands..so have your fun while ya can guys, cuz it'll prolly be a while before the chance comes around again.

Lots of folks seem to be piling on Richlands over this loss...I guess because they rarely get the chance.  But, the bottom line is this: When you field a program of that caliber, fans of other teams take joy in any setback that happens to ya whether it's in the field or off.  Same thing happened during PV's glory days.  You get everybody's best shot every Friday and when a team does beat ya, they act like they've won the State Title...and then you get to listen to it from fans of every team but yours tell ya about it all week.  Fact is tho, there are VERY VERY few teams in SWVA capable of beating Richlands..so have your fun while ya can guys, cuz it'll prolly be a while before the chance comes around again.

Lots of folks seem to be piling on Richlands over this loss...I guess because they rarely get the chance.  But, the bottom line is this: When you field a program of that caliber, fans of other teams take joy in any setback that happens to ya whether it's in the field or off.  Same thing happened during PV's glory days.  You get everybody's best shot every Friday and when a team does beat ya, they act like they've won the State Title...and then you get to listen to it from fans of every team but yours tell ya about it all week.  Fact is tho, there are VERY VERY few teams in SWVA capable of beating Richlands..so have your fun while ya can guys, cuz it'll prolly be a while before the chance comes around again.

Lots of folks seem to be piling on Richlands over this loss...I guess because they rarely get the chance.  But, the bottom line is this: When you field a program of that caliber, fans of other teams take joy in any setback that happens to ya whether it's in the field or off.  Same thing happened during PV's glory days.  You get everybody's best shot every Friday and when a team does beat ya, they act like they've won the State Title...and then you get to listen to it from fans of every team but yours tell ya about it all week.  Fact is tho, there are VERY VERY few teams in SWVA capable of beating Richlands..so have your fun while ya can guys, cuz it'll prolly be a while before the chance comes around again.