blueinbama

I don't think any Richlands supporters were disrespecting Gate City at all.  I sure don't disrespect GC.  I don't know anyone who does.  The fact that it was game 1, and both teams have work to do doesn't reflect any disrespect in any fashion.   I believe it has more to do with the fact that Union is game #2 for Richlands, and for the past few years that game has decided the champion. 

Injuries like Reed's and Justus's are why I think these benefit games aren't a good idea for the sake of the kids.  I know that money is generated and split between the two schools, but it seems like every year there's some backbreaking injury for some teams in these glorified scrimmages.

Can we please not bring politics to this forum.  Lets talk football.  I've only been waiting 8 months to get back to talking football and it's much needed relief.

http://www.bdtonline.com/sports/prep-stats-engrossing-hobby-for-bluefield-s-rick-baker/article_8a1302d6-8237-11e7-8b98-f7a6b7885053.html
 
nice article!

Richlands has kind of an unusual uniform history.  The "blue" of the Ernie Hicks era was a lighter shade (similar to Columbia, Carolina, and/or Honolulu for various sports at various times).  Once he retired, then there started to be some variation.
In football, Jim Hammond seemed to prefer Navy Blue with liberal amounts of red trim.  Although there was also one set of uniforms in at least the mid '70s that was light blue (with red numerals) which was part of the rotation.  Todd Heldreth instituted Navy and White as official colors (and essentially did so for all sports in his role as athletic director) when he arrived in 1979.  Billy Haun added a considerable amount of gray in his last season (1990).  Then Dennis Vaught morphed that into silver with his arrival.  Near as I can figure, since the switch from leather helmets, white is actually the color of the lids that Richlands has worn most frequently.
Basketball kept the lighter shade of blue up through Jack Lyons' first tenure in the late '70s.  Red was introduced into those uniforms as well along the mid '70s.  I believe the first Navy and White uniforms were introduced in 1980 (under the tenure of Coach Heldreth as AD).  Columbia Blue was used as an accent for a few years under Reggie Blevins and Jack Lyons.  Then it was back to Navy and White until Tom Rife introduced silver/gray into the mix.
Baseball uniforms in the 1970's (around the time the program was resurrected, apparently) had a similar motif to the football team.  Mostly navy and white with heavy accents of red.  Johnny Altizer brought in gray uniforms with Navy as the primary shade of blue in the early 1980's.  Not sure that this was an effort to introduce gray as a school color so much as the fact that gray is a traditional road color for baseball.
One other random thought about gray....  During the 1980's there was apparently a nationwide trend to wearing gray pants in football.  Most notable example I can think of is ETSU, who wore them for a couple of years even though I don't think that's ever been an official color of the Bucs.  During most of their '80s glory days, Tazewell donned the gray britches with green and yellow stripes (and it was a sharp look, IMO) -- but I don't think gray was ever part of their official scheme either.  Not sure why Colobro went there -- I figure it was either influenced by his dad's association with Concord or he was mimicking Graham.  Graham's use of gray always seemed clever to me, because I understand the distinction of academic and athletic colors there.
Sorry to ramble.  Just an odd stream of consciousness this morning.

If you're going that route I'll take Burgundy/maroon and Gold/Yellow! :) 

I always preferred Maroon and Gray myself!  ;)

I did not know silver was one of Richlands colors.  Navy and Silver are Northwood's primary colors, they have gone away from the silver and replaced it with white and I can't stand it.  For the first 20 years of the school (give or take 2-3 years) our helmets were silver with navy facemasks, I loved them.  Northwood had an all silver uniform to go with the silver helmet in the late 90's too.
 

Northwood has their Blue & White game tonight at 7.
 

WARNING/DISCLAIMER:  Cranky old man rant to follow.
My objection to VHSL Alignment as it is current practiced (and as it has been practiced since 1986) is that it has diminished the level of competition and meaning associated with state championships and competition in general.
I realize that the demographics of Virginia have changed considerably within the last 50 years.  But using the current number of schools from that article, 60% of all schools within the VHSL will qualify for postseason resulting in state champions who can ultimately claim to be the best team in a pool of 48-55 qualifiers.  District and regional (newly restored) championships have very little meaning.  And teams that are "fortunate" enough to make it to postseason very often find themselves facing multi-hour bus trips to play in the beginning round.
Contrast that to the old three classification system in which 30% of schools at best would even qualify for postseason play (in regions that allowed for 8 playoff teams -- most only allowed for 4, which means that only about 15% of schools would make it).  Sure there were some hard luck examples of 9-1 football teams who sat home in November, but making it to the postseason at all was a major accomplishment in and of itself that had real meaning.  And missing out on the playoffs by losing 1 game was a true benchmark indicating that only the best of the best made it.  The district and region structure also contributed to that sense of accomplishment.  Winning championships at either of those levels carried a very tangible and definable cachet -- beyond the fact that you just couldn't advance without winning them.  And the contests at the state level were true inter-sectional match ups that further promoted identity and accomplishment.  Ironically enough, travel hardships were unusual and limited to the highest performing teams because of the regional- and district-based structure (there were extremes under the old system -- the most glaring example I can think of was a trip Clintwood took to Onancock).  But ultimately before 1986, state champions knew that they were the best in a pool of over 100 teams.
Given the disparity in school sizes that began to be apparent in the mid 1980s, it does seem that some appropriate action could have been taken.  Adding a fourth classification would have diluted the competitive level (reducing Class pools from 100 to about 80), but not at the ridiculous level that the six class system has.  The steady abandonment of the district and region promotion hierarchy has only served to further exacerbate the issue.
Winning a state championship is still cause for celebration.  But because of my long memory, I have to admit that the current context pales in comparison to the old system, and it doesn't mean as much as it once did.  And regional and district titles have become about as valuable as participation trophies.
Rant over.
 

Praying...

Guys,  If you all could remember Mike Compton from Richlands in your prayers !  Mike volunteers to help the Blues football team and does so much to help and is a great guy,  but he had a massive heart attack the first of the week and is at Holston Valley hospital and will have open heart surgery this Friday 6/24/2017 and both he and his family need your prayers !
I need to edit this,  I just found out that his heart suffered more damage than first thought and he is unable to have his surgery tomorrow and is in critical care unit and as of right now it is unknown as to what type of care or when, please pray for Mike and his family,  they are having a tough time right now as you can imagine.
Thanks !   

Northwood's 2017 Schedule.
 

ME! Ha. I'm the new sports intern at WVVA from May-late July. If all goes well, you'll get to see my ugly mug all over your TV screens. I apologize in advance, and I'm not responsible for any damages that come from your screen busting when my face appears. Lmao. 
 
In all seriousness, I'm very excited for this opportunity. 

Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself.  He did not come merely to preach a gospel; He himself is that Gospel.  He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread."  He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light."  He did not come merely to show the door;  He said, "I am the door."  He did not come merely to name a shepherd;  He said, "I am the shepherd."  He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life."
J. Sidlow Baxter

I just got home from the beach.  Wow!  This looks great.  It may take me some time to learn how to navigate, because I'm old as dirt, but I really like the new look!

I just got home from the beach.  Wow!  This looks great.  It may take me some time to learn how to navigate, because I'm old as dirt, but I really like the new look!

I just got home from the beach.  Wow!  This looks great.  It may take me some time to learn how to navigate, because I'm old as dirt, but I really like the new look!

Careful now...he's does a lot of stuff on the back end...he's a good guy!!!

I apologize for nothing. 

And to be honest, most folks posting here on a regular basis are older with plenty of life experience...

We're all one big family and often fight among ourselves, but when an "outsider" jumps in creating issues, he gets jumped on by the whole clan...reminds me of the Casy family from my younger days...fight one, fight all...

I know, but it was a memorable time. What he received was the brunt of a unified board. :)

OK, folks, Admin will be doing some upgrades soon.  There will be some down time...not sure how long the upgrade and theme redesign will take.  And considering this is the "slow season", now is the best time to do this.  So, don't get your panties in a wad if you try to check in and we aren't here...we will be back...
 
Sincerely,
 
"G"
 
PS...
 
If you are in dire need to talk about stuff, our Facebook page is always available...
 
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