Widespread_Panic

Union beat Richlands twice. Gate City beat Union twice. The game is at Gate City. McClung, Ervin, Barnes are better than any player on Richland's roster. Gate City will beat Richlands by 10 to 15 points.

VA High girls or any other girls team from the SWD are about 20 points behind any of the top 4 in the CMD. Lebanon beat the Bearcats and they are in last place in the CMD.

Football success doesn't have anything to do with what happens on the basketball court.

Who does Ridgview have that will make them competitive? Clintwood was not exactly a basketball powerhouse and Haysi has been down the last 2 to 3 years. Gate City, Union, and John Battle should be at the top of the district this year.

I thought Abingdon looked tough on offense but their defense is suspect. I think a ground and pound team may give them fits. Their QB and skill players may be the best in SWVA though. They remind me of a PAC 12 team with a lot of offense and not much defense. John Battle is rebuilding but they weren't terrible. I think they can win 2 to 3 games this season.

I believe Tom Turner has to be at the top of the list.

This will be a big problem for Honaker. The press is successful against the slower teams in SWVA but Radford and Altavista are way too athletic to be bothered by a press. If Honaker's game plan is to speed up the tempo against either of those teams they will lose by 20 plus. Honaker should use their height as an advantage and try to dominate in the half court as they advance in the post season. Another disadvantage is their weak schedule. I don't see them making it to the final 4 this year.

Va High - Toure Fudge, Costavis Davis Abingdon - Matthew Knight Lebanon - Austin Bollinger, Owen Slate Central Wise - Caleb Mills John Battle - Wes Blaylock I'm sure I've left off several others but those are some to consider.

While I agree Coach Lee should have finished out the season the Principal did try to force him to hire Baker and possibly Wright back after the Abingdon game because Briscoe quit the program (he has since returned). The principal has no business getting involved with the football program once a coach has been hired and I don't blame Lee for wanting to distance himself from those two so he could run his own program. Now Battle is back in the same boat they were last year with a lame duck head coach. What qualifed coach will put in for the job next year after seeing how the principal treats the head football coach?

My team (Appalachia) used to play in the Lonesome Pine District. Please try and find something negative to say about that district!

This year? More like every year. The Hogo is one of the worst districts for all sports in VA, not just football.

Fell apart? It never started. Why would anyone believe Graham Clark would choose to leave DB for Abingdon? I'd be more likely to believe Frank Beamer leaving VT to coach at UVA Wise.

All things still pointing to Graham Clark? Might want to recheck your sources.

That's a big drop off from Graham Clark. 4 wins in 2 years sounds like a perfect fit for Abingdon football.

He already has coached in Virginia (Clark was at Chilhowie so that won't be a factor). Do you all really think he's going to leave a football program that has a 3 million dollar football facility for lowly Abingdon? I have a feeling that when the new head coach is announced there will be a lot of disappointment if Abingdon fans are expecting someone that has the resume of a Graham Clark.

Wright has been coaching for a long, long time so I'd say age had a part in his retirement. It probably helped that Battle graduated a lot of their talent over the last two years.

If I were an Abingdon fan I would be worried that it has taken this long to make a hire. Either it's been offered to people who have changed their mind or they didn't get any good coaches to apply.

The Southwest District is more likely Ridgeview's destination if you look at travel times. The Mountain District could be a possibility if they completely reallign the districts.

Gate City: Dylan Jenkins, Michael Collier Va High: Noah Walker, Derek Lee Union: Logan Schoolcraft John Battle: Austin Bowman Abingdon: Josh Hess Holston: Wes Roberts, Conrad Thacker Lee: Dylan Hounshell (not sure if he's a sr.)

Honaker is good. Collier (Gate City) really impressed me for a freshman. Sage (Lee), Collier (GC), Hall (Union), and Honaker (JSB) are going to be fun to watch next year.

I disagree. Even if the QB is "top 3" he has no one to throw the ball to unless it's #10 coming out of the backfield. I don't recall Battle attempting more than 5 passes and those were over thrown or dropped. Battle fans should not put a lot of stock in this win because Abingdon may not win a game this year.

Those two mistakes didn't take a good team to capitalize on them. The option fumble bounced right into the hands of the Battle defender and there was no one near him. The interception was thrown to the Battle cornerback and he didn't have to move at all. On the return there was no one around to tackle him either. Both turnovers were gifts. I'm not writing Battle off but if I were Virginia High I would be putting 10 defenders in the box and make the Trojans pass the ball.

Abingdon gift wrapped this game in the first half. Battle's first score came off of a terrible pitch from Abingdon's QB on the option. JSB recovered it and ran it back for a TD. Battle also scored off an interception from another bad decision by the QB. Take away those two scores along with the 10 yard punt avg for Abingdon the game would have been close. Battle is one dimensional and extremely conservative on offense. If they had any passing yards it wasn't much (good decision by the WR who transferred to TN High) and the only threat they have to score is #10. Defensively, they don't miss a lot of tackles although the secondary is shaky. The Va High game should be a better measurement for JSB. After week one it looks like the Mountain District could go to anyone.

That's a shame. He was the best wide receiver I saw last year and that was after playing only one year of football. While I agree with most of the posters about coaching being a bad reason for not playing a sport it is past time for Abingdon to make a change. They haven't shown much progress in the last three years. The right coach could have a lot of success at a school with that size and money coming in from boosters.

Abingdon is sleeping giant in football. They need a coach that can recruit the athletes in the building and keep them in the program. Is Hess playing again this year?