Widespread_Panic

Tazewell is larger and superior to Va High? Not sure about that statement. VA High has more talent than John Battle but Battle will play hard since it is a rivalry game. VA High has consistently underachieved with Crist as opposed to the success they had under Wheeler. I'll still pick the Bearcats to win a close one because Battle has 0 speed and their offense is really bad.

It's hard to judge the reactions of any parents who have to go through something like this ordeal. I'm guessing they were beyond frustrated by the situation and thought this was the only way to get their story out to the public.

http://wjhl.com/2016/08/17/vhsl-gate-city-teens-likely-would-not-have-been-eligible-if-proper-protocol-followed/

Tradition argument aside Abingdon will get competition in the Mountain District. Union, Wise Central, and Gate City are competitive in baseball almost every year. Battle finished fourth in the district this year. Abingdon will still play VA High in the regular season at least once if not twice.

Wise Central has more tradition than any baseball program in the state of Virginia. They've won 9 state titles.

The decison makers at Abingdon believe the money pertaining to crowds at football games will be better in the Mountain District. For the most part fans of the Mountain District (Union/Gate City) travel better than the Southwest District and that makes for a better gate. Travel times for their student athletes never came into consideration.

Amen. It will be interesting to see what happens to numbers in the next 3-5 years with the population decline combined with parent concerns over the safety of football due to concussions. I could foresee some schools having problems fielding a football team.

This is fun to talk about but at the end of the day numbers don't matter. Tom Turner won state championships with 30 players.

Can we all just agree that Va High vs TN High is not "intriguing" to anyone? TN High wins this game 99% of the time and taking into consideration their enrollment and facilities they should win it every year.

The problem with Abingdon is they don't play defense. They can score but they can't stop anyone because they are a finesse team. Losing Derrick Yates to graduation will hurt them. He scored a majority of their TDs and he created mismatch problems with his size and speed. The Falcons will still be good but unless the D has made strides they won't be able to beat Richlands.

That may just get them to their average 1 win season.

Is it just me or is almost every player in this game a lot bigger than the kids that play today? IMO both of these teams would beat some of best teams today by 30 plus.

When I first read the headline I thought it was the girl's basketball coach. With the talent she had and their early exit that would have made more sense.

Mainly because a majority of the teams from SWVA were historically single A. They just moved up to AA recently.

I think Martinsville wins by 10 in the rematch after getting a wake up call in their first game with Gate City. The problem for Gate City is their lack of size in matching up with Holland on the defensive end. Gate City will have an familiarity advantage in playing at VCU their last game. GC needs to a hit several outside shots to pull the upset.

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!