This game was a blowout last year in PHś favor and they didn´t graduate a lot from that team. Burton did have a few turnovers early in the game to give PH some help. This is a good size (PH) vs Speed (Burton) matchup but I think PH wins by running the ball and not doing anything to beat themselves. Burton does have an advantage in their schedule has been more competitive than Patrick Henryś so that may help in preparation for this game.
Hooker has not lost a game yet. As I said a month ago — he IS the key to VT’s season. Hold par at home against Pitt and beat GT on the road and it sets up maybe the most important commonwealth cup in decades.
I agree but the defense has come on strong the last 2 games to help out. Bud has done a magnificent job with this young group.
Even without the injuries I don't think they finish ahead of Central or even Gate City. Trojans may be a gritty bunch but Central and Gate City are tough squads as well. Battle will put up a fight against Union I can guarantee that and it may very well come down to the fourth quarter.
Agree that Battle does not finish ahead of Wise Central or Gate City with a healthy squad. They would probably finish with 4 wins instead of 2 and get blown out in the first round in the playoffs like they have the last 3 years. Disagree that this Friday will come down to the fourth quarter. Union should be up by 2 to 3 scores by the end of the first quarter. Ridgeview could have had a running clock by the middle of the second quarter at Battle. Union shouldn't have a problem...
One thing Marion needs to do IMO is get rid of the stupid rec league football and get into travel ball but that won't happen because then many Dads wouldn't be able to coach their little Johnnys and make them the stars of rec league teams.
I readily admit I do not know Marion's situation very well but I don't believe travel ball solves the problem with youth sports. When travel ball teams form the kids who suffer the most are the ones who come from low income families who can't afford to make the trips or pay the dues to pay on these teams. Rec league at least allows a majority of the kids in your town to participate and possibly turn into a contributor for varsity sports on down the road. It seems like a majority of towns across SWVA are turning to travel ball and I've not seen it pay off for many schools. I do see a lot less turn out in sports because the kids are either burnt out once they reach high school or they were not developed at the elementary or middle school level because of a lack of participation in rec league.
I'm leaning towards Wise Central but their struggles with VA High are concerning. Battle lost to a bad Marion team and Wise played with Abingdon for a half so I'll give Wise the edge.
You have to put the 2020 class out of your mind. It’s a small class. With only 6 seniors on the roster. They don’t have room for many players. They could pull in a class full of 4 stars and it would still fall outside the top 30 because of the small amount we can go get.
It is a small class but they are offering guys with either no other offers or competing with Liberty and ODU. 6 seniors is very small but I have a feeling there will be at least 5 to 10 more in the transfer portal by the start of next season.
It isn't always about being a good "recruiter" as long as the coach has the ability to develop players...that's part of the issue now at VT. We've got more 4-star athletes on the roster now than ever, but the coaches are not doing anything to help these players develop into their potential...that's a year over year thing. Dalton Keene was better as a freshman than he is now. Same with Dax Hollifield. Those are just two examples off the top of my head, but if you've watched them over the last couple of years, you know who the players are who were better then than they are now.
True but the 2020 class currently sits at last in the ACC. A lack of talent added with a lack of player development is a sure formula for continue losses. I could give Fuente the benefit of the doubt with how young the roster is but the future looks bleak when the next recruiting class ranks somewhere in the 80s. If some of the more talented players hit the transfer portal Tech will be in a long rebuild mode.
Ultimately I think that both Fuente and Willie Taggart are exceptional coaches at the tier just below P5 -- and certainly demonstrated as much. But their particular success was not the kind that could be extrapolated as a prediction of performance at the P5 level. Unfortunately for both VT and Florida State, there was simply no way to know that.
Fuente didn't do himself any favors with the staff he hired. He should have went after proven recruiters to compensate for his weaknesses. After Friday he should have taken over play calling duties and owned up to the problems on offense instead of passing the buck to his OC who is in way over his head.
I am sure Coach Ricker and his staff will build this program and fight through the rough patches.
Ideally the Mountain District is not the place to start your coaching career. Turner, Mullins, Owens all have a lot of experience. Houseright can lean on his Dad for assistance. Finishing 1-9 or 2-8 in year one with several players quitting is going to make it an uphill fight. Hopefully Ricker can recruit and get kids excited about the program but it will take a lot of work.
I guess Coach Russell should be in line for the next head coaching job that opens in the area or take over if Coach Robinson ever decides to step down.
Outside of the tenures of Paul Wheeler and Mike Locke (a Wheeler disciple) VHS has had over a century of mediocrity. Mostly, because Bristol always has been, and always will be, a baseball town. It really is as simple as that. The school and the community just doesn’t care about football, like they do baseball. Until another Wheeler or Locke type comes in, with not only the testicular fortitude to buck the system, but also with a good football IQ and the ability to actually care about more than themselves, VHS will stay mired in this century-long trip of being average......period.
It also hurts that VHS lost Barry Reed as their AD. He was aggressive enough to reach out to coaches like Wheeler and recruit them to VA High. He put in a lot of time raising money for their athletics as well. I don't believe they did a good job of replacing this position when he left.
He may be coach of the year already but if they go 5-5 he'll get it
He beat Richlands on the road and came close to beating Abingdon. I don't care if Gate City wins another game, Houseright should be coach of the year. Now if Wise Central were to shock Ridgeview or Union I would lean towards Owens but Houseright has done an excellent job.
no offense to either team but they got TS and RC off schedule and added two stronger teams. Not a cake walk schedule IMO: Battle and Lee both 2A, Castlewood and eastside both on the better half of the Cumberland district, honaker and Hurley are both solid and physical teams every year. Wins don’t dictate the challenge a team poses. Look at the rest of 1D team for team these schedules aren’t that different.
Battle and Lee are 2A schools that consistently finish in the bottom of the Mountain District. The rest of the schools on their schedule are far from consistent winners outside of Chilhowie. It will be hard for PH to go far into the playoffs when their schedule doesn't give them much competition. Chilhowie and Burton have schedules that PH should try to emulate.
That’s the difference between Gate City and everyone else.
And there for a second I was actually wanting to see Gate City turn their football program around and win some games. Thanks for snapping me out of that!
I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s got a lot more support than people think. Talked to someone this weekend that said rumor was be back either this week or next. Said couple assistants saw talent coming and wanted him out. I reckon he got hit with a baseball a year or so ago that limited his mobility. Thought it was time for their chance. Other stuff old news from same people over and over again. Like him or not, he produces. Wins with little to no talent. Probably would have put Burton in game last week. May have pulled it off.
Coaching has been an issue at VHS for many decades. Outside of Mike Locke and Paul Wheeler, there has been a revolving door of unsuccessful football coaches. That’s the big reason why a school that traditionally has good athletes, is rarely good at football.
Should have kept Wheeler. He had that program headed in the right direction.
As far as coaches of other sports trying to build their program.....You better be at it year round because your competition is.
This is a myth that has been bought into by most high school coaches. A team is more successful with athletes who play multiple sports as opposed to a roster of players who specialize in only one sport. A majority of colleges prefer that their recruits play multiple sports and any high school coach encouraging their players to focus only one is doing a disservice to their players and the school.
Look at pic 2, you can still see the squares of sod just sitting on the field. The grass hasn't taken root nor has it grown together to cover the seams.
Scoreboard looks good, turf looks horrible. Hopefully they don't practice on it and give the grass more time to grow. I'm always amazed at how run down they let high school facilities get before they do work to them. The bleachers in those pics don't look like they've been pressure washed in over 10 years.
If I was a high school teacher I wouldn’t even speak to a female student unless it was 1. Specifically about academics or 2. There was 50 witnesses around. Too much liability. This #metoo shit’s done got out of hand.
Big sigh of relief that you are not in the education system...
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JI Burton vs Patrick Henry
in SWVA Football
Posted
This game was a blowout last year in PHś favor and they didn´t graduate a lot from that team. Burton did have a few turnovers early in the game to give PH some help. This is a good size (PH) vs Speed (Burton) matchup but I think PH wins by running the ball and not doing anything to beat themselves. Burton does have an advantage in their schedule has been more competitive than Patrick Henryś so that may help in preparation for this game.