Widespread_Panic

It was a Blue Devil that started the downhill slide. At this point the applicant pool will be extremely small.

Abingdon surprised me that's for sure but I still say both VA High and the Falcons lose in the first round of the playoffs.

Hands down best coach in SWVA. He did more with less every year and built one of the toughest cultures in Virginia.

I would think 4th or 5th in the Mountain District without him. 2nd or 3rd if McAmis was in the lineup. 1st - Gate City 2nd - Union 3rd - Abingdon 4th - Wise Central 5th - Battle 6th - Lee 7th - Ridgeview

7-0 against one of the weakest schedules you will find in SWVA outside of the Cumberland District. Chilhowie will beat them by as much as they want.

You are remembering wrong. Reed over complicated everything. Tried to change the offense each game, wouldn't listen to any of his asst. coaches and it turned into a disaster. Players didn't like him and they played much harder for Owens in his first year after taking over for Reed. Wise hasn't had consistent success since Kevin Saunders was the coach. They need to make a change but with that administration it probably won't happen and if it does it won't be a good hire.

Last time Abingdon played a game they were in a dog fight with a bad VA High team. Ridgeview got their wake up call against Battle. Wolfpack wins by 2 TDs, maybe more. The Falcons don't like smash mouth football.

I think Houseright would get more kids out and be more successful at GC but Reed has head coaching experience. Houseright makes more sense which means Reed will undoubtedly get the job.

Can't wait for the Reed Vs Houseright show down over becoming the next head coach at Gate City. Abingdon's coach is an interim hire so they may be looking for a new coach. Wise Central needs to make a change ASAP. I would add Holston to the list but they seem content with losing seasons.

That looks good but I bet most of those schools best basketball players also play football.

They beat a 7-4 Clintwood team 28-20 and then lost to Galax 60-21.

And then what happened?

PH consistently plays the weakest schedule of anyone in SWVA to build up their win loss record. Once playoffs arrive they go home. Battle wins by at least 2 TDs, maybe more.

Wise needs new leadership from top to bottom. Their AD is a joke with zero experience or connections. She makes terrible hiring decisions. I'm not sure the President puts any emphasis on athletics either. They really need to remove all of their head coaches in basketball and baseball and start from scratch.

Talk to former players at Abingdon and Wise Central and ask them if Reed is good at getting kids out to play football or developing good relationships with his players. GC alum may be drinking the Kool Aid because of loyalty or desperation but he's not turning that program around. Could he do a worse job thank Akers? Probably not, but he isn't going to get the numbers up or win anytime in the near future which would be the final nail in the coffin.

If this game is remotely close Abingdon is in for a long year. The Mountain District is much tougher than the Hogo.

That team did have some success but they also lost in the first round of the playoffs on their home field when they were expected to make it a lot further. In my opinion Abingdon is in a tough situation. They aren't strong and physical enough to compete with the Mountain District teams when they switched to the ground game offense. On the other hand if they go spread they don't have the athletes to win at the 3A level. Not sure what their identity needs to be to win in the Mountain District and the 3A playoffs.

Abingdon happy to get rid of Reed. VA High happy to break in a new OC. Gate City happy to get Reed. Everyone is happy in the preseason.

Reed is not the answer to Gate City's problems unless you want it to be a really good basketball school. Abingdon football is on a downhill slide and that is due to Reed. His coaching staff has turned over every year and the number of players in the program continues to go down.

UVA-Wise Vs. Emory & Henry. How these 2 teams don't play ever year is beyond stupid. Big gates and very competitive games but Emory refuses to play.

Agree. It seems like half of SWVA dislikes McClung for whatever reason but I hope nothing but the best for him. The NBA is a long way away but his performances in their summer league against other D1 players have been very impressive.

Mills resigned. Wise needs to bring in a coach that is capable of turning around a program that was once the best in the state. The talent and numbers are still there if they can recruit a coach that will put the time in to building a successful program.

VA High Vs Abingdon Football won, volleyball lost, Girl's & Boy's Basketball lost, Softball lost, Baseball split, Girls and Boy's tennis lost, Girls and Boy's soccer lost. 2 wins and 17 losses for 2017-2018.

Well they do beat VA High in just about every sport the VHSL offers.