battleftbl

In 1994, Appalachia started Travis Turner, Travis Clark and that group as Freshman. Powell Valley had a JR running back named Thomas Jones. End of discussion. Anytime the talent was close other than 1997 *which we could argue about all night* Turner usually won. *See 1996 for example, even with Julius Jones*. The only three years I can remember Appalachia having more talent than PV is 1992, 1993 and Brad Robbins *sophmore year??*. Coach Turner handed Robbins his A$$ in the 92 and 93 games. The third on that list, PV did leave Appy with the win but it was more due to missed opportunities than anything else. On the flip side, My senior year, we almost came into Bullitt Park and beat a much more talented PV team with Michael Stacy, Sheldon Adams, Patrick McKinney and that group. Josh Mabe had Robbins cursing so loud at halftime that he could be heard in the home bleachers. And to the best of my knowledge, My JR and SR years we ran Burton off the field. If you're talking about the last few years of Turners reign, he didnt have the kids for the most part. Were lucky to make the playoffs they were so undersized. Only 2 or 3 kids in that span would have even got on the field a few years earlier. Not to mention coaches health problems. We could argue about the Appy/PV series all night but we'll both agree that these two should be in the top 5 and probably the top 3 in SWVA history.

LOL...Turner could coach circles around Phil Robbins. This list if we're talking SWVA shouldnt include Greg Mance or Jimbo Adams...or Mullins from Clintwood. Not with Jim Riggs,Tom Turner, Harry Fry, Ralph Cummings, Nick Colobro, Lineburg, White, Carlock. Mullins has won 1 state title, Mance-1, Adams-0. They're having great careers but c'mon. No disrespect intended but you're talking legends and they're not on that level at this point. I played for Turner and played against Adams, Robbins and Colobro. Tom Turner took lower numbers and often times less talent....and either beat those teams or close to it. He was included in every male state championship at Appalachia High school. 2 playing in 1971(football/basketball) and coached the dawgs to state titles in 1989, 1992,1994,1996 and 1997. He was also state runner up in 1980?, 1993 and 2002. His team made the D1 semifinal in 1991, 1995 and 2001. Thats with a roster of about 30-35 kids per year. In 1997 he beat the best Gate City team they've put on the field at Legion Field *Jake Houseright, Chad Beasley*, he defeated a Lee High team that played in the D4 semifinals*Eric Satterfield* and came a blown call in the 4th quarter away from beating the best Powell Valley team ever*Julius Jones*. Just a history lesson for these young uns.

Coach Baker went to UVA-Wise and then to Burton and this is his 2nd year at JSB. Neal Mullins is also an assistant who played for Ralph Cummings at Clintwood. The O-Line coached by Brian Guynn who played for the best Rural Retreat teams in the mid 90's. A little SWD tie here with Chase Buchannon from Tazewell coaching the backs. It's a solid staff up there.

As an Appalachia boy I can say that it is very impressive. It'd be almost as impressive as Abingdon playing for one. That's about as close as I could get for these SWD boys. lol

No longer there guys, but I said on here 2 years ago that this was coming. This group of kids are winners. They've won at every level so far. They have a great work ethic and have high expectations for theirself. I believe it's 15 seniors and the majority of them have either started or played key minutes at the varsity level since their freshman year. Thats not a prediction for the rest of the season because they have to continue working hard. Last night was just 1 game. But I sure am proud of those kids for what they've overcame and where they are now. They also have a great staff up there, I was fortunate enough to work with them. You have two coaches who've had alot of success as a headcoach in Steve Wright and Rocky Baker to go along with a staff that came through winning programs and know how to win. That should be a great atmoshere at Legion field in a few weeks.

The system...for the most part is the same system that is being ran at Battle. VHS relies on the Sweep more but same blocking schemes. The difference is that Battle has had kids who can throw the football. The couple of times the VHS QB tried to throw the ball last week looked awful. May be the worst QB in swva throwing wise. He is a good athlete though. The VHS team does play defense and if you watch them, they're very well coached. The problem is the kids. Coach Wheeler works his kids hard and when you cant even field a JV team, that says enough about the work ethic down there right now. Speed and being athletic can only get you so far. Be patient, give Wheeler time and it'll pay off.

Really? I've been underestimating his athletic ability all of this time.

What he really meant was that he came down to Bristol to watch two teams better than his own. JSB and VHS.

Holston doesnt have the speed or the Defensive ends to contain Burton on the edges. Burton will take it by 30-40 points IMO.

Virginia High Carroll Marion George Wythe Patrick Henry J.I. Burton Haysi Hazard, KY Sullivan North, TN Galax Honaker Northwood Ft. Chiswell John Battle Grundy *Thomas Walker* upset special Union **Games of the Week** (Winners and total points) Bluefield, WV 42 Richlands 35

I have all the respect in the world for the Gate City program, always have. Even coaches will tell you that they're very concerned. They lack depth, size and speed. But the one thing they lack that no Gate City team in the past has lacked is leadership. They've had kids taking off for 2 and 3 weeks at a time right up until 2 a days and a couple during 2 a days. They're going to take some lumps early on, but honestly it may be the best thing for them. They have a great coaching staff and to much tradition to just fall apart. They'll get better as the season goes and could be dangerous if they're able to get it together in time to slip into the playoffs. Another thing you can be sure of is that help is on the way. Dont look for to many down years over at Legion. With that said, I also know that Richlands really struggles throwing the ball. They're going to be more of a grind it out type of team, but with a defense that good, that will work just fine. Richlands 35 Gate City 0 BTW, just to make this clear, I'm no longer at jsb or in the state for that matter. I offer this simply as an unbiased opinion from both seeing them and talking to people inside the program. I've grew up in a similar program thats went to battle with some of the best teams Gate City has had. Like I said earlier, I have nothing but respect for that program.

Good luck to all of the SWVA teams this season. Hopefully a few more teams will bring State Championships back home. Although I've jumped across the state line into Tennessee, I'll be watching recorded episodes of Highlights tonight when I get home every week. To those 2 birds from up the road------ streak ends this year

I was not at the game, I was going to make the trip up tomorrow if things would have worked out. Just relaying updates that I was getting. I think the final was 16-2 in 5 innings, but I may be off by a run or two. Congrats on a great season to those kids...Proud of those seniors for completely turning around JSB sports programs. Also wish William Monroe the best of luck tomorrow, they sound like a very solid baseball team.

9-2 in the 4th

Battle trails 6-2 after 2 innings. 3 errors and allowed a runner to steal home. Still plenty of time to get back in it if the Trojans settle down.

Ty Hayworth from Dobyns Bennett is a 3 star offensive lineman. He's 6'5 300lbs and signed with Wake Forest. He committed to Wake before his senior season and stuck with it even though alot of other D1 teams became interested this past year. It's not SWVA, but still local. Just thought I'd pass it along.

Late coach Riggs established spirit of Appalachia football By George Thwaites Published January 15th, 2012 10:17 pm APPALACHIA — Retired Appalachia coach Jim Riggs outlived his star pupils and the storied football tradition he founded. For all practical purposes, he even outlasted the stadium that carries his name. Riggs, who skippered the Bulldogs to their first Group A state football championship in 1971, died Saturday at Norton Community Hospital. He was 95. During the 1960s and early 1970s, Riggs compiled a record of 101-25-6 pitting his will against a field of opponents that included VHSL Hall of Fame coaches Ralph Cummins of Clintwood and Harry Fry of Gate City. “He was, in our biased opinions, the best line coach that existed,” Pat Jervis, who played for Riggs from 1967 to 1969, said earlier this year. The brand of football established by Riggs when he took over the program in 1960 lasted until he stepped down from coaching to take over as Appalachia assistant principal in 1972. Even as the game evolved under his successors, the spirit of his hard-nosed approach endured until the program closed its doors last spring. Riggs coached the first desegregated football teams in Appalachia history. Two of his players were eventually named to the VHSL Hall of Fame: running back Edd Clark and coach Tom Turner. Clark, who set a VHSL single-game rushing record under Riggs, drowned in 1986. Turner, who went on to lead the Bulldogs to five Group A, Division 1 titles, died in 2006. Riggs had been a talented player in his own right. He played college football at Milligan, where he is enshrined in the school’s athletic hall of fame. Milligan is where he learned the basic principles that guided his coaching career. “Riggs coached 1935 brand football. Exactly what he played in college,” Cummins said in a 2006 interview. “It was single-wing football except with a quarterback instead of a single-wing tailback. They had a dive play on each side, an off-tackle play, and that was just about their offense.” For Riggs, football was a brutally simple contest. If a team was tough and resolute enough to dish out more punishment than it took over four quarters, the yardage would take care of itself. “One thing about Riggs’ teams, and Tom Turner upheld this tradition, was that they knew how to block and tackle,” Cummins said. “They just passed it on from one generation to the next.” Riggs cultivated his teams’ fearsome reputation by holding grueling full-contact practice sessions on gravel parking lots. He was even known to hold full-contact practices on the eve of game day. Yet in marked contrast to his role as a harsh taskmaster, Riggs was renowned for his unique and colorful sense of humor. Colleagues and rivals alike were perpetually entertained by his ability to spin a yarn or fire a joke from the hip. For years, Riggs’ lone assistant coach was Jackie Ray Robinette, to whom Riggs handed the program reins after he stepped down. Even in those days, it was a rarity for a football team to have so small a staff. Times-News veteran sports writer Bill Lane asked him why this was the case. “If you only have one assistant, he can’t conspire against you,” Riggs quipped. When four-man officiating crews became the norm, Riggs reportedly joked to the assignment officer that he’d just as soon have three because he didn’t want an official standing where he intended to run the football. And invariably, they would run the football. “Old Jackie Ray would send me up into the press box and I never knew why, because I never watched them practice,” said Randy Blair, who was the junior varsity coach at Appalachia. “At halftime one night I started up and Riggs said, ‘Hey! Tell Jackie Ray that belly right pass will go!’ And I knew Riggs would never pass unless it was third-and-15. “I could tell you all kinds of funny stories about Riggs,” Blair recalled. “But I tell you this, he could get more out of those boys than anyone.”

My take on the game is this.....The more athletic kids lost, the best team won. I was also questioning why Clintwood didnt run quick FB dives and traps between the guards as Galax was lined up basically with two 3 techniques and the MLB's playing 3-4 yards off the ball. Clintwood could have gained 3 YPG on QB sneaks. The more I watched though, Clintwood kept coming back to the FB counter after running the OFF tackle plays. Sometimes it's better to take advantage of things when needed, but not over do it to the point of getting the opposing coaches to get out of it. You want that advantage to be there when you need it the most. That play was there all night when Clintwood needed it most. The off tackle motion got the MLB's running out of the Middle which opened up the FB counter even more. Another thing....playing that front put alot of pressure on the Galax MLB's to stop the running game up the middle, which left the Middle of the field wide open on PA passes. The Clintwood playcalling worried me at first, but the more I watched, the more impressed I was. BTW, the last pass into the endzone should have never happened so any argument of Pass Interference is irrelevant. The QBs knee was down for a sack on the previous play, but the ref's ruled it an incomplete pass. Galax was out of timeouts so the clock would have expired.

Multiple police departments are on campus now looking for the gunman. 2 confirmed dead. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/08/virginia-tech-shooting_n_1136934.html

He probably did give advice....but it didnt violate VHSL rules. Like I said, Plenty of coaches bring guests in during the season, some of which stand on the sidelines. Most of those guests are or have been involved with football. No big deal here....shouldnt even be an issue.

A list is provided, classes are taken and coaches are provided with VHSL coaches cards. People are allowed on sidelines though, as plenty of coaches bring in a guest from time to time. This rule was simply misunderstood by the Cave Spring AD...I'm sure the Brookville coach knows when to kick a field goal or not. The game was won or lost on the field, not by a college coach standing on the sidelines at a high school game.

That'd also put Goochland into the AA bracket.......instead of playing in the Division 2 playoffs. Odd numbers for a few schools

LOL....out of all of the good games this past weekend, they sent him to watch Houston vs SMU. I'd say he felt like dropping a few more F bombs.

Agree with Lance... If you put Barry Sanders behind the line that Smith had in Dallas...... Those records would never, ever be broke. Smith was a great running back......but he wasnt Barry Sanders. Sanders carried Detroit by himself, running behind a below average offensive line most of his career. Smith had Aikman, Irvin and others to provide a passing attack to keep defenses from loading the box....... Sanders had QB's such as Scott Mitchell. The only other weapon the Lions had was Herman Moore at reciever, but no Qb to get him the ball.

just wanted to mention that it was more than 3-4 good teams during the 90's. Burton had 2 or 3 teams during the 90's that would have won state championships in Division 1 if not for Appalachia. Clintwood and Honaker had solid teams in the late 90's, early 2000's. George Wythe and Richlands were solid teams. Graham and Grundy were both quality teams. Pound even came up in the late 90's for a small run. Powell Valley, Appalachia and Gate City led the charge in the 90's for SWVA, but we had alot of solid football teams to go along with them.