Gizmo777

The thing about the Cave Springs game is that was the worst game all season we have played. (Since very early in season) It may have been a little due to CS's D-team but mostly it was due to our guys (particularly QB play) being tight and not being aggressive. They come our against Brookville much looser and just let thier games go. I did not see anymore pressure from CS than I did from Brookville and the recievers were no more open as well at Brookville. They QB's just played much looser. I think the CS game was just a home game and the first predicted test for us this year and we were tight. I believe we are over that and will come out loose against Poquoson. Just my Opinion!

+1

Good post tbgfan, I too think you're father is very proud of you and the way you accepted this honor is also the sign of a great teammate and mature young man. You guys have made me proud to be a Richlands grad. and fan by the way you and you're teammates have achieved you're goals but more importantly the manner in which you have received the accolades. You have been humble and realize such awards come as part of a team effort. Way to go. Arrogance is a sign of weakness and humility is a sign of strenth.

+1 ( Looks like they are taking us seriously and we should do the same)

Congratulations DEVON, You are very deserving of this award.

I figured that out Lance, But I just had to give a shout out to Bradley Strong. All the Richlands fans who have watched him all year know just what a year he has had. I voted for Devon as he also had a great year as did several Blues Players. (C. Thomas, W. Lowe, etc) It is hard to single any of them out. I realize there are several players on other teams that are well deserving. I hope thier fans show them support as well. I realize theres great football players other than Richlands, and I do mean great football players at that. Richlands just has tons of talent this year and that is the team I follow. Go Blues.

This is bar none the most arrogant thread I have ever seen on here. We have a very important game this Saturday and if we should lose it, then what are they then. This team has the opportunity to be one of the best teams Richlands has ever had but its only an opportunity now.

What would be really cool is to be number 1 after Saturday. Thats the only poll that matters. I hope the Poquoson coach does not find these message boards as there would be tons of fotter to get his guys fired up. Best team ever, etc, etc. Theres a lot of premature stuff on here. "Being premature can be very disappointing" or so I have been told. HAHA

Where the heck is Bradley Strong. I would like to write him in. He has been a star on Offense, Defense and Special teams. He is the player of the year in this area with regard to what he has done in all phases of the game. I have my doubts anybody else has done that much in all 3 phases. I'm not sure, but maybe he lost the call on the coin flip, but not sure. I did vote for Devon Johnson as he is tough on both sides of the ball-Stud linebacker and Great ruuning back. Cody Thomas is also great in all phases of the game.

From what I have read about the Poquoson team they are very smart. They play good defense and like to run the ball a lot, but can throw. They don't turn it over and don't commit many penalties. They appear to be a team which will not beat themselves. I think we may have the talent and coaches to beat them but I hope we play a smart game against them. Limit penalties to those which can not be avoided and have no stupid retaliation penalties as we sometimes commit. Our offense is very hard to stop and if we take care of the ball as we did last week then it will put a lot of pressure on thier defense which is not giving up many points this year. Go Blues

Good post RoughRider97: If the players are as cocky about this game as our posters are then we have already lost it. The Poquoson team is good or they would not be there. They only lost to a powerhouse team in Dinwiddie and have beaten several good D-4 teams out there on that end of the state as well as beat Handley, which lost in the finals last year. I think this Blues team could match up with any team we have ever played in the State Tournament but if they are not ready to play and think we have it won already we may be in trouble. I wish our fans would wait until after the game to start saying best team ever and that crap. If they win Saturday then speculate all you want but if they lose then whow what a bunch of fools we have been. These statements about how great we are is not helping the team and thats what fans should do, help the team. My Opinion.

You hit the nail on the head old school blue: I don't know if what I said the first time was not clear enough but there is know reason good enough to be baited into a penalty. Especially when the State Title is on the line. I here the same thing about the Poquoson team and based on what I have saw from the Blues this year I bet we will commit some stupid retaliation penalties and it may give them the edge in a close game. I think if our fans spent as much time booing our guys for stupid stuff, like we do the refs then I bet our guys would be more prone to stop with the stupid retaliation stuff. Booing refs only makes them more prone to call stuff against you. The old saying you catch more flies with Honey than you do with Vinegar applies to all things in life.

I agree and "being premature can be really disappointing". Lets not Jinx ourselves.

I think cavdaddy may be correct some years. Usually the teams out that way have much bigger enrolement to get thier players from and the bigger talent pools help them have much more depth, potential D-1's, etc. Moticello had approx. 600 more students and thus more players than we did and that depth helped them beat a very good Blues team. This year Pocuoson is about 120 kids bigger than the Blues and GC and Gretna are almost equal. Poquoson's only loss this year came by a great D-5 team, (Dinwiddy) and that is a concern for me. I don't know anyting about the teams they beat-- So ??? I do know this Blues team is well balanced across the board and hit like Mack trucks, run like gazells, catch like fly paper and just as important are well coached. We have depth this year like no team I can remember us having. I think this year the team out there (Poquoson) may be in trouble. As for GC and Gretna, I know the Blue Devils will come to play and make all of Southwest Virginia proud what ever the outcome. Gretna is good so it will be a dogfight to get back with a title. Gate City's one dimensional team is a concern for me against Gretna. I will be pulling for the Blue devils all the way. I hope you can just run them over.

I agree SWVAoutdoors, The Southwest Virginia area has had some great teams and players and we are truely blessed. We are blessed to live here in this little paradise hidden in these mountains. Lets Go Blues and Blue Devils this Saturday. Put you're teams in the discussion as best ever.

I am a huge Richlands fan but I think you could also make several statements about bad calls against Brookville. Bad calls happen. One of our guys tackled thier reciever when Overton had one of his interceptions. Not called! The refs call the best game they can. I try not to look through Rose colored glasses like I think most do for thier teams. Every fan could always go back and say this or that about a call and it does not change the game at all. Play the game the way it is called is the best thing to do and let Mance deal with it if he thinks one was missed. Its OK for the fans to Boo sometimes but not every call. Our fans do practically every call against the Blues. I am not sure where you see us ranked 5 in double A but if so the best thing we can do is steamrole Poquoson just like we did Brookville and it will change. Chest thumping will not get respect, it must be earned on the field. State Championships will get Respect.

I agree. I think we will win this week but lets not get the cart before the horse. If we win the State championship this week then start blowing all the hot air. I think it best to just enjoy the season ethier way and not compare apples and oranges personally. This is a great team period but how can anyone tell which is the best if they can't play each other. Gate City had a couple of great teams with the Rogers boys, The G-men team already mentioned, Powell Valley teams with Jones brothers and a couple of others might chime in. 06 and 92 Blues may even like to play that game before any crowns are given out.

I DISAGREE BA961! I think the officiating was just fine. Our players were just real fired up and commited some penalties out of adrenaline. It just meant we were pumping on all cylinders and I am thankful the penalties did not effect the game. I think when a few of our people constantly complaint about the refs calling against us is just makes us look like cry babies. When the fans at the games Boo the refs for every call how can anybody take them serious. The game is called the way it is and the players must adjust to that. Crying about it only distracts the players from the goal, to win the game. When our fans always Boo the refs for every flag then it makes players do stupid stuff like one of our guys did after he made a big play. Do you also think it was OK for him to spear the ball into that guys chest. Obviously Coach Mance did not as he left the game for a while. He was pumped up and did not think but it could have hurt us had we not been playing so well. He was playing as well as anybody at that time and it would have been nice to have him out there but Mance did the right thing to take him out. We win by a huge margin and then we complain about the officiating. Lets just focus on the GREAT GAME our guys played. Then focus on our next opponent, Poquoson (the only thing that matters now). Just my opinion and you are entitled to your's. PS--I think it was chumpish and classless for some of our people to keep using the UCONN jester. Rather than cheer for our guys making good plays they were trying to tear down a teenage kid in High School who has had an excellent year. I figure loosing the game was bad enough for him. Bad sports in my book.

+2

"HERE HERE" To That BIGRHSfan I hope we keep THEM for a really long time.

They do look to be a run first team but maybe they just pass when they need to. It looks like they run the ball very good but I think Gate City does that as well as MOST. I notice their star wideout is 6'2" tall, for what that is worth. I think after the game against Brookville the only team which can beat Richlands is Richlands. Stay focussed guys and I think we will be OK. No turnovers and limit penalties! I would Love to know what Mance told them before the game against Brookville. Whow, we came to play.

You're right Bigrhsfan: We have a great field and home stands. If we added a little more stands on the visitor side then maybe, just maybe we could get a game every season with someone like Salem. They would always be a test and then some. Nobody would talk about how weak they are. If Pulaski county has the fan base they did in thier hayday they will need more stands on the visitor side of old Ernie. Our bathrooms just suck. When was the last time you just wanted a Port O John. God forbid a dad (mom at home) with his young daughter at Old Ernie. Just have to find a woman to trust her with.

Thanks Salemfootball and I hope you guys pull for this end of the State next Saturday. I don't know anything about the Poquoson team but I am sure Coach Mance will know them (inside and out) pretty quick if not already. They are good or they would not be there and I am sure it will be a great game. Brookville was just unlucky to have us at our best this year. I know sometimes people say it was the competition was weak for a score like this but I don't think so. We just executed perfectly. I think Mance and Staff had a lot to do with it as well as (and most of all) the guys just had that eye of the tiger feeling. Sometimes getting blowed out is good for you. I think our seniors remembered the 47-0 score last time we visited Brookville. I know Brookville had an outstanding team or they would not have been there. Sometimes old MO just gets rolling and theres nothing you can do about it. I believe we learned a lot from our mistakes against Cave Spring last week also. Thats just good coaching any way you spell it. Good luck to Salem next year. I bet the people at Liberty U. wish they could have the Richlands and Salem crowds there. Packed out.

I was proud to be a Richlands fan. I know the team feels our support and we really acted like a college fanbase, as we made tons of noise when they were on offense and were really quite while our quarterback called the signals. It is a shame that the home side only had as many fans as us considering they have been in Semi-fanls 3 out of last 4 years and made the final game once. They probably had less than us. Thats not anything against the Brookville fans there, as they were good people. Any fan base will have a few that may be a little "tart" at times. We Do too. The gates opened at 11:30am and the Richlands side was packed by 12:15pm. I mean packed. And Richlands people kept coming in till game time. The hill is OK but depending which side you got on you could only see that end of field. If Brookville keeps getting into playoffs (and they will with thier staff) thier county needs to consider more bleachers. They will pay for themselves.

His dad (Becrafts') said he used to love to watch high school football better than anything but said sometimes this year he holds his breath. I was truely thinking of him today several times as Becraft did just get leveled several times and by several players. He is one tough kid as he got up, brushed himself off, and played ball. Sometimes that says more than winning does. How you deal with adversity determines what kind of man you are more than winning does sometimes. Bradley Strong, Will Lowe, Cody Thomas and Jack Vance all started when the Bees handed us a 47-0 blowout 2 years ago and they kept working hard. Good examples of getting up, dusting off and playing ball.