starcityfootballfan

G-Men 7 'Dogs 0

Well said!

Richlands 21 Gate City 7

Radford 13 Pulaski County 0 8:17-3rd

Bluefield 24 Graham 0

George Wythe 28 Tazewell 0

Radford 6 Pulaski County 0-HALF

Richlands 14 Gate City 0

Yes, it does take a little time to get 10,000 people out of the stadium after Graham and Bluefield have played each other. However, this is certainly a routine thing for all fans attending and just an expected part of the tradition/experience. No complaints here!

Salem Stadium is a close second to Mitchell in Bluefield. The Bluefield facility holds nearly 2,500 more people and hosts the storied Graham and Bluefield rivalry as well as both school's home games.

Just what the Graham faithful ordered. However, I do caution ... patience at first! Again, I am so thankful that the Virginia side folks finally have some positive news and a welcome change. Go G-Men!

I have to agree with you on this one as the actual school colors are still maroon and gray. At one time the football team donned light gray pants accented with the cardinal and yellow piping and worn with the cardinal red jersey's. This was a great look out on the field and the combination incorporated both the school and athletic colors. I believe it was around 1977 when Carlock introduced what has been defined as the "athletic colors."

My prediction on Graham's 2011 record: 7-3 Although I hope I am wrong, Bluefield and Richlands will defeat Graham easily. There will be one more slip up lose as well ... perhaps Princeton. However, Graham should roll through their initial Mountain Empire District schedule as champs. I certainly look forward to returning to Bluefield to see the G-Men play. This is something I stopped doing years ago due to the past coaching staff. Mitchell Stadium will certainly be an exciting arena for some of the smaller schools to play in. Actually, Mitchell holds several thousand more fans than Salem Stadium which is the site for the D1 and D2 state championship games. I hope the friendly confines of the stadium will once again prove to be an asset for Graham. Again, I will repeat that it is great to see new excitement from the Graham fans. However, we must all be patient regarding the new start for a new coach at GHS. Go G-Men!

Glad to finally see some excitement and enthusiasm from the Graham fans. However, we must all be patient during this coming year and down right ecstatic about the years to come. I certainly look forward to coming back to Bluefield and watching Graham play football. That is something I have not done for the past several years.

This is great news for the school and the community as well. With the new facilities opening soon, and with the needed drop in classification, I am hoping that Graham football will soon be back. By the way, I was in Gate City that night that the banner mentioned in the BDT was displayed. Carlock's selection is a very positive first step in revamping the "unnecessary mess" which was allowed to continue for far too long. I am still keeping my fingers crossed for another positive announcement regarding the new football coach. I certainly miss all the Graham-Gate City athletic competitions and hope the rivalry will be continued soon. The two schools always had a mutual respect for each other and produced some great high school football games. The classic was in 1995 when Graham held on to win at Gate City and advance to the state semis. Two weeks later , another state championship trophy was proudly displayed by the G-Men in Fredricksburg. I had never seen so much mud in my life when Graham upset King George in the championship game. The memory of all of those Graham fans making the long trip up north to the DC area in sleet, snow, and ice is a classic.

This is just my personal opinion .... I was disappointed that Richlands did not win the state title as I always support the schools from southwest Virginia. You have made some interesting points; however, I do think that the "soft schedule" scenario could be prevented. Obviously, the quality of the SW district was down this year and that is something no one can control. You have to play your district schedule but Richlands could certainly improve their schedule credibility by dropping the single A schools.... with the exception being Gate City. Honaker and Lebanon have to go and I think the scheduling credibility would no longer be questionable.

I just left the stadium in Salem and sooooooooooo glad to see Gate City defeat Gretna! Great team, great fans, and great sportsmanship! I must admit that after Richlands rolled over Brookville in the semis I had a gut feeling that they would not win the championship game.

One good aspect with the current system VHSL is that the championship games are distributed throughout the state of Virginia. D5 and D6 (larger enrollments) play at UVA in Charlottesville. It is apparent that the state's larger schools (AAA) are in that area and East, making it more of a manageable drive for their fan bases. D2 and D3 are played in Lynchburg, while D1 and D2 play in Salem. I must admit that Salem Stadium (capacity 7500) is perfect for the smaller schools and is usually full for both contests. This adds to the whole atmosphere of the title games. No doubt, this location makes it much more convenient for the smaller southwest located schools and their large fan base. I was at Tech last year to see Northside play in the championship game and although there were about 4000 fans from Roanoke on one side, the stadium still appeared to be quite empty although all schools were well represented. The closest I have seen Liberty filled was when Amherst County and Liberty-Bedford made the championship games and in 2001. That year (2001) you had both Graham and Pulaski County in the finals and both those schools had well over 5000 fans there. Although Pulaski and Graham were on opposite sides for their respective games, both fan bases pulled for each other which added even more intensity to the whole stadium atmosphere. Unfortunately, both Graham and Pulaski lost in upset fashion.

Thanks... you guys do a great job with this site!

Greenbriar West score?

C'burg-Magna Vista score?

Please do not remind me of Graham's poor coaching job in that championship game... I was there and will never get over that one!

EM 41, Galax 28

EM 41, Galax 21

EM 35, Galax 21... 3:12 remain