Great City

Not sure if, or how many, are still suspended, but I know another starter was injured today and now has 7 stitches in his head.

GC 28 Lebanon 0 H Collier 22 yard TD pass to M. Collier. 2 pt conversion is good.

GC 20 Lebanon 0 Collier 5 yard TD run (third rushing TD of the game). 2 pt conversion is good.

GC 12 Lebanon 0 Collier 7 yard TD run. 2-pt conversion no good.

Gate City 6 Lebanon 0 Collier 1 yard TD run. Missed XP.

Not sure why the font was screwed up. Unfortunately it is true. I shouldn't say what happened. We are talking about kids.

Oh................. it is unfortunately true. Shouldn't say what happened.

Just trying to pass on some information.

Looks like the majority of the startes for GC will be suspended for tonight's game against Bluefield. Possibly for next week's game against Union. Not a joke. Would probably be better to forfeit and not take the chance on getting a bunch of freshman hurt tonight.

GC is better on defense this year. Best defender may be the freshman middle linebacker. Lost a starting DB in the second game of the year. Pass D has been effected, but still has not been that bad. Havng almost no pass rush, and the D having to be on the field way too long, has attributed to some poor D. Sometimes it seems the D has a hard time lining up. Almost like the kids don't know where they need to be. The second smallest defensive I ever remember GC having (last year was the smallest). I have been going to GC games for 30 years. You could always count on the D being hard-nosed, and delivering some knock out shots each game. This has just not happened the last two years. Defense generally plays hard. They seem to get exhausted from being on the field too long, and their play suffers. Hard to explain the offense. Could have scored 70 points on Abingdon. Not sure how we even scored against Sullivan South. QB play has been erratic (guess that explains some of the problems), but is understandable with a young, inexperienced QB starting his first year. Pass blocking has also been hit or miss (pardon the pun), which also helps explain the erratic QB play. Run blocking has not been much better. Seems we hope that the RB can get through the first line of defenders and then use his speed for a big gain. Just does not happen much. This leads to way too many three and outs. No rhythm gets established, and the defense gets tired. Second smallest offense I remember GC having (again, last year was the smallest). Kick coverage has been terrible. No other word to describe it. Other team generally has great starting field position. Punt coverage has been slightly better. Bright spots: Young QB has potential. With better protection, and a decent running game, pass attack would be OK. Offense does have some speed at RB (losing RB Gardner hurt). TE/DB Collier can be a weapon. Young middle linebacker should develop into a monster. A couple of down years has not hurt participation. Still a bunch of kids on the team. I think GC can win 4 games this year, but we are going to have to go away from traditional GC football a little. We don't have the line to attempt to run the ball like we have been doing. Obviously still have to attempt some runs up the middle to keep the defense semi-honest. We are going to have to get the ball to some of our playmakers in space. Quick pitches to our RBs with speed. Quick slants to Collier. Line Hicks/Herron up at WR and try a few bubble screens. Run a few middle screens (will also help slow down the pass rush). Run a few outside screens. Fake an off tackle run and hit Collier (from his TE position) going down the middle of the field (would be very effective for GC). Run some 4 or 5 wide sets. Spread the D out.....then try some runs up the middle (you would just need to get 1 or 2 blocks to open up a hole for the RB. Run the same set and try some QB runs.

Gate City plays an up tempo offense. Get the ball down the court and get off a shot. They play an aggressive man-to-man defense. They play 8-9 kids and try to keep fresh legs in the game. They had a big man blow out a knee in the region tournament, so they are down a player. They have a 6'7" center who can run the floor and leap out of the gym. IF they are hitting their outside shots, they can be tough. If they are not hitting from the outside, any team in VA can beat them. They have lost 5 games. 3 of the loses were to Abingdon (Region IV AA champion), 1 lose to a team from Germany (who won the Arby's Classic...BIG High School Tournament down here), 1 loss to Siegel High School (the 10th ranked high school team in the state of Tennessee). They have not lost a game since 12-31-12. But like I said, if they don't shoot the ball well, they will lose by 20 points to Graham.

The Gate City boy's team also plays a fast paced, aggressive game. Man-to-man, aggressive defense. Push the ball up the court quickly and score. They rotate 9 players in and out of the game and attack (offense and defense) the whole game. However, they have a lot of turnovers becasue of the way they push the ball up the court. IF they are hitting their outside shots, they are a pretty tough team. If they are not hitting from the outside, anyone in the state could beat them. They also lost a quality big man in the Union game. Blew out a knee. MRI this week, don't think it is possible that he returns this year. The Gate City girl's team also tries to play a fast paced, aggressive game, just not as fast paced and aggressive as the boy's team. They don't have a senior who dresses out. If this group could make 70% of their shots in the paint, they would win some games. They have some quality underclassmen. Should be pretty tough next year.

Arnold kid was out with the flu. Not sure how many others are sick/not feeling well.

This is just one of those weird years for GC. Planetary alignment, global warming,and some strange radiation emitting from Area 51 have combined to produce some previously unseen effects at Legion Field. Well.......either that or having 5 Seniors, and around 30 Sophomores, on the team. Take your pick. With so many young kids on the team, you just never know how they will respond. It is POSSIBLE that GC wins the next 4 games (Battle, @ VH, Union, and @ Lee). It is also possible that they lose the next 4 games.......badly.

I'm not sure how many times Battle has beaten GC (I would guess a VERY few times), but they may get a win this year. I BELIEVE Battle has something like 15 Seniors, and GC has around 5 (3 that play).

No disrespect to the GC players or coaches. This year's team is just too small, slow, and inexperienced to compete like a "normal" GC team competes. It is just not going to happen. I believe our starting QB is out until at least week 3 of the season. With our lack of depth this year, that pulls two other kids out of their positions, and weakens an already weak team. The first part of our schedule is brutal. Richlands, @ Harlan County (who I believe will be unveiling a new stadium the night we play them), @ Sullivan South, Lebanon, and @ Bluefield. We can hope for a 1-4 record after the first 5 games. It CAN be good to play a tough schedule to start the season. Helps you find your team's weaknesses, and can toughen up some kids. BUT, a tough schedule like that to start the year CAN destroy a young team's confidence. You also have a higher risk of injuries playing that type of schedule. Most years this would not be a major concern for GC. This year it is. I have watched all of GC's scrimmages this year. (God....I hope Pulaski County is really that good.) I think we win 4 games.......at most. I also unfortunately believe that we are a couple of injuries away from maybe only winning 1 or 2 games. Again, no disrespect to the players or coaches. This is just one of those rare years where teams will get some payback on GC. .....Hey.........is it too late to schedule Abingdon?

As a long-time GC fan, I HOPE we keep it close, but I just don't see it. We will be a much improved team by the end of the year, but will probably start the season 1-4 and not score a lot of points. If i had to make a prediction, I would go with Richlands 35-7.

Like someone has already mentioned, Pulaski County looked really good. Gate City........did not look like Gate City. Probably the smallest & slowest GC team I have ever seen. Didn't look like we have anyone who wants to hit. I'm afraid it is going to be a LONG year.

I'm going to say this again.......these Abingdon "kids" are not real!!!! These are adults acting like kids to get responses from you guys......and it ALWAYS works. The smart thing to do is to NOT respond to the posts they make.

We HAD to trade with the Rams to draft RGIII. Cleveland wanted to trade with the Rams as well. Us trading with the Vikings would have only allowed Cleveland to trade with the Rams and then draft RGIII.

I was at the game. NO racial slurs (unless you mean the USA chant). Officiating? You are correct. I thought it was one-sided. I BELIEVE VA High attempted something like 27 free throws. GC attempted something like 14. At one point during the third quarter, GC had been called for 6 team fouls. VA High had been CALLED for 0 team fouls. The only reason GC caught up at all in FT attempts was VA High blatantly fouled toward the end of the game during a lame comeback attempt. VERY poor sportsmanship displayed by the VA High "fans" last night. I really hesitate to even use the word "fan". Throwing stuff on the floor.....sad. You are messing with player safety when you do that. At least two "people from the Bristol area" trying to come down on the gym floor.........sad. At least one "person who supports VA High" having to be restrained.....redneck. A young kid (at least you can make up an excuse for a child) having to be led from the gym by the State Police. Then came the WORST "fan" support I have ever seen. With maybe 3-4 minutes remaining in the game, the majority of the "people acting like they support VA High" stand up and leave in mass. Absolutely classless!!! I'm sure the players on the VA High team appreciated your support. One guy has already mentioned the profanity used by your player who dunked. Come on.......act like you have dunked before.

"As far as Gate City sitting on the visiting side at Legion Field, they do that to everyone, not just Richlands so that has nothing to do with respect, that's their seats too." It has NOTHING to do with lack of respect. It is 100% about logistics. The fans HAVE to have someplace to sit. The "home" side is always full. The fans HAVE to sit on the "visitor's" side. As a matter of fact, the "student section" has always been on the "visitor's" side.

Guys........you are feeding the trolls. These guys are NOT real.

Exactly. GC had a TOUGH time this year scheduling games. We were lucky to get a complete slate scheduled. Now GC is a little "down" this year........at least compared to last year. But even in a "down" year, Abingdon wants no part of GC. No part.

Those posts are OBVIOUSLY fake. Someone is pulling your guy's chains. It is probably best to NOT respond to them.