ThomasDenton

So someone actually devotes their time and effort to create a Twitter account just for one football game? I wish I had that kind of free time.

With Abingdon finally turning things around and Holston and Battle having success these last few years, it's really odd to see that PH is the only one still going in the playoffs. But I'm really happy these teams are getting better and I'll be cheering PH on all the way. Go Rebels!

There weren't too many Bristol natives on the Thunder, so I'm not surprised that they'd decide to move the team.

Will they be part of the league that the Bristol team was in (not sure if the league or Bristol's team will keep going....pretty rough last season)? I think it's called the World Class Football League (WCFL) and Bristol's team is the Twin City Thunder.

nm

I work for a company in Bristol that makes custom electro-mechanical equipment for mining companies (transformers, substations, switchgear, etc.) and our biggest customer, the one the company was really built on, is the coal mining industry. However, this past year there's been some pretty huge changes with the decline in coal and we've actually taken on a huge job for a fracking company. I don't know where they do their fracking, but it's given us a lot of needed business, though I have mixed feelings about it since I'm against fracking. I also don't know how long it'll last since so many want fracking to end and as redtiger mentioned, jobs might decline in that industry when the wells are dug. On the other hand, my company is currently sending me to Virginia Highlands Community College to take their electrical program and one of my teachers is the head of the solar program. From what I've seen and heard, solar is getting huge at VHCC and other places and they are pushing hard to bring more of it to this area. My teacher even told me he had a great deal to give John Battle a solar set up for really cheap, but the WC school board turned it down, saying they like coal better. Coal can keep us going for a while and natural gas can help, but these green energy industries really need to be pushed in this area. There could be lots of manufacturing jobs set up to build solar and wind equipment and businesses hiring people to install them. School districts are even being pushed to include more incentives for green energy programs (my teacher has gotten the technical school in Smyth Co. to set up a program where students can get nearly a quarter of their electrical degree through VHCC done in high school and is pushing to get the same done in Wash. Co. and Bristol....though they're more reluctant for whatever reasons). Wind and especially solar can bring in lots of jobs from research to assembly to installation to servicing on both large and small scale in this area and if we really pushed it, we could lead the nation easily I believe. My company tried dabbling a bit in assembling wind energy equipment before and I hope they try it again and try to do a little more. Sorry for the long post, but since working for this company and going back to school, I've become very interested in this topic.

I actually found a bunch of paw paw recipes online a while back. Finally found the website. I may have to try some of these. http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/pawpaw/recipes.htm

That's awesome. I first tried paw paws a couple of years ago and found out there's only a few in my family that even like them. I've told people I work with about them (one guy from Ohio who'd never heard of them), but really didn't know of a good way to preserve them so they could try it. Let me know if you have any success with your new batch this year.

When I first read the reports, my thought was "so what? Me and my brothers got whipped with switches, big leather belts, hands....you name it", but then I read later that the whippings brought blood, bruises, and he hit the kid in the genitals (said that part was an accident). I agree that this was too much of a whipping and should be considered child abuse. What this'll do though is turn more people against whippings and there'll be more talk about banning such punishment. Also, I did read that part where they said he used a tree branch. Even if you aren't familiar with the word "switch" and even though switches are technically branches, just saying that he used a tree branch makes it seem much worse. Shouldn't have worded it that way.

Anything on Battle/Holston? Last I saw, Battle was winning in a close one early 4th quarter.

Just saw that Battle was beating Holston 12-7 in the 2nd.

Is Battle not playing? I can't find a score anywhere.

Lee out at Battle; Wright, Baker take over on interim basis Posted: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 11:41 pm Allen Gregory | Bristol Herald Courier BRISTOL, Va. – Brian Lee is out as the John Battle head football coach and former head coach Steve Wright has returned. Multiple sources confirmed that Lee delivered his sudden resignation to Battle principal Jeff Hawkins early Tuesday morning. Lee in a text message would not comment, but later added he may offer an explanation today. The story then unraveled throughout the afternoon, with Hawkins meeting with Wright and former Battle defensive coordinator Rocky Baker and asking them to return as coaches. Both men agreed. The Trojans lost their one and only game under Lee, a 60-20 decision to Abingdon last week on Battle Hill. In an interview after practice Tuesday evening, Wright said that he and Baker will operate as co-head coaches on an interim basis. “This all came out of the blue about eight this morning. I was very surprised,†Wright said. “I don’t know what to feel right now.†After making their separate agreements with Hawkins, Wright and Baker met to discuss practice plans. They shared the news of their unique arrangement just before the start of practice. “We feel like we could do the best in this situation by sharing the head coaching duties,†Wright said. With Wright serving as head coach and Baker directing the defense, the Trojans posted a 24-12 record with three straight playoff berths from 2011-2013. Battle qualified for the playoffs just twice from 1970-2010 When he resigned shortly after last season, Wright said he had no plans to get back into coaching and wanted to devote more time to his family and faith. Wright, 54, serves as a volunteer with the regional chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. “This was a tough decision,†Wright said. “I am getting more and more involved with the FCA and Coach Baker is also involved in other things. We just love these kids and we felt like we were obligated to help them. That’s why we’re doing this.†Baker, 51, worked as the head coach at now defunct Pound High School from 1999-2002. He led Pound to the 1999 Division 1 title game, where the Wildcats fell 21-6 to Surry County at Liberty University. Baker then served on the staff for former University of Virginia’s College at Wise head coach Bruce Wasem. “Obviously, this is a unique situation. I really don’t know how to describe it right now,†Baker said Tuesday night. “It’s been a long day, but I think it’s been a longer day for the kids with not knowing what to expect at 3 p.m.†Baker, who works as a guidance counselor at Battle, was encouraged by the response of the Battle players during the meeting and practice that ended shortly after 6 p.m. “Our meeting was very straightforward and business-like, and I think the kids respected our decision,†Baker said. “The kids were upbeat in practice, hustling and working hard. I think we’ve got a very resilient bunch here.†The goal now for Baker, Wright and other Battle coaches is to devise a game plan for Friday’s clash at Bristol rival Virginia High. “Things have just happened so quickly,†Baker said. “Coach Wright and I tried to spend some time together today to put our schedule together and talk about how he and I would divide our specific duties.†No other changes are planned to the coaching staff, Wright said. Battle spent the preseason and the first game in a no-huddle spread offense. Wright has been a longtime proponent of the traditional Wing-T offense and he said that Battle will “have a little Wing-T flavor†on Friday. “We’re just going to try and be very basic and work on some fundamentals,†Wright said. “We will get us a few running plays and work on the things that we’re already established.†Wright and Baker agreed that their past coaching relationships with several of the current Battle players will assist with the transition. “It’s been a tough day. A change like this is always tough on the kids, and that’s our No. 1 concern,†Wright said. “I thought they responded pretty well in practice.†Wright said he has no plans to coach beyond this season. “We took the job on interim basis,†Wright said. “The plan right now is for Coach Baker and I to finish out the season. We’re just going to do the best we can.†Baker said he had current plans to jump back into coaching before Tuesday. “I don’t know if never is the right word, but I definitely didn’t plan to return under these circumstances,†Baker said. “Coach Wright and I had conversations before the final decision was made. Having Steve come on board made my decision a whole lot easier.†Despite the turmoil that has spread throughout the community since Friday’s game, Baker is confident that the Trojans can persevere. “We’re just going to try our best to put a fundamentally sound football team out there,†Baker said. “This is a good bunch. I think they will continue to do what we’ve asked of them in the past and do their very best, even with the change.â€

I asked a player yesterday what the deal was with the coach leaving, what he told them, and was told that the coach never spoke to the team about it. He apparently just up and resigned without letting anyone know (except the principal I guess). Many of the players found out when the news broke on the web. There may have been people who wanted his head before the season even started and who didn't give him a fair chance, but you can't come in (especially in a rebuild year like this) and completely change the game plan to something the team just can't run. It's fine having an offense/defense that you want to run and trying it out, but you should know quickly if your team can run it or not and we definitely couldn't run his offense. He seemed like the kind of coach who wanted to make his players fit his scheme rather than finding a scheme to fit what his team can do. And if that's not enough, to leave without telling the team and just keeping mum on the whole deal...that's just not right.

Tazewell's uniforms look pretty good, but with no black on the helmets they look a little out of place.

Pass happy, no huddle spread offense......or at least he wanted to. Very few schools in SWVA can run anything like that (I don't know anyone specifically that does, but I can think of some who potentially can with the talent they usually have). I really don't think Battle has ever had the athletes to run that kind of offense. We've always either been run heavy old school or balanced (with a few tricks up the sleeve).

I was a little worried about the gray being added to Battle's uniforms. I remember VHS's uniforms last year had to grow on me, but I kind of like it. As long as it isn't black. I remember at one point (may have been just before I started high school), Battle tried to replace the gold with silver in all their sports uniforms. The silver was then replaced at one point with black and neither lasted long. They then tried yellow as a new "gold" and it looked pretty good and has stuck since. This gray works better than I thought it would. And I agree with Jethro, keeping those stripes and maybe outlining them with yellow while getting rid of the B would look good.

I think it was mentioned before, but Battle and Abingdon both have new uniforms this year and I really love them. The only complaint I have about Battle's is the Battle B on the helmets. It looks weird and out of place. With those uniforms, I'd have just left the logo off the helmet and only kept the stripes. I really like Abingdon's wing design too. So, are there any other teams this year with completely new uniforms? Here's a tricities.com link to some pics from the JSB/AHS game where you can see the uniforms: http://www.tricities.com/gallery/collection_ebe2b25e-2fec-11e4-8c8c-001a4bcf6878.html

I ran into Coach Baker last week in Abingdon and he was asking if I was still filming this year and we talked a little about the team. Heck, maybe this is a sign that I should return to filming for Battle too, lol. But seriously, having Wright AND Baker back is great along with Mullins and Briscoe. I'm sure one thing they'll focus on (besides finding a better offense...like the Wing T or some other run heavy or balanced offense) is the defense. Mullins, Briscoe and Baker are all very good defensive coaches and that was one of Battle's strengths the last few years. Should be interesting to watch, even if they are only back temporarily.

I agree. I love those helmets and that anchor design.

Senate nominees wager on Graham - Bluefield football game Posted: Friday, August 29, 2014 11:08 am | Updated: 11:13 am, Fri Aug 29, 2014. Associated Press Posted on Aug 29, 2014 by Kevin Castle CHESTERFIELD, Va. — Republican nominees for U.S. Senate from Virginia and West Virginia have made a friendly wager on the outcome of a high school football game between schools from their states. Ed Gillespie's campaign says if West Virginia's Bluefield High School beats Virginia's Graham High, he'll send Virginia ham to Shelley Moore Capito. If Graham High wins, the congresswoman will send West Virginia pepperoni rolls to Gillespie. Gillespie says he looks forward to enjoying pepperoni rolls, while Capito says Bluefield High has a tradition of bringing home the bacon against Graham, and Friday night's game will be no different. Gillespie is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner in November in Virginia, while Capito is squaring off against West Virginia Democratic Secretary of State Natalie Tennant. Bluefield beat Graham 60-38 last year.

Haha, yeah I see that now. I can never remember the new coach's name. Seems that he's going to a spread offense and really wants to pass the ball. Not sure how well it'll work, but we'll see when the season starts. He seems energetic and excited about this program. I've only met him once so far, so I guess time will tell....starting with the team heading to JI Burton this Friday.

Sorry for the late response, been out of town since last week. I really don't know what other teams around have this year. Heck, I really don't know too much about Battle (probably the least I've known since I started following the program when I was in school). I do know that there are some people who think they could play the dark horse/spoiler role in the Mountain District as most have pegged the MD champ to be between GC and Union.

I went to Battle's practice yesterday to talk to the new coach about me filming this year and just to see a little bit of what we have. I didn't get to stay long, but I counted around 47 players there and a few 8th graders (hard to get an exact count with everyone moving around though). I'd expect Battle to start the season with around 50 or more. We're going to be pretty young this year and I didn't really see a whole lot of size like I've seen in years past, but I know these kids are disciplined and focused and will give it everything they've got. Gonna be a rebuilding year, but it'll be interesting to watch. And on a side note, Battle FINALLY got a brand new scoreboard. They put it on the other end of the field where the lower concession stand is and it looks amazing. I'm so glad they finally got one. Needed a new board for a long time. (I also tried to take a picture of it to post on here, but it was too sunny for my phone's crappy camera, lol).

Is Central still playing at UVA-Wise? I was told last season by one of their people (can't remember if he was a coach or some other position) that they would be playing on a new field starting this season and would not be playing at UVA-Wise anymore.