Dick_Vitale

Also, this thread already has 50 post (well 51 now) and we are 6 days and some change away from kick off. I see this thread getting 15-20 pages long by Friday at 7pm easy.

What is the "taunting" you guys are referring to when Graham runs out? Each team has their "thing" that they all do. Look at basketball teams! Some turn the lights off and turn it into a dang circus before the game begins. TBH, who cares what they do. Yell, jump, throw your arms, etc., but bottom line is I doubt a lot is heard or seen from players on the field. Maybe the general "wow they are fired up" is about it. The rest is a spectacle for fans I think. Good for them though for having their thing. Graham really grabs the bad boy persona and runs with it.

107.7 is rough to listen to. Sounds like a bunch of friends chatting about a game. (Graham game)

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God I would hope so. I remember hearing some stories and thinking to myself "what in the world is this guy thinking".

Valid point. I have not heard recently how Saunders behavior is since JJ Kelly. Somewhat lost track of him once he went to Gretna so I am unsure if he ever got his act together dealing with the parents.

I can agree with that. I know the guy is a loose cannon but in a way I feel Tazewell needs that. Tazewell is not a place many people will want to come mainly due to talent level and parent involvement. Best case scenario is they get a guy like Saunders who really does not care what people think... literally.

Why wouldn't Saunders be the man for the job? I do not think he knows anyone and he definitely turns programs around. Also pretty dag on disciplined regarding player attitudes.

No problem. Leadership probably does have some issue but Tazewell has faced this problem for some time and that is discipline. Tough to change an entire school's culture overnight. I really do not see this changing within the next 5 years.

Sadly, name of the game is to win. Coaches are judged based on wins and losses just as teachers are judged on testing scores. Sad realization but it is the truth. Your argument is invalid regarding super's changing. Graham/Richlands have made a handful of post season pushes in sports OTHER than football... I know weird to think of sports exist here in SWVA. Last year graham went to state in Golf, basketball, and maybe wrestling? This year they won competitive cheer (impressive). Richlands made a deep run in football... unsure of other sports. Maybe the in house admin is a cause but bottom line is Allen has been there for 5 years. Sure Rome was not built in a day but in his 5 years what has he accomplished? Sure talent comes and goes but he has cycled through one round of talent thus far.

By that argument, Graham and Richlands should be suffering as well academically/athletically. Both school are far from struggling in either department. Not quite... New superintendent came in 2013 and was bought out in 2014 (She was from Fairfax and did not mesh well). Ms. Kincer (sp?) took over once they bought the previous Super out as an interim base. George Brown is the current super and, for the most part, was always going to get the job. Ms. Kincer knew retirement was close when she took the interim based job so her time as super was a stepping stone for the permanent replacement. Tazewell's problem is Tazewell. Never really been a lot of discipline and it got out of hand. Their current admin seems to be steering the boat back on track. As for the football coach, I cannot blame him. Who wants to endure 5 seasons of losing. Future looks remotely bright but Tazewell will tazewell and somehow mess it up (parents).

This pretty much sums up my feelings toward Hurley. Sure you are leading the state in scoring or whatever, but really what defense have you played. If Hurley has Galax's schedule then you have my respect. At this point Hurley is thumping their chest for beating up on below average teams.

886 according to the latest VHSL enrollment numbers. All valid points... I retract my statements and Abingdon can remain average. Since they do not have a lot of kids them underachieving is okay.

I believe Hurley fans take the cake this year. If PM rolls up to the cliff and steals that W Hurley's community might go nuts.... literally.

Okay... I will say I misspoke. Maybe not always playing 3rd to football/basketball but with the new hire I will be interested to see how they fair this upcoming season. Still with 1000+ students there is no reason they should not dominate the competition yearly. Their baseball team has 3 Division I signees. Basketball fell off steeply once Lasley left. Maybe he saw what was coming and chose to begin his admin career with that in mind.

i can see them practicing Varsity Girls and Boys together at certain points. Most of the kids have been around Timmons and know his program. Putting in plays and doing drills can be done together on separate ends I would think. The problem exists when one program begins to tally a few loses while the other gains traction and hangs a few W's. What if one programs turns 0-10 while the other is 10-0? Sure the initial response is "keep practicing them the same" but naturally you will gravitate tot he undefeated team. More goes on behind scenes than what people realize like scouting other teams and watching film. I just don't see this being successful. He will not be able to keep both parent groups happy unless they both win the same amount of games. Maybe this is a bandaid in hopes of luring someone in next year to take one of the programs over.

I can definitely see Honaker being int he top 10 and being very competitive in the Region 1A... but they lost Robinette which was basically their team. Anxious to see how they play without him down low.

of the Crooked Road Conference?

Top 20 is tough and entirely too many things go into that kind of ranking. Plus if youre not in the top 10 you are really just guessing anyway. My Top 10: 1.Radford-Easy pick for the most part. Too many athletes on that team! 2.Gate City-McClung, Ervin, freshmen kid will be a fun group to watch. Maybe not as deep as a traditional GC team but they should make a run to Richmond 3.George Wythe-Arguably has one of the best players in SWVA on their team (the guard). Unsure what they lost last year but should be high in the standings. 4.Richlands-Losing Fuller and Lowe hurts. Senior heavy team that is poised to win finally. Horn and Brown should contribute a lot for them. Could be a fun team to watch play offense. 5.Graham- Lost 2 solid players but reload with young talent. It will be a different team this year but not a bad team. They will sputter early but by season's end could be playing with the big boys. I look for them to knock Richlands off once. 6.Union-Lost a lot due to graduation but they have a solid shooter in Slagle and athlete in Mitchell. They will be in any ball game they play due to this. 7.Abingdon (if their athletes play)- Weird team... The talent is there but Abingdon does not seem to be bought into the basketball atmosphere. They are always playing 3rd fiddle to football/baseball. 8.Eastside-Casano is a senior right? if so good place for a 1A team. Damron does a great job there. 9.Fort Chiswell-If memory serves me right their coach was tossed in the last game of the year at Honaker. FUN. I feel like they return a lot from last year. They won't beat GW but they will give it a good effort. 10.Chilhowie-I was at a loss of who to put here. Snodgrass does a pretty good job here. This spot is a toss up.

One would argue that they finished much better, record wise, than when Fuller was running the show. It was a different team though between Fuller/Phillips head coaching. Fuller loaded up their schedule with quality competition and Phillips watered it down. Tough to compare records but kids quitting speaks for itself it seems.

First Round: Galax Narrows Ft. Chiswell Chilhowie George Wythe Raddy Hurley Parry McCluer Altavista Franklin Essex Luray Round 2: Galax Ft. Chiswell George Wythe Hurley Sussex Central Riverheads Colonial Beach Quarters: Galax George Wythe Sussex Riverheads Semis: Galax Riverheads Finals: Riverheads

Round 1: Appomattox Giles Dan River Union Graham Martinsville Richlands Glenvar Stuarts Draft Nandua East Rock Central Goochland King William Clarke Buffalo Gap Round 2: Appomattox Dan River Graham Richlands Stuarts Draft East Rock Goochland Clarke Quarters: Appomattox Graham Stuarts Draft Goochland Semis: Goochland Appomattox Final: Appomattox 55

I saw their schedule... LOL. No Bluefield/Union. If you are "supposed" to be one of the best teams in the area you best be battle tested by Region.

Who was paying for the field turf?

Absolutely not! My grammar resembles that of a middle school kids. Just simply helping a man while he is down. Regardless, reading on various message boards is rough for me. Makes me realize how little we either are teaching in America's school system or how little people care. Could be either! haha