Bearcat Bob

At the end of the day, we are all fans of high school sports...the truest of athletic endeavors going!

Do not worry MM, I have decided to allow Ryan time to get over this past Saturday before rattling his cage. I am sure he is still giddy with the Colts win this Sunday anyway!

Peoples Champ...You are possibly moving to Bristol in the near future...I just finished my move to Rockingham County. Bristol is great...need a place to rent? lol. Anyway, while it may not have quite the same luster as in my day, the V-T game (Virginia High-Tennessee High) is a rivalry game that every Bristolian (?) should attend. On another note, it does not matter where you live or who you support on this board. Everyone is given a "once over" and a fair shake. Thin skinned people need not apply. I am fairly new to this board but have found it to be quite entertaining, informative, sometimes sarcastic but always, always fun. There are a bunch of really good posters here. Take your coat off and stay a while. And to point out the incredibly obvious, everyone knows that the only 8th graders who drive are those Tennessee transfers at Gate City. Sheesh...

I think the only people in that area who say Wilson is hated and arrogant are the Riverheads supporters. According to a blog in the Shenandoah Valley, neither team was very good for many years. Riverheads finagled their way into D-1 for several years and had some success, winning several D-1 titles. The Wilson folks scoffed at them because they were winning against schools much smaller than they. It took Wilson a little longer to build a program but they did it against schools their size...or so goes the story. My recent experiences have shown that Riverheads folks are the arrogant ones.

My brother would have graduated as a 17 year old way back in the eighties. Mom and Dad felt he was too immature as a 12 year old to enter junior high school so he was held back. It ended up being one of the best things to happen for him. He became an honor roll student in Junior and High School. The year between his junior and senior year he made tremendous physical strides and ended up earning a scholarship to play baseball. That extra year was huge in his life.

THE VHSL is pretty clear on holdbacks...it is legal and a non-issue. Why go there anyway?

I am still trying figure out why this "Hacker" would infer that I said Bristol was exotic! I mean that was really off the wall...even for a chokie.

That is the best you have? You actually wasted a post on THAT? NO SOUP FOR YOU!

And from the final score, this area still has not seen an offense from T-town.

Man I am behind the times. When did Annapolis or Shreveport become exotic locales? I image there may be a few exotic "social clubs" for men there but I do no think that is to what you were referring?!?

Wilson was a doormat for a lot of years. They only recently started having a little success. I expect Richlands to roll them, mainly because of the experience factor, the "been there, done that" kind of thing. I highly doubt that the game would be moved. I think if the venue can hold 2500, not necessarily seat 2500, that the VH$L is okay with that.

The one thought that kept sneaking into my conscious while watching that game was that it could be worse. Imagine that you are the representative of the "pick your name" bowl . Along about the 3rd quarter or so, you suddenly realize that one of these "offensive juggerNOTs" will be invited to your bowl game.

That Gretna connection was what I was alluding to earlier. I recall a couple of years ago that Gretna's best athlete, both football and basketball-wise, transferred to Altavista and changed his name. The Gretna folks were beside themselves. But on that kids behalf, I would not have wanted to play for Thurman either. Catolaro (sp), I can live with or without. He was not much when at VHS or Orange County. O-streak, that Thurman attitude has also worn thin at Harrisonburg High School. I am SOOOOOO glad he is not at VHS. When we recently relocated to Rockingham County, I made sure we were not in the Harrisonburg HS boundary.

Thornhill is the most talented player I have seen play this year. I cannot see him being stopped this week or next.

Here are two dates: v. VHS on Jan 9 @ VHS on Jan 30 The other 20 are up to someone else.

I would beg to differ. Maggie Walker, Appomattox Regional, and Thomas Jefferson schools are VHSL schools who can and do select their students from a wide region. No tuition required. While known mostly for academics, they do field successful sports teams. There is also a school in Southside (but the name eludes me at the moment) that is allowed to accept any student/athlete from the Commonwealth. I am pretty sure this school is designed with problem children in mind but they do field a very good basketball team which competes in the VHSL. I saw them in the Group A tourney a few years ago before the reclassification. I think it is either Loudoun or Stafford County (maybe both) that allow the students in those counties to chose which of the many county schools they want to attend regardless of boundaries. Additionally, do not schools bordering other states have discretion when it comes to allowing non residents to attend VA schools without paying tuition? So, yes, there are instances of "discretion" allowed. Maybe not by Altavista but there are exceptions.

The best high school football atmosphere (in Virginia) that I have personally witnessed was in Louisa County. Fire breathing metal dragon, a live Lion (team mascot), fireworks, crazy fans, t-shirt cannons, a military fly over...all this for a mid-season regular game. And they play a pretty mean brand of football.

As much as I would like to see Honaker win, I doubt they are up to the task. I saw the highlights of the Altavista/Dan River game. They look incredible on both sides of the ball. Altavista has really turned around their program. It was not very long ago that they dropped out of the VHSL because they could not field competitive teams. Now they are rock solid. I read somewhere that they have "a little more discretion" in who can play there due to being a "combined" high school. I looked them up online and their name is Altavista Combined High School. What is a combined high school? I know there is a school in Southside VA that is allowed to take basically anybody as long as they meet the age requirements. Cannot recall their name though, maybe Sussex something or the other? They are usually very good in basketball. Is something like that the reason A-town is now a powerhouse?

UVAO...maybe the light bulb will come on for London. I am telling myself that so as to not ruin Thanksgiving dinner.

I have very mixed emotions about this one. On the one hand, I would LLOOVVEE for UVA to finally beat VT. That would be good for the program. On the other hand, a win over VT and Mike London's chances of remaining HC increase exponentially. That would be bad for the program. I think Mike London is a very good, decent human being. He is a tremendous recruiter. But he is not a D-1 head coach. Maybe he should be the Asst. head coach in charge of recruiting...

I think I know why "Dan" has been silent...he is still out looking for those Buckingham super athletes who either missed the bus or got lost when they stopped at Taco Bell for dinner Friday night.

B-Razor...he must have at least 4.1 speed to run away from all those Buckingham athletes.

In 1984, VHS played George Wythe in the region semifinals I believe it was. GW had a phenomenal scorer in June Bug Penn (?) but VHS' Mike Mech equaled him point for point. With Kevin Jessee being the floor general, VHS appeared poised to finally make it back to the state tourney. They led the entire game up to that point. With under 30 seconds to play and up 1, VHS had a costly turnover that gave GW the ball with just a couple of seconds left. VHS inserted Todd Shy to hound the ball handler. With Shy in his jersey, the guard hit a jumper at the buzzer from the top of the key (no three pointers back then) to win the game. It was the kids only basket of the game.

I will bet a LARGE sum of money that the 2 Buckingham posters in this thread are one in the same. They (He) did something very similar on va preps a while back.

I remember seeing Buckingham in the basketball playoffs a few years ago. They might have brought 50 fans to the game. On another message board, their own fans routinely complain about how poorly they travel in support of their team.