salemfootball 10 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 In a letter to Salem newspaper , Dale Foster , an Andrew Lewis football assistant under Eddie Joyce , the renowned coach at the old Salem High School , Andrew Lewis , remembers the great Lewis teams and the coach after coch Joyce's wife passed on . He started with his first state title in 1962 and ended with the runner up in 1971 in the game against the T.C . Williams. Foster explains that during this period Joyce did one of the best coaching jobs in VHSL history by taking a small AA school and playing against much larger schools all the time . During the 10 year period Lewis was state champion or runnerup in 5 out of 10 years. 1962 state champion 10-0 had to relinquish because of inelgible player 1964 state AAA champion 1966 state runnerup lost to Granby of Norfolk in state title 1967 state runnerup Andrew Lewis won their region by defeating Richlands 48-0 1971 state runnerup lost to Titans in Remember The Titans game . In that game Andrew Lewis had an enrollment of 975 in 9-12 Williams had an enrollment of 2500 in grades 11 -12 . Here are some other big games during that period played 4A west va. state champion Charleston lost 7-0 in West Va Beat Hampton at home lost away . beat Kecoughton of Hamton in 1964\ beat Douglass Freeman of Richmond beat Lane of Charlottsville beat Douglass Bennett in Kingsport TN. Beat East Forsyth in NC with an enrollment of 3000\ Beat George Washington of Alexandria beat Beckley West VA. beat Kennedy High School Richmond beat Northern High School in Baltimore MD The old Western District usually came down to Glass and Andrew Lewis , and the only time Lewis lost was against a Glass team that signed 10 division 1 players . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhs7695 185 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) 1962 state champion 10-0 had to relinquish because of inelgible player. Nice to see Salem was breaking the rules even in 1962..... Here are some other big games during that periodplayed 4A west va. state champion Charleston lost 7-0 in West Va West Virginia has never had a class of 4A in high school football. Charleston High School was 3A in '68, '69, & '70 when they won three in a row with a combined record of 27-0-2. Also, Bluefield wasn't allowed to play Charleston in '68 (coach Nick Colobro was a player on Bluefield's team) because of the voting system that was in place then. It was used to determine who was playing in the state title game (very much like the BCS of today). Bluefield was the only unbeaten and untied team in the state in '68 and wasn't allowed to play for the title against Charleston. Bluefield did beat CHS a few times during the 60's and Bluefield also beat a Charleston area school, Stonewall Jackson, in the 1967 title game with a record of 10-0 by a score of 27-7. Same thing in 1965 against Dunbar, another Charleston area school with another 10-0 record by a score of 13-0. Bluefield's 1962 team that hammered Parkersburg 40-13 featured coach Tim Sarver. All of those Bluefield teams were coached by Merrill Gainer. beat Beckley West VA. Bluefield beat Woodrow Wilson several times in the 60's and only one time, 1965, did Woodrow rank in the top ten in WV. Maybe it's just me, but trying to steal the thunder away from a high school football team that overcame a lot of psychological and physical adversity is a little pompous if you ask me. The movie was a lot more about the kids, their families, and how their everyday lives were changed by being thrown together during a very different time period. The success they had on the football field helped them overcome a lot of things off the field and made for a great story and movie. It's still one of my favorites. I bet marshmallows could be toasted off the anuses of these Salem fans considering the amount of sunshine they blow up their own asses. I know that I'll be chastised for "trying to steal thunder" as well, but I'm just trying to make a point that Salem doesn't always have to be recognized for everything little thing they do on the football field. Edited May 3, 2011 by bhs7695 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deuceswild 15 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Maybe it's just me, but trying to steal the thunder away from a high school football team that overcame a lot of psychological and physical adversity is a little pompous if you ask me. The movie was a lot more about the kids, their families, and how their everyday lives were changed by being thrown together during a very different time period. The success they had on the football field helped them overcome a lot of things off the field and made for a great story and movie. It's still one of my favorites. I bet marshmallows could be toasted off the anuses of these Salem fans considering the amount of sunshine they blow up their own asses. I know that I'll be chastised for "trying to steal thunder" as well, but I'm just trying to make a point that Salem doesn't always have to be recognized for everything little thing they do on the football field. As the French say...Le Boom! My thoughts exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhs7695 185 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 A little more to the history of Bluefield football from a good friend of mine, VTSteve: http://www.swvasports.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11365&page=2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtiger 1,742 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 I understand that TC Williams overcame alot but the movie did make it seem as though TCW were the underdogs, I would say being more than twice the size of your opponent would eliminate any team from underdog status. I see where he is comming from. He wasnt talking about the off field issues just the on field inequality. Try combining Richlands and Graham about 5-6 years ago let them kick the crap out of Grundy and then talk about how hard they had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigcotton 40 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 I understand that TC Williams overcame alot but the movie did make it seem as though TCW were the underdogs, I would say being more than twice the size of your opponent would eliminate any team from underdog status. I see where he is comming from. He wasnt talking about the off field issues just the on field inequality. Try combining Richlands and Graham about 5-6 years ago let them kick the crap out of Grundy and then talk about how hard they had it. lol Bring it on, id give it a shot. TC Williams was a great team with a great story, made for a even better movie. Though your right that the movie did make TC out as huge underdogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salemfootball 10 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 jealousy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 jealousy Not in 1962...:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deuceswild 15 Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 jealousy You admitting that Salem is jealous that Disney didn't make a movie about them instead? Sounds about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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