Tazewell @ Graham

[Hokie1Pokie 350]

Tazewell has improved and I'm so happy for their program and town. I think they give Graham the second closest game of the remaining 9 after Union. The GMen better come to play because Tazewell is big up front and very fast. I got Graham winning it 44-24. The Graham team I watched against Bluefield is the best Graham team I've seen in week one regarding talent, ability to win and be dominate, since 2000ish. Graham turned over, penalties, etc against Bluefield and I'm not denying that. What I'm getting at is, if they don't have over 100 yds in penalties and crazy turnovers, I just don't see any team in the region getting closer than 17 points. I'm only basing this by comparing Graham to other Graham teams of the past. 

Lester's health is huge. He's a Div 1 athlete and he's better as a QB than Cam Allen was, and losing him is a season changer. But if he's healthy, and they don't turn over 5 times and have over 100 penalty yds in a game, I just think they will walk into the semi's and even then, a team like Radford, Appo, or Glenvar will have a huge task. I'm saying this Not to be disrespectful to any opponent. I'm basing it on watching years of Graham football and this team is dynamic. Tazewell is clearly better and will come to win, not just compete, but man oh man, Tazewell picked a tough year to return to glory or prominence with the team Graham has this year. Graham wins handily, but not a blowout, 44-24. I got the GMen beating Union by 17 and Richlands by 21. Only my thoughts,

Go Graham, and P.S. for Coach Palmer, sorry you, your staff, and your kids had to suffer that absolute criminal act, a joke, a horrific effort of officiating Friday night. That's exactly what it was and I stand by the statement. Is it complaining, whining? Sure, whatever, so be it. It was an absolute joke and shi*show job by that crew who I hopes never works again at any level. 

[Gridiron60 2,555]

3 minutes ago, Hokie1Pokie said:

Go Graham, and P.S. for Coach Palmer, sorry you, your staff, and your kids had to suffer that absolute criminal act, a joke, a horrific effort of officiating Friday night. That's exactly what it was and I stand by the statement. Is it complain, whining? Sure, whatever, so be it. It was an absolute joke and shi*show job by that crew who I hopes never works again at any level. 

Agree, those WV officials were horrible. I've never seen such an awful job of officiating. Yes Graham.was sloppy and undisciplined but it was hard to play Bluefield and the officials. I'm not making excuses for the GMen but there was no way, that crew was going to give them a break or fairly call the game. I give kudos to the boys, they kept fighting until the final whistle. 

I'm also happy that Tazewell looks to have a good season. They've had the talent and now seems to be clicking. I see them battling for 2nd in SWD. I'd love to see Tazewell County teams 1,2, & 3 in SWD when regular season ends. 

[Pioneer pride 70]

Graham wins by 3tds. Tazewell  in my opinion has more to prove for me to see them as a contending team. I think they will win some games, but they have to stay healthy. 

[Hokie1Pokie 350]

What is left to see about the Dogs is their line. We know they have speed and athletisicm since this bunch was in Junior high and many of them starting as freshmen, but their line would get manhandled. Much like Graham I might add in Tony's first two years. Graham had crazy athletes bit would just get pummeled defensively up front and was shaky on O up front. The beat down in Big Stone Gap 2 years ago was the perfect example, and then boom, the lineplay magically puts it together last year and they have among the top lines in 2A on both sides. This is the big question for Tazewell. Can their line be trusted? The word I'm hearing (only hearing, haven't seen) is that the Dogs lineplay is for real. They have turned the corner this year and they are big and strong up front. If that's true, then look out for the Dogs or as Larry also says, "How bout them Dogs"! I hope Tazewell has turned the corner, but doesn't fully turn it until after this week. 

[crazyFB 27]

5 hours ago, Hokie1Pokie said:

Tazewell has improved and I'm so happy for their program and town. I think they give Graham the second closest game of the remaining 9 after Union. The GMen better come to play because Tazewell is big up front and very fast. I got Graham winning it 44-24. The Graham team I watched against Bluefield is the best Graham team I've seen in week one regarding talent, ability to win and be dominate, since 2000ish. Graham turned over, penalties, etc against Bluefield and I'm not denying that. What I'm getting at is, if they don't have over 100 yds in penalties and crazy turnovers, I just don't see any team in the region getting closer than 17 points. I'm only basing this by comparing Graham to other Graham teams of the past. 

Lester's health is huge. He's a Div 1 athlete and he's better as a QB than Cam Allen was, and losing him is a season changer. But if he's healthy, and they don't turn over 5 times and have over 100 penalty yds in a game, I just think they will walk into the semi's and even then, a team like Radford, Appo, or Glenvar will have a huge task. I'm saying this Not to be disrespectful to any opponent. I'm basing it on watching years of Graham football and this team is dynamic. Tazewell is clearly better and will come to win, not just compete, but man oh man, Tazewell picked a tough year to return to glory or prominence with the team Graham has this year. Graham wins handily, but not a blowout, 44-24. I got the GMen beating Union by 17 and Richlands by 21. Only my thoughts,

Go Graham, and P.S. for Coach Palmer, sorry you, your staff, and your kids had to suffer that absolute criminal act, a joke, a horrific effort of officiating Friday night. That's exactly what it was and I stand by the statement. Is it complaining, whining? Sure, whatever, so be it. It was an absolute joke and shi*show job by that crew who I hopes never works again at any level. 

I have heard Graham fans whining for years. If they lose it is the officiating, weather to cold ,to hot , parking lot was full, any and everything. THE BEST TEAM WON.   Maybe things will change next year(LOL)

[Gridiron60 2,555]

2 hours ago, crazyFB said:

I have heard Graham fans whining for years. If they lose it is the officiating, weather to cold ,to hot , parking lot was full, any and everything. THE BEST TEAM WON.   Maybe things will change next year(LOL)

I'm.not blaming loss on refs because Graham was sloppy, turned it over, etc. The officials were terrible, however. Congratulations to Bluefield. 

[Eersfan 36]

From what I remember , Bluefield was hit up for over 100 yards in penalties too. They fumbled the ball away multiple times. Bluefield had 2 PIs in the waning minutes of the 4th. One of which led to a Graham TD. Bluefield played without Martin and Davis for the 3rd quarter. And that Bluefield team is no where near the caliber of Beaver teams in recent years. Graham and Bluefield both have gotten the big stage by hoarding up all the speed and talent in the area. Leaving other area teams depleted to a point they can’t compete with them. The talent level has dropped extensively in the past 20 years. But no one would know that thanks to social media and the APC. If I was Graham , I would quit whining about the officiating and focus on Tazewell. With all the talent hoarded up by the G-Men , they should be 4 TD favorites every game here on in. Tazewell might have a 1 in 100 chance of winning but the ball might land on their number.

[Real Sasquatch 1,865]

9 hours ago, Gridiron60 said:

Agree, those WV officials were horrible. I've never seen such an awful job of officiating. Yes Graham.was sloppy and undisciplined but it was hard to play Bluefield and the officials. I'm not making excuses for the GMen but there was no way, that crew was going to give them a break or fairly call the game. I give kudos to the boys, they kept fighting until the final whistle. 

I'm also happy that Tazewell looks to have a good season. They've had the talent and now seems to be clicking. I see them battling for 2nd in SWD. I'd love to see Tazewell County teams 1,2, & 3 in SWD when regular season ends. 

The Refs were horrible in that Bluefield game.  They have a lot of talent for  sure. However, they had a lot of mistakes and penalties.  That Bluefield - Graham game on friday, I watched was one of the most sloppy games I have ever seen.  The teams played sloppy and the officiating was horrible.  If Graham plays like that this friday, Tazewell has a shot at them.  If not, it will take one whale of an effort by  Tazewell to beat them. I think the game will be a little more physical then Graham will expect from Tazewell. Those boys at Tazewell have been working hard too and its starting to pay off.

[Bearcat Dad 439]

Tazewell has plenty of speed to go around on offense, to score points against anyone on their schedule, including Graham and Bluefield.

With that said, even though their defense is improved from last year, they still missed too many tackles against VHS on Friday Night. Missing tackles against Graham would be disastrous.

As interesting as an upset would make things in our region, I believe Graham’s defense will make enough stops to win this one.

[Westisthebest 88]

Whats Tazewell's numbers this year?

[Bulldogs52 482]

3 hours ago, Westisthebest said:

Whats Tazewell's numbers this year?

42 players 

[stu_bean 1,058]

One advantage Tazewell has is that Graham coaches don't have any of the passing game to review. Two passes for negative yards on friday. Of course didn't need to but even we aren't sure what we have in the passing game. 

[Gridiron60 2,555]

On 9/1/2019 at 8:24 PM, Bearcat Dad said:

Tazewell has plenty of speed to go around on offense, to score points against anyone on their schedule, including Graham and Bluefield.

With that said, even though their defense is improved from last year, they still missed too many tackles against VHS on Friday Night. Missing tackles against Graham would be disastrous.

As interesting as an upset would make things in our region, I believe Graham’s defense will make enough stops to win this one.

I think this comes down to defense, period. Can Tazewell's OL keep Lester in check ? You can't miss a tackle on him or some of the others or they'll be long gone. Lester is unbelievably fast. Can Harris navigate through Graham's defense to score? He seems to be the big play maker for Tazewell on offense. I could be wrong but I don't see 5 TDs against Graham like he had against VA High. 

[packfan17 17]

after having seen graham in live action this past week even with the miscues they had 

they are still the team to beat in Region 2D and more than likely the state and tazewell seems to be much improved but im still saying graham by at least 2 tudders 

[Bearcat Dad 439]

4 hours ago, Gridiron60 said:

I think this comes down to defense, period. Can Tazewell's OL keep Lester in check ? You can't miss a tackle on him or some of the others or they'll be long gone. Lester is unbelievably fast. Can Harris navigate through Graham's defense to score? He seems to be the big play maker for Tazewell on offense. I could be wrong but I don't see 5 TDs against Graham like he had against VA High. 

I agree. I don’t see 5 TDs either, but I have watched both Lester and Harris for years, with an outside perspective. They are close in speed, but Harris already squats almost 600 lbs, and power cleans well over 300 lbs. I’ve seen the videos. He is crazy strong. He can break tackles as well. I’m not taking away from Lester. I’ve also seen videos of him working out. He has strength as well. He’s a heck of a football player. He’s one of the top 2-3 guys in our region. I could be wrong, but I just don’t see him being able to duplicate what Cam did for the G-Men offense. That’s not a slight, because Cam’s season was an all-time great season, last year.

The thing is, in my opinion, Harris may not even be the fastest kid on Tazewell’s team. The Jordan kid can straight up fly. He didn’t get many touches against VHS the other night, because they didn’t need him to. Harris, and the new “X-factor” for Tazewell, their new QB, did most of the damage with the read option. This QB has wheels too, as well as looking very athletic.

Lester may very well be the fastest player on either team, but Tazewell has more team speed on their offense this year.

With all of this said, Graham’s defense is the class of Region D. Tazewell’s defense is improved from last year, but nowhere near the level of Graham’s. This may be the fastest offense Graham faces all year, but the G-Men defense is why I feel they will run the table for the rest of the regular season.

To me, Graham is the overwhelming favorite to repeat as Region D champion. Tazewell has enough team speed to be in the mix for being mentioned as the second best team in the region, along with Ridgeview and maybe one or two others.

 

[Bulldogs52 482]

On 9/1/2019 at 8:00 AM, Ryan4VT said:

Before someone starts crying that Richlands fans “took over” another threat, just showing everyone that the first mention of Richlands was by a Bulldog. 

Carry on. 

What kind of threat you over taking?

[Bulldogs52 482]

No matter the outcome, I just wanna see Tazewell come out and play with the same fire and passion they did this past Friday Night.  I can honestly say that game was the most dominate game I have seen Tazewell play in many of years.  I'm excited for this game and the rest of the season to come. These guys have been taken behind the woodshed for the past two years and had their asses beat. By the looks of week 1 they have had enough of it. Lot of these other teams when they see the Bulldogs this season that played them last year are gonna be like damn where did these boys come from,  it was my first thoughts when I seen them for the first time in full gear.  Over heard a few Va-High fan mention the other night that they did notice many of the guys from the Tazewell team from a year ago. They've put the hard work in the off season, they just need to make sure they translate into game days.Good Luck to both teams, Go Dawgs.

[Mountain Football 1,532]

The heart of Graham's defense is the line and most certainly the linebacker play of Kastner and Edwards. The secondary still has some work to do. Tazewell has the ability like Bluefield to break a 60 yard TD run. Nothing will breaks a team's will more than holding a team to 3rd and 10 only to have a big run for a TD. Tazewell has that kind of speed. Wimmer stepped up at Nose the other night and played well. Tazewell ran all over Graham last year in the middle while Raley was out. 

This has all the makings of a great contest. If Tazewell can pull this one out then I'll say they have matured and are playing at the level they should be playing. Honestly given their age and ability they shouldn't be "hoping" for wins each week. They have what it takes to do it.

[Ryan4VT 4,552]

1 hour ago, Bulldogs52 said:

What kind of threat you over taking?

It took you two days to find that typo? 😳

[Gridiron60 2,555]

1 hour ago, Mountain Football said:

The heart of Graham's defense is the line and most certainly the linebacker play of Kastner and Edwards. The secondary still has some work to do. Tazewell has the ability like Bluefield to break a 60 yard TD run. Nothing will breaks a team's will more than holding a team to 3rd and 10 only to have a big run for a TD. Tazewell has that kind of speed. Wimmer stepped up at Nose the other night and played well. Tazewell ran all over Graham last year in the middle while Raley was out. 

This has all the makings of a great contest. If Tazewell can pull this one out then I'll say they have matured and are playing at the level they should be playing. Honestly given their age and ability they shouldn't be "hoping" for wins each week. They have what it takes to do it.

If they keep it close but don't win that's still a victory I think for them. Of course, I'm hoping for a Graham win on the scoreboard but close hard fought games are the best to watch. I hope the Dawgs win every game regular season but one. I think they've had the talent and hopefully things continue to click. 

[FootballFan67 60]

Graham defense shows up big time and Lester and company get the job done on offense.  Tazewell has a respectable showing. Graham 45-24.

[Bulldogs52 482]

1 hour ago, Ryan4VT said:

It took you two days to find that typo? 😳

Took me two days to figure out if I wanted to respond to you about it!

[Bluefield researcher 1,195]

You guys are crazy if you think Tazewell has as much speed or more speed than Graham. IMO Graham just needs to find ways to spread around the touches because as tough a young man as Lester is he will not last the season having to carry the ball as much as he did against Bluefield. Personally I would like to see Turner carrying the ball more. They have more than enough players at the wide outs. Have Booker block for Turner and you win the states again.

[Ryan4VT 4,552]

1 hour ago, Bulldogs52 said:

Took me two days to figure out if I wanted to respond to you about it!

That’s the scary part. 

[Graham32 335]

13 hours ago, Bluefield researcher said:

You guys are crazy if you think Tazewell has as much speed or more speed than Graham. IMO Graham just needs to find ways to spread around the touches because as tough a young man as Lester is he will not last the season having to carry the ball as much as he did against Bluefield. Personally I would like to see Turner carrying the ball more. They have more than enough players at the wide outs. Have Booker block for Turner and you win the states again.

I agree once Graham cleans up the mistakes and gel a little more they are going to be hard to beat. Tons of talent on this team.