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Tigers_07
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Since the virus outbreak has some people feeling down. i figured i ask this question. what are some of the best game(s) you got to watch in person, on TV, or listen to on the radio thought out the years. and yes playoffs can be included 

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2 hours ago, Tigers_07 said:

Since the virus outbreak has some people feeling down. i figured i ask this question. what are some of the best game(s) you got to watch in person, on TV, or listen to on the radio thought out the years. and yes playoffs can be included 

Richlands/Stuarts Draft took 9 years off my life. 

Honaker/Sussex (maybe it was Essex?) in Honaker was an amazing game as an outsider.

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Wow... there's too many to list:

  • Haysi/Powell Valley 1993 (Blaine Hackney 99 yard punt return TD for the win in the closing minutes in the slop)
  • Haysi/Powell Valley 2005 (Allen Owens GW FG as time expired)
  • Haysi/Galax 2014 (The Call)

All of those were playoff games, here are a couple of regular season games I distinctly remember:

  • Haysi/Pound 1999 (I probably shouldn't count this one, since I missed most of it.  Haysi trailed 28-0 in the second quarter, so me and my buddy gave up and went on to Wise to watch J. J. Kelly upset Powell Valley.  Came back and saw the parking lot at Pound was still full and wondered what in the world was going on!  We pull in and go back in the stadium just in time to see Haysi score the tying touchdown in the final minute of regulation.  Haysi goes on to score a TD in OT to win it 35-28.)
  • Haysi/J. J. Kelly 2008 (I missed the end of this one.  Usually when you're trailing by 14 in the final minute and DON'T have possession, it's a safe bet that you're probably taking an 'L'.  So I left.  Listen to the rest on the radio.  I don't remember the details of how it happened, maybe @redtiger can fill us in, but Haysi scores twice in the final minute of regulation and then kicks a FG in OT to win it 41-38.)
  • Haysi/Honaker 2013 (This is memorable only for the atmosphere and the crowd.  Both teams entered the contest 9-0.  Haysi ran the opening kickoff back for a TD and won in a rout 47-18 to clinch top seed in 1A West and win the Black Diamond.  But man, what an atmosphere to be a part of and perhaps the biggest crowd in the history of Sandlick.)
  • Ridgeview/Union 2018 (The game that killed social media updates and cell phones everywhere due to the crowd and the inability for the cell tower to handle all the traffic.  Just a fantastic atmosphere and arguably Ridgeview's biggest win so far in the short history of the program.)

As far as a game I wasn't emotionally invested in, I would go with 2015 Galax vs. Riverheads in the 1A title game.  A 7-6 defensive struggle where Riverheads goes for 2 and the win in regulation but comes up short.

 

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Haysi @ JJK 08. Haysi scored early in the game pretty easily, then JJK found a little weakness in the Haysi coverage(JJK was not a good passing team but they had a play that put Haysi is conflict) and Kelly scored. Kind of a back and forth game where each team has momentum for awhile. Well the 2nd Half Kelly had momentum and was in clear control of the game right up until the end. With time winding down Haysi receives the ball, I cant remember if its a punt or a kickoff. Anyway, Haysi throws a few passes and scores without using any timeouts. JJK get the ball after an onside kick attempt and has to run the ball to run the clock out as Haysi has all 3 timeouts. Kelly runs the ball inside 1-2 times without much success and on the 2nd or 3rd run the RB fumbles and Haysi recovers with ok field position. A couple of passes later and the game is over and Colley adds another win. All of that took place within a minute to a minute and a half. From Kelly up 2 scores to losing. That might not have been the biggest highlight, the first half saw Hobert Newberry boot a 70+ yard punt, im thinking 75-78 with 50 of it being in the air. He could FLAT OUT PUNT a football, most powerful punter ive ever seen.

Most of havoks games are on my list too, although id like to ad 03 Honaker @ Haysi. Both teams come in with strong teams and the winner of this game was clearly the BDD Champ and most likely #1 seed for the region. Its a defensive battle with neither team doing much. Late in the game Haysi puts together a little drive and gets inside the 10. On 4th down Jake Colley moves out to WR and Cody Hutchinson goes in as QB and throws a fade pattern to Jake for the TD. O cant remember if Haysi went for 2 or missed the xp but Honaker gets the ball back with under a minute left and being a ground n pound team the game ends as a 6-0 Haysi victory. One of the most tense games I remember watching, 1 missed tackle, 1 slip, 1 mistake and the game was over and thats kinda what happened. Jake went up and the CB had no chance.

Galax @ Haysi 14 is one of my favorites. When we scored that last TD I knew without a doubt we were going for 2. Galax had ran the ball all over us in big chunks all afternoon, there was no way we would have been able to stop them in OT. After the TD I closed my eyes and said to myself "I know were going to throw the ball here, and I want to win but if we lose at least we go out like a Haysi team - everything on the line, throwing the ball for the win". That was also the last Haysi game played at Sandlick. Just a great memory. 

 

05 PV @ Haysi was also a good one. I yelled the entire game. Couldnt really talk until Tuesday lol 

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55 minutes ago, redtiger said:

Haysi @ JJK 08. Haysi scored early in the game pretty easily, then JJK found a little weakness in the Haysi coverage(JJK was not a good passing team but they had a play that put Haysi is conflict) and Kelly scored. Kind of a back and forth game where each team has momentum for awhile. Well the 2nd Half Kelly had momentum and was in clear control of the game right up until the end. With time winding down Haysi receives the ball, I cant remember if its a punt or a kickoff. Anyway, Haysi throws a few passes and scores without using any timeouts. JJK get the ball after an onside kick attempt and has to run the ball to run the clock out as Haysi has all 3 timeouts. Kelly runs the ball inside 1-2 times without much success and on the 2nd or 3rd run the RB fumbles and Haysi recovers with ok field position. A couple of passes later and the game is over and Colley adds another win. All of that took place within a minute to a minute and a half. From Kelly up 2 scores to losing. That might not have been the biggest highlight, the first half saw Hobert Newberry boot a 70+ yard punt, im thinking 75-78 with 50 of it being in the air. He could FLAT OUT PUNT a football, most powerful punter ive ever seen.

 

I worked this game.  It stands out in my mind for many reasons, a couple I wont talk about out of respect for a few people who were associated but not guilty of some things that took place around that game.  I was kind of thinking Haysi ended up winning in OT though on a FG, or FG sent it to OT.  The waggle with the backside TE drag I believe was what was eating Haysi up.  That being said, when JJK recovered the onside all I thought was BI should ride Sproles for 3 yards on the FB trap each time  The first run or two was that, but the second or third play was a sweep to Crabtree I believe it was that got poked out of his pocket and Haysi recovered with 20 or so seconds to go and about 40 yards to go.  It seemed to me the onside went deeper than intended so field position was still on Haysi's side.  It was a game that ranked in the top 10 or so that I worked.

 

For me, games that I have seen or played in:

Clintwood @ Honaker 1999 D2 Region D Finals  Hamilton vs Miller.  Seems like Clintwood sat in a Cover 3 all day with cushion for the outside receivers.  Honaker seemed to be able to get 5 yards at a time when they just ran the outside hitch, but didnt go to it too often as Clintwood was content to sit there and Honaker pounded the middle some with traps out of the shotgun.  Hamilton was spent by the 4th quarter and I was about 100% guessing each Clintwood play late in the game, even Hamilton being subbed back in after asking out for the final play in regulation being a HB pass.  

JJK @ Rye Cove 1999   JJK was riding a win over JIB for the first time in awhile and jumped out ahead of RC pretty well at the half. RC kept pounding away  and tied it up just before the end of regulation.  JJK got the ball first in OT and scored but was stopped on their 2 PT conversion.  RC scored maybe on 4th down and then ran the Power I off tackle to win on the conversion.

Rye Cove @ Thomas Walker 1997.  TW was 6-1 I believe at the time.  We were 1-5 after losing by 4 to open the season vs Hurley in a game that started on Friday at Hurley and ended Monday at Honaker (Testers SR year where they were D2 runners up).  1 to Northwood at home.  Was up at Coeburn at the half I believe before getting beat, an awful game where Castlewood dominated us and lost 14-12 at Holston.  Down 14-0 in the 4th TW punts and the ball rolls to the 6.  A cheap shot happens with no call and our HC Mike Wampler loses it.  A timeout is taken and he speaks to us in the end zone where heckling is a polite way to put it. He told us to shut them up and take it 97 yards.  1 play, 1-24 FB trap is called and 97 yards later we are going for 2 which is no good.  We intercept TW around midfield and score again and complete the 2 pt conversion with around 2 minutes left.   TW drives to the 15 or so where we all thought we had recovered a fumble when Brent Mullins killed the TB in the backfield.  Instead TW ball 4th down and the make a FG with 15  seconds left.  We got to midfield with no timeouts but a completion down inbounds and a spike a half second to late ended it.   RC had 1 SR that year who only played special teams.  We went on to beat Ervinton the next week 46-6 who made the playoffs after St. Paul beat us 12-6 in OT and then we upset Twin Springs 32-15 to knock them out of the playoffs.  It was a crazy year of almost for the Cove.

Jefferson Forest @ Gate City 1997.  The duck kick that flew just far and high enough to propel GC to the finals.  Crazy good game.

Radford @ Gate City 2003 I think it was.  I think the half and half on that Sunday won around $1300.  I wasn't expecting it to be a great game but Radford gave a GC game all they wanted and more.

 

 

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I would have to say that the Gate City - Graham regular season game in 1997 that went to three OT's was the best overall game I have seen. Great players. Great coaching. Drama. Momentum swings. It was just a great game to watch and I was glad Bluefield wasn't playing cause I would have had a heart attack.

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4 hours ago, 1inStripes said:

I worked this game.  It stands out in my mind for many reasons, a couple I wont talk about out of respect for a few people who were associated but not guilty of some things that took place around that game.  I was kind of thinking Haysi ended up winning in OT though on a FG, or FG sent it to OT.  The waggle with the backside TE drag I believe was what was eating Haysi up.  That being said, when JJK recovered the onside all I thought was BI should ride Sproles for 3 yards on the FB trap each time  The first run or two was that, but the second or third play was a sweep to Crabtree I believe it was that got poked out of his pocket and Haysi recovered with 20 or so seconds to go and about 40 yards to go.  It seemed to me the onside went deeper than intended so field position was still on Haysi's side.  It was a game that ranked in the top 10 or so that I worked.

It was Waggle but the QB pulled up behind Left Tackle, they ran the pattern a little different with the TE running a Post to occupy the Safety and the Wing Back running Drag underneath. It really exploited a gap in Haysis Cover 3 scheme. Anyway, when that Wing Back caught the ball he had a 10 yard head start, the Safety was in the middle of the field with the TE, and the playside Corner was occupied with the SE who I think ran a Hitch. It was there all night, but once JJK got up BI got a little conservative and didnt go back to it.

Youre right about the onside, it was a bad kick but it worked out for the Tigers.  I think after the first run or two that BI thought Haysi would jam the middle and stuff the FB so he ran it wide. Not a bad call, it just didnt work out. 

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Only HS games? 

 

I'll pick two PV games and two Union games. 

For PV, it's gotta be 1997 Appalachia at Powell Valley. Both state champions, both defeated AA champ GC, loaded talent on both sides and PV wins a one score game late, denying Travis Turner the W over PV his senior year. Appalachia driving to win the game and then the crazy INT to seal it when Appalachia was at like the ten down six as time was winding down. I was ten years old and still to this day no game has had that tension and atmosphere.

In 2004, PV went to GC, a battle of the LPDs best and two of the front runners in D2. PV went over there and it was electric. A punt return TD proved to be the difference. Some say Zirkle hit the white as he was running but doesn't matter how and PV held on 28-21.

 

For Union, the two that stand out are 2015 Richlands and 2017 Appomattox, one W and one L. You could basically pick any Union/Richlands game and see an exciting close finish, but 2015 was tons of points scored and the Bears managed a one point W. The Appo game was between the two best teams in 2A, and came down to the bi tter end. Special teams killed Union, Appomattox only managed one actual scoring drive but they didn't make any mistakes and Union just ran out of time in the end.

 

Maybe the best game I ever watched on TV was the 2006 Rose Bowl, Texas v. USC.

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40 minutes ago, Blue Cannonball said:

GC vs Jefferson Forrest in ‘97.

Honorable Mention (because we lost) was the GC vs John Handley State Championship at Legion in ‘94.

13-7 Handley in a mud bowl, but we lit those receivers up on every slant route. 

Were you there when PV came over in 97? I remember one of those games in that time period was at GC and it was a TORRENTIAL downpour. I'm thinking 97 but could be wrong.

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45 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

Were you there when PV came over in 97? I remember one of those games in that time period was at GC and it was a TORRENTIAL downpour. I'm thinking 97 but could be wrong.

Pretty sure that was ‘97, if not, it was ‘95. We beat PV at the park in ‘96. 
 

Even as a true blue GC guy, I can agree with you about that ‘97 PV - Appy game. Those teams were loaded. 3 State Champions that year with GC, PV, and Appy...PV can claim they won it in three divisions since they beat us and Appy. 
 

I’ve always said you could’ve taken the best from those teams, put them together, and they could’ve beat Hampton in AAA.

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7 minutes ago, Blue Cannonball said:

Pretty sure that was ‘97, if not, it was ‘95. We beat PV at the park in ‘96. 
 

Even as a true blue GC guy, I can agree with you about that ‘97 PV - Appy game. Those teams were loaded. 3 State Champions that year with GC, PV, and Appy...PV can claim they won it in three divisions since they beat us and Appy. 
 

I’ve always said you could’ve taken the best from those teams, put them together, and they could’ve beat Hampton in AAA.

 

It was def either 95 or 97. I just remember it being the heaviest rain I've ever seen during a football game. It was an absolute mess.

Lee also made a deep run, I believe the state semis, so four teams within like an hour drive made the final four and three won state titles. That is absolutely insane and a testament to just how good the football was around here during that time.

 

I agree, I cannot imagine a team with Houseright, Turner, Clark, Jones, McCoy, etc.. not being able to at least play with any team in the state. Can you imagine a backfield with Travis Turner (who maybe had the strongest arm I've ever seen around here and just knew the game), Travis Clark, Julius Jones and Matt McCoy, with guys like Houseright and Jamie Jesse slid out at TE? And no one would score on them, I cannot imagine having to try to scheme to score points with Houseright, McCoy and Jesse all staring across at you at the LB slots. 

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46 minutes ago, Blue Cannonball said:

Pretty sure that was ‘97, if not, it was ‘95. We beat PV at the park in ‘96. 
 

Even as a true blue GC guy, I can agree with you about that ‘97 PV - Appy game. Those teams were loaded. 3 State Champions that year with GC, PV, and Appy...PV can claim they won it in three divisions since they beat us and Appy. 
 

I’ve always said you could’ve taken the best from those teams, put them together, and they could’ve beat Hampton in AAA.

I cant remember a downpour or not but I remember it being a wet cool game in 95  RC was playing at Council on Saturday that week and Dad and I went to GC to watch that game expecting a good one and it was.

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48 minutes ago, Blue Cannonball said:

Pretty sure that was ‘97, if not, it was ‘95. We beat PV at the park in ‘96. 
 

Even as a true blue GC guy, I can agree with you about that ‘97 PV - Appy game. Those teams were loaded. 3 State Champions that year with GC, PV, and Appy...PV can claim they won it in three divisions since they beat us and Appy. 
 

I’ve always said you could’ve taken the best from those teams, put them together, and they could’ve beat Hampton in AAA.

Lee got beat by Heritage in the D4 semis on a late FG that year also  I think they went on to win the next week over Tabb maybe but I couldn't swear to it.   Very close to all 4 state champs in A and AA coming within a 3 western most counties in VA.

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12 minutes ago, 1inStripes said:

Lee got beat by Heritage in the D4 semis on a late FG that year also  I think they went on to win the next week over Tabb maybe but I couldn't swear to it.   Very close to all 4 state champs in A and AA coming within a 3 western most counties in VA.

Heritage lost to Spotsylvania 16-7. It was Spotsylvania's third championship of the 90's. They also beat Salem in 1991 31-27 in Salem and Amherst 26-0 at home in 1994.

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41 minutes ago, 1inStripes said:

I cant remember a downpour or not but I remember it being a wet cool game in 95  RC was playing at Council on Saturday that week and Dad and I went to GC to watch that game expecting a good one and it was.

It could have been 95, I can't remember. It was one of the two years.

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I can’t recall the year, maybe ‘91, a doozy GC - Appy game at Legion, where Tom Turner called up a hook and ladder to beat us on the last play of the game. 
 

Maybe it was Tom Turner, but as a GC guy, Appy was probably the team I respected the most. The teams they fielded with their enrollment...insane. I remember going to a Appy - RC game when we had an open date. Appy was up big time at the half and Turner and the coaches rolled out the Mountain Dew and hot dogs for the players during the break. Classic Appalachia. 

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18 hours ago, Beavers Rule said:

2004 Bluefield vs Weir semifinal round.  Bluefield came from 14 down to tie and won in OT 21-20.  Several fans left the stadium thinking game was over.  

It was one of the greatest comebacks ever but it really wasn't a great game or well played game. The year before in 2003 when Bluefield beat Weir in double overtime was a much better game and much better played by both teams.

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On 4/30/2020 at 8:18 PM, Blue Cannonball said:

I can’t recall the year, maybe ‘91, a doozy GC - Appy game at Legion, where Tom Turner called up a hook and ladder to beat us on the last play of the game. 
 

Maybe it was Tom Turner, but as a GC guy, Appy was probably the team I respected the most. The teams they fielded with their enrollment...insane. I remember going to a Appy - RC game when we had an open date. Appy was up big time at the half and Turner and the coaches rolled out the Mountain Dew and hot dogs for the players during the break. Classic Appalachia. 

Tom Turner could do more with less than just about anyone. 

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