Union vs Abingdon

[SwvaOG 604]

13 hours ago, vhs_falcon_volfan said:

Cop out. 
 

Volunteer has 1124 students. 
 

The other schools in their conference are Greeneville, Elizabethton, Seymour, Grainger, and Sullivan East. 
 

The school closest to Volunteer’s enrollment is Grainger. And Grainger has just over 900 students. That’s a 200 some student difference. 
 

Volunteer doesn’t exactly dominate. We never have. 
 

Don’t whine about enrollment. 

 

13 hours ago, vhs_falcon_volfan said:

Cop out. 
 

Volunteer has 1124 students. 
 

The other schools in their conference are Greeneville, Elizabethton, Seymour, Grainger, and Sullivan East. 
 

The school closest to Volunteer’s enrollment is Grainger. And Grainger has just over 900 students. That’s a 200 some student difference. 
 

Volunteer doesn’t exactly dominate. We never have. 
 

Don’t whine about enrollment. 

I’m not whining about shit guy.  It’s a fact.  If you are a wrestler who has to go above your weight class for the sake of another school, would you be whining about that?  Let’s move JI Burton and Eastside into the M7 and tell them to deal with it. Abingdon is a school woth a lot of resources and it wouldn’t hurt them one bit to play in conference with Christiansburg an the others.  They can still play M7 in non-conference games to keep rivalries.  It’s asinine that they think 2 hours is to far but will drive 1:45 to RV and Union.

Are the schools you mentioned in the same conference and classification?  Do you have 3A schools in a 2A conference competing for the same conference championships?  The difference between 1100 and 900 is far less than 1000 and 600.  So, all those schools you listed are 4A in the same classification and conference?  If so, you failed to understand the point didn’t you?

[redtiger 1,742]

I dont mind the enrollment difference, but having more students is obviously an advantage, even if certain schools, like Volunteer, don't take advantage of it(a school can have much larger enrollments but if they can't get talented kids to come out then it's irrelevant).

To pick on the Union fans a little, most of you guys are PV guys and had no problem with the Vikings being Division 2 and winning the LPD over Division 1 teams like Pound, Appalachia, and JI Burton, or worse D1s trapped in D2 like Coeburn and Clintwood. There's absolutely no difference than that scenario and 3A Abingdon playing against 2A schools in the M7.

[goose111874 967]

59 minutes ago, redtiger said:

I dont mind the enrollment difference, but having more students is obviously an advantage, even if certain schools, like Volunteer, don't take advantage of it(a school can have much larger enrollments but if they can't get talented kids to come out then it'd irrelevant).

To pick on the Union fans a little, most of you guys are PV guys and had no problem with the Vijings being Division 2 and winning the LPD over Division 1 teams like Pound, Appalachia, and JI Burton, or worse D1s trapped in D2 like Coeburn and Clintwood. There's absolutely no difference than that scenario and 3A Abingdon playing against 2A schools in the M7.

I think it helped Appy playing all them D2 schools come playoff time.  Doesn't matter if Abingdon kicks everyone's ass in district anyway because they're not taking any spots in the playoffs

[redtiger 1,742]

1 hour ago, goose111874 said:

I think it helped Appy playing all them D2 schools come playoff time.  Doesn't matter if Abingdon kicks everyone's ass in district anyway because they're not taking any spots in the playoffs

It without a doubt helped them and guys that played/coached at Appy will say the same, just like it does for the M7 schools. Doesn't change that PV had a decided advantage over them. JJ Kelly was in the same situation but was rarely able to take advantage of it. 

[Wolf1207 239]

1 hour ago, goose111874 said:

I think it helped Appy playing all them D2 schools come playoff time.  Doesn't matter if Abingdon kicks everyone's ass in district anyway because they're not taking any spots in the playoffs

This point is correct. District titles are more bragging rights than anything else! As long as they aren't taking 2a playoff spots it's fair. 

The big thing is Abingdon had a great coach who appears to be get the talent out to play.  I curious as to what type of run they can make this year in the 3a playoffs. 

[goose111874 967]

1 hour ago, redtiger said:

It without a doubt helped them and guys that played/coached at Appy will say the same, just like it does for the M7 schools. Doesn't change that PV had a decided advantage over them. JJ Kelly was in the same situation but was rarely able to take advantage of it. 

I'm an Appy guy I know exactly what you mean

[Unchained 587]

2 hours ago, redtiger said:

It without a doubt helped them and guys that played/coached at Appy will say the same, just like it does for the M7 schools. Doesn't change that PV had a decided advantage over them. JJ Kelly was in the same situation but was rarely able to take advantage of it. 

You can blame ol' Mack for that. He leaned HEAVILY against his baseballers playing football. The best athletes in the school were playing/practicing baseball year round.

[vhs_falcon_volfan 39]

18 hours ago, SwvaOG said:

 

I’m not whining about shit guy.  It’s a fact.  If you are a wrestler who has to go above your weight class for the sake of another school, would you be whining about that?  Let’s move JI Burton and Eastside into the M7 and tell them to deal with it. Abingdon is a school woth a lot of resources and it wouldn’t hurt them one bit to play in conference with Christiansburg an the others.  They can still play M7 in non-conference games to keep rivalries.  It’s asinine that they think 2 hours is to far but will drive 1:45 to RV and Union.

Are the schools you mentioned in the same conference and classification?  Do you have 3A schools in a 2A conference competing for the same conference championships?  The difference between 1100 and 900 is far less than 1000 and 600.  So, all those schools you listed are 4A in the same classification and conference?  If so, you failed to understand the point didn’t you?

I researched Christiansburg. They are 3A and other teams in their conference except for Cave Spring and Hidden Valley are 4 and 5A. I researched the 5A school which is in Roanoke. They got their tails kicked by two 3A schools. 
 

 

[SXSW 559]

On 10/23/2021 at 5:42 PM, SwvaOG said:

Friendly reminder that Abingdon has 300-350 more students than the other M7 schools and shouldn’t be eligible to win M7 conference titles. It makes a difference folks.  
 

Good luck to the Union folks, the Falcons are a really tough team.

You want cheese with that whine! No one else in the conference complains and no one dares to say anything if you beat them. 

[Union_Fan 2,156]

If Union plays to their potential, they will beat Abingdon by 2 scores. However, if they play like they did against Central, it will be an absolute slaughter. I wouldn't be able to make any prediction whatsoever about this game because I don't know if Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde will be showing up to play the Falcons.

[TaterHater 89]

Abingdon is strong up front, looks like they run mostly 5 man front against their opponents on defensive side of the ball. On offense they run the I mostly, with a run first mentality.

Central had a lot of success running the ball against them using single wing.

Union CAN NOT start the game running the spread offense like they did against Central! It will put them behind the 8 ball and they can not afford that. They will need to run an offense with TEs to maintain the LOS. The I formation would probably be there best bet. They tend to leave defensive lineman unblocked in the T and I'm not too sure that will work against Abingdon's defensive front.

On the defensive side of the ball Union has to get better at the OLB position. It's KILLING them. They are young and it shows. The MLB play is lights out against the run but wasted on pass plays....they might as well send them on a blitz vs wondering around in the secondary looking lost. The added pressure will help against Abg's passing game. 

If Union plays Union ball and comes out running and cleans up LB play on defense they can win, it will be close.

If Union tries to run the spread against Abg than expect a similar score that Abg posted against RV.

If Union fails to clean up the LB play than expect Abg to win by 10 - 14 pts.

Side note....does Union believe in special teams play? They seem to give up a lot of points on special teams. You can't win close games and lose on special teams. It could be the deciding factor in this game. 

[Union_Fan 2,156]

22 minutes ago, foosballer said:

Side note....does Union believe in special teams play? They seem to give up a lot of points on special teams. You can't win close games and lose on special teams. It could be the deciding factor in this game. 

Has ALWAYS been a weakness since they were formed. I think it stems from an attempt to give starters a break and play mostly underclassmen to get them some field time.

[Wolf1207 239]

15 hours ago, Unchained said:

You can blame ol' Mack for that. He leaned HEAVILY against his baseballers playing football. The best athletes in the school were playing/practicing baseball year round.

His record does speak for itself! They were a dominant baseball school! I don’t like that at the high school level though! 

[TaterHater 89]

2 minutes ago, Union_Fan said:

Has ALWAYS been a weakness since they were formed. I think it stems from an attempt to give starters a break and play mostly underclassmen to get them some field time.

I guess that's why Union has zero football state championships....If the trend continues the results will be the same.  

[Union_Fan 2,156]

3 minutes ago, foosballer said:

I guess that's why Union has zero football state championships....If the trend continues the results will be the same.  

There could certainly be some fine-tuning in the program. I truly believe special teams cost them a state championship in 2017. Very inept DC (gone now) possibly cost them a championship appearance in 2015. Although, not sure they could have overcome the injuries they suffered in the 2 weeks prior. Special teams cost them a win over Stuart's Draft in 2012.

[SwvaOG 604]

18 hours ago, Wolf1207 said:

This point is correct. District titles are more bragging rights than anything else! As long as they aren't taking 2a playoff spots it's fair. 

The big thing is Abingdon had a great coach who appears to be get the talent out to play.  I curious as to what type of run they can make this year in the 3a playoffs. 

Bingo.  Abingdon is in the early stages of a nice long successful football run.  I was completely impressed with their coaching and preparation.  

[SwvaOG 604]

5 hours ago, SXSW said:

You want cheese with that whine! No one else in the conference complains and no one dares to say anything if you beat them. 

1) I don’t really care what others do/don’t do or say/don’t say

2) My points and facts stand

 

[goose111874 967]

1 hour ago, Union_Fan said:

There could certainly be some fine-tuning in the program. I truly believe special teams cost them a state championship in 2017. Very inept DC (gone now) possibly cost them a championship appearance in 2015. Although, not sure they could have overcome the injuries they suffered in the 2 weeks prior. Special teams cost them a win over Stuart's Draft in 2012.

The SD game was ridiculous.  What was it 4 or 5 inside kick recoveries

[Union_Fan 2,156]

2 minutes ago, goose111874 said:

The SD game was ridiculous.  What was it 4 or 5 inside kick recoveries

Yep. Same kid kept trying to pick the ball up instead of just falling on it. To have that many miscues and only lose by 7 pts would tell anyone we were the better team that day. I was told that the coaches were fully prepared for SD's onsides/squib kicks and told the kids to just fall on the ball. Why he didn't listen, I'll never know.

[goose111874 967]

5 minutes ago, Union_Fan said:

Yep. Same kid kept trying to pick the ball up instead of just falling on it. To have that many miscues and only lose by 7 pts would tell anyone we were the better team that day. I was told that the coaches were fully prepared for SD's onsides/squib kicks and told the kids to just fall on the ball. Why he didn't listen, I'll never know.

If I remember right they done the same thing the week before

[Union_Fan 2,156]

3 minutes ago, goose111874 said:

If I remember right they done the same thing the week before

I don't know if they still do, but SD squibbed every KO, and did a muddle huddle on every PAT in 2012. I want to think they did something weird on punts too. Just to keep teams guessing. I think Union needs to hire a Creativity coach to come up with weird plays and formations to keep from being so predictable at times. 🤔

[S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE 239]

Squib kicks, great choice seldom seen anymore. 

[UnionGuy2017 183]

I think with halfway decent special teams play Union wins a state title in 2017. It’s never been any good. Same issue over and over and over again. The Stuarts Draft game 2012 at the park was one of the most frustrating I’d ever seen. 

[vhs_falcon_volfan 39]

3 hours ago, goose111874 said:

The SD game was ridiculous.  What was it 4 or 5 inside kick recoveries

Talk about not being prepared. No team should be fooled that many times in one game. 

[vhs_falcon_volfan 39]

9 hours ago, SXSW said:

You want cheese with that whine! No one else in the conference complains and no one dares to say anything if you beat them. 

The guy complains a lot that’s for sure.