Backyard Brawl: Tazewell at Richlands

[Bulldogs52 482]

I'm still saying it comes down to has the ball last!

[Deleted Account 5,203]

13 minutes ago, EH31 said:

Richlands had dominated Graham for over a decade too until Graham won at Richlands in 2017. Now Graham has won 7 in a row.

Folks seem to forget that Tazewell snapped the streak at Ernie Hicks, too.  

 

Richlands must have someone else other than Isaiah Bandy score in the first 3 quarters this week.  Otherwise, Richlands is looking straight down the barrel of a 33-3 or 27-7 sort of game.  Tazewell's going to score a few points.  

[tornado99 345]

47 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

Folks seem to forget that Tazewell snapped the streak at Ernie Hicks, too.  

 

Richlands must have someone else other than Isaiah Bandy score in the first 3 quarters this week.  Otherwise, Richlands is looking straight down the barrel of a 33-3 or 27-7 sort of game.  Tazewell's going to score a few points.  

Hopefully, Richlands has figured some things out of necessity. Last year’s results makes it hard for me to see an absolute changing of the guard, although I acknowledge improvement by Tazewell. 
 

Compared to Graham, I think most of us realists saw the change coming. Graham already had the talent in place with the right head coach. The addition of Dennis Palmer to the the defensive coaching staff, as well as subsequent coaching additions  and byproducts really seemed to complete Graham’s ascension to becoming a perennial power again. 

[Real Sasquatch 1,865]

3 hours ago, tornado99 said:

Hopefully, Richlands has figured some things out of necessity. Last year’s results makes it hard for me to see an absolute changing of the guard, although I acknowledge improvement by Tazewell. 
 

Compared to Graham, I think most of us realists saw the change coming. Graham already had the talent in place with the right head coach. The addition of Dennis Palmer to the the defensive coaching staff, as well as subsequent coaching additions  and byproducts really seemed to complete Graham’s ascension to becoming a perennial power again. 

Is Ronnie Davis helping the football team again?  If so, it should improve.  Nothing you can do about talent level, however.

[parsons 178]

3 hours ago, tornado99 said:

Hopefully, Richlands has figured some things out of necessity.

Do you know if the left side of the Richlands offensive line is healthy for the game? Ron Brown said they were missing two starters last week. 

[Gridiron60 2,555]

58 minutes ago, Real Sasquatch said:

Is Ronnie Davis helping the football team again?  If so, it should improve.  Nothing you can do about talent level, however.

Yes

[SWVAgridiron 1,469]

👁👄👁 <——— The face of Giles fans when we realize we’re no longer the center of attention. 

[Real Sasquatch 1,865]

7 hours ago, EH31 said:

Richlands had dominated Graham for over a decade too until Graham won at Richlands in 2017. Now Graham has won 7 in a row.

Yes and I do believe that Graham had won 16 out of 17 against Richlands just prior to Richlands going on their run.

[stu_bean 1,058]

9 hours ago, Real Sasquatch said:

Yes and I do believe that Graham had won 16 out of 17 against Richlands just prior to Richlands going on their run.

People older than me that kept up with football well before I ever cared about it said that Richlands use to be the whipping post of the county

[RichlandsAlum 678]

10 minutes ago, stu_bean said:

People older than me that kept up with football well before I ever cared about it said that Richlands use to be the whipping post of the county

I can share that a very large portion of the 1970s and 1980s were not fun for Richlands football supporters.  There always seemed to be a lot of promise attached to the program but very inconsistent results on the field.  (For example, during my four years of high school RHS never beat Tazewell but we won 3 out of 4 against Graham -- and broke even against Beaver.)

[stu_bean 1,058]

1 hour ago, RichlandsAlum said:

I can share that a very large portion of the 1970s and 1980s were not fun for Richlands football supporters.  There always seemed to be a lot of promise attached to the program but very inconsistent results on the field.  (For example, during my four years of high school RHS never beat Tazewell but we won 3 out of 4 against Graham -- and broke even against Beaver.)

Tazewell was a powerhouse in the 70's and 80's but the 90's brought some dark times

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

6 hours ago, stu_bean said:

People older than me that kept up with football well before I ever cared about it said that Richlands use to be the whipping post of the county

Graham had the title in the early 60's, but it was Tazewell that bested the county from the 1950's through the late 1980's.  Tazewell had a 40 year run of dominance, or at least being better than Graham and Richlands, even though Graham had its moments at times in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and then broke out in 1989, but Tazewell was the better team over those 40 years compared to Richlands and Graham.  This from talking and knowing former Graham and Tazewell guys like Moose Mitchell and Hagy's who my father used to be very close with.

[stu_bean 1,058]

I remember when I was a senior in high school, some group of people compiled the average size of players in SWVA.  I don't remember the exact numbers as that's been a few years ago (99), but to no surprise it was Grundy in first place and Tazewell was just barely beaten out by them for second.  Richlands was a distant third and then I don't remember 4th and 5th.  But I do remember the gap was pretty big between Tazewell and Richlands.  Would love to see that updated through at least 2020 and see how the last 20 yrs changed that dynamic.

[Tru Blue 72 423]

Talent has always ran in cycles in SWD.  5 to 10 years of good talent, 2 to 3 years less talent, and then sommetimes 3 to 5 years no talent.  High school Football is great, but it can break your heart as a fan.  Everyone wants to reach the top of the mountain and then stay there forever, but someone always comes along and knocks you off the mountain.  Good competetive football will always be part of SWD and the school of Hard Knocks will always keep things in check.  Hope all the teams do good, and if Tazewell can find a way to loose they will, it's something that happens to them at the Ernie. God Blues!!!

[Deleted Account 5,203]

1 hour ago, Tru Blue 72 said:

Hope all the teams do good, and if Tazewell can find a way to loose they will, it's something that happens to them at the Ernie. God Blues!!!

Could we pretty please stop with this baseless myth that "Tazewell finds a way to lose at Ernie Hicks"?  All-time, Tazewell is 42-53-2 in this rivalry.  Tazewell's record at home is 22-27-2 (.451), and Tazewell's record away is 20-26 (.438).  In the last 32 games, Richlands is 28-4.  2 of Tazewell's wins have come at home, and 2 of Tazewell's wins have come on the road.  There is, quite literally, 0 objective basis for the claim that Tazewell plays any worse at Ernie Hicks in this rivalry.  

 

This isn't the first Richlands fan I've heard say this.  It's almost as if they're trying to will it to be true, despite it being, you know, not true.

[Tru Blue 72 423]

 

24 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

Could we pretty please stop with this baseless myth that "Tazewell finds a way to lose at Ernie Hicks"?  All-time, Tazewell is 42-53-2 in this rivalry.  Tazewell's record at home is 22-27-2 (.451), and Tazewell's record away is 20-26 (.438).  In the last 32 games, Richlands is 28-4.  2 of Tazewell's wins have come at home, and 2 of Tazewell's wins have come on the road.  There is, quite literally, 0 objective basis for the claim that Tazewell plays any worse at Ernie Hicks in this rivalry.  

 

This isn't the first Richlands fan I've heard say this.  It's almost as if they're trying to will it to be true, despite it being, you know, not true.

I work with several hard core Tazewell fans and they have made that statement many times this week, so to clear this up, it's not just the Richlands fans that are saying this.  I don't have anything against Tazewell football, and hope both teams do well, but if you think this is just being stated by Richlands fans, you are wrong.

[RichlandsAlum 678]

29 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

Could we pretty please stop with this baseless myth that "Tazewell finds a way to lose at Ernie Hicks"? 

I think this can be easily resolved by referencing an observation from a great philosopher.

"It's not a lie if you believe it."  -- Costanza

[stu_bean 1,058]

11 minutes ago, Tru Blue 72 said:

 

I work with several hard core Tazewell fans and they have made that statement many times this week, so to clear this up, it's not just the Richlands fans that are saying this.  I don't have anything against Tazewell football, and hope both teams do well, but if you think this is just being stated by Richlands fans, you are wrong.

Things have changed regarding refs in general but Richlands use to be known for home cooking with the refs years ago or at least that was the general thought.  Seems like around 2008 that kind of changed.  But with that thought in mind I can see where people might say that.

[Cousin_Hoyt 87]

Misplaced their Lucky Horeshoe.

[rvtne216 278]

2 hours ago, UVAObserver said:

Could we pretty please stop with this baseless myth that "Tazewell finds a way to lose at Ernie Hicks"?  All-time, Tazewell is 42-53-2 in this rivalry.  Tazewell's record at home is 22-27-2 (.451), and Tazewell's record away is 20-26 (.438).  In the last 32 games, Richlands is 28-4.  2 of Tazewell's wins have come at home, and 2 of Tazewell's wins have come on the road.  There is, quite literally, 0 objective basis for the claim that Tazewell plays any worse at Ernie Hicks in this rivalry.  

 

This isn't the first Richlands fan I've heard say this.  It's almost as if they're trying to will it to be true, despite it being, you know, not true.

Sure, Tazewell is 42-53-2 in the rivalry, 22-27-2 in Tazewell and 20-26 in Richlands. There may be no objective basis that they play any worse at Ernie Hicks in this series in the last 32 games because just calling a spade a spade, the last 19 years in the series has been pretty lopsided. You could also make the notion that Tazewell finds a way to lose in this game at Bulldog Stadium in the past 19 years. But the reason for the "baseless myth" is this: recency bias. I am 26 years old and I have never seen Tazewell win this game in person. However, they have won the game four times since I have been born. Heck, they even won the last one at Ernie Hicks! The same can be said about the Virginia Tech-Virginia series in that same period. I have never in person seen UVA win in Lane Stadium. Sure, they have also coincidentally beat the Hokies four times in my life and I have only seen it once in person. You can make the notion based on recent history that UVA finds a way to lose at Lane Stadium, but in the same breath it can also be said that they find a way to lose that game in Scott Stadium. I will even take this example too. I will shout louder than anyone in America that Virginia Tech cannot win/find a way to lose at Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium. Heinz Field opened in 2001. Virginia Tech has played there eight times since it opened. The Hokies have only won once at Heinz in 2016. This is what people remember about that match up. Tech playing at Pitt? Panthers win. No brainer. However, from 1993-2000, the Hokies played Pitt in old Pitt Stadium four times and won three of them. Pretty good numbers but no one remembers it--myself included. The Hokies hold the series advantage 11-10 and after Saturday it will be even at 11. It is recency bias for that opinion. I see your point that it may not be true that Tazewell JUST finds a way to lose this game at Ernie Hicks Stadium. Since 1990, it could be said that Tazewell has found a way to lose this game at either spot since then. I do not think it is baseless..I just think it is what people remember because it is the most recent occurrence. For all purposes, the Tazewell-Richlands rivalry is what you want the rivalry to be because looking at the 97 previous meetings for it to be within 11 games of one another, that is what you consider a rivalry. It just so happens to be one sided for the past 32 years. I just believe that is why that is the narrative. Whether you are from Tazewell, Richlands, or anywhere else in SWVA. With that said, I think Friday night's game will tell you a lot about where the programs are headed moving forward. 

[stu_bean 1,058]

3 minutes ago, rvtne216 said:

Sure, Tazewell is 42-53-2 in the rivalry, 22-27-2 in Tazewell and 20-26 in Richlands. There may be no objective basis that they play any worse at Ernie Hicks in this series in the last 32 games because just calling a spade a spade, the last 19 years in the series has been pretty lopsided. You could also make the notion that Tazewell finds a way to lose in this game at Bulldog Stadium in the past 19 years. But the reason for the "baseless myth" is this: recency bias. I am 26 years old and I have never seen Tazewell win this game in person. However, they have won the game four times since I have been born. Heck, they even won the last one at Ernie Hicks! The same can be said about the Virginia Tech-Virginia series in that same period. I have never in person seen UVA win in Lane Stadium. Sure, they have also coincidentally beat the Hokies four times in my life and I have only seen it once in person. You can make the notion based on recent history that UVA finds a way to lose at Lane Stadium, but in the same breath it can also be said that they find a way to lose that game in Scott Stadium. I will even take this example too. I will shout louder than anyone in America that Virginia Tech cannot win/find a way to lose at Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium. Heinz Field opened in 2001. Virginia Tech has played there eight times since it opened. The Hokies have only one once at Heinz in 2016. This is what people remember about that match up. Tech playing at Pitt? Panthers win. No brainer. However, from 1993-2000, the Hokies played Pitt in old Pitt Stadium four times and won three of them. Pretty good numbers but no one remembers it--myself included. The Hokies hold the series advantage 11-10 and after Saturday it will be even at 11. It is recency bias for that opinion. I see your point that it may not be true that Tazewell JUST finds a way to lose this game at Ernie Hicks Stadium. Since 1990, it could be said that Tazewell has found a way to lose this game at either spot since then. I do not think it is baseless..I just think it is what people remember because it is the most recent occurrence. For all purposes, the Tazewell-Richlands rivalry is what you want the rivalry to be because looking at the 97 previous meetings for it to be within 11 games of one another, that is what you consider a rivalry. It just so happens to be one sided for the past 32 years. I just believe that is why that is the narrative. Whether you are from Tazewell, Richlands, or anywhere else in SWVA. With that said, I think Friday night's game will tell you a lot about where the programs are headed moving forward. 

To me that is a very fair point of view on it and something that I can't argue. 

[tornado99 345]

There are too many people to quote to make this post readable, but here’s my take to the most recent comments:

1. Recency bias and experience are reasons for the Richlands win predictions.

2. I, as a former Blue Tornado and still a supporter, acknowledge my prediction as somewhat “willing” a Richlands win, or trying to “speak it into existence.”

3. The similarities and distance make this rivalry particularly both special and at times nasty.  Many of us have family on both sides of the fence. It is also reasonably competitive throughout history. No offense to Graham and Bluefield fans, but the series record is too lopsided. I remember when Tazewell won 7 straight during my youth. Although far removed, it still feels like yesterday. Currently, I feel Tazewell and Richlands are in similar spots in regard to talent cycles and reasonable expectations. With neither getting help from transfers, this has the makings of a very competitive series again, if Richlands can right the ship.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

33 minutes ago, rvtne216 said:

Sure, Tazewell is 42-53-2 in the rivalry, 22-27-2 in Tazewell and 20-26 in Richlands. There may be no objective basis that they play any worse at Ernie Hicks in this series in the last 32 games because just calling a spade a spade, the last 19 years in the series has been pretty lopsided. You could also make the notion that Tazewell finds a way to lose in this game at Bulldog Stadium in the past 19 years. But the reason for the "baseless myth" is this: recency bias. I am 26 years old and I have never seen Tazewell win this game in person. However, they have won the game four times since I have been born. Heck, they even won the last one at Ernie Hicks! The same can be said about the Virginia Tech-Virginia series in that same period. I have never in person seen UVA win in Lane Stadium. Sure, they have also coincidentally beat the Hokies four times in my life and I have only seen it once in person. You can make the notion based on recent history that UVA finds a way to lose at Lane Stadium, but in the same breath it can also be said that they find a way to lose that game in Scott Stadium. I will even take this example too. I will shout louder than anyone in America that Virginia Tech cannot win/find a way to lose at Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium. Heinz Field opened in 2001. Virginia Tech has played there eight times since it opened. The Hokies have only one once at Heinz in 2016. This is what people remember about that match up. Tech playing at Pitt? Panthers win. No brainer. However, from 1993-2000, the Hokies played Pitt in old Pitt Stadium four times and won three of them. Pretty good numbers but no one remembers it--myself included. The Hokies hold the series advantage 11-10 and after Saturday it will be even at 11. It is recency bias for that opinion. I see your point that it may not be true that Tazewell JUST finds a way to lose this game at Ernie Hicks Stadium. Since 1990, it could be said that Tazewell has found a way to lose this game at either spot since then. I do not think it is baseless..I just think it is what people remember because it is the most recent occurrence. For all purposes, the Tazewell-Richlands rivalry is what you want the rivalry to be because looking at the 97 previous meetings for it to be within 11 games of one another, that is what you consider a rivalry. It just so happens to be one sided for the past 32 years. I just believe that is why that is the narrative. Whether you are from Tazewell, Richlands, or anywhere else in SWVA. With that said, I think Friday night's game will tell you a lot about where the programs are headed moving forward. 

I think we're debating the same side of the same coin.  The statistics have never borne out the adage "Tazewell always finds a way to lose at Ernie Hicks", especially in our generation, because Richlands has had its way with Tazewell on both fields since 1990.  The 4 games Tazewell has won have been split between home (1999, 2003) and away (2000, Spring 2021).  It's not as if Tazewell occasionally pulls out wins in this series at Bulldog Stadium and doesn't ever win at Ernie Hicks.  Hence, the argument is flawed.    

 

I think the argument you propose could be made that "Tazewell seems to find a way to lose to Richlands at home", considering the 1-score games played in Tazewell are:

1993: Richlands - 14, Tazewell - 12

1995: Richlands - 7, Tazewell - 0 

1999: Tazewell - 21, Richlands - 14

2001: Richlands - 20, Tazewell - 14 

2003: Tazewell - 12, Richlands - 10

2008: Richlands - 28, Tazewell - 27 [OT] 

2013: Richlands - 34, Tazewell - 27 

Fall 2021: Richlands - 27, Tazewell - 26 

That's 8 chances, at home, that Tazewell could have very reasonably knocked off Richlands, and Tazewell went 2-6 on them.

 

I'm not saying there's no such thing as a mental block when it comes to some rivalries.  4 times, I've watched UVA gag away victories in Lane Stadium in horrifying fashion.  Virginia Tech hasn't been able to win in Pittsburgh in that same amount of time, though UVA has had no such problem.  Mack Brown has never won in Charlottesville as a head coach.  Through the "lost decade" of 2006-2016 as we call it in Charlottesville, UVA routinely whipped up on Miami and only Miami for some reason.  However, Tazewell/Richlands does not fit that pattern.

 

Sheesh, you argue this like you're a lawyer or something!

[rvtne216 278]

11 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

2013: Richlands - 34, Tazewell - 27 

This was a fun night. 

[Real Sasquatch 1,865]

2 hours ago, rvtne216 said:

This was a fun night. 

Very entertaining game.