What we think we know Week 1

[SwvaOG 601]

1) The M7 is NOT as wide open as we thought.  Looks like RV @ Union is the showdown. Lee and Central did not show up.  Abingdon freakin’ loses to JSB!  GC, Union and RV handles business.

2) The SWD is just not good football past Graham.  Richlands needs to accelerate the rebuild.  Just throw Graham in the M7 and call it a day. 

3) Honaker is the class of 1D and is better than a good part of 2D.  And, yes, the transfers are a big part of that. Holston’s QB is a sleeper in that region.

4) If JSB keeps this up, I’ll gladly eat that lemon.

[CPF 409]

Exactly

[Lance 228]

Abingdon looked bad last night. Really bad. JSB did everything they could to lose that game. 
 

-26-14 JSB 3 min left on their own 25 4th and 4, they went for it and didn’t make it. Abingdon gets a quick and easy TD. 
 

- on side kick, Abingdon got it but the refs give it JSB, guess it didn’t go far enough before touched, looked good from the stands. 
 

-JSB gets the ball back, all they have to do is run the clock out. They come out throwing? Almost intercepted by Abingdon, two players had hands on the pass and they couldn’t reel it in. Next play -5 yard run abingdon time out. JSB ends up punting to the 20 and only ran off a few seconds. Still 3+ min left on the clock. 
 

-Abingdon gets past the 50 quick, but gets a penalty that brings it back. Drives the field again. 1:30 left Abingdon knocking on the door from around the JSB 30 or so and throws and INT on a horrible pass. Game over. 
 

-Abingdon had receivers open all night and couldn’t get the ball to them. Overthrown and INT’s. 
 

-Abingdon looks undisciplined and the run game is suffering from blocking issues. Most rushing yards came off blown plays or coverage and the QB keeping it. 
 

When Abingdon looks at this film they are going to watch a game they lost, not a game JSB won. That’s not to take away anything from the JSB kids they played their hearts out last night and took advantage of what Abingdon couldn’t accomplish. 
 

Abingdon has Christiansburg at home next week then goes to Gate City. I’m not sure where you go from here after losing the game the way the did to JSB, but that’s a tall order. 

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

After watching lots of football so far early on.  This is my take in Virginia Class 1 and Class 2.

Class 2.

1. Graham, Appomattox, Radford, Glenvar, Central-Woodstock, Riverheads, Ridgeview are not as good as last year.  

2. Union is better.  Poquoson is much better.  King William is better.  Stuarts Draft is much better than last year.  Gate City is better.

3. What does the above mean?  I still favor Graham.  The gap hasn't closed enough in my opinion for any team to beat them in Class 2, but Graham is beatable.  In summary, Class 2 overall is down compared to last year.

4. Graham is the favorite in my opinion in the West.  Poquoson is the favorite in the East.  I wrote this in July and will stick with it.  The Regional A winner in Poquoson/King William will beat the Region B Winner (Riverheads, Central, Draft) in the state semi's.

Class 1.

1. George Wythe, Buffalo Gap, Galax, Essex, Grundy, Central Lunenburg are all not as good (but Essex will still represent the East).

2. Sussex is better (still hasn't close the gap with Essex).  Honaker is much better.  Giles is better.  Rye Cove is better.  Eastside is better.

3. Patrick Henry is the same, Holston is the same, Narrows the same, and the rest of the Northern Neck District schools in the East are mostly the same.

4. Fort Chiswell- as always, in a class of its own.  No way to know.  Might go 8-2.  Might not win another game.  Don't try to evalute them.

5. As a whole, Class 1 is also down if you look across the board in Virginia compared to last year.

6. Honaker is the favorite in the West.  I'm hopeful Giles can maybe overcome Grayson, Galax, and G. Wythe, and win the region.  I got Honaker vs Essex in title game.

Above are only my opinions.  A shi*ton of football is left to be played and anything can happen.  We may see Galax or Patrick Henry vs Sussex or Northumberland, or Union vs Stuarts Draft in the title.  Anything can happen.  Lots of football to be played and injuries always play a part, but imo, I favor Graham vs Poquoson and Honaker vs Essex.  

 

 

[Hokie Bound 107]

1. All teams in Washington County are 1-0 except Abingdon.

2. Honaker looks to be the class of 1D.

3. Graham is Graham and always finds a way to win.

4. Rye Cove continues to be an amazing story over the past two years.

5. Twin Valley gets a win with only 16 players on the roster.

6. Union is going to be steady once again.

7. Castlewood must be really down once again.

8. Gate City definitely looks to be back.

9. Riverheads starts out 0-1 in Class 2.

10. Holston looks to be strong once again. Good run for a small program.

11. Rural Retreat looks to be snake bitten once again.

12. Teams in Smyth County are going to struggle again this year.

13. Thomas Walker looks to be much improved.

14. J.I. Burton's long run of success looks to be over.

15. Richlands would probably love to still have Mance around.

16. Coach Warner has done a great job at Twin Springs.

17. Radford is really good or George Wythe is not so good.

18. Class 2 will not be a kind move for Lebanon.

 

 

[Gmen2021 75]

2 hours ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

After watching lots of football so far early on.  This is my take in Virginia Class 1 and Class 2.

Class 2.

1. Graham, Appomattox, Radford, Glenvar, Central-Woodstock, Riverheads, Ridgeview are not as good as last year.  

2. Union is better.  Poquoson is much better.  King William is better.  Stuarts Draft is much better than last year.  Gate City is better.

3. What does the above mean?  I still favor Graham.  The gap hasn't closed enough in my opinion for any team to beat them in Class 2, but Graham is beatable.  In summary, Class 2 overall is down compared to last year.

4. Graham is the favorite in my opinion in the West.  Poquoson is the favorite in the East.  I wrote this in July and will stick with it.  The Regional A winner in Poquoson/King William will beat the Region B Winner (Riverheads, Central, Draft) in the state semi's.

Class 1.

1. George Wythe, Buffalo Gap, Galax, Essex, Grundy, Central Lunenburg are all not as good (but Essex will still represent the East).

2. Sussex is better (still hasn't close the gap with Essex).  Honaker is much better.  Giles is better.  Rye Cove is better.  Eastside is better.

3. Patrick Henry is the same, Holston is the same, Narrows the same, and the rest of the Northern Neck District schools in the East are mostly the same.

4. Fort Chiswell- as always, in a class of its own.  No way to know.  Might go 8-2.  Might not win another game.  Don't try to evalute them.

5. As a whole, Class 1 is also down if you look across the board in Virginia compared to last year.

6. Honaker is the favorite in the West.  I'm hopeful Giles can maybe overcome Grayson, Galax, and G. Wythe, and win the region.  I got Honaker vs Essex in title game.

Above are only my opinions.  A shi*ton of football is left to be played and anything can happen.  We may see Galax or Patrick Henry vs Sussex or Northumberland, or Union vs Stuarts Draft in the title.  Anything can happen.  Lots of football to be played and injuries always play a part, but imo, I favor Graham vs Poquoson and Honaker vs Essex.  

 

 

Good evaluation as usual . In 2A. It's Graham, Glenvar, Central and Poquoson

1A Honaker versus Essex in the finals.

Takeaways: Defenses are ahead of offense for the most part. Riverheads can't score at will against good 2A talent like 1A. 

 

[sixcat 2,919]

My takeaways are as follows:

Riverheads won’t be dominant facing the depth 2A programs can produce. They haven’t had to contend with 2A depth week in and week out over the past decade. Welcome to the competition you should have been playing all along!!!
 

Grayson won’t be as good as expected. Losing a talented assistant coach beloved by the players such as Marshall Doss will be difficult to overcome. His defensive scheme is what helped them overcome Galax in the second round of the playoffs last season. Crying like babies to play down a division doesn’t guarantee you success. Good luck playing out a MED schedule with a target on your back!!!
 

Either Radford is significantly better or GW is significantly worse than anyone expected. I don’t believe Crist is quality enough a coach to overcome everything they lost to graduation so, I have to believe GW lost more to graduation than anyone realized. We’ll see!!!
 

The level of play in Class 1 as a whole has dropped over the past few years. Coaching, roster depth, down cycles???

Class 1 West is as wide open as it’s been in a decade. 

[RichRich 86]

3 hours ago, Hokie Bound said:

 

14. J.I. Burton's long run of success 

 

 

 

I think you may have them confused with another team

[Hokie Bound 107]

17 minutes ago, RichRich said:

I think you may have them confused with another team

No. They had a long run of great seasons but I would say that has officially ended. Probably before this year so you are right on that.

[SWVAgridiron 1,469]

Grayson truly won’t have their first test until week 5 when they play Giles. The Spartan defense has certainly improved. Starters held Christiansburg to 7 points and shut out Blacksburg. Radford has me worried. Radford wins but hopefully not a complete beat down like how it was in Giles’ last few years in the Three Rivers District. If we can polish the new single-wing formation I think Giles has a shot and winning the Mountain Empire. Too early to tell but I’m being hopeful. I don’t remember the last time Giles has went 6 years without winning their district dating back to the 80s. 

[sixcat 2,919]

51 minutes ago, SWVAgridiron said:

Grayson truly won’t have their first test until week 5 when they play Giles.

I think most around here are surprised Grayson was tested last night against a very weak Allegheny. 
 

I think Giles might be the sleeper pick to come out of Region C. Similar to what Grayson did last year. Rise up and surprise everyone. 

[SWVAgridiron 1,469]

1 minute ago, sixcat said:

I think most around here are surprised Grayson was tested last night against a very weak Allegheny. 
 

I think Giles might be the sleeper pick to come out of Region C. Similar to what Grayson did last year. Rise up and surprise everyone. 

I hope so. This group of seniors really came to life this season. Offensively we have a good backfield but struggle on the line. 1C should be fun to watch. Similar to how 1D was last season. 

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

6 minutes ago, sixcat said:

I think most around here are surprised Grayson was tested last night against a very weak Allegheny. 
 

I think Giles might be the sleeper pick to come out of Region C. Similar to what Grayson did last year. Rise up and surprise everyone. 

Sixcat, what do you know about Surry Central?  I ask because the Grayson score suprised me as well, but is Alleghany better than last year?  I know they are usually very weak, but they beat Surry Central last year to start the season by 2 points.  This year, they beat Surry Central 41-18 before the Grayson game.  So, maybe Alleghany is a little better than last year?  I have no idea.

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

3 minutes ago, SWVAgridiron said:

I hope so. This group of seniors really came to life this season. Offensively we have a good backfield but struggle on the line. 1C should be fun to watch. Similar to how 1D was last season. 

I could be wrong as I often am, but I think we are going to move the ball on Radford.  Do I think it's enough to win?  Nope, but I will be surprised if they hold us to under 17 points, and I'm not talking about 7 or 14 of those points coming in the 4th as the game is out of reach.  I truly think we will have some success moving the ball, but certainly not enough to win.  The problem though.  I'm afraid this game is going to look like North Cross regarding our ability to cover the pass and track down not just a good passing QB, but a lightening FAST QB who has blazing speed.  

[SWVAgridiron 1,469]

8 minutes ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

I could be wrong as I often am, but I think we are going to move the ball on Radford.  Do I think it's enough to win?  Nope, but I will be surprised if they hold us to under 17 points, and I'm not talking about 7 or 14 of those points coming in the 4th as the game is out of reach.  I truly think we will have some success moving the ball, but certainly not enough to win.  The problem though.  I'm afraid this game is going to look like North Cross regarding our ability to cover the pass and track down not just a good passing QB, but a lightening FAST QB who has blazing speed.  

Gotta have a great week of preparation from our ends and corners. The ends need to attack the QB like they did against Cburg. Other than Bluefield, Radford will be the fastest team we see in the regular season so it’s going to be a big test for the Spartans. I just hope we don’t all have to sit on the home side. Me and dad might need to be creative where we place the horn at if the visitors side is still closed off. 

[sixcat 2,919]

24 minutes ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

Sixcat, what do you know about Surry Central?  I ask because the Grayson score suprised me as well, but is Alleghany better than last year?  I know they are usually very weak, but they beat Surry Central last year to start the season by 2 points.  This year, they beat Surry Central 41-18 before the Grayson game.  So, maybe Alleghany is a little better than last year?  I have no idea.

Surry Central is traditionally weaker than Allegheny. Every good athlete that school has ends up at Mount Airy.  Having your high school essentially on a community college campus has some negative effects, I guess. 
 

Alleghany could be better than expected but I don’t think anyone expected them to be competitive with Grayson this year. Even NCPreps board was shocked at the outcome. 

[TS Fan 2]

3 hours ago, sixcat said:

My takeaways are as follows:

Riverheads won’t be dominant facing the depth 2A programs can produce. They haven’t had to contend with 2A depth week in and week out over the past decade. Welcome to the competition you should have been playing all along!!!
 

Grayson won’t be as good as expected. Losing a talented assistant coach beloved by the players such as Marshall Doss will be difficult to overcome. His defensive scheme is what helped them overcome Galax in the second round of the playoffs last season. Crying like babies to play down a division doesn’t guarantee you success. Good luck playing out a MED schedule with a target on your back!!!
 

Either Radford is significantly better or GW is significantly worse than anyone expected. I don’t believe Crist is quality enough a coach to overcome everything they lost to graduation so, I have to believe GW lost more to graduation than anyone realized. We’ll see!!!
 

The level of play in Class 1 as a whole has dropped over the past few years. Coaching, roster depth, down cycles???

Class 1 West is as wide open as it’s been in a decade. 

You must not have looked at thier schedule any over the years. They have played 2 and 3a almost every week. They lost alot of players last year. I'm not sure they would have won 1a this year.

[sixcat 2,919]

44 minutes ago, TS Fan said:

You must not have looked at thier schedule any over the years. They have played 2 and 3a almost every week. They lost alot of players last year. I'm not sure they would have won 1a this year.

Being from Galax, I’m familiar with RH schedule. Playing a weak district schedule and coming from a weak region doesn’t pose the same difficulty as what they will face in Class 2. Regular season may be similar but playoffs will not. 
 

They may very well win a state championship in Class 2 but the road to get to that point will be more difficult. Winning a state title here or there is possible. Winning 7 consecutive won’t happen in Class 2. 

[PackDadx4 11]

In Region D it’s Graham. Unless the RB is out for an extended period of time then this region will run into a buzzsaw by the time playoffs comes around. So the SWD is as expected theirs to lose.

In the M7 it’s Unions to lose. Game with RV will be a very physical game with emotions running high. RV and GC are solid and will be a tough out for anyone other than Graham. Side note but the Baker kid for RV in the slot is a nightmare for teams to stop. He’s fast, small and shifty with the ball.
 

Just don’t see anyone being able to stand to the smashing style the G-men will bring when it matters. 

[redtiger 1,740]

On 8/26/2023 at 6:15 PM, sixcat said:

Being from Galax, I’m familiar with RH schedule. Playing a weak district schedule and coming from a weak region doesn’t pose the same difficulty as what they will face in Class 2. Regular season may be similar but playoffs will not. 
 

They may very well win a state championship in Class 2 but the road to get to that point will be more difficult. Winning a state title here or there is possible. Winning 7 consecutive won’t happen in Class 2. 

That's what I've been saying for a few years now. 

[TripleThreat 19]

As a Smyth County resident, I’m going to have to mosey over to Washington County if I want to watch any quality football… hopefully I’m wrong. 

[Real Sasquatch 1,865]

On 8/26/2023 at 7:05 PM, PackDadx4 said:

In Region D it’s Graham. Unless the RB is out for an extended period of time then this region will run into a buzzsaw by the time playoffs comes around. So the SWD is as expected theirs to lose.

In the M7 it’s Unions to lose. Game with RV will be a very physical game with emotions running high. RV and GC are solid and will be a tough out for anyone other than Graham. Side note but the Baker kid for RV in the slot is a nightmare for teams to stop. He’s fast, small and shifty with the ball.
 

Just don’t see anyone being able to stand to the smashing style the G-men will bring when it matters. 

Union might give them a run in region D, if they don't get their act together soon, that game is coming in week 4.  If Clements is out, the next man up for Graham would be Jennings and I think he will do just fine.  I do believe that if Graham cleans up the mistakes, then they will be hard to deal with, just because of their size, depth and speed.  The line has some new guys who let Bluefield get up under their pads and push them around, but they are big and strong and just need to work on technique.  I'm interested to see how Gibbs does at OT, I think he will be able to play this week.  The tackling needs to be better and of course the center-qb exchange.   The million penalties for illegal formation need to be worked on by the coaching staff as well.  As far as talent and depth, Graham has all the pieces, just gotta put them together.  We'll see how it goes.   Some good teams in 2A this year in Central - Woodstock, Riverheads, Appomattox, King William, Staunton River, Glenvar, Radford, Luray, Poquoson, etc...  They will need to improve quite a bit to match up with the big boys by seasons end.

[S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE 239]

Looks like nobody is a real cut above at this point,  but it's way too early to plan that December meal in Roanoke for anyone.  Gonna be a tough year in 1D and 2D.

[Real Sasquatch 1,865]

1 hour ago, TripleThreat said:

As a Smyth County resident, I’m going to have to mosey over to Washington County if I want to watch any quality football… hopefully I’m wrong. 

Currently, that is debatable.

[stan.the.man 29]

On 8/26/2023 at 9:22 AM, SwvaOG said:

1) The M7 is NOT as wide open as we thought.  Looks like RV @ Union is the showdown. Lee and Central did not show up.  Abingdon freakin’ loses to JSB!  GC, Union and RV handles business.

2) The SWD is just not good football past Graham.  Richlands needs to accelerate the rebuild.  Just throw Graham in the M7 and call it a day. 

3) Honaker is the class of 1D and is better than a good part of 2D.  And, yes, the transfers are a big part of that. Holston’s QB is a sleeper in that region.

4) If JSB keeps this up, I’ll gladly eat that lemon.

my bet is the M7 goes to the Union-GC winner!!!!