Is Union going to win state?

[Wade_1 8]

Union with great performances so far this year, most notably beating graham handily and smashing Gate city tonight, if they avoid their mid season stumble, is it safe to stay they are the favorites? Does anyone in the East matchup well? 

[Duke2015 451]

Not turning the ball over 8 times lol!!!!

 

[RedPrideNation 82]

In the football I have watched from around the state, it’s Union then a drop off to a handful of teams then the chasm to the next half dozen teams. Anything can happen but that is a complete team and will definitely be hard to knock out of the playoffs especially if they get home field. 

[Gridiron60 2,555]

Looks like that’s a good possibility 

[Graham32 335]

They have a really darn good football team they for sure have a chance this year. 

 

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

Union is favs followed by Graham imo. One of these 2 will win it. I know, Grahams OL, penalties, etc,. They are injured and trust me, they aren't done. They are not as good as the last 2 years, but there is still enough talent on that team, if they are healthy, to squeek by and win another title. Union is the heavy favs. 

Forget about the East with Riverheads, Clarke, Central, and Poqouson. None of those teams are beating Union, or a healthy Graham, or Radford, or Gretna, or Appo. Region C in the state semis is the title game imo. I favor Union. 

Union's ability to run and pass makes them dangerous with the lineplay and athleticism they have in the secondary to cover in space a passing team like Radford or a healthy Graham. They have balance and balance wins titles. 

[Gridiron60 2,555]

5 minutes ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

Union is favs followed by Graham imo. One of these 2 will win it. I know, Grahams OL, penalties, etc,. They are injured and trust me, they aren't done. They are not as good as the last 2 years, but there is still enough talent on that team, if they are healthy, to squeek by and win another title. Union is the heavy favs. 

Forget about the East with Riverheads, Clarke, Central, and Poqouson. None of those teams are beating Union, or a healthy Graham, or Radford, or Gretna, or Appo. Region C in the state semis is the title game imo. I favor Union. 

Union's ability to run and pass makes them dangerous with the lineplay and athleticism they have in the secondary to cover in space a passing team like Radford or a healthy Graham. They have balance and balance wins titles. 

Did you watch Graham’s game last night? 😂😂😂 

[Union_Fan 2,155]

Bears have a great team this year, but they have much to clean up before talking about state titles.

They will also have to avoid the injury bug.

[UnionGuy2017 182]

There are plenty of improvement opportunities, but I like where we stand.

 

The part that I’m most encouraged about was on display last night. Even for “vintage” Union teams, last night would have tripped them up and been a tight game into the 4th. With all of the turnovers and penalties, things would have gotten out of a hand a bit and they would have had to fight and claw to put the game away. 
 

Make no mistake, last night was extremely frustrating at times. But the game was never in doubt after about the 10 minute mark in the first. 
 

Lots of football left to play!

[BBHoops_18 206]

Let me check my crystal ball 

[Mountain Football 1,532]

I've been told the Union staff is carrying two books in those backpacks. How to Beat Tony Palmer's Graham Gmen for Dummies and How to Win a Virginia State Championship for Dummies. They can stop reading the first one now and start studying the second one the rest of the season. 

[SwvaOG 601]

Chandler stays healthy, they have a chance.  If they lose him, they don't get past Graham or, maybe even Ridgeview.  He makes them two dimensional.  WIthout him, they are much easier to defend.  This is why RV losing Hackney was such a big blow to them and, basically, sunk their long term chances in the playoffs.  He gave RV the same thing Chandler gives Union.  The difference there is that Union's OL is better than RV's.  

I disagree with some of the fans that keep saying Union is young and the team has better chances next year or the next....their window is this year because of the Anderson kids.  Union will have a hard time replacing them next year.  One the reasons Bostic and Huff do well is because no one is keying on them.  Next year, they'll get much more attention and I don't think either of them plays with the edge the Anderson kids do.  Just my opinion.  Union's window is now and, if Turner is smart, he already knows this.  

 

[cityofRaven 2,444]

Remember a few years ago when everyone on this board was certain that Richlands and Union were going to meet in Salem and everything in between was a waste of time?

I remember.

It's week 5.

Simmer down. 

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

2 hours ago, Gridiron60 said:

Did you watch Graham’s game last night? 😂😂😂 

Yep, just watched it this morning.  Graham looked bad, but also looked dangerously good.  I counted 4 shoe string tackles in that game by VH that saved touchdowns.  All 4 "close ones" broke Virginia High's way.  The odds are, they wouldn't go 4 for 4.  Replace the shoe string tackles on Jennings and put Clements in that situation, and that's 4 touchdowns.  Graham's offensive line surprised me.  That's the worst OL performance by them I've seen in over 3 years.  Defense made some adjustments, got fooled twice, but overall, still is very tough.  Ugly performance by Graham, but again, when you are a Class 1 or Class 2 school and you have just 2 injuries, forget about 3, 4, 5, or 6 like Graham has, that's enough to tip a program from 9 or 10 wins down to 7 wins.  Odds are, Graham's not going to remain injured/hurt all year long.  It's possible....but unlikely.  A healthy Graham team is a dangerous team come playoff time.  Union has to be and is the heavy favorites in my opinion, but if Graham is healthy, would it really surprise anyone if Graham beat Union by a TD down at Union?  Would it be that big of a shocker?  Not to me. 

P.S. If Graham isn't healthy by the time they play Pulaski, Pulaski will win that game.   Union is playing good ball.  But just one week ago, even in the win over Graham, they outgained Graham by what?  20 total yards and Graham with the 2 costly turnovers and basically didn't have Clements, or any reasonable version of him.  Even in the Union game, take away Clements and Graham's 2 turnovers, and that game is very close in the 4th quarter and that's a good sign for Graham in the future, if they get healthy.  They know they at least have a chance at Union in the playoffs, and they do have a chance, but no question Gridiron60, no sugar coating it, Graham looked horrible last night by their standards compared to the previous few seasons.  I still favor the Bears to win the whole thing, but if Union doesn't win the state title, that title will go to Graham in my opinion.  I'm staying with that pick, even with the ugly Graham performance.

[Real Sasquatch 1,865]

2 hours ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

Yep, just watched it this morning.  Graham looked bad, but also looked dangerously good.  I counted 4 shoe string tackles in that game by VH that saved touchdowns.  All 4 "close ones" broke Virginia High's way.  The odds are, they wouldn't go 4 for 4.  Replace the shoe string tackles on Jennings and put Clements in that situation, and that's 4 touchdowns.  Graham's offensive line surprised me.  That's the worst OL performance by them I've seen in over 3 years.  Defense made some adjustments, got fooled twice, but overall, still is very tough.  Ugly performance by Graham, but again, when you are a Class 1 or Class 2 school and you have just 2 injuries, forget about 3, 4, 5, or 6 like Graham has, that's enough to tip a program from 9 or 10 wins down to 7 wins.  Odds are, Graham's not going to remain injured/hurt all year long.  It's possible....but unlikely.  A healthy Graham team is a dangerous team come playoff time.  Union has to be and is the heavy favorites in my opinion, but if Graham is healthy, would it really surprise anyone if Graham beat Union by a TD down at Union?  Would it be that big of a shocker?  Not to me. 

P.S. If Graham isn't healthy by the time they play Pulaski, Pulaski will win that game.   Union is playing good ball.  But just one week ago, even in the win over Graham, they outgained Graham by what?  20 total yards and Graham with the 2 costly turnovers and basically didn't have Clements, or any reasonable version of him.  Even in the Union game, take away Clements and Graham's 2 turnovers, and that game is very close in the 4th quarter and that's a good sign for Graham in the future, if they get healthy.  They know they at least have a chance at Union in the playoffs, and they do have a chance, but no question Gridiron60, no sugar coating it, Graham looked horrible last night by their standards compared to the previous few seasons.  I still favor the Bears to win the whole thing, but if Union doesn't win the state title, that title will go to Graham in my opinion.  I'm staying with that pick, even with the ugly Graham performance.

Good assessment, as always.  The biggest concern for Graham has to be the play of their offensive line.  A healthy Clements would help Graham overcome some of those deficiencies on the line. Not only were they losing the battle on the L.O.S. but they also had about 10 holding penalties.  That has got to improve.   Getting Lloyd back on the OL in a couple of weeks will help.  I think Clements will return by the PC game and "should" be nearly 100%.  Floyd is still gimpy and I don't think Jennings is at 100% yet either.  Thank goodness for Chris Edwards, Blake Graham and Gabe Lilly stepping up last night to make some plays.  Most 2A teams wouldn't have the depth to be 4-1 at this point with the injury situation that Graham has.  

[Graham32 335]

1 hour ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

Yep, just watched it this morning.  Graham looked bad, but also looked dangerously good.  I counted 4 shoe string tackles in that game by VH that saved touchdowns.  All 4 "close ones" broke Virginia High's way.  The odds are, they wouldn't go 4 for 4.  Replace the shoe string tackles on Jennings and put Clements in that situation, and that's 4 touchdowns.  Graham's offensive line surprised me.  That's the worst OL performance by them I've seen in over 3 years.  Defense made some adjustments, got fooled twice, but overall, still is very tough.  Ugly performance by Graham, but again, when you are a Class 1 or Class 2 school and you have just 2 injuries, forget about 3, 4, 5, or 6 like Graham has, that's enough to tip a program from 9 or 10 wins down to 7 wins.  Odds are, Graham's not going to remain injured/hurt all year long.  It's possible....but unlikely.  A healthy Graham team is a dangerous team come playoff time.  Union has to be and is the heavy favorites in my opinion, but if Graham is healthy, would it really surprise anyone if Graham beat Union by a TD down at Union?  Would it be that big of a shocker?  Not to me. 

P.S. If Graham isn't healthy by the time they play Pulaski, Pulaski will win that game.   Union is playing good ball.  But just one week ago, even in the win over Graham, they outgained Graham by what?  20 total yards and Graham with the 2 costly turnovers and basically didn't have Clements, or any reasonable version of him.  Even in the Union game, take away Clements and Graham's 2 turnovers, and that game is very close in the 4th quarter and that's a good sign for Graham in the future, if they get healthy.  They know they at least have a chance at Union in the playoffs, and they do have a chance, but no question Gridiron60, no sugar coating it, Graham looked horrible last night by their standards compared to the previous few seasons.  I still favor the Bears to win the whole thing, but if Union doesn't win the state title, that title will go to Graham in my opinion.  I'm staying with that pick, even with the ugly Graham performance.

Very good assessment. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Spot on.

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

5 minutes ago, Graham32 said:

Very good assessment. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Spot on.

Thanks brother. Just giving my opinions. Could be wrong, could be right. All I'm saying is, don't count Graham out. They aren't dead in the water by any means, struggling right now, but wounded, and it's unlikely the Gmen stay wounded for the whole season.

[BigWinners 1,643]

Can we delete this thread? it’s been five games lol. 

[Gridiron60 2,555]

2 hours ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

Yep, just watched it this morning.  Graham looked bad, but also looked dangerously good.  I counted 4 shoe string tackles in that game by VH that saved touchdowns.  All 4 "close ones" broke Virginia High's way.  The odds are, they wouldn't go 4 for 4.  Replace the shoe string tackles on Jennings and put Clements in that situation, and that's 4 touchdowns.  Graham's offensive line surprised me.  That's the worst OL performance by them I've seen in over 3 years.  Defense made some adjustments, got fooled twice, but overall, still is very tough.  Ugly performance by Graham, but again, when you are a Class 1 or Class 2 school and you have just 2 injuries, forget about 3, 4, 5, or 6 like Graham has, that's enough to tip a program from 9 or 10 wins down to 7 wins.  Odds are, Graham's not going to remain injured/hurt all year long.  It's possible....but unlikely.  A healthy Graham team is a dangerous team come playoff time.  Union has to be and is the heavy favorites in my opinion, but if Graham is healthy, would it really surprise anyone if Graham beat Union by a TD down at Union?  Would it be that big of a shocker?  Not to me. 

P.S. If Graham isn't healthy by the time they play Pulaski, Pulaski will win that game.   Union is playing good ball.  But just one week ago, even in the win over Graham, they outgained Graham by what?  20 total yards and Graham with the 2 costly turnovers and basically didn't have Clements, or any reasonable version of him.  Even in the Union game, take away Clements and Graham's 2 turnovers, and that game is very close in the 4th quarter and that's a good sign for Graham in the future, if they get healthy.  They know they at least have a chance at Union in the playoffs, and they do have a chance, but no question Gridiron60, no sugar coating it, Graham looked horrible last night by their standards compared to the previous few seasons.  I still favor the Bears to win the whole thing, but if Union doesn't win the state title, that title will go to Graham in my opinion.  I'm staying with that pick, even with the ugly Graham performance.

All valid observations & I certainly hope they get healthy & improve. The GMen do have depth which helps tremendously just a lot to work on especially offensively. I will say some of them are stepping up like Gabe Lilly after Hughes went out to season ending injury. He impresses me greatly. Chris Edwards did well last night. Roberts kid is coming along at QB. All is not lost just have some things to fix and get healthy. 

[BigWinners 1,643]

The 2017 team Union team would really crush this team, but I think the whole state is down so this could be a year to make a run. But guys, RV is sitting there undefeated licking their chops. Everyone talking about Union, they aren’t gonna just give the M7 to Union. Same with Abingdon. 

[Duke2015 451]

33 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

The 2017 team Union team would really crush this team, but I think the whole state is down so this could be a year to make a run. But guys, RV is sitting there undefeated licking their chops. Everyone talking about Union, they aren’t gonna just give the M7 to Union. Same with Abingdon. 

I’m hoping last night was just a letdown after 2 big games.  The effort last night will definitely not beat Abingdon or Ridgeview and who knows maybe Battle 

[Union_Fan 2,155]

2 hours ago, BigWinners said:

The 2017 team Union team would really crush this team, but I think the whole state is down so this could be a year to make a run. But guys, RV is sitting there undefeated licking their chops. Everyone talking about Union, they aren’t gonna just give the M7 to Union. Same with Abingdon. 

According to Turner's quote in the KTN, he seems to think this defense is better.

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

26 minutes ago, Union_Fan said:

According to Turner's quote in the KTN, he seems to think this defense is better.

All about the balance in my opinion.  Two great teams, lineplay was vicious, maybe more vicious in 2017, but a team like Appo (speed) in 2023 simply can't put 8 and sometimes 9 in the box against Union, or Graham for that matter and get a way with it.  The 2023 team can simply put the ball in the air and when it's caught, it might go to the house, not for a 20 yd gain either, but far more.  Because of Union's QB and athletisicm at WR, it completely changes the complection of the Defensive Opponent.  No doubt, Mitchell was a stud, but he still wasn't a great passer. Crazy good runner, but you could still get away with putting 8 in the box if you had speed like Appo, and beg Union to throw it and key in on Mitchell.  You can't do that in 2023.   That's what makes Union different in my opinion this year.  It's what makes them different than the team that lost to Clark County years ago.  Union's a major problem for anyone they play.  Going to take an oppoent at the Class 2 level to play pefect (no turnovers) and hope Union turns over two times themselves to be able to be in the game.

Last thing, once again, because of the athletisicm in 2023, much more difficult for the opponent to catch a short ball and then outrun the Union secondary for a 60 yard touchdown or a punt return.  The Bears have the speed on the back end, so right off the bat, Union can beat teams with their own Big play on offense if teams stack the box, and Union also is nowhere near as susceptible to the big play against teams with speed as they have been in years past.  This means, Union's OL and DL (which are both good) don't have to be quite as good as the 2017 in order to win a title.  The other skilled positions on both O and D more than take enough pressure off of the line, if Union gets into a game with a line similar to theirs.  Just my opinions though, could be wrong.

[Fairlawncat 252]

8 minutes ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

All about the balance in my opinion.  Two great teams, lineplay was vicious, maybe more vicious in 2017, but a team like Appo (speed) in 2023 simply can't put 8 and sometimes 9 in the box against Union, or Graham for that matter and get a way with it.  The 2023 team can simply put the ball in the air and when it's caught, it might go to the house, not for a 20 yd gain either, but far more.  Because of Union's QB and athletisicm at WR, it completely changes the complection of the Defensive Opponent.  No doubt, Mitchell was a stud, but he still wasn't a great passer. Crazy good runner, but you could still get away with putting 8 in the box if you had speed like Appo, and beg Union to throw it and key in on Mitchell.  You can't do that in 2023.   That's what makes Union different in my opinion this year.  It's what makes them different than the team that lost to Clark County years ago.  Union's a major problem for anyone they play.  Going to take an oppoent at the Class 2 level to play pefect (no turnovers) and hope Union turns over two times themselves to be able to be in the game.

Last thing, once again, because of the athletisicm in 2023, much more difficult for the opponent to catch a short ball and then outrun the Union secondary for a 60 yard touchdown or a punt return.  The Bears have the speed on the back end, so right off the bat, Union can beat teams with their own Big play on offense if teams stack the box, and Union also is nowhere near as susceptible to the big play against teams with speed as they have been in years past.  This means, Union's OL and DL (which are both good) don't have to be quite as good as the 2017 in order to win a title.  The other skilled positions on both O and D more than take enough pressure off of the line, if Union gets into a game with a line similar to theirs.  Just my opinions though, could be wrong.

I agree 100% on that.  It's my take on Union this year also.  I watched them against Graham.  Their line is as good as always, but they have the most athletic team when looking at all 22 positions that I recall ever seeing at Union.  We (Raddy) are looking good this year.  Our QB is lights out and we have some fast WR's and fast DB's.  Union is actually More athletic than us when looking all 11/22 starters on the field.  

[Duke2015 451]

They ain’t no one in Appalachia or Big Stone thinking about state yet long way to go