Union @ Abingdon

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

Union in my opinion, will take Abingdon completely apart.  No closer than 14 pts.

[Union_Fan 2,155]

After watching Ridgeview/Abingdon, there's a lot to make of it.

2 bad handles on punt snaps gave Abingdon the ball on the RV 20 and 35. Two very short fields.
RV fumbled on the Falcon 3 yd line after an impressive drive.
Seemingly no adjustment by RV to the overload heavy set Abingdon ran. Falcons had the numbers advantage nearly every play. It was like they had never seen such a formation.
Play calling by the Pack was puzzling many times.

I don't know if Ridgeview thought they had this game in the bag, just didn't care, or if Abingdon simply wanted it more. Hard to tell.

If these 2 played again, I don't know if RV wins, but I don't think the score would be the same. Once RV figured out a few things, the running clock left them no time to do anything with it.

With all that being said, I hope Union is prepared for that set, and is prepared to blow up those pulling linemen. I don't see much of a threat from the pass unless Abingdon starts pulling in the Bears DBs to stop the run.

RV seemed to run the ball well at times as Abingdon sold out to stop the pass. This is the most balanced Union team in a long time, so Abingdon will have to deal with a strong running game and passing game. 1 more day!

[PackDadx4 11]

58 minutes ago, Union_Fan said:

After watching Ridgeview/Abingdon, there's a lot to make of it.

2 bad handles on punt snaps gave Abingdon the ball on the RV 20 and 35. Two very short fields.
RV fumbled on the Falcon 3 yd line after an impressive drive.
Seemingly no adjustment by RV to the overload heavy set Abingdon ran. Falcons had the numbers advantage nearly every play. It was like they had never seen such a formation.
Play calling by the Pack was puzzling many times.

I don't know if Ridgeview thought they had this game in the bag, just didn't care, or if Abingdon simply wanted it more. Hard to tell.

If these 2 played again, I don't know if RV wins, but I don't think the score would be the same. Once RV figured out a few things, the running clock left them no time to do anything with it.

With all that being said, I hope Union is prepared for that set, and is prepared to blow up those pulling linemen. I don't see much of a threat from the pass unless Abingdon starts pulling in the Bears DBs to stop the run.

RV seemed to run the ball well at times as Abingdon sold out to stop the pass. This is the most balanced Union team in a long time, so Abingdon will have to deal with a strong running game and passing game. 1 more day!

Not making excuses for RV’s performance at all. #17 is playing on a bad ankle (occurred in the Union game). Flu/COVID has taken a huge toll since the Union game with multiple kids being out almost the entire week of practice. Play calling has been suspect under this coaching staff and injuries have taken a lot of production off the field since the first game of the season. Bye week couldn’t have came at a better time for RV. Also physically Union took a lot out of them. Abingdon is very physical and huge. I don’t know what to make of them though. Are they the team that lost to Battle or are they a 3A school that over powered a good RV team? I think Union wins but it will be an old fashioned slobber knocker. Probably will remind some of the old LPD glory days of 3 yards and a cloud of dust. I’ll say Union 34 Abingdon 28. 

[BigWinners 1,643]

I think this will be very, very close and it’s entirely possible Abingdon wins

[Duke2015 451]

1 hour ago, BigWinners said:

I think this will be very, very close and it’s entirely possible Abingdon wins

I completely agree I think there’s a very good chance Union loses this game and 3 weeks ago I thought this game was a gimme 

[Duke2015 451]

3 hours ago, Union_Fan said:

 

Seemingly no adjustment by RV to the overload heavy set Abingdon ran. Falcons had the numbers advantage nearly every play. It was like they had never seen such a formation.
Play calling by the Pack was puzzling many times.

 

 

What offense was Abingdon running from Power I???  Haven’t seen any footage of the game 

[Union_Fan 2,155]

49 minutes ago, Duke2015 said:

What offense was Abingdon running from Power I???  Haven’t seen any footage of the game 

Receiver split out on one side, tight end on the other. 2 heavy stand up backs lined up behind the tight end and tackle with a tailback and QB under center.

Mostly ran power to the tight end side, but also ran traps, counters and misdirection.

He passed a few times.

Tried to find some film, but no luck.

[rdh2443 9]

7 hours ago, PackDadx4 said:

Not making excuses for RV’s performance at all. #17 is playing on a bad ankle (occurred in the Union game). Flu/COVID has taken a huge toll since the Union game with multiple kids being out almost the entire week of practice. Play calling has been suspect under this coaching staff and injuries have taken a lot of production off the field since the first game of the season. Bye week couldn’t have came at a better time for RV. Also physically Union took a lot out of them. Abingdon is very physical and huge. I don’t know what to make of them though. Are they the team that lost to Battle or are they a 3A school that over powered a good RV team? I think Union wins but it will be an old fashioned slobber knocker. Probably will remind some of the old LPD glory days of 3 yards and a cloud of dust. I’ll say Union 34 Abingdon 28. 

I hate to see this happen to RV, seems like they got hit with everything all at once with raging flu outbreak at the school, and the dang injuries man….heck the band has been devastated by flu an Covid too, they had to drop out of one of their competition at JB. Don’t think #17 is gonna be able to compete along with a couple more. I hope they just go out and play hard with what they have without getting anyone else injured. Next year, I hope they all get flu shot early and do what they can to protect against early injuries. 

[Duke2015 451]

1 hour ago, rdh2443 said:

I hate to see this happen to RV, seems like they got hit with everything all at once with raging flu outbreak at the school, and the dang injuries man….heck the band has been devastated by flu an Covid too, they had to drop out of one of their competition at JB. Don’t think #17 is gonna be able to compete along with a couple more. I hope they just go out and play hard with what they have without getting anyone else injured. Next year, I hope they all get flu shot early and do what they can to protect against early injuries. 

At least sickness didn’t happen in playoffs still time to recover.  Happened at Appalachia in early 90s probably wasn’t 50 kids in school that week and Parry McCluer destroyed us 

[BigWinners 1,643]

Will this be on radio anywhere?

[goose111874 967]

23 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

Will this be on radio anywhere?

92.5 has Union game most weeks

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

WAXM 93.5 has the Union vs Abingdon game on the radio tonight https://waxm.com/

[BigWinners 1,643]

31 minutes ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

WAXM 93.5 has the Union vs Abingdon game on the radio tonight https://waxm.com/

Awesome thanks! I wasn’t sure if 93.5 was going up there or not. 

[stan.the.man 29]

will bostic's broke toe be an issue for Union's D tonight??

[Union_Fan 2,155]

1 hour ago, stan.the.man said:

will bostic's broke toe be an issue for Union's D tonight??

Shouldn't be anymore of an issue than his broken leg, but never seen anyone run so fast in a leg cast.

[UnionGuy2017 182]

Game wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Union dominated. Very impressive performance, although sloppy at times. I like where we are. 

[UnionGuy2017 182]

All in good fun, but gonna do my call out of @BigWinners and @Duke2015 . 
 

Maybe if Union were to beat the Georgia Bulldogs you all will jump on board. Lol

[Duke2015 451]

32 minutes ago, UnionGuy2017 said:

All in good fun, but gonna do my call out of @BigWinners and @Duke2015 . 
 

Maybe if Union were to beat the Georgia Bulldogs you all will jump on board. Lol

Lol I’m on board I thought Abingdon was better than that after beating Ridgeview so bad.  Just thought it’d been closer than it was.  Still don’t think we can beat Georgia though their strength of schedule would help them versus us.  But bring on Vandy 

[Vol Hater 276]

Abingdon had 1 big run for 1 score. 1 drive that was helped by dumb and I mean dumb penalties. And finally a kickoff return for 6 other then that bears defense really played lights out.

[Unchained 587]

All the talk about how physical Abingdon was. I knew better:). You may beat the Bears, but you will not outmuscle them. The level of physicality between the 2 teams...not even close. Impressive tonight Bears.

[Unchained 587]

ABINGDON — For the first time since James Mitchell’s senior year in 2017, Union has clinched the outright Mountain 7 District football championship.

Behind one of the better offensive outputs in some time, the Bears (8-1, 5-0) mauled Abingdon 37-20 on Friday at Falcon Stadium.

The Big Stone Gap crew racked up 496 yards of offense — 324 on the ground — and punted just twice while tallying 23 first downs.

 

 

“We knew coming in that this was going to be a challenge,” Union coach Travis Turner said. “We challenged our guys from the start, even though we didn’t get points on that opening drive. I thought we overcame that. I thought Keith Chandler and Poppy Lowery ran the ball great behind the offensive line.”

Union senior quarterback Reyshawn Anderson was 8-of-16 passing with 172 yards and a touchdown to Kam Bostic in the third quarter. Anderson also ran for 96 yards on 17 attempts and two scores.

When Union needed a big play in the passing game, it seemed the post pattern over the middle to either Bostic or Paul Huff was wide open. Bostic finished with four catches for 68 yards and Huff racked up 84 yards on three catches.

Keith Chandler led Union’s rushing attack with 138 yards on 15 carries and one touchdown.

“We’ve repped the passing game a lot during practice this week,” Reyshawn Anderson said. “I grew up with (Bostic and Huff) and they’re like little brothers to me, so I’m glad to see them out here making plays that I always knew that they could make.”

Union’s “Monsters of the Greenway” defense forced two interceptions — by Bostic and Keyshawn Anderson — and held Abingdon (5-4, 3-2) to 173 yards of offense.

Falcons junior running back Owen Barr had 144 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Quarterback Luke Honaker, who took a kickoff back 72 yards for a touchdown with 4:10 left, was sacked four times.

Two Union late scores — a 31-yard score by Chandler with 10 minutes left and a Will “Poppy” Lowery 55-yard scamper with 4:23 to go — put the finishing touches on the scoring. Lowery finished with 89 yards on 11 carries.

A pair of sacks by Brent Lovell and Brayden Mosier on Abingdon’s final two drives put the nail in the coffin.

 

“Those were two seniors stepping up and making big plays for us on defense in a tight situation,” Turner said. “We knew they had some size and they were bigger than us, but our speed took over the game.

“It feels good to win a district title because it’s been a few years since we’ve had one. The kids have worked hard all seniors and this means a lot to these seniors that are going to graduate to go out as district champs.”

FIRST-HALF SCORING

After a stalemate in the first quarter, Abingdon opened up the scoring in the second.

The Bears punted on their second drive of the game and Abingdon’s first play of the ensuing drive, Barr busted loose on the far side and went 79 yards for the score with 10:33 left in the first half.

“Our defense was lined up correctly and they caught us,” Turner said. “For (Barr) to go from wide receiver to running back, he’s pretty good.”

Union responded rather quickly, Reyshawn Anderson cutting loose for a 44-yard score. Braxton Bunch bobbled the snap on the extra-point attempt but turned a negative into a positive by making the 2-point conversion on a run with 7:43 left in the second quarter.

On the Falcons’ next drive, Honaker threw an interception right to Keyshawn Anderson, who returned it to the Abingdon 39.

Union capitalized. Reyshawn Anderson scored with no time left on a free play after Abingdon had an offsides penalty on the last play from scrimmage. Anderson completed a pass to Bunch for another 2-point conversion to give Union a 16-7 lead at the break.

“That 2-point conversion to end the first half was huge,” Turner said. “We’re happy to have all those sophomores around for a couple more years.”

UP NEXT

Abingdon goes to Lee High next week to close out the regular season. Union celebrates Senior Night at Bullitt Park against John S. Battle.

 

[S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE 239]

Looked like typical abingdon,  big, fast,  but a little soft.  Can't see on film as well,  but I do believe ol coach turner struck a ref nerve early.  Not many favorable calls. Still trying to figure out last play of 2nd quarter. First down should have stopped clock,  but mismanaged by white hat,  penalty on abingdon wouldn't have happened. Might be the longest untimed play in football history.  Played 15 min lol.Officials again inconsistent, and I believe that guy is commissioner. Good luck to both,  hope Abingdon draws something favorable first round. 

[UnionGuy2017 182]

1 hour ago, S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE said:

Looked like typical abingdon,  big, fast,  but a little soft.  Can't see on film as well,  but I do believe ol coach turner struck a ref nerve early.  Not many favorable calls. Still trying to figure out last play of 2nd quarter. First down should have stopped clock,  but mismanaged by white hat,  penalty on abingdon wouldn't have happened. Might be the longest untimed play in football history.  Played 15 min lol.Officials again inconsistent, and I believe that guy is commissioner. Good luck to both,  hope Abingdon draws something favorable first round. 

Can you or anyone else here do some high school rule clarification for me? Can there be defensive holding or illegal contact on a receiver without a pass being thrown? I couldn’t believe that early flag was picked up.  

[S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE 239]

Absolutely, but I think this crew,  correct me if I'm wrong, had a couple games in the past several years with Mr Davis as white hat with a lot of questionable calls.  Not sure of the dynamics of it all,  but apparently they're not as thick-skinned as they should be.  Can't see the film well but looked like the abingdon kid potentially attempted an unwanted jersey swap. Lol

[sup_rbeast 296]

4 hours ago, S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE said:

Looked like typical abingdon,  big, fast,  but a little soft.  Can't see on film as well,  but I do believe ol coach turner struck a ref nerve early.  Not many favorable calls. Still trying to figure out last play of 2nd quarter. First down should have stopped clock,  but mismanaged by white hat,  penalty on abingdon wouldn't have happened. Might be the longest untimed play in football history.  Played 15 min lol.Officials again inconsistent, and I believe that guy is commissioner. Good luck to both,  hope Abingdon draws something favorable first round. 

The situation at the end of the half was this: Union got a first down at the 2 and that stopped the clock until the chains were set. The ref was holding the play and clock until the marker was set. The clock operator ran the clock without the ref’s signal because he was still waiting on the yard marker. Union should have had 4 seconds to spike the ball. Because the clock had ran and expired before the ref wound the clock, they gave Union a play and the line judge ruled Abingdon offsides when Union snapped the ball during all the confusion. Actually the clock should have been set back to 4 seconds with the ball at the 2. So they got it kinda right. Union got 1 play and scored, had it been done correctly, the only difference in the way it turned out was the clock wasn’t reset and the yard on the Abingdon penalty.