Ridgeview @ Union

[BigWinners]

10 hours ago, Wolf1207 said:

For that to happen, RV would have to get a quick start like they got against Paintsville. They were up 14-0 in the first few minutes. That is possible though. They have as good a quick strike offense as they ever had.

That last part intrigues me. This current offense has as much big play capability as OQuinn, Beavers, Counts, etc? If RV is that loaded on offense, then they’re a legit threat to win 2D and more. 
 

I think it’ll be super tight for at least three quarters but I can see RV gassing some as they haven’t had to play four full quarters yet whereas Union has a couple times. A one score game that favors the home team but in a close game anything can happen. 

[SwvaOG]

RV has a legit passing game that can punish a team.  They have four very capable WRs and as much team speed as any team in the region.  The difference between this crew and the previous core WR group of Hill/Beavers/Counts is drops and a diminished ability to go up and take the ball away from a DB.  This group has had some crucial drops but can and will get open and has a couple of speedsters mixed in with some big body possession types. The QB can legit sling it 45-50 yards.  Look at the deep shot TD he had against Honaker.  The ball went 50 yards. 
The defense is very good but I fear they are one more DT short of being great.  The back four is very talented and the LBs are very active. If they can find another DL body and be able to go into a Bear front situationally, they will be tough. Most of the defensive starters are Sophomores…a lot of holdbacks.  I know these kids well….they have some very physical defensive minded kids on that D.  There are some concerns about a couple of positions being undersized. 

This game has the potential to be a classic battle….but…they are kids and turnovers will play a huge part…as they always do. I wonder if this is a game where Connor Smith can play a huge part with his leg…be it a long field goal or booming 50 yard punts.

[Pickett]

I may have missed this but is this a Thursday Night game?

[Stelley]

5 minutes ago, Pickett said:

I may have missed this but is this a Thursday Night game?

Yes it is

[goose111874]

17 hours ago, BigWinners said:

That last part intrigues me. This current offense has as much big play capability as OQuinn, Beavers, Counts, etc? If RV is that loaded on offense, then they’re a legit threat to win 2D and more. 
 

I think it’ll be super tight for at least three quarters but I can see RV gassing some as they haven’t had to play four full quarters yet whereas Union has a couple times. A one score game that favors the home team but in a close game anything can happen. 

I’m more worried Union coming off of a very physical and emotional game could come out flat and get down a couple scores early 

[Wolf1207]

8 hours ago, SwvaOG said:

RV has a legit passing game that can punish a team.  They have four very capable WRs and as much team speed as any team in the region.  The difference between this crew and the previous core WR group of Hill/Beavers/Counts is drops and a diminished ability to go up and take the ball away from a DB.  This group has had some crucial drops but can and will get open and has a couple of speedsters mixed in with some big body possession types. The QB can legit sling it 45-50 yards.  Look at the deep shot TD he had against Honaker.  The ball went 50 yards. 
The defense is very good but I fear they are one more DT short of being great.  The back four is very talented and the LBs are very active. If they can find another DL body and be able to go into a Bear front situationally, they will be tough. Most of the defensive starters are Sophomores…a lot of holdbacks.  I know these kids well….they have some very physical defensive minded kids on that D.  There are some concerns about a couple of positions being undersized. 

This game has the potential to be a classic battle….but…they are kids and turnovers will play a huge part…as they always do. I wonder if this is a game where Connor Smith can play a huge part with his leg…be it a long field goal or booming 50 yard punts.

Ne difference also is that this RV team has a credible rushing attack. That was the thing the Beavers/Counts/Hill teams seemed to be missing. 

[onewarrior2]

The pack may be good this year and may be being overlooked by the strength of their schedule but, da bears are better. Union by 3+ scores.

Union 35

Ridgeview 7

[Real Sasquatch]

Ridgeview hasn't played a strong schedule.  This game will tell a lot about them.  Hard to tell if they will compete with Union or not.  

[SwvaOG]

3 hours ago, Wolf1207 said:

Ne difference also is that this RV team has a credible rushing attack. That was the thing the Beavers/Counts/Hill teams seemed to be missing. 

Absolutely agree.  This rushing attack is better and the RB is much better.

[Observer]

Don't think I have seen this mentioned yet, but the officiating crew that is assigned to this game could play a huge role.  Do we get a crew that lets everything slide or do we get a crew that likes to call everything?  There are some that like to make themselves a bigger part of the game than they need to sometimes.  Nevertheless, I think Union is at least ten points better than Ridgeview at this point.  Can't wait to be at the park Thursday and hopefully the Pack can prove me wrong.

[jarhead24219]

First play from scrimmage for Da Bears….play action to Chandler and either a deep pass or Bostic  takes it for a sizable gain , that 3 headed monster , oh my will kill you

[Observer]

I would like to see Ridgeview mix things up on defense to try to make Union change some of their strategy on offense.  When you stay in the same base defense it makes it much easier to call plays.  I noticed against Paintsville that RV went to a three man front for a little while.  Things like that could make a huge difference in the ballgame.

[SXSW]

Union 49-14

 

[Wolf1207]

29 minutes ago, Observer said:

I would like to see Ridgeview mix things up on defense to try to make Union change some of their strategy on offense.  When you stay in the same base defense it makes it much easier to call plays.  I noticed against Paintsville that RV went to a three man front for a little while.  Things like that could make a huge difference in the ballgame.

I was impressed with the Paintsville game. That was not a bad team they blew out.  The refs were selectively enforcing the rules but Paintsville could compete in 1 D 

[BigWinners]

2 hours ago, Observer said:

I would like to see Ridgeview mix things up on defense to try to make Union change some of their strategy on offense.  When you stay in the same base defense it makes it much easier to call plays.  I noticed against Paintsville that RV went to a three man front for a little while.  Things like that could make a huge difference in the ballgame.

A three man front could be doom against Union, letting Chandler get a head of steam makes him so tough to get on the ground. Union would probably go a heavy dose of inside runs against a three man front. You can stop the run with a three man front if you have two very big heavy ILBs who come up thumping on any run action but HS teams don’t seem to like to line up like that. As a Bama fan that was a core tenet of the Saban defense for years with huge LBs like McClain and Hightower. 
 

90% of HS games come down to who wins at the point of attack. If RV is better on the LOS, they can control the game and win. If Union is better, they win. RV posters are very high on the RV skill guys, the Union posters are high on their skill groups too. If one team has a decided advantage that can flip the game, I feel like GC matched up very well at the LOS with Union but lacked the explosive element on the edges and that allowed Union to scheme up big plays and stretch it out. Im inclined to believe it’ll be the opposite this week, RV might match up better on the edges but be a little less in control on the LOS. 
 

Gonna learn a lot this week. Is RV a contender to win 2D? Can Union almost wrap up the M7? Will all the talk about early season schedule be thrown out with a RV win or will it be a huge point if Union wins? Gonna find out Thursday. 

[Observer]

11 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

A three man front could be doom against Union, letting Chandler get a head of steam makes him so tough to get on the ground. Union would probably go a heavy dose of inside runs against a three man front. You can stop the run with a three man front if you have two very big heavy ILBs who come up thumping on any run action but HS teams don’t seem to like to line up like that. As a Bama fan that was a core tenet of the Saban defense for years with huge LBs like McClain and Hightower. 
 

90% of HS games come down to who wins at the point of attack. If RV is better on the LOS, they can control the game and win. If Union is better, they win. RV posters are very high on the RV skill guys, the Union posters are high on their skill groups too. If one team has a decided advantage that can flip the game, I feel like GC matched up very well at the LOS with Union but lacked the explosive element on the edges and that allowed Union to scheme up big plays and stretch it out. Im inclined to believe it’ll be the opposite this week, RV might match up better on the edges but be a little less in control on the LOS. 
 

Gonna learn a lot this week. Is RV a contender to win 2D? Can Union almost wrap up the M7? Will all the talk about early season schedule be thrown out with a RV win or will it be a huge point if Union wins? Gonna find out Thursday. 

My point was that I would like to see RV change some things up and not stay in the same thing the entire game.  Maybe show something and move into something else.  

[Unchained]

1 hour ago, BigWinners said:

A three man front could be doom against Union, letting Chandler get a head of steam makes him so tough to get on the ground. Union would probably go a heavy dose of inside runs against a three man front. You can stop the run with a three man front if you have two very big heavy ILBs who come up thumping on any run action but HS teams don’t seem to like to line up like that. As a Bama fan that was a core tenet of the Saban defense for years with huge LBs like McClain and Hightower. 
 

90% of HS games come down to who wins at the point of attack. If RV is better on the LOS, they can control the game and win. If Union is better, they win. RV posters are very high on the RV skill guys, the Union posters are high on their skill groups too. If one team has a decided advantage that can flip the game, I feel like GC matched up very well at the LOS with Union but lacked the explosive element on the edges and that allowed Union to scheme up big plays and stretch it out. Im inclined to believe it’ll be the opposite this week, RV might match up better on the edges but be a little less in control on the LOS. 
 

Gonna learn a lot this week. Is RV a contender to win 2D? Can Union almost wrap up the M7? Will all the talk about early season schedule be thrown out with a RV win or will it be a huge point if Union wins? Gonna find out Thursday. 

The funny thing was some on here said that Union lacked explosive quality. The truth was they didn't need to show any of that until last Friday night. Bostic was what 4-4 for 216 yds? Thats some serious chunks of yardage:). The Pack hasn't had to play 4 quarters yet. Union is a deep, battle tested team that got a big workout vs GC. This is going to pay dividends Thursday night.

[Union_Fan]

As previously discussed, it's hard to know how this game is going to play out because of Ridgeview's schedule.

It's not their fault, just the way it is, but it makes it hard to size up the Pack. They have taken care of business the way they should have and that indicates a solid team.

This will be the 8th time Ridgeview comes into this game undefeated. They left undefeated twice. Will this year be the 3rd?

History would suggest otherwise. I'll take the Bears 28-14.

[Gridiron60]

3 minutes ago, Union_Fan said:

As previously discussed, it's hard to know how this game is going to play out because of Ridgeview's schedule.

It's not their fault, just the way it is, but it makes it hard to size up the Pack. They have taken care of business the way they should have and that indicates a solid team.

This will be the 8th time Ridgeview comes into this game undefeated. They left undefeated twice. Will this year be the 3rd?

History would suggest otherwise. I'll take the Bears 28-14.

I would be shocked if Ridgeview wins. I’m sure they’re solid, they usually are but Union is playing on a whole other level right now. If the Bears stay healthy, a region championship will be played at Bullitt Park. 

[Union_Fan]

16 minutes ago, Gridiron60 said:

I would be shocked if Ridgeview wins. I’m sure they’re solid, they usually are but Union is playing on a whole other level right now. If the Bears stay healthy, a region championship will be played at Bullitt Park. 

I go back and compare this team to previous Union teams and even previous Graham teams because they have pretty much set the standard for 10 years.

Maybe another team had more playmakers or a better QB, WR, RB, defense or offense. 

I used to say if the '15 Bear team had the '17 defense or the '17 team had the '15 QB they would have won a state championship. But this team, this TEAM is the best all around that Union has produced. From the line to the offense, defense, secondary, etc...

Excited for Thursday.

[Wolf1207]

I do expect Union to wn on Thursday. Their core has played together longer than RV. However, there is one thing that is discussed here on mst threads for years that is way overrated. That is schedule. If SOS is the number 1 determining factor as to how good a team is Richlands would have won 10 straight state titles. There is a lot more to it than just strength of schedule.

[Unchained]

9 minutes ago, Wolf1207 said:

I do expect Union to wn on Thursday. Their core has played together longer than RV. However, there is one thing that is discussed here on mst threads for years that is way overrated. That is schedule. If SOS is the number 1 determining factor as to how good a team is Richlands would have won 10 straight state titles. There is a lot more to it than just strength of schedule.

I have to disagree, and I can use lots of examples, but I'll go old school back to 92 when in the D2 playoffs a 10-0 Thomas Walker squad that had surrendered a total of 21 points in 10 games coming out of the CD hosted an 8-2 LPD Kelly squad with losses to PV and Appy. The sloppy rain at Ewing kept this game to only a 23-0 JJK win. Trust me SOS does pay huge dividends. Ralph Cummins used to say that every time the Wave beat JJK (when JJK was good before Shupe pulled the athletes), he knew his squad was going to win the state championship. You used Richlands as an example, but the time frame obviously has been at the worst stretch of football at RHS is ages. Some of those Blues squads in recent year weren't beating anybody. You'll never hear this guy say SOS is overrated. In college football a lot of Bama teams won titles because they survived what was the toughest conference/schedule in the land.

[S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE]

Back when tw played little powell valley, tn and the Cumberland was not good outside of its district. Lift the bar and go through the motions, but you gotta add a little weight to build. 

[Unchained]

2 hours ago, S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE said:

Back when tw played little powell valley, tn and the Cumberland was not good outside of its district. Lift the bar and go through the motions, but you gotta add a little weight to build. 

Several times "little" Appalachia wiped out teams with much better records in the playoffs as well:)

[Wolf1207]

16 hours ago, Unchained said:

I have to disagree, and I can use lots of examples, but I'll go old school back to 92 when in the D2 playoffs a 10-0 Thomas Walker squad that had surrendered a total of 21 points in 10 games coming out of the CD hosted an 8-2 LPD Kelly squad with losses to PV and Appy. The sloppy rain at Ewing kept this game to only a 23-0 JJK win. Trust me SOS does pay huge dividends. Ralph Cummins used to say that every time the Wave beat JJK (when JJK was good before Shupe pulled the athletes), he knew his squad was going to win the state championship. You used Richlands as an example, but the time frame obviously has been at the worst stretch of football at RHS is ages. Some of those Blues squads in recent year weren't beating anybody. You'll never hear this guy say SOS is overrated. In college football a lot of Bama teams won titles because they survived what was the toughest conference/schedule in the land.

I'm not disputing the value, but it's more 10% of the equation than 50 or 60 percent which is what's implied here. That's all I'm saying is other factors aren't taken into account. What makes this Union team good is the length of time they've been together and the 500 coaches with backpacks. Lol

I was referring to the 2000's Richlands era teams not the late 2010's. I should have clarified that. 

I believe coaching and program building is way more important than SOS.