Gridiron60 Posted March 22 Report Posted March 22 7 hours ago, Fairlawncat said: Graham in 21 was very good. Lost to King William. Graham lost 2 All State Linebackers and their QB (who was also one of the LBs) and the QB should have probably made All State at QB in addition to him making it at LB. Played on 1 foot in title game and totally ineffective. KW with an All American RB and Graham loses 2 all state LBs. The absolute perfect and best scenario possible for KW and worst scenario possible for Graham. In that game, of which I was there, Claiborne had 2 or 3 long runs in which the Graham backup LBs missed by inches at the LOS. The loss of LBs was way too much to overcome. Also, the Graham QB with the broken lower leg with daylight and an open space field and not able to turn up field for 4 yards. I would argue Radford 1989, the team I played on that lost to Graham twice in very close games. That Graham team is still talked about regarding how dominant they were and we were right with them and about had them in 1989 up at Mitchell Stadium in the Region Title Game. Probably my fault we lost. Was called for a motion penalty on a kicking attempt in which I was the one kicking it and I never moved an inch. It still ticks me off. The ‘21 game could have went the other way or at least been closer if not for injuries of Blevins and Sawyers. ‘23 losing Hughes was definitely big. Real Sasquatch 1 Quote
Real Sasquatch Posted March 22 Report Posted March 22 11 minutes ago, Gridiron60 said: The ‘21 game could have went the other way or at least been closer if not for injuries of Blevins and Sawyers. ‘23 losing Hughes was definitely big. Losing Hughes early in that season was a huge loss for Graham. He was a leader on and off the field and could play a number of different positions. He would have been Graham's best overall player on the field that year. Gridiron60 and jeffro 2 Quote
BigWinners Posted March 22 Report Posted March 22 Healthy or not, there’s little chance Graham was beating KW. Claiborne was a diff level and they were a physical bunch. Maybe it’s more competitive but I’d feel confident in saying KW wins 8/10 even if both LBs good to go. Graham32 1 Quote
CPF Posted March 23 Report Posted March 23 3 hours ago, BigWinners said: Healthy or not, there’s little chance Graham was beating KW. Claiborne was a diff level and they were a physical bunch. Maybe it’s more competitive but I’d feel confident in saying KW wins 8/10 even if both LBs good to go. The issue was just as much the offense at quarterback because he could not run the ball on one leg. With him at QB our offense might have controlled the ball better and limited KW possessions. But that's always a what if. Just like 1997. Quote
BigWinners Posted March 23 Report Posted March 23 2 hours ago, CPF said: The issue was just as much the offense at quarterback because he could not run the ball on one leg. With him at QB our offense might have controlled the ball better and limited KW possessions. But that's always a what if. Just like 1997. I think it’s for sure a closer game but that team was not gonna be denied. Claiborne was truly special and he wasn’t going to allow his team to lose. They weren’t a one man show either tho, they were strong up front too. Quote
PV8 Posted March 23 Report Posted March 23 93 Appalachia squad has got to be atop of this list. Great team. Quote
Fairlawncat Posted March 23 Report Posted March 23 King William's team was one of the better Class 2 teams in the last 25 years in Virginia. Even if KW beats a 100 percent healthy Graham, it doesn't change my opinion that Graham of 21 was one of the better teams in the coverage area to not win a state title. I would also put the Union team that lost close at home to Appo in which Appo had the specials teams plays that did Union in. Union and Graham lost to two of the better teams in Class 2 Va over the last 20 or 25 years. It doesn't discount how great that Union team or Graham team in 21 was. They both ran into generational type talented Class 2 teams and they would Not likely face those caliber of opponents in Class 2 on 7 out of 8 years. Quote
V-Cats Posted March 23 Report Posted March 23 As far as teams that I have personally seen, it starts and ends with 2010 Richlands That Poquoson game and the officials still make me sick to think about JDHoss 1 Quote
Gridiron60 Posted March 23 Report Posted March 23 4 hours ago, V-Cats said: As far as teams that I have personally seen, it starts and ends with 2010 Richlands That Poquoson game and the officials still make me sick to think about The 2010 team was probably one of the best teams Richlands ever fielded. Quote
Real Sasquatch Posted March 23 Report Posted March 23 5 hours ago, V-Cats said: As far as teams that I have personally seen, it starts and ends with 2010 Richlands That Poquoson game and the officials still make me sick to think about Yeah. That one heavy set ref standing over the ball still bugs me. Quote
JDHoss Posted March 23 Report Posted March 23 6 hours ago, V-Cats said: As far as teams that I have personally seen, it starts and ends with 2010 Richlands That Poquoson game and the officials still make me sick to think about We were there that day, and scooted over to Salem for GC v Gretna afterwards. Richlands had the better team, but the officiating that day was atrocious, especially a late PI that was clearly on Poquoson but instead went against Richlands. Quote
Blue_Crue Posted March 25 Report Posted March 25 Don't know if anyone has mentioned them because this thread has gotten so long, but the 2001 and 2002 Gate City Teams were loaded and lost in state semifinals. Those teams had grown men. JDHoss 1 Quote
Bluebird Posted March 25 Report Posted March 25 I’m surprised no one has mentioned Pulaski of the 80s and 90s. Quote
Graham32 Posted March 25 Report Posted March 25 I’m gonna say 2019 Graham, they had Appomattox on the ropes in their house and blew it in the 4th. If they win that game without a doubt they go back to back. Appomattox blows out Staurts Draft the following week in the title game. Quote
BigWinners Posted March 25 Report Posted March 25 1 hour ago, Blue_Crue said: Don't know if anyone has mentioned them because this thread has gotten so long, but the 2001 and 2002 Gate City Teams were loaded and lost in state semifinals. Those teams had grown men. Was it 01 or 02 when you guys came to BSG and won in playoffs after losing in regular season? I believe 02. Two fantastic games, regular season may have been an OT game. Quote
1inStripes Posted March 25 Report Posted March 25 I think that was 01. 01 wasnt expected to be a great year for GC due to graduation. They were fairly young losing Hutchins and Seaver I believe. That playoff game at Bullitt was kind of a break out game for Isiaih Spivey if I remember well. Also GCs first year back in the LPD I think. BigWinners 1 Quote
SXSW Posted March 26 Report Posted March 26 22 hours ago, 1inStripes said: I think that was 01. 01 wasnt expected to be a great year for GC due to graduation. They were fairly young losing Hutchins and Seaver I believe. That playoff game at Bullitt was kind of a break out game for Isiaih Spivey if I remember well. Also GCs first year back in the LPD I think. Isiaih Spivey was the best QB at Gate City ever! It was must watch on Friday Nights when he played Quote
vol_husky Posted March 27 Report Posted March 27 On 3/25/2026 at 3:22 PM, BigWinners said: Was it 01 or 02 when you guys came to BSG and won in playoffs after losing in regular season? I believe 02. Two fantastic games, regular season may have been an OT game. I think Gate City scored two quick TDs in first half after some long runs. Missed PAT and two points. Then PV scored a late TD in second quarter. Gate City was up 12-7 at halftime. PV went up 20-12 in third quarter and looked like they were about to take control of the game. Then Gate City got a couple of stops and a PV turnover in fourth quarter. GC won 27-20. Quote
BoBob Posted March 27 Report Posted March 27 On 3/23/2026 at 9:48 AM, Fairlawncat said: King William's team was one of the better Class 2 teams in the last 25 years in Virginia. Even if KW beats a 100 percent healthy Graham, it doesn't change my opinion that Graham of 21 was one of the better teams in the coverage area to not win a state title. I would also put the Union team that lost close at home to Appo in which Appo had the specials teams plays that did Union in. Union and Graham lost to two of the better teams in Class 2 Va over the last 20 or 25 years. It doesn't discount how great that Union team or Graham team in 21 was. They both ran into generational type talented Class 2 teams and they would Not likely face those caliber of opponents in Class 2 on 7 out of 8 years. That was a good Union team for sure. A punt return for a TD and a second half field goal decided that game. I think it was 20-0 at half and we won 23-20 maybe or 23-21. Our kicker had the flu that game, we were lucky to make that second half FG. Quote
robtom Posted March 28 Report Posted March 28 1997 Patrick Henry GS 11-0 playing Radford for Region Championship. However, lost several starters the week before due to injuury and discipline. Quote
Real Sasquatch Posted March 28 Report Posted March 28 Im going to add the 2025 Union Bears to the list. I believe they would have matched up well with Strasburg. Quote
jeffro Posted March 28 Report Posted March 28 1977 Raven Crimson tide- Ok nobody laugh but this was a great team that rolled the opponents until playoffs. We were over confident and got beat. Still to this day I can’t believe it. cityofRaven and Real Sasquatch 1 1 Quote
Real Sasquatch Posted March 29 Report Posted March 29 4 hours ago, jeffro said: 1977 Raven Crimson tide- Ok nobody laugh but this was a great team that rolled the opponents until playoffs. We were over confident and got beat. Still to this day I can’t believe it. The 1987 Stoney Ridge Stallions and 1988 Mud Fork Dobbers were pretty good too. Quote
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