Refreshing in this day and age

[FBDevotee]

For Union High School football fans, 2026 is very exciting. The Bears have 45 kids returning from a district and regional championship team including, in my opinion, several exceptional skill position players. These students are used to winning as they have accumulated 31 wins during the last three seasons and the new head coach is a good match for this particular group of hard working and high expecting young men.

I am looking forward to watching Abe Hall, who already has college offers, at QB. At 6'3" 200 pounds, he can see over the line and utilize his impressive throwing arm!  He has a great group of receivers as well.

I think 8 wins for the new coach is very achievable!   

 

[Unchained]

2 hours ago, FBDevotee said:

For Union High School football fans, 2026 is very exciting. The Bears have 45 kids returning from a district and regional championship team including, in my opinion, several exceptional skill position players. These students are used to winning as they have accumulated 31 wins during the last three seasons and the new head coach is a good match for this particular group of hard working and high expecting young men.

I am looking forward to watching Abe Hall, who already has college offers, at QB. At 6'3" 200 pounds, he can see over the line and utilize his impressive throwing arm!  He has a great group of receivers as well.

I think 8 wins for the new coach is very achievable!   

 

It is a credit to our program honestly. At most programs losing what we lost to graduation, you're talking 5-5 at best. No greater case in point about the need for an excellent feeder program than UHS.

[tornado99]

1 hour ago, Unchained said:

It is a credit to our program honestly. At most programs losing what we lost to graduation, you're talking 5-5 at best. No greater case in point about the need for an excellent feeder program than UHS.

Based off previous conversations about the UHS feeder program, if there is changes to the scheme, does the feeder system change as well to run Coach Harless’s scheme?

[Unchained]

56 minutes ago, tornado99 said:

Based off previous conversations about the UHS feeder program, if there is changes to the scheme, does the feeder system change as well to run Coach Harless’s scheme?

Yes

[Unchained]

His post today on the Union Sports Network Facebook page is a good one

[Unchained]

Fresh Off The Clock posted a video of union QB Abe Hall. You can see why we are excited.

[Fairlawncat]

4 hours ago, Unchained said:

Fresh Off The Clock posted a video of union QB Abe Hall. You can see why we are excited.

Just watched.

1. What grade is this kid in?

2. Alarming..He's built better than me and I am a stud. It's incredible how a Union and Graham keep "growing" these football players for such small communities. Where in the hell do these kids come from?

3. This kid will play college football at D1 level. Union will come on the scene of state title winner led by a QB who will play D1 football 

4. Union will win the 2026 VHSl Class 2 State Title. 

Lofty and crazy predictions about Union and QB Gabe Hall? Mark this post down. He's not going to be the "talented QB who plays within the offense" under Travis Turner. He's going to be the talented D1 QB who has a superior Head Coach and maximizes Unions athletic ability that plays D1 football......and wins the VHSL 2026 Class Title. 

[Unchained]

9 minutes ago, Fairlawncat said:

Just watched.

1. What grade is this kid in?

2. Alarming..He's built better than me and I am a stud. It's incredible how a Union and Graham keep "growing" these football players for such small communities. Where in the hell do these kids come from?

3. This kid will play college football at D1 level. Union will come on the scene of state title winner led by a QB who will play D1 football 

4. Union will win the 2026 VHSl Class 2 State Title. 

Lofty and crazy predictions about Union and QB Gabe Hall? Mark this post down. He's not going to be the "talented QB who plays within the offense" under Travis Turner. He's going to be the talented D1 QB who has a superior Head Coach and maximizes Unions athletic ability that plays D1 football......and wins the VHSL 2026 Class Title. 

He is a senior. I sure wish he would have had 4 years at QB and Bostic would have been WR. I am not the only one from BSG that felt that way. They would have been devastating. His numbers would have rivaled Reece and Dawyot's. It's crazy how much bigger and faster he's gotten. He's been working insanely hard. It's also neat for a kid of this size to possess a 30+ vertical. If I recall right, he excelled at the long jump in track.

[vol_husky]

What an arm. Union has themselves a QB. 

[Unchained]

9 minutes ago, vol_husky said:

What an arm. Union has themselves a QB. 

I always knew the arm strength was there but wondered about his wheels. During baseball season, I really saw the drastic increase in speed. If defenses think that he's just going to camp out in the pocket and not be mobile enough to elude, they will be sadly mistaken, and I'd wager it will be a tough task getting him down.

[Real Sasquatch]

2 hours ago, Unchained said:

I always knew the arm strength was there but wondered about his wheels. During baseball season, I really saw the drastic increase in speed. If defenses think that he's just going to camp out in the pocket and not be mobile enough to elude, they will be sadly mistaken, and I'd wager it will be a tough task getting him down.

Reminds me a bit of Zach Blevins from Graham a few years back.

[Union_Fan]

2 hours ago, Unchained said:

He is a senior. I sure wish he would have had 4 years at QB and Bostic would have been WR. I am not the only one from BSG that felt that way. They would have been devastating. His numbers would have rivaled Reece and Dawyot's. It's crazy how much bigger and faster he's gotten. He's been working insanely hard. It's also neat for a kid of this size to possess a 30+ vertical. If I recall right, he excelled at the long jump in track.

This was a critique by many for 15 years. Not putting ALL players on the field at the best position at once. Nobody can deny Bostic's athletic ability, but had Hall been the QB with Bostic at WR, that would have put not 1 but 2 phenomenal athletes on the field at the same time. Same thing with Spears in 2014 having to wait until 2015.

The QB in 2011 just because they were a coach's son when another kid that could through a beautiful spiral 50 yards down the field was a DB. In 2013, putting one of the best OL on defense just so a family friend could start at guard because he was a senior. The best kid for the position was not in the position they needed to be. The QB in 2016/2018...geez was that bad. Leaving Sykes on the bench.

On and on and on....

 

[Unchained]

37 minutes ago, Union_Fan said:

This was a critique by many for 15 years. Not putting ALL players on the field at the best position at once. Nobody can deny Bostic's athletic ability, but had Hall been the QB with Bostic at WR, that would have put not 1 but 2 phenomenal athletes on the field at the same time. Same thing with Spears in 2014 having to wait until 2015.

The QB in 2011 just because they were a coach's son when another kid that could through a beautiful spiral 50 yards down the field was a DB. In 2013, putting one of the best OL on defense just so a family friend could start at guard because he was a senior. The best kid for the position was not in the position they needed to be. The QB in 2016/2018...geez was that bad. Leaving Sykes on the bench.

On and on and on....

 

Let Sykes go to DB where he promptly tore it up. I refuse to speak the previous guy's name, because quite frankly I am tired of hearing it, but when us Union fans were harsh on him on here, folks lost their minds. He was a decent coach. Harless is a GREAT coach. I have to wonder how many titles Harless would have won in 14 years at Union. Union has been on the same level as Graham with talent, but Palmer time and time again outcoached that guy. Palmer would have had the same success that he's had at Graham had he been at Union, because he is a great coach.

[Union_Fan]

BHC article on Harless...

https://archive.is/sJLf1

 

[Wolf1207]

I would say Graham's talent has been a step ahead of Union the last 10 years.  Especially from 2018 to 2024. I haven't thought that their advantage was on the skill player side but on the on-line and d-line. From strength and conditioning to just flat out D1 players that's where they separated from Union and especially Ridgeview. 

Coaching wise I was never impressed with the previous guy at Union. I think he got trapped in an old way of thinking and refused to change. Even with players that would have allowed them to throw the ball a lot. 

One of the reasons expectations for Ridgeview for me personally is that they changed the entire offense last season after the regular season game with Union. A game that they were competitive in. That showed me things may have changed and they aren't going to be so rigid as they have been since the school opened. 

[Unchained]

1 hour ago, Wolf1207 said:

I would say Graham's talent has been a step ahead of Union the last 10 years.  Especially from 2018 to 2024. I haven't thought that their advantage was on the skill player side but on the on-line and d-line. From strength and conditioning to just flat out D1 players that's where they separated from Union and especially Ridgeview. 

Coaching wise I was never impressed with the previous guy at Union. I think he got trapped in an old way of thinking and refused to change. Even with players that would have allowed them to throw the ball a lot. 

One of the reasons expectations for Ridgeview for me personally is that they changed the entire offense last season after the regular season game with Union. A game that they were competitive in. That showed me things may have changed and they aren't going to be so rigid as they have been since the school opened. 

The fact that the series with Graham is dead even basically says otherwise. I would say another driving point would be that in spite of inept coaching; we still went toe to toe with Graham. There's no talent gap between the 2. Neither team is blowing the other one out. More times than not it's tight.

[Wolf1207]

1 hour ago, Unchained said:

The fact that the series with Graham is dead even basically says otherwise. I would say another driving point would be that in spite of inept coaching; we still went toe to toe with Graham. There's no talent gap between the 2. Neither team is blowing the other one out. More times than not it's tight.

We could nit pick this argument all day. I will agree on this Union and Graham have been pretty close except for 21-24. Graham was better then. I know Union played some close early season games with them, but in the playoffs there was a separation. I  rank 2d this way. 

1 Graham

2 Union

3 Ridgeview (trying to figure out how to break through)

And then everyone else is way behind. I believe Gate City at some point will regain where they once we're, but not yet. 

[Fairlawncat]

3 hours ago, Unchained said:

The fact that the series with Graham is dead even basically says otherwise. I would say another driving point would be that in spite of inept coaching; we still went toe to toe with Graham. There's no talent gap between the 2. Neither team is blowing the other one out. More times than not it's tight.

I would argue Union had anything but inept coaching. Turner was a very good coach overall, especially defensively. Offensively, to predictable and not diverse enough in my opinion, but overall, one of the better coached teams in Class 2 Virginia, but Turner is not on the level of the guy Union just got. I get it......"he's bad, a minor involved," and all of that stuff and human nature tells us......."lets not like him". That's fair. I get that, BUT......for the love of all things good, let's don't do revisionist history to make ourselves "feel good." Call it for what it is. The guy was a damn good HS football coach. You can be BOTH. You can be pretty decent or good in one part of life and be a disaster in other parts of your life. 

No, I'm not "comparing" Ted Bundy to Turner. But one analogy is.....Bundy was actually a damn good 911 call operator and actually helped lots of people. Obviously, we know the other side of this guys life and the lives this monster took. Because we know the other side doesn't mean we simply rewrite history and claim, "he sucked as a 911 operator."  Never let Emotion cloud Objectivity. Another example, Bill Laimbeer was and still is......an asshole that played pretty dirty and liked to cause harm to other players if he got the chance. With that said, the dude could also flat out play and rebound and stretch the floor with his 6'10 jumpshot 24 feet away from the basket. I am not any less of a person by acknowledging that Laimbeer could actually play and that Bundy (of all people) was actually a solid 911 operator or that Turner was actually a pretty good darn HS Coach. I can be a decent dude by acknowledging both the good AND the bad, but to try and rewrite the good with All Bad is a bad take..

[Unchained]

2 minutes ago, Fairlawncat said:

I would argue Union had anything but inept coaching. Turner was a very good coach overall, especially defensively. Offensively, to predictable and not diverse enough in my opinion, but overall, one of the better coached teams in Class 2 Virginia, but Turner is not on the level of the guy Union just got. I get it......"he's bad, a minor involved," and all of that stuff and human nature tells us......."lets not like him". That's fair. I get that, BUT......for the love of all things good, let's don't do revisionist history to make ourselves "feel good." Call it for what it is. The guy was a damn good HS football coach. You can be BOTH. You can be pretty decent or good in one part of life and be a disaster in other parts of your life. 

No, I'm not "comparing" Ted Bundy to Turner. But one analogy is.....Bundy was actually a damn good 911 call operator and actually helped lots of people. Obviously, we know the other side of this guys life and the lives this monster took. Because we know the other side doesn't mean we simply rewrite history and claim, "he sucked as a 911 operator."  Never let Emotion cloud Objectivity. Another example, Bill Laimbeer was and still is......an asshole that played pretty dirty and liked to cause harm to other players if he got the chance. With that said, the dude could also flat out play and rebound and stretch the floor with his 6'10 jumpshot 24 feet away from the basket. I am not any less of a person by acknowledging that Laimbeer could actually play and that Bundy (of all people) was actually a solid 911 operator or that Turner was actually a pretty good darn HS Coach. I can be a decent dude by acknowledging both the good AND the bad, but to try and rewrite the good with All Bad is a bad take..

The guy was a decent coach and that's it. 14 years at a school that the 2 schools that made it won what 14 state titles, and no titles? Several times just straight up outcoached in the big games, game after game tons of penalties (folks here are going to LOVE seeing that issue resolved). Trust me, long before the mess with him happened, Union folks knew we'd never reach the top with him as HC. I am not investing any emotion about his situation at all in this, because that has nothing to do with it-just objectively calling it as I (and many others) have seen it over the years. It's easy to be on the outside calling it, but being on the inside and seeing it firsthand time and time again is an entirely different matter.

[FBDevotee]

 I posted earlier on this forum that this football season the Union Bears can win 8 games - maybe 7 & 3 regular season, plus a playoff win, to make it 8 & 4 come November; that would be a solid showing for any coach first year at a new school. If the team secures 8 victories the Bears will be partly because of a couple very good tight ends/defensive ends: Matt Polier (6'3" 225) junior and Ethan Burke (6'3" 210) senior. These two can catch, run, and tackle. When you add them to an excellent ensemble of wide receivers and flankers, quarterback Abe Hall will have some mighty fine targets.    

[Wolf1207]

20 hours ago, Fairlawncat said:

Just watched.

1. What grade is this kid in?

2. Alarming..He's built better than me and I am a stud. It's incredible how a Union and Graham keep "growing" these football players for such small communities. Where in the hell do these kids come from?

3. This kid will play college football at D1 level. Union will come on the scene of state title winner led by a QB who will play D1 football 

4. Union will win the 2026 VHSl Class 2 State Title. 

Lofty and crazy predictions about Union and QB Gabe Hall? Mark this post down. He's not going to be the "talented QB who plays within the offense" under Travis Turner. He's going to be the talented D1 QB who has a superior Head Coach and maximizes Unions athletic ability that plays D1 football......and wins the VHSL 2026 Class Title. 

We are definitely in early season mode. This guy called himself a stud and not one of us (myself included) did not have a smart remark. 
 

In all seriousness, how was he not at QB for the last couple of years? 

[Unchained]

13 minutes ago, Wolf1207 said:

We are definitely in early season mode. This guy called himself a stud and not one of us (myself included) did not have a smart remark. 
 

In all seriousness, how was he not at QB for the last couple of years? 

The answer to that question? Again, inept coaching:). He would have rivaled Reece and Dawyot.

[BigWinners]

If Union manages their timeouts better and has 75% less delay penalties, it’s a success. 

It’s kind of crazy, having no idea what to expect. With the previous regime, you had a pretty good baseline of what you can expect in a season but this an entire new ballgame now. Highlight videos in July are a lot of fun and if you’re building a QB in NCAA, youd give them those measurables, but it’s still such a massive undertaking. All the mess, lotta people seemingly still out for blood (or answers, depending on perspectives), it’s a group of 14-18 year olds (and coaches, those still there who had to deal with an impossible situation) who have been put thru the ringer. I just hope the kids respond to Harless, he builds successful young adults and has a positive impact on the community.  He seems like a good dude with a tough mentality who wants kids to develop with character, all ylu can ask for in a HC. 
 

All I think is, I’d rather have to play Union in week two as opposed to week eight. 

 

[Unchained]

20 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

If Union manages their timeouts better and has 75% less delay penalties, it’s a success. 

It’s kind of crazy, having no idea what to expect. With the previous regime, you had a pretty good baseline of what you can expect in a season but this an entire new ballgame now. Highlight videos in July are a lot of fun and if you’re building a QB in NCAA, youd give them those measurables, but it’s still such a massive undertaking. All the mess, lotta people seemingly still out for blood (or answers, depending on perspectives), it’s a group of 14-18 year olds (and coaches, those still there who had to deal with an impossible situation) who have been put thru the ringer. I just hope the kids respond to Harless, he builds successful young adults and has a positive impact on the community.  He seems like a good dude with a tough mentality who wants kids to develop with character, all ylu can ask for in a HC. 
 

All I think is, I’d rather have to play Union in week two as opposed to week eight. 

 

My coworkers were asking what I thought about this year's Union squad, and I told them that you can't replace guys like Bostic, Chandler and IMO the most underrated player in the state Wharton and not have some growing pains, but you'd better get them early, because come playoff time, this bunch will be a very tough out.

[JDHoss]

4 hours ago, BigWinners said:

If Union manages their timeouts better and has 75% less delay penalties, it’s a success. 

It’s kind of crazy, having no idea what to expect. With the previous regime, you had a pretty good baseline of what you can expect in a season but this an entire new ballgame now. Highlight videos in July are a lot of fun and if you’re building a QB in NCAA, youd give them those measurables, but it’s still such a massive undertaking. All the mess, lotta people seemingly still out for blood (or answers, depending on perspectives), it’s a group of 14-18 year olds (and coaches, those still there who had to deal with an impossible situation) who have been put thru the ringer. I just hope the kids respond to Harless, he builds successful young adults and has a positive impact on the community.  He seems like a good dude with a tough mentality who wants kids to develop with character, all ylu can ask for in a HC. 
 

All I think is, I’d rather have to play Union in week two as opposed to week eight. 

 

I remember not knowing what to expect from Phil Robbins. Then on PV's first offensive play from scrimmage in the opening game against Jonesville, Denny Blagg hit a WR (can't remember the name of the WR) for something like a 65 yard TD pass, and the crowd was like "what was that?".