SandlickWolf Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 I’ve been thinking where Southern Gap may consistently seed in 2D over the next decade. I’m excited to see them in person, and how they might shake up the southwest. Just knowing the history of the schools consolidating, I know they won’t be terrible, just not one of the bests either. I personally would imagine seeing them average somewhere in 4-5 every year in 2D, with obvious ups and downs year to year. Quote
Observer Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 Tester will do a good job of getting the most out of his players but I just don't see them being successful. You are combining Grundy, Hurley and Twin Valley programs that have not been good in the last several years; and you're stepping up a division. New doesn't always mean better..... Quote
BigWinners Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 Going from playing each other and Castlewood, Tom Walker and the BDD teams to playing Graham, Richlands, VHS and Lebanon every year is a sizable step. It’ll take a few years to get their footing. Quote
Fairlawncat Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 Hard to predict a decade out if the population trend continues in Buchanan County. Probably easier to guess how they will do in 1D 6 or 7 years from now instead of 2D. I think as long as they have average Class 2 numbers, they will surpass every team in 2D with the exception of Union and Graham, and probably on the same level as a Ridgeview if their coach stays and their numbers hold. This year, 7-3 or 6-4, 2027-8-2, 2028-totally depends at that point with what happens with Buchanan's population. Ryan4VT 1 Quote
Fairlawncat Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 21 minutes ago, Clippers#1 said: What does the schedule look like for this year? Holston at home-win RV at home-loss Rye Cove Away- likely loss Giles Away- toss up Honaker Home-likely win Richlands Home-win Tazewell Away- win Riverview, WV-win Eastside Away- likely loss Wise Central Away- win 5 wins for sure (I think) and the only sure loss is Ridgeview. The other 4 games are winnable and losable. I will go 7-3 at best, 6-4 at worst Quote
Unchained Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 18 minutes ago, Fairlawncat said: Holston at home-win RV at home-loss Rye Cove Away- likely loss Giles Away- toss up Honaker Home-likely win Richlands Home-win Tazewell Away- win Riverview, WV-win Eastside Away- likely loss Wise Central Away- win 5 wins for sure (I think) and the only sure loss is Ridgeview. The other 4 games are winnable and losable. I will go 7-3 at best, 6-4 at worst If Honaker figures out anything defensively, they will be a L. The Tigers will boast the best offense in SWVA this season. I am not handing D1 to RC or Eastside by any means (pending strides defensively). Quote
BigWinners Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 1 hour ago, Fairlawncat said: Holston at home-win RV at home-loss Rye Cove Away- likely loss Giles Away- toss up Honaker Home-likely win Richlands Home-win Tazewell Away- win Riverview, WV-win Eastside Away- likely loss Wise Central Away- win 5 wins for sure (I think) and the only sure loss is Ridgeview. The other 4 games are winnable and losable. I will go 7-3 at best, 6-4 at worst At Eastside is a sure loss I think. Veteran heavy team, at home, likely playing for home field. 5-5 would be a good year IMO. Fairlawncat 1 Quote
Fairlawncat Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 1 hour ago, Unchained said: If Honaker figures out anything defensively, they will be a L. The Tigers will boast the best offense in SWVA this season. I am not handing D1 to RC or Eastside by any means (pending strides defensively). 27 minutes ago, BigWinners said: At Eastside is a sure loss I think. Veteran heavy team, at home, likely playing for home field. 5-5 would be a good year IMO. No strong disagreement here with you guys. I know I'm in the minority on SG and starting out successful from the get go and successful being 7-3/6-4. My thoughts/predictions heavily heavily heavily, weight the value of the HC. I think he's that big of a difference. Time will tell. One thing to be sure of at least for 2026. One other major factor is.... SG is going to have A LOT of kids to choose from. It's not simply Grundy or Hurley or TV showing up. The sheer volume of kids in a uniform, on a practice field that allows the 1st team O and D to better prepare is a huge difference in what they had. With 24 kids, how do you even put a defense against your 1st team O, or how do you put an O against your 1st team D? This problem is wrestled with and handled as best as it can be by so many Class 1 schools around the state and it's a huge disadvantage. SG no longer has that issue (at least for the next couple of years) and that issue matters tremendously regarding chances of improvement from formerly Hurley alone or Grundy alone or TV alone compared to now SG. I don't think many are recognizing the advantage that simply having 40 or 50 kids does compared to 25 in the form of practice and preparation, and that then transferring over to Friday nights. Quote
Clippers#1 Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 Why are they not playing graham, va high or lebanon ? Quote
redtiger Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 3 minutes ago, Clippers#1 said: Why are they not playing graham, va high or lebanon ? Where its the middle of the cycle they had to piece a schedule together, theyre playing Grundys schedule with fill ins for Hurley and TV. They will join the SWD next season and play a full district schedule. Imo SG will be competitive every season, but idk how successful. Making it out of Region is a tough task and doesnt look to be getting any easier with RV staying strong and a resurgent GC and Richlands. Quote
Stelley Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 1 hour ago, Fairlawncat said: No strong disagreement here with you guys. I know I'm in the minority on SG and starting out successful from the get go and successful being 7-3/6-4. My thoughts/predictions heavily heavily heavily, weight the value of the HC. I think he's that big of a difference. Time will tell. One thing to be sure of at least for 2026. One other major factor is.... SG is going to have A LOT of kids to choose from. It's not simply Grundy or Hurley or TV showing up. The sheer volume of kids in a uniform, on a practice field that allows the 1st team O and D to better prepare is a huge difference in what they had. With 24 kids, how do you even put a defense against your 1st team O, or how do you put an O against your 1st team D? This problem is wrestled with and handled as best as it can be by so many Class 1 schools around the state and it's a huge disadvantage. SG no longer has that issue (at least for the next couple of years) and that issue matters tremendously regarding chances of improvement from formerly Hurley alone or Grundy alone or TV alone compared to now SG. I don't think many are recognizing the advantage that simply having 40 or 50 kids does compared to 25 in the form of practice and preparation, and that then transferring over to Friday nights. Idk man. I know we’ve had this debate 3 or 4 times already but I still just don’t think they will be very successful the first couple of years. Not very much debate that Baker is the best basketball coach and Compton is the best baseball coach in SWVA. And they wouldn’t be able to turn around SG programs very quickly. Baker might not have had pure basketball players but can work with having kids with great athleticism. Compton had less talent than usual but still had a group of kids that were athletic and knew the basics, which is basically being taught by the time they can hold a bat in Lebanon. And all of those schools that are consolidating athletic ability is very few and far between. Theres only two games on that schedule that I’d put them as the favorites and I’d put the Tazewell odds at pick ‘em.It’s just going to be a Grundy team plus one guy from each of the other schools. The same Grundy team that won 4 games last year and two were against teams they’re now consolidated with. I’ll gladly eat my words if I’m wrong but I just don’t see it Quote
UnionGuy2017 Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 I think I’m more pessimistic than most on Southern Gap. I see their peak being more of a Virginia High (of late) type of program. I think most years they are going to be comparable to Lee. Quote
Clippers#1 Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 I think Hurley had some good young talent coming up but I could see them being a Lee High. They will have a very hard time in basketball . Quote
Fairlawncat Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 52 minutes ago, Stelley said: Idk man. I know we’ve had this debate 3 or 4 times already but I still just don’t think they will be very successful the first couple of years. Not very much debate that Baker is the best basketball coach and Compton is the best baseball coach in SWVA. And they wouldn’t be able to turn around SG programs very quickly. Baker might not have had pure basketball players but can work with having kids with great athleticism. Compton had less talent than usual but still had a group of kids that were athletic and knew the basics, which is basically being taught by the time they can hold a bat in Lebanon. And all of those schools that are consolidating athletic ability is very few and far between. Theres only two games on that schedule that I’d put them as the favorites and I’d put the Tazewell odds at pick ‘em.It’s just going to be a Grundy team plus one guy from each of the other schools. The same Grundy team that won 4 games last year and two were against teams they’re now consolidated with. I’ll gladly eat my words if I’m wrong but I just don’t see it Fair take. Very fair as most would agree with your take. I just simply disagree. Only way to tell is to play the games. Stelley 1 Quote
tornado99 Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 I’m agreeing with all of you, leaning with 5-5 initially, and improving to 7-3 and 8-2. After that, I don’t have a clue. If they end up in Class 1, they can be dangerous. The NIL/transfer portal makes them a wildcard afterward. With stability and new resources with the facility, SG can become an attractive destination. This can apply to many places , so I’m not picking on SG. Since they are the subject of this post, I know a several kids transferred to Grundy for wrestling. That might be attractive enough to bring in athletes, or simply liking Tester if they are successful. They have potential to be very good. I just can’t see getting past Graham and Union in the near future based off what 2D has been accustomed to recently. Quote
redtiger Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 1 hour ago, Clippers#1 said: They will have a very hard time in basketball . I've not kept up with 1A basketball in years and i'm not saying you're wrong but its just hard to imagine that the consolidated basketball programs of Council, Twin Valley, and Hurley with Grundy thrown in will be terrible. As someone out of the loop that's almost inconceivable Quote
Stelley Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 17 minutes ago, redtiger said: I've not kept up with 1A basketball in years and i'm not saying you're wrong but its just hard to imagine that the consolidated basketball programs of Council, Twin Valley, and Hurley with Grundy thrown in will be terrible. As someone out of the loop that's almost inconceivable Basketball will be nowhere near as bad as baseball. Grundys been decent in basketball. But in the region tournament for baseball the three teams lost by a combined margin of 51-0, that’s including council forfeiting to PH Quote
Clippers#1 Posted July 9 Report Posted July 9 Baseball will be bad ... Basketball will be better.. Grundy was ok but lost a lot. Council, Hurley, and Twin Valley have been awful the past few years Quote
jeffro Posted July 10 Report Posted July 10 7 hours ago, redtiger said: Where its the middle of the cycle they had to piece a schedule together, theyre playing Grundys schedule with fill ins for Hurley and TV. They will join the SWD next season and play a full district schedule. Imo SG will be competitive every season, but idk how successful. Making it out of Region is a tough task and doesnt look to be getting any easier with RV staying strong and a resurgent GC and Richlands. Really hope you’re right about Richlands resurgence but with the fiasco going on there I see big struggles ahead. Hate to the once proud program down as they are Quote
Wolf1207 Posted July 10 Report Posted July 10 I assume the wrestling program should be pretty good. All of Grundy’s success I assume will transfer. As for football, Union and RV both took about 3 years to become what they are today. I’m going to say that would be a fair measuring stick. Plus, didn’t they have a lot of success with consolidated middle school team last year. Quote
honestjohn Posted July 10 Report Posted July 10 19 hours ago, Stelley said: Idk man. I know we’ve had this debate 3 or 4 times already but I still just don’t think they will be very successful the first couple of years. Not very much debate that Baker is the best basketball coach and Compton is the best baseball coach in SWVA. And they wouldn’t be able to turn around SG programs very quickly. Baker might not have had pure basketball players but can work with having kids with great athleticism. Compton had less talent than usual but still had a group of kids that were athletic and knew the basics, which is basically being taught by the time they can hold a bat in Lebanon. And all of those schools that are consolidating athletic ability is very few and far between. Theres only two games on that schedule that I’d put them as the favorites and I’d put the Tazewell odds at pick ‘em.It’s just going to be a Grundy team plus one guy from each of the other schools. The same Grundy team that won 4 games last year and two were against teams they’re now consolidated with. I’ll gladly eat my words if I’m wrong but I just don’t see it Most likely you will have to eat your words. Quote
honestjohn Posted July 10 Report Posted July 10 9 hours ago, Wolf1207 said: I assume the wrestling program should be pretty good. All of Grundy’s success I assume will transfer. As for football, Union and RV both took about 3 years to become what they are today. I’m going to say that would be a fair measuring stick. Plus, didn’t they have a lot of success with consolidated middle school team last year. They did have a little success with Middle School, thumped Union, Ridgeview, Central. Was supposed to play VA High 3 times and they backed out all 3, lost to Pikeville 18-14, Belfry 20-14 and if you know anything about Pikeville and Belfry that is nothing to be ashamed off. Quote
Unchained Posted July 10 Report Posted July 10 53 minutes ago, honestjohn said: They did have a little success with Middle School, thumped Union, Ridgeview, Central. Was supposed to play VA High 3 times and they backed out all 3, lost to Pikeville 18-14, Belfry 20-14 and if you know anything about Pikeville and Belfry that is nothing to be ashamed off. 10 hours ago, Wolf1207 said: I assume the wrestling program should be pretty good. All of Grundy’s success I assume will transfer. As for football, Union and RV both took about 3 years to become what they are today. I’m going to say that would be a fair measuring stick. Plus, didn’t they have a lot of success with consolidated middle school team last year. Not always a safe assumption. When Central was formed, I thought with all the success at JJK plus some more athletes from Pound in baseball, the Warriors would be a juggernaut. They have been mediocre on the diamond since the get:( cityofRaven 1 Quote
honestjohn Posted July 10 Report Posted July 10 2 hours ago, Unchained said: Not always a safe assumption. When Central was formed, I thought with all the success at JJK plus some more athletes from Pound in baseball, the Warriors would be a juggernaut. They have been mediocre on the diamond since the get:( Never know what any team is going to do until they take the field Fairlawncat and Unchained 1 1 Quote
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