Clintwood vs Galax, State Championship Predictions

[1inStripes]

The running back and the 6'6 defensive end have small D-1 schools like JMU and Emory scouting them. I love the fact that nearly everyone is downing Galax.

Wow, I didnt know I was a D1 athlete.....

[sambobird9]

I dont think they played Carroll County I believe they the schedule is correct in my post Craig County according to MAX PREP and WDBJ7. Grayson County played CC they beat them 26 to 19 I think. Who ever musiqdestiny is I think he or she has drank a little too much Galax cool-aid as I have drank a little to much Clintwood cool-aid at times too!!

[Bostic]

I'm a sports Analyst and Its clear with some of the messages I reading right now that you all haven't done ANY true research on Galax High School's football team, cause if you did then you would know that Galax isn't undefeated by accident by no means. Let me just quote some FACTS for all those who think that Clintwood is just going to show up and rule this game...Galax has beaten 2 Double A schools this year and has held like 8 opponents under 10 points this season and what you all DON'T know is if it wasn't for the head coach taking the starters out for the most part at the START of the 2nd half then they very well probably would have held EVERY team they've played this year under 10pts...HERES SOME FACT FOR YOU ALL: 92% of the points scored on Galax this year was AFTER coach Dixon took his starters out, and also another News flash, Galax HAS played teams with the size that Clintwood has both Double A schools that Galax played this year were just as big IF NOT bigger then Clintwood and The Maroon Tide took both those teams to the woodshed!! And the biggest FACT I want to bring to the GreenWaves attention that NONE of you all seem to be wanting to acknowledge is that Grayson County's "speed" blew you all out with a 61-6 victory believe....And Galax beat Grayson 21-6 which would of been worse considering Galax had 3 touchdowns called back on bogus penalties that even Grayson fans are saying were bogus! Grayson was a team who was #1 in the STATE in scoring and Galax held them to 6 points and ALL of there running backs to under 50yrds rushing. Honaker, who runs a very simular smash mouth type offense as Clintwood has a running back who was averaging almost 200yrds a game and just came off of a playoff game in which he rushed for 298yrds, went down to Galax and was HELD to ONLY 43yrds rushing....30 of those yards came AFTER couch Dixon took the starters out!! And for those of you who think your Greenwave is just going to come and as you all say "hit them in the mouth" I have a sad news flash for you, Those Galax boys hit back!!...I've never seen anything like it, this Maroon Tide team almost seems to adjust and adapt in mid game. I have seen both Galax and Clintwood play and I can tell you right now that if the Greenwave thinks that there just going to show up and blow this team out then you all are really sadly mistaken. The Maroon Tide has more weapons then you all are really aware off, the only ones you all truly know about are a WR, a QB, and a RB...I can promise you there are a lot more...for crying out loud They are averaging 3 Div 1 Univeristies coming to the games per game...do you really think that they would be wasting there time driving all that way for a "weak team" you all seem to think they are, Galax has speed, power, strength and extrodinary IQ of the game.....Galax 47 Clintwood 12

I will also acknowledge Grayson County.......a very early season match up....rule of thumb is you improve with each game which obviously has happened. I dont see any double A teams on the schedule, but even if I did how many of those teams have WINNING records??? You will find very few. Not to mention they have had a fairly easy run in playoffs a 3-7 Holston first round, A Castlewood team that we know very well being from this area and they play in the Cumberland District. Honaker from the Black Diamond. The only challenge thus far should have been last weekend and it was not. The only team that has come close to the size of CW according to Galax own fans would have been Gleanvar and if you need to know the score of that it was 17-14 to a .500 team. So with that being said obviously they struggled with the size of Glenvar.

Galax Schedule:
1. Glenvar (5-5)
2. Floyd County (3-7)
3. East Mont. (2-7)
4. Radford (8-4)
5. Craig County (3-7)
6. Fort Chiswell (5-5)
7. Graham (4-6)
8. Narrows (0-9)
9. Bland-Rocky Gap (2-8)
10. Grayson County (10-2)

Playoffs:
1. Holston (3-7)
2. Castlewood (9-4) 24 pts scored against Galax!
3. Honaker (10-3)
4. Lunenburg Central (9-4)

Beating four winning teams throughout the season including playoffs?? With two of those playing from this area and CW knows very well about them I would have to definately give the strength of schedule contest to CW. Opening the season against prior season state runner-up and eventual State Champion this year. Then a tough Grayson County team with a team down by injuries. Football is a team sport and when you have alot of new starters it takes time to mesh, and when they did look what happened. See you tomorrow in Salem!

Oh and one other thing you said Mr./Miss Analyst that was an interesting point to me that I dont think anyone has mentioned. You said that pretty much your starters didnt play in the 2nd half. So they havent been in a 4qtr game all year? With the exception of week 1 13 weeks ago. So then conditioning of starters could come into play how will they handle having to play 4 qtrs being beat on for 4 qtrs? I am sure they are very well conditioned but if you are sitting for half a game and all of a sudden you have to take a beaten for 4 qtrs i dont care who you are it takes a toll on you.

[UnIoNfAn]

You want an acknowledgment, Ok. The first 4 weeks of the season Clintwood was garbage. They had 1 returning OL and the line play early was terrible. They also couldn't hold onto the ball. Add into that Meade (RB) broke his leg in game one and was playing 2 weeks later, plus Dotson (fb) was gimpy, and having 7 fumbles in the first half is the reason for the game/score. It had nothing to do with speed. Other than Rodriguez I didn't see anyone that was "fast". It was an avalanche of turnovers that came in about a 8-10 minute span that put a close game into the cooler before halftime. They couldn't even get the center/qb exchange correct that night.

I have to agree with you on this big time. At the begining of the season Clintwood wasnt what they are now. As for sports analyst go, how about all the teams that win championships who had weak first halfs of the season? That is not a rare occurance. Alot of teams loose early on and end up winning championships. Galax is good and rightfully deserve to be where they are but so does the Green Wave. Galax has won and done it very handily against some real good opponents but what about Clintwood? Nobody gave them a chance to beat a very good George Wythe team. GW was supposed to be playing this game not Clintwood. Then last week with Sussex Central everybody was saying how the Tigers won 88 to 8 and was going to put one on Clintwood just like that. "No way a team who isnt fast can handle Sussex" was the general thought last week but Clintwood proved them wrong. This week not much has changed, Galax is the top team and Clintwood is the underdog except here on this forum. Well this is Clintwood's district forum so what do ya expect? Galax is good and they have won games that proves that point but so is clintwood. I understand that Galax has a fast tall receiver that can burn Dbacks but can the line give the Qb time to get the ball to him over and over or will Clintwoods D line be in the backfeild more than they are used to?
As far as D1 scouts coming to the Galax games all season, thats awesome! Im glad they have them coming to see their kids. That dont mean as much as you think seeing that their head coach is a former NFL player. Im sure he knows how to get intouch with these guys and get em out there. Their has been alot of talent down here in Wise co that went overlooked because the coaches wouldnt help them out. Not to mention that Powell Valley have three to four times the scouts come to there games AFTER Thomas and Julius went to college. That dont mean much about them beating Clintwood. Clintwood has the biggest backfeild in the region and the most heart of any team I have seen this season. Sussex had em 8 to 0 and was handling the game pretty good but the Wave pressed on and won 17-8. Give the wave some credit folks they gothere by one hard road just like Galax has.

[TheBeast]

Wow, I didnt know I was a D1 athlete.....

Dang I wish Emory would have told me they were D1 on at least one the recruiting trips I made up there, I probly would have taken their offer and went there.

[gchs_devils]

Hahahaha and you LPD guys were riding my ass? Look at that bs they are talking. They obviously dont know who Clintwood is. They will learn quick. Clintwood will pack the house and be ready to rock some jocks. You know whats worse than a greenwave? A pissed off greenwave!! Emory D1? Bahahha. Try ncaa D3 you idiot. Gah this makes me want to go tmrw so badly.

[green&white]

All the trash talk reminds me of the good ole days on here. Carry on!

[homerun15]

My bad on Emory being D-1 the local paper posted incorrect as well. To make this clear Galax only played 1 AA school Carroll County and dismantled them. No doubt Galax has played some weak teams, but the past 3 games have been against winning records. Lunenberg who played several larger division schools like Buckingham, Amelia County, and Goochland none of these powerhouses beat Lunenberg like Galax did and the coach pulled the starters mid way in the 3rd. Whats a good game without some trash talking, tomorrow promises to be a good game.

[homerun15]

Thought I would post what Galax coach Mark Dixon stated in an interview yesterday:

This state championship will be settled between two solid, athletic, well-coached, well-rounded football teams. One just happens to be bigger than it is fast, and the other happens to be faster than it is big.

“There are two misconceptions, I think,” said Galax coach Mark Dixon. “Number one is that they don’t have speed, and number two is that you can wear us down. Those are the two things that I hear that I think are the most erroneous. They’re not going to wear us down and we’re not going to outrun them. I don’t see either thing happening. I think we’ll hang in there fine and I think they can cover anything we do. It’ll just come down to who plays better.

“The thing that strikes me first is how good they are defensively,” he said. “From reading about them I assumed that we’d be able to throw the ball, but it just doesn’t look like it’s there. They have good enough speed, especially at the corners, to cover our guys. And I don’t think it’s realistic to think we can pound it at them 25 or 30 times and average enough per run to keep their offense off the field.”

“I keep looking for an area to attack, but he’s such a good coach,” Dixon said. “He has his defense set up where his personnel matches up well. Any area you think you can go he’ll have somebody behind him who’s a stud.”

“I feel more pressure here than at any level I’ve ever played,” said the former Miami Dolphin. “I feel responsible for kids who have given me everything they have for two years, every day. There’s a ton of pressure not to let them down. I owe them the best I’ve got this Saturday.”

[CoeburnCane]

Well said by your coach. I'm sure Rick Mullins (HC at Clintwood) shares his sentiments.

When you get teams who get to this level, especially at 12-2 and 14-0, you get some fans who simply can't comprehend that their team could lose. I think we're seeing a bit of that on both sides of the coin. Clintwood folks of course think they won't lose, and have valid reasons. Same for Galax folks. When the two meet, tensions rise and some folks take offence...no need to do so.

I think it'll be one helluva game. There's been some great ones in Salem, and this one may be one of the better matchups yet.

The one thing I will say that's been overlooked is that this is THIS Galax squad (meaning the players') first time in the state title game. That could work against them. I know the first group of kids from Clintwood that I saw play Buffalo Gap a few years back had some major jitters and it showed on the field. You had guys miss chances to make plays that they hadn't missed all year long--it was inexplicable. They could have the best thing happen and have some quick success and never let down, but that's not normally how it goes for teams making a championship game debut. A bunch of these Clintwood kids were either at these prior state title game appearances as fans, or as very young players. They know the atmosphere, and some of them have been on the field for this game before. The nerves seem less likely to affect Clintwood than they will Galax.

One of my best buddies (my brother from another mother) lives down in Charlotte now, but is originally from Galax. We've talked a lil back and forth all week long, and it's been fun. Best of luck to BOTH squads tomorrow.