Predictions for 08.29.2008

Just some thoughts...

<u>Appalachia vs JI Burton</u>
The games between the Dawgs and the Raiders over the past few years have been pretty one-sided with the Raiders dominating. I don't see much changing this year. Appy hosts Norton after a tough loss to Castlewood. JIB has yet to see the toughest part of the schedule but gets another decisive win.

<u>JJ Kelly vs Pound</u>
The Indians make the short drive across the mountain to Pound to face one of the more challenging Wildcat teams they've seen in a few years. Crabtree has gone on record as stating that no team will be bigger or stronger than his Wildcats this year, but I think the Indians will still be too much for the Cats.

<u>Powell Valley vs Lebanon</u>
GAME OF THE WEEK - LPD vs the CMD, DIV II style. With the recent drop from Div II to Div I by several schools in Southwest Virginia, and the move by Lebanon and Gate City in the Clinch Mountain District, the Div II picture in Region D has changed considerably. Lebanon has established themselves as one of the better football schools in this area, and no team has ever been more successful in this area than the Vikings. After the close game with Honaker, some may be looking at the Pioneers and thinking they are overrated. I think that would be a mistake for any team on their schedule. If they play as well as they did in pre-season, they can give a good challenge to any team in the Region and could very well be competing in the Region D playoffs in November. The Vikings travel to Lebanon at the beginning of a major re-building year. A win over the Pioneers would really bring some much-needed momentum, and a loss could set the tone for a disappointing season by Viking standards. I think this will be a close game with the Pioneers getting a very hard-fought win.

<u>Thomas Walker at Castlewood</u>
Castlewood goes into Week 2 with a convincing win last week over Appalachia. In the pre-season, Thomas Walker was predicted by some to finish second ahead of Castlewood in the district but took a 46-19 beating last week at the hands of an impressive Cumberland Gap team. This could turn out to be one of the better CD games of the year.

<u>Coeburn vs Ervinton</u>
Touted as the pre-season favorite to win the Cumberland District in their second year in the CD, the Blue Knights took a beating last week. The Rebels, unfortunately, won't be tough competition for the Knights in this game. Knights dominate.

<u>Twin Valley vs St. Paul</u>
St. Paul comes back home after suffering a 42-7 loss at the hands of Holston last week. Twin Valley was shut out last week by Bland County 33-0. This game could be painful to watch.

<u>Honaker vs Richlands</u>
How do you re-build and replace a player like Logan Ball? Tough challenge for any team. The challenge doesn't get any easier when you play Richlands on their home field. Should be a good game, but I think Richlands still has enough to get the win here.

<u>Gate City vs Tazwell</u>
Riding high after their win over Richlands, the Blue Devils, ranked preseason as the number 1 team in Southwest Virginia, travel to Tazewell to face a team who bring some momentum of their own following a very close 21-19 win over George Wythe. Sounds like a good game to me! I think the Blue Devils will solidify their standing and prove why they made it to the state championship game last year.

JI Burton travels to Appy, and its the Clinch Mtn. District. Not the Cumberland MTN District. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

Sorry... I'll correct that.

J.J.Kelly 28 Pound 13- when Crabtree said that the Cats could surprise some folks if they were looking past them,he was referring to JJK IMO. Kelly has a showdown looming with Burton next week,and the TRIBE has a history of being flat in games like this. They'll be in a battle for a bit before waking up and rumbling past the Cats.


Lebanon 14 Powell Valley 13-game of the night IMO (one of those brutal to pick games).


J.I. Burton 44 Appalachia 8 -lots of growing pains for the young pups from Appy.


Castlewood 35 Thomas Walker 6-Devils aren't going to burn me this week.

Coeburn 40 Ervinton 7 Hail the preseason picks to win the mighty CD [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]

Gate City 28 Tazewell 19 Tazewell lost the ability to sneak up on GC last week by upending GW. The Devils will be ready.

St. Paul 21 Twin Valley 8- you'd think that a consolidated school would have a decent team every now and then-not these hapless Panthers.

Richlands 28 Honaker 20-should be a dandy of a game.

By the numbers, the Pound O-Line could be the biggest any team will face this year. But, it takes more than size. Time will tell if the Cats can get some momentum going their way and surprise some teams.

Next week should be a good one between the Indians and Raiders.


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Indian_Dad</div><div class="ubbcode-body">J.J.Kelly 28 Pound 13- when Crabtree said that the Cats could surprise some folks if they were looking past them,he was referring to JJK IMO. Kelly has a showdown looming with Burton next week,and the TRIBE has a history of being flat in games like this. They'll be in a battle for a bit before waking up and rumbling past the Cats. </div></div>

wise owns...ftw

I agree with all the Lebanon--PV assessments. I think this game is going to be a great one to watch!

pound is big but they don't have a lot of muscles besides bolling IMO!
guess we will have to see come friday!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Indian_15</div><div class="ubbcode-body">pound is big but they don't have a lot of muscles besides bolling IMO!
guess we will have to see come friday! </div></div>

Reading the paper they sound HUGE however there picture did not seem to back up the claims of that size

I do think Pound will be a tougher game than they were last season but Wise may be the most improved team in the District if not the region

Pound probably will still have one of the biggest lines around ...but we all know that the coaches add an inch or 2 and few extra pounds to those things

Bolling is a heck of a player. He would be an all-district candidate IMO.

I expect to see a lot from JJK's passing and running game.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Indian_15</div><div class="ubbcode-body">pound is big but they don't have a lot of muscles besides bolling IMO!
guess we will have to see come friday! </div></div>

Those numbers are from the physical forms

Poor Appalachia, of course kudos to Norton. They will tear Appy apart, one thing for sure is Appy never loses it's pride, one of the reasons they keep their loyal fans season after season. 12 or so seniors left last year, it's pretty much a 9/10th grade team, and many 9th graders who are amazing kept to JV. Not getting into that can of worms, but hopefully within a few seasons the Dogs will be up there again.

the season started down there already? up here kids cant start practice until 8/15 games start mid sept

Things definitely haven't been going Appy's way for the past few years. I can recall back in the 70's and 80's when Appy was the one game on your schedule you dreaded most.


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dawgsthrive</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Poor Appalachia, of course kudos to Norton. They will tear Appy apart, one thing for sure is Appy never loses it's pride, one of the reasons they keep their loyal fans season after season. 12 or so seniors left last year, it's pretty much a 9/10th grade team, and many 9th graders who are amazing kept to JV. Not getting into that can of worms, but hopefully within a few seasons the Dogs will be up there again. </div></div>

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BlueWahooChambor</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the season started down there already? up here kids cant start practice until 8/15 games start mid sept </div></div>

This is the second week in VA.

Very true, I just hope for a good season soon. I've got a brother in JV this year, those 8th graders this year are tough and have heart, I really expect something out of Varsity next year.
The players for the past few years just seem not to care about the game but more about having a jersey on their back, not true for all but most.

indian_dad TV is a consolidated school but still has an enrollment under 200

So the enrollment is similar to Norton which manages to stay competitive year after year?

Norton, like Gate City and Powell Valley, has the bulk of their players that live in close proximity to the school. That is not the case for the smaller rural schools. It makes a bigger difference than you think.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Indian_Dad</div><div class="ubbcode-body">So the enrollment is similar to Norton which manages to stay competitive year after year? </div></div>

It is also close to the enrollment of Ervinton who may be unable to field a team in another Month


It is my understanding that TV with basketball is going the road that Wise used to take in Baseball in that if you are a basketball player you WILL NOT be playing football

I'm not sure how some schools get into particular sports modes (football school, baseball school, basketball school, etc), but Twin Valley has always had more success in basketball and that seems to be where the interest is for the school and the community.

Don't think it will be a big factor, but I understand that Chris Dotson will be out for JJK until the Norton game.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Indian_15</div><div class="ubbcode-body">pound is big but they don't have a lot of
muscles besides bolling IMO!
guess we will have to see come friday! </div></div>

Wasn't too long ago TV was Garden...and they were more known for football.

Times have changed.

Twin Valley had a good run for the state championship in basketball in 2006, losing 51-49 to Clarke County who repeated in 2007.

I know that...all I am saying is that it went from being one to being the other.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sup-rbeast</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I know that...all I am saying is that it went from being one to being the other. </div></div>


There was a huge enrollment drop Garden back in our day was a Div 2 team and pretty dang good....enrollment started dropping and now we have a school that is about 1/2 the size Garden was 20 years ago

When the big coal operations left, this whole area saw a school population decrease.

my wifes nephew plays for TV she went to garden herself back in the days and yes where they put the school at back in the mountain they basically bus everyone in from whitewood and garden areas, and since coal is not that big alot of families left the area meaning no kids around there and it is easier to field a good basketball team with 11 or so kids then it is to field a football team with at least over 30 kids that u need to be competitive

Garden used to be good at football and decent at basketball. Plus, Whitewood was known for their basketball back in the day. TV had one of the best basketball players come back out for football this year, Garret Horne I believe is his name. He led them in rushing as a freshman I believe and didn't play last year, so they are happy to have him back I bet.

At a small school you have to share the athletes between programs in order to have anything.

No doubt. drake brought up the difference in where the students live in comparison to the school and that can make a huge difference. RC pulls kids that are almost an hour away and it is harder for kids like that to be there everyday, unlike kids that can walk to the weight room and practice fields.

I've seen both sides of it. IMO, at many small schools there isn't so much of a "lack of committment" as there is a "lack of a means to make a committment"

Very true. In rural areas and many parents trying to make ends meet, its hard to help their kids get shuttled to and fro for practice. For the most part RC hasn't had a terrible trouble with it, but it has cost them in depth in football IMO, and has caused issues with filling out baseball teams and such. Luckily my senior year, a few of us shuttled kids around and that helped us have close to 40 on the roster for football, the largest team I have known of at RC.

The Cove has it better than alot of small schools tho in that the population lives in clusters even though they are spread out. That kinda makes it easier for most kids to find a ride to the field house. When the players live in BFE scattered in 15 different directions, you can't even do that.

Appalachia - 6
Burton - 48

Kelly - 42
Pound - 8

PV - 14
Lebanon - 22

TW - 13
Castlewood - 35

Coeburn - 36
Ervinton - 0

TV - 12
St. Paul - 21

Honaker - 14
Richlands - 36

Gate City - 42
Tazwell - 14

Clintwood - 28
Haysi - 7

Burton over Appy by 50 - I think Jimbo will run it up on the Dawgs alittle and may try working on his passing game

Kelly over Pound by 35 - I do think Pound has improved but Kelly may be the darkhorse in the LPD with a solid D and a Balanced russing/passing attack the Indans will be WAY to much for the wildcats

Lebanon over PV by 14 - Both teams are very strong programs and both go into this game 1-0 but neather had a very good showing last week.....The Lebanon folk belive that they can shut down PVs offence much better than Lee did last week and if they stick to there ground attack they will put up some points

Castlewood over TW by 21 - Castlewood is pretty goot TW had records set on them last Friday you do the math

Coeburn over Ervinton by 45 - It could be worse but I think Coeburn will pull back to keep there teams healthy

St Paul over TV by 2 - Both teams are at low points of there programs if it were possable to pick against both I would

Richlands over Honaker by 21 - I can't help but think Richlands will bounce back from there Gate City beating and while Honaker played Lebanon closer than expected I do not look for that to be the case this week

Gate City over Tazwell by 28 - Gate City looks to be SWVAs Top team this season and while they will have a big bullseye on there back they tend to wear it well

Clintwood over Haysi by 28 - Haysi is a tough team and Sandlick is a tough place to play but I think Clintwood will just be to much for the Tigers

Dang Counts........you have enough money to cover the spread?? LOL! If we were gambling, I would take some of this action.

Which game do you think is out of line?

The GC Tazwell game could be closer if Colbro goes into ultra consertive mode as he is prone to do at times and The CW Haysi could be closer if Clintwood come out slow and alows Haysi to stay in the game early and the Norton Appy Game could be closer if Norton Pulls all there starters early in the game other than that all things being equil everything looks good to me

I'll take PV and 14...