Clintwood vs Galax, State Championship Predictions

Galax has a very powerful offense but Castlewood was able to take the lead early, and I mean early in their playoff game so I think Clintwood's offense should do a little better than they have the past couple of weeks and also, Galax has scored under 40 twice and beat Grayson County, a game that was a nighmare for Clintwood early in the year. Galax has only played and beat 3 teams with a winning record and only scored under 40 twice the whole year.
This is not the same Clintwood team that played Grayson County. Clintwood still has a really good defense that bent some yesterday but did not break. I do not believe Galax will put up 40 on Clintwood. The key will be for Clintwood to get some offense going and not have to wait until second half. If Clintwood hits them hard and continues to cause turnovers, I see them bringing that state title home.
There is not anyway possible Im going against Clintwood and for the ones that have been saying Clintwood will get beat, please continue on. You have to be right some time and you may get one prediction right out of 3 or 4.
Clintwood 34 Galax 28
See you in Salem!!!! GO GREEN!!!

Not a prediction, but here's a repost of some info on Galax I posted on SWVASports. Saturday vs. Lunenburg Central was the first time I had seen them.

On offense Galax ran mainly out of two base formations-- a one-back set with two TEs and what looks like an offset I-form but the FB/H-Back is close to the LOS. They will use a fair amount of motion with the TEs and the WRs. In the run game, they called a lot of slow-developing stuff like delayed handoffs and stretch plays.

Galax's big WR Deion George killed LC in the first half. He scored their first three TDs--the first two on deep balls down the sideline, then caught a fade in the red zone for the third. Why LC kept trying to cover him one-on-one with a small DB I have no clue. The QB has a decent arm.

LC's offense was double wing (i.e. the wing-T with both WBs on the line) with mostly two TEs, occasionally with one wideout. When LC used two TEs, Galax put all 11 defenders within 5 yards of the ball---basically a 7-4 front--and blew up a lot of their plays at the line of scrimmage. LC had some receivers open off play action and their QB often made the right read but didn't have much velocity on his throws, allowing Galax's defenders to recover and break up passes. I'd bet Galax will use something similar vs. Clintwood's power run game.

I haven't seen Clintwood but they should be able to hold their own against Galax's run game. Their RBs Vaughn and Peoples were not as quick or fast as I thought they would be. The key will be whether the Greenwave can stop the pass, as Galax has a 2nd big WR in addition to George.

If the folks from Clintwood don't mind, some of us older guys would like the "Mean Green" to start a little earlier.;) My work is keeping me from catching many games and even on the radio, this might be a little too much excitement. You have played together and thru some things. The season has been good , now time for the final game. Good Luck.

Clintwood has been twice since 08 and came up short. 3rd time is the charm. The kids have ice veins and know what to expect watching in 07 and 08. Clintwood has playoff experience. Clintwood stays calm. That will pay off. Idc what Galax has, its Clintwoods to lose, a team doesnt come up short 3 times. Clintwood will bring it home.

Greenwave 20 (2 TDs and 2 FGs Clintwood has been inside the redzone past 2 weeks so I give them 2 FG)
Maroon Tide 14

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Originally Posted by gchs_devils

a team doesnt come up short 3 times.

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I hate to bring this up, I really do, but Burton came up short 4 times in the past 10 years - 04, 05, 06, and 09 - so that simply isn't true. I do have faith in Clintwood, though. This is a group of determined players and they've came out on top these past two weeks despite being the underdogs. Better yet, they keep improving week in and week out and they've stayed relatively healthy, QB aside. I'm confident they can do it again this week if they keep mistakes and turnovers to a minimum and wear Galax out.

I am a Greenwave through and through but my objective analysis based upon what I have seen this team do all season is this: Clintwood will be able to stop Galax's run game allday long. Clintwood will also be able to move the ball with 3 and 4 yard carries at a time with a better run here and there. However, Clintwood's D is not designed nor set up to stop a good deep passing attack. We saw that last year against EM and this year Clintwood's defensive backs are small and young with Dahley being out. Clintwood may be able to slow Galax's passing game but they won't be able to shut it down. Clintwood will have to keep it within a touchdown going into the 4th quarter to win. All this being said I will never go against the LPD. Clintwood 28 Galax 27.

I think that Clintwood will have a chance to win this game. We just need to make sure that we play our style of game play as mentally sound as we have been the past two weeks and dont beat ourselves. Looks as though we have another big size advantage, but Galax is able to pass and as we all know here CW is not the best coverage team around albeit we have gotten better. It will be a hard fought game in Salem and whoever wins will earn it. I am very proud to be a Greenwave they have exceeded everyones expectations including mine for this season. No matter how it goes they need to keep their head held high.

CW wins another close one and ends another undefeated season in the process!!

Whose home/away? Doesnt it flip flop each year? With the new system, how does it work now. Also I think tbe Goochland/Gretna game will be a good one. Gretna is hard to beat at State and Goochland being in A for the first year after dropping, should be one for the ages. Gretna 34 Goochland 31

Wel having seen CW three time in person and scouted Galax twice its a toss up. Most of these kids are the same one that won State in Basketball last year and are big athletes, long,lean and speedy also their head coach is a former NFL lineman with the Miami Dolphins I think this is his 3rd year, last year they lost to EM in regional finals. Castlewood scored first cause they recovered a Galax fumble and scored on a pass, then nothing else until late. They aren't as sppedy as Sussex but have same quickness and better specila teams and coaching.Talked to a few people who said Meade is hurting again from the knee injury so that isn't going to help.
If the Greenwave can keep Galax under 21 pts then they can win, and its essentially a home game for Galax since salem will be an hour ride away they can have a normal day, go to school, practice at home,sleep in their own beds Friday and not have to travel. That is a reason I wish the Coaches association would petition to flip start time for D1 and D2 games every other year, if it was a 4 pm start Clintwood could travel Saturday morning.

Ive not seen Galax play but i have seen the Green Wave play. Everything i have said about clintwood has come to pass. They have more heart than any team I have seen this season and they have proven that our timeless style of hit em in the chin football CAN win against speed teams. The biggest difference in htis game is Galax is used to hitting and getting hit, they aint an eastern team that cant take the punishment play after play. IMO Clintwood is going to have to do something they have not done all season, jump on Galax early! I dont think the wave can afford to let Galax score first and play from behind. I think it will be a wonderful ball game to watch and IMO it proves that the two best teams are in the WEST

No one ever said how the home teams would be determined this year.
Their pairings page has the AA & AAA matchups listed as away vs. home, so assuming they have A listed that way, too, then the home teams will be Galax & Goochland... both of which are the highest remaining seeds (#1).

I watched a few clips on Galax, I dont see anything impressive, kinda fast but not really, dont hit, small line, idk how they made it this far. Decent passing game but with CW's D line bringing the pressure I dont think it will matter. You hit the brothers in the mouth they will quit. I change my prediction. Clintwood 24 Galax 7

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Originally Posted by gchs_devils

I watched a few clips on Galax, I dont see anything impressive, kinda fast but not really, dont hit, small line, idk how they made it this far. Decent passing game but with CW's D line bringing the pressure I dont think it will matter. You hit the brothers in the mouth they will quit. I change my prediction. Clintwood 24 Galax 7

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I watched some video on them on youtube and they do look very small, but fast. I remember back when I was playing and started playing GC again they had a bunch of small, tall and fast guys and killed us. I really do believe CW has a great chance, but Galax also earned the right to be there as well I dont see it as a blowout but a hard fought game and whoever makes the least mistakes takes home the prize!

i said defense wins,they have never saw a defence as good as clintwood has,thay have few receivers that are tall,but we can stay with there speed,i say,just like ever other team we played in playoffs,hit em hard,we win,i think Galax belongs in state championship,Clintwoods wins,LPD Pride,,,,GO BIG GREEN

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Originally Posted by VHSLhelper

No one ever said how the home teams would be determined this year.
Their pairings page has the AA & AAA matchups listed as away vs. home, so assuming they have A listed that way, too, then the home teams will be Galax & Goochland... both of which are the highest remaining seeds (#1).

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I believe they determine the home team by switching yearly like they used to do before the neutral site. So if we still played games like before neutral site Galax could be coming to Ralph Cummins if it were the east's turn to host. Of course they may have changed it with the new seeding system.

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Originally Posted by TheBeast

I believe they determine the home team by switching yearly like they used to do before the neutral site. So if we still played games like before neutral site Galax could be coming to Ralph Cummins if it were the east's turn to host. Of course they may have changed it with the new seeding system.

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Galax would have been a West team though.

Clintwood has proven on two seperate occasions durring these playoffs that they can handle speed by hitting em in the chin. Call me bias, but I love hard hitting football. Its what I grew up on and its what I believe in. Im goin to ride with the smash mouth team till the end. I feel like if a team can hit hard no matter the score then they will win. I feel like Clintwood will pull off the win due to hard hitting, slobber knocking, GOOD OLE BOY football. Clintwood 21 Galax 14

Just a quick check of the weather tells you that it could be a factor in the game. It's gonna be COLD folks. Per weather.com currently, the projected high is going to be 39 and partly cloudy. Only an 8 mph breeze expected, but you know how stuff like that can funnel through a stadium and bring the temp down another 5-6 degrees. The turf may be slick just from the cold, and any of the hard licks that either team puts on the other are going to sting a little more than normal. Only 10% chance of precipitation, but who knows.

Salem Weekend Weather Forecast - weather.com

You obviously watched old footage. Galax has burned every team they faced with speed, passing and solid tackling. They have been vastly under sized in the past 3 games. Honaker was the biggest sized team they faced all year and Lunenburg average lineman weight was 235. Give credit where credit is deserved, Galax turned it around last year and are playing some amazing football. Galax has several advantages against Clintwood. Athleticism, speed, PASSING, and a ex-NFL player turned coach. No doubt this game as much hype but Galax will not be stopped. These brothas want get hit in the mouth because you aint gonna catch'em and if you do then Deon George will burn you for a 50yd TD in the air. Galax 42 > Clintwood 14

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Originally Posted by homerun15

Deon George will burn you for a 50yd TD in the air. Galax 42 > Clintwood 14

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If Galax can keep there QB in 1 piece that is ;)

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Originally Posted by homerun15

Deon George will burn you for a 50yd TD in the air. Galax 42 > Clintwood 14

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42 pts. off one 50yd. td catch? damn, Galax is good. maybe Clintwood can get one 50yd. run and tie it up, then score a td in overtime and win 84-42.

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Originally Posted by 1inStripes

Galax would have been a West team though.

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That's what I meant with the new seeding system you can get what we have with two west teams and no switching. So I would imagine higher seed gets to wear home colors, other than that it don't matter with the neutral site.

No doubt Clintwood is big and apparently hits hard, that is just smash mouth football, who doesn?t like that. Galax is undersized, not that fast, poor tackling, no run defense. It appears to be a no brainer; Galax is the weaker team,the underdog, and should lose. No pressure on undefeated Galax, this is their first trip in football. Clintwood However, 3rd trip in 4 years and the much bigger hard hitting team should win. Galax is not an underdog according to this message board and others, they simply arent that good and beat weak teams. So if Galax wins it appears it will be the biggest upset ever, Clintwood losing to a small, soft hitting team would be total embarrassment.

It will be cool watching coach Mark Dixon on the sidelines with some of his ex-Miami Dolphin team mates supporting the Tide.

Galax deserves praise for making it this far just like Clintwood does. Both teams have won games that everyone figured they wouldnt and both teams are deserving of where they are. My biggest point to be made is this, heart goes a long way and the Wave have proven there heart. Back in week one through week three nobody (including me) would have ever thought Clintwood would be playing for this season's championship. When playoffs hit nobody (including me) figured Clintwood would make it past some of the teams they beat, but after beating George Wythe (preseason and most of the regular season top pick for A D1) and then going to Sussex and not only winning but shutting down for the most part what was one of Virginia's top offenses in D1 I feel that the Green Wave have more than proven that they are capable of winning any given game any given week. The Wave have faced the doubters face on and proved them to be wrong. Its been said for years that SWVA's style of football cant handle the speed game of up east and that our "out of date" plays and coaching cant do what it takes to win consistantly. That point was proven with the losses by Clintwood to Buffalo Gap, JIB to Franklin and other eastern schools over the past 10 years as well as Appalachia's loss to William Cambell and Powell Valley's loss to Manassas Park (northern school but still...). Wait one minute though, Buffalo Gap out numbered Clintwood and is now D2 where they should have been then. Same goes for William Cambell. That still leaves the Manassas Park victory and JIB's short comings to explain away. Simple, Manassas Park was just a better team that day than Powell Valley was, and Powell Valley ran the spread that season not the I. Lets face it JIB dont play smashmouth football so their losses dont even add into this equation of Smash mouth vs Speed. Take into concideration the State Championships won in the last 10 years in D1 and D2 and 70% if not more were won by hard hitting teams. Gatecity, Gretna, Buffalo Gap, and so on..... these teams were run it down your throat type teams not finesse speed teams. Manassas Park is one of the few speed teams to win. Franklin bashes the ball up the gut. It looks to me that the numbers are in favor for the team that is bigger stronger and has more heart. We know that clintwood is bigger than Galax and stronger than Galax. We also know Clintwood wont lay down, they have the heart to play no matter the score. My questions are, can Galax take getting hit over and over and over no matter the score? Can they score if Clintwood controlls the ball? and can Galax stop two of the biggest backs in the state? To me it comes down to Clintwood not getting rattled and playing Clintwood football. If the Wave can controll the ball and both lines of scrimage (which they did against George Wythe and Sussex) then I see no reason why the LPD wont be the home of yet another State Champion team

Actually William Campbell is D1 still. They are similar in size to Eastside.

Also weren't most of the teams JIB played 2-3 times their size and would be D2 now also?

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Originally Posted by homerun15

No doubt Clintwood is big and apparently hits hard, that is just smash mouth football, who doesn’t like that. Galax is undersized, not that fast, poor tackling, no run defense. It appears to be a no brainer; Galax is the weaker team,the underdog, and should lose. No pressure on undefeated Galax, this is their first trip in football. Clintwood However, 3rd trip in 4 years and the much bigger hard hitting team should win. Galax is not an underdog according to this message board and others, they simply arent that good and beat weak teams. So if Galax wins it appears it will be the biggest upset ever, Clintwood losing to a small, soft hitting team would be total embarrassment.

It will be cool watching coach Mark Dixon on the sidelines with some of his ex-Miami Dolphin team mates supporting the Tide.

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Hello Bobby!

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Originally Posted by TheBeast

Also weren't most of the teams JIB played 2-3 times their size and would be D2 now also?

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Only Riverheads that I can think of. I think Riverheads and Buffalo Gap were both D2 now. Franklin, William Campbell and Altavista I believe are all D1 still.

most of the teams that JIB played are still D1. You are correct about William Cambell. But that still brings us to the point that its been the "up the gut" nard nosed teams that won. As i mentioned the other schools are bigger and that was there biggest edge. Now with the playoffs the way they are the schools are even sized and more fair. But the point of the message is that its the Grinding teams that win not the finesse teams. Over 70% of the state champions in D1 and D2 in the past 10 years play Clintwoods (and the rest of the LPD) style ball. Its not the finesse speed teams that win the most, its the power teams that win. Thats why my faith is in the Greeen Wave to win due to power football.

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Originally Posted by 1inStripes

Only Riverheads that I can think of. I think Riverheads and Buffalo Gap were both D2 now. Franklin, William Campbell and Altavista I believe are all D1 still.

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Riverheads plays hard hitting ball, Buffalo Gap and Ole Pickle Nicholes ran between the tackles, Franklin and Devon Babbs ran right at ya, Altavista im not sure of how they played and William Campbell was a speed team. Gatecity is a smashmouth team, Gretna played like we always do hard hitting. So hard hitting teams tend to win these games.

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Originally Posted by usmale354

i said defense wins,they have never saw a defence as good as clintwood has,thay have few receivers that are tall,but we can stay with there speed,i say,just like ever other team we played in playoffs,hit em hard,we win,i think Galax belongs in state championship,Clintwoods wins,LPD Pride,,,,GO BIG GREEN

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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

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Originally Posted by musiqsdestiny

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

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Three D1 scouts per game? Which players are these 30+ D1 schools scouting? That's impressive...

A true "sports analyst" would use proper punctuation (hell punctuation period) and not misspell seventy thousand words.

Its okay, we know you are a Galax fan getting on here talking shit. If you had read the thread, most people on here were predicting a very tight game or even a Galax win.

Reading comprehension FTL

Actually all these post show Galax losing, and the sports analyst ???? made a great comment that no one has acknowledged and that is Grayson using speed beat Clintwood 61-6 and Galax did beat Grayson 21-6 on what coach Dixon called one of their worst games of the season. Not bad beating the previously ranked #1 team on a bad night. I understand that teams have bad games but 61-6 proves that speed is their worst enemy. And that is true about D-1 scouts, 6'4 Deon George wide receiver is being recruited by top ACC schools. 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.

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Originally Posted by homerun15

and the sports analyst ???? made a great comment that no one has acknowledged and that is Grayson using speed beat Clintwood 61-6

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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.

musiqsdestiny
Please help me out a little. I know Galax has a great football team. I hope your correct about the D1 schools looking at a few of the guys they surely look good on paper. There is one statement that I would like for you to clear up for me and the other folks on this message board. You said Galax destroyed two Double A teams;who are they I looked at the schedule on Max Preps and I see Glenvar, East Mont, Radford, Craig County, Fort Chiswell, Graham, Narrows, Bland, Grayson County, Holston and Lunenburg Central. I think all these schools are Single A please correct me if I'm wrong.
As far as the size goes Clintwood is a large team Ol goes 358, 215, 220, 229, 339, 192 about a 258 average across the line backfield goes 195, 234, 172 Wides are smallish
Clintwood's has a very solid defense 136,150,193,195,208,234,178,192,170,209,339 around a 200 average they can go bigger at times all the kids for Clintwood can and will tackle IMO they have one of the better front 8 or 9 that I have seen or the past 10 or 15 years
Im not predicting anything as far as wins and loses go but I can promise you the kids from Clintwood will play hard and with tons of heart

I forgot about the Grayson County game. Yes they absolutely destroyed Clintwood. Grayson played the best game they played all year and Clintwood played the worst game they have played in many moons. A butt kickin is a butt kickin and we (Clintwood) sure took one that night but the key to being a great team is coming together and getting better when you get your tails handed to you. Coach Mullins has done a great job IMO this team has improved every week after the Grayson County game.

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Originally Posted by homerun15

Actually all these post show Galax losing, and the sports analyst ???? made a great comment that no one has acknowledged and that is Grayson using speed beat Clintwood 61-6 and Galax did beat Grayson 21-6 on what coach Dixon called one of their worst games of the season. Not bad beating the previously ranked #1 team on a bad night. I understand that teams have bad games but 61-6 proves that speed is their worst enemy. And that is true about D-1 scouts, 6'4 Deon George wide receiver is being recruited by top ACC schools. 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.

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LOL 2 more FACTS for you GW and Sussex are BOTH FASTER than Galax.......CW will be the fastest team Galax has seen in the playoffs.

(If CW plays to the same level they did vs Grayson than they will lose.........IF Galax plays at the same level they did vs Glenvar than they will lose)

Hey musiqdestiny( sp)! Im a sports Analyst ...Bigggin is a sports analyst, so is Counts, Ironlung, R13, Rock, and the rest of the regulars. This is a sports forum..thats what you do on here. You however do not impress me!! Do you seriously think we would pick against Clintwood? One because we want to see them win and two they are from this area. Yeah, we are a little biased...so what, but we all gave intelligent comments why we think Clintwood would win.....any intelligent person that knows sports believes this will be a close game and only a couple have said blowouts which for me I do not think will happen. Just go on back to your little forum in central va, do not get so up tight redneck on us down here, enjoy the game Saturday, be safe driving home and continued succes in your sports analogies of high school teams! Love ya!!

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Originally Posted by sambobird9

musiqsdestiny
Please help me out a little. I know Galax has a great football team. I hope your correct about the D1 schools looking at a few of the guys they surely look good on paper. There is one statement that I would like for you to clear up for me and the other folks on this message board. You said Galax destroyed two Double A teams;who are they I looked at the schedule on Max Preps and I see Glenvar, East Mont, Radford, Craig County, Fort Chiswell, Graham, Narrows, Bland, Grayson County, Holston and Lunenburg Central. I think all these schools are Single A please correct me if I'm wrong.
As far as the size goes Clintwood is a large team Ol goes 358, 215, 220, 229, 339, 192 about a 258 average across the line backfield goes 195, 234, 172 Wides are smallish
Clintwood's has a very solid defense 136,150,193,195,208,234,178,192,170,209,339 around a 200 average they can go bigger at times all the kids for Clintwood can and will tackle IMO they have one of the better front 8 or 9 that I have seen or the past 10 or 15 years
Im not predicting anything as far as wins and loses go but I can promise you the kids from Clintwood will play hard and with tons of heart

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I see one of those teams was Carroll County is AA. Think this is an annual game between these two teams and Galax crushed them in their first game from what I hear. Much like Grayson County, Carrol County is a rivalry game in Football and basketball according to a friend I know who lives down that way. So I can see one AA team there, not sure who the other AA team is that musigsdestiny referred to in his/her post.