Parry McCluer Scrapes By Riverheads 44-40

[longtimerhsfan]

The points were hard to come by in this one tonight as it turned into a brutal defensive slugfest. By the end of the game, both teams were on the double bonus and at least two players fouled out.

Riverheads controlled most of the first quarter, the second quarter was dead even, and then in the second half, PM moved out to a small lead and held it most of the rest of the way. The Gladiators then made a run in the fourth quarter, coming back to tie the game at 39, but they just could not get the important hoop or defensive stop they needed to pull out the win.

If there was a bright spot for the Gladiators tonight, it was the continued improvement of freshman Drew Bond. He hit double figures for the fourth straight game and scored a career-high 15 points tonight, including two triples, one of which created the above-mentioned 39-39 tie. Point guard Brett Hostetler matched his 15 point total, but the major weakness for the Gladiators tonight was that no one else stepped up as a potential third scorer. The next highest in line was a four-point effort from Bradley Roberts.

In the JV game, there was sadly no big comeback for RHS tonight, as PM won that one also 55-41. The Gladiators were hit with two fouls on team-leader Braeson Fulton in the first minute and a half of the game, and then he got his third in the first 30 seconds of the third quarter. PM took advantage of him being out for long stretches of the game and built as much as an 18-point lead. Not to worry as the Junior Gladiators are still 7-3 on the season with a roster that is mainly eighth-graders.

I have to cut this short tonight to prepare for the Gladiators' next home game, which is tomorrow night against district rival Luray. They stuck with the Bulldogs for the first half up there, so maybe they can bounce back in this one.

 

[mmqp]

What is Riverheads varsity record now? PM goes to 3-11 on the season with this win. They started out 0-11 and have now won 3 straight.

 

[longtimerhsfan]

With tonight's loss to Luray, we are now 2-6 in district play and 2-9 overall. Like your Blues, we won our two games in a row when we beat Wilson at home in by far our best game of the season and then won the next game in overtime on the road at Stonewall Jackson. I had wondered last night what happened to this "worst Parry McCluer team in 25 years" as one of you had called them earlier in the season. From where I stand, they picked the wrong time to improve!

 

[mmqp]

LoL!!

Admittedly, I have not heard much about the Blues this season. I've been so busy with work that I just havent been keeping up with it like I used to. I did notice that they knocked off Covington the other night, which marked Covington's first loss in the district in two seasons. They had given Auburn a fight a few nights before that before bowing 44-42. But the info I have before then is sparse..I was not expecting 0-11, and I was not expecting 3 straight wins, especially not against Riverheads and Covington!

So I guess in theory, they could wind the season up around the .500 mark. They *should* sweep Bath, Highland and Craig for 5 of those wins (already beat Craig once) and then toss ups vs. Covington, Riverheads, and James River.

I assume Gap is playing pretty well this season? I think they beat PM by 25-ish earlier this season.

 

[longtimerhsfan]

Gap is something like 4-10 give or take. I know they beat us the first time around and they just beat Wilson last night. I assume they beat Stonewall but I don't recall any details. They did beat PM the first time by 20 I think it was. They have hung tough in some other games but they have not beaten anyone that would come as a big surprise. In their last two home games, they lost by 4 to Nelson and by 3 to James River. When RHS goes out there tomorrow night, it should be a good game.

 

[mmqp]

So to add some drama, the Blues relieved their head coach today :O

 

[Delantie]

I can almost bet the blues will like to add Mike Cartolaro as new head coach. Former Altavista head coach and 4 time State Champion.

 

[longtimerhsfan]

Why would they can the coach after a three-game winning streak? If they had fired him after starting out 0-11, I could understand but this doesn't make sense.

 

[mmqp]

No clue. Havent heard anything through the grapevine about it either.

I get the feeling it was something ticky tack though; as Delantie alluded to above, I'm sure the Blues would love to get Mike C on the bench there.

Bizarre regardless.

You guys get much snow on the west end of the state? We got 1/4 an inch here and it shut everyone down LOL.

 

[1referee]

There is an update on the PM removal in the little newspaper down that way. The coach says he was "blindsided" by the removal and that it was over a parent complaining about a lack of playing time for their son over the past month or so. He remains as a teacher at the school. Bo Tutt has come back to coach the remainder of the year. Just a blatant move to try and make way for Cartolaro to take the job next year in my mind. Only time will tell I guess.

 

[mmqp]

Okay, for what it's worth. I heard that the parent played "race" card. Perhaps it was warrented, perhaps it was not. I wasn't there, don't know the facts and that's as far as I will comment on it.

I thought the world of Jerry Bo Tutt when I was in school there and I wish him the best of luck the rest of the season!

 

[PaPaMoose]

There is an update on the PM removal in the little newspaper down that way. The coach says he was "blindsided" by the removal and that it was over a parent complaining about a lack of playing time for their son over the past month or so. He remains as a teacher at the school. Bo Tutt has come back to coach the remainder of the year. Just a blatant move to try and make way for Cartolaro to take the job next year in my mind. Only time will tell I guess.

 

[PaPaMoose]

I did not like the 0-11 record, but the team had responded with 3 wins in a row.

There is an update on the PM removal in the little newspaper down that way. The coach says he was "blindsided" by the removal and that it was over a parent complaining about a lack of playing time for their son over the past month or so. He remains as a teacher at the school. Bo Tutt has come back to coach the remainder of the year. Just a blatant move to try and make way for Cartolaro to take the job next year in my mind. Only time will tell I guess.

 

[mmqp]

Long time no see papamoose! Hope all is well!!

 

[longtimerhsfan]

I actually went to college with Bo Tutt, even though we were not even acquaintances. But when we started playing PM, I recognized the name instantly as one of Nelson Fox's assistants. When the news came out about Nelson retiring, I was shocked when Bo didn't get the job then.

 

[PaPaMoose]

Long time no see papamoose! Hope all is well!!

 

[PaPaMoose]

I think the school board did throw Coach Blevins under the bus.They sat him up to fail by hiring him to follow Fox. Why hire someone with no coaching experience. Was it MONEY? WHAT? MMQP, I like your post and they are honest. I wonder if any transfer papers from a certain PM kid had anything to with Blevins being let go? The kids were just starting to hit a stride and play well. I did not understand everything Blevins was trying to get across but I think the kids understood.Good luck to him for the future.

 

[mmqp]

I miss seeing you post on here! You're one of the most knowledgeable posters on these boards and I hope you can make it back on here more often. Join one of our conversations about yesteryear..I thought about you when we started talking on one of the other boards about the '69 and '85 floods.

So I think BV might be looking at a lawsuit here..and I dont blame the guy one bit. As you pointed out, he was set up for failure from the beginning. Perhaps he was not then answer going forward, but there was a more professional way of going about it than what happened... a simple "you're fired" would have sufficed at seasons end. Instead they're going to try to run him through the mud without any real evidence. Afraid the AD and schoolboard might have bit off more than they can chew with this one.

 

[JohnnyCal]

Stunning development; Coach Fox is an all time great. However, the cupboards were pretty bare when he left. I thought that Coach Blevins was doing good work. I saw the team progress through out last year and clearly they are improving this year. Replacing a legend is tough and the replacement never wins those comparisons, but the guy can coach basketball. I hope that there was nothing racial and he catches on elsewhere.

 

[mmqp]

Stunning development; Coach Fox is an all time great. However, the cupboards were pretty bare when he left. I thought that Coach Blevins was doing good work. I saw the team progress through out last year and clearly they are improving this year. Replacing a legend is tough and the replacement never wins those comparisons, but the guy can coach basketball. I hope that there was nothing racial and he catches on elsewhere.

I doubt there was quite frankly. A quick glance at the person and their parents' social media pages shows post after post about "social injustice", "inequality", "White people are more dangerous than terrorists's", blah blah blah. Just how it is.

 

[PaPaMoose]

I miss seeing you post on here! You're one of the most knowledgeable posters on these boards and I hope you can make it back on here more often. Join one of our conversations about yesteryear..I thought about you when we started talking on one of the other boards about the '69 and '85 floods.

So I think BV might be looking at a lawsuit here..and I dont blame the guy one bit. As you pointed out, he was set up for failure from the beginning. Perhaps he was not then answer going forward, but there was a more professional way of going about it than what happened... a simple "you're fired" would have sufficed at seasons end. Instead they're going to try to run him through the mud without any real evidence. Afraid the AD and schoolboard might have bit off more than they can chew with this one.

I was in NAM in 69; spent 2 tours over their. Found out about flood by seeing picture of BV on front page of the Stars& Stripes newspaper. It was printed every day in Japan and flown over to us. I just happened to be Down Stairs that day and found a paper. My sister lived right on the river at Tom Dickerson`s place. They were all right but it took 2 weeks to hear from Red Cross. 85 was bad; they should have built flood in 70. We would still be a nice little industrial town and would still be growing.

 

[mmqp]

My Grandparents lived in that little old house that sat alone out in the field on Tom Dickinson's land. Very visible from route 501. I just vaguely remember it from 1985, I very much remember evacuating them in 1992. My grandfather passed away in 1994. And my grandmother was stricken by a stroke in early 1995. She had been moved away from that little old house a few months before the back-to-back floods that hit in June of '95. The second of those wiped it out nearly completely. I remember there being a helo pic of it on the front page of the Washington Post, that old red tin roof still stand out to me.

So many memories of that old place, chasing the cows, running out in the humongous veggie garden (and getting whipping for it!), finding snakes, riding on my grandfathers little wooden boat.. the place is just a pile of rubble now.

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

Article in yesterdays Roanoke Times on the firing.