BleedingNavy said:

It's been that way at Salem Stadium everytime I have visited in the past 10 years.

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Phoebus Fan said:

I don’t know what historically good is but I’ve seen Springs, Huguenot, Dinwiddie, and Varina this year and I’d say Springs is the best team of the 4. Just my opinion though I’m sure yall know the behind the scene things that can influence the prediction changes

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croakerfishin said:

Agreed,

Warhill was overmatched inside and ran into a brick wall repeatedly. I don’t think they had the speed to beat Matoaca to the edges. Warhill was scrappy, and the QB looked like he has the potential to be a tough runner. It looked like a few players sustained serious injuries and I hope they bounce back.

Matoaca needs to clean up a few things. They have talent, but undisciplined play and penalties could hurt them in a tough game. Refs were not perfect, I think 3-4 TDs were called back, but Matoaca had some personal fouls and bad penalties. Matoaca will probably have a major talent advantage throughout the season and they will need to challenge themselves to play hard, play clean, and prepare for the tough ones.

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DinwiddieProud said:

CHUKNOW, tell us about your New Kent game. A win is a win, but from the score, it was a struggle.
What’s different this year. The Colonials were dominating these teams last season. Graduation hurt you guys?

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1MoreHokie said:

It's possible they didn't foresee the numbers but the inability to adapt is what drives me batty. It's a hot day, I'd bet at a minimum half the people in line were strictly buying water (or would have settled for it for the sake of convenience). You take one of those giant bins that has ice and water inside and you roll it outside. Tell people water-only sales for cash only and boom, half the line disappears to that vendor. Now your other workers have half as many people to serve which means everyone is in and out quicker that wants food and soda.

The tiniest bit of reactive-thinking solves that problem immediately. I understand they're volunteers and I understand they can be on the older side but if they've got an exclusive contract to do this (they do) then they need to be prepared for certain eventualities. What happened today was wholly unacceptable.

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redzone4us said:

Yet another reason why people would rather watch a game from the comfort of their recliner with fridge and toilet just steps away.

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1MoreHokie said:

Concessions was the biggest disaster I've EVER seen at any sporting event on any level. Absolute and complete disaster from every possible angle. 50 minutes to buy a bottle of water. Not oh-five, five-oh. Five people taking orders for a stadium with 9,000+ people in it. Absurd.

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Phoebus Fan said:

So now this is being said? lol EVERYBODY picked Highland Springs before the game and a lot by multiple TDs. Springs was just in the state title and lost by a TD without their best player. Highland Springs is still the best program in the 804 until proven otherwise and I don’t want to hear that they’re not because they lost to Phoebus.

I have zero doubt that Highland Springs is a very good football team and will win games and be a contender in D6 this year. Phoebus defense is just that good.

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freeatlast2013 said:

How Salem looking in transfer portal Mike?

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Phoebus Fan said:

We have been begging to get Denbigh and Gloucester off our schedules for years but the VHSL won’t let us. Denbigh is our last game and only reason any starter will play is if they’re close to a milestone for season.

Kecoughtan and Bethel both are suffering right now from lack of coaching, talent, and depth. Every kid in Hampton growing up wants to play for Phoebus or Hampton only.

Sidenote, I hope to see y’all in Lynchburg with us in December. A lot of blue and gold in the stands. Good luck the rest of the way! Poqouson is pretty tough this year but besides them y’all should have a great year in the BRD. Crazy y’all are our last playoff loss. That game seems so long ago now.

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mike salem said:

Patrick Henry Ash @ Glen Allen
Atlee @ Godwin Mills
Courtland @ N Stafford
Caroline @ Spotsylvania
Maury (C5) @ Highland Springs (C6)
Massaponax (C5) @ Louisa (C5)
Menchville (C5) @ Bethel (C5) (Thur)
Hopewell (C3) @ Lake Taylor (C3)
Manchester @ Powhatan*
Hermitage @ Varina*

William Fleming @ Salem*
GW Danville @ EC Glass*
Loudoun Co @ Tuscarora
Briar Woods @ Broad Run
John Handley @ Kettle Run
Millbrook @ Brentsville District
Floyd Co @ Blacksburg
Christiansburg (C3) @ William Byrd (C3)
Stuart's Draft (C2) @ Rustburg (C3)
Glenvar (C2) @ Cave Spring (C3)

*GOW 2 pts each

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mbonape1 said:

Comparing this years HS team with HS teams of the past. Same thing for Phoebus, which likely makes you most qualified to answer. Could this years Phantoms squad be better than last year or even better than some of the past teams. I realize there is no way to measure just find that convo interesting to think about.

Yes, the only thing we know for sure is that Phoebus is convincingly better than HS at this point in the season. I don’t know if Dinwiddie is better or not this year vs last. Huguenot, IMO will be better this year but they are still very young. Springs may be the best of that bunch, IDK. Varina plays Springs and Dinwiddie, Hug, and Varina have to see each other in regionals so we will surely find out soon.

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mike salem said:

I think like most everywhere numbers are going down for participation. IDK if it's a temporary anomaly for Salem or if this is the new normal. A lot of things have affected this generation of football players and their families. Concussions and repetitive head trauma are better understood, the post COVID effect, rise of travel teams/AAU/specialization, and so many entertaining options pulling at their time. When we moved to Salem 20 years ago, it seemed like there were closer to 100 V/JV kids and now it has dwindled down to around 60 for V/JV. The difference from last year to this year seemed to have been a more dramatic drop, especially coming off a title appearance. But, it's been a gradual drop over time. Here are the numbers for each class in football:

Sr 15
Jr 13
So 12
Fr 21
8th ~30
7th ~30

I don't think there has been much change in the overall student enrollment. I have noticed more kids specializing in certain sports. Lacrosse seems more popular than it used to be. Football is tough and it's a big time commitment.

There are positive and negative ramifications for this, but in the near future there will be 3 new housing and apartment developments in Salem. That will add more residents, presumably more school aged children, and hopefully some interested in football. With the shift in demographics across the state Salem has actually dropped down the C4 list to be in the lower 1/3 of C4. Maybe these new developments will put Salem back in the middle to upper half of C4 enrollment.

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