Early 4a west rankings. My opinion
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you should know by now not to listen to some that post here. You may be trying to be funny but definitely trolling. No way are they last in the region.
Yeah I was wondering about that as well. Dan River has had some great teams that were poorly coached. To only get 4 really good players, I’ll take Nick Anderson all day and the next day.
Nick Anderson was not the point and never has been. He has done fine in his stint as I said. The point was the Central admin and the GW admin and their previous poor decisions. The question of a coach hire was the Jimmy Teague hire or earlier. It is also not just about 4 or 5 players. While those 4 or 5 are high profile and certainly contributors the potential impact goes beyond that in terms of say a guy like Glass leaving and coming back, other kids in the school choosing not to play, etc.. To be clear, the issues are not about Coach Anderson, however, the program he inherited and guides today are affected by the decisions of prior leadership.
I played for Jimmy Teague my sophomore year and he has won over 10 state championships in NC. He was not the best of coaches and a poor choice for GW’s stable of athletes. GW was a I-formation team with Dan Newell and Teague tried to make us a spread team with no QB or legitimate WR options. Our QBs couldn’t throw the ball 25 yards without pads. I hear GW dropped the ball when getting rid of Everett Woods. I don’t know, was real young then.
GW did not get rid of Coach Woods. He wanted to guide the program for stability after Coach Martin suddenly died. Coach Newell ran the wing t. Coach Teague did have a big win in the playoffs up at Massaponex.
GW is one of the few schools that has not had a horrible season since 1963.
The best years may have been 68-83 and 91-96. The program had lots of monetary support from the business community. That money is not available now.
By the way, many in Danville wanted to run Pugh off after 1968. Some wanted more championships an some said "he was too tough on those boys". That is not hearsay, Pugh told me himself. He also said Danville wanted him to turn chicken !@#$ into chicken salad.
The best years may have been 68-83 and 91-96. The program had lots of monetary support from the business community. That money is not available now.
By the way, many in Danville wanted to run Pugh off after 1968. Some wanted more championships an some said "he was too tough on those boys". That is not hearsay, Pugh told me himself. He also said Danville wanted him to turn chicken !@#$ into chicken salad.
Malik Clements’ back up plan is Orthodontics. He interned with a local doctor during Cincinnati’s break last year.
If it weren’t for Galileo being formed I wonder what would have happened to GW. Hopefully GW can keep up the talent though. There is no more little league baseball and the rec football league has only had like 4 teams for the past few years. A lot of people from the city are paying to go to the county. However, hopefully with the recent successes of GW athletics and the new principal’s success they can get back to where they were in regards to popularity, funding, etc.
If it weren’t for Galileo being formed I wonder what would have happened to GW. Hopefully GW can keep up the talent though. There is no more little league baseball and the rec football league has only had like 4 teams for the past few years. A lot of people from the city are paying to go to the county. However, hopefully with the recent successes of GW athletics and the new principal’s success they can get back to where they were in regards to popularity, funding, etc.
A few years back, the middle school football team could only have 25 players on the team. They were literally cutting kids from the middle school football team. I’ve seen GW teams with 50 players on the team, last year we were down to 30. Think we may have a handful more than last year.
Yes, and that’s an example of failed administration. You should never ever ever ever ever cut middle school football players. Administration or AD should have never let that happen. Numbers for middle school are back up now mainly because some of the varsity coaches teach at the middle school and recruit year round to get kids to come out.
Yes sir. Coach Graves was great but the middle school team were not given but 25 helmets.
Not true they were cutting at the Middle School
The middle school has as many helmets as they
Need the new coach at the Middle School does not cut and his numbers went up he is doing a great job coach Anderson told him he would give him all the equipment he needs by the way Coach Graves
Left the Middle School to take a coaching job at Tunstall and he transferred his so to Tunstall also
The middle school has as many helmets as they
Need the new coach at the Middle School does not cut and his numbers went up he is doing a great job coach Anderson told him he would give him all the equipment he needs by the way Coach Graves
Left the Middle School to take a coaching job at Tunstall and he transferred his so to Tunstall also
Our OOD schedule this two-year cycle is Dinwiddie, Amherst Co., Jefferson Forest, and E.C. Glass.
Please tell me how this can be improved upon.
The schedule this year is better than in a while both by the teams scheduled and the fact they are improved, relatively speaking, compared to what they were recently. Also, with two year cycles there is the roll of the dice as to a good team declining. However, one two year cycle of decent does not really address my point nor does it invalidate it. While Glass is good, JF is solid and Dinwiddie is always a good match because you know you will get a solid team and a chance to travel at distance(potentially paying dividends) I do not believe even you would think there is not an upgrade for the PRESENT Amherst squad. That is not to say that as Christmas continues to build the current OOD could be even better. The point was that given just how weak the Piedmont is it places a premium on GW OOD scheduling to get them playoff caliber competition and even better scheduling if the goal is a state level type team. While this year is better, far more years in the past were very poor. While I am not saying it is necessarily easy there are certainly options both in Virginia and Piedmont North Carolina that could meet the objective without breaking the budget bank. I think our difference is that you have reconciled yourself to GW being a smaller mid level program based on what you have witnessed for the majority of your time covering the Eagles while some with a longer perspective still believe that with the proper administration and community support there are still enough athletes to compete at a higher level. To be clear, this last statement is in no way meant to imply that Coach Anderson is not or can not be the guy to carry that task out.
[QUOTE="cutnjump, post: 357326, member: 3316". I think our difference is that you have reconciled yourself to GW being a smaller mid level program based on what you have witnessed for the majority of your time covering the Eagles while some with a longer perspective still believe that with the proper administration and community support there are still enough athletes to compete at a higher level. To be clear, this last statement is in no way meant to imply that Coach Anderson is not or can not be the guy to carry that task out.[/QUOTE]
LOL. Chuck has been covering GW since 1989. How much longer of a perspective are you talking about? You are just ignoring facts my man. GW/Danville is not the team/school/community it was in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s. We are a division 4 traditional AA school now. What higher level do you want them to compete at??? GW still has athletes but the depth GW used to have is long gone. Guys now have to play both ways which is also the case for many other 4a teams. And you are acting like it is easy to drop teams from your schedule and pick up other teams, which you are then rolling the dice 'like you said earlier' as to whether or not that team will decline. Amherst is a great matchup, and we surely don't want to lose that game. Who would you have us play instead??
LOL. Chuck has been covering GW since 1989. How much longer of a perspective are you talking about? You are just ignoring facts my man. GW/Danville is not the team/school/community it was in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s. We are a division 4 traditional AA school now. What higher level do you want them to compete at??? GW still has athletes but the depth GW used to have is long gone. Guys now have to play both ways which is also the case for many other 4a teams. And you are acting like it is easy to drop teams from your schedule and pick up other teams, which you are then rolling the dice 'like you said earlier' as to whether or not that team will decline. Amherst is a great matchup, and we surely don't want to lose that game. Who would you have us play instead??
And that is precisely what we've done. And you agree.
Any reconciliation I have done has to do with raw numbers. We are now a AA team. We no longer have AAA enrollment numbers. Those are facts. There is nothing in accepting AA status that suggests we be anything other than the best AA team we can possibly be.
LOL. Chuck has been covering GW since 1989. How much longer of a perspective are you talking about? You are just ignoring facts my man. GW/Danville is not the team/school/community it was in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s. We are a division 4 traditional AA school now. What higher level do you want them to compete at??? GW still has athletes but the depth GW used to have is long gone. Guys now have to play both ways which is also the case for many other 4a teams. And you are acting like it is easy to drop teams from your schedule and pick up other teams, which you are then rolling the dice 'like you said earlier' as to whether or not that team will decline. Amherst is a great matchup, and we surely don't want to lose that game. Who would you have us play instead??[/QUOTE]
You are not understanding what I have said and continue to say so I will try one more time. First, where GW is at now is the result of poor decisions and management by the Central Administration and GW leadership in the past(some now departed, others still churning the water). Coach Anderson is not the problem he is the one having to play the hand he has been dealt. My perspective comes from even before the 1968 state championship so I have a lot of years and mileage to draw on. Higher level is not saying GW should be AAA but, it is saying their performance in AA so far has not met the standard. Are you content with a first or second round exit every year? When was the last time GW made noise at the state level? My point was not that it is easy to drop teams nor that this year's OOD was terrible or even that Amherst should be dropped. My point was that for a number of years OOD was weak and further weakened the team given how weak the Piedmont District is. As far as the Amherst change that was merely a response to how the OOD as it presently existed could be improved and it acknowledged that if Christmas got things turned around that would be better. You asked who they could get that would be better and AT PRESENT there are plenty of options both in Piedmont North Carolina and Virginia. They made a nice move in this two year cycle of getting Dinwiddie, a quality 4A school that could pay dividends come playoff time. The point is not that numbers will ever replicate earlier times but, that their are enough athletes given the right support that results in the current 4A environment can compare to past results in the larger classifications. So far those results do not compare and for many years, not necessarily now, there was a valid question as to whether there was a real level of commitment on the part of some in the Central Administration as well as GW leadership(not coaches or players) to be the "best AA team we can possibly be"(to use Chuck's words).
I heard Amherst was down 26-21 going into the fourth? Seems like a decent test
I don't know what is expected with some for schedules.
You can't just drop district games, whether they are good or not, and while a good OOD schedule can help, it can also hurt in the long run. Any school has to find a happy medium. Playing a gauntlet of an OOD schedule might better prepare a team for playoffs, but it also might put a team behind the 8 ball to compete or give themselves the best chance to reach their goal.
If the case is to be made that a team needs to have a really tough OOD schedule then a lot of championship programs have missed the memo. Salem isn't playing all teams that could beat them on any given night.
From the outside looking in I think it is unfair to say these teams with weaker districts have to play a brutal OOD schedule and if they don't that is the reason they don't win a championship. Because if they do get that schedule and they lose a couple then they are traveling or playing the upper tier teams in their region, and if they lose then it will be the opposite.
And the last thing I will say on it, everyone seems to confuse individual talent/skill to being a good team. Since Dan River was brought up, they were MUCH more talented than Stuarts Draft when we traveled down there in playoffs. They were a 3 seed and SD was 14 seed. The game wasn't close, and that was with those NFL players, and others who went on to play in college. I know nothing about Highland Springs so I can't speak to them (it sounds like they are super talented). But I bet a bunch of times Salem doesn't have as much "talent" as their opponents, yet they win. I know Riverheads hasn't had the same talent as some teams they have played.
You can't just drop district games, whether they are good or not, and while a good OOD schedule can help, it can also hurt in the long run. Any school has to find a happy medium. Playing a gauntlet of an OOD schedule might better prepare a team for playoffs, but it also might put a team behind the 8 ball to compete or give themselves the best chance to reach their goal.
If the case is to be made that a team needs to have a really tough OOD schedule then a lot of championship programs have missed the memo. Salem isn't playing all teams that could beat them on any given night.
From the outside looking in I think it is unfair to say these teams with weaker districts have to play a brutal OOD schedule and if they don't that is the reason they don't win a championship. Because if they do get that schedule and they lose a couple then they are traveling or playing the upper tier teams in their region, and if they lose then it will be the opposite.
And the last thing I will say on it, everyone seems to confuse individual talent/skill to being a good team. Since Dan River was brought up, they were MUCH more talented than Stuarts Draft when we traveled down there in playoffs. They were a 3 seed and SD was 14 seed. The game wasn't close, and that was with those NFL players, and others who went on to play in college. I know nothing about Highland Springs so I can't speak to them (it sounds like they are super talented). But I bet a bunch of times Salem doesn't have as much "talent" as their opponents, yet they win. I know Riverheads hasn't had the same talent as some teams they have played.
It regards to OOD games, I think fans fail to realize how difficult it is on AD's to fill schedules and some AD's don't even communicate with the coach when it comes down to who a team plays. The better AD's will, but not all of them do. The schedule is all about scheduling your district games first and then looking for OOD. Most AD's will look for quality opponents, but travel comes into play as well as gate dollars. A school might schedule a lower class school that is close in miles in order to draw fans from both schools to help bolster their gate receipts. Southside schools can't always find NC schools to play because by the time VA is starting up their schedule NC is on their 3rd or 4th week and starting their district games. Dates have to align as well when figuring out a schedule. Team A and B might really want to play, but they don't have the same open dates. It is also not easy for an AD to tell another school they are dropping them from future schedules, unless it is done early in the cycle. AD's hate to burn bridges and if you drop a team too late, that burns the bridge because that other AD was banking on that game and is now struggling to find a replacement that fits into the vacated date. Very difficult to do.
Basically my long winded post boils down to the fact that making a schedule is very difficult and definitely not as easy as saying we want to play these teams, make it happen.
Basically my long winded post boils down to the fact that making a schedule is very difficult and definitely not as easy as saying we want to play these teams, make it happen.
What is the call on GW playing N.C. schools? All of the great programs 30 miles across the border and GW has only played Vance 2 hours away in Charlotte in the past 8 years. GW used to play Reidsville which is 15 miles away and has won 20 state championships and quit playing them all of a sudden.
NC schools have not shown an interest in GW recently. They have been contacted. I think the feeling is why go out of state when they have some many schools in state.
GW has a balanced out of district schedule with one cross state game with a power D4 school.
GW has a balanced out of district schedule with one cross state game with a power D4 school.
West Forsyth was a good matchup and also Page. Playing those schools is good comp plus they count as 6A in power points.
For years there was great difficulty in scheduling the NC schools because they scheduled on three-year cycles and we have scheduled on two year cycles for as long as I remember.
Plus...and I have pointed this out a thousand times over the years...scheduling football games is not like ordering items ala Carte from a menu. The other guys have to have an opening and a willingness, too.
Plus...and I have pointed this out a thousand times over the years...scheduling football games is not like ordering items ala Carte from a menu. The other guys have to have an opening and a willingness, too.
You probably should check your information as a standard three year scheduling cycle makes little sense because one team always gets the short end of a home and home and to equal it out would essentially require two 3 year contracts. N.C. has done it in the past on a limited basis to match its cycle to surrounding states or for special situations surrounding redistricting and reclassification but, I think you will find two year cycles are the norm in that state as well and in line with their four year reclassication cycle. Also to clarify, no where has it been said or implied that scheduling is necessarily an easy task or like picking items from an a la carte menu. However, it is not necessarily brain surgery either. With athletic directors and coaches with experience, connections, effort and a willingness to think ahead of possibly even the next cycle plenty of schools effectively schedule. I do not believe GW has faced challenges from a scheduling standpoint in recent times any more challenging than when the Roanoke Valley district was formed from the split off of the old Western District and GW was forced to fill its schedule with multiple trips to the beach and Northern Virginia just to fill out a ten game schedule.
I remember back in the day when the Seminole was 11 teams. and everyone fussed about not being able to schedule any OD. I'm sure the A.D. didn't mind it...lol
Anyway if the reclassification is two years then it only makes since the schedule would be two years unless you have one of the scenarios catnjump mentioned.
Anyway if the reclassification is two years then it only makes since the schedule would be two years unless you have one of the scenarios catnjump mentioned.
Principals play a part too. Vic Williams wanted Thomas Dale to keep playing GW but his principal said no, he had to schedule in Chesterfield.
yes admin. love to stick there nose in everything look what they did to glass when they butted heads with Bo they destroyed an historic football program.
I was reading this thread before deciding to come back on Preps. Didn’t want to harp on negativity but @cutnjump you hit the hammer on some things. First of all, I think the world of Nick Anderson, Hunter Carnes and the rest of the GW staff. They’ve salvaged a lot of things that could be very very bad in Danville. Aside from football and boys basketball, Danville has nothing to hang it’s hat on. Only 2 accredited schools (both schools that are accredited are primarily white schools; Danville is majority black.. A lot of parents are sending their kids to Pittsylvania County), drugs, gangs, poverty, unemployment and generational ignorance has plagued the city. 3 years ago the confederate flag was all the city could harp on while the school system was crumbling, they had one of the worst gang problems in the state, and they had a lot of incompetent people in charge of important positions. I love what Dr. Stan Jones has done but you have to think, how long does he waste his years in Danville? I’m Danville to the death of me but I represent from afar. I found this article in the paper today and it’s a good synopsis of what Danville has been since Dan River Mills left in the mid 2000s. https://www.godanriver.com/news/loc...cle_82ebf72a-2cc0-5bdd-ad00-c5008144a24b.html
The state of GW football is and has been far beyond Nick Anderson, Dan Newell and Jimmy Teague’s control over the past 15 years.. The school system its self has been nothing short of horrible. It’s sad when a small city like that has problems that big cities like Richmond, Norfolk and Portsmouth has within its school system. It’s saddening that you can’t even go to a GW home game without kids behind the stadium (many of whom should be on the field playing) fighting, smoking, and being menaces. Rant over, but great points made on this thread.
The state of GW football is and has been far beyond Nick Anderson, Dan Newell and Jimmy Teague’s control over the past 15 years.. The school system its self has been nothing short of horrible. It’s sad when a small city like that has problems that big cities like Richmond, Norfolk and Portsmouth has within its school system. It’s saddening that you can’t even go to a GW home game without kids behind the stadium (many of whom should be on the field playing) fighting, smoking, and being menaces. Rant over, but great points made on this thread.
There's pros and cons to both sides. Load the schedule and sure, you might see some iron sharpening iron but you'll probably drop a game or two you wouldn't usually and then you're on the road in the POs more and with the current situation there's some long drives out there sometimes and you've also now probably had your starters playing more and more throughout the season. If your schedule is easy you might not be battle tested enough but you'll also be home more for the POs and you've got more of a chance for your starters to be rested and ready to be unleashed come November.
I don't know if there's any one definite answer for GW. GW needs to win in the POs when it matters, their schedule is really whatever imo.
I don't know if there's any one definite answer for GW. GW needs to win in the POs when it matters, their schedule is really whatever imo.
Usually the kind of ass-kicking we got on Friday occurs in the playoffs, when it's too late to do anything in terms of improving. Since this one happened in the middle of the season, it gives us a chance to get better. We have seen what the next level looks like. Now we need to get to work.
https://www.godanriver.com/news/loc...cle_82ebf72a-2cc0-5bdd-ad00-c5008144a24b.html
This article is horrifying, but it is reality.
Another reality? NONE of the young men they mentioned in this case (to the best of my knowledge) played football.
This article is horrifying, but it is reality.
Another reality? NONE of the young men they mentioned in this case (to the best of my knowledge) played football.
