Gate City hires former GW, Fleming, and Rural Retreat coach Akers

[MascotMemorizer]

From: http://www.godanriver.com/sports/ga...cle_18277ede-122d-11e6-bc7d-8bc702f32f67.html
Gate City hires former GW assistant
GoDanRiver Sports | Posted: Wednesday, May 4, 2016 3:19 pm
Former George Washington football assistant coach Chris Akers was named the new head coach at Gate City High School Tuesday.
The 34-year-old Bluefield native was an assistant at GW for nine years before joining William Fleming as the associate head coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2013. He has been the head coach at Rural Retreat for the past two seasons, and compiled an 8-4 record last year, losing 28-6 to Burton in the second round of the VHSL 1A playoffs after entering the tournament as a seventh seed in the 1A West region.
Rural Retreat was 4-7 the year before he took over.

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

From: http://www.godanriver.com/sports/ga...cle_18277ede-122d-11e6-bc7d-8bc702f32f67.html
Gate City hires former GW assistant
GoDanRiver Sports | Posted: Wednesday, May 4, 2016 3:19 pm
Former George Washington football assistant coach Chris Akers was named the new head coach at Gate City High School Tuesday.
The 34-year-old Bluefield native was an assistant at GW for nine years before joining William Fleming as the associate head coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2013. He has been the head coach at Rural Retreat for the past two seasons, and compiled an 8-4 record last year, losing 28-6 to Burton in the second round of the VHSL 1A playoffs after entering the tournament as a seventh seed in the 1A West region.
Rural Retreat was 4-7 the year before he took over.

He was my 6th-8th grade Physical Education teacher at Westwood Middle School in Danville. Hell of a guy and a football mind. So proud of Coach Akers.

 

[tommythecpa]

He is very organized which is a prime trait of a good hs coach.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

I was looking at their record. Wow, five state championships! That's awesome.

They may not have won but three games last year, but it looks like they took their lumps early in the season and got it together in the last half of the season. I know you guys know a tremendous amount more about football out in that part of the state than I do, but it looks like winning is a tradition for Gate City?

It looks like they got a great coach in Coach Akers. And if DSH said he is a good guy, then that is all I needed to hear.

I would love to catch a game out there one day. But the 317 mile, 5 hour plus, one way trip might make it a tad of a challenge.

 

[SpartanOfYore]

Winning is definitely a tradition in Gate City, in many sports. Salem's never met them on the gridiron, but we did have a couple of memorable clashes with them in the boys state basketball tournament, in '97 and '99.

I believe the Blue Devils won the very first AA state football title in 1970. They've been consistently good....well, longer than I can remember. I have to believe last year was an aberration. GC football won't be down for long.

 

[swva_havok_fan]

I was looking at their record. Wow, five state championships! That's awesome.

They may not have won but three games last year, but it looks like they took their lumps early in the season and got it together in the last half of the season. I know you guys know a tremendous amount more about football out in that part of the state than I do, but it looks like winning is a tradition for Gate City?

It looks like they got a great coach in Coach Akers. And if DSH said he is a good guy, then that is all I needed to hear.

I would love to catch a game out there one day. But the 317 mile, 5 hour plus, one way trip might make it a tad of a challenge.

Gate City plays one of, if not THE toughest 2A schedule in all of Virginia. They open with Richlands, always a contender. Second game is Abingdon, now a contender in 3A, then Sullivan South, always a powerhouse in northeast Tennessee. Then, Bluefield, always a state title contender in West Virginia 2A, then Union, state semifinalist from a year ago.

Those first five games would be tough for anyone to pull off.

They played us (Ridgeview) in the sixth game last year and I was fully expecting them to get their first win of the season against us, but we turned OUR season around in that game and pulled off the upset and won out the rest of the regular season. The fact that we won that game was probably the difference in us making the playoffs and Gate City NOT making it.

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

Akers was in consideration for the GW job after Jimmy Teague and Bobby Martin stepped down. He is a great coach. He led GW's JV teams to multiple undefeated seasons back in the old western valley. He coached the 9th grade basketball team for a while, but he's a jack of all trades. I remember when a lot of the GW players thought that he would be the next varsity coach. When I asked what his philosophy would be, they immediately said pass, pass, and pass some more. He's an offensive guy. With the athletes that Gate City has, I wouldn't be surprised to see them put up points in bunches. I definitely would love to see them play Richlands, Union or Appo. Everybody in Danville will be rooting for Coach Akers!

 

[GCDEV]

he is ****ing worst coach that I have ever seen

 

[High-Fidelity]

he is ****ing worst coach that I have ever seen

It isn't his fault Gate City doesn't have any talent other than Collier.

 

[GCDEV]

well how great a coach comes in and changes the O scheme when you have a senior QB that has ran one offense for 3 years and then after 2 weeks scraps everything ? he got job because our school board is a bunch of retards

 

[Ryan4VT]

he is ****ing worst coach that I have ever seen

How can you say that? He's had FIVE games under his belt there. Playing the legit toughest 5 game schedule in SWVA. GC is down. Outside of Collier, they don't have that big time playmaker. Had McClung came out, it may have changed some outcomes.

You can't run a new coach out of town five games into his first season. If you do that, you're destined to become Tazewell.

 

[GCDEV]

we also have 13 seniors on this team so it will be worse next year. and the year after ! the kids hate him !!!

 

[GCDEV]

Mcclung didn't come out because he didn't want to be the running back in the VEER
he would have been broken in half in first game

 

[GCDEV]

he wont be run out of town until the school board changes in 3 years unless he slinks out of town oh wait he doesn't even live in GC

 

[Ryan4VT]

Mcclung didn't come out because he didn't want to be the running back in the VEER
he would have been broken in half in first game

If that's the real reason, that's worse than just sitting out because you have multiple D1 basketball scholarships.

 

[GCDEV]

in we become Tazewell you mean a feeder program for Richlands ? try playing a whole year without a transfer from Beaver or Honaker or Elizabethton or Tazewell . you have been relevant for 15 years come back and talk to me after you have been for 50

 

[High-Fidelity]

oh wait he doesn't even live in GC

Smart man.

 

[GCDEV]

worse than sitting out because you have D1 offers ? crawl back in you Tazewell county hole and wait for your ass whippin you get in playoffs !

 

[High-Fidelity]

in we become Tazewell you mean a feeder program for Richlands ? try playing a whole year without a transfer from Beaver or Honaker or Elizabethton or Tazewell . you have been relevant for 15 years come back and talk to me after you have been for 50

That's just silly. Richlands gets them from River View and Graham, too. When was the last time Gate City was relevant?

 

[GCDEV]

97, 03,10 plus the 40 years before that

 

[High-Fidelity]

worse than sitting out because you have D1 offers ? crawl back in you Tazewell county hole and wait for your ass whippin you get in playoffs !

One things for certain, Richlands will be in the playoffs and Gate City won't. Maybe you need to show Mr. Akers around and introduce him to some of those kids from Tennessee. Seems to me that Gate City always had a pipeline of kids coming from Kingsport year after year. You seem to have forgotten that, Mr. Kettle.

 

[High-Fidelity]

97, 03,10 plus the 40 years before that

So, "relevant" is three times in the last twenty years? I'll have to remember that. LOL

 

[GCDEV]

and richlands is 2 ?

 

[GCDEV]

name me a KID who came from Kingsport ? they all started here in the 8th grade. didn't take any recruiting visits! Kid from Tazewell came out in paper and said he took a vist to Richlands LMAO

 

[High-Fidelity]

They may have "started there in 8th grade" but their mailing addresses were Kingsport, TN. You know that's true, everyone does. Just like Harry Fry was the first coach to use the "redshirt" in high school football. The only reason his teams were better was because he was playing with 19 year olds vs. 18 year olds. That was a true Gate City tradition.

 

[GCDEV]

Richlands will be in the playoffs and we wont ? LOL we don't deserve to be just like Richlands didn't deserve to be 2 years ago

 

[GCDEV]

No Harry Fry want the first coach to use the redshirt rule ! John vicars was ! yada yada yada ! same thing oh you got hold backs ! oh your kids are older ! at least they go to GC for 4 years !! you know so much name me a kid that had a Kingsport mailing address?

 

[GCDEV]

the first hold back was in 1982 and he didn't play football Harry Fry never had a hold back! go back and get some facts ! before you start spouting off ! if you cant name names and proof is just like a fart hot air

 

[GCDEV]

....................... crickets? now come back with OH yea ! or SOO! moron

 

[High-Fidelity]

Dang, must have struck a nerve, took you four posts to reply to one of mine. LOL

Go away, kid, you bother me.

 

[GCDEV]

yea a kids knows about stuff that happened in 1982 LOL great come back ! its always same thing you got hold backs you got kids from Kingsport !
we had one kid transfer from Kingsport because his mom was dying of cancer and he moved in with her sister and 2 kids from Boone back in 88 ! want some more facts ? Akers is recruiting a kid from Kingsport ! LOL in fact we have 5 GC kids playing at DB. Tell goofy old Fred he better hope the football season ends early in richlands

 

[Ryan4VT]

in we become Tazewell you mean a feeder program for Richlands ? try playing a whole year without a transfer from Beaver or Honaker or Elizabethton or Tazewell . you have been relevant for 15 years come back and talk to me after you have been for 50

worse than sitting out because you have D1 offers ? crawl back in you Tazewell county hole and wait for your ass whippin you get in playoffs !

Richlands will be in the playoffs and we wont ? LOL we don't deserve to be just like Richlands didn't deserve to be 2 years ago

Shew! Could you harbor any more petty resent? The GC/Richlands series is one of the most friendly series I've ever seen, especially given that Richlands has 1 more win than GC does. Just because you have a bad year or two doesn't mean you have to start taking shots at us. Gate City will be back, but not if people like you continue to try and run off a head coach because he hasn't returned GC to it's former glory in five games.

All you are accomplishing is making your fellow GC fans look bad. One bad apple spoils the bunch. Think before you type, bud. How you act is a reflection of your entire fan base.

 

[b.Di3_2016RU]

You said richlands didn't deserve to be in the playoffs two years ago in 2014. Yet they lost to Wilson memorial in overtime in the state semifinal game. And the week before the defeated the blue devils in gate city. So that doesn't really make any sense to me

 

[GCDEV]

ryan isn't it about time for the lunch bell to ring ? and I could care less how it reflects on our fan base they are all idiots anyway ! LOL

 

[GCDEV]

oh yea and the word is resentment ! English is its a language ! no go back and pick my posts apart to give you something to do in keyboarding!

 

[GCDEV]

You said richlands didn't deserve to be in the playoffs two years ago in 2014. Yet they lost to Wilson memorial in overtime in the state semifinal game. And the week before the defeated the blue devils in gate city. So that doesn't really make any sense to me

who won the first game of the year that year ? just like its not right for a 9 and 1 Richlands team to have to play a team they already beat this year !

 

[b.Di3_2016RU]

That's an opinion. Yes gate city won the first game. But you have to win playoff games to earn a state championship. Richlands went 7-3 and was the number 6 seed in 2A west. Then won a home game and 2 road games against gate city and Marion before falling in ot in fishersville. To say that they didn't deserve to even be in the playoffs is ridiculous.

 

[GCDEV]

its untelling how many State titles we would have won if a 9-1 team could be in the playoff much less the 8-2 teams we had ! but your right in this new system where a 4 and 6 team or 3-7 makes the playoffs its all good just extremely watered down !

 

[GCDEV]

guess you missed the part about the 9-1 Richlands team this year ?

 

[Bigrhsfan]

It's really sad to see a person, kid or what ever he/she happens to be, lose it like this person has done here.
It seems like if your team is not at the top of their game then all you know how to do is spew vitriol on a forum about your team, coach, fan base and other teams. Some of the things you have said on here really show your maturity level. And those "idiot" fans you are talking about at GC, my guess is that is exactly what they are thinking about you after reading this little rant you had on here.
Please grow up and think before you hit enter so you don't end up looking like the "IDIOT" fan that you are currently looking like !
Now go ahead and hit me with your best shot ( as pat Benatar 0nce said ) because you can have the last word, i think most on here have already figured you out.