Has perception changed about Western Virginia Football

[freeatlast2013]

Obviously because of size of schools most of this is in 4a,3a and below. I am basically considering the West as Lynchburg area west. Salem , Blacksburg and others have held their own the last few years. Or was this never predominately the perception but rather a we against the bigger and more populated areas of Richmond, Tidewater , and Northern VA. I think it was a combination of both. What is surprising is that no tidewater team has won a state championship for three years and by saying this I am not hyping that up but actually shocked by that fact. I think the worm will turn back.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

Obviously because of size of schools most of this is in 4a,3a and below. I am basically considering the West as Lynchburg area west. Salem , Blacksburg and others have held their own the last few years. Or was this never predominately the perception but rather a we against the bigger and more populated areas of Richmond, Tidewater , and Northern VA. I think it was a combination of both. What is surprising is that no tidewater team has won a state championship for three years and by saying this I am not hyping that up but actually shocked by that fact. I think the worm will turn back.

Now that we have the luxury of time to look back, my personal opinion is that it was more of a mis-perception than anything else. However, I do think the style of football played in the eastern part of the state, (back when the major realignment occurred), was different enough to what was typically played in the west, that it took the coaches a little time to adjust. I think now there is no difference, it's just who has the better team and plays the best on a given day.

 

[mbonape1]

The west has always played good football. They just didn’t and still don’t have any 5a’s or 6a’s.

I think 3a and 4a are pretty close east vs west.

3a I think is better out west.
4a is better east IMO with Salem being the anomaly. But still it is close even without Salem.

I think the big shocker to me is how much better Class 4 has gotten state wide. I think class 4 had the best FB in the state last year. There were probably 10-12 teams last year in class 4 that were excellent ball clubs.

I think 10 teams in class 4 could have won class 3 last year. I am not sure if the class 5 or class 6 winner could have won class 4 or not.

Add in Hampton and Lee Davis out of richmond for 2019. We forget, thank god LT was down last year or it would have been even crazier. Class 4 is only getting harder to win.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

I might generally agree that the best Class 4 teams could hold their own against Class 5 teams, with the exception of Highland Springs. This coming year, HSHS could beat any team in any Class. They are a Class 7 team by themselves, and may be at that level for the next couple of years as well.

I agree with you, 3 and 4 are better across the board than they have ever been. And Class 5 "ain't no slouch" in most areas.

It's tough on schools like Halifax and Franklin County to get "ready" for top 5 or 6 teams, when they basically play down all season. So they are an example of an anomaly.

Let's face it, football across the state is generally pretty homogeneous, with respect to Class levels. And that was the desired affect. The VHSL wanted to build a system that grouped schools in categories so that the competition level was as similar as possible. By utilizing the periodic realignment cycles as "maintenance", I think the system is working pretty darn well.

Now, if they could ever find a way to keep "Millionaire Mike" from buying the best talent in the state for Salem, it might be a really level playing field.

 

[mike salem]

Yes I recruit the most talented REC league players in elementary school so they are well ingrained by the Salem system by the time they get to the HS level.

 

[anon_vu6vqwsr4nf3b]

I might generally agree that the best Class 4 teams could hold their own against Class 5 teams, with the exception of Highland Springs. This coming year, HSHS could beat any team in any Class. They are a Class 7 team by themselves, and may be at that level for the next couple of years as well.

This year I agree, but last year I wished Louisa was 5A and could've played them, or HS was 4A. I think the top 4, 11-0 Region 4B teams plus Salem and Blacksburg were all better than HS. Again, this year is most likely much different, as HS is older.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

Yes I recruit the most talented REC league players in elementary school so they are well ingrained by the Salem system by the time they get to the HS level.

There is mounting evidence that you guarantee them a free college education at VMI!

 

[757FridayNiteZ]

My gut tells me it's going to be while before another Championship is won by 6A/5A teams out of the 757. There's still a lot of talent in the area but it's more dispersed amongst both the S.E. & Beach Districts.

The vacuum created by Rich Morgan's departure & now the less influential Chris Scott hasn't fully played out down here.

If there's going to be a Champion from here, it's going to be a surprise 4A team like Kings Fork.

 

[mbonape1]

My gut tells me it's going to be while before another Championship is won by 6A/5A teams out of the 757. There's still a lot of talent in the area but it's more dispersed amongst both the S.E. & Beach Districts.

The vacuum created by Rich Morgan's departure & now the less influential Chris Scott hasn't fully played out down here.

If there's going to be a Champion from here, it's going to be a surprise 4A team like Kings Fork.

You may have a year or two that are down but the 757 will be back strong for 5a and 6a soon enough. At least 6a will be. Agree with you that KF, LT, and soon to be Hampton add a lot of depth is class 4 region A.