They either play the game or forfeit, from the top!! The way it ought to be!!
Lord Botetourt-Appomattox County Football Game will NOT be made up!
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I totally agree. Not sure why there are some people who follow high school sports think that MaxPreps is some end all-be all of high school sports information. This reminds me of college sports fans that somehow think 247Sports is relevant.
Again I have no dog but from a common sense standpoint, this makes no sense to me. The team suffers because of something that was absolutely not their fault. A much more logical thing would have been for the game to simply be wiped off the slate altogether as if it is was never even on the schedule. Then at the end of the season, divide each one's points by 9 instead of 10.
Has it officially been declared a forfeit and recognized as such by VHSL or is this just something you are still wishing for? And if it has been declared a forfeit, congratulations you have been awarded a meaningless victory due to some idiots making threats that disrupted an entire school day, cost however much money to the local agencies, caused panic for families/students/staff (I am sure some students are reluctant to return) along with whatever fallout occurs from such nonsense.
I bet Coach Harless would have been reluctant to play on the Monday prior to the Byrd game and would not want to have played on a short week then. I can also guarantee that he would not approve of your actions on these boards and saying that everything that you are supplying is coming straight from him.
Where did I say it was coming straight from him?? Is it not possible I have friends who have kids in the program?? From my understanding, the vhsl said to play the game or forfeit!! Again, I never said once it came from where you said it did!!
Awarded?? WTF have I been awarded?? More like the right thing was done!! If a team is willing to play and make it up and the home team isn’t accommodating then it should be a forfeit!! Why should LB be denied the points that could determine the difference of home field advantage in the playoffs?? Yes it’s an unfortunate event, but again, if one side is willing to play and the other isn’t?? What do you think the fair thing is to do?? Have you ever watched a game in Calvalier stadium?? Home field is huge to those guys!!
How do you know Appomattox is unwilling? Maybe they did supply available dates and LB didn't like the dates supplied? You keep saying from your source, well friends of kids who are in the program are not a reliable source. Of course the players and parents are going to say they want to make up the game. I've never known Coach Smith or Appomattox back down from a game. In my past experiences these decisions usually come from building admin and the AD's. They consistently play up classifications and take on strong programs. Only someone from within the program would know if VHSL is giving an ultimatum.. I don't see Coach Harless going around and telling his players this information. He would be going around and saying that it is out of their hands and that they needed to be focusing on this weeks game. If they get too caught up in it, as you seem to be, then their focus for this weeks game is for crap and they need to watch out.
You are making the assumption that LB would have won the game and that they would have received rider points. I could agree with you on the game having to be a forfeit if the circumstances were different and Appo just did not want to play. Keep in mind that by not playing they too are losing possible points, not too mention gate and concession money.
Yes, I have been to a home game at LB. Have you ever been to a game at Appomattox...home field for them AND any team come playoff time is huge.
Just to compare apples to apples, what was the final outcome last year when there was a similar situation up in the Strasburg/Woodstock area? (I honestly don't remember what two schools were involved.) Was a forfeit declared in that situation or was the game just wiped out altogether? Whatever the case, seems like there should be some consistency to the rule.
Do you really think that a football game had any factor in the decisions the Appomattox Administration had to make in this situation? The only factor considered is the safety of students and employees, not how the football team can benefit. I'm sure every player and coach for the Raiders wanted to play the game and were disappointed to learn of the cancellation, but it was no more in their control than the weather. You want the home team to forfeit when a game is cancelled due to weather? Enough with your hissy fit and enough saying one's willing and one's not. You are wrong and have completely missed the point.
Boo Hoo!! Last I checked, weather games were made up!! When I was in school years ago, bomb threats were made all the time, usually from the pay phone in the lobby!! Poor darlings!! Good Luck to the Appo daffodil’s!! I’m out!!
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Yeah, with your mom!! I may be your daddy!!
@longtimerhsfan, it was Skyline @ Strasburg and the threat was allegedly from a Strasburg student. Game was not made up and was a forfeit win for Skyline according to thread at the time for what its worth.
Edit: fourseasonsfootball does not have it listed for either team one way or the other. I cant find the weekly ratings from last year to confirm
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I agree with the Riverheads fan: until it is included in fourseasonsfootball.com LB-Appo game is not a forfeit.
They should have just played it on Saturday. If not at Appomattox, another school close by. I’m sure it could have been arranged.
I don’t know much of what’s going on up in Appomattox. I spent over 35 years in the classroom, couple of those years as an AP. Bomb threats happened from time to time. More frequent today. The pressure on administration is stressful. Can’t make a decision that satisfies everyone. Yes athletic events are important to schools. But let’s agree safety of everyone involved is is of the utmost importance. I’ve read friends of students said this, said that and so forth, but understand something those students aren’t privy to much of the decisions that go into these things. I’ve met both of these head coaches at coaching clinics in the past. From my brief interactions, both men are the ultimate professionals. Know Coach Smith is a devout Christian. He’s going to do what’s right. So none of us on this forum know what is going on in the decision making. It’s one football game. Whether the game is ever played or not, forfeit or not, life is going to continue, and guess what the sun is going to come up the next day. It’s a football game and 10 years from now no one will remember it.
No one was allowed on campus. FBI had it closed, no way to even get gear for game.
The FBI? Do local law enforcement agencies not have dogs trained for things like this? Must have been some crazy kind of something if FBI was called in, but yes, safety should always be first consideration. Life will go on regardless if a football game is played or not.
I just have decided to count games that are actually played on the field unless one team willingly forfeits for a discipline reason like Madison did a couple of years back. If you don't play your scheduled game due to lack of players, field conditions, hurricanes, covid, bomb threats, etc. I don't list it. The state administration may count it as a forfeit but and that is well and good. I am just not listing games that were not played unless the reason it was not played was player conduct. I do try to list all games that are started and not finished such as the King George - Lafayette game last year and the Freedom Woodbridge game this year with the Maryland team. The NFHS rules state that these are real games even if they are not finished and even if the teams agree that they won't count them. The intention of my site is to record what happened on the field.
I will record forfeits for games that are played and the outcome is reversed by the state authority such as the VHSL.
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I think a lot of people are assuming this was a bomb threat. I can't say for certain it wasn't, but I believe it was not simply a bomb threat. Just my opinion based on the response by authorities.
A few of the news channels in the Lynchburg area also alluded to the fact that it was not just a simple bomb threat. One said that there were credible threats that targeted specific students and employees.
That detail makes me think that it should be even easier to identify the caller and make an arrest. Most likely there was an ongoing conflict and the school officials may already know exactly who was behind it, and just need to make sure they follow proper procedures to get to the bottom of it.
Your site is amazing, by the way. I reference it constantly throughout the season, phenomenal tool. Am I missing the obvious or do you not track LCA? Do you plan to change that if you don't already track them?
LCA is a work in progress. Unfortunately my efforts to reach out to them have either been lost or fallen on deaf ears. Some of their early scores are not even in the Lynchburg paper although there are still some years that I have not looked. I have considerable missing information for 1977-1987 for LCA
@Researcher27, thank you so much for your effort in preserving this information for the masses. You sir are a giant and we are all grateful for you
I guess this is where you comment , “I told y'all so!” One has to commend Appomattox for their stance on forfeiting the game. It hurts them while helping LB. Pretty classy on their part in my opinion.
Since I started this thread, I believe that it is up to me to finish it. Appomattox Head Coach Doug Smith is undergoing cancer treatments at Duke University Hospital during weekdays. On Friday, his wife Susan drives him 109 miles from Durham, North Carolina to Appomattox County High School in time to coach the Raiders in their game. If it is an away game, Doug rides many additional miles on the Team Bus to the home school's stadium. Mrs. Smith then drives Coach Smith back to Duke Hospital after church on Sunday to receive more cancer treatments on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. That is why I speculated that Doug would not be available to coach his team during a weekday. Coach Smith never told me anything about when and if the game with Lord Botetourt would be made up.
On Friday, Sept. 15, a "threat" to teachers and students was phoned into the high school by an unknown caller. Appomattox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Annette Bennett made the call to postponed the contest on Friday with Lord Botetourt. Since the Raiders only Friday bye is on Oct. 27 and Lord Botetourt's only Friday bye is this Friday, Sept. 30, it was impossible to make up the game on a Friday. Since Coach Smith is in the hospital at Duke Sunday through Thursday, he would not be available to coach his team. According to my sources, Dr. Bennett made the decision to not make up the game during the week. In conclusion, the VHSL has award a forfeit win to Lord Botetourt and charged Appomattox with a forfeit loss. In my humble opinion, the home high school football team should not be charged with a forfeit loss when some idiot calls in a "threat" to their school. Appomattox Raiders and Highland Springs Springers are the only teams in the VHSL to win 5 state championships in the last decade. The Raider beat Lord Botetourt 35-14 at Bragg Stadium in 2021. I have been covering Appomattox since 1980 and I can honesty tell you: THE APPOMATTOX RAIDERS DON'T BACK DOWN FROM ANY OPPONENT IN ANY GAME ANYWHERE!
On Friday, Sept. 15, a "threat" to teachers and students was phoned into the high school by an unknown caller. Appomattox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Annette Bennett made the call to postponed the contest on Friday with Lord Botetourt. Since the Raiders only Friday bye is on Oct. 27 and Lord Botetourt's only Friday bye is this Friday, Sept. 30, it was impossible to make up the game on a Friday. Since Coach Smith is in the hospital at Duke Sunday through Thursday, he would not be available to coach his team. According to my sources, Dr. Bennett made the decision to not make up the game during the week. In conclusion, the VHSL has award a forfeit win to Lord Botetourt and charged Appomattox with a forfeit loss. In my humble opinion, the home high school football team should not be charged with a forfeit loss when some idiot calls in a "threat" to their school. Appomattox Raiders and Highland Springs Springers are the only teams in the VHSL to win 5 state championships in the last decade. The Raider beat Lord Botetourt 35-14 at Bragg Stadium in 2021. I have been covering Appomattox since 1980 and I can honesty tell you: THE APPOMATTOX RAIDERS DON'T BACK DOWN FROM ANY OPPONENT IN ANY GAME ANYWHERE!
Great post. Hopefully Coach Smith will be finding great success with his continued recovery. Unfortunately there are idiots everywhere. Threatening teachers, students, and others within the school community and in society is a classless act of a coward. Hopefully authorities will be able to determine who this person and or persons are and prosecute to the fullest extent of the legal systems. Now as far as VHSL goes no one can ever count on the leadership and executive committee to exhibit good old fashioned common sense. I’m sure Appomattox would rather have played the game. Regardless, life is going to go on. Hopefully Appomattox will qualify for the playoffs. Prayers for Coach Smith and his family along with the Appomattox community.
Sorry, I completely forgot about Riverheads. The Gladiators have won the last 7 VHSL Class 1 Championships.
Praying for Coach Smith! 🙏, he’ll be cancer free and never has to deal with it again. Hopefully, they can figure out who called in the threat and they get the max punishment allowed by the law. Anyone that knows anything about football knows Appomattox does not back down from any opponent and gives 110% on that field.
Thanks for those extra details and of course we all wish the coach the best. As for the bomb threat, in that small a school and that small a town, I cannot imagine one person acting all alone completely out of the blue without a word of warning or without anyone else knowing about it. There simply HAD to be some ongoing situation involved and more than likely this person either had an accomplice or confided to someone else after the fact. So my guess is that both the school and the authorities know exactly who did it and they are biding their time until the person or persons can be arrested for it.
