Region 5C Western Members
- Thread starter EPJr
- Start date
Problem is, not only did Herm lose 20+ seniors (Jeremiah Coney- VT, D’ahmon Artis- VMI, Bubba Burton- Bluefield, Nate James-UVA Wise, just to name a few), they lost 4 underclassmen who will all play at least FCS football when its all said and done. All those guys, combined, went 6-5 last year. Herm will always have horses but I just can’t see them in the discussion this year. They will be competitive but they accomplished next to nothing with a loaded squad last year.
When I said Herm and talent that's all I literally meant. They will always have an abundance of talented players compared to the other current teams in the region. I didn't mean that they will be a good team, just athletic. But my point was Louisa also gets similar talent every year and is also currently a great program.
This is a huge reason as to why Louisa County should no longer be in the Jefferson District. They should have moved to the Commonwealth District or the western-most Richmond area Class 5 district (probably the one with the Hanover County schools).
But as someone told me at their state semifinal softball game, the administration at Louisa County for some reason, has this loving adoration of being associated with the Charlottesville-area schools which is very unfortunate.
Albemarle and Orange both were in the commonwealth not long ago. Louisa’s administration probably asked for the Richmond district.
I won't say that Louisa will NEVER join the Colonial/Capital district, but the powers that be would rather have Louisa be the big fish in a small pond than be forced to compete in a more appropriate district. Going 10-0 or 9-1 in the Jefferson allows him to keep the hype train going. Aside from their 2017 and 2019 teams, no one would would pick Louisa to be a state title contender; they are simply a decent program playing bad competition.
Last edited:
Aside from football and the occasional girls basketball/softball, they rarely compete for district titles. With the growth that county is seeing, it is a real possibility that they could be a 6A team in the next cycle. For years they have been the largest and best funded (Dominion/Lake Anna $$$) team in VA. Imagine the team that just got annihilated by Freedom playing in the same district as Highland Springs or Varina. With the loss of a once in a lifetime load of talent, it will be interesting to see how they do against a very young Patrick Henry Patriots week 0.
I was specifically told that the administration wanted to be aligned with the Charlottesville-area schools. This; despite being in a Richmond-area district or even the Commonwealth District would have been a better and necessary fit for them.
Very true. Lots of growth. You can tell by the traffic coming from that direction on the roads everyday. Neighboring counties known for low('ish) property taxes actually have been raising property taxes lately. So that's probably a huge reason why people are moving there.
You're right about 6A being a possibility come Fall 2027. They will be very close I think to the cutoff line. Louisa County does have enough land to expand the high school. Would they explore expanding? Or would they look at building a second high school. Might be cheaper to expand to be honest because any new high school built these days is coming in well over $100 million.
If they were to build a second high school sometime in the 2030s, I'm not sure where they would build it as the current one is already centrally located.
If they don't build a second high school, Louisa County would essentially become the Franklin County of Central Virginia but with closer similar enrollment schools to play.
While a bad fit athletically, it’s easy to understand why admin would want kids competing more locally. Less time on the road. More sleep for kids. Less missed class time. In theory, better attendance at athletic events because opponents are from closer.
I don't think the Jefferson is a bad fit athletically for Louisa, aside from football, they are at best on par with the rest of the district. Louisa is a huge county centrally located between Charlottesville, Richmond and Fredericksburg. Spotsylvania High School (Battlefield, 21 mi) is the closest school to Louisa, Goochland (Jefferson 27 mi), Fluvanna (Jefferson 32 mi), Patrick Henry (Capital 31 mi), Glen Allen (Colonial 36 mi) & Deep Run (Colonial 36 mi) are all within 42 min of Mineral. Western Albemarle (52 mi) is the furthest JD team from Mineral, John Marshall (48 mi) & Varina (62 mi) are all around a 1 hr drive. The ENTIRE Colonial and Battlefield districts are closer than Albemarle and Western Albemarle to Louisa.
The powers that be at the Louisa School Board have an image of superiority to push, nothing more/nothing less. The athletics at Louisa (aside from football) can barely compete against schools 2/3 to 1/2 their size in the Jefferson. Prior to 2017, Louisa struggled to win the Jefferson in football, this recent run of talent/recruits is now gone, from a purely numbers and funding standpoint they should dominate the JD, only time will tell if they do.
I think "superiority" in this context mean being the standard within the Jefferson District...in football. And since football wags the tail, that's all that is important. That domination has been in the forefront despite girls basketball winning a state title a few years back and softball winning one a couple of months ago.
I have a different take as far as "superiority" is concerned. I think getting the rub from the Charlottesville schools makes them feel special. It's like they feel they are loosely affiliated with UVA (heck, I grew up a UVA fan, but things have changed in recent years where I'm just about agnostic when it comes to college sports) and therefore, they've gained a little bit of moxie just on that fact alone.
This is much more eloquent than what I was just typing. For years, getting more air play and print from the Charlottesville media has them more closely affiliated with that region. Having to be a footnote in R-TD doesn't sit well with the egos of the administration.
Not having kids invited to play in the Big River Rivalry really upsets some stakeholders in the community
Now that's an interesting note I didn't realize. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Louisa is still 804 area code correct? They should definitely have players invited to the all star game.
Most of Louisa is 540, only a sliver of 804 on the far eastern end. Since they use the Charlottesville (maybe Fredericksburg) officials association they don't get invited.
I don't think that Louisa County uses the Rappahannock Football Officials Association (Fredericksburg) unless something has changed in recent years. Although they a very good group with great leadership, they barely have enough crews to work even with the shift of some games to Thursdays. I think Louisa County may get their officials from either Richmond or Charlottesville.
***Edit*** - Some of the RVFOA crews have some work to do. I watched a scrimmage last night which one of their crews officiated. They were continuously off on their spots (spotting the ball is one of the easiest things to do). Usually, they were about a yard off, but at one point, they were off by four yards. I hope they tighten this stuff up as they head into the season.
I also see they are under newish leadership for the most part. I guess they've changed commissioners in recent years.
I know it's preseason for everyone, but they should at least work these preseason events like they are actual games.
Last edited:
Clover Hill could easily lose to Meadowbrook. Meadowbrook has a lot of kids who have started 2-3 years coming back.
PG is not beating Colonial Heights. Deep Run and Meadowbrook games will be a coin flip.
Godwin will be no better than 6-4 and that’s with a weak schedule.
I DONT KNOW FOR SURE BUT ISNT ORANGE THE CLOSEST SCHOOL. THEY ARE AT LEAST THE SECOND CLOSEST.
wow you really just dont like louisa at all. dont hate them because they have great fans that support their team more than most. they are doing pretty well this year considering what they lost and the 2 star sophomore players decided to jump ship because the lions lost so many starters.
