I've read a few stories about some of the schools in SWVA. I'll say back in the old days, but what I mean by that was when EVERY small locality had a high school and a football team. Teams like Hasyi, Narrows, Council, Independence, and a hundred more, lived and died by Friday night football. Oh, if those old fields could only talk, we would be entertained for the next 10 years.
I just happen to know the following information from having looked it up recently, so don't think I read your post and went scurrying off to fact check you. According to fourseasonsfootball.com, Council has only had a football team for one four-year stretch of their history - 1992 to 1995. Over those four seasons, the Cobras went a combined
0-40, with the average score being a 40-5 loss. They were shut out twenty times, and in only a handful of games was the margin within twenty-one points.
That is the epitome of futility. In Council's defense, I should mention that they had an outstanding basketball program from the mid-'90s to the early '00s. I saw them play a couple of times. The Cobras actually won the old consolidated single A state title in 2001, despite having one of the three or four smallest enrollments in the state - which has always seemed to me to be an excellent argument against having the divisional set-up in any sport but football. If Council could do it, by golly, anybody could do it.
Now - why did I look that information up recently? Read on, and you will see why the fact that you mentioned both Haysi and Council, out of all the schools that could have been mentioned, is a bit of a freaky coincidence.
I have a good friend who, as a teacher, has his summers free. For the past few years, we've had a tradition where we take one day, and just ride around. Don't really do anything, just ride around and see the sights. Just in normal, everyday places around our glorious Commonwealth. This year, we decided to head for the far southwest. For us much as I've read and heard about the towns and schools out that way, I've never really been past Richlands, or Abingdon if following I81. So, our goal was primarily the counties of Buchanan, Dickinson, and Wise. Two weeks ago, we left the Center of the Universe (ie Salem, and yes that's tongue-in-cheek), and took all secondary and back roads to Tazewell County. Here's a condensed [Edit: not as condensed as I was planning!] highlights list, in order, of things we saw or were near:
- Tazewell: We drove right by the high school, but didn't stop, as we'd both seen a game there before (Salem versus Grundy, 1996 Division 4 semifinals). I have tons of family history in Tazewell. My mother grew up and went to high school there, and a week-long stay with my grandparents constituted every single summer vacation we took the whole time I was growing up. Beach, schmeach.
- War, WV: War was home to Big Creek High School. Big Creek was the school attended by Homer Hickam, author of The Rocket Boys, which made it to the big screen as "October Sky". Homer's brother, Jim, played at Big Creek, and went on to coach at Northside in Roanoke for a few decades. The legendary Merrill Gainer was the head coach at Big Creek before winning a AAA state championship at Roanoke's Patrick Henry. Joel Hicks, famed of song and story in Pulaski County, was also the head man here, and Willis White, who would win four state crowns at Salem, got his start as an assistant in the Owls' program, as well. So, Big Creek is rich in football lore, of both the Virginia and West Virginia varieties. Sadly, neither the old high school nor the stadium still stand. The site of the stadium is now occupied by a large, consolidated elementary school. Directly behind that elementary school is an empty, grassy lot. This was the site of Big Creek High, until it was demolished in 2015. Adding insult to injury, the venerable edifice was torched just a few days before it was torn down. The school where the stadium once stood is snug against route 16, and we drove right by it - without even realizing it! I had said I'd like to see where Big Creek stood, but didn't learn until I got home that night and checked out Google Earth that we had passed within 150 yards of the site (and had passed right beside the site of the football stadium). The winding, circuitous route 83 took us back into Virginia.
- Grundy: We stopped at the school, and walked into the football stadium. After walking a lap around the track, we entered the unlocked field house, which was built in the late '90's, and stands on the inside of the track, immediately behind the east goalpost. We saw no one, other than one industrious young fireplug of a man, who was working out on the track. We then drove into town, and had lunch at a chain establishment that featured photos of teams from Grundy (especially that '96 team that we'd seen in person), Hurley, and Twin Valley. The latter two are each within half an hour's drive of Grundy. I would have liked to had visited both, but time just didn't allow. Twin Valley opened in 2001, and is the consolidation of Garden and Whitewood high schools, both of which were small single A institutions. Garden's Green Dragons actually had the occasional good team, chief of which was the Division 6 (now known as Division 1) state runners-up of 1986. Whitewood, with a tiny enrollment, apparently only had football from 1992 until 2000, the last fall the school was open. In those nine seasons, they managed eleven wins. The Garden building in Oakwood still stands; Whitewood High fell to the bulldozer nine years ago.
- The Breaks Interstate Park: This was somewhat unplanned, and had nothing to do with football. I'd always heard about the Breaks - my mom's father took my dad out there a few days before my parents' wedding - and since we were so close by, we headed out that way. It's called the Grand Canyon of the South, and while that moniker is somewhat hyperbolic, the gorge and views thereof are pretty spectacular. We spent probably close to two hours walking and driving around the park before heading south on route 80.
- Haysi: Not much to see here in the guise of a town. The old high school is perched on the side of a cliff, as so many structures in western-most Virginia are. It sits right above a hairpin curve in 80. There are no fences, and one can drive right up and park beside the building, which we did. The school has only been closed for four years, and is in a badly dilapidated state. If the exterior gave us a sobering impression of neglect, peeking in the ground floor windows absolutely disheartened us. Nearly everything is rotting, falling apart, or otherwise broken, either by accident or by vandals. I have no idea, but it doesn't seem as if Dickinson County has any plans for the old high school, other than destruction. We drove southward, very soon passing Haysi's old football field, which stands by an elementary school, both of which lay across the creek from the road we were on. Trees blocked our view, and we didn't stop.
- Council: Both the elementary and high schools are right beside route 80. We stopped, and got out at the high school. We were both aware of the Cobras' basketball history, but were unsure as to whether or not they had ever had a football program - which is what led to me checking the archives for that information when I returned home that night. The Council building is a simple, one-story structure, undistinguished, but typical of its time, which was probably the mid or late '60s. No football field in sight, but just down the road was a recreational area that is very nice for such a small community - playgrounds, shelters, a tennis court, and a couple of softball fields. We continued south on trusty 80, and as we left Dickinson County and entered Russell County, we dropped down out of the mountains, and the landscape and the views opened up quite a bit.
- Honaker: We motored both through the town and past the high school, then got on route 67, which runs through Swords Creek and leads to Honaker's sports complex. I'd seen the Tigers' football stadium on Google Earth, and the real thing did not disappoint. It's a lovely facility, regardless of classification: Fieldturf field with excellent graphics, three light poles on each side, ample seating for home and visiting fans, field house and other buildings. Check it out on Google Earth, or just look for images of it. Honaker's stadium must be one of the best single-school facilities in the state at the Class 1 or 2 level. I imagine much of this was made possible through funds provided by Heath Miller, of UVa and Pittsburgh Steeler fame. 67 continues on more or less directly back into Tazewell County, which I hadn't realized prior to our excursion.
- Richlands: I had attended both playoff games Salem had played at Richlands ('92 and '04), but my friend had been to neither. We drove around through the town of Richlands, then made our way a little further east to the high school. Ernie Hicks Stadium, which is just behind the school, is another fine facility with a nice Fieldturf playing surface. What appeared to be the middle school team was practicing when we stopped by. By this time, the westering sun was casting long shadows, so we found some supper at Cuz's BBQ between Richlands and Tazewell, then set sail up 460 for home, passing close by the high schools of Graham, Narrows, and Giles along the way. We'd both seen all three of those schools before, and both of us have watched football games at Giles.
I really enjoy doing things like that ride. I now can not only put these places in context, but I also have a better feel for where they are in relation to each other. I had thought of making a separate post about all of the above, but I figured very few would be interested, and this seems like a good place to put it. I wish I could link photos from my iphone, but I don't think that's possible (if anyone knows how, I'm all ears). I regret not taking a camera other than my phone.
We didn't make it to Wise County at all, and there were lots of things all along the way we didn't get to see. Another trip, I suppose. Something that really strikes one about Buchanan and Dickinson counties, as well as southern West Virginia, is how claustrophobic the settings can be. Driving along those roads, with steep-sloped hills and mountains on both sides, one gets the impression of driving down wooded hallways. Look out one side, and all you see is a leafy wall; turn your head to look out the other side, and it's a steep bank down to a railroad, buildings in a long, narrow strip, and the inevitable creek. And of course, much of West Virginia and far southwest Virginia just has a certain look to it. Through little or no fault of the average citizen, mining, the railroads, and the neglect that stems from economic downturn have left an indelible mark, and combined to create a distinctive - if seldom beautiful - appearance.
At any rate, I highly recommend DP and anyone else reading head out that way, if possible. Especially if you've never visited the region. There's lots of history, both in general and football-related, and endless scenery, much of it gorgeous. In the meantime, look for images of these places, and find them on Google Earth. It's amazing, and a bit shameful, how hard it seems to be to visit places that are just a few hours away.
