Top ten after week 6
- Thread starter OCBoy
- Start date
I dont know how you define salty Free, but he is very passionate, knowleable, and a very respectful young man. We have kind of adopted him and his pops as Dinwiddie fans. He knows high school sports and travels all over Virginia to see games. I think he may be still bitter about the Salem and GW game few years ago, but thats what makes him a fan like the rest of us.
We've had this convo before sir. As a football fan I just expressed my true feelings on if EV has to play Dinwiddie. Call it salt, call it whatever you feel like.. You must really like me big guy
I have been trying my hardest not to sit down and do this math
I do think Dinwiddie should finish in the 1 spot. Its the Louisa/EV math that gets tricky. EV needs a couple wins by Brentsville and a couple by CC and they should slide in to 3rd. I will wait 1 more week then do the math. I'm hoping C'ville knocks them off to make this easier . Also keep in mind, EV still has it's bye week. So basically a week where they should add points but not an extra game to divide from. So right now the lead is a little bigger than it looks on Louisa. If that makes any sense. Your right though, 4 games left and a first round game before we crush.. I mean play either Dinwiddie or Monacan or Louisa
I don't know the teams down that way....would you say Monacan will beat Bird?
That's a tough one. Monacan has the talent to get it done and if they (Monacan) play sound football I think they will beat LC Bird. Fludd is a very good quarterback, but if you are going to beat Bird you have to run the ball right at them. If they can at least make Bird respect the run then Fludd can free lance and throw the ball. If Monacan comes out chucking it and goes three and out a bunch then this ball game will get interesting. Monacan had a huge victory over highly ranked Manchester (Class 6) and looked good doing it, so they can handle the size Bird will throw at them.
History is not on their side though. I don't think Monacan has beaten them in the past twenty + years, but don't quote me on that. According to VHSL Reference Monacan has not beaten LC Bird since 1999. Tons of athletes in this game, so it should be fun. Definitely game of the week material.
Regarding the "crush" I wouldn't be shocked by anything in region b. Whoever, is #4 will have to likely face #5 PH-Ashland and they will be tested as they arguably play in the toughest district (Capital) in the state. Not going to be an easy one. The top four seeds are just sound football teams. Some posters say home field advantage is not a factor in high school, but I disagree. The Louisa's "Jungle", Monacan, and Dinwiddie are not easy places to play and win. I can't speak for EV as I have never been to a game there. Its going to be fun.
History is not on their side though. I don't think Monacan has beaten them in the past twenty + years, but don't quote me on that. According to VHSL Reference Monacan has not beaten LC Bird since 1999. Tons of athletes in this game, so it should be fun. Definitely game of the week material.
Regarding the "crush" I wouldn't be shocked by anything in region b. Whoever, is #4 will have to likely face #5 PH-Ashland and they will be tested as they arguably play in the toughest district (Capital) in the state. Not going to be an easy one. The top four seeds are just sound football teams. Some posters say home field advantage is not a factor in high school, but I disagree. The Louisa's "Jungle", Monacan, and Dinwiddie are not easy places to play and win. I can't speak for EV as I have never been to a game there. Its going to be fun.
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I'm sorry, you guys are making me dizzy. Am I being punked? I was simply trying to figure out why Salem was ranked so low. I have no misconceptions on who Dinwiddie is, I just have seen a lot written to the idea that Salem was down this year. I don't know how you can watch that game and say 1 team is that better than the other. No one is trying to get anyone riled up, although that does not seem all that difficult to do. I don't have time to figure out if it is related to reading comprehension or personality disorders. But for me I am simply an information seeker, I was wondering why. Now, about Courtland being #1
If I may drop by to offer my two cents.....
First, to address the Dinwiddie game. Yes, that was a pretty evenly-played game. An exciting, dramatic contest, but a very sloppily-played one. The thing is, both teams had significant mitigating factors that night: Dinwiddie was without K'vaughan Pope, and Salem imitated the Keystone Kops with an avalanche of penalties and turnovers. So, those factors throw into doubt how accurate a picture that game on September 8 painted of how Dinwiddie and Salem stack up against each other. Even with all the fumbles, Salem would have prevailed, if not for an amazing one-handed catch on fourth down by Josiah Williams. But again - the Generals were without the elder Pope. It remains to be seen whether or not Salem coming so close to knocking off Dinwiddie was some kind of fool's gold for us Spartan fans. I fear it might have been.
As far as Salem's current ranking, I'm not sure where the Spartans belong, and it really doesn't matter. Put simply, this is definitely not the Salem team of the past three or four years. Reasons being:
~Defensive capability. This is not a good defensive team, period. Other Salem posters have offered reasons why, and people like Shabutie can give you far better X's and O's explanations than I can. I'd say the biggest surprise and disappointment thus far has been the play of the secondary, all of whom are seniors with a good degree of experience. There also hasn't been much at all in the area of a consistent effective pass rush. Against the three likely playoff teams the Spartans have played thus far (Amherst, Dinwiddie, Blacksburg), the defense has surrendered an average of 32.67 points per game. In all games, the first-team defense has allowed 17.5 points per game.Tackling overall has been bad. Every opponent thus far has experienced some success in moving the ball. Franklin County ran the ball well for a half; Northside hit short passes at will the entire game. Even lowly Christiansburg looked competent on offense their first two possessions, before they started booting the ball around the stadium. It seems to me much of the tackling problem could be rectified, but even so, I just don't see this team ever being strong enough defensively to win Region D this season, let alone Class 4. The two most telling moments came in the Dinwiddie and Blacksburg games. Dinwiddie went eighty yards in less than two minutes to score the winning touchdown, and really didn't encounter that much resistance in doing so. K'ymon Pope and company made all the plays, while no one on Salem's D stepped up. The Blacksburg situation was just downright sickening. The Spartans had kind of clawed their way back into it at 21-12, and were to receive the second half kickoff. Blacksburg had fourteen seconds left in the half, from their own twenty yard line. Now, everyone in the place expected the Bruins to hand off to Beck, and throw to Terry. That's exactly what Blacksburg did - and in two plays scored a back-breaking TD to effectively end it. And had the field been five hundred yards long, Terry still would have scored, as he was completely untouched on the play. A complete debacle for Salem that kind of encapsulates how the season's gone defensively.
~Quarterback play. To be fair, Gladden had about the toughest possible act to follow in Noah Beckley. In stark contrast to his predecessor, Gladden to this point has shown very limited mobility. Unlike Dinwiddie's Pope, he doesn't possess the speed or quickness to extend plays or make plays on his own by running. Gladden has thrown some good balls in all ranges, but has also been inconsistent short, medium, and long. To his credit, he hasn't seemed to have panicked on too many occasions, and tried to force balls where there is no opening, as many young high school qb's tend to do. But the inconsistency he's shown thus far in hitting the key short- and medium-range passes on third down - so crucial to Salem's offense - leads me to have serious doubts about the Spartans being able to win any shootouts precipitated by the team's defensive weaknesses. The good news is, Gladden's passing should keep improving with practice and more game experience. But Salem just doesn't have a running threat at quarterback this year - unless Wade moves there. I wonder if we will see that happen for a few series a game as the season winds down, similar to how Matt Hill and the Fisher kid (don't remember which one) rotated during the 2011 season. Gladden in fact reminds me of Hill from early in his varsity career.
~Team chemistry. Not much to say here - Salem thus far has just seemed to lack "it", whatever "it" may be. As I offered in a different thread, the whole has been less than the sum of the parts, through game six. As to reasons why - it's up to debate (by others).
As of today, I think the Spartans' ceiling is probably the regional semifinals; possibly the regional finals, if everything falls right. The penalties and turnovers can and should be ironed out, and indeed, Salem played a very clean game in that regard against C'burg. However, that still leaves some significant weaknesses, primarily on the defensive side of the ball. If Salem cleans up the things that need addressing, Gladden keeps improving, and everyone stays healthy, I think the Spartans are fully capable of defeating any team in the region besides Blacksburg, Glass, and possibly Charlottesville. For the reasons stated above, it's hard for me today to envision beating any two of those three in succession. I sure hope I'm wrong. The lack of intensity and emotional investment shown by Salem the entire game against Blacksburg really makes me wonder just how much we learned that night. Aside from learning that, for the biggest game of the regular season, Salem displayed a lack of intensity and emotional investment. That's probably quite telling in and of itself. I would like to see the Bruins again. Not in a "Yeah, bring 'em on!" way, but more of in a needing-to-atone kind of way.
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Wow, SpartanofYore I think you put it out there and likely hit it out of the park. Obviously, this has been on your mind for some time. Have to respect the honesty. Good post sir.
In response to Bleedingnavy, I have been around and seen most of these home games. Recently, EV has built quite the atmosphere, not sure if it's the "jungle" quite yet. But I don't see EV bringing in live animals and fire breathing Lions! Lol. After looking at some film only on these 4B teams it is going to be a dog fight in November.
Also, I know a lot of you are referring to EVs schedule this year. This might be the one year when you have Courtland, Chancellor, JM, and King George scheduled and people are talking about an undefeated season. The Battlefield is having a down year but it's hard to bang EV up with this.
Also, I know a lot of you are referring to EVs schedule this year. This might be the one year when you have Courtland, Chancellor, JM, and King George scheduled and people are talking about an undefeated season. The Battlefield is having a down year but it's hard to bang EV up with this.
Everyone is forgetting Patrick Henry in this mix. Especially for the first round. Whoever PH gets they absolutely can pull the upset.
You are right OCBoy. I said thst a bit earlier. They had a bad loss against Atlee this week, but they have some talent.
Ahh, what could you possibly know OCBoy? You are sitting down there in Georgia working on your tan!
Just kidding old friend. I know it's killing you not being able to be up here, going to two games each weekend. But, you are getting to the short rows now. It will be over before you know it.
Just kidding old friend. I know it's killing you not being able to be up here, going to two games each weekend. But, you are getting to the short rows now. It will be over before you know it.
Who you telling??? I’ll be back for the first round of playoffs. I thought I would have made it to Dinwiddie last week but never even made the trip.
That would have been a hell of a commute last Friday. 6+ hours? And then have to get home after the game? Man, you would have been a Zombie!
The Gameday Magazine crew left Dinwiddie a little after 10:00 Friday and had to drive home to Salem. And then upload the game before calling it a night.
What we all do for the game we love.
The Gameday Magazine crew left Dinwiddie a little after 10:00 Friday and had to drive home to Salem. And then upload the game before calling it a night.
What we all do for the game we love.
Region A winner plays Region B winner, no cross bracketing before... 757 vs 804 in the state semi's only
Too bad I really liked cross bracketing in addition to I rather drive to Richmond than traffic clogged Southside.
It's as simple as this. The region A champion, host the region B champion.
In Region B, the higher seed (via final regular season power point total), host the lower seed, down through the regional championship game.
1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, & 4 vs 5. Let's say all four 1-4 teams win, then 1 vs 4, & 2 vs 3. Those two winners play on week three for the regional championship.
Region A host the state semi-final for region B regardless of any other factors.
I can not attest to what any other region is doing to produce a regional champion. But I'm telling you unequivocally, this is the format for Region B.
In Region B, the higher seed (via final regular season power point total), host the lower seed, down through the regional championship game.
1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, & 4 vs 5. Let's say all four 1-4 teams win, then 1 vs 4, & 2 vs 3. Those two winners play on week three for the regional championship.
Region A host the state semi-final for region B regardless of any other factors.
I can not attest to what any other region is doing to produce a regional champion. But I'm telling you unequivocally, this is the format for Region B.
Just think Lafayette if your team wins region a you can stay home and watch the game. No driving.
True, but the stars will need to align well to outpoint the winner of D.C./KF game this year. Even if we win out to 9-1 and beat York this Thursday (4-1) and Poquoson in 4 weeks (5-0), I don't know if we can outpoint them all for home field thru out.
It doesnt matter about points in the state semi. Region A host no matter what. If you win region a you play the winner of region b at home.
You need KF to beat Deep Creek and both to lose to OS. wouldn't hurt you if KF also lost to Indian River.
Then you would host the regional final game in the Burg.
This could actually happen for you.
But if Deep Creek beats KF then you can forget it.
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