Wed, Feb.24, 2021 - (with apologies to Michael Buffer and the late John Norris...) Let's Get Read-dyyyyyyy ... tooooo... FUMMMMMMMMMMM - BLLLLLLLLLE... it's FOOTBALL TIME in the million-icicle coalfields!
To get'cha caught up.... Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the VHSL Executive Committee announced in late June that
they were looking at 3 options for sports for the 2020-21 school year ...
1 � The only Fall sports will be golf and XC.
2 � Switch Fall and Spring sports seasons (except lacrosse).
3 � Play Winter sports in Jan/Feb, Fall sports in March/April, Spring sports in May/June.
After a couple of weeks of feedback and discussions, option 3 was approved on July 27th by a vote of 34-1, making Virginia one of 17 states that opted to NOT play Fall football. "Fall sports" practices began on Thursday FEB. 4th, with a "first contest" date of Monday, Feb. 22nd. Schools will have 6 weeks to play 6 games.
Only FOUR teams from each Region will make the playoffs. I can't wait to see some of the plans Regions come up with to try and make things as fair as possible. I've already heard the 2D (non-district) plan, and it's a doozie.
First-round playoff games (the Regional semis) will be on April 9/10.
Regional finals will be by 4/17, state semis on 4/24 & the title games on May 1st.
Non-playoff teams get to have an extra ("+1") game on April 9th.
As of now, attendance will be VERY limited - each player will get TWO tickets. Cheerleaders and band members will also count as FANS, which is currently capped at 250.
Almost 50 games were scheduled for a FREEZING OPENING NIGHT... yep, MNF in Va!!!!... with about a half-dozen of those down west of Roanoke.
Now, let's review some schedule stuff involving western Va. teams. First, the Seminole Dist. has 8 teams, so everybody will be short one district opponent. Those non-matchups are : Heritage-LCA, Liberty-Amherst, Glass-Brookville & Rustburg-Jeff.Forest. Some other schools 'dropped' a district game to play an old rival... In the Three Rivers, Giles-James River was replaced with Giles-Narrows & JR-ParryMcCluer, while Carroll Co.-Alleghany was replaced with with Carroll-Galax & Alleghany-Covington. (More changes are possible.) The Dogwood has just four teams this season, so they're playing each other twice... Chatham, Dan River & Gretna are benched (at least for a few weeks), as is Craig Co. from the Pioneer. Everyone else in western Va. is playing. The Blue Ridge, River Ridge, and Piedmont scheds are still a mess due to VERY recent policy changes and some other schools still aren't on the same page, especially after some schools released 'updated' schedules last week. I'll do the best I can to keep up with things.
As of Tuesday, 2/23, here's what the scheds look like... 2/22, 2/26, 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26, and 4/2.
Finally, I can't NOT mention the passing of a couple of BIG Buchanan County sports guys last month due to Covid. First, we lost the guy who helped make Grundy a powerhouse in wrestling, Red Robertson. A few days later, I lost a co-hort and best bud. Anyone who's ever read Grundy & BDD game stories in the local dailys or the Grundy weekly over the last 30 years or so knows the work of Lloyd Combs. Lloyd's stroke a few years ago made him more vunerable, and Covid took him down in a blitz... just 2 weeks after testing positive. He's a big reason I have this site... when the VHSL put in their ratings system back in the 80's, Lloyd was unable to master it and asked me to try it in Year 2, and I've done it ever since. Rest easy, my friend.
Sat., Nov. 9, 2019, 6 am : Posted the current standings and UNOFFICIAL ratings, with Castlewood @ Eastside to be played today @ 3:00. Here's what looks to be the playoff pairings for this year...
1D : #6 Thomas Walker @ #3 Chilhowie; #7 Castle-E'side loser @ #2 J.I. Burton
#5 Holston @ #4 Castle-E'side winner; #8 Honaker @ #1 Patrick Henry (GS)
2D : #6 Tazewell @ #3 Graham; #7 Gate City @ #2 Union
#5 Richlands @ #4 Central; #8 Marion @ #1 Ridgeview
1C : #6 Parry McCluer @ #3 George Wythe; #7 Grayson Co. @ #2 Narrows
#5 Auburn @ #4 Covington; #8 East. Mont. @ #1 Galax
2C : #6 Dan River @ #3 Gretna; #7 Patrick County @ #2 Radford
#5 Floyd Co. @ #4 Glenvar; #8 Chatham @ #1 Appomattox Co.
3D : #6 Bassett @ #3 Magna Vista; #7 Abingdon @ #2 Northside
#5 Christiansburg @ #4 Hidden Valley; #8 William Byrd @ #1 Lord Botetourt
4D : #6 Blacksburg @ #3 Pulaski Co.; #7 Jeff. Forest @ #2 E.C. Glass
#5 GW-Danville @ #4 Halifax Co.; #8 Amherst Co. @ #1 Salem
Wed., Nov. 6, 2019, 6 pm : Added tightened cheat sheets to be used if Graham wins or if Marion wins .
Tues., Nov. 5, 2019, 2:45 pm : Updated the standings to ... correct the district records of John Battle, Va. High & Chilhowie, add some co-champ designations, show Hancock Co. IS a 1A school, add info about Bland & Jenkins.
Updated the ratings to deduct 2 points from Thomas Walker.
Updated the Reg. 1D cheat sheet to fix Walker.
Updated the Reg. 1C cheat sheet to fix the Bath Co. math.
Added Reg. 1D tight ,
Reg. 1C tight ,
Reg. 2D tight ,
Reg. 2C tight ,
Reg. 3D tight ,
Reg. 4D tight to make things easier for ya.
Because Graham hosts Marion Thursday night, I'll post 'updated' 2D sheets tonight so you won't have to wait for me on Friday.
I'll post the unofficial pairings Friday night after 10 as I can... I try to post on boards first. One problem I'll have is in Region 1D - Castlewood @ Eastside has been moved to Saturday @ 3:00. Right now, either team could finish as high as 4th, so those final pairings will have to wait. Region 2D might also be a problem, as Central MIGHT need Eastside's rider points to move up. Anyway, here's the NEW schedule for Nov. 7-9. Stay warm !!!!
Sun., Nov. 3, 2019, 5:15 pm : Posted the current standings, UNOFFICIAL ratings and the schedule for Nov. 7-9, along with the cheat sheets for Reg. 1D , Reg. 2D , Reg. 3D , Reg. 4D , Reg. 1C and Reg. 2C. I'll work on the "tightened" sheets tonight and post them Monday evening, after the official ratings come out, in case any changes are needed.
Sat., Nov. 3, 2018, 9:30 am : Posted the final unofficial standings & ratings. Uodated the 2-C and 4-D pairings below.
Sat., Nov. 3, 2018, 11 am : Updated the standings & ratings ... 5 more games today.
Fri., Nov. 2, 11:35 pm, 11:05 pm, 11 pm, 10:50 pm, 10 pm :
OFFICIAL announcement prob. won't be until Monday!. I'm done for a few hours. Region 4-D unofficial pairings - - updated Sat. night - - #6 Jeff. Forest @ #3 Salem #7 William Byrd @ #2 E.C. Glass #5 Pulaski Co. @ #4 GW-Danville #8 Liberty Chr. @ #1 Blacksburg Region 3-D #6 Hidden Valley @ #3 Abingdon #7 Christiansburg @ #2 Lord Botetourt #5 Tunstall @ #4 Magna Vista #8 Cave Spring @ #1 Northside Region 2-C - - updated Sat. night - - #6 Giles @ #3 Appomattox Co. #7 Buckingham Co. @ #2 Glenvar #5 James River @ #4 Gretna #8 Fort Chiswell @ #1 Radford Region 1-C #6 Bath Co. @ #3 Parry McCluer #7 Auburn @ #2 Narrows #5 Covington @ #4 George Wythe #8 East. Mont. @ #1 Galax Region 1-D #6 Holston @ #3 J.I. Burton #7 Honaker @ #2 Pat. Henry #5 Thomas Walker @ #4 Grundy #8 Eastside @ #1 Chilhowie Region 2-D #6 Va. High @ #3 Graham #7 John S. Battle @ #2 Union #5 Richlands @ #4 Grayson Co. #8 Central @ #1 Ridgeview
Fri., Nov. 2, 4 am : I've went through and double checked everything and made a couple of tweeks - EVERYTHING is updated and ready to go. I AM missing one Thursday night score from NC, but it doesn't tie into a playoff team, so that can wait.
2 am : I've updated EVERYTHING but the standings... AND I forgot to change the dates on the cheat sheets. Oopps! Sheesh!
Thur., Nov. 1, 10 am : As I expected, numerous changes/tweaks were needed on the cheat sheets, so I've updated EVERYTHING but the standings. Sheesh!
The only big change was that Liberty Christian has NOT clinched, and Carroll Co. will get the 8-seed with a win & an LCA loss.
I still have 3 schools with a rating different than the VHSL rating - I have Gate City & Bath Co. with 1 more, East. Mont. with 1 less - I've contacted the VHSL about these.
Will update again after tonight's games.
Wed., Oct. 31, 4:30 pm : Here's the deal ...
1.) My ratings are off by 1 point from the official ratings for 8 teams. I'll work on that tonight AND double check the point possibilities for everyone. Everything will be updated around noon Thursday.
2.) Because of ANOTHER big rain, a lot of games are being moved to Thursday (it should start raining in Richlands around midnight). Here's the updated schedule for now ... I'll update it again Thur. aft/eve. sometime. I'll also update EVERYTHING late Thur. night.
Tues., Oct. 30, 6 pm : So, I checked every hour or so today to get the official ratings, but they were NOT posted ! SHOCK !!! I decided I didn't really want to wait ANOTHER day, so.... the cheat sheets for ALL Western Va. schools/teams/Regions are up! For those of you that haven't seen them before, I take the current ratings points and add in the points that might AND will be gained, find a final range, then "tighten" it up into one page per Region to make it easier to work with on Friday night... so don't be surprised if a little rearranging has been done. I'll check the ratings tomorrow, and go over everything tonight, and make any changes that might be needed tom. afternoon. Plus, there's a 1D game THURSDAY night, along with a few rider-point games, so I'll update things either around midnight or noon. So if you want the latest, exact stuff, wait until Friday to print.
Here they un-officially are.... Have Fun !!! Reg. 1D & Reg. 1D tight , Reg. 2D & Reg. 2D tight , Reg. 3D & Reg. 3D tight , Reg. 4D & Reg. 4D tight , Reg. 1C & Reg. 1C tight , Reg. 2C & Reg. 2C tight. Shew!
Oh yeah... I also updated the standings and ratings this morning.
Sun., Oct. 28, 2018, 8:15 am : Posted the standings, ratings and the schedule for 10/29-11/3, along with the Reg. 2D and Reg. 2D "tight" cheat sheets. Will post 1D later (possibly sooner) and the rest by tomorrow. With a dozen or so games across the state on Monday night, and a handful of games Tuesday night, it's hard to tell when the VHSL will release their official ratings. And I GUARANTEE I'll have a couple of things different, which will mean another day or two before either set of 'west' numbers can be completely trusted, so hold off on printing the 'working copy' as long as you can, and keep an eye out for updates/changes.
7:15 pm : Added the Reg. 1D and Reg. 1D "tight" cheat sheets.
Thur., Aug. 23, 2018, 7:15 p.m. : Posted the open week scheds. Will add more Monday.
Tues., Aug. 7, 2018, 4:15 p.m. : Posted the pre-season scrimmages/jams list.
Sat., Nov. 4, 9 am : Updated the standings & ratings.
Fri., Nov. 3, 11:35 pm : Tentative playoff pairings....
Region 1D
#6 J.I. Burton (5-5) @ #3 Grundy (7-3)
#7 Thomas Walker (6-4) @ #2 Pat. Henry (8-2)
#5 Hurley (6-4) @ #4 Eastside (6-4)
#8 Castlewood (5-5) @ #1 Chilhowie (7-3)
Region 1C
#6 Parry McCluer (4-6) @ #3 George Wythe (6-4)
#7 Bland Co. (3-7) @ #2 Galax (7-3)
#5 Auburn (4-6) @ #4 Covington (7-3)
#8 Rural Retreat (2-8) @ #1 Narrows (9-1)
Region 2D
#6 Grayson Co. (6-4) @ #3 Ridgeview (9-1)
#7 John S. Battle (6-4) @ #2 Graham (9-1)
#5 Marion (8-2) @ #4 Va. High (7-3)
#8 Richlands (4-6) @ #1 Union (10-0)
Region 2C
#6 Fort Chiswell (7-3) @ #3 Giles (8-2)
#7 Martinsville (5-5) @ #2 Appomattox (9-1)
#5 Floyd Co. (8-2) @ #4 Gretna (8-2)
#8 Dan River (5-5) @ #1 Glenvar (9-1)
Region 3D
#6 Alleghany (4-6) @ #3 Magna Vista (7-3)
#7 Tunstall (3-7) @ #2 Lord Botetourt (8-2)
#5 Abingdon (6-4) @ #4 Northside (4-6)
#8 Cave Spring (2-8) @ #1 Staunton River (10-0)
Region 4D
#6 William Byrd (9-1) or Char'ville (7-3) @ #3 Salem (8-2)
#7 Amherst Co. (6-4) @ #2 GW-Danville (9-1)
#5 WB/Cv @ #4 E.C. Glass (7-3)
#8 Jeff. Forest (5-5) @ #1 Blacksburg (9-1)
Tues., Oct. 31, 3:15 pm : Here are the changes made to the cheat sheets (updated ones are posted)...
1D - no changes
1C - took 1 pt. away from Bland Co.
added 1 pt. to Bath Co. for Pendleton's win
2D - took 1 pt. from Central-Wise
2C - updated Buck. Co. for their win last night
updated Appo to add Buck. Co's win last night and fix multiplication error
updated Chatham to add Buck. Co's win
3D - added 2 to Alleghany - forgot Giles counted as 3A
changed N'side's "Flem-Botey" to "Flem/Botey"
4D - added 1 pt. to Salem for Dinwiddie's win
Also updated the standings, ratings and the schedule for Nov. 3rd.
Mon., Oct. 30, 2:30 pm :
The cheat sheets for ALL Western Va. schools/teams/Regions are up! For those of you that haven't seen them before, I take the current ratings points and add in the points that might AND will be gained, find a final range, then "tighten" it up into one page per Region to make it easier to work with on Friday night... so don't be surprised if a little rearranging has been done. I was waiting for the official numbers, but I gave up, and will check again later, so check back after noon Tuesday and see if any changes were needed.
Here they unofficially are.... Have Fun !!! Reg. 1D & Reg. 1D tight , Reg. 2D & Reg. 2D tight , (1D & 2D tightened have more info after doing some # crunching yesterday), Reg. 3D & Reg. 3D tight , Reg. 4D & Reg. 4D tight , Reg. 1C & Reg. 1C tight , Reg. 2C & Reg. 2C tight. Shew!
Sat., Oct. 28, 7:15 pm :
Updated the standings, ratings and the schedule for Nov. 3rd. Added the cheat sheets for Reg. 2D and Reg. 1D, along with the Reg. 2D "tight" and Reg. 1D "tight" babies. Will post the rest for the other western Va. Regions Monday (want to double-check the ratings).
Oh, yeah... numbers are UNOFFICIAL until Tuesday.
Wed., Oct. 25, 4:45 pm : Added the Reg. 1D cheat sheet.
Tues., Oct. 24, 4:45 pm : Well, I'm finally back again. Seems like there's more to do and less time to do it every year.
Here's the current standings and ratings. The schedules for Oct. 27th & Nov. 3rd should be up shortly.
And, yes, the cheat sheets WILL be back! I have Reg. 2D ready, and I HOPE to have 1D done tomorrow, but the rest won't be up until Saturday morning (it's soooo much easier doing the 1-week sheet). With any luck, I'll find the time to do them for all six Regions that have SW Va. schools.
Thur., Aug. 24, 2017, 5 p.m. : Posted the schedule for Aug. 24/25/26.
Wed., Aug. 16, 2017, 1:00 p.m. : Posted the pre-season scrimmages/jams list... more to come next week.
2016
Sun., Nov. 7, 6 a.m. : Updated the standings and ratings.
Here's my UNOFFICIAL pairings ... VHSL will release the official pairings later today
1A West
#11 Cov/Castle @ #6 Parry McCluer (9-1)
#14 Rural Retreat @ #3 Hurley (10-0)
#10 Radford (5-5) @ #7 Patrick Henry (7-3)
#15 Twin Springs (5-5) @ #2 George Wythe (9-1)
#12 Cov/Castle @ #5 Chilhowie (8-2)
#13 Twin Valley (6-4) @ #4 Fort Chiswell (7-3)
#9 Narrows (6-4) @ #8 J.I. Burton (7-3), 2:00 Sat.
#16 Honaker (3-7) @ #1 Galax (8-2)
2A West
#11 Gate City (5-5) @ #6 Glenvar (8-2), 7:00
#14 J.S. Battle (5-5) @ #3 Richlands (9-1), 7:30
#10 Grundy (7-3) @ #7 Martinsville (7-3)
#15 Lebanon (4-6) @ #2 Graham (9-1)
#12 Lee (6-4) @ #5 Union (9-1)
#13 Floyd Co. (6-4) @ #4 Dan River (9-1)
#9 Marion (7-3) @ #8 Giles (7-3)
#16 Va. High (3-7) @ #1 Appomattox Co. (10-0)
Wed., Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m. : Like Rosanne Rosannadanna used to say, "it's always something". If it isn't a medical situation, it's a 4-day-long service outage for upgrades. And, BOY, did they pick the wrong weekend for me.
So, along with the newer freshly updated standings and ratings, and an updated schedule for Nov. 4th, I'm FINALLY able to post the cheat sheets for 2A West and 1A West, and the 2A West tight and 1A West tight cheat sheets which I use on those last Friday nights to be ahead of the rest. (At least the down time gave me the chance to both make the lists AND check them twice. Yeah, I know... went to town today and those 3-foot tall posts near the store doors now look like fat peppermint sticks.) Now I've got to work on some incredibly tedious tie-breaker numbers, which I REALLY hope I don't need Friday night. Hope to post the unofficial pairings around midnight.
Wed., Oct. 26, 3 pm :
Well, I'm finally back. It's been another interesting Fall... made weekly 2-hour trips to Bristol to help
a buddy who had a stroke Labor Day weekend, (he's doing better and rehabing nearby now - looks like he MIGHT
make it back into the press box this week!), had to get a new laptop and deal with all the fun things involved
there, and lost a flash drive for about a month.
THEN when I did my first ratings last week, I had a few things diff. from the official numbers. Looks like the
VHSL's ratings program is tied into the master schedule file, which still had a lot of things wrong - over 100
things related to 1A West, 2A West and their opponents.
Sent a couple of lists to Hoo'ville; the smaller things like H/A and district/non might be fixed this week,
but the ratings look a WHOLE lot better - just not perfect yet.
So, now that that's taken care of, I've had time to get a bunch of MY stuff together. Here's the current
standings and ratings,
along with the schedules for Oct. 28th & Nov. 4th.
It's a bit late to do the 2-week out cheat sheet, so I'll work on the ones that will be up Sat. morning.
Thought I'd share the biggest surprises I noticed while working on the ratings...
In 2A, compared to this time one year ago, Richlands has just a 1 ratings point diffrence while Appo is only off 4.
Buckingham is down almost 100 points while Marion is up 71.
In 1A, Narrows also has just a 1 point difference, yet they're up 3 spots on the list.
Northwood is down nearly 60. And the big surprise is Fort Chiswell, which moved from
4th from the bottom to 4th from the top, gaining 86 points thanks to 6 wins.
Chilhowie made a similar jump from 6th to 6th, thanks to 5 more wins.
If you're wondering why Hurley & Parry McCluer aren't higher in the ratings, it's because of their poor SoS. The Rebs opponents have won just 24 games this season, the Blues just 18. Meanwhile, Wythe's & Fort's opponents have won 37 games. Galax leads the A West with 43, the same as Richlands.
Thur., Aug. 25, 9:15 a.m. : Posted the schedule for 8/25.
Fri., Aug. 19, 10:30 a.m. : Posted the pre-season scrimmages/jams list... more to come next week.
updated at 1 pm.
Tues., Nov. 10, 4:30 a.m. : The VHSL has released the the official playoff schedule. The only SW teams playing on Saturday are JI Burton & Hurley @ home & Lee (away).
Sun., Nov. 8, 4:00 a.m. : Updated the standings and ratings. Still see the pairings the same. The VHSL will release the official numbers/info later today.
9 am - Should've fixed #16 West as Twin Springs won their way in yesterday.
1 pm - It's official - all games confirmed - dates/times still TBA.
Sat., Nov. 7, 2 a.m. : Here's my UNOFFICIAL pairings ...
UNOFFICIAL, by my numbers, 1st rd. games... 1A West #11 Parry McCluer @ #6 Hurley #14 Narrows @ #3 Galax #10 Auburn @ #7 Rural Retreat #15 Covington @ #2 J.I. Burton #12 Northwood @ #5 Honaker #13 Twin Valley @ #4 Radford #9 Bland Co. @ #8 Patrick Henry #16 Twin Springs @ #1 George Wythe 2A West #11 Ridgeview @ #6 Giles #14 Va. High @ #3 Glenvar #10 Graham @ #7 James River #15 Gretna @ #2 Union (BSG) #12 Martinsville @ #5 Buckingham Co. #13 Grayson Co. @ #4 Richlands #9 Central (Wise) @ #8 Dan River #16 Lee @ #1 Appomattox Co.
Wed., Nov. 4, 1:00 a.m. : Tweaked the cheat sheets for 2A West and 1A West; posted the 1A West tight and 2A West tight cheat sheets. I don't expect any more changes will be made before Friday night.
Here's the full story of the Salem-Carroll Co. "stuff" from the Roanoke Times.
Tue., Nov. 3, 7:00 a.m. : The word for today is CHANGES.
After a review of the official ratings, a ruling on an unplayed game, a Monday night make-up game, a "misplaced" District game, and a correction of a misapplied ratings rule, I've updated everything - the standings, ratings and cheat sheets for 2A West and 1A West, along with the schedule for Nov. 6th. NOTE - Honaker will play AT Ridgeview, which is a change from earlier schedules (although this was known at the start of August). I'll work on the "tightened" sheets tonight. Still waiting to see if Dan River's numbers will change.
Sat., Oct. 31, 10:30 a.m. : Updated the standings and ratings. Had to actually sleep last night because I have to work this afternoon - will get the cheat sheets done as fast as I can.
4:45 p.m.: Added the ratings cheat sheet for 2A West.
8:45 p.m.: Added the ratings cheat sheet for 1A West.
NOTE - THIS IS UNOFFICIAL. It's possible I made a mistake somewhere. And there are still a couple of "bugs" that the VHSL has to work out. AND there's a make-up game Monday night. When the official ratings are released next week, on whatever day/s, I'll make any adjustments necessary. But I think what I have is pretty accurate, since I've been doing this a loonnnggg time.
Fri., Oct. 30, 6 a.m. : Well, I'm finally here.
For those who don't know, I transformed into reporter-helper a little over three months ago - a former co-worker and my best-bud took a dizzy spell during media day on a new artificial turf field on a mountain top, and hasn't gotten back to normal. He's been to ERs, docs, an E/N/T guy, a neuro guy - still don't know what it is, and he still has dizzy & woozy spells, so they don't want him to drive, and he lives nearly 45 minutes away. One or two trips a week to appts., druggists & shopping really ate into my free time this Fall. I'm nowhere NEAR caught up, but have burned some midnight oil this week squaring my numbers with what Hoo-ville has (still working on that) and getting things ready for this weekend. I didn't have time to do the traditional two-weeks out cheat-sheets, but I have the one-week ones ready to tweak, and will post them SOMETIME Saturday.
Meanwhile, here's the current standings and ratings, along with the schedules for Oct. 30th & Nov. 6th.