* Note-I started writing this blog on Friday morning.
High School Football is here. Today's the day, there are many different sources where you can get High School Football News from (I'll list those later). But, a bit of good news real quick, a new hard drive should arrive next week. Some stuff was on the old hard drive, and there's no word if those things will be able to be recovered yet or not.
Now, onto high school football. "The Sports Buffet" podcast has always tried to cover all high school sports equally well (Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that, but when you have a one person staff, you do what you can do.) but probably out of all sports, I have the biggest bond and closest friends/confidants in the basketball community. That's not to say I don't like football, because I do, and every fall I enjoy the opportunity to reconnect with my old friends so to speak.
By the way, I don't view myself as "media". I view myself as "pseudo media", because I view my job and duty as being a promoter of high school sports and other sports that people like (i.e. if you are a Yankees fan, I'll try to get some Yankees coverage on "The Sports Buffet")
Anyways, with High School Football starting today, I am going to analyze the coaches that I know that are playing tonight with my feelings on them and so forth.
Brad Bradley: William Campbell Generals: Brad Bradley is not
everyone's cup of tea. Obviously, if you read Virginia Preps.com last season, after the
Riverheads game, he is not loved by all Gladiators fans. With that being said, I am a big Brad Bradley fan. He has an excellent staff (John
Earich, Dwayne
Hamlette, Andy
Haga and John Meadows), he will do anything for his players, and he has a passion for the game. Bradley is never going to be mad at his team for being emotional or hyped up. Bradley is never going to be mad at his team for being
agressive and physical. What will chirp Coach Bradley is when his team is not giving 100 % effort. Like I said earlier, there are probably more non Brad Bradley fans out there, then there are fans. But, in Coach Bradley's words, if you are the most popular coach, you are probably not the
winningest coach. I am a big Brad Bradley fan and as long he is at the helm, you are always going to have to talk about
WilliamCampbell as being a Dogwood District contender.
Jeff Woody:
Brookville Bees: One reason I like Coach Woody so much is that we are the same age. He is a 1997 graduate of
Brookville, I am a 1997 graduate of Jefferson Forest. With that being said, (and the
Brookville-Jefferson Forest rivalry), I think he is a great guy. Coach Woody has reasons to be excited this year with Logan Thomas as his signal caller, and talent around him including Zack McCray, Stacey Houston, Corby Weiss and the list goes on and on. The injury bug has bit Coach Woody hard in his first few seasons as the head coach of the
Brookville Bees, he has lost a who's who of talented Bees to injury, with the likes of Darrin McKenzie, Cody Rich, Ryan Jackson and I am sure others that I am just forgetting. However, I think this could be a banner year for the Bees. But, there is a BIG road block in front of them this week (more on that in a moment). However, with Jeff Woody (and his talented group of assistants) at the helm, in the long run, they are going to be better people then they are football players in life.
Cecil Phillips: Amherst Lancers: I have only talked to Coach Phillips once and I came away a fan. The man wants to keep what Scott
Abell (or even before him, Mickey Crouch) had started, and that is a winning tradition. Just because Lancers fans may not have heard of him, doesn't mean he wasn't a good choice. Talking to Coach Phillips and just hearing him talk about the people he worked for including Kevin Saunders and Bob Christmas, as well as coaching icons such as Norm
Lineburg, you can tell he has not only worked for first class coaches, but first class people and those things have rubbed off on the Lancers first year coach.
Don Rice: Jefferson Forest Cavaliers: A very shy guy, never really lets you know what he's thinking. That might describe some people, but it doesn't describe Don Rice. I love talking to Coach Rice, because you know what he tells you, is exactly what he's thinking. Sugarcoating is not Rice's style. I think Jefferson Forest will have a solid season and Don Rice to me, is a throwback, old school coach (and that's not a bad thing).
Chris Jones: Heritage Pioneers: I could almost write see Don Rice. Coach Jones is a throwback. I think he is a very funny guy and very quotable. He has always been
surrounded by a good staff back to the days of Jeff
Pultz, Doug Smith, Mark Ainsley and others. Now, the staff is just as good, which includes former E.C. Glass and Jefferson Forest Head Coach, Ed
Landis. Any time I know that I am going to interview Chris Jones, I look forward to it.
Jon Berlin:
Rustburg Red Devils: I have only talked to Coach Berlin a handful of times while he was Scott
Abell's Defensive Coordinator at Amherst County. Coach Berlin was always a willing participant in the "Talking High School Sports- Question of the Day". From everything I hear from people,
Rustburg has a great hire in Coach Berlin.
Robert
Senseney: William Fleming Colonels: If I had to pick one word to describe Coach
Senseney, it would be classy. He has always been more then generous in terms of giving me time for interviews. I enjoyed Coach
Senseney during his
tenure at Gretna, and he continues to do good things in the city of Roanoke at William Fleming.
Chris Watts: Liberty Minutemen: I got to know him through my hood friend, Liberty Baseball Coach and former Athletic Director, Stewart Grant (Yes, I admit it, I am friends with Stewart Grant). The compliment that I think I can best give Coach Watts is, I would want my kid playing for Coach Watts. He wins, and he produces quality kids.
There is my take on most of the coaches I know. I am sure I left out some (Jared Van
Acker-
Galax and others). Then there are those who I have never talked to, but want to like Jack Tuner (Pulaski), Tater Benson (Lord
Botetourt) and more.
The above are just my opinions. I am sure some people for whatever reason, don't like some of the coaches I have mentioned above for whatever reason. However, I have never had problems with these guys and it's always a joy for me to cover their teams.
High School Football is here and I am pumped about it!
