Just when the season couldn’t get any crazier. Heritage has school shooting and has to cancel their game Vs Phoebus this week leaving us with 9 games. We reached out to Highland Springs and Oscar Smith and looks like we got Smith on Nov 5th. State game of the year easily.
Phoebus Vs Oscar Smith November 5th
- Thread starter Phoebus Fan
- Start date
Kuddos to Phoebus for scheduling OS. Will be a classic. If Phoebus wins I think we should just award you guys the Region A title.
Lafayette win today against Tabb 42-21. They don’t have the defense of last year by quite a bit.
Lafayette win today against Tabb 42-21. They don’t have the defense of last year by quite a bit.
We're going to try our best not just for bragging rights but to show the state just how much competition is in Class 3. This won't be a pushover like many will think!
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The players will be putting out the smack on both sides but the Coaches & us older fans know enough that Phoebus should be respected.. No doubt the area will turn out for this game & it will have a playoff atmosphere!!
My take on this game is that Smith has too many interior linemen playing both ways right now for them to get the usual advantage that a Class 6 school would/should have vs Phoebus. If the Tigers can get that worked out by Nov 5th, it's a different game though.
My take on this game is that Smith has too many interior linemen playing both ways right now for them to get the usual advantage that a Class 6 school would/should have vs Phoebus. If the Tigers can get that worked out by Nov 5th, it's a different game though.
My take is both teams have two way players. Smith probably has the Edge size wise but Phoebus has more skill players. Speed is about equal, and this is a 50- 50 game that will come down to adjustments, coaching and turnovers. Smith is number 1 and Phoebus number 2...should be alot of popcorn sales for this one....
Smith uses gofan.co The game isn't listed yet, just keep checking.. I will post a link once i find out they're available.. FYI, the Bosco game sold out in the middle of the 1st quarter.. AND they had to utilize satelite parking.. I arrived @ 6:15 and had to park on their practice field which is behind the stands.. It took over an hour for me to get out.
Just a couple of days from this match-up. I feel for the Phantoms having to get through tunnel traffic (Hampton vs MM) on a Friday afternoon! For those coming to the game. IF you don't eat before your arrival, I Highly recommend visiting the Pollard's Chicken Truck. Their Chicken strip, Fish or chicken livers dinner are worth the $$$. Usually around $12-13. Drinks extra.
Also, if you don't arrive early, like 6 pm, expect to park back on the practice field or utilize their satellite parking lot & shuttle. To avoid the long ticket lines, GoFan.co has tickets. Sometimes the Smith tickets sell out. Usually there are still tickets if you look up their opponent's tickets. The Bosco Game sold out in the middle of the 1st quarter!! Fans were turned away for that game! Also, it's a lot easier to get through the gates at the South entrances.
Also, if you don't arrive early, like 6 pm, expect to park back on the practice field or utilize their satellite parking lot & shuttle. To avoid the long ticket lines, GoFan.co has tickets. Sometimes the Smith tickets sell out. Usually there are still tickets if you look up their opponent's tickets. The Bosco Game sold out in the middle of the 1st quarter!! Fans were turned away for that game! Also, it's a lot easier to get through the gates at the South entrances.
Link for tonight's game on NFHS Network. Heading out now to get to the stadium., enjoy.
What happened? OS is a top class 6 team. Phoebus an excellent class 3 team. This is the result. That’s why they have classes for competition.
It's called Enrollment. One school has about 1000 more students to pick from. If you want to break it down further, one school has an additional 500 boys to pick for a 22 person starting roster. Common sense should tell anyone why Oscar Smith won.
Randomly remove 1000 students from Oscar Smith this past week, and ensure you remove 500 boys and 500 girls from the school, then go play the game with Phoebus. Odds are, the score is much different.
Randomly remove 1000 students from Oscar Smith this past week, and ensure you remove 500 boys and 500 girls from the school, then go play the game with Phoebus. Odds are, the score is much different.
Agree with that.. Lakeland dropped Smith from their schedule.. I'm not sure it was good for either team..
Tonight, Smith was highly focused and efficient on both sides.. Phoebus won't see another team like this in the playoffs!!!
Boy, was I wrong! Lol. Great job to Oscar Smith. They did exactly what they set out to do. I'm still extremely proud of Phoebus for the opportunity of playing on the field and actually doing a few good things out there against such an elite program. Smith reminded me so much of Phoebus was during the Bill Dee days. They are physical, fast, and very athletic and will be very hard to beat. Phoebus will be ready for the playoffs as there is still a bigger goal that we set out to do. Use Smith as a learning lesson and be great these next few weeks!
I think this was a good tune up game going into the playoffs. They won't see anyone in 3A playing at Smith's level from here on out. Those kids just need to keep their heads up, don't let it be a brain busting, demoralizing loss. Smith is going to beat 6A teams in the playoffs by that margain.
From the SMITH side of the field, I thought IF the Phoebus Starting QB had the accuracy that came from the back-up, the score and tone of the game would have been different. It looked like a mechanics issue for the starter, but when your under pressure, that stuff can fall apart.
I agree that Phoebus won't see another team like this in the playoffs. On top of that, I would say Smith was nearly as good as they played vs South County in that game in May! Except for probably one team, I think the 757 teams will all be pulling for each other to be challenging for State Titles!
I agree that Phoebus won't see another team like this in the playoffs. On top of that, I would say Smith was nearly as good as they played vs South County in that game in May! Except for probably one team, I think the 757 teams will all be pulling for each other to be challenging for State Titles!
Our boys were up against it from the outset. You never know just how far you have to go until you challenge the absolute best in the state in my opinion. Smith's intensity was on 1000. We just weren't able to match it and didn't have the horses upfront. Again, these are the games that make your aspirations to be great again possible. Phoebus 2021 stared Phoebus 2008 in the face on Friday night. We now know for a fact and can longer fool ourselves into thinking we are anywhere near that level just yet! This game was not good but GREAT for the Phoebus program going forward. I am extremely confident if not moreso going into these playoffs and yes I had an extensive conversation with Coach Jeremy Blunt yesterday. He knows exactly what needs to be done! After chopping it up with him, I'm totally buying into his vision. They set that game up with Smith for a reason. He knew it was time to see just where his program really is. We have some serious work to do for years to come and I believe it's going to happen!
Refreshing read. Somehow, I doubt other fans have this kind of perspective after losing this last weekend.. It's a 757 family for they playoffs & the area is pulling for the Phantoms.
What if I remove 500 boys that don't play football? Doesn't change the outcome of the game. It really comes down to if you have have good players and coaching. Franklin county is one of the largest schools in the state. They consistently lose to C3 schools. Riverheads would probably beat Franklin county. Size of the school really doesn't matter if you have 20- 30 really good high school football players and good coaching.
I will use your team as an example. The G-men played up for years back in late 80's and 90's. They were still very successful
This is why you play a great team during the regular season. They will show you where you're weaknesses are and you can correct it for the playoffs. It only makes you better. Or you can smack lesser teams all season and then run into a challenge in the playoffs that abuses the weakness you didn't realize you had.
Wish all fans had your outlook on things. I have no dog in the fight, but I appreciate your realness.
There's a difference between "fans" and the fans that have played and coached. There's a huge difference.
I admire the Phoebus fan base. Extremely passionate, but they struggle at times with being humble. The success from the Bill Dee era spoiled them badly, Stan Sexton carried it on....there was a dip. It happens. It's good to see them being a force again.
We could/should start a whole thread on the whole good fan vs bad fan thing!!!
It's a huge difference in being "just" a fan in the stands and being a fan that has direct access to the head coach and other coaches. Coach Blunt is a good guy. He is still learning some things about himself just as he is about his staff and players. The biggest thing that concerned him about that game with Smith was the attitude. You have to play with a "controlled edge" and a high level of pride when things are going good and bad when playing a team like OS. When you haven't played against competition on that level in many years, it's very difficult to expect new generation of young men to find that balance. We are on our way. We only have two seniors on our entire line on both sides. The others are predominantly freshmen and sophomores with two juniors. We have very talented and hungry youngsters coming up from jv. So please don't think I'm feeling sorry LOL. Our second team QB will be back and he may already be better than the starting QB.
You can't remove 500 boys that "don't play football." Remove 500 boys from Oscar Smith High randomly, then see what you are left with. You likely still have a powerhouse program, but the law of averages says you don't have anywhere close to that depth which is present. Otherwise, 3A schools would regularly beat 6A schools in the state of Virginia. They regularly don't beat 6A schools for this very reason. And....if going by your argument, then Bland County should have no issues matching up with Oscar Smith.
As for Franklin County. You are cherry picking. There are ALWAYS outliers, ALWAYS exceptions, and its to easy to find the one exception, and then write about it, but the law of averages SAYS, if all the 6A schools play all the 3A schools in Virginia, guess who is going to win the overwhelming majority of those matchups? You know the answer and so do I. Otherwise, throw out classification systems and just declare one state champion. Indiana High School Basketball did it for a long time. Yep, we talk about Milan High (Hickory-Hoosiers Movie) which was the exception. The overwhelming majority of those state titles until Indian reclassified was coming with schools with over 2000 kids, or simply put, the larger schools.
Take random 500. I still stand my ground
I didn't cherry pick Franklin county. It's the closest C6 school to me. So it's my example. One of the largest schools in the state but would probably lose to C1 Riverheads. (Riverheads probably has a bigger roster). I don't believe that C 6 schools would dominate across the board against lower division schools. I also don't believe enrollment is a key reason to being good at sports. Coaching and having good players is the most important aspect of football. The top teams in C4, C5 can easily complete in C6. Might not win the title because Oscar Smith. They have the players and a good coaching staff lots of talent in that area. Would be hard for any VA school to beat them. At the end of the day you have to have the talent. Franklin Co doesn't have OS talent even though they are a bigger school.
Plenty of schools played up divisions through the yrs. Phoebus being one of them. Didn't seem to stop them from winning titles. Look at John Marshall in basketball. C2 school and I have had them as the best team in the state for past 2 yrs.