Special teams...it can win or lose you a state championship

[ghs89er]

Consider this...in 1980 Giles won their first state championship partly because Park View Sterling had a terrible kicking game and went for 2 and the win at the end...in 2005 Giles won because 2 guys switched positions on an extra point and blocked the kick...in 2013 the difference was a missed pat in overtime...watched the kicker in warm ups and even commented he missed every other one...when teams are as even as they seem to be this late in the season sometimes it's the crazy special teams plays that win or lose you the game...
Now...this is not a jab at Glenvar...but last Friday I witnessed a negative kickoff...he kicked from the 40 and with nobody touching it it went out of bounds at the 39...I had never seen that before..and this kick was only two yrds worse than the previous one...now this kid was nervous and he was just trying to squib it because a return was the only chance Giles had for a comeback....I did see a Giles kick one time go straight up along with the kickers shoe and it hit 12 yrds down field and the kicker got his own ownside kick...I know it's late in the season but a day spent on special teams might be a confidence builder in a time for need

 

[Blue Gold and Orange]

Kick off to the other teams best athletes that you have to tackle in space or squib kick it and pretty much guarantee the other team will start at the 40. That is the million dollar question!

 

[ghs89er]

We

Kick off to the other teams best athletes that you have to tackle in space or squib kick it and pretty much guarantee the other team will start at the 40. That is the million dollar question!

We'll this kick was inside of the 40 he kicked off from...never seen it before...kicked the side of the ball and it spun 5 yrds then kept spinning backwards until it went out 1 yrds behind the kickoff line...I never even thought it was possible lol

 

[lpdoldschooler]

Way back in the 1980s, Powell Valley's first 3 Championships were all decided in the last 27 seconds by a single point. All were decided by a missed or made PAT or field goal. You're damn right special teams can decide championships...if teams are evenly matched, it's usually the X factor that decides the game. Blocked punts especially..

 

[BigWinners]

Way back in the 1980s, Powell Valley's first 3 Championships were all decided in the last 27 seconds by a single point. All were decided by a missed or made PAT or field goal. You're damn right special teams can decide championships...if teams are evenly matched, it's usually the X factor that decides the game. Blocked punts especially..

The 89 game was the craziest, Duncan hitting Ricky Webb in the last seconds of the game to beat Lunenberg, the second time PV won a state title by beating Lunenberg by one point in the 80s, wild.

What was crazy about it, the first three were one point games, the next five were all one by more than one possession.

Even this year, Union beat Richlands by blocking the extra point in OT in a game that saw Richlands return a kick for a TD. Special teams is huge between two teams close in talent. I also believe the best teams know how to win in the end of games. Great teams know they can win, even if it looks bleak. Two of the biggest deciders people overlook-special teams, and confidence. But only earned confidence matters, false bravado leads to embarrassment.

 

[ghs89er]

The 89 game was the craziest, Duncan hitting Ricky Webb in the last seconds of the game to beat Lunenberg, the second time PV won a state title by beating Lunenberg by one point in the 80s, wild.

What was crazy about it, the first three were one point games, the next five were all one by more than one possession.

Even this year, Union beat Richlands by blocking the extra point in OT in a game that saw Richlands return a kick for a TD. Special teams is huge between two teams close in talent. I also believe the best teams know how to win in the end of games. Great teams know they can win, even if it looks bleak. Two of the biggest deciders people overlook-special teams, and confidence. But only earned confidence matters, false bravado leads to embarrassment.

One more factor....heart...

 

[BigWinners]

One more factor....heart...

You can't win without heart, but you can't win on heart alone. I've seen some really gritty Appalachia teams that had as much heart as anyone, but talent and hard work can overcome it.
The old expression always holds true; hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

But at this point, no one can accuse any of the remaining teams of not having heart, grit. You don't survive 10 games in the regular season and two playoff games against good teams without it. All the 2A West teams are battle-tested and tough; Richlands has had to play Union and Wise in the regular season and Buckingham in the playoffs; Appomattox had to finish their season with Amheryst and play one tough playoff game (Lee isn't very good lol); Glenvar had to beat Giles twice, Union had to play Richlands, Wise, and a good Graham team. Usually at this point on the season, without a huge talent gap, execution wins. The team that execute, advances.

 

[ghs89er]

You can't win without heart, but you can't win on heart alone. I've seen some really gritty Appalachia teams that had as much heart as anyone, but talent and hard work can overcome it.
The old expression always holds true; hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

But at this point, no one can accuse any of the remaining teams of not having heart, grit. You don't survive 10 games in the regular season and two playoff games against good teams without it. All the 2A West teams are battle-tested and tough; Richlands has had to play Union and Wise in the regular season and Buckingham in the playoffs; Appomattox had to finish their season with Amheryst and play one tough playoff game (Lee isn't very good lol); Glenvar had to beat Giles twice, Union had to play Richlands, Wise, and a good Graham team. Usually at this point on the season, without a huge talent gap, execution wins. The team that execute, advances.

They top six teams in the west were able to compete with each other...I old have loved not to have played glenvar again...if giles had played anyone else I think it's a better game for us...the pairings matter...the special teams play though can be a difference for any game...thought intrinsicreward would comment on that kick...but I can see why he wouldn't...as fans we have all seen our team at some time or another have a play that you never want to see again...or even think about it for that matter.....glenvar fans had that squinty eyed look like they smelled something very bad after those kicks the other night....but there were several plays I had that same look on my face for

 

[BigWinners]

Oh I am not doubting for one second that drawing Glenvar in round two sucks or that special teams can be a huge factor between close teams, I agree on both parts. But you have to reward teams like Appomattox, Union, Glenvar, and Buckingham for going thru the regular season with one or fewer losses against stiff competition. All these teams now have seen at least one if not more very good teams capable of ending their season, its about executing, and like you said special teams can be a huge factor because sometimes, trying to coach a team in just a week, time gets taken up by offense and defense while special teams may not be the main focus and it can show. Great teams usually have sound kicking games and great coverage (one of the things that scares me with Union, while we have a very good FG kicker, the punter can struggle at times and Union is prone to giving up long returns on any kicks).

 

[Trevor_Cash]

Those had to be the two worst kickoffs I have ever seen in my life Friday night

 

[BigWinners]

Those had to be the two worst kickoffs I have ever seen in my life Friday night

I hope Glevar has the same issues Saturday, field position in a close game can be the deciding factor.

 

[intrinsicreward]

They top six teams in the west were able to compete with each other...I old have loved not to have played glenvar again...if giles had played anyone else I think it's a better game for us...the pairings matter...the special teams play though can be a difference for any game...thought intrinsicreward would comment on that kick...but I can see why he wouldn't...as fans we have all seen our team at some time or another have a play that you never want to see again...or even think about it for that matter.....glenvar fans had that squinty eyed look like they smelled something very bad after those kicks the other night....but there were several plays I had that same look on my face for

gs89er..Since you kinda asked for my opinion on the kickoffs here it is. Don't forget..our kicker beat you in the first game with a field goal of around 30 yards and he has done an admirable job on PATs. Kicking is probably nothing he aspired to but he was the best on the team so he got the job. As far as the two kicks I thought they were both onside kick attempts but turns out he just missed the ball. "Momma said you'll have days like this". I am sure he has practiced and focused this week on getting the ball down the field. Our coverage on both kickoffs and punts has been good with the exception of Manns return and a Galax punt return. Stanley's punts have been boomers at times. Overall I give our special teams a C+. The silver lining to the whole thing is....even though Giles got the ball at Glenvar's 40yd line two times in a row..they went no where. That's one of the best things I like about our team. We don't get fazed when things go wrong and the closer a team gets to the goal line the tougher it is to move the ball.

 

[VolNation85_rivals]

You can't win without heart, but you can't win on heart alone. I've seen some really gritty Appalachia teams that had as much heart as anyone, but talent and hard work can overcome it.
The old expression always holds true; hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

But at this point, no one can accuse any of the remaining teams of not having heart, grit. You don't survive 10 games in the regular season and two playoff games against good teams without it. All the 2A West teams are battle-tested and tough; Richlands has had to play Union and Wise in the regular season and Buckingham in the playoffs; Appomattox had to finish their season with Amheryst and play one tough playoff game (Lee isn't very good lol); Glenvar had to beat Giles twice, Union had to play Richlands, Wise, and a good Graham team. Usually at this point on the season, without a huge talent gap, execution wins. The team that execute, advances.

Appomattox also played Buckingham and a good Rustburg team as well

 

[Panther80ram]

I noticed many teams have trouble tackling on kickoffs. I also realize that the receiving team has some of their best athletes returning the football but kickoff teams need to have people that know how to tackle and want to tackle. I think many coaches just put kids in during this part of the game to give them playing time or to rest their better players but sometimes it can really burn you.

 

[ghs89er]

gs89er..Since you kinda asked for my opinion on the kickoffs here it is. Don't forget..our kicker beat you in the first game with a field goal of around 30 yards and he has done an admirable job on PATs. Kicking is probably nothing he aspired to but he was the best on the team so he got the job. As far as the two kicks I thought they were both onside kick attempts but turns out he just missed the ball. "Momma said you'll have days like this". I am sure he has practiced and focused this week on getting the ball down the field. Our coverage on both kickoffs and punts has been good with the exception of Manns return and a Galax punt return. Stanley's punts have been boomers at times. Overall I give our special teams a C+. The silver lining to the whole thing is....even though Giles got the ball at Glenvar's 40yd line two times in a row..they went no where. That's one of the best things I like about our team. We don't get fazed when things go wrong and the closer a team gets to the goal line the tougher it is to move the ball.

Your kicker also missed 2 pats the next week...just saying there's some work to be done there or it could bite you guys in the backside....if you thought those were anything other hand missed squids then you were kidding yourself....and you guys stopped us all night...but on a more balanced team this could really hurt you...even if it's just a field position low scoring game....we have all seen plays that we never want to even think about again....I personally had never seen a negative kick...you're D is great...but hopefully your kicking gets better to take some pressure off a bit.....deeper you go in the playoffs the more good coaches exploit any weakness you have...

 

[HS-SportsFan]

Teams should never kick the ball directly to another teams best open field runners, and then after giving them at least a 20 yard running start, be surprised when even their best athletes have trouble making open field tackles.

 

[intrinsicreward]

I noticed many teams have trouble tackling on kickoffs. I also realize that the receiving team has some of their best athletes returning the football but kickoff teams need to have people that know how to tackle and want to tackle. I think many coaches just put kids in during this part of the game to give them playing time or to rest their better players but sometimes it can really burn you.

I've noticed the lineups on kick returns and defense change when it's win or go home time. You've got to have your best players on the field on defense including kickoffs and punts.

 

[intrinsicreward]

Your kicker also missed 2 pats the next week...just saying there's some work to be done there or it could bite you guys in the backside....if you thought those were anything other hand missed squids then you were kidding yourself....and you guys stopped us all night...but on a more balanced team this could really hurt you...even if it's just a field position low scoring game....we have all seen plays that we never want to even think about again....I personally had never seen a negative kick...you're D is great...but hopefully your kicking gets better to take some pressure off a bit.....deeper you go in the playoffs the more good coaches exploit any weakness you have...

Every kicker has a bad night. He's been money on PATs and short field goals all year. He's a good athlete..I'm confident he'll be good down the stretch.