This time last week, The Fort Defiance Indians and the Staunton Storm were each undefeated in district play and possibly looking forward to their November 1 meeting as the game that might decide this year's Shenandoah crown. Staunton especially was on top of the world as they had posted a 21-0 shutout over a very good Wilson team and had picked up a surprise win due to the forfeit situation involving Central Woodstock. Fort Defiance meanwhile was holding its own and seemed to be coping reasonably well with the loss of their all-everything pass receiver Talyn Armentrout.
Each team was looking forward to its Homecoming game, and although we speculated on here about the chances for Stuarts Draft and Riverheads, the two visiting teams, to upset those two apple carts, did we really believe it would happen? But it did, although the two winning teams went about it in different ways. Riverheads put on an absolute clinic defensively, holding Staunton to just 55 yards of total offense in a 14-0 slugfest, whereas SD won at the Fort with an old-fashioned 35-28 shootout.
So that leaves the four teams deadlocked at 2-1 in district play, and each team has three games left in the season plus a bye week. There are numerous possibilities as to how it might all shake out. Will one team stay hot and run the table the rest of the way? Will two of them finish tied, in which case the one that beat the other should have the loudest bragging rights? The most interesting factor is that there are only two games left in which two of the four will play each other. Next week (Oct. 25) Riverheads travels to Stuarts Draft and the following week Fort Defiance will make the aforementioned trip to Staunton.
However under no circumstances can any of the four concentrate just on those two match-ups. That is because two other very capable teams, Wilson and Buffalo Gap, are each just one game behind in the loss column, and between the two of them, they have five, count 'em FIVE, games left against members of the top four. I won't use the word "guarantee" but there is a pretty good chance that either the Bison or the Hornets are going to throw a monkey wrench into somebody's plans. Two of those five opportunities are on tap this upcoming weekend when the Bison travel to Riverheads and Wilson hosts Fort Defiance.
Those will be the headline games this Friday, because Stuarts Draft has the easy game of the week, hosting winless Waynesboro, whereas Staunton has its bye week and will try to lick its wound from the Riverheads embarrassment. So let's get to it and assess this week's three games.............
WAYNESBORO AT STUARTS DRAFT: I am sure the Little Giants are doing the best they can, but it is what it is. If Stuarts Draft is smart (even though I should not give them this idea!) they will play their starters just long enough to get the game under control and then pull them so as to avoid risk of injury, with Riverheads coming to town next week. So for that reason, this one could be a "closer" game, like maybe 35-14, instead of the name-the-score blowout that the Cougars can make it if they choose to.
BUFFALO GAP AT RIVERHEADS: These are two teams that are trending in opposite directions. A few weeks ago, the Bison were smoking and snorting and were very much in the title discussion. But they have now lost two in a row to SD and Wilson, and are realistically out of the title picture. However, as just mentioned, they can easily play the role of spoiler. Riverheads on the other hand appears to be hitting its stride and slowly-but-surely either getting the injured warriors back or finding capable replacements. With these two you can always throw the record books out the window in any sport, so each team will have to bring its A game. I went against my own Gladiators two weeks in a row on their trips to Christiansburg and Staunton, not as a psychological ploy, but because I realistically did not think they could go on the road and win those two games. So I am eating my crow and more importantly this time I expect the Big Red to dine on some Bison Burgers, as we used to say back in my day. I think this one will be close for a while but if the Gladiators show the same poise they have the last two weeks they will pull away late to a 2, maybe 3 touchdown win.
FORT DEFIANCE AT WILSON: This is the game of the week among these three. How will the Indians' passing game stack up against Wilson's also formidable air attack? Will this be one of those five opportunities I mentioned where a top-four team could go down to defeat? Wilson came within seconds of knocking off Riverheads, and in Greenville no less, but then they laid an egg against Staunton, which in turn laid an even bigger egg against RHS. So this one will come down to a case of which Wilson team will show up. From a Riverheads perspective, we need for someone to pin a second loss on the Indians and this is as good a time as any, so I will go with Wilson in a tight one, possibly decided on conversions or by a field-goal.
Sounds like the weather will cooperate if you remember to bundle up, so let's go and may the best teams win!
