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Sad News from Danville...

(This is the story I wrote for my newscast)

A budding young student-athlete at George Washington High School was killed in a weekend car crash---and his older brother is fighting for his life.

The accident happened Thursday evening on River Road in Halifax County, not far from the Pittsylvania County line. State Police have not yet issued a report on the single-vehicle crash, but family members confirm 14-year-old Jakavien Fallen, a Freshman at G.W. High School, died in the accident.

His older brother Atavian was airlifted from the scene to Duke University Medical Center where he remains in critical condition. A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family to help with funeral expenses, and the cost of going back-and-forth from Durham.

In football, Jakavian was a Wide Receiver for the Eagles Jayvee team this fall. He was good enough to get a promotion to varsity for the playoffs. And he didn’t just ride the pines. He made two special teams tackles for GW in post-season play. In 2022, as a member of the GW Middle School Team, Fallen led the Eagles to an unbeaten season as their bellcow on defense.

Jakavien earned the nickname “Bobby Boucher” after the Adam Sandler character in “Waterboy.” He was also MVP of the Middle School basketball team last year.

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Riverheads Survives Rappahannock County in Triple Overtime Thriller

For the benefit of our other readers across the state, I will give you the headline news first and then get into the details because I have a big question for you rules experts about this one. So the big news is that Riverheads won its own tournament tonight 63-61 on a Jackson Brammer lay-up in the third overtime. I have not had the chance to check my records yet, but I believe this may have been the Gladiators' first-ever win over the Panthers, although the total number of times they have played is less than 10 since they are not that close to one another.

Now for the part that had many of us shaking our heads in disbelief. Most of us moldy oldies thought that high school overtimes were 4 minutes or the equivalent of half a quarter, and that you played as many as necessary until you had a winner. But that is not what we saw tonight. This one went one four-minute overtime, followed by a one-minute overtime, and then by a third extra session in which it was announced that it would be sudden death.

Riverheads managed to wrangle the tip away from Rapp Co in that third overtime and it only took a few seconds for Brammer to work his way free and hit the game-winner. In all the excitement and confusion, I honestly don't remember if he scored off a designed play or if he rebounded a missed shot. But the bottom line is that he had about half a dozen such close up shots tonight that were every bit as important as the 10 three-pointers that his teammates fired in. More on those later.

So guys did we witness a new official VHSL overtime rule? No one that I talked to after the game had ever heard of this process before. Of course I can only recall RHS ever being involved in two triple overtime games and each of those was at least 40 years ago, so what do I know!

As you can figure out, this game had some downright wild twists and turns. First of all, if you had seen only the first quarter, you would wonder why Riverheads had to struggle so mightily to win it, as the Big Red came roaring out of the gate with an early 8-0 lead that they stretched to 20-6 by the end of the first quarter. Will Gardner, who will factor prominently in our recap came out smoking and knocked down three triples to get the home team off and running.

But to Rapp Co's credit, they never panicked and slowly but surely worked their way back into the game. They were only able to trim the lead to 31-20 by halftime but you could tell they had a run coming and they wasted no time making it happen. Their super soph Jason Deel came to life, including some impressive three-pointers, and they also got some key baskets from seniors Tucker Atkins and Jeremiah Phillips. Sorry if I am leaving out anyone else deserving of recognition.

Early in that third quarter, the Gladiators were hit with a bad break that looked like it might eventually cost them the game. Gardner, who had scored 14 points by that time, went down with a nasty ankle injury. With him out of the picture and Rapp Co warming up, it looked like sure disaster for the Big Red. RappCo took full advantage of the situation and grabbed its first lead of the game at 38-37. The quarter ended with the Panthers in front 41-39.

Surprisingly, Gardner was back on the floor to start the fourth quarter but he was limping noticeably and it looked as if his presence might hurt the Big Red more than help them. That possibility seemed even more likely when RappCo took its biggest lead of the night at 44-39.

But someway somehow the Gladiators were able to fight their way back. Gardner loosened up and hit a crucial triple, his fifth of the game, that helped the Gladiators salvage a tie at 50-50. However, truth be told, Riverheads could have won the game in regulation if not for some downright awful foul shooting. I would guess they missed at least a dozen in the second half and overtimes. To the best of my recollection, two guys were fouled on three-point attempts but between the two of them, they only hit one of the six free throws.

The first overtime had at least five or six lead changes. In the closing seconds, Gardner finally found the range at the charity stripe and hit a pair to put RHS in front 61-58. But RappCo buried a game-tying triple at the buzzer. That was when we saw the surprising news on the scoreboard about the one-minute second overtime. As you can tell from the final score, neither team scored in that session, and when the PA announcer told us to expect sudden death, nearly everyone was shocked, just because it was such an unfamiliar concept.

Henley Dunlap jumped center against Deal, even though he was giving up several inches. The Gladiators somehow gained possession, and Brammer's game-winner came along even before the fans had a chance to adjust to the situation.

Gardner finished with a team-high 21, followed by 18 from Dunlap who hustled his behind off all night long, and Brammer added 14. In addition to all the other obstacles they had to overcome, all three of them were in major foul trouble by the end of the game. Dunlap hit three triples and J P Crawford and Chase Donathan hit one each. Knowing what we know now, even freshman Jaxon Duff's pair of calm free throws back in the first half were needed to secure the win.

I will go ahead and post this and then answer myself to give you the results of the other games.

Way to early 2025 Class 2 Top 10

I am curious to see KWhs's Top 10 because he's more knowledgeable than me on this. Below is a pure guess based on what some teams lose and some return. I'm familiar with what teams in the West return and what Strasburg and Poquoson return, but have no idea about Draft, Woodstock, Clark, Buckingham, King William, Southampton.

1. Union
2. Strasburg
3. Thomas Jefferson-Richmond
4. Radford
5. Graham
6. Poquoson
7. Glenvar
8. Clarke
9. King William
10. Draft/Southampton/Buckingham/Gate City/Gretna/Woodstock?

Riverheads Routs Stonewall for Third Straight Win

It only took the Gladiators four seconds to take control tonight as senior guard J P Crawford scored on a driving lay-up off the tip and the Big Red never looked back in a dominating 70-22 road win over Stonewall Jackson. He would go on to score 10 points in the first quarter, which included two triples as the Big Red jumped out to a 26-9 lead. Joining him behind the arc were Will Gardner and Chase Donathan with two each, all in an action-packed first eight minutes.

After such a racehorse first quarter, the second was a totally different story as the early part at least resembled that other sport with the funny shaped ball. In one of the strangest plays of the night, Crawford was mugged on another lay up attempt but nothing was called. Well I shouldn't say "nothing" because the refs called a technical on him for protesting the no-call. Stonewall converted the two foul shots but ironically those were their only points of the quarter, as Riverheads closed out the half on an 11-0 run to take a 37-11 lead into the locker room. Henley Dunlap had a couple of fast break lay-ups, Donathan banked in his third triple, and Grayson Ward closed out the half with a nice basket in the lane.

After scoring only two points in the second quarter, things did not get any better as the hosts only managed four in the third period. Meanwhile Gardner dropped in his third triple and also hit all three foul shots when he was hacked on another attempt. The lead ballooned to an embarrassing 58-15 after three and set the running clock in motion.

The starters were pretty much through for the evening by that time, so the Gladiator points down the stretch mainly came from Joe George, Chris Dotson, and Jaxon Duff. Once again, for the third game in a row, the Gladiators had three players finish in double figures with two other guys almost making it. Crawford finished with 16, followed by Gardner with 15, Dunlap with 10, Donathan with 9, and George with 8. That kind of balance is no doubt preferred by Coach Weller as opposed to having to depend on one guy to control the scoring.

The Generals, much like Bath County on Monday, did not have serious big man threat, and although there are six seniors and six juniors on the roster, it was hard to tell who their team leader might be. The only bright spot for them this evening was a banked-in three pointer with about three seconds left. Otherwise the final would have been 70-19.

The Generals did manage a close win in the JV game. They built a 10 point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Riverheads rallied and cut it to four, before the home team held on for a 40-34 win. Eighth-grader Grant Fields had a nice game and may be a star of the future for the Generals.

These teams will meet again in Greenville over the weekend of December 27-28 as both the JV and varsity teams will take part in the Riverheads Holiday Tournament. Rappahannock County and Buffalo Gap will be the other two teams participating in that event.

But of much more urgency to Big Red fans will be this Friday night's trip to Rocktown. The varsity teams had a donnybrook in the game at Riverheads but the Gladiators have won three in a row since then, whereas the Raptors had a two-game losing streak going into tonight's home game with Charlottesville.

For anyone wishing to attend that one in Rocktown's brand new gym, be advised that the Raptors start their JV games at 5:30.

Meadowbrook 61 Cristo Rey 38 - Highland Springs Winter Showcase

Meadowbrook used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Cristo Rey 61-38 in the 2nd game of the Highland Springs Winter Showcase.

The Monarchs used their size advantage to control the point ripping off 23 offensive rebounds to just 22 total rebounds for Cristo Rey. Meadowbrook made only four 3-pointers but made 21 field goals inside the arc.

Messiah Jordan and Bradyn Arline both scored in double figures for Meadowbrook with 11 and 10 points apiece. The Monarchs had five other players score between 6 points and 9 points.

Cristo Rey played the Monarchs close in the 1st quarter trailing by only two points (13-11) but were outscored 18-4 in the 2nd quarter. Jemell Smith scored 15 points for Donovan Stinney had seven rebounds, three steals and four blocks.


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Class 4 Hoops Top 10 12/29

Extremely busy week with tons of great holiday tournaments. Lots of big games in C4...Heritage Leesburg buzzer beater to take down previously undefeated Atlee in double OT, King's Fork eeking out a 79-77 win over who I had at #1 Churchland, Varina bouncing back with a big win over Maury, Handley and GW staying undefeated, etc. Here is where I rank the squads going into 2025.

1. George Washington Danville (10-0)
2. Churchland (7-2)
3. Varina (3-1)
4. John Handley (7-0)
5. Heritage Leesburg (7-1)
6. Atlee (9-1)
7. Powhatan (7-0)
8. Monacan (6-1)
9. Hampton (6-3)
10. Broad Run (7-2)

HM: Eastern View (6-1), Salem (4-1), Smithfield (5-1)
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Rise Academy 74 Dinwiddie 64 Highland Springs Winter Showcase

Rise Academy won the opening game of the Highland Springs Winter Showcase by defeating Dinwiddie 74-64. Senior Nathaniel Seaborn made six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 26 points to earn MVP honors. He also had four steals.

The game wasn't as close as the final score. The Guardians led 43-20 at halftime thanks to four 2nd quarter treys from Seaborn. A three by Devonte Atkins gave Rise Academy a 53-32 lead late in the 3rd quarter. He finished with 15 points and five assists. Senior point guard Trevonte Atkins added 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals while making three treys.

Dinwiddie made the final score respectable by outscoring Rise Academy 24-9 in the 4th quarter. Mykiel Johnson came of the bench to lead the Generals with 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Joshua Collins (13 points) and Shannon McDowell (10 points) also scored in double figures.

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Glenvar’s Dawyot 2A Offensive Player of the Year

Brody Dawyot Named 1st Team All State QB and Punter.. 1st Team All Region DE

2A Offensive Player of the Year.

Stats:

Passing: 194/308 for 3089 yds 51 TDs 6 Ints

Rushing: 97 Rushes for 1012 yds 11 TDs

Great Season young man, excited to see you play again Next Year..

Glenvar only loses 4 starters on Offense and 3 on Defense.

The Problem With Your Hayfield/Darryl Overton Problem

It is easy for any person to stand back and bring up someone else's faults, mistakes, character flaws, mistakes, character flaws, convictions, sins or whatever while acting as if they have lived the life of perfection and only challenged by Jesus Christ himself. Again, I am related to multiple idiots that think, act and live just like that.

For some strange reason masses of people are ok having and or forming fandom, partnerships, memberships or any relationship with groups, corporations or organizations that have committed some of the worst of the worst offenses and atrocities in human history, only to boo hoo the person that points it out. You complain about individual NFL football players making mistakes but turn a willful blind eye to the billionaire owners and the actions of the NFL. You better believe they are not wearing your jersey.

Some of you are ok with Virginia public schools having working relationships with the Catholic Church's Catholic schools.

As an aside many men are quick to say, "If so and so did that to my family member I would _________."

Really? Would you really? No you wouldn't. You know what you would do? Keep reading.

Being a member of that particular organization. Not having an issue with Freedom or any Virginia public school playing against them or not being under a stated protest opens you up to whatever can and will happen because nothing else is worse. I posted this fact prior to Freedom playing DeMatha while stating that the game would be proven to be a colossal waste of time. It was. It was stopped by a literal act of God. 🤭 Even Him, Her, He or She didn't like it. Sent cha packing.

If you are ok with anything the Catholic Church does (and evidently, they have done a whole lot) then you gotta be ok with the entire population of the city/town of Woodbridge, Virginia living in Woodbridge but attending Hayfield High School and football practice each and every day of the week. There is nothing any man, woman or child has done that is worse than what the Catholic Church, Michigan State and Penn State has done and yet they continue to be things that exist and operate in America. Note Dame still has the best sports TV deals, one of the most powerful alumni while consistently possessing a so-so and, at times; subpar football team.

If any man, woman or child did what those awful organizations are accused of doing you would (yes YOU) be the first person running down I95 with a torch and pitch fork in hand. Yet some of you would not hesitate to giddily hand over your son with the hope that he will become a part of the 0.0062%. People wonder why children run the streets committing crimes. They are following the leaders.0

Our standards and morals have been flushed down a filthy, rotten and disgusting toilet. Expect more of less. Bad does not get better. If you are ok with this less than then Darryl Overton and any high school football coach in Virginia can flaunt the rules right in your face and you have to take it. I have a Darryl problem in my family that I have dealt with. You are probably just gonna have to let him be who he is and just live with it. That's what I do.

What are ya gonna do about it? Maybe type a lot of words on Virginia Preps?
Complain about me complaining again?
Danger Will Robinson. Our standards of what we will take/accept and not take action or a stand against is lower than the lowest low. I don't care how you feel about me, you are dealing with the actual Devil but it is in life and football.

1.7 trillion dollars of insurmountable debt due to pointless and useless educations but you mad at Darryl Overton cause he wins football games.

You are not gonna do anything about anything. You go for anything. You stand for nothing. It has been proven.
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