Quite understandably, the major attention this week will be focused on the big one in Greenville when Stuarts Draft and Riverheads clash. But if you think about it, and if what I have been reading is accurate, all of the other teams around here have something to play for as well.
Let's discuss Buffalo Gap first. When they lost two in a row, giving them three losses altogether, I just naturally assumed that they were no longer in the running for the 2-B playoffs. Yet it appears that they can still sneak in if they beat Fort Defiance Thursday and if something else goes their way up in the Bull Run District. Since I have never been one to understand the point system, I will leave a further explanation to others who DO understand it better.
Then there can still be happy endings for other teams as well. Say for example Wilson and Waynesboro. I will choose to lump them together in the same paragraph because of their similarities. Each was coming off a disappointing Fall '19 season and each one hired a new coach to start a re-building project. Well normally such things take time, but here we are entering the final week of the regular season, and if Wilson knocks off Staunton, they will finish with a winning record of 4-2 and in third place in the Shenandoah behind the two unbeatens. Waynesboro got that first elusive win two weeks ago, and followed that up by giving unbeaten Turner Ashby a battle Friday night. Therefore you cannot rule out the possibility that they can go up to Broadway this week and pick up a win. I also understand that Waynesboro and Staunton have worked out plans for a Plus One game on Friday the 9th, giving each one the chance to go out a winner this season. Moral of the story...Wilson and Waynesboro should each be proud of their new hires and things should start to look up for them.
That might seem to leave Staunton and Fort Defiance with nothing special to play for this week. But they should not look at it that way and should instead be interested in playing the role of spoiler. An Indian win out at the Gap would certainly knock the Bison out of playoff contention so right there is motivation for the visitors to show up and give 110%. Same goes for Staunton. They reportedly were happy with their own effort in Friday's loss to Stuarts Draft, so why not roll into Fishersville with the idea of doing their best, depriving Wilson of that winning record, and then hoping for another win over Waynesboro the next week?
So good luck to all those teams and if there are others besides RHS and SD that make the playoffs, best of luck to them as well. The only depressing thing about this week is the weather forecast. It sounds as if we are headed for a damp, late-November kind of evening, so bundle up accordingly, and may the best teams win...........
What's that you say..................OHHHH, you want me to talk a little about the Riverheads/Draft game??????????? Oh, OK I guess I can do that...........
Just like 2019, the two enter this game unbeaten. That time everything CERTAINLY worked out well in the long run as each one made it to Salem for championship Saturday. So this season, since Salem is out of the picture, wouldn't it be cool if each one got to host a state final just seven miles apart on a sunny day in May? But there is much football to be played before we can get to that stage.
As for this regular season finale, the hype was through the roof last time, and we were blessed with decent enough weather as I recall, but the Gladiators spoiled the party for the home team with a 49-14 rout, a margin that surprised if not shocked just about everybody. So the logical questions to ask this time around will be things like...........Is Riverheads still that much better and if so, will they win that easily again this time?.........Have the Cougars been planning and plotting their revenge so that they may be the team to beat this time?.............Is Stuarts Draft's defense for real (i.e. one touchdown allowed in five games (not one PER GAME for those of you who might not be up on the subject, but one TOTAL touchdown for all five games?).............Does Riverheads have enough weapons to score on that rock-solid defense?
Since each team is averaging in the 40s, my take on that last question is that yes, some points WILL be scored. I doubt seriously if we are looking at a 7-6 or 14-7 kind of game here. Unless the weather is so awful that it handicaps both teams, I expect a game that will feature some big-time offense. Therefore I am saying yes, Riverheads does have enough weapons to score and will score some points in this game. However, SD must also have some weapons of its own, and since Riverheads has not posted any shut-outs this season, there is certainly ample reason to expect the Cougars to march up and down the field as well.
If you compare scores, seldom a wise thing to do, they have four common opponents. With three of those (Wilson, Staunton and Fort Defiance) the scores were so similar you cannot draw any conclusions. So that would only leave Buffalo Gap and its two trips to these schools. When the Bison visited SD a few weeks ago, the final was 30-0 but as I recall it was only 9-0 after three quarters before the Cougars pulled away. On the other hand, last Friday in Greenville, the Big Red was ahead of BG 49-6 by halftime and ended up winning by 45. However I do understand that the Bison were short-handed and might have otherwise put up a better fight.
So if I am forced to make a prediction, of COURSE I have to go with my Gladiators. But I certainly do not expect anything like that 49-14 beatdown. If RHS does win, it will be more like a 35-21 kind of game or maybe 28-20. A Cougar win will not come as a total shock because there have been teams that could defense Riverheads effectively, and maybe they really WILL be up to that task. The beauty of the game is that each one is firmly entrenched in its number one seed for the playoffs and whatever happens will not impact that.
Let's discuss Buffalo Gap first. When they lost two in a row, giving them three losses altogether, I just naturally assumed that they were no longer in the running for the 2-B playoffs. Yet it appears that they can still sneak in if they beat Fort Defiance Thursday and if something else goes their way up in the Bull Run District. Since I have never been one to understand the point system, I will leave a further explanation to others who DO understand it better.
Then there can still be happy endings for other teams as well. Say for example Wilson and Waynesboro. I will choose to lump them together in the same paragraph because of their similarities. Each was coming off a disappointing Fall '19 season and each one hired a new coach to start a re-building project. Well normally such things take time, but here we are entering the final week of the regular season, and if Wilson knocks off Staunton, they will finish with a winning record of 4-2 and in third place in the Shenandoah behind the two unbeatens. Waynesboro got that first elusive win two weeks ago, and followed that up by giving unbeaten Turner Ashby a battle Friday night. Therefore you cannot rule out the possibility that they can go up to Broadway this week and pick up a win. I also understand that Waynesboro and Staunton have worked out plans for a Plus One game on Friday the 9th, giving each one the chance to go out a winner this season. Moral of the story...Wilson and Waynesboro should each be proud of their new hires and things should start to look up for them.
That might seem to leave Staunton and Fort Defiance with nothing special to play for this week. But they should not look at it that way and should instead be interested in playing the role of spoiler. An Indian win out at the Gap would certainly knock the Bison out of playoff contention so right there is motivation for the visitors to show up and give 110%. Same goes for Staunton. They reportedly were happy with their own effort in Friday's loss to Stuarts Draft, so why not roll into Fishersville with the idea of doing their best, depriving Wilson of that winning record, and then hoping for another win over Waynesboro the next week?
So good luck to all those teams and if there are others besides RHS and SD that make the playoffs, best of luck to them as well. The only depressing thing about this week is the weather forecast. It sounds as if we are headed for a damp, late-November kind of evening, so bundle up accordingly, and may the best teams win...........
What's that you say..................OHHHH, you want me to talk a little about the Riverheads/Draft game??????????? Oh, OK I guess I can do that...........
Just like 2019, the two enter this game unbeaten. That time everything CERTAINLY worked out well in the long run as each one made it to Salem for championship Saturday. So this season, since Salem is out of the picture, wouldn't it be cool if each one got to host a state final just seven miles apart on a sunny day in May? But there is much football to be played before we can get to that stage.
As for this regular season finale, the hype was through the roof last time, and we were blessed with decent enough weather as I recall, but the Gladiators spoiled the party for the home team with a 49-14 rout, a margin that surprised if not shocked just about everybody. So the logical questions to ask this time around will be things like...........Is Riverheads still that much better and if so, will they win that easily again this time?.........Have the Cougars been planning and plotting their revenge so that they may be the team to beat this time?.............Is Stuarts Draft's defense for real (i.e. one touchdown allowed in five games (not one PER GAME for those of you who might not be up on the subject, but one TOTAL touchdown for all five games?).............Does Riverheads have enough weapons to score on that rock-solid defense?
Since each team is averaging in the 40s, my take on that last question is that yes, some points WILL be scored. I doubt seriously if we are looking at a 7-6 or 14-7 kind of game here. Unless the weather is so awful that it handicaps both teams, I expect a game that will feature some big-time offense. Therefore I am saying yes, Riverheads does have enough weapons to score and will score some points in this game. However, SD must also have some weapons of its own, and since Riverheads has not posted any shut-outs this season, there is certainly ample reason to expect the Cougars to march up and down the field as well.
If you compare scores, seldom a wise thing to do, they have four common opponents. With three of those (Wilson, Staunton and Fort Defiance) the scores were so similar you cannot draw any conclusions. So that would only leave Buffalo Gap and its two trips to these schools. When the Bison visited SD a few weeks ago, the final was 30-0 but as I recall it was only 9-0 after three quarters before the Cougars pulled away. On the other hand, last Friday in Greenville, the Big Red was ahead of BG 49-6 by halftime and ended up winning by 45. However I do understand that the Bison were short-handed and might have otherwise put up a better fight.
So if I am forced to make a prediction, of COURSE I have to go with my Gladiators. But I certainly do not expect anything like that 49-14 beatdown. If RHS does win, it will be more like a 35-21 kind of game or maybe 28-20. A Cougar win will not come as a total shock because there have been teams that could defense Riverheads effectively, and maybe they really WILL be up to that task. The beauty of the game is that each one is firmly entrenched in its number one seed for the playoffs and whatever happens will not impact that.
