It is time to wrap up the final two weeks of the regular season and these first three days of February are going to go a long way toward sorting out the Shenandoah District standings. Not only do we have three regularly-scheduled district games, but a make-up game from the recent snowfall is also on tap and the team that will be involved the most will be the Stuarts Draft Cougars, as they are at Fort Defiance tonight (Thursday the 1st) and then have to turn right around and host Staunton Friday night.
At present, SD and Staunton are each unbeaten in district play and still have two games against one another. At least the Cougars will get to host the first one, with hopes of upsetting The Storm and taking the lead at least temporarily. But first they must make the trip to Fort Defiance later today and that would not be an easy task under the best of circumstances. If the Cougars win both those games, they are sitting pretty, but if they lose both, they would almost be out of the race in the span of 24 hours. A split in those two games would have some impact, depending of course on which one they win.
Wilson also has two games on tap, but one of those is non-district, and therefore not as crucial to the district race. Besides they have already lost to all three teams just mentioned, so the Hornets can't win the title anyway, although they might get to play spoiler somewhere down the road.
Here is the complete line-up for the weekend........
Maggie Walker Governors School at Wilson (Thursday): I got this game from the Shenandoah District website so I assume it is still on. I seem to recall that Wilson was supposed to have made a trip to MW back during the time we were dealing with the snow, so I am not sure what the overall status of that series is. Perhaps someone from Wilson can confirm. Being a non-district game, we have very little to go on, so I won't even speculate on the winner. Just wanted to include it in the conversation.
Stuarts Draft at Fort Defiance (Thursday): As we all know, the Indians' strategy is to run the other team ragged through pressure and frequent substitution. It has worked well enough for them so far, in fact to the point that they only have one district loss, that of course being to Staunton. So if they can knock off the Cougars, they can sit back the rest of the weekend and see what unfolds at SD Friday night. On any given night, the Fort's success depends on how many of those long-range bombs find the mark, and especially on how well Garber and Cruz play. SD looks like the deeper team to me, but if the Indians come anywhere close to their 90+ points, they will take this one. If the Cougars can slow them down and make it a game in the 70s or less, I like their chances. Officially I will go with the Indians, which will put major pressure on the Cougars for Friday. Win or lose, the Cougars will learn a lot about their own endurance from these two games.
Waynesboro at Fort Defiance (Friday): When these two played at Waynesboro, the Little Giants gave them quite the battle. I recall reading that it was something like a three point game going into the fourth quarter before the Indians pulled out a 105-95 win. The Fort, as just mentioned, will need to bring its A game Thursday night, but they should have enough energy left over to take care of the Little Giants.
Staunton at Stuarts Draft (Friday): I have touted Staunton as the district's best team since the pre-season, and they have done nothing to change my mind. No Shenandoah team has come within 20 points of them and I doubt if that will change. This one would be easier to predict if we waited until after Thursday night, but regardless of what happens in that one, Staunton will walk out of the Cougar Den Friday night still unbeaten in district play and will most likely finish that way in a couple of weeks. SD, Fort and even Wilson each have their strengths but it has been Staunton's title all the way.
Buffalo Gap at Wilson (Saturday): This will be another quadruple-header, and I suspect the major event of the four games will be the girls' varsity game. As for the boys, this should be an easy win for the Hornets.
Notice I said nothing about Riverheads, which of course means they are the team with the bye this weekend. That bye could not come at a better time because they need time to continue healing up before tackling both Waynesboro and Buffalo Gap next week, with a goal toward getting that first and hopefully second district win. Needless to say, that will be a topic of conversation come Monday or Tuesday.
Meanwhile, stock up on all your favorite beverages and snacks. The Super Bowl may be a week away, but this will be one of the most entertaining weekends of college basketball in quite some time as there are three top ten match-ups on the tube back-to-back Saturday afternoon and night, one of those of course being Duke and North Carolina.
At present, SD and Staunton are each unbeaten in district play and still have two games against one another. At least the Cougars will get to host the first one, with hopes of upsetting The Storm and taking the lead at least temporarily. But first they must make the trip to Fort Defiance later today and that would not be an easy task under the best of circumstances. If the Cougars win both those games, they are sitting pretty, but if they lose both, they would almost be out of the race in the span of 24 hours. A split in those two games would have some impact, depending of course on which one they win.
Wilson also has two games on tap, but one of those is non-district, and therefore not as crucial to the district race. Besides they have already lost to all three teams just mentioned, so the Hornets can't win the title anyway, although they might get to play spoiler somewhere down the road.
Here is the complete line-up for the weekend........
Maggie Walker Governors School at Wilson (Thursday): I got this game from the Shenandoah District website so I assume it is still on. I seem to recall that Wilson was supposed to have made a trip to MW back during the time we were dealing with the snow, so I am not sure what the overall status of that series is. Perhaps someone from Wilson can confirm. Being a non-district game, we have very little to go on, so I won't even speculate on the winner. Just wanted to include it in the conversation.
Stuarts Draft at Fort Defiance (Thursday): As we all know, the Indians' strategy is to run the other team ragged through pressure and frequent substitution. It has worked well enough for them so far, in fact to the point that they only have one district loss, that of course being to Staunton. So if they can knock off the Cougars, they can sit back the rest of the weekend and see what unfolds at SD Friday night. On any given night, the Fort's success depends on how many of those long-range bombs find the mark, and especially on how well Garber and Cruz play. SD looks like the deeper team to me, but if the Indians come anywhere close to their 90+ points, they will take this one. If the Cougars can slow them down and make it a game in the 70s or less, I like their chances. Officially I will go with the Indians, which will put major pressure on the Cougars for Friday. Win or lose, the Cougars will learn a lot about their own endurance from these two games.
Waynesboro at Fort Defiance (Friday): When these two played at Waynesboro, the Little Giants gave them quite the battle. I recall reading that it was something like a three point game going into the fourth quarter before the Indians pulled out a 105-95 win. The Fort, as just mentioned, will need to bring its A game Thursday night, but they should have enough energy left over to take care of the Little Giants.
Staunton at Stuarts Draft (Friday): I have touted Staunton as the district's best team since the pre-season, and they have done nothing to change my mind. No Shenandoah team has come within 20 points of them and I doubt if that will change. This one would be easier to predict if we waited until after Thursday night, but regardless of what happens in that one, Staunton will walk out of the Cougar Den Friday night still unbeaten in district play and will most likely finish that way in a couple of weeks. SD, Fort and even Wilson each have their strengths but it has been Staunton's title all the way.
Buffalo Gap at Wilson (Saturday): This will be another quadruple-header, and I suspect the major event of the four games will be the girls' varsity game. As for the boys, this should be an easy win for the Hornets.
Notice I said nothing about Riverheads, which of course means they are the team with the bye this weekend. That bye could not come at a better time because they need time to continue healing up before tackling both Waynesboro and Buffalo Gap next week, with a goal toward getting that first and hopefully second district win. Needless to say, that will be a topic of conversation come Monday or Tuesday.
Meanwhile, stock up on all your favorite beverages and snacks. The Super Bowl may be a week away, but this will be one of the most entertaining weekends of college basketball in quite some time as there are three top ten match-ups on the tube back-to-back Saturday afternoon and night, one of those of course being Duke and North Carolina.
