This past Friday night we had our first full slate of Shenandoah District games as Riverheads, Stuarts Draft and Buffalo Gap all posted district wins. None of those was considered a surprise, and as expected the SD win over Staunton was the barnburner of the week. That will lead to all eyes being on Greenville on October 6th when Staunton pays a visit, followed by Stuarts Draft putting in an appearance two weeks after that. At this early stage it appears that those two games will decide this year's Shenandoah District title.
As for this week's games (September 29th) once again there will be three district games, but on paper all three of them look to be pretty predictable, at least in my estimation. So that will leave the first-ever meeting between the Christiansburg Blue Demons and Riverheads as the marquee match-up of the week even though it will be a non-district affair between two perfect strangers, as opposed to a big-time rivalry clash. It appears that some folks are considering that one to be a done deal already, but more on that in a minute.
So here is the line-up for this week:
STUARTS DRAFT AT BUFFALO GAP: The Cougars may have a pair of L's on the right side of their column, but they are most definitely a quality team that will make plenty of noise before the season is over. The Graber Brothers are the real deal and the scary part about that is that we have one more year of contending with both of them and two more years after that with Baylor running all over anything that gets in his way. But that will be then and this is now. As for the Bison, they finally got that first win of the season at Waynesboro Friday night, which will understandably give them some confidence when the Cougars come calling. But I just see too big a talent difference here, so the Graber Gang will take this one by a minimum of 2-3 scores.
WAYNESBORO AT FORT DEFIANCE: As they had hoped to be, the Indians are headed in a positive trajectory and they proved that by putting a legitimate scare into Riverheads two games ago and then rolling over a decent Madison County team Friday. I can now see a potential top four finish for them in the district standings, which will be a huge improvement over the past two seasons. Waynesboro on the other hand is showing up and playing hard each week, and in all fairness to them, they have been right in the thick of at least three of their losses and with a break or two, they might have already posted that first win. As it stands now, I don't see it in the cards for them to taste victory this year, but at the end of the season, hopefully they will still feel as if they stepped it up a notch. I won't rule out the chance for them to beat the Indians Friday but it would fit into the upset category if it were to happen.
WILSON AT STAUNTON: This one will very simply come down to a case of which team bounces back the best after a disappointing loss. It sounds as if The Storm did all they could to leave SD with a win Friday, so as hinted at above, they are still in the title race. As for Wilson, they were hit with a key injury very early in the season and if that had not happened to them, we could be having a different discussion. So their goal this week will obviously be to clean up the fumble-itis that took them out of the Riverheads game early and prove to themselves that they are a better team than they looked Friday. Of the three district games, this one might be the most competitive but I still see Staunton as the clear favorite.
CHRISTIANSBURG AT RIVERHEADS: The Blue Demons will bring a sparkling 5-0 record into Greenville Friday night, and it sounds as if they are one of the top dogs in the River Ridge District. We of course don't read much about that league up this way, but I would assume that they will have a game with Salem later in the year that just "might" have some meaning to it. As for this one, it will be the first-ever meeting between the two, probably in any sport, not just football. The obvious comparison you can draw is to think back to almost exactly two years ago, when Riverheads' trip to Lord Botetourt was one of the most-anticipated games in years. That series eventually ended up tied at 1-1 with each team winning on the other's field, but in all fairness to both teams, they each lost a star player during those two games that impacted the result. Back to the subject at hand......The Demons do appear to have some college prospects on their team and some folks are seeing them as the clear favorite in this one. As for Riverheads' chances to hand them their first loss, obviously the return of CCC would be nice at this stage of the season and I am hearing different things about whether or not this will be the game. Without him, the Big Red has found enough other running backs to take up the slack and quarterback Levi Dunlap has thrown TD passes in each of the last three games. Add in the fact that the RHS defense has only allowed four touchdowns in four games combined, so if the Demons are going to win this one, I really don't think it will be a walk in the park. Riverheads is most capable of getting the W, and if they do it will not be the biggest upset in the state this weekend.
Weather sounds cooperative at this stage, so fingers crossed on that point!
As for this week's games (September 29th) once again there will be three district games, but on paper all three of them look to be pretty predictable, at least in my estimation. So that will leave the first-ever meeting between the Christiansburg Blue Demons and Riverheads as the marquee match-up of the week even though it will be a non-district affair between two perfect strangers, as opposed to a big-time rivalry clash. It appears that some folks are considering that one to be a done deal already, but more on that in a minute.
So here is the line-up for this week:
STUARTS DRAFT AT BUFFALO GAP: The Cougars may have a pair of L's on the right side of their column, but they are most definitely a quality team that will make plenty of noise before the season is over. The Graber Brothers are the real deal and the scary part about that is that we have one more year of contending with both of them and two more years after that with Baylor running all over anything that gets in his way. But that will be then and this is now. As for the Bison, they finally got that first win of the season at Waynesboro Friday night, which will understandably give them some confidence when the Cougars come calling. But I just see too big a talent difference here, so the Graber Gang will take this one by a minimum of 2-3 scores.
WAYNESBORO AT FORT DEFIANCE: As they had hoped to be, the Indians are headed in a positive trajectory and they proved that by putting a legitimate scare into Riverheads two games ago and then rolling over a decent Madison County team Friday. I can now see a potential top four finish for them in the district standings, which will be a huge improvement over the past two seasons. Waynesboro on the other hand is showing up and playing hard each week, and in all fairness to them, they have been right in the thick of at least three of their losses and with a break or two, they might have already posted that first win. As it stands now, I don't see it in the cards for them to taste victory this year, but at the end of the season, hopefully they will still feel as if they stepped it up a notch. I won't rule out the chance for them to beat the Indians Friday but it would fit into the upset category if it were to happen.
WILSON AT STAUNTON: This one will very simply come down to a case of which team bounces back the best after a disappointing loss. It sounds as if The Storm did all they could to leave SD with a win Friday, so as hinted at above, they are still in the title race. As for Wilson, they were hit with a key injury very early in the season and if that had not happened to them, we could be having a different discussion. So their goal this week will obviously be to clean up the fumble-itis that took them out of the Riverheads game early and prove to themselves that they are a better team than they looked Friday. Of the three district games, this one might be the most competitive but I still see Staunton as the clear favorite.
CHRISTIANSBURG AT RIVERHEADS: The Blue Demons will bring a sparkling 5-0 record into Greenville Friday night, and it sounds as if they are one of the top dogs in the River Ridge District. We of course don't read much about that league up this way, but I would assume that they will have a game with Salem later in the year that just "might" have some meaning to it. As for this one, it will be the first-ever meeting between the two, probably in any sport, not just football. The obvious comparison you can draw is to think back to almost exactly two years ago, when Riverheads' trip to Lord Botetourt was one of the most-anticipated games in years. That series eventually ended up tied at 1-1 with each team winning on the other's field, but in all fairness to both teams, they each lost a star player during those two games that impacted the result. Back to the subject at hand......The Demons do appear to have some college prospects on their team and some folks are seeing them as the clear favorite in this one. As for Riverheads' chances to hand them their first loss, obviously the return of CCC would be nice at this stage of the season and I am hearing different things about whether or not this will be the game. Without him, the Big Red has found enough other running backs to take up the slack and quarterback Levi Dunlap has thrown TD passes in each of the last three games. Add in the fact that the RHS defense has only allowed four touchdowns in four games combined, so if the Demons are going to win this one, I really don't think it will be a walk in the park. Riverheads is most capable of getting the W, and if they do it will not be the biggest upset in the state this weekend.
Weather sounds cooperative at this stage, so fingers crossed on that point!
