Early Shenandoah District rankings

[BGfootball95]

It is early but I am bored. So I am going to throw up my Shenandoah district rankings. I think Gap is the only school still in division 1 this year. I know Riverheads and Stuarts Draft is division 2 and I am pretty sure Waynesboro and Wilson are division 3. I am not sure about Staunton and Fort Defiance this year division 2 or 3? That aside, here are my early district rankings. I am most confident about the top two teams being 1st or 2nd and my last place team being last but anything can happen with injuries, players not showing up, etc.

1- Riverheads. Yes, they lost some key guys, as they do every year but, they have two 280 pound plus dominate senior lineman, and will have not trouble filling in the gaps. The Cook-Cash kid gets the most attention but these two up front get it all going. Cook-Cash should be back on both sides of the ball this season for his senior season. They also have a deep stable of backs, a young linebacker who I think played TE also. The key for me as to whether this is a 7-3,8-2 type team or 9-1, 10-0 is the health of the 2 big linemen and Cook-Cash.

2-Stuarts Draft. I think they were young last year. Quarterback was young, good athlete, if he and the team can improve the passing game a little they should be better. They play great defense. They just are not as big or strong up front as Riverheads, and they do not have an athlete like Cook-Cash, no other district school has that combination.

3-Fort Defiance. 3 through 6 is tough for me. I choose Fort as I really like their QB. He is a good athlete, can run and throw. They improved last year protecting the QB from the year before. They have some talent on the team and I think some really good younger assistant coaches.

4-Wilson. They are usually always big and strong. They return a pretty good RB/LB and maybe also the quick/fast little RB. They lost a really good QB and WR though.

5-Staunton. Lost their multiple year QB. Overall I think they were young last year. Their offensive and defensive lines last year were much improved over the last few years. They have playmakers, need to find a QB. This pick was tough for me as I could place them 3 through 6. Something seems to happen to them later in the year, injuries, kids leaving, etc.

6-BG. Always hard picking my team. They lost some studs at skill positions. QB/DE, 2 RB/LB, T/DE, and a really tall weapon at TE/WR. The good news is they return 4 of 5 OL if they come back and are not moved to other positions. The key here will be finding some RB's and LB's that can stay healthy and be playmakers.

7-Waynsboro. They lost their multiple year, tall, QB. A talented RB who was not able to play much last year with injury. I know they have a really fast kid or 2 if they come back. For me, if they do not change their offense up, they will continue to struggle in the grind it out Shenandoah.

 

[Coach Chop]

Gap is D1.
Draft, Riverheads, and Fort are D2.
Staunton, Wilson and Waynesboro are D3.

1. Riverheads. Still the King until somebody dethrones them. Have seen rumors on here about Cash leaving but haven't heard a thing about it out and about.
2. Draft. Certainly capable of dethroning Riverheads.
3. Staunton. Wildcard but always has the athletes and they played well under 1st year coach last season.
4. Wilson. Like stated above, usually big and strong with a few athletes.
5. Fort. Much improved last year just not sure if they are ready to get in the mix. Think good young assistants are at Wilson now.
6. Gap. Lost a lot, but they are always a tough bunch.
7. Waynesboro. Lot of hype last year that didn't pan out.

Overall I think Riverheads and Draft are ahead of the others. I think 3-7 could end up in any order.

 

[longtimerhsfan]

I see you guys got in the mood pretty early this year. Nothing wrong with that because August will be here before you know it. So to add my two cents........

Overall my thoughts would align closer to Coach Chop's, especially when it comes to placing Staunton in the upper ranges of the standings. That new coach did something very right last year to get the team fired up and get the community behind them and I fully expect them to continue that upward trend. That kid Gerrard will scare me to death until he graduates and maybe even a year or two after that.

So quickly I see things this way.......

1) Riverheads...the one detail both of you left out is the quarterback position. It will be a challenge replacing Bennett Dunlap who for all practical purposes was a 3 1/2 year starter. There will be two guys stepping up who have proven themselves capable at the JV level but will that translate to varsity success, and if so, how quickly will it happen? I also think a key to RHS' success will be in finding a dependable second back to take the pressure off CCC. (And by the way, my sources say he is quite happy at Riverheads.) The Talbott kid from last year's JV team was awesome at times so if he continues to mature, the RHS running attack will be business as usual.

2) Stuarts Draft......For me their success this year will depend on the Graber Brothers. Landon could easily be the district's top QB and the younger one (Bailey is it?) was fierce the night he manhandled the RHS JV's almost single-handedly. But then some sources say he was not that dominant in other games. So who knows? Still I think they have their best chance in years to knock off RHS. That first game with KW will tell us a lot about the Cougars.

3) Staunton.....as stated above, they have the potential to be a team of the future. Do I think they will be that this year? Quite possibly but they might be a year away. And for what it is worth, based on what we saw last year, we may as well hand them the BASKETBALL title for the next decade or so, but that is cart before horse.

4) Buffalo Gap........Surprised to see each of you put them so low because I don't see it. I remember very good JV teams out there for as long as I can remember and sooner or later that will have to translate into varsity success. But if you guys say they lost a lot, I will take your word for it.

5) Fort Defiance.......Just like with Staunton, I think they are on the way up but it may still take a while. Don't know their personnel well enough to get more specific.

6) Wilson.........Unless you get very lucky, bringing in a brand new coach is always a tough task. I don't know the fellow or what he will bring to the table, so I am just going with the odds here and guessing that he will need a year or two to get them used to his system. But then again, read what I said above about Staunton, so it could easily happen at the Hive this year.

7) Waynesboro........I would have to agree with the both of you that they will be hard-pressed to avoid the basement this year. Not sure what the fundamental issue is there but nobody ever stays on the top or the bottom forever, so things will have to turn around for them eventually.

 

[Ampipe_High]

About time we started talking and gearing up for some football.

1) Riverheads. Like everyone has said, king until knocked off and I think they will be a team that D2 schools will still need to pay attention to. CCC keeps on chugging away. Those transfer rumors have been going on for the last few years now and he is not going anywhere. Their line play and discipline will keep them moving along and staying at the top. As longtimerhsfan stated, finding that complimentary back is a big key. RHS has had that for the last few years. I think breaking in a new QB will not be that big of deal, especially with CCC.

2) I do believe that Stuarts Draft is not far behind Riverheads and the district will once again come down to these two teams. I was impressed with the QB last year and have been hearing about this up and coming running back as being the real deal. Time will tell because the varsity level is a whole new level. Their D impressed me some last year. On the smaller side, but flying around with some hitting going on.

3) Here is where the guessing comes into play. I am going to go with Fort. They were young and gritty the last few years and have a real nice QB. The line is getting more solid and if they can play as a team, saw them arguing with each other on the field a lot last year, they will be much improved. I went with Fort because I have been hearing that they might be getting some skill transfers, which I will touch on in a second.

4) Staunton and this could easily be down further as well. They lost almost the entire offense from last year. That is a lot of skill to replace. I believe this group is the JV group that was quite dominant a few years ago, but they could be too young this year. I have heard from a few my Fort friends that a few SHS players intend to transfer to FDHS and have been making it known that they intend to transfer for athletics since this past spring. If this ends up happening, this could definitely hurt the Storm and help the Indians. Geffard is the real deal. I can see Staunton having a season like Waynesboro did a few years back were they started off slow and then caught fire in the 2nd half of the season.

5) Gap- They did lose a lot of key players, but I also think they have been fairly solid the last few years at the JV level and they just always seem to have some sneaky athletes that don't stand out on film, but then jump out and bite you game night. Always tough and physical play from Gap.

6) Wilson has a new coach coming in and some talent going out through graduation. I believe the new coach is a younger guy and is looking to air it out some more. I thought Wilson's passing game last year was quite potent, but with a new QB and a new coaching staff, I too am going to have to say there is a learning curve this year.

7) Waynesboro is a team I just do not get. Big kids playing on the line, talent and skill kids running around, had a good sized Qb the last few years and the Barbour kid at RB and could not do much. I know he was hurt some last year, but I don't think that would have made much of a difference. The staff needs to find a way to put it all together and get some buy in from the kids.

Last year the Shenandoah saw multiple teams making a push long into the season to see who would be in 2nd. I believe all but Fort and Waynesboro made it to the playoffs. I think teams 3-5 will all end up with records around 7-3 or 6-4, but it will be the two team race to see who is 1 and 2.