The regular season is heading into its final week of action and fortunately the weather is going to cooperate. So for the Monday through Wednesday part of this week, we have a non-district game on Monday, the regularly-scheduled three-game Tuesday night slate, and Round Two of Stuarts Draft/Staunton is set for Wednesday. Here is the line-up....
MONDAY: East Rockingham at Waynesboro: I don't recall this one being snowed out so I assume it has always been on the calendar for this date. Also I don't see any signs that they have played already this year, so apparently this is a one-game-only deal as opposed to a home and home. ER has been one of the weaker teams in the Valley this year and really got smoked recently by district-leading Spotswood, but I still see them as being strong enough to take down the Little Giants.
TUESDAY: Riverheads at Waynesboro: When these two met the first time in Greenville, the Gladiators roared out of the gate and had a huge lead at halftime. They still led by 17 at the end of the third quarter but the Big Red went stone cold and only scored two points in the fourth quarter, while Waynesboro stormed back with a 23-point surge to take an improbable 45-41 win. These two are battling Buffalo Gap for the 5-7 slots in the final standings (which is to say no one wants to finish in the basement) so this game will help determine those final placements. My personal hope is that the Gladiators circled this date on the calendar quite some time ago and are just plain mad about what happened that night and are therefore determined to show that the first game was a fluke. So I will go with the Big Red to even the score. As for Waynesboro, they have only won one other game besides that one, and they have scored as low as 20 in some contests. However they will understandably be highly-motivated to sweep the series from the Gladiators. Should be another defensive slugfest.
TUESDAY: Wilson at Staunton: I believe I am correct that mathematically Wilson has come the closest to Staunton this season, but I think that margin was still something like 21 points and it was at Wilson. The remaining schedule favors The Storm to just waltz to an undefeated district record as three of their final four games are all at home. Wilson might be able to hang with them for a quarter or so, but this will be yet another easy win for Staunton.
TUESDAY: Fort Defiance at Buffalo Gap: The Indians took it on the chin Thursday night in front of their home fans as a disappointing 16 point loss to Stuarts Draft knocked them out of any chance at the Shenandoah title. They beat the Bison 91-64 the first time around but this one could be a bit tighter. Despite being one of the three lower-seeded teams in the league, the Gap gave SD a surprisingly close game last week, so if some of those three-point bombs fail to hit for the Indians, this one could actually be quite a bit closer. I still see the Fort winning by 12-15 but don't be surprised if you hear about a different outcome.
WEDNESDAY: Stuarts Draft at Staunton: Last week both of these teams were unbeaten in district play and facing their first battle at the Draft. For those of you who haven't heard, The Storm manhandled the home team 78-40 in that one. Cougar Pride will be at stake in this make-up date re-match, so I expect a closer game. It could even be Staunton's closest game of the season in district play, but they will still prevail and "officially" clinch the district title.
MONDAY: East Rockingham at Waynesboro: I don't recall this one being snowed out so I assume it has always been on the calendar for this date. Also I don't see any signs that they have played already this year, so apparently this is a one-game-only deal as opposed to a home and home. ER has been one of the weaker teams in the Valley this year and really got smoked recently by district-leading Spotswood, but I still see them as being strong enough to take down the Little Giants.
TUESDAY: Riverheads at Waynesboro: When these two met the first time in Greenville, the Gladiators roared out of the gate and had a huge lead at halftime. They still led by 17 at the end of the third quarter but the Big Red went stone cold and only scored two points in the fourth quarter, while Waynesboro stormed back with a 23-point surge to take an improbable 45-41 win. These two are battling Buffalo Gap for the 5-7 slots in the final standings (which is to say no one wants to finish in the basement) so this game will help determine those final placements. My personal hope is that the Gladiators circled this date on the calendar quite some time ago and are just plain mad about what happened that night and are therefore determined to show that the first game was a fluke. So I will go with the Big Red to even the score. As for Waynesboro, they have only won one other game besides that one, and they have scored as low as 20 in some contests. However they will understandably be highly-motivated to sweep the series from the Gladiators. Should be another defensive slugfest.
TUESDAY: Wilson at Staunton: I believe I am correct that mathematically Wilson has come the closest to Staunton this season, but I think that margin was still something like 21 points and it was at Wilson. The remaining schedule favors The Storm to just waltz to an undefeated district record as three of their final four games are all at home. Wilson might be able to hang with them for a quarter or so, but this will be yet another easy win for Staunton.
TUESDAY: Fort Defiance at Buffalo Gap: The Indians took it on the chin Thursday night in front of their home fans as a disappointing 16 point loss to Stuarts Draft knocked them out of any chance at the Shenandoah title. They beat the Bison 91-64 the first time around but this one could be a bit tighter. Despite being one of the three lower-seeded teams in the league, the Gap gave SD a surprisingly close game last week, so if some of those three-point bombs fail to hit for the Indians, this one could actually be quite a bit closer. I still see the Fort winning by 12-15 but don't be surprised if you hear about a different outcome.
WEDNESDAY: Stuarts Draft at Staunton: Last week both of these teams were unbeaten in district play and facing their first battle at the Draft. For those of you who haven't heard, The Storm manhandled the home team 78-40 in that one. Cougar Pride will be at stake in this make-up date re-match, so I expect a closer game. It could even be Staunton's closest game of the season in district play, but they will still prevail and "officially" clinch the district title.
