Interesting Week Coming up in Shenandoah

[longtimerhsfan]

Once district action gets underway, there is never a dull moment in the Shenandoah. We still have one game tonight left over from Friday night's rain-outs (Page at East Rock), but there should not be any major surprise there, so let's look ahead to Friday the 7th. There are three games out of the four that should attract a fair amount of attention, so here is a preview:

East Rock at Riverheads: This one will come down to one simple question...............which one can control the pace and make the other team play its game? Riverheads has been all about the running game for as long as any of us can remember, so if they can consume lots of clock time with their patented drives, then McNair and company will simply not have TIME to do much damage with their passing game, in which case the Big Red will win. But if ER should break a big one or two early in the game, it could put RHS behind the eight ball. Riverheads is a perfect 6-0 against the Eagles all-time, and only one of those games has been close. So I don't expect that to change this week. I will go with Riverheads 49-22.

Buffalo Gap at Stuarts Draft: Two questions will be answered in this one.......How fired up will the Cougars be to gain revenge after last year's controversial playoff game?....and how quickly can the Bison recover from their unexpected embarrassment against Riverheads Saturday night? I am inclined to believe that Gap is a better team than they showed Saturday and that they will make a game of this one. But I still expect Draft to pull away, although maybe not until the second half. I will say SD wins 34-14.

Before moving on to the other two games, I will say what everyone has already started thinking.....are we headed for a final night showdown (Riverheads at Stuarts Draft) featuring two 9-0 teams? If so, that will be a BIG event for these parts. I would say if they each win this Friday, then they will have cleared any hurdles that might prevent such a match-up. A risky statement at the halfway point of the season maybe, but I just don't see any other challengers making a race out of it if it doesn't happen this week. OK, moving on.............

Luray at Page: It goes without saying that these two look forward to this game every year, regardless of how much meaning it has in any given season. So it should be even more interesting than usual this year, due to Page's resurrection and the fact that both still have legitimate shots for a winning season and/or a post-season berth. Perhaps I should have waited to see how Page does at East Rock tonight before starting this post, but even without that input, I will go out on a limb and say this is the Year of the Panther in that big rivalry. Page wins a wild one 41-34.

Stonewall at Wilson: The basement-dwelling question has been answered for this year already, so the remaining one is "Could this possibly be Wilson's last win of the season?" I am not necessarily wishing that on them, but let's face facts........they already lost the heartbreaker at Luray, Page may be good enough to beat them this year, and for them to beat any of the teams mentioned at the top, it would take a huge upset. So I will give this one to the Hornets in a runaway, 42-6, but beyond that, I can't promise the Green Team much more love this season.

 

[RedPrideNation_RollPride]

As always, great write up on the preview. I have a little different spin on a couple of these.

Riverheads hosting East Rock is a clash of styles for sure. I see it being a little closer than you have it with ER able to move the ball. I am thinking 42-31. It's either gonna be like that or 49-7 Gladiators. If McNair is able to stand back and throw it will be close but if he waits at all, the speed of RHS line will apply tons of pressure and squash the passing game of ER.

Stuart's Draft hosting Buffalo Gap is one I think we see differently. Draft is loaded with speed and can play with anybody but Gap is no slouch on D regardless of Saturday nights game. I see a grind it out type game with Gap making enough plays to get it done. I look to the Waynesboro game being 14-0 and Broadway being close until into the fourth for Draft. All due respect to SD as I think it could just as easily go the other way. I just see it being a Gap win 22-15.

Page hosting Luray for bragging rights and playoff seeding? How long has it been since both were relative at the same time. Luray has a good team with their best side being their D and Page is playing very good ball on both sides. Close game but lower scoring. 22-18 Luray.

Wilson hosting Stonewall will be another long night for the visitors. Wilson will showcase some of the talent that hasn't had the opportunity to shine against the more stought defenses in the area. I see the margin in the same manner as longtime, 42-6.

 

[Gunz41]

As always, great write up on the preview. I have a little different spin on a couple of these.

Riverheads hosting East Rock is a clash of styles for sure. I see it being a little closer than you have it with ER able to move the ball. I am thinking 42-31. It's either gonna be like that or 49-7 Gladiators. If McNair is able to stand back and throw it will be close but if he waits at all, the speed of RHS line will apply tons of pressure and squash the passing game of ER.

Stuart's Draft hosting Buffalo Gap is one I think we see differently. Draft is loaded with speed and can play with anybody but Gap is no slouch on D regardless of Saturday nights game. I see a grind it out type game with Gap making enough plays to get it done. I look to the Waynesboro game being 14-0 and Broadway being close until into the fourth for Draft. All due respect to SD as I think it could just as easily go the other way. I just see it being a Gap win 22-15.

Page hosting Luray for bragging rights and playoff seeding? How long has it been since both were relative at the same time. Luray has a good team with their best side being their D and Page is playing very good ball on both sides. Close game but lower scoring. 22-18 Luray.

Wilson hosting Stonewall will be another long night for the visitors. Wilson will showcase some of the talent that hasn't had the opportunity to shine against the more stought defenses in the area. I see the margin in the same manner as longtime, 42-6.

Broadway game was not close until the 4th quarter, SD had backups in the 4th quarter. There was never any doubt after 1st quarter, much less halftime. Broadway moved the ball some with their passing, but it seems as if they had that part sured up for the ER game. And the Waynesboro game was close, but it doesn't matter what type of teams they have, its usually always a tight game as they play for "The Ball" every year, add in the added part of Coach Goforth's last game at Stuarts Draft. Not saying any of this means SD will win this week or any other week, but I figured you may want to know those things

 

[RedPrideNation_RollPride]

Gunz, I was mistaken about the Broadway game because I just went off of my fragile memory which I thought had the game close until late. Either way I don't see a huge blowout for either team. Draft certainly is a team to be reckoned with but Gap is not quite as bad as Saturday looked either and frankly defense travels well if it is real. We will see whether they are for real or a shell of last years team. Momentum got them early and they never could turn it. Draft is smoking fast with several backs that can take it to the house at any time. Should be a good game with the locals very interested in the outcome.

 

[obguthr]

Maybe I need to see Page play, but I think the OP is giving them a little too much credit. I'm happy that they are having some success, but I don't think they will make the post season. They have some tough games ahead of them and RUTSing Nelson and SJ is not a huge accomplishment.

 

[Keith_Stone33]

Once district action gets underway, there is never a dull moment in the Shenandoah. We still have one game tonight left over from Friday night's rain-outs (Page at East Rock), but there should not be any major surprise there, so let's look ahead to Friday the 7th. There are three games out of the four that should attract a fair amount of attention, so here is a preview:

East Rock at Riverheads: This one will come down to one simple question...............which one can control the pace and make the other team play its game? Riverheads has been all about the running game for as long as any of us can remember, so if they can consume lots of clock time with their patented drives, then McNair and company will simply not have TIME to do much damage with their passing game, in which case the Big Red will win. But if ER should break a big one or two early in the game, it could put RHS behind the eight ball. Riverheads is a perfect 6-0 against the Eagles all-time, and only one of those games has been close. So I don't expect that to change this week. I will go with Riverheads 49-22.

Buffalo Gap at Stuarts Draft: Two questions will be answered in this one.......How fired up will the Cougars be to gain revenge after last year's controversial playoff game?....and how quickly can the Bison recover from their unexpected embarrassment against Riverheads Saturday night? I am inclined to believe that Gap is a better team than they showed Saturday and that they will make a game of this one. But I still expect Draft to pull away, although maybe not until the second half. I will say SD wins 34-14.

Before moving on to the other two games, I will say what everyone has already started thinking.....are we headed for a final night showdown (Riverheads at Stuarts Draft) featuring two 9-0 teams? If so, that will be a BIG event for these parts. I would say if they each win this Friday, then they will have cleared any hurdles that might prevent such a match-up. A risky statement at the halfway point of the season maybe, but I just don't see any other challengers making a race out of it if it doesn't happen this week. OK, moving on.............

Luray at Page: It goes without saying that these two look forward to this game every year, regardless of how much meaning it has in any given season. So it should be even more interesting than usual this year, due to Page's resurrection and the fact that both still have legitimate shots for a winning season and/or a post-season berth. Perhaps I should have waited to see how Page does at East Rock tonight before starting this post, but even without that input, I will go out on a limb and say this is the Year of the Panther in that big rivalry. Page wins a wild one 41-34.

Stonewall at Wilson: The basement-dwelling question has been answered for this year already, so the remaining one is "Could this possibly be Wilson's last win of the season?" I am not necessarily wishing that on them, but let's face facts........they already lost the heartbreaker at Luray, Page may be good enough to beat them this year, and for them to beat any of the teams mentioned at the top, it would take a huge upset. So I will give this one to the Hornets in a runaway, 42-6, but beyond that, I can't promise the Green Team much more love this season.

I look for Riverheads and East Rock to be high scoring as I dont think ER will slow down the Gladiators while the East Rock offense will make some big plays, but not enough to really challenge RHS. I think your score prediction is about right

Im curious to see how Gap responds this week. If Gap plays like they have the past 2 weeks, they'll lose. Weird thing about them is they are actually pretty good, when they dont lose their cool or turn the ball over. If SD beats BG they will solidify their positioning as a top 2 team in the district. They seem to still be under the radar a little bit even though they are undefeated. Of the doah games this is the one Id like to see the most.

Luray and Page is the game I'd like to see second most. Im still not quite sure what Page is made of due to their schedule but a win this week over county rival would be big for their rebuilding process. While I Think Luray will win, Id like to see Page make this a battle.

Wilson over Stonewall. Another tough year for the generals. Wilson gets some game experience for the 2s this week. They hung with Luray all four quarters last week and had a chance to win late which is a good sign that they battled to the end

 

[longtimerhsfan]

Regarding my speculation about either Page or Luray making the post-season, you have to remember that the playoffs are soooooooooo watered-down these days that a team can make the field with a 5-5 or even 4-6 record. I know some people have strong feelings about how good or bad that is for the system.

Page is currently 10th in the 2-A East field that will take 16 teams into the playoffs. Yes, I realize that they have yet to beat anyone of any real substance, but if they can pull off the rivalry win over Luray, then maybe win one more somewhere along the line and finish 5-5, that might be enough to keep them in the top 16. However, having said that, a loss to Luray Friday might be enough to squelch that idea, even in my mind. If the Dogs in fact actually pummel Page, I will be the first to admit that yes, I over-rated the Panthers.

Luray meanwhile is 6th n a 1-A East field that only takes 12 into the playoffs. So ironically, their chances to make the playoffs could actually be shakier than Page. If they were to lose to the Panthers, and then maybe only beat Stonewall the rest of the way, they would still finish 5-5, but they might just slip further down the slope and find themselves on the outside looking in. But on the positive side, they could beat Page, beat Stonewall, and they even get Buffalo Gap at home, so a definite playoff appearance at 7-3 is still within their reach.

I realize I am doing too much speculating and too much "what-iffing" for a season that is only halfway over, but hey that is what this board is for. After this week, I think things will be a lot clearer for a number of teams.

 

[obguthr]

I keep forgetting how many teams qualify. I still doubt Page pulls it off.

For Luray, you're right. They could get outpointed by Northern Neck or Tri-Rivers teams. It could come down to riders and Madison has some winnable games ahead of them. This will help Luray.

 

[WilsonFootball]

If you go back and look, I said going into this season Draft has the talent to be at least a Semi-final team and should be the best team in our area. I am concerned with the play calling and coaching, like I am with some of the decisions made by my Hornet staff, but this Draft team really is very good. I have been watching to see how many touches Johnson gets per game and it seems to me he doesn't get the ball as much as he should. I have not seen them live though so there may be a reason for that. I feel like they are cursed with the same problems my Hornets have, but we will see. Draft is a very, very good team with this Senior group of players.

I will say the biggest surprise to me so far has been how well Gap has played until last week. They are a very young group as well. Their win over PM really surprised me. PM I thought going into this year was going to sneak up on some 1A teams. Coach Bowers I think has made an impact for the Bison and they got really lucky to get him.

 

[Xcross]

If you go back and look, I said going into this season Draft has the talent to be at least a Semi-final team and should be the best team in our area. I am concerned with the play calling and coaching, like I am with some of the decisions made by my Hornet staff, but this Draft team really is very good. I have been watching to see how many touches Johnson gets per game and it seems to me he doesn't get the ball as much as he should. I have not seen them live though so there may be a reason for that. I feel like they are cursed with the same problems my Hornets have, but we will see. Draft is a very, very good team with this Senior group of players.

I will say the biggest surprise to me so far has been how well Gap has played until last week. They are a very young group as well. Their win over PM really surprised me. PM I thought going into this year was going to sneak up on some 1A teams. Coach Bowers I think has made an impact for the Bison and they got really lucky to get him.

What do you think happened to Gap last week ?

 

[obguthr]

Draft has an underrated defense with a defensive line that gets off the ball quick and gets good penetration. This is a good and a bad thing. If I'm an opposing coach, I would use the up back and screen passes heavily to soften them up. I feel like they overpursue at times.

On offense, Izzy Johnson is a straight up playmaker. It's not because he's that fast or quick. He's strong and fights for every yard.

Gap is physical (as always) and has some good skill players of their own. Depth is an issue, but with their soft schedule, some of these kids have seen playing time. Hopefully they learned something.

In the end, I don't think Gap is balanced enough on offense. Draft's defense is going to pin their ears back and get a lot of tackles for loss. Although my numbers say otherwise, Draft will win this one