With the regular season quickly winding down, here are some thoughts on each team.
I thought Fluvanna would have a better season than 0-10, but the talent and heart just aren't there.
Charlottesville started the season like they were going to surprise some people, but turnovers and inconsistency has hurt them all year. I attribute this mostly to youth, as most of the backfield and line are young.
Powhatan is decimated by injuries, probably would've had a 7-3 or better season if they were healthy. They are still fairly young, so they can only improve next year.
Orange surprised me and has competed with nearly everyone on their schedule. I thought it would take at least a year to go in the right direction. A winning record to finish the season will be a huge step for Coach Lohr and his program's morale. Just PLEASE build a real football stadium.
Monticello is having the season I expected before they played Lake Taylor and after playing WA. Before the season, with the loss of Coach Woody and Athletic Director Barnes, I thought this would be sort of a "down" year by their standards, and it is. After watching them play Lake Taylor and compete with the Titans for two-and-a-half quarters, I thought they'd be the top team of the JD. However, they aren't that physical and the offense isn't as crisp as it was under Woody and his hurry-up system, and losing Kyree Koonce was a big blow. I think they can win one playoff game, but that's it.
Louisa has had a roller-coaster season, and as an fan it has been either frustrating or fun as heck. The defense started the year very poorly with mistakes on nearly every play, but have improved markedly. At times they're still inconsistent, as the Western Albemarle game showed, but at other times they look like a playoff defense bent on surprising people. If the Monticello game was any indication, they should be capable of winning a playoff game or more.
Albemarle has also been a surprise, in my opinion. For as young as they are, they play pretty sharply and haven't made many mistakes besides the Brookville and Orange games. Coach Isaiah has proven to be a big lift to the program. Their offense isn't as potent as the hurry up of last year, but it's good enough to win games as long as their defense keeps playing as tough as it's been. We will see how good they really are when they face Western to end the regular season. I think Albemarle is capable of winning a playoff game depending on if they win out and who they draw.
Western Albemarle has shown they are head and shoulders above the rest of the district. Seeing as they should finish 9-1 with their only blemish against Brookville, they have played as well as I expected; they are the most experienced team after all. With a healthy QB Sam Hearn, and big, fast and strong running back Oliver Herndon, they can beat a lot of teams in wide open 3A. I think Hearn might be better than Kent Henry before him. With their improvements over the course of the season, I think they're the JD's best shot at a run to states.
