Understandably the "Big One" is getting all the hype, and in fact the discussion started by 9:30 Friday night, as soon as it became official that each one was going to be 9-0. So of course I will address it, but will also do my usual thing and let the other six teams know they are not forgotten. In fact, to keep you guys in suspenders, I will address those games first....
Stonewall at Luray: Arguably the least interesting game of the bunch. But I do have to say that for a team that will finish 0-10, I personally see a light at the end of the tunnel for the Generals, if they just hang in there. As I reported to you last week, their numbers were up for the JV game, including the presence of that one excellent receiver. Well the varsity also dressed out a decent number for Friday's game, whereas you might have expected a team with that record to be dressing out 18-20 guys who couldn't wait for it to be over. So keep the faith, Generals fans, and things will turn around eventually. After all, they did for Page this year, at least to a degree. However, it is what it is for right now, and Luray has a playoff position to protect, so 42-7 Dogs.
Wilson at Page: As you guys have read over the course of the season, I have had serious respect for the Panthers and their improvement, and in fact I even had them as a possible playoff team at one point and also hinted that they might have enough horses to celebrate their Senior Night with an upset over the Hornets. Well they still have a "chance" to do that, but Wilson's sterling effort against East Rock now makes it hard to go against them. So my apologies to the Hornets for under-estimating them Friday night, and unless they completely fall apart this week, they should prevail by something like a 41-20 count. But to offer motivation to the blue team......Wilson has just shown you what a team can do when it gets fired up for Senior Night, so if they can do it, you can too.
Buffalo Gap at East Rock: I guess the Bison also took note of Wilson's near upset Friday, so they should have renewed confidence for their trip to Elkton. Nobody has been able to stop McNair when he gets going, but the Eagles can't stop anyone else either, so expect another shootout. Probably not as wild as the game at the Hive Friday, but the scoreboard operator should still be kept plenty busy. I will say the home team wins 42-26.
Well that should do it, so enjoy the games and may the best teams win.
Oh wait.....did I forget a game? OK sorry about that.....Let's see, who is it......oh yeah THOSE two teams are playing aren't they? So I guess I can spare a "few" minutes to comment on such an insignificant game (yawn yawn.)
Riverheads at Stuarts Draft: I know that comparing scores can be risky business because sooo many different things can happen in a game. But in this case, I just don't see how you can ignore the facts and figures. If my math is correct, they have 7 common opponents (their six Shenandoah members plus Waynesboro) and there is NOT ONE team in the bunch that Stuarts Draft has beaten by a wider margin than Riverheads did. The two that I look at the most are Buffalo Gap and Waynesboro. SD played both at home and won by scores of 20-0 and 14-0, whereas RHS played both on the road and in each case, took a 35-0 halftime lead, and coasted through the running clock to wins by 48-7 and 49-7. I personally saw both games involving the Bison, and you just cannot dispute the fact that Riverheads destroyed the Gap in every sense of the word, whereas SD only had a 6-0 halftime lead, and still did not score the TD that put the game away until the 7 minute mark. However, to give credit where it is due, I was most definitely impressed with the Cougar defense that night and noticed that they held the Bison to something like 56 yards of total offense. In case Cougar fans want to bring up East Rock scores, yes each team won by 21, and in that case, SD is the one that won on the road. But in the East Rock at RHS game, the Eagles did not score their final TD until there were something like 16 seconds left in the game. Otherwise, RHS would have won by 28.
HOWEVER!!!!!!! having said all of that, this is high school football we are talking about and emotions and adrenaline can impact every aspect of the game. So I stand by my earlier comment in another thread that it will all come down to which team keeps its poise and sticks to its game plan. If one gets the upper hand and the other panics, that could determine it. My official take, based mainly on the comparative scores, is that Riverheads can and should win by about 2-3 scores. But I will be the first to admit that anything can happen and that a Cougar win is very much a possibility. As for the type of game, I expect lower scoring, like 21-7 or 28-14. I don't expect a Wilson/East Rock game at all, and I will REALLY be shocked if one team just rolls all over the other one.
Stonewall at Luray: Arguably the least interesting game of the bunch. But I do have to say that for a team that will finish 0-10, I personally see a light at the end of the tunnel for the Generals, if they just hang in there. As I reported to you last week, their numbers were up for the JV game, including the presence of that one excellent receiver. Well the varsity also dressed out a decent number for Friday's game, whereas you might have expected a team with that record to be dressing out 18-20 guys who couldn't wait for it to be over. So keep the faith, Generals fans, and things will turn around eventually. After all, they did for Page this year, at least to a degree. However, it is what it is for right now, and Luray has a playoff position to protect, so 42-7 Dogs.
Wilson at Page: As you guys have read over the course of the season, I have had serious respect for the Panthers and their improvement, and in fact I even had them as a possible playoff team at one point and also hinted that they might have enough horses to celebrate their Senior Night with an upset over the Hornets. Well they still have a "chance" to do that, but Wilson's sterling effort against East Rock now makes it hard to go against them. So my apologies to the Hornets for under-estimating them Friday night, and unless they completely fall apart this week, they should prevail by something like a 41-20 count. But to offer motivation to the blue team......Wilson has just shown you what a team can do when it gets fired up for Senior Night, so if they can do it, you can too.
Buffalo Gap at East Rock: I guess the Bison also took note of Wilson's near upset Friday, so they should have renewed confidence for their trip to Elkton. Nobody has been able to stop McNair when he gets going, but the Eagles can't stop anyone else either, so expect another shootout. Probably not as wild as the game at the Hive Friday, but the scoreboard operator should still be kept plenty busy. I will say the home team wins 42-26.
Well that should do it, so enjoy the games and may the best teams win.
Oh wait.....did I forget a game? OK sorry about that.....Let's see, who is it......oh yeah THOSE two teams are playing aren't they? So I guess I can spare a "few" minutes to comment on such an insignificant game (yawn yawn.)
Riverheads at Stuarts Draft: I know that comparing scores can be risky business because sooo many different things can happen in a game. But in this case, I just don't see how you can ignore the facts and figures. If my math is correct, they have 7 common opponents (their six Shenandoah members plus Waynesboro) and there is NOT ONE team in the bunch that Stuarts Draft has beaten by a wider margin than Riverheads did. The two that I look at the most are Buffalo Gap and Waynesboro. SD played both at home and won by scores of 20-0 and 14-0, whereas RHS played both on the road and in each case, took a 35-0 halftime lead, and coasted through the running clock to wins by 48-7 and 49-7. I personally saw both games involving the Bison, and you just cannot dispute the fact that Riverheads destroyed the Gap in every sense of the word, whereas SD only had a 6-0 halftime lead, and still did not score the TD that put the game away until the 7 minute mark. However, to give credit where it is due, I was most definitely impressed with the Cougar defense that night and noticed that they held the Bison to something like 56 yards of total offense. In case Cougar fans want to bring up East Rock scores, yes each team won by 21, and in that case, SD is the one that won on the road. But in the East Rock at RHS game, the Eagles did not score their final TD until there were something like 16 seconds left in the game. Otherwise, RHS would have won by 28.
HOWEVER!!!!!!! having said all of that, this is high school football we are talking about and emotions and adrenaline can impact every aspect of the game. So I stand by my earlier comment in another thread that it will all come down to which team keeps its poise and sticks to its game plan. If one gets the upper hand and the other panics, that could determine it. My official take, based mainly on the comparative scores, is that Riverheads can and should win by about 2-3 scores. But I will be the first to admit that anything can happen and that a Cougar win is very much a possibility. As for the type of game, I expect lower scoring, like 21-7 or 28-14. I don't expect a Wilson/East Rock game at all, and I will REALLY be shocked if one team just rolls all over the other one.
