When you have two teams that are turning in the uniforms after the game, you would think that the final night would be meaningless to one or both, but that is definitely not going to be the case with these two Friday night. More on that in a minute.
Looking back to this past Friday's balmy weather, there were a couple of mild surprises but nothing that will shake up the playoff picture. Riverheads clinched the district title outright, but homestanding Waynesboro certainly made them work for it in a wild 60-35 shootout in which the Little Giants had the lead twice and were threatening to take it a third time before RHS finally seized control and pulled away. The Gladiators are apparently locked in as the Region 2-B second seed, regardless of what happens this upcoming weekend.
Meanwhile over at Stuarts Draft, visiting Wilson held on for a 14-12 win and based on the highlights shown on The End Zone, it sounded like that one came right down to the wire. That result did not change either team's playoff status as SD will still advance as the Region 2-B eighth seed, whereas Wilson will remain out of the picture in Region 3-C. If the win accomplished anything for Wilson other than bragging rights, it would be that they leapfrogged the Cougars and finished in third place in the district standings with a respectable 4-2 slate as compared to SD's mildly disappointing 3-3.
In the remaining district game, it was deja vu all over again for both Fort Defiance and Staunton. For the Indians they reeled off a sixth straight win and are showing every indication that they will not go quietly in the playoffs. As for Staunton, it was their mind-boggling fourth district loss by a single possession, not to mention two other non-district games in which they also lost by just one score. I will come back to that point here in a bit.
So let's now take a look at what lies ahead for this Friday's slate of games, other than some expected chillier weather. First of all, Wilson and Stuarts Draft are both finished for the season, but as just mentioned, the Cougars will move on and apparently will have the first playoff crack at top dog Central Woodstock. At least they have a week to scout the Falcons in person and hopefully prepare an effective game plan.
Here is the schedule for the remaining five teams as they each wrap up the regular season..................
FORT DEFIANCE AT BUFFALO GAP: As with all our county schools, this is now a rivalry that has been going on for more than 60 years. The team boundaries border one another and the kids no doubt know one another other than sports. Ordinarily you can throw the record books out the window when any two county rivals meet, but in this case, there is just nothing to suggest that the Gap can pull off the upset. This has just not been their year, although they will apparently still advance to the Region 1-B playoffs even if they lose and finish 1-9. That is due to the fewer number of teams in that region. So the Indians are the team motivated to make sure they get the W. They are locked in a battle for a home field first round game and might not get it even if they win Friday. But you can bet that they want that seventh straight win, and as I have mentioned before, Coach Rolfe should win Coach of the Year hands down. Look for the Indians to roll easily in this one.
JOHN MARSHALL AT RIVERHEADS: If this game were being played indoors with a rounder ball, we would be talking about a team scoring in the triple digits, but for Riverheads' sake, let's hope they never have to experience that. (I assume most of you know that was a reference to JM's status as a national, not just state-level powerhouse in basketball.) But this one will be under the lights with that other ball that bounces funny and the Gladiators should be favored to win and move to 9-1 on the season. However, we do have to consider the possibility that JM has played tougher competition and just might be up for the challenge. Not only that, but Riverheads will have to avoid Senior Night Distractionitis, a condition that has brought down many a team over the years. After all, Staunton almost stole a Homecoming win away from the Big Red a few weeks ago. With two teams that will know NOTHING about one another, this one will come down to which one figures out the other first and/or makes the necessary in-game adjustments.
WAYNESBORO AT STAUNTON: This game will come down to one simple word.............PRIDE. Each team will have something to prove and given the long-time rivalry between the two you can bet that each will give it 110%. For Staunton the goal will be obvious. They have won three blowout games this year, but as mentioned above, their six losses have each been by just one possession, including games lost by 1, 2 and 3 points. If even half those losses had gone their way, they would be playoff bound, and if they had won all six of them, needless to say Riverheads would not be this year's district champs. So The Storm will want to not only win this game, but they will want to run away with it. Waynesboro, as already noted both today and in my Friday night recap, shocked Riverheads with their speed and athleticism in that game, and I have no doubt that they will roll into Staunton highly motivated to avoid an 0-10 finish. Officially I will go with Staunton to WIN this one by a touchdown this time, but just for the sake of seeing some guys win a game just because they need to, I will be excited for the Little Giants if they win this one. But if so, PLEASE not by just one score.............I don't think any nerves in Staunton could stand that!
Looking back to this past Friday's balmy weather, there were a couple of mild surprises but nothing that will shake up the playoff picture. Riverheads clinched the district title outright, but homestanding Waynesboro certainly made them work for it in a wild 60-35 shootout in which the Little Giants had the lead twice and were threatening to take it a third time before RHS finally seized control and pulled away. The Gladiators are apparently locked in as the Region 2-B second seed, regardless of what happens this upcoming weekend.
Meanwhile over at Stuarts Draft, visiting Wilson held on for a 14-12 win and based on the highlights shown on The End Zone, it sounded like that one came right down to the wire. That result did not change either team's playoff status as SD will still advance as the Region 2-B eighth seed, whereas Wilson will remain out of the picture in Region 3-C. If the win accomplished anything for Wilson other than bragging rights, it would be that they leapfrogged the Cougars and finished in third place in the district standings with a respectable 4-2 slate as compared to SD's mildly disappointing 3-3.
In the remaining district game, it was deja vu all over again for both Fort Defiance and Staunton. For the Indians they reeled off a sixth straight win and are showing every indication that they will not go quietly in the playoffs. As for Staunton, it was their mind-boggling fourth district loss by a single possession, not to mention two other non-district games in which they also lost by just one score. I will come back to that point here in a bit.
So let's now take a look at what lies ahead for this Friday's slate of games, other than some expected chillier weather. First of all, Wilson and Stuarts Draft are both finished for the season, but as just mentioned, the Cougars will move on and apparently will have the first playoff crack at top dog Central Woodstock. At least they have a week to scout the Falcons in person and hopefully prepare an effective game plan.
Here is the schedule for the remaining five teams as they each wrap up the regular season..................
FORT DEFIANCE AT BUFFALO GAP: As with all our county schools, this is now a rivalry that has been going on for more than 60 years. The team boundaries border one another and the kids no doubt know one another other than sports. Ordinarily you can throw the record books out the window when any two county rivals meet, but in this case, there is just nothing to suggest that the Gap can pull off the upset. This has just not been their year, although they will apparently still advance to the Region 1-B playoffs even if they lose and finish 1-9. That is due to the fewer number of teams in that region. So the Indians are the team motivated to make sure they get the W. They are locked in a battle for a home field first round game and might not get it even if they win Friday. But you can bet that they want that seventh straight win, and as I have mentioned before, Coach Rolfe should win Coach of the Year hands down. Look for the Indians to roll easily in this one.
JOHN MARSHALL AT RIVERHEADS: If this game were being played indoors with a rounder ball, we would be talking about a team scoring in the triple digits, but for Riverheads' sake, let's hope they never have to experience that. (I assume most of you know that was a reference to JM's status as a national, not just state-level powerhouse in basketball.) But this one will be under the lights with that other ball that bounces funny and the Gladiators should be favored to win and move to 9-1 on the season. However, we do have to consider the possibility that JM has played tougher competition and just might be up for the challenge. Not only that, but Riverheads will have to avoid Senior Night Distractionitis, a condition that has brought down many a team over the years. After all, Staunton almost stole a Homecoming win away from the Big Red a few weeks ago. With two teams that will know NOTHING about one another, this one will come down to which one figures out the other first and/or makes the necessary in-game adjustments.
WAYNESBORO AT STAUNTON: This game will come down to one simple word.............PRIDE. Each team will have something to prove and given the long-time rivalry between the two you can bet that each will give it 110%. For Staunton the goal will be obvious. They have won three blowout games this year, but as mentioned above, their six losses have each been by just one possession, including games lost by 1, 2 and 3 points. If even half those losses had gone their way, they would be playoff bound, and if they had won all six of them, needless to say Riverheads would not be this year's district champs. So The Storm will want to not only win this game, but they will want to run away with it. Waynesboro, as already noted both today and in my Friday night recap, shocked Riverheads with their speed and athleticism in that game, and I have no doubt that they will roll into Staunton highly motivated to avoid an 0-10 finish. Officially I will go with Staunton to WIN this one by a touchdown this time, but just for the sake of seeing some guys win a game just because they need to, I will be excited for the Little Giants if they win this one. But if so, PLEASE not by just one score.............I don't think any nerves in Staunton could stand that!
