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Shenandoah District Teams Facing Biggest Weekend of the Season

longtimerhsfan

VaPreps All Region
Dec 12, 2006
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The race in the Shenandoah continues to surprise us every week. Friday night the big surprise was Staunton shutting out Wilson. The win itself was not a total shock but the 21-0 margin certainly was, as no other team had been able this season to shut down the Hornet offense. I expected to read that either Podgorski or Baucom had been injured but apparently not, so The Storm just did it with great defense, which does not bode well for the other teams for the rest of the season.

In other games Friday night, Fort Defiance blanked Waynesboro 36-0, Stuarts Draft knocked off Buffalo Gap 39-24 and in a non-district game, Riverheads beat Christiansburg 10-7 with a field goal at the final horn. At this point, each team has played two district games with Staunton and Fort Defiance each 2-0; Riverheads, Gap, and Draft all 1-1; and Wilson and Waynesboro probably out of the race at 0-2.

So that sets up a very interesting Friday night the 11th, because Waynesboro, the weakest team in the league is off this weekend, leaving three other games on the docket, each of which will have a bearing on the district race. Riverheads travels to Staunton, Stuarts Draft goes to Fort Defiance, and Wilson hits the road to Buffalo Gap.

Because of how wild the season has been so far, you could make a case for any of those teams to win any of those games. There is not a slam dunk in the bunch. Just as one possibility, let's say all three home teams were to win. That would leave Staunton and Fort at the top, with their November 1st game possibly the championship game of the season. If in fact the Storm and Indians win Friday, two more teams (Riverheads and Stuarts Draft) will get their second losses and pretty much be eliminated from the race. As for the Bison, if they win Friday, they will remain in the race, because they still play both Staunton and Fort.

There are of course other possibilities and to keep the race as wide open as possible, we should pull for wins by Riverheads and/or Stuarts Draft to keep things interesting. So bottom line, if you are in the area Friday night, even if you are not a fan of any team, check out one of these three games. Here is my take on them, knowing perfectly well that I will not go 3-0.

RIVERHEADS AT STAUNTON: In my pre-season pick, I had the Big Red winning the district with Staunton second. Fort Defiance of course put RHS behind the eight-ball a few weeks ago, making a title an uphill climb for the Gladiators. Meanwhile, Staunton started out slow but appears to be finding its groove on both offense and defense. The teams have one common opponent, Wilson, and Riverheads just barely squeaked past the Hornets 14-13. Comparing scores is risky business, but you cannot ignore that discrepancy. Officially I will go with Staunton to knock off the Gladiators, but it worked for me to go against RHS in the C'burg game, so maybe I have a little reverse psychology thing going on here. The injury status for Riverheads will be a key factor here. One final warning for Storm fans......put Riverheads away early if you want to win, because if the Gladiators can keep it close at halftime, that brain trust knows how to make the right adjustments to make you pay.

STUARTS DRAFT AT FORT DEFIANCE: At this point, I have not read any details about the Cougars' win over the Bison. Was it nip and tuck or did they blow out to a 32-0 lead and fight off a Bison rally? Whatever the case, I think this one will come down to a question of how far the Indian passing game can carry them. Armentrout was a super player and if they have not found the player or players to make up for his absence, then I have to go with the Cougars to take this one.

WILSON AT BUFFALO GAP: This one will feature two teams coming off a loss and the winner will be the team that can put that loss behind them. Wilson would seem to be the most demoralized, considering that they were shut out, whereas the Bison, as already mentioned, are still in control of their own destiny if they can run the table. I am not saying that the Bison will ultimately be in the championship picture, but taking things one game at a time, I like their chances to send Wilson back to Fishersville with a disappointing 0-3 district mark, despite how impressive they have been this season.
 
Great preview and pretty much spot on

Riverheads @ Staunton- Injuries, injuries, and more injuries for the Gladiators. No excuses though, this should be a good game regardless of who is on the field for either team. I say that because the scuttlebutt around the little league fields on Saturday morning was around a handshake incident in the Storm/Hornet game so we could potentially see some suspensions coming this week that would affect those two teams. That all aside this Storm team is playing extremely well as of late and I will have to eat some crow on my preseason take that losing Fields would adversely affect this team. I too can see a Storm win here for a number of reasons but will say that I have confidence in the next man up mentality in Greenville. I am taking the Gladiators in a tight game where the last possession will be the winning one.

Draft @ Fort- Both of these teams have started the season well. Fort has probably been the more consistent team, but Draft only struggled with Staunton who we have now learned has a premier defense this season. Miller and Hebb are a handful and will be again this week but Draft has found some diversity on offense with a passing game to go along with the Graber brothers rushing attack. I will take Draft to upset the apple cart.

Wilson @ Gap- The Hornets have a solid defense against the run which is the Bisons offensive strength. Conversely the Hornet passing attack is very formidable against a Bison team that finds its strength more on stopping the run. In full transparency both played against very good defenses this past weekend, with the Bison still able to have a decent offensive output. That all goes into me saying that I see this gritty Bison squad able to grind it out and win a tight game
 
Riverheads/Staunton a 50/50 game, I will go with Riverheads
Draft/Fort another 50/50 game, I will go with Draft
Wilson should be a slight a favorite against the Gap but I will go with the Bison.
Should be three great games.
 
Calpreps Computer Picks
Riverheads 24, Lee 19
Fort Definance 21, Draft 19
Buffalo Gap 28, Wilson Memorial 21
 
STUARTS DRAFT AT FORT DEFIANCE: At this point, I have not read any details about the Cougars' win over the Bison. Was it nip and tuck or did they blow out to a 32-0 lead and fight off a Bison rally? Whatever the case, I think this one will come down to a question of how far the Indian passing game can carry them. Armentrout was a super player and if they have not found the player or players to make up for his absence, then I have to go with the Cougars to take this one.
STUARTS DRAFT — Stuarts Draft High School picked up a key Shenandoah District win on Friday with a 39-24 victory over Buffalo Gap in front of a packed house at home.

The Cougars exploded on offense and did just enough on defense in the second half to pull away from the Bison.

“I’m happy where we are right now, but we had some self-inflicted wounds and we still have some things to work on,” SDHS head coach Nathan Floyd said.


Offensively, Draft showed a balanced attack, led by the dynamic duo of senior quarterback Landon Graber and junior receiver Derrick Moore.

Moore got behind the Bison twice for long touchdown catches from Graber.

“He (Moore) has great hands and has a high football I.Q.,” Floyd said.

Defensively, Draft was led by senior Zach Henderson, who received “the stick”, given to the defensive player of the game after each win.

“We came out in a different defensive front in the second half,” Henderson said.

On offense, Henderson, who plays tight end, and the rest of the offensive line opened numerous holes for Landon Graber, younger brother Baylor Graber and senior running back Da’shea Smith in the ground game.

Stuarts Draft scored twice in the opening period to open up a 13-0 lead on a 26-yard pass from Landon Graber to Moore on its first possession and a 33-yard quarterback keeper with 2:20 left in the quarter.

The Bison answered with a surprising 50-yard pass from junior running back Isaac Goff to sophomore receiver Bradley Shiplett and a two-point conversion run by senior fullback Colby Yeago to narrow the lead to 13-8.

The Cougars immediately responded as Smith bounced off a couple of would-be tacklers and ran into the end zone from 28 yards out to give the home team a 19-8 advantage early in the second period.

The Bison came back with a 13-play sustained drive and Goff again completed a pass to Shiplett, this time from the Cougar 13. Yeago ran in the conversion again and suddenly, the Cougars led 19-16.

But Draft scored on another drive, this time finding Moore behind the Bison secondary again from 45 yards out. Landon Graber’s kick was good as Draft enjoyed a 26-16 lead at intermission.

The Cougars’ defense stiffened in the third quarter, forcing two Bison punts.

Landon Graber then took advantage of a pair of Bison penalties, deep in Bison territory and ran in for a 2-yard score with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter. The conversion kick was successful, giving the Cougars a comfortable 33-16 lead.

Landon Graber added his third TD early in the fourth period on a 4-yard run for an insurmountable 39-16 advantage.


The Bison finished the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run by sophomore Cooper Reed. Goff carried in the conversion for the final score.

Smith was the leading rusher for Stuarts Draft with 114 yards on nine carries, with Baylor Graber adding 93 yards on 16 carries and Landon Graber collecting 78 more on 12 carries.

There are key district matchups next week for both teams as the Cougars (4-2, 1-1 Shenandoah) head to Fort Defiance for a big-time Region 2B battle while the Bison (4-2, 1-1 Shenandoah) host Augusta County rival Wilson Memorial.

Buffalo Gap 8 8 0 8 — 24

Stuarts Draft 13 13 7 6 — 39

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

SD — Moore 26 pass from L. Graber (L. Graber kick)

SD — L. Graber 33 run (kick failed)

BG — Shiplettt 50 pass from Goff (Yeago run) Second Quarter

SD — Smith 28 run (pass failed)

BG — Shiplett 13 pass from Goff (Yeago run)

SD — Moore 45 pass from L. Graber (L. Graber kick)

Third Quarter

SD – L. Graber 2 run (L. Graber kick)

Fourth quarter

SD — L. Graber 4 run (kick failed) BG — Reed 7 run (Goff run)
 
I have chime back in to say that Staunton is absolutely capable of beating Riverheads. They have found a good flow with their offense and the defense is playing exceptionally well. I am a homer and would not bet against the Gladiators but I would not be surprised at all if the Storm win this game. And to be clear it wouldn't be a huge upset. The Riverheads team that beat Central in the first game this year is not the one you will see on Friday, but neither is the Storm team that lost to Madison. I look for a race to 21 and frankly it may be a race to 14 if I am being completely honest.
 
Staunton will not beat Riverheads, they aren't disciplined enough.
Staunton could win about any game on its schedule because of their overall talent. Staunton could also lose about any game on its schedule because of the mental/discipline issues you talk about it. If they lose by 14 points, it would not surprise me. If they beat Riverheads by 10 points, that wouldn't surprise me either. You just don't know what you are going to get with them.
 
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Staunton should beat riverheads by at least 14 riverhead already showed against fort defiance they can not guard the pass Staunton has multiple receivers to throw too
 
Fort Defiance had an exceptional night that night, not just a good one, and according to my sources, Riverheads just made one fundamental strategic decision that they may correct if they get a second shot at the Indians. Meanwhile, they have fared better against other passing teams (Tazewell and Wilson). So if Staunton has the passing attack that Fort has, you may be right. But if they only have an average one, Riverheads may be able to frustrate them and win, especially if they (The Gladiators) get off to a good start and gain some traction with their running game.
 
What a slate for the DOAH district this week! It does not get much better than this. 3 great games that could go either way.

Riverheads/Staunton-I would like to say Staunton has figured things out and is too much for the Big Red and all of their injuries. If the Storm get up by 14 I think they win. If its close tight game I think the Big Red squeaks it out.

Draft/Fort-I think this will be a low scoring quick football game. it will come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes. I am going to take the indians in this one but i think it will be very close!

Wilson/Gap-Wilson by a smidge
 
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One thing to look at in Staunton/Riverheads....common opponent is always interesting.

Riverheads beat Central at home in Week 1 10-3.
Staunton lost at Central Week 3 22-7 (counts as a win because of forefit).

Riverheads beat Wilson at home 14-13 a few weeks ago.
Staunton won at Wilson 21-0 last week.

So it seems like, given those scores, Staunton has much improved. They get Big Red at home at Gypsy Hill...should be a great game and I love the Storms chances, should be a great game either way.
 
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