As reviewed over the weekend the seven Shenandoah District teams suffered through a dismal 1-6 opening week of action, so for the upcoming Labor Day weekend, there is no way to go but up, since I sure as heck HOPE they don't go 0-7 this time! The most interesting thing about this weekend's slate of games is the longggg distances that will be traveled. On Friday night, Stuarts Draft will motor all the way down to Surry County and then on Saturday Riverheads will make its second visit to Tazewell. Each of those are in the 150-200 mile range.
Here is the full slate of games as I try to better my not-very-impressive 3-4 mark of last week........
LURAY AT BUFFALO GAP: Oh great, just what I needed........a toss-up right off the bat. Each team lost last weekend so at least someone will get their first win of the season. These two of course know each other all too well, having been in the same district in the past. I also get the idea that they don't like each other very much. Since there is virtually nothing for me to go on to predict this one, i will be loyal to the local team and go with the Bison on this one.
FORT DEFIANCE AT ALLEGHANY: Another one that is not that easy to predict.........Alleghany rolled all over Waynesboro last week but as we know the Giants are suffering these days. Fort stayed with TA for a while before the Knights wore them down. My gut tells me that Fort can and perhaps should win this one, but for some reason, I expect Alleghany to pull out a late win.
RIVERHEADS AT TAZEWELL: Remember this one is a Saturday afternoon game. This will be their fourth meeting and the Big Red's second trip down into deep Southwest Virginia. Riverheads has won the first three and on paper would appear to be the favorite to make it four in a row. In their visit two years ago, the Gladiators put over 50 on the home team. Due to the unknown status of some injured Gladiators, that point total is not likely to be achieved this time, but the Big Red should still pull this one out. It may help that this is (I believe) Tazewell's season-opener, so they may fall victim to some opening-game jitters. So I will go with the Red team by two-three scores.
STAUNTON AT ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY: The Storm was one of four Shenandoah teams that fell by just a single point last week, as they lost 15-14 at Madison. Meanwhile, it what sounds like the shocker of the week, RCHS was pounded 55-14 at rival Parry McCluer. I have a hard time believing the Blues are THAT good, so it must be a case of Rockbridge being that bad. For that reason I will go with the Storm to storm back up 81 celebrating their first victory of the season.
STUARTS DRAFT AT SURRY COUNTY: I would certainly assume this is the first-ever meeting for these two, as Stuarts Draft had some genuine scheduling troubles this year. In fact if I am not mistaken, they still have an open date they would like to fill. I think of Surry as a basketball school, and SD gave King William all it could handle Friday, so unless they suffer from bus lag, the Cougars should take this one, and maybe by a wide margin.
MONTICELLO AT WAYNESBORO: As mentioned above, it is looking like the Giants will struggle again this year. However I don't think Monticello is a powerhouse either, so with some breaks Waynesboro "might" pull this one out. But keeping it real, I have to go with the visitors until Waynesboro can prove to us that they are ready to step up their game.
TURNER ASHBY AT WILSON: I did not intentionally put this one last as I am simply going alphabetically, but by coincidence, this really IS the game of the week for Shenandoah District teams. Wilson shocked everyone last week with a 41 point first quarter, which led to a 55-8 rout over Charlottesville. TA meanwhile had some early trouble with Fort Defiance but pulled away to win 51-22. So the big question will be "Is Wilson the real deal or was Charlottesville just plain awful as opposed to being regular bad?" Since TA is still considered the Valley District favorite, I am going to challenge the Hornets to show us just how good they really are, so I will officially say that TA brings them back down to earth. But Wilson............you got our attention last week, so a win in this one will definitely put you in the contender category.
So there you have it. Some risky picks for sure, especially since I am only predicting one victory for a home team. But let's face it, these have been two tough weeks to analyze, and we may have another one or two before we really find out who is who this season.
Here is the full slate of games as I try to better my not-very-impressive 3-4 mark of last week........
LURAY AT BUFFALO GAP: Oh great, just what I needed........a toss-up right off the bat. Each team lost last weekend so at least someone will get their first win of the season. These two of course know each other all too well, having been in the same district in the past. I also get the idea that they don't like each other very much. Since there is virtually nothing for me to go on to predict this one, i will be loyal to the local team and go with the Bison on this one.
FORT DEFIANCE AT ALLEGHANY: Another one that is not that easy to predict.........Alleghany rolled all over Waynesboro last week but as we know the Giants are suffering these days. Fort stayed with TA for a while before the Knights wore them down. My gut tells me that Fort can and perhaps should win this one, but for some reason, I expect Alleghany to pull out a late win.
RIVERHEADS AT TAZEWELL: Remember this one is a Saturday afternoon game. This will be their fourth meeting and the Big Red's second trip down into deep Southwest Virginia. Riverheads has won the first three and on paper would appear to be the favorite to make it four in a row. In their visit two years ago, the Gladiators put over 50 on the home team. Due to the unknown status of some injured Gladiators, that point total is not likely to be achieved this time, but the Big Red should still pull this one out. It may help that this is (I believe) Tazewell's season-opener, so they may fall victim to some opening-game jitters. So I will go with the Red team by two-three scores.
STAUNTON AT ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY: The Storm was one of four Shenandoah teams that fell by just a single point last week, as they lost 15-14 at Madison. Meanwhile, it what sounds like the shocker of the week, RCHS was pounded 55-14 at rival Parry McCluer. I have a hard time believing the Blues are THAT good, so it must be a case of Rockbridge being that bad. For that reason I will go with the Storm to storm back up 81 celebrating their first victory of the season.
STUARTS DRAFT AT SURRY COUNTY: I would certainly assume this is the first-ever meeting for these two, as Stuarts Draft had some genuine scheduling troubles this year. In fact if I am not mistaken, they still have an open date they would like to fill. I think of Surry as a basketball school, and SD gave King William all it could handle Friday, so unless they suffer from bus lag, the Cougars should take this one, and maybe by a wide margin.
MONTICELLO AT WAYNESBORO: As mentioned above, it is looking like the Giants will struggle again this year. However I don't think Monticello is a powerhouse either, so with some breaks Waynesboro "might" pull this one out. But keeping it real, I have to go with the visitors until Waynesboro can prove to us that they are ready to step up their game.
TURNER ASHBY AT WILSON: I did not intentionally put this one last as I am simply going alphabetically, but by coincidence, this really IS the game of the week for Shenandoah District teams. Wilson shocked everyone last week with a 41 point first quarter, which led to a 55-8 rout over Charlottesville. TA meanwhile had some early trouble with Fort Defiance but pulled away to win 51-22. So the big question will be "Is Wilson the real deal or was Charlottesville just plain awful as opposed to being regular bad?" Since TA is still considered the Valley District favorite, I am going to challenge the Hornets to show us just how good they really are, so I will officially say that TA brings them back down to earth. But Wilson............you got our attention last week, so a win in this one will definitely put you in the contender category.
So there you have it. Some risky picks for sure, especially since I am only predicting one victory for a home team. But let's face it, these have been two tough weeks to analyze, and we may have another one or two before we really find out who is who this season.
