After six weeks of traveling all over the state, or having other teams travel as the case may have been, it is finally time for the six Shenandoah District teams to get personally acquainted with one another, which they will do over the final five weeks of regular season action. However, that news, as exciting as it is, does have sort of a good news/bad news vibe to it.
The good news is that long road trips, and everybody had at least one of those, are now behind us and every game from here on out will be a half hour drive or less. Of course playoffs will mean more frequent flyer miles for the teams that make the field but we will cross those bridges when we get to them. Also each school should benefit from the larger crowds in terms of better gate receipts, more hot dogs coming off the grill, etc. And this first week at least, the paper even promises us a, and I quote, "sunny and delightful" day for the first round of games.
As for the "bad" news, with only six teams in the league, that means that we will have only three games each week to kick around. Also there is not going to be a whole lot of drama involved until we get to that final week of the regular season, which will be November 8th. All eyes that night will be on the Riverheads at Stuarts Draft game, which in all likelihood will feature two unbeaten teams fighting for the district crown.
Now I realize that leaves four other teams out there (or their fans on here I should say) who are going to howl and say "Hey how about us? We might have something to say about that you know." But will they really............
I am not sure any of them will. In fact, I cannot honestly say that any of the four has made a statement yet that they will challenge for the title or that they will even be able to beat each of the other three. So a four-way tie for third place would not be a huge shock at the end of the season.
Let's start with the two teams, Buffalo Gap and Fort Defiance, that each have a 3-2 record thus far. Respectable of course but let's be honest and examine who they have beaten. Correct me if I am wrong but those six wins have come over Bath County, Parry McCluer, Waynesboro, Broadway, and Stonewall Jackson, five teams that have, are you ready, ONE combined win between them.
So sorry Bison and Indian fans, but there are just no marquee wins there to hang your hats on. Hopefully one or both of you can still make the playoffs, and if one of you wants to knock off Stuarts Draft (er I mean knock off one of the big boys!!!) go ahead and do it, but on paper I don't see it happening.
Which brings me to the Staunton Storm. They are only 2-3 and they were annihilated at home Friday by Lord Botetourt. But let's not forget that before that, they knocked off a previously-undefeated Turner Ashby team on the road. So if there is one team among these four that DOES have a signature win and might have the clearer path to a third place finish, it just may be Coach Phillips' guys.
That leaves Wilson as still my expected bottom feeder, but they might pull off a win or two somewhere along the line. At the time they beat Waynesboro 41-0, that sounded like a great feat, but look what the Giants have turned out to be. So I have Wilson at the bottom only because somebody has to be there.
So what does all of this mean.........in all probability, each of the next four weeks will have: A) the game that Riverheads will win easily; B) the game that Stuarts Draft will win easily; and C) one competitive game matching two of the other four. So let's get the party started with this Friday's opening slate............
Riverheads at Wilson: The Hornets have put up some respectable points against quality teams such as Spotswood and Turner Ashby and in fact the overall quality of their schedule far exceeds that of BG or FD, so maybe I am underestimating them. But they also give up a ton of points, so they will not be able to stop the Big Red Machine enough to make this one competitive. The visitors will roll easily.
Stuarts Draft at Buffalo Gap: Having said all that I said above, I will not even begin to rule out a Bison win in this one, especially since they have had an extra week to prepare for it. Likewise, the Cougars could very easily fall into the trap of a Luray hangover and come out sluggish for this one. But on paper I have to go with the Draft by about three TDs. Expect a 49-28 kind of shootout though instead of any kind of defensive slugfest.
Fort Defiance at Staunton: As I said, expect one potential nailbiter per week and this week, it should be this one. Each team has faced a challenging schedule and taken its lumps, so the winner will be the team that can put all that behind them and focus the best on being ready for the rest of the season. Call it a toss-up and it might even be decided by a missed or made PAT. I will go with the home team by three points or less.
The good news is that long road trips, and everybody had at least one of those, are now behind us and every game from here on out will be a half hour drive or less. Of course playoffs will mean more frequent flyer miles for the teams that make the field but we will cross those bridges when we get to them. Also each school should benefit from the larger crowds in terms of better gate receipts, more hot dogs coming off the grill, etc. And this first week at least, the paper even promises us a, and I quote, "sunny and delightful" day for the first round of games.
As for the "bad" news, with only six teams in the league, that means that we will have only three games each week to kick around. Also there is not going to be a whole lot of drama involved until we get to that final week of the regular season, which will be November 8th. All eyes that night will be on the Riverheads at Stuarts Draft game, which in all likelihood will feature two unbeaten teams fighting for the district crown.
Now I realize that leaves four other teams out there (or their fans on here I should say) who are going to howl and say "Hey how about us? We might have something to say about that you know." But will they really............
I am not sure any of them will. In fact, I cannot honestly say that any of the four has made a statement yet that they will challenge for the title or that they will even be able to beat each of the other three. So a four-way tie for third place would not be a huge shock at the end of the season.
Let's start with the two teams, Buffalo Gap and Fort Defiance, that each have a 3-2 record thus far. Respectable of course but let's be honest and examine who they have beaten. Correct me if I am wrong but those six wins have come over Bath County, Parry McCluer, Waynesboro, Broadway, and Stonewall Jackson, five teams that have, are you ready, ONE combined win between them.
So sorry Bison and Indian fans, but there are just no marquee wins there to hang your hats on. Hopefully one or both of you can still make the playoffs, and if one of you wants to knock off Stuarts Draft (er I mean knock off one of the big boys!!!) go ahead and do it, but on paper I don't see it happening.
Which brings me to the Staunton Storm. They are only 2-3 and they were annihilated at home Friday by Lord Botetourt. But let's not forget that before that, they knocked off a previously-undefeated Turner Ashby team on the road. So if there is one team among these four that DOES have a signature win and might have the clearer path to a third place finish, it just may be Coach Phillips' guys.
That leaves Wilson as still my expected bottom feeder, but they might pull off a win or two somewhere along the line. At the time they beat Waynesboro 41-0, that sounded like a great feat, but look what the Giants have turned out to be. So I have Wilson at the bottom only because somebody has to be there.
So what does all of this mean.........in all probability, each of the next four weeks will have: A) the game that Riverheads will win easily; B) the game that Stuarts Draft will win easily; and C) one competitive game matching two of the other four. So let's get the party started with this Friday's opening slate............
Riverheads at Wilson: The Hornets have put up some respectable points against quality teams such as Spotswood and Turner Ashby and in fact the overall quality of their schedule far exceeds that of BG or FD, so maybe I am underestimating them. But they also give up a ton of points, so they will not be able to stop the Big Red Machine enough to make this one competitive. The visitors will roll easily.
Stuarts Draft at Buffalo Gap: Having said all that I said above, I will not even begin to rule out a Bison win in this one, especially since they have had an extra week to prepare for it. Likewise, the Cougars could very easily fall into the trap of a Luray hangover and come out sluggish for this one. But on paper I have to go with the Draft by about three TDs. Expect a 49-28 kind of shootout though instead of any kind of defensive slugfest.
Fort Defiance at Staunton: As I said, expect one potential nailbiter per week and this week, it should be this one. Each team has faced a challenging schedule and taken its lumps, so the winner will be the team that can put all that behind them and focus the best on being ready for the rest of the season. Call it a toss-up and it might even be decided by a missed or made PAT. I will go with the home team by three points or less.
