We are down to the final two sessions of the regular season in the Shenandoah. Even though there is no district tournament and it appears that only one of our six teams will be denied post-season play, there is a lot to still be determined and I am sure all six will put all they can into this final week of action.
For example, the regular season title, mythical as it may be, is still up for grabs. Stuarts Draft had a three-game lead until Wilson knocked them off. But the Cougars have to travel to both Staunton and Riverheads this week and if they were to lose both of those, which is not out of the realm of possibility, then the Storm could tie them for first place. Also there is the matter of Wilson and Fort Defiance battling it out for a Region 3-C berth. It is my understanding that the team with the highest point standing goes to the playoffs and the other sits at home for the post-season.
Everybody else just wants to finish in the best possible position so as to host whatever they can and travel as little or as close as possible. Road trips can be fun but not if you travel 100 or more miles and come out on the losing end, so staying as close to home as possible will be everyone's goal. Here is the Tuesday night session and even though I was correct about the three home teams winning this past Friday, I am not sure ANYTHING will be easy to predict this week....
Stuarts Draft at Staunton: The Cougars won this one by 14 the first time around and hit the century mark in the process. However, since then they have lost to Wilson and been taken to the wire by Buffalo Gap, both on their own floor. So if anyone in Cougarland thinks they have "locked up" anything, they are very much mistaken. I still contend that Staunton is the best team in the district and if they had not lost that early one at Buffalo Gap, then tomorrow's game would be even more important. They have the speed, the depth, the intensity, and the shooters to stay with the Cougars even on one of their hot nights. If Draft wins, that clinches the regular season title, but just to keep it interesting, I say the Storm clouds will "rain" some threes of their own and take this one by about six.
Wilson at Fort Defiance: Actually I should have checked before I started because I only "think" this one is at the Fort. It may be at Wilson. Whatever the case, these appear to be evenly matched teams. I of course can only go by what I see when they play my Gladiators and what I read about their other games. RHS had a similar series with each.......killed them at home and lost a close one on the road. So that is no real help. Also each one had a huge road win down the stretch...........Fort winning in Staunton and Wilson handing the Cougars their first loss. Then you throw in the added incentive of that win-or-stay-home regional berth, and this game becomes arguably more important than the one above. I will go with the Fort by 2, regardless of where it is being played.
Buffalo Gap at Riverheads: A loss here will not devastate either team. The Bison appear to be in the Region 2-B playoffs regardless and according to what I read, the Gladiators are locked into the number one seed in Region 1-B. That is hard for some folks to figure, but there are advantages to playing tougher competition and that is one of them........you get points even if you lose. So even though the Gladiators have a disappointing 2-6 district record, all six of those losses have been against D-2 and D-3 teams, and four of them were by a total of 13 points. My point being that I (you know the biased one here) just cannot accept the fact that they really are the "worst" team in the district. They have lost only one home game all year and that was by three points to Staunton, which as I have just explained, may actually yet prove to be the best team in the district. So if RHS can pull out wins in these final two home games, they can possibly avoid the district cellar and also build some playoff momentum. Gladiators by 5 tomorrow and depending on that, I might just predict a second upset of the Cougars on Thursday. You gotta have faith!
For example, the regular season title, mythical as it may be, is still up for grabs. Stuarts Draft had a three-game lead until Wilson knocked them off. But the Cougars have to travel to both Staunton and Riverheads this week and if they were to lose both of those, which is not out of the realm of possibility, then the Storm could tie them for first place. Also there is the matter of Wilson and Fort Defiance battling it out for a Region 3-C berth. It is my understanding that the team with the highest point standing goes to the playoffs and the other sits at home for the post-season.
Everybody else just wants to finish in the best possible position so as to host whatever they can and travel as little or as close as possible. Road trips can be fun but not if you travel 100 or more miles and come out on the losing end, so staying as close to home as possible will be everyone's goal. Here is the Tuesday night session and even though I was correct about the three home teams winning this past Friday, I am not sure ANYTHING will be easy to predict this week....
Stuarts Draft at Staunton: The Cougars won this one by 14 the first time around and hit the century mark in the process. However, since then they have lost to Wilson and been taken to the wire by Buffalo Gap, both on their own floor. So if anyone in Cougarland thinks they have "locked up" anything, they are very much mistaken. I still contend that Staunton is the best team in the district and if they had not lost that early one at Buffalo Gap, then tomorrow's game would be even more important. They have the speed, the depth, the intensity, and the shooters to stay with the Cougars even on one of their hot nights. If Draft wins, that clinches the regular season title, but just to keep it interesting, I say the Storm clouds will "rain" some threes of their own and take this one by about six.
Wilson at Fort Defiance: Actually I should have checked before I started because I only "think" this one is at the Fort. It may be at Wilson. Whatever the case, these appear to be evenly matched teams. I of course can only go by what I see when they play my Gladiators and what I read about their other games. RHS had a similar series with each.......killed them at home and lost a close one on the road. So that is no real help. Also each one had a huge road win down the stretch...........Fort winning in Staunton and Wilson handing the Cougars their first loss. Then you throw in the added incentive of that win-or-stay-home regional berth, and this game becomes arguably more important than the one above. I will go with the Fort by 2, regardless of where it is being played.
Buffalo Gap at Riverheads: A loss here will not devastate either team. The Bison appear to be in the Region 2-B playoffs regardless and according to what I read, the Gladiators are locked into the number one seed in Region 1-B. That is hard for some folks to figure, but there are advantages to playing tougher competition and that is one of them........you get points even if you lose. So even though the Gladiators have a disappointing 2-6 district record, all six of those losses have been against D-2 and D-3 teams, and four of them were by a total of 13 points. My point being that I (you know the biased one here) just cannot accept the fact that they really are the "worst" team in the district. They have lost only one home game all year and that was by three points to Staunton, which as I have just explained, may actually yet prove to be the best team in the district. So if RHS can pull out wins in these final two home games, they can possibly avoid the district cellar and also build some playoff momentum. Gladiators by 5 tomorrow and depending on that, I might just predict a second upset of the Cougars on Thursday. You gotta have faith!
