Staunton/Wilson and Gap/Draft Headline This Week's Shenandoah Games

[longtimerhsfan]

It took a couple of extra days but the Shenandoah District teams managed to squeeze in their first full week of district play with Staunton, Riverheads, and Buffalo Gap coming out victorious. The district race still looks completely wide open with six out of the seven teams still very alive for the district title, not to mention regional play afterwards.

Three teams.........Staunton, Buffalo Gap and Fort Defiance.......are all 1-0 in district play and three others........Stuarts Draft, Wilson and Waynesboro...........are 0-1. Riverheads is the only team to have played two district games and they are 1-1, although Wilson tried their darnedest to make sure the Big Red opened district play at 0-2.

With such a tight race, there are many possibilities for how things may turn out. If one team stays hot and wins out, they will obviously be the district champs, but one thing is for sure, those three 1-0 teams cannot ALL finish unbeaten, so something will have to give.

For at least two teams, injuries may have an impact on the rest of their season. Riverheads has lost a couple of guys for the year, most notably Austin Roberts, and Saturday they had another half dozen out of action, only to see yet another one, Jaden Dotson, leave the game with a possible neck issue. Meanwhile up at Fort Defiance, their amazing pass receiver Talyn Armentrout is out for an extended time, possibly the whole season, so their chances may hinge on who else can step up and give Miller some reliable targets. There may be other injuries at other schools that I have not heard about.

 

[longtimerhsfan]

Well crap!!! I did my usual thing and covered all four games but for some reason, my post got cut off halfway. It is too late at night for me to re-type it, so if it doesn't miraculously appear overnight, I guess I will have to come back tomorrow and finish it. GRRR!!!

 

[longtimerhsfan]

Still no idea what happened, but my time is limited this morning, so here is an abbreviated version of what I typed last night.......

STAUNTON AT WILSON: The Hornets are too good a team to drop into an 0-2 hole, so they should win this one by a touchdown or so.

BUFFALO GAP AT STUARTS DRAFT: This is the game that will measure just how good the Bison are. As for SD, they are in the same boat as Wilson and do not want to start out 0-2. Look for a Draft win by some wacky-sounding 33-29 score.

FORT DEFIANCE AT WAYNESBORO: Obviously a name-the-score win for the Indians as they will audition new pass receivers to see where they go for the rest of the year.

RIVERHEADS AT CHRISTIANSBURG: All signs (home field advantage, RHS injuries, revenge for last year's miracle win) point toward a C'burg victory, but if the Gladiators want to go down there and win, I won't be mad at 'em.

If these games should in fact go that way, FD will be the only team at 2-0 in district play, Waynesboro will be the only 0-2 team, and the other five will be bunched in at 1-1, setting the stage for a wild finish down the stretch.

 

[BGfootball95]

Staunton: I think this is a flip of the coin game, should be close.
BG: I am a homer. Draft should be favored. We will find out more about both teams.
Fort
Riverheads, I think CB lost a lot from last year, still have a giant lineman

 

[RedPrideNation_RollPride]

Staunton @ Wilson- Wilson has a solid defense against the run and enough offense to test the revitalized Storm defense. Can they defend the pass because Staunton can sling it as well as threaten the run with several athletes. IF Staunton limits the penalties this has the makings of a very good game. I do think Wilson has the stronger case so far but that would slightly discount the Storm win over the Cougars so its close for me. Hornets win but its an oddball game with a unconventional final score under 25 for the winner

Gap @ Draft- Gap has exceeded expectations but my biggest drawback for them prior to the season starting was their ability to tackle as a younger/smaller team. They have shown up and showed out so far so congrats for that. Draft beat KW early in what looked like a good win but with the loss in an uninspired game against a mistake prone Storm team it has me thinking that the Cougars havent found the consistency that they generally attain by this time in the season. Coin flip game with the home field three-point advantage to Draft

Fort @ Waynesboro- Fort with the road win in the muck at a decent Madison team that has multiple weapons. Everyone talks about the offense for the Indians and rightfully so with Miller, Hebb and the now injured Armentrout. I personally feel their defense is playing pretty dang good this season so while the O finds its legs minus their WR, I look for a few experiments and some fireworks as they search for that possession receiver for the stretch run to and through the playoffs. Coast win in a name your score type game but will likely tell us how the coaching staff plans to play this season out in their passing game.

Riverheads @ Christiansburg- Although some think I have given up on this year, I am not all doom and gloom as I have seen lots of good things with backups and underclassmen contributing in very important ways. In the little that I have seen Christiansburg they definitely have some speed and size. While there are lots of reasons to go against the Gladiators this week, I think this group finds a way to showcase the grit and teamwork that has been a staple for the better part of 3 decades. Riverheads in a close low scoring affair

 

[longtimerhsfan]

Happy to see Riverheads getting some love on here. Hope it works out that way.

 

[Coach Chop]

Wilson
Draft
Fort
Riverheads

Wouldn't be surprised one bit if I went 1-3 with my picks this week.