First about last week. As usual, the goblins made sure that I would not get all four games right. I guess I was so caught up in predicting the Buffalo Gap/Wilson game that I did not even consider that Waynesboro could knock off yet another Valley District team. So hmmmm I wonder what I will do about the Little Giants this week...........stay tuned to find out!
Actually this week I am almost going to admit defeat before I start, because although all four games on tap have what would "appear" to be obvious winners, at least to me, I still have to admit that you could make at least somewhat of a case for all four of the other teams. So whether or not it is Waynesboro this time, I am sure that SOMEONE will trip me up somewhere. So here we go with this week's regular season finales..........
Broadway at Waynesboro (non-district): The Valley has been crazy and as it stands now, the Gobblers, Harrisonburg, and Turner Ashby have all round-robined so that each has one loss meaning that there is no clear-cut top dog. They have all pummeled Spotswood, and Rockbridge is out of the title picture as well. As for Waynesboro, they have already beaten the Wood to go along with their upset last Friday over TA. So, with home field advantage this week, can they make it three wins over their former district foes, even their record at 5-5, and possibly still squeak into the playoffs? That just sounds like too much motivation for the Giants to pass up, so even though a part of me thinks Broadway is better on paper, this time I will give in and go with the Giants to pull out a close win.....probably one decided by PATs.
Buffalo Gap at Fort Defiance: On paper this looks like the easiest game this week to predict and the Bison will likely win by 3-4 touchdowns or more. But you just can't assume that in a county rivalry when the home team is celebrating Senior Night and would love to go out a winner so they have something to build on. I won't predict a Fort win, but will just open up the slightest window of possibility for it to happen.
Wilson at Staunton: You sort of have the same situation with this one. Staunton has tasted victory three times already, so they "know" how to win, but they just seem to have some stumbling blocks that stand in their way sometimes. Wilson on the other hand has been a tale of two seasons, winning their first four but dropping four of their last five. Still they reportedly are still alive for the playoffs, at least as of this Sunday night post. If that is still the case when the standings come out on Monday, then you have to like the Hornets' chances to take care of business Friday, even if they are still dealing with injuries.
Stuarts Draft at Riverheads: There are soooooo many ways to look at this one that I am not sure how any of us would know where to start. First of all it is an oversimplification to say that each team needs to try to do what it did the first time. Meaning that if the Cougars can duplicate their domination of the first half but continue it for 3 or 4 quarters this time, they can pull out the win. But if RHS can take charge from the beginning and not even LET the Cougars establish any kind of confidence or control, then it could be an easy win for the Big Red. I tend to compare scores and when you do that, the opponent that stands out is Buffalo Gap. With both games played in Bisonland, Riverheads posted the 42-0 shutout whereas SD needed a late score to secure a 28-14 win, and to me that is significant. So for this re-match, I think it will come down to RHS having too many offensive weapons and being able to establish most if not all of those weapons, whereas SD appears to rely very heavily on the Nice/Grigsby duo for its offense. I just think the Gladiator defense can stop two scoring threats whereas this time around, SD will not able to stop the five or six that Riverheads has. Yes they might shut down one aspect of the Gladiator attack but not the whole shebang. I won't predict a margin, but Riverheads will prevail again.
Actually this week I am almost going to admit defeat before I start, because although all four games on tap have what would "appear" to be obvious winners, at least to me, I still have to admit that you could make at least somewhat of a case for all four of the other teams. So whether or not it is Waynesboro this time, I am sure that SOMEONE will trip me up somewhere. So here we go with this week's regular season finales..........
Broadway at Waynesboro (non-district): The Valley has been crazy and as it stands now, the Gobblers, Harrisonburg, and Turner Ashby have all round-robined so that each has one loss meaning that there is no clear-cut top dog. They have all pummeled Spotswood, and Rockbridge is out of the title picture as well. As for Waynesboro, they have already beaten the Wood to go along with their upset last Friday over TA. So, with home field advantage this week, can they make it three wins over their former district foes, even their record at 5-5, and possibly still squeak into the playoffs? That just sounds like too much motivation for the Giants to pass up, so even though a part of me thinks Broadway is better on paper, this time I will give in and go with the Giants to pull out a close win.....probably one decided by PATs.
Buffalo Gap at Fort Defiance: On paper this looks like the easiest game this week to predict and the Bison will likely win by 3-4 touchdowns or more. But you just can't assume that in a county rivalry when the home team is celebrating Senior Night and would love to go out a winner so they have something to build on. I won't predict a Fort win, but will just open up the slightest window of possibility for it to happen.
Wilson at Staunton: You sort of have the same situation with this one. Staunton has tasted victory three times already, so they "know" how to win, but they just seem to have some stumbling blocks that stand in their way sometimes. Wilson on the other hand has been a tale of two seasons, winning their first four but dropping four of their last five. Still they reportedly are still alive for the playoffs, at least as of this Sunday night post. If that is still the case when the standings come out on Monday, then you have to like the Hornets' chances to take care of business Friday, even if they are still dealing with injuries.
Stuarts Draft at Riverheads: There are soooooo many ways to look at this one that I am not sure how any of us would know where to start. First of all it is an oversimplification to say that each team needs to try to do what it did the first time. Meaning that if the Cougars can duplicate their domination of the first half but continue it for 3 or 4 quarters this time, they can pull out the win. But if RHS can take charge from the beginning and not even LET the Cougars establish any kind of confidence or control, then it could be an easy win for the Big Red. I tend to compare scores and when you do that, the opponent that stands out is Buffalo Gap. With both games played in Bisonland, Riverheads posted the 42-0 shutout whereas SD needed a late score to secure a 28-14 win, and to me that is significant. So for this re-match, I think it will come down to RHS having too many offensive weapons and being able to establish most if not all of those weapons, whereas SD appears to rely very heavily on the Nice/Grigsby duo for its offense. I just think the Gladiator defense can stop two scoring threats whereas this time around, SD will not able to stop the five or six that Riverheads has. Yes they might shut down one aspect of the Gladiator attack but not the whole shebang. I won't predict a margin, but Riverheads will prevail again.
