The First Four Region B Games........

[longtimerhsfan]

.........all went pretty much as expected. Clarke smacked Strasburg, Central rolled over Gap, Lee crushed George Mason, and Luray handled East Rock a little bit easier than they did last week. So that sets the stage for two very interesting regional semi-finals.

Luray will go to Clarke and Lee will head to Central. At this stage, I would call both a toss-up.

 

[obguthr]

Great games and it looks like I'm going to be traveling. I'm most interested in the Lee-Central matchup.

 

[bullrun25]

Lee will have to play disciplined football to beat Central. In my opinion Luray has the best chance of pulling a upset because of their physical style of play.

 

[lucustookis]

Agree. I don't know if I would even call Luray an upset. Woodstock is legit. I think they've had running clocks 8 out of 10 regular season games this season. That's pretty dang good, and many have talked about them, but I think they may be the darkhouse in Virginia AA, even though they were 10-0.

 

[obguthr]

Agree. I don't know if I would even call Luray an upset. Woodstock is legit. I think they've had running clocks 8 out of 10 regular season games this season. That's pretty dang good, and many have talked about them, but I think they may be the darkhouse in Virginia AA, even though they were 10-0.

I'm the only one that picked Central in the Bracket Challenge, so if Poquoson or Giles don't make it, I hope Central wins it all.

 

[Keith_Stone33]

Agree. I don't know if I would even call Luray an upset. Woodstock is legit. I think they've had running clocks 8 out of 10 regular season games this season. That's pretty dang good, and many have talked about them, but I think they may be the darkhouse in Virginia AA, even though they were 10-0.

Central can win it all, and it would not surprise me if they do. I had mentioned in another thread about how they are a complete team, that I have yet to find a weakness on and their dominance over Buffalo Gap last night provides further emphasis of that for me. Buffalo Gap won 6 games and were competitive in every game this year, never losing by more than 10 points, and they were completely shut down against the first unit and had a running clock most of the second half.

Their offense (Central) is tough for defensive coordinators to prepare for, as they'll line up and play smashmouth football between the tackles out of the I/Power I, then hit you with a sweep or reverse to #1 or #4 who are both really fast, then the QB #2 will connect with someone through the air. They've got a nice combination of speed, size, and toughness on that team. They have about a half dozen linebacker/h back type full grown men that can move and hit on that roster.

I think Lee can win this game but it will take winning a few matchups that are kind of a toss up to me right now, not throwing the ball near the Central ballhawk (#4), performing better on special teams, and forcing turnovers defensively, while limiting them offensively. Lee hasnt seen a team like Central yet this year, and I'm not sure that they have seen a team like Lee either. I see an absolute dogfight, with Lee possibly coming out on top if things go well.

 

[charlie22650]

Central can win it all, and it would not surprise me if they do. I had mentioned in another thread about how they are a complete team, that I have yet to find a weakness on and their dominance over Buffalo Gap last night provides further emphasis of that for me. Buffalo Gap won 6 games and were competitive in every game this year, never losing by more than 10 points, and they were completely shut down against the first unit and had a running clock most of the second half.

Their offense (Central) is tough for defensive coordinators to prepare for, as they'll line up and play smashmouth football between the tackles out of the I/Power I, then hit you with a sweep or reverse to #1 or #4 who are both really fast, then the QB #2 will connect with someone through the air. They've got a nice combination of speed, size, and toughness on that team. They have about a half dozen linebacker/h back type full grown men that can move and hit on that roster.

I think Lee can win this game but it will take winning a few matchups that are kind of a toss up to me right now, not throwing the ball near the Central ballhawk (#4), performing better on special teams, and forcing turnovers defensively, while limiting them offensively. Lee hasnt seen a team like Central yet this year, and I'm not sure that they have seen a team like Lee either. I see an absolute dogfight, with Lee possibly coming out on top if things go well.

I must have caught Lee on a bad night but Luray handled them fairly well,I could be wrong but I don't think Luray threw the ball once,they just ran straight at them and Lee never stopped them,Lee scored late to make it 44-32 with a few seconds left,it seemed by running right at them it took their speed advantage away from them.

 

[Keith_Stone33]

I must have caught Lee on a bad night but Luray handled them fairly well,I could be wrong but I don't think Luray threw the ball once,they just ran straight at them and Lee never stopped them,Lee scored late to make it 44-32 with a few seconds left,it seemed by running right at them it took their speed advantage away from them.

That certainly wasn't their best performance of the year by any means, but credit that to Luray... they smacked them in the mouth. Not that it matters, but I think the final score was 42-33 that night. I know some Luray fans were upset by the last touchdown call for the Leemen, and not to stir up anything as it is water under the bridge now, but I think on one of the Luray touchdown runs, the Luray runner got tackled going into the endzone and he fumbled the ball/was stripped when he was at the 1 and it went out of the endzone. They called it a touchdown, but if he did indeed fumble early as it appeared, it should have resulted in no touchdown and a touchback for the Leemen.

You may not even recall the play, but if you do, did you have a clear view of it to see if the referee did indeed make the correct call? This is high school and there is obviously no replay, so I get that the call is final, not to mention weeks old, but this is just out of my own curiosity. Even on the films I've watched, it appears to be a fumble out of the endzone. I'm not saying this is the reason they lost, as that score wasn't the final difference in the game anyway, just curious. Luray was definitely better that night.

 

[charlie22650]

That certainly wasn't their best performance of the year by any means, but credit that to Luray... they smacked them in the mouth. Not that it matters, but I think the final score was 42-33 that night. I know some Luray fans were upset by the last touchdown call for the Leemen, and not to stir up anything as it is water under the bridge now, but I think on one of the Luray touchdown runs, the Luray runner got tackled going into the endzone and he fumbled the ball/was stripped when he was at the 1 and it went out of the endzone. They called it a touchdown, but if he did indeed fumble early as it appeared, it should have resulted in no touchdown and a touchback for the Leemen.

You may not even recall the play, but if you do, did you have a clear view of it to see if the referee did indeed make the correct call? This is high school and there is obviously no replay, so I get that the call is final, not to mention weeks old, but this is just out of my own curiosity. Even on the films I've watched, it appears to be a fumble out of the endzone. I'm not saying this is the reason they lost, as that score wasn't the final difference in the game anyway, just curious. Luray was definitely better that night.

No way I could tell I was behind the the play,but for sure it could have went either way.

 

[charlie22650]

No way I could tell I was behind the the play,but for sure it could have went either way.

If we get to play again I assume it would be at Lee right,I'm sure they would make some adjustments,in the first game Lee seemed to wait for something to happen,they were not very aggressive.

 

[Marshall-Dillon]

It is funny how much a single game can change perspective on team. When Clarke beat Dominion in game #1 this season, many were talking about a possible state run. Then they lose badly to Central and someone posts that if Luray goes to Berryville and beats them it would not be an upset? Seriously?!? Clarke went 9-1 and is the number one seed for a reason. They played a tough schedule. They may lose this week or more likely the next, but for heaven sake, they are not chopped liver.

 

[85straight]

I must have caught Lee on a bad night but Luray handled them fairly well,I could be wrong but I don't think Luray threw the ball once,they just ran straight at them and Lee never stopped them,Lee scored late to make it 44-32 with a few seconds left,it seemed by running right at them it took their speed advantage away from them.

Like Keith_Stone 33, I want to give credit to Luray for being the better team that night. Lee sure helped them though. Lee has had several good teams in the past, and turnovers and/or penalties seemed to always bite them in big games. This season has been a lot better in that area, except for the Luray game. And like the Buffalo Gap game, Lee gave up a kick return TD just after scoring a needed TD, which turned the momentum back. Lee overcame that vs BG, but did not vs Luray.

Here's a summary from the Newsleader of that game.

"Too many mistakes at inopportune times knocked Robert E Lee out of the ranks of the unbeaten. Four turnovers and numerous penalties were too much to overcome...All four turnovers happened in Bulldog territory, including a pair of lost fumbles inside the 20. Luray responded with a touchdown after three of the four giveaways. Despite all the trouble, Lee High did show the ability to overcome adversity at times. Trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, the Fighting Leemen responded with 18 straight points to pull within 21-18 late in the third. Justin Vaughan came to the rescue for the Dogs. His 46 yard run on the ensuing drive set up a Dylan Jenkins sneak that made it 27-18. After Jayden Williams answered on a 2-yard keeper to shave the deficit back to three, Jenkins returned the kickoff up the left sideline 85 yards to put Luray back in control. Aside from the scoring run, Williams passed for 245 yards with one late touchdown pass to Tre Simmons. Kavon Robertson and Devin Williams added one TD each in the loss."

 

[Keith_Stone33]

It is funny how much a single game can change perspective on team. When Clarke beat Dominion in game #1 this season, many were talking about a possible state run. Then they lose badly to Central and someone posts that if Luray goes to Berryville and beats them it would not be an upset? Seriously?!? Clarke went 9-1 and is the number one seed for a reason. They played a tough schedule. They may lose this week or more likely the next, but for heaven sake, they are not chopped liver.

This reminds me of the 2014 season, when Glenvar & Giles were both 9-0 and met in the last week of the regular season when Giles was the defending state champions (and were undefeated that year too). Giles hammered Glenvar 33-0 that day and everyone wrote Glenvar off (nobody picked them to win the title in our 2A bracket challenge), then they met again in the third round of the playoffs and Glenvar returned the favor to Giles in the form of a 35-0 beating. Glenvar then went on to win the state title 2 weeks later

 

[Marshall-Dillon]

I had the misfortune of seeing both Luray and Clarke play the same team this year. IMHO, Clarke has the advantage in most areas.

I also watched Central take it easy on that same team and still score 77 points. They are the real deal.

 

[Gunz41]

It is funny how much a single game can change perspective on team. When Clarke beat Dominion in game #1 this season, many were talking about a possible state run. Then they lose badly to Central and someone posts that if Luray goes to Berryville and beats them it would not be an upset? Seriously?!? Clarke went 9-1 and is the number one seed for a reason. They played a tough schedule. They may lose this week or more likely the next, but for heaven sake, they are not chopped liver.

Well as I picked Luray to go to championship game, I dont think it would be a big upset, but seeding wise it would be. They were the best team I saw all year.

But to be counterproductive to your argument, and either Clarke or Central could certainly be the best teams, but Luray's one loss was without their best player. Whether he made difference in their loss to Riverheads, we will never know. I know he is really good. Had they won that game against 1a Riverheads, they would have been the 1 seed. They played a bunch of playoff teams, and 1 that could easily have been in.

Good luck to all the teams left. Pray for no injuries, and may the best team win

 

[charlie22650]

Like Keith_Stone 33, I want to give credit to Luray for being the better team that night. Lee sure helped them though. Lee has had several good teams in the past, and turnovers and/or penalties seemed to always bite them in big games. This season has been a lot better in that area, except for the Luray game. And like the Buffalo Gap game, Lee gave up a kick return TD just after scoring a needed TD, which turned the momentum back. Lee overcame that vs BG, but did not vs Luray.

Here's a summary from the Newsleader of that game.

"Too many mistakes at inopportune times knocked Robert E Lee out of the ranks of the unbeaten. Four turnovers and numerous penalties were too much to overcome...All four turnovers happened in Bulldog territory, including a pair of lost fumbles inside the 20. Luray responded with a touchdown after three of the four giveaways. Despite all the trouble, Lee High did show the ability to overcome adversity at times. Trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, the Fighting Leemen responded with 18 straight points to pull within 21-18 late in the third. Justin Vaughan came to the rescue for the Dogs. His 46 yard run on the ensuing drive set up a Dylan Jenkins sneak that made it 27-18. After Jayden Williams answered on a 2-yard keeper to shave the deficit back to three, Jenkins returned the kickoff up the left sideline 85 yards to put Luray back in control. Aside from the scoring run, Williams passed for 245 yards with one late touchdown pass to Tre Simmons. Kavon Robertson and Devin Williams added one TD each in the loss."

I saw all of that and Luray made their share of mistakes too.Maybe Lee would win 3 out of 4 games against the Bulldogs but that night the Bulldogs where better.

 

[charlie22650]

I saw all of that and Luray made their share of mistakes too.Maybe Lee would win 3 out of 4 games against the Bulldogs but that night the Bulldogs where better.[/Luray does pretty good for their enrollment size.

 

[85straight]

Yes sir. I agree.

 

[BigWinners]

On the limited film I've seen, I think Woodstock is the best team. No real weaknesses.

 

[BleedPurple5]

Seen both Luray and Central. Luray just seems stronger and "meaner" than most. But Central who has only 2 seniors that play a lot are solid across the board. Would love to see Centrals speed against Luray old school football.