The Hornets certainly helped their own cause with Friday's win over Stuarts Draft, which was of course their goal. But that win threw the district standings into a tizzy as there is now a four-way tie for third, with Wilson, SD, Luray and East Rock all now 2-2 in the district.
I still have confidence in my Gladiators coming out on top at the end and just as much confidence in Buffalo Gap running the table the rest of the way to finish 9-1 and in second place. The question of who finishes third through sixth is really not that important since the state rankings determine playoff seeding, but it will be an interesting race anyway.
I don't see any of the four getting hot and winning all the rest of their games. For one thing, only Luray is finished with both Gap and Riverheads, but the thumping they took at Gap Friday would seem to indicate that they are a beaten team now instead of one that might still make some noise.
So any game from here on out that matches any two of those four should be interesting and I think we will end up with two of them tied at 4-3 and two others tied at 3-4. As for who goes to the playoffs and who doesn't, that is too unpredictable to call at the moment. I would assume that SD is in unless they collapse completely, and chances are Wilson will shoot way up after Friday's win. Therefore ER and Luray could be the ones on the hot seats.
Looking ahead to this Friday (23rd), first of all it looks as if we may have another decent night weather-wise but of course that could change. As for the four games on the docket, Buffalo Gap and Stuarts Draft hit the road to Stonewall and Page respectively. Neither should have any trouble so there is little more to be said about those two games.
East Rock goes to Luray in one of those match-ups I just mentioned between those four teams stuck in the middle, and just like all of them will be, it is a toss-up. I saw each of them host Riverheads and if I were to base my prediction just on that, I would have to go with the Eagles. They at least stuck with RHS for a half, whereas the Gladiators took care of Luray early. Then there is the matter of the earlier-mentioned beatdown at Gap. So I will go with East Rock but it will be close.
That leaves of course Riverheads at Wilson as the feature game of the week, as if it would not have been anyway. The Gladiators look better on paper, but then I would have thought the same thing about Stuarts Draft on Friday. Wilson will come in with its confidence through the roof, and deservedly so. The game will simply come down to a question of whether the Wilson D can figure out RHS as well as they have most other teams this season. If I am not mistaken, 18 is the most they have given up to anyone, whereas Riverheads has scored at least 21 in all seven games, and 35 or more on everyone but the Gap.
Therefore something will have to give. I think I will keep my prediction, which is written down elsewhere, to myself for the moment until I see what other folks are saying. But it will certainly be just as big an event as all their other recent match-ups have been. Is it Friday yet?
I still have confidence in my Gladiators coming out on top at the end and just as much confidence in Buffalo Gap running the table the rest of the way to finish 9-1 and in second place. The question of who finishes third through sixth is really not that important since the state rankings determine playoff seeding, but it will be an interesting race anyway.
I don't see any of the four getting hot and winning all the rest of their games. For one thing, only Luray is finished with both Gap and Riverheads, but the thumping they took at Gap Friday would seem to indicate that they are a beaten team now instead of one that might still make some noise.
So any game from here on out that matches any two of those four should be interesting and I think we will end up with two of them tied at 4-3 and two others tied at 3-4. As for who goes to the playoffs and who doesn't, that is too unpredictable to call at the moment. I would assume that SD is in unless they collapse completely, and chances are Wilson will shoot way up after Friday's win. Therefore ER and Luray could be the ones on the hot seats.
Looking ahead to this Friday (23rd), first of all it looks as if we may have another decent night weather-wise but of course that could change. As for the four games on the docket, Buffalo Gap and Stuarts Draft hit the road to Stonewall and Page respectively. Neither should have any trouble so there is little more to be said about those two games.
East Rock goes to Luray in one of those match-ups I just mentioned between those four teams stuck in the middle, and just like all of them will be, it is a toss-up. I saw each of them host Riverheads and if I were to base my prediction just on that, I would have to go with the Eagles. They at least stuck with RHS for a half, whereas the Gladiators took care of Luray early. Then there is the matter of the earlier-mentioned beatdown at Gap. So I will go with East Rock but it will be close.
That leaves of course Riverheads at Wilson as the feature game of the week, as if it would not have been anyway. The Gladiators look better on paper, but then I would have thought the same thing about Stuarts Draft on Friday. Wilson will come in with its confidence through the roof, and deservedly so. The game will simply come down to a question of whether the Wilson D can figure out RHS as well as they have most other teams this season. If I am not mistaken, 18 is the most they have given up to anyone, whereas Riverheads has scored at least 21 in all seven games, and 35 or more on everyone but the Gap.
Therefore something will have to give. I think I will keep my prediction, which is written down elsewhere, to myself for the moment until I see what other folks are saying. But it will certainly be just as big an event as all their other recent match-ups have been. Is it Friday yet?
