This Friday the 12th, the nine Shenandoah District teams will begin their quest to crown this year's district champ. Each week for the next nine weeks, there will be four district games, with the ninth team either taking the night off or having a non-district game. Before we get to this week's first slate of games, here is a brief review of what happened Friday night when all nine teams were involved in non-district tussles.
As expected, I did not do very well with my predictions as I only got five of the nine right. We had some close ones, as five different games were decided by just one score, including a pair of one-point victories (Alleghany over Brookville and Waynesboro over Monticello.) That Waynesboro win broke a 24-game losing streak for the Little Giants, which has to have the team, their new coach, and the community feeling on top of the world now.
We also had two games in which the home team trailed by three touchdowns and looked to be dead in the water. But in each case (the Waynesboro win and Altavista's win over Riverheads) the home fans that stuck around were rewarded for their loyalty. As we all know, some fat lady will always be singing in some stadium or another so the moral of the story (can anyone say "Buffalo over Baltimore?") is don't ever leave the field too soon. You can never tell what you might miss!
So here is this week's slate of games, which will feature two Augusta County rivalries..........
ALLEGHANY AT GREENBRIER EAST: Since just about everyone sees AHS as a frontrunner, it looks like they are keeping us in suspense before they dive into their district schedule after taking the week off the first night and then having two non-district games. But finally, next weekend the 19th, they will dive into district play and will have eight straight without a break to show us what they've got. As for this non-district, across the state line affair, these teams are only half an hour or so apart and probably already compete anyway. I am pretty sure Greenbrier is a powerhouse year in and year out, so based on home field advantage, I will go with them.
WILSON AT BUFFALO GAP: The Hornets are my other Top Two pick for the district title, and although they too have only played one game, they certainly raised some eyebrows when they shut out an always-tough Spotswood team. The win was not surprising but the 28-0 score was. As for BG, they have seen both sides of a slaughter, as they were trounced at Broadway but then manhandled Bath County Friday. They may be able to keep this one at least somewhat close, but the Green Team is the real deal this year, so the hometown Bison fans will go home disappointed.
FORT DEFIANCE AT WAYNESBORO: This game will feature a pair of teams that have already made me look bad, as I had them both in the bottom third of the standings in my pre-season picks. The Indians stayed reasonably close to TA and then followed that up with a nice road win at Clarke County. As for Waynesboro, we will find out if the Monticello win was a fluke or are they really on the way up? I have to go with the Fort in this one, but if the Giants have found a secret weapon or two, they might very well pull off a second straight home win.
RIVERHEADS AT STUARTS DRAFT: This will be the headliner game as it often is. Each team will have something to prove as RHS will hope to show that they have recovered from that second-half collapse at Altavista, so they will need a solid showing to get themselves back into contender status. As for the Cougars, they no doubt remember last year's two games with RHS where they rolled in one and were stunned in the other. So to say they will have revenge on their minds would be an understatement. Obviously I will want the Big Red to come out on top, but objectively, the Cougars have to be considered the favorite in this one.
ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY AT STAUNTON: I personally expected The Storm to roll at Rocktown Friday night but instead they won one of those one-score squeakers that I mentioned above. The Wildcats on the other hand are not showing any signs of scaring anybody this season, so Staunton should be 3-0 at the end of the evening. After all they are the defending district champs so that makes them Numero Uno until someone knocks them off.
Looks like the weather will cooperate for everybody but take a jacket, even if it is 80 at kickoff, because things will change when the sun goes down!!!
As expected, I did not do very well with my predictions as I only got five of the nine right. We had some close ones, as five different games were decided by just one score, including a pair of one-point victories (Alleghany over Brookville and Waynesboro over Monticello.) That Waynesboro win broke a 24-game losing streak for the Little Giants, which has to have the team, their new coach, and the community feeling on top of the world now.
We also had two games in which the home team trailed by three touchdowns and looked to be dead in the water. But in each case (the Waynesboro win and Altavista's win over Riverheads) the home fans that stuck around were rewarded for their loyalty. As we all know, some fat lady will always be singing in some stadium or another so the moral of the story (can anyone say "Buffalo over Baltimore?") is don't ever leave the field too soon. You can never tell what you might miss!
So here is this week's slate of games, which will feature two Augusta County rivalries..........
ALLEGHANY AT GREENBRIER EAST: Since just about everyone sees AHS as a frontrunner, it looks like they are keeping us in suspense before they dive into their district schedule after taking the week off the first night and then having two non-district games. But finally, next weekend the 19th, they will dive into district play and will have eight straight without a break to show us what they've got. As for this non-district, across the state line affair, these teams are only half an hour or so apart and probably already compete anyway. I am pretty sure Greenbrier is a powerhouse year in and year out, so based on home field advantage, I will go with them.
WILSON AT BUFFALO GAP: The Hornets are my other Top Two pick for the district title, and although they too have only played one game, they certainly raised some eyebrows when they shut out an always-tough Spotswood team. The win was not surprising but the 28-0 score was. As for BG, they have seen both sides of a slaughter, as they were trounced at Broadway but then manhandled Bath County Friday. They may be able to keep this one at least somewhat close, but the Green Team is the real deal this year, so the hometown Bison fans will go home disappointed.
FORT DEFIANCE AT WAYNESBORO: This game will feature a pair of teams that have already made me look bad, as I had them both in the bottom third of the standings in my pre-season picks. The Indians stayed reasonably close to TA and then followed that up with a nice road win at Clarke County. As for Waynesboro, we will find out if the Monticello win was a fluke or are they really on the way up? I have to go with the Fort in this one, but if the Giants have found a secret weapon or two, they might very well pull off a second straight home win.
RIVERHEADS AT STUARTS DRAFT: This will be the headliner game as it often is. Each team will have something to prove as RHS will hope to show that they have recovered from that second-half collapse at Altavista, so they will need a solid showing to get themselves back into contender status. As for the Cougars, they no doubt remember last year's two games with RHS where they rolled in one and were stunned in the other. So to say they will have revenge on their minds would be an understatement. Obviously I will want the Big Red to come out on top, but objectively, the Cougars have to be considered the favorite in this one.
ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY AT STAUNTON: I personally expected The Storm to roll at Rocktown Friday night but instead they won one of those one-score squeakers that I mentioned above. The Wildcats on the other hand are not showing any signs of scaring anybody this season, so Staunton should be 3-0 at the end of the evening. After all they are the defending district champs so that makes them Numero Uno until someone knocks them off.
Looks like the weather will cooperate for everybody but take a jacket, even if it is 80 at kickoff, because things will change when the sun goes down!!!