Shenandoah Shines on Opening Weekend

[longtimerhsfan]

Although every game was of the non-district variety, the Shenandoah District represented quite well in last weekend's first round of action. Six of the nine teams tasted victory, only one lost, while the other two (Riverheads and Wilson) will not jump into action until this coming Friday the 31st.

If my memory of who is in what division is correct, four of those six wins involved teams beating someone in a higher classification. 2-A Stuarts Draft beat 3-A Waynesboro, 2-A Buffalo Gap beat 3-A Fort Defiance, 2-A Robert E Lee beat 3-A Turner Ashby, and 2-A East Rockingham beat 3-A Spotswood. Forgive me if I am wrong on any of those since they seem to change frequently.

In other games, 2-A Page walloped 1-A Rappahannock County and in what sounded like a great game, 2-A Luray beat 2-A Madison County. Only Stonewall came out on the losing end.

This weekend will feature another full slate of non-district games and then the following weekend, they will start beating up on each other within the district. Here is this weekend's slate, which has some potentially good ones:

Wilson at Waynesboro: How do you know what the Hornets have to offer this year so this could be a toss-up. Waynesboro showed some weapons last weekend at the Draft, so I will go with them but you never know.

Stuarts Draft at Fort Defiance: The Indians have shown us they are not going to be a pushover this year. I will still go with the Cougars in this one but a Fort win will not surprise me.

Rockbridge County at Lee High: Possibly the toss-up of the weekend. With each one winning convincingly last Friday, it will probably come down to who played the weaker opponent. I will go with the Leemen in a shootout. First one to 40 wins.

Buffalo Gap at Parry McCluer: As we expected, Rivenburg is going to be a one-man wrecking crew for the Gap this season. Stop him and you stop them. I doubt if the Blues will be able to do that.

Riverheads at Bath County: I understand that Bath beat Nelson Friday. That might give them some confidence but RHS is no Nelson. Expect the Red Team to roll big in this one.

Madison County at East Rockingham: Eagles might have to guard against a letdown from the big win over arch-rival Spotswood. Expect MC to keep it close for awhile but for the Eagles to pull away in the second half.

Strasburg at Luray: Strasburg may have laid 47 on Stonewall but Luray will be a horse of a different color. Might still be fairly close but gotta go with the Dogs in this one.

Nelson County at Page County: Just like last year, Page should roll over a second straight inferior opponent, and from that point on, we will find out if they have improved enough to offer a serious challenge within the league.

Central at Stonewall: The concession stand will be the major attraction in this one. Be gentle Falcons and keep those talons at least somewhat under control.

 

[obguthr]

Mine:

Wilson at Waynesboro: Waynesboro had a disappointing opener and that might stick in their heads. Wilson might be worse though. Waynesboro.

Stuarts Draft at Fort Defiance: Fort's showing signs of life, but Draft has confidence, and some ballers. Draft.

Rockbridge County at Lee High: Rockbridge is much improved and the kids are buying into the system. The Valley District looks weak as heck. Rockbridge has a legit shot at winning it. The district, that is, not this game. They're playing one of the top teams in the Shenandoah this week. Staunton.

Buffalo Gap at Parry McCluer: I'm not sure what's happening in Buena Vista, but this isn't the football crazy town it used to be. The Blues are down. Buffalo Gap has Rivenburg. Gap

Riverheads at Bath County: This game shouldn't even be on the schedule. Come on Riverheads! At least schedule Covington or something. Bath should look to WV for scheduling. Red Team 49-0, by halftime.

Madison County at East Rockingham: East Rock is poised for a deep run this year. Madison is in just year 2 of rebuilding and learning a new system for the first time in half a century. This shouldn't be close, but I do hope my Mountaineers make it respectable. East Rock.

Strasburg at Luray: This is the game of the week, IMO. Luray is clearly not the same team as last year. Strasburg will determine how Luray's season goes. Strasburg.

Nelson County at Page County: I had heard that there were some major changes in Nelson, but after the Bath game, it's the same results. Page should cruise. Page.

Central at Stonewall: Oh, the horror! The Falcons' 3rd team may start this game. At any rate, they will see a lot of action. Wouldn't it be the most amazingly wonderful thing though if the Generals could pull off the miracle upset? Central.

 

[Gunz41!]

Waynesboro
Draft (of course)
Lee
Gap
Riverheads
East Rock
Strasburg
Page
Central

 

[RedPrideNation_RollPride]

The green team will pull out the W and surprise the critics.

Draft will win but Fort will put up a fight. Remember that although Gap won handily, Fort moves the ball on them and Waynesboro moved it on Draft. It will be closer than anyone in Cougar country wants it to be.

Lee should roll fairly easily, but they are a flippant play or three away from a close game.

Gap should win going away but PM has designs on being a serious 1A contender. If and I should state it more clearly, IF they contain Rivenburg it might be tight. But it should be Gap big

The Red team will roll in a game that even I don’t like us playing.

East Rock will continue to assert their dominant offense. I will not put them in the cat birds seat until they limit a high scoring team but they are legit threats to rule the ‘doah.

Luray/Strasburg is a very interesting game. I like Strasburg to win but wouldn’t be surprised if the physical play that Luraybis known for helps them pull out the win.

Now the two lead pipe lock picks. Page will get win number two convincingly while Central will get some reps for their 2’s and 3’s mid way through the 2nd quarter on.

At least that how this humble fella sees it.

 

[Gunz41!]

The green team will pull out the W and surprise the critics.

Draft will win but Fort will put up a fight. Remember that although Gap won handily, Fort moves the ball on them and Waynesboro moved it on Draft. It will be closer than anyone in Cougar country wants it to be.

Lee should roll fairly easily, but they are a flippant play or three away from a close game.

Gap should win going away but PM has designs on being a serious 1A contender. If and I should state it more clearly, IF they contain Rivenburg it might be tight. But it should be Gap big

The Red team will roll in a game that even I don’t like us playing.

East Rock will continue to assert their dominant offense. I will not put them in the cat birds seat until they limit a high scoring team but they are legit threats to rule the ‘doah.

Luray/Strasburg is a very interesting game. I like Strasburg to win but wouldn’t be surprised if the physical play that Luraybis known for helps them pull out the win.

Now the two lead pipe lock picks. Page will get win number two convincingly while Central will get some reps for their 2’s and 3’s mid way through the 2nd quarter on.

At least that how this humble fella sees it.

I think Draft vs Fort will be tight, my of course is from them being my team. I can't remember a time not picking them, so when they have been down it has been good when they weren't on a pick em lol

Riverheads would be another lock.

I saw this coming from Luray, while others seemed more optimistic. Jenkins was just too much of their offense and success. But maybe they surprise.

Gap, at some point is going to cost themselves with their decisions with the 2 pt conversions and onside kicks in strange situations. Those things and the behavior in blowouts will come back to haunt them at some point, maybe not this year, but at some point.

Lee is going to be interesting to see how they do with the losses from last years team. It's hard to gauge them from last week, same as Luray.

As for SD, I think this week may tell more than the Waynesboro game. Because at times you could say that both teams looked as if they could be decent, and others it looked like 2 teams who may struggle. Dont know what to make of them yet, beside the fact that if these kids stay playing that the next few years should be better. Only time will tell

 

[THEGOATFROMJMU]

Valley district has been pretty bad for half a decade now from top to bottom....
hard to believe but true

 

[chsfalcons]

Mine:

Wilson at Waynesboro: Waynesboro had a disappointing opener and that might stick in their heads. Wilson might be worse though. Waynesboro.

Stuarts Draft at Fort Defiance: Fort's showing signs of life, but Draft has confidence, and some ballers. Draft.

Rockbridge County at Lee High: Rockbridge is much improved and the kids are buying into the system. The Valley District looks weak as heck. Rockbridge has a legit shot at winning it. The district, that is, not this game. They're playing one of the top teams in the Shenandoah this week. Staunton.

Buffalo Gap at Parry McCluer: I'm not sure what's happening in Buena Vista, but this isn't the football crazy town it used to be. The Blues are down. Buffalo Gap has Rivenburg. Gap

Riverheads at Bath County: This game shouldn't even be on the schedule. Come on Riverheads! At least schedule Covington or something. Bath should look to WV for scheduling. Red Team 49-0, by halftime.

Madison County at East Rockingham: East Rock is poised for a deep run this year. Madison is in just year 2 of rebuilding and learning a new system for the first time in half a century. This shouldn't be close, but I do hope my Mountaineers make it respectable. East Rock.

Strasburg at Luray: This is the game of the week, IMO. Luray is clearly not the same team as last year. Strasburg will determine how Luray's season goes. Strasburg.

Nelson County at Page County: I had heard that there were some major changes in Nelson, but after the Bath game, it's the same results. Page should cruise. Page.

Central at Stonewall: Oh, the horror! The Falcons' 3rd team may start this game. At any rate, they will see a lot of action. Wouldn't it be the most amazingly wonderful thing though if the Generals could pull off the miracle upset? Central.

 

[chsfalcons]

Central is a force to be reckoned with....Wow! 42-0 win in 1-3/4 quarters. Called due to lightening and no stadium lights.

 

[Marshall-Dillon_rivals]

The green team will pull out the W and surprise the critics.

Draft will win but Fort will put up a fight. Remember that although Gap won handily, Fort moves the ball on them and Waynesboro moved it on Draft. It will be closer than anyone in Cougar country wants it to be.

Lee should roll fairly easily, but they are a flippant play or three away from a close game.

Gap should win going away but PM has designs on being a serious 1A contender. If and I should state it more clearly, IF they contain Rivenburg it might be tight. But it should be Gap big

The Red team will roll in a game that even I don’t like us playing.

East Rock will continue to assert their dominant offense. I will not put them in the cat birds seat until they limit a high scoring team but they are legit threats to rule the ‘doah.

Luray/Strasburg is a very interesting game. I like Strasburg to win but wouldn’t be surprised if the physical play that Luraybis known for helps them pull out the win.

Now the two lead pipe lock picks. Page will get win number two convincingly while Central will get some reps for their 2’s and 3’s mid way through the 2nd quarter on.

At least that how this humble fella sees it.

East Rock has a good offense but their defense is suspect at best. #1 is fast and shifty. Don’t think they have the defense to go very deep in post season.

 

[RedPrideNation_RollPride]

@Marshall-Dillon, I agree that the ER defense is or has been suspect. They can score in bunches though which can act as another pressure point for their D. Time will tell but they are certainly in the discussion.

 

[obguthr]

East Rock has a good offense but their defense is suspect at best. #1 is fast and shifty. Don’t think they have the defense to go very deep in post season.

My thoughts exactly. Their line play is nowhere near the level I've seen in recent years from Draft, Staunton, Glenvar, Poquoson, or Appo. Without a better defense, they might be one and done in the playoffs this year.

J'wan Evans (#1) just plain outran folks. I wonder what his 40 time is. He reminds me of Draft's Izzy Johnson.

Madison's Matthew Lewis has nice wheels too, but that team lacks physicality and direction. Half of Madison's defensive players looked lost or unaware of their assignment. Poor technique too.

 

[schoolboard]

I knew that Central-Stonewall was going to be brutal. I was not surprised by Luray's win, but I was surprised by the margin of victory.

 

[Marshall-Dillon_rivals]

@Marshall-Dillon, I agree that the ER defense is or has been suspect. They can score in bunches though which can act as another pressure point for their D. Time will tell but they are certainly in the discussion.

I like ER in general but...when they run into a decent defense, they may struggle.

 

[Marshall-Dillon_rivals]

My thoughts exactly. Their line play is nowhere near the level I've seen in recent years from Draft, Staunton, Glenvar, Poquoson, or Appo. Without a better defense, they might be one and done in the playoffs this year.

J'wan Evans (#1) just plain outran folks. I wonder what his 40 time is. He reminds me of Draft's Izzy Johnson.

Madison's Matthew Lewis has nice wheels too, but that team lacks physicality and direction. Half of Madison's defensive players looked lost or unaware of their assignment. Poor technique too.

I heard Lewis had 100 rushing, 70 receiving with 2 TDS in first half and half a dozen tackles. Hope he can stay healthy. Madison has 4 very winnable games coming up.