First of all, please note that for all schools, the two final playing dates are tonight (Monday the 16th) and Wednesday the 18th. Those are not make-up dates...they were on the schedule that way all along. There is then one final make-up game needed, which will be squeezed in on Tuesday, making for a grand total of nine games in three days....four tonight, one Tuesday, four Wednesday.
Wilson has already wrapped up the regular season title, so there is no suspense there. But when they host Stuarts Draft Wednesday night for their second quadruple-header of the season, the girls' title will be decided as SD is unbeaten in district play and Wilson has just the one loss to the Cougars from the first time around. So that (girls) game will be the big highlight for fans of those two schools.
Then there is the matter of third place in the boys' standings since Fort Defiance has now sneaked up and tied Staunton with a 10-4 district record. However, the Indians' final two games are at home to Alleghany and then at Staunton, so mathematically Staunton has the better shot at finishing third. However, if the Indians can knock off Alleghany tonight, then the two of them can settle the third place issue when they tangle Wednesday.
Of course, none of those standings are as important as the regional picture. Just like in football, our nine schools are spread out into three different classifications, so whenever those playoffs start, there will be different point systems and schedules to figure out. We will cross those bridges when we get to them.
There is also some excitement ahead for JV fans of both boys and girls, since each will have a four-game tournament later this week. For the boys, Staunton, Wilson and Alleghany have the first four spots set, with Riverheads and Stuarts Draft each in contention for the fourth spot. For the girls, the unbeaten Riverheads JVs have just one more regular season game (at home Wednesday against Waynesboro) to complete their perfect season. They will then hope to win two more in the tournament Thursday and Saturday to finish a REALLY perfect season.
But for our purposes here on this finally-nice-and-warm Monday, here is the Monday through Wednesday outlook for the boys' varsity teams..........
MONDAY: ALLEGHANY AT FORT DEFIANCE: Both these teams are deep, fast, and they can shoot the lights out. I personally have been more impressed with the Indians but then you can't overlook the fact that the Cougars came to Staunton last week and knocked off the Storm on its own floor. But then of course they followed that up by laying a huge egg on the Wilson floor, so who knows? I will go with the Cougars for the win here, but if the Indians take it, it will not be a huge surprise and will make Wednesday's game that much more interesting.
MONDAY: WAYNESBORO AT WILSON: As mentioned above, Wednesday will be the big night at the Hornet Hive. This game tonight will be another rivalry match-up, but the home team will roll easily.
MONDAY: STAUNTON AT RIVERHEADS: These two have a strange history against one another. Even though the talent difference generally favors The Storm, as it will tonight, Riverheads never backs down from them and has actually won some games in the series, including two in the Paul Hatcher gym. Earlier this year, the Gladiators were still in the game until early in the fourth quarter. It will be Senior Night in Greenville, so don't be surprised if the Red Pride puts up a similar fight. While these two are tangling tonight, the girls will also meet in Staunton for a 6:00 varsity-only game with the winner most likely finishing in third place behind Stuarts Draft and Wilson.
MONDAY: STUARTS DRAFT AT BUFFALO GAP: Somebody woke up the Bison last week and they pulled off three straight wins on three consecutive nights. They actually played four games in a row, losing to Staunton on Tuesday night before pulling off their Wednesday through Friday win streak. This will be their Senior Night and even though the Cougars look like the better team on paper, once a team catches fire, sometimes they even surprise themselves with what they can do. I will go with the Cougars for the win but don't be surprised if the Bison make it four in a row.
TUESDAY; BUFFALO GAP AT ALLEGHANY: Hats off to all the AD's out there who found enough nights on the calendar to get all their games in. Since each team also plays tonight, the challenge Tuesday will be to rev up the energy again. On paper, this should be an easy win for the Cougars, despite BG's sudden improvement.
WEDNESDAY: FORT DEFIANCE AT STAUNTON: As mentioned, this one will settle third place in the district standings. The Storm won the first time around on the Indians' home floor so they will likely be favored in this one. But when you have players such as Gio capable of a 30-point night, anything can happen.
WEDNESDAY: ROCKBRIDGE AT ALLEGHANY: This will be the Cougars' Senior Night, and even if it wasn't, they would still be able to put a hurt on the Wildcats. Unlike most of the Shenandoah teams who had to get used to Alleghany this year, these two were already rivals. Keeping this margin below 30 will be a realistic goal for the visitors.
WEDNESDAY: STUARTS DRAFT AT WILSON: As mentioned it will be a big night in Fishersville, with the ladies taking center stage. But these two boys' teams will fight hard as well. Wilson should roll because they will definitely want to finish the district schedule unbeaten.
WEDNESDAY; RIVERHEADS AT WAYNESBORO: Believe it or not, when Buffalo Gap came to Waynesboro Friday night and completed their three-game win streak, they actually did Riverheads a favor as well as themselves. That is because the Gladiators will enter this game with four district wins, thanks to last week's sweep of Rockbridge, whereas the three teams below them (BG, Waynesboro, and Rockbridge) each have only two or three. Therefore win or lose Wednesday night, the Big Red should still finish in sixth place with those three teams below them. Of course that scenario assumes that the Bison win streak ends with the SD and Alleghany games. As for this match-up in Waynesboro, it will be a tight one. Riverheads will have a rare height advantage and that made a difference the first time. But of course Waynesboro will want a Senior Night win. The Gladiators will have their own motivation as they are currently the eighth seed for the eight-team Region 1-B playoffs and will want to hang on to that spot or maybe even inch up a notch or two.
Wilson has already wrapped up the regular season title, so there is no suspense there. But when they host Stuarts Draft Wednesday night for their second quadruple-header of the season, the girls' title will be decided as SD is unbeaten in district play and Wilson has just the one loss to the Cougars from the first time around. So that (girls) game will be the big highlight for fans of those two schools.
Then there is the matter of third place in the boys' standings since Fort Defiance has now sneaked up and tied Staunton with a 10-4 district record. However, the Indians' final two games are at home to Alleghany and then at Staunton, so mathematically Staunton has the better shot at finishing third. However, if the Indians can knock off Alleghany tonight, then the two of them can settle the third place issue when they tangle Wednesday.
Of course, none of those standings are as important as the regional picture. Just like in football, our nine schools are spread out into three different classifications, so whenever those playoffs start, there will be different point systems and schedules to figure out. We will cross those bridges when we get to them.
There is also some excitement ahead for JV fans of both boys and girls, since each will have a four-game tournament later this week. For the boys, Staunton, Wilson and Alleghany have the first four spots set, with Riverheads and Stuarts Draft each in contention for the fourth spot. For the girls, the unbeaten Riverheads JVs have just one more regular season game (at home Wednesday against Waynesboro) to complete their perfect season. They will then hope to win two more in the tournament Thursday and Saturday to finish a REALLY perfect season.
But for our purposes here on this finally-nice-and-warm Monday, here is the Monday through Wednesday outlook for the boys' varsity teams..........
MONDAY: ALLEGHANY AT FORT DEFIANCE: Both these teams are deep, fast, and they can shoot the lights out. I personally have been more impressed with the Indians but then you can't overlook the fact that the Cougars came to Staunton last week and knocked off the Storm on its own floor. But then of course they followed that up by laying a huge egg on the Wilson floor, so who knows? I will go with the Cougars for the win here, but if the Indians take it, it will not be a huge surprise and will make Wednesday's game that much more interesting.
MONDAY: WAYNESBORO AT WILSON: As mentioned above, Wednesday will be the big night at the Hornet Hive. This game tonight will be another rivalry match-up, but the home team will roll easily.
MONDAY: STAUNTON AT RIVERHEADS: These two have a strange history against one another. Even though the talent difference generally favors The Storm, as it will tonight, Riverheads never backs down from them and has actually won some games in the series, including two in the Paul Hatcher gym. Earlier this year, the Gladiators were still in the game until early in the fourth quarter. It will be Senior Night in Greenville, so don't be surprised if the Red Pride puts up a similar fight. While these two are tangling tonight, the girls will also meet in Staunton for a 6:00 varsity-only game with the winner most likely finishing in third place behind Stuarts Draft and Wilson.
MONDAY: STUARTS DRAFT AT BUFFALO GAP: Somebody woke up the Bison last week and they pulled off three straight wins on three consecutive nights. They actually played four games in a row, losing to Staunton on Tuesday night before pulling off their Wednesday through Friday win streak. This will be their Senior Night and even though the Cougars look like the better team on paper, once a team catches fire, sometimes they even surprise themselves with what they can do. I will go with the Cougars for the win but don't be surprised if the Bison make it four in a row.
TUESDAY; BUFFALO GAP AT ALLEGHANY: Hats off to all the AD's out there who found enough nights on the calendar to get all their games in. Since each team also plays tonight, the challenge Tuesday will be to rev up the energy again. On paper, this should be an easy win for the Cougars, despite BG's sudden improvement.
WEDNESDAY: FORT DEFIANCE AT STAUNTON: As mentioned, this one will settle third place in the district standings. The Storm won the first time around on the Indians' home floor so they will likely be favored in this one. But when you have players such as Gio capable of a 30-point night, anything can happen.
WEDNESDAY: ROCKBRIDGE AT ALLEGHANY: This will be the Cougars' Senior Night, and even if it wasn't, they would still be able to put a hurt on the Wildcats. Unlike most of the Shenandoah teams who had to get used to Alleghany this year, these two were already rivals. Keeping this margin below 30 will be a realistic goal for the visitors.
WEDNESDAY: STUARTS DRAFT AT WILSON: As mentioned it will be a big night in Fishersville, with the ladies taking center stage. But these two boys' teams will fight hard as well. Wilson should roll because they will definitely want to finish the district schedule unbeaten.
WEDNESDAY; RIVERHEADS AT WAYNESBORO: Believe it or not, when Buffalo Gap came to Waynesboro Friday night and completed their three-game win streak, they actually did Riverheads a favor as well as themselves. That is because the Gladiators will enter this game with four district wins, thanks to last week's sweep of Rockbridge, whereas the three teams below them (BG, Waynesboro, and Rockbridge) each have only two or three. Therefore win or lose Wednesday night, the Big Red should still finish in sixth place with those three teams below them. Of course that scenario assumes that the Bison win streak ends with the SD and Alleghany games. As for this match-up in Waynesboro, it will be a tight one. Riverheads will have a rare height advantage and that made a difference the first time. But of course Waynesboro will want a Senior Night win. The Gladiators will have their own motivation as they are currently the eighth seed for the eight-team Region 1-B playoffs and will want to hang on to that spot or maybe even inch up a notch or two.
