Two County Clashes Highlight Shenandoah District's First Week of Action

Greenbrier
Wilson
Fort
Riverheads
Staunton

I have a little different take on a few of these but agree with the outcomes for the most part.

GE @ Alleghany- Alleghany will need to replace their QB/WR combo that had them on the watch list for everyone the prior two seasons. That said Greenbrier is generally at or near the top of WV football come playoff time so they will be ready. I would go with Greenbrier to win this one but would not be too shocked to see Alleghany keep it closer or even pull out a win.

BG @ Wilson- Wilson looks to have picked back up where they were last season. BG is better than the loss to Broadway as mentioned (Broadway just won over a solid defending state champion in a close game). I would not be shocked if Gap were to pull off an upset. Defensively Gap is already in mid-season form, while offensively they are getting their feet under themselves. Gotta go with Wilson until they lose but Gap will be better than some expected.

Waynesboro @ Fort- Waynesboro has potential but at this point it is still potential. Fort appears to have in place the type of players that Coach Yew was able to guide to post season success. I look for this to be a resurgent Indian team, and they should look like world beaters in this matchup.

SD @ Riverheads- Draft is still finding ways of replacing a big chunk of their offensive output from last year. Great staff in place there so I would expect some adjustments to the defense and tweaking to the O. Riverheads offense is ahead of the defense this season so far but again with such a solid staff in place things should work themselves out. This one looks to be a close one but what game in the 'doah isn't lately. I will take Riverheads in a slobberknocker but this one could go either way.

Staunton @ Rockbridge- Staunton has shown they can win big or play from behind in these first couple of weeks. As we get into district play, we may have a clearer picture in how far this Storm team could go. Rockbridge spent a significant amount of offseason building cohesion and working as much as possible with this team to see improvements. To this point the results have not come but it is early and they usually play Staunton closer even in down years. I still look for this youthful Storm team to win this one and extend the Wildcats misery at least one more week.

My overall take is that the 'doah is an open race with several teams that could separate themselves in the next 5 weeks. Wilson has to be favored but may have come back to the pack a smidge since last season. Riverheads are still finding this teams identity but there is potential. Draft, Fort, Alleghany and Gap all seem to be right at the cusp of figuring it out and distancing themselves from the pack. I am not sold on Staunton quite yet while Waynesboro and Rockbridge seem to be stuck in trying to get some consistency. The top two are slightly ahead but frankly it's a 6-team race at this point and should give us some real barn burners throughout this season.

Alleghaney (I know nothing about Greenbrier)
Gap with the upset (my buddy said it was 14-0 vs Broadway with 5 min to go)
Fort
RHS (toss up here. RHS survived a late Altavista surge and Draft had a bad night vs Luray)
Staunton

longtimerhsfan25 said:

Now that most of the teams have their two non-district games out of the way, it is time for the Shenandoah District teams to start battling each other. In most of the weeks ahead, that will involve four district games each Friday night with the ninth team either playing out of conference or having the night off. Here is the slate for this first week of district action.........

GREENBRIER EAST AT ALLEGHANY: Although they are in different states, this is a backyard brawl because the two counties adjoin one another. Greenbrier is a West Virginia powerhouse more often than not, so who knows this might be as bitter a rivalry as the more notorious Graham/Bluefield war. Hard to predict this one, but why don't we give the Cougars some confidence and predict that they will pick up their first win of the season?

BUFFALO GAP AT WILSON: The Hornets are everybody's pick to win the title this year, whereas the Bison are picked to be middle of the pack. Wilson only has its one game played so far, a hard-fought win at Spotswood. The Bison were shut out by Broadway and then pounded Bath County Friday night. Although that 27-0 loss to Broadway doesn't look or sound good, let's not forget that Broadway is a mighty fine team. For that reason, I will not be surprised if the Bison give Wilson a tough game. I still think the Hornets will win this home opener, but I doubt very seriously if the Bison will go quietly.

WAYNESBORO AT FORT DEFIANCE: All indications are that the Little Giants are going to struggle again. The Indians on the other hand are 1-1 in their second year under Coach Yew. The Fort should win this one easily but I am still not sold on them as possible contenders.

STUARTS DRAFT AT RIVERHEADS: To say that this game is a pivotal one for both teams would be an understatement. Riverheads is certainly getting the job done on offense and has its usual stable of running backs, some of which can break away at any time. However, their defense has given up far too many big plays and we can only hope the coaches have made some needed adjustments. The Cougars were impressive in their opening win over Central but had their own defensive problems up at Luray. I will have faith that the Big Red can get the job done and go 3-0, but this one could be a toss-up.

STAUNTON AT ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY: The Storm is off to an encouraging 2-0 start whereas it looks like the Wildcats are in for another tough campaign. Having the home field advantage at their very nice facility will help this week, but Staunton will likely roll in this one. Maybe not as big as they did over Harrisonburg, but expect a "storm" to be brewing down in Lexington Friday night.

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Calling Greenbrier East a powerhouse is laughable! Five playoff appearances in the past 25 years, all 1st Round exits. And just 7 seasons of above .500 finishes in the last 25 years...... True powerhouse numbers!