Friday, October 05, 2007
High school football picks: A few thoughts at halfway mark
One of the new features in The Roanoke Times sports section in 2007 is the Quick Thought that appears every day on Page 2.
I have yet to post a tagline there yet, having my lone submission elbowed out of the way by an item written by Mark Berman.
Since I've been boxed out of the lane by Berman, I will rebound with a few quick thoughts at the halfway point of the 2007 high school football season:
n Neither William Fleming nor Franklin County will make the Northwest Region playoffs without winning the Western Valley District.
n Somebody with a losing record will make the playoffs in Region IV Division 3. Richlands (5-1), Graham (3-3), Cave Spring (2-2) and Marion (3-2) hold down the top four spots. Next in line are Grundy (2-3), Martinsville (1-4), Patrick County (2-3) and Tunstall (2-4).
n The Region IV Division 4 playoffs will include Bassett and three of the five Division 4 teams in the River Ridge District.
n A team with a losing record will qualify in Region III Division 3. This almost goes without saying now that Region III takes six teams in each division. The Nov. 2 game between Lord Botetourt and Northside could be for a playoff spot.
n For the second year in a row, there might be no at-large berths available in Region C Division 2.
n Making the playoffs in Region C, Division 1 might require a winning record. Holston (5-1), Bland County (4-1), Rural Retreat (4-1) and Eastern Montgomery (4-1) own the top spots now. Pocahontas (3-2) and Bath County (2-3) could be contenders.
n Roanoke Catholic will have to beat either Fuqua or Blessed Sacrament late in the season to qualify in Division III of the VIS.
WILLIAM BYRD 28, Cave Spring 14. The Terriers scored on 14 straight possessions over the course of their last two games.
BLACKSBURG 21, Northside 13. Blacksburg barely escaped an upset bid by the Vikings at home last season.
CHRISTIANSBURG 45, Radford 13. The Blue Demons have been held under 30 points just once in four games.
GEORGE WASHINGTON 27, Franklin County 20. The biggest reason for hope for Franklin County is the 63 points GW surrendered three weeks ago to Amherst County.
PULASKI COUNTY 28, Lord Botetourt 10. It's basically all just shadow boxing for these teams until district play begins.
WILLIAM FLEMING 35, Magna Vista 6. Fleming gets its first Friday night home game at Patriot Stadium next week against Franklin County.
BASSETT 41, Patrick County 20. Bassett's Boo Woods and Patrick County's John Harris should make for an exciting game.
HERITAGE 30, Liberty 23. This is the last real potential stumbling block for Heritage before the Nov. 2 showdown against Amherst County.
JEFFERSON FOREST 27, Brookville 14. Jefferson Forest has to be the best 2-3 football team in Group AA.
FUQUA 36, North Cross 6. Fuqua sits third in the VIS Division III ratings at 5-1, so the Falcons have their sights on the playoffs.
ROANOKE CATHOLIC 35, Massanutten 7. Counted among Massanutten's losses this fall have been games against Central Virginia Home School and Maryland School for the Deaf.
ABINGDON 31, Carroll County 14. Carroll County has struggled against nondistrict opponents, but the Cavaliers are 1-0 in the Southwest District.
RICHLANDS 34, Marion 19. Richlands features Virginia Tech-bound Austin Fuller, one of the state's more versatile players.
CHILHOWIE 24, Northwood 16. It doesn't quite coincide with the Chilhowie Apple Festival, but this game is back at midseason where it used to be.
GEORGE WYTHE 38, PH-Glade Spring 6. The Maroons have a game next week at Holston followed by three Hogoheegee District home games at the end of the schedule.
RURAL RETREAT 36, Holston 12. Some of the appeal of this game was removed when Holston lost its first game last week to PH-Glade Spring
BLAND COUNTY 25, Pocahontas 19. Could Bland possibly be 8-1 by the time the Bears host Grayson County on Nov. 9?
ALLEGHANY 27, Staunton River 7. Wins over Staunton River and Rustburg would give Alleghany a 6-1 record and a certain Region III Division 3 playoff berth.
HARRISONBURG 21, Rockbridge County 7. Rockbridge's schedule in the second half of the season is very difficult and the Wildcats might need to win two of the five.
AUBURN 24, Narrows 19. Auburn would be a serious contender in Region C Division 1, but the Eagles are now in Division 2.
RIVERHEADS 31, Bath County 12. Shenandoah District teams are already 6-0 against the Pioneer District this year.
BUFFALO GAP 30, Covington 20. See above.
WILSON MEMORIAL 28, James River 17. Ditto.
GLENVAR 21, Craig County 6. Craig's best efforts so far this season have come at home. This is Glenvar's third straight road game.
EASTERN MONTGOMERY 38, Parry McCluer 30. EastMont is averaging 36.5 points per game, while Parry McCluer has given up 184 in its four losses.
GILES 33, Lebanon 27. This could be a preview of a Group AA Division 2 semifinal.
NANSEMOND-SUFFOLK 49, Carlisle 6. This is the second of four long trips to the 757 for winless Carlisle.
Last week: 21-3 .875
Overall: 75-38 .701
