Alleghany at James River
The Alleghany Mountaineers (4-2) are coming off of a tough loss in which they saw an early double digit lead slip away before the Radford Bobcats could explode for a 58-point effort.
The 58 points given up by the Mountaineers was the most they had given up this season. The teams previous high for points given up was 34 in a loss to the Cave Spring Knights.
This week they’ll be on the road against the James River Knights (2-3).
The Knights are currently riding a two-game losing streak, but have had wins over Parry McCluer and Covington.
While the Knights do have three losses, the team is only giving up an average of just over 18 points a game.
The Knights will need their defense to step up if they want to stop the Mountaineers as this is not the same team that shutout the Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field 29-0 last season. The Mountaineers are averaging just over 28 points a game this year.
Garrett Via has been an opposing team’s nightmare on offense.
In six games this season, Via has 18 total touchdowns with 17 of them coming on the ground.
Via is currently on pace to break several Mountaineers single season and career records. Via is fourth all-time for rushing touchdowns in Alleghany High School history and currently has the second most rushing touchdowns in a single season with 17. Terrell Givens had 23 in 2000.
In last years contest won by the Knights 29-0, the Knights defense gave up just 58 total yards and forced a handful of turnovers including three interceptions.
Back for the Knights though are Zeal Hammon and Connor Church. Hammon had 141 yards passing following his 9-for-12 performance along with two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Church had 147 rushing yards and one touchdown.
It was just a few weeks ago, the Covington Cougars held the Knights to just 17 points. Church finished the game with a game-high 114 yards rushing with a touchdown in the win.
These are two completely different teams than when they met last season. With a victory over the Knights on Friday, the Mountaineers would have their first five-game win season since the 2010-11 season when they finished 9-3.
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Bath County (2-3) at East Hardy (4-1)
The Bath County Chargers dropped below .500 football for the first time this season following their 44-25 loss last week to the Page County Panthers.
Despite the loss, Wyatt Campbell continued to showcase his skills as he finished the game with a four touchdown performance.
In just a few days, the Chargers could be for a tough matchup as they face a one-loss team in the East Hardy Cougars of the Potomac Valley II district.
The Cougars are a high scoring team that are averaging 52 points a game, while the defense is allowing just under nine points a game and have had notable wins over, Tygars Valley and Tucker County.
However, the Chargers like to score as well.
The Chargers are averaging just over 22 points led by Campbell’s 12 total touchdowns halfway into their season. The Chargers will have to score to keep up with the very fast Cougars.
The Chargers are 0-2 on the road this season, while the Cougars are 1-0 at home as they have played two games at neutral sites.
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