The Shadow
WHO: Carroll County Cavaliers (2-4) at Alleghany Cougars (4-1)
WHERE: Casey Field
WHEN: Friday, October 6, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.
LAST WEEK: Bye week for the Alleghany Cougars
LAST SEASON: Carroll County Cavaliers (2-8), Alleghany Cougars (N/A, inaugural year)
The last game played by the Alleghany Cougars was played against the Radford Bobcats in an away game two weeks ago. Our hometown Cougars would fall to the Bobcats in a devastating loss that would claim their undefeated title. Perhaps the best that will come out of the upset is seeing how the Cougars handle defeat. Vince Lombardi said it best, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.”
This week, it is safe to say that Alleghany County will be eagerly looking forward to seeing how the Cougars get back up. Doing so during the homecoming game could be icing on the cake.
So far this season, we have witnessed the Varsity Cougars score a touchdown on the opening kickoff in the first two home games of the season. One being a 90-yard run while the other was a 95 yard-run. We then watched wide-eyed as the Cougars scored a touchdown during the second play of the game in their first away game to Greenbrier East. Between Alleghany kicking off the ball to Greenbrier East, Rocklynn Phillips pouncing on it at the 1-yard-line when East failed to pick up the ball, and the Cougars putting 7 points on the board with just 3 seconds into the game, it is hard to discern which of those things is the most jaw-dropping.
The Alleghany Cougars have proven time and time again that they are a force to be reckoned with. It is the hope and belief of this reporter that the Cougars will come back with a vengeance, ready to put the Radford game behind them and focus on the fresh meat in front of them: the Carroll County Cavaliers.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Nate Chapman
Neeko Jeter
Matthew “Moose” Clayton (if able to play following an injury)
Des Jordan
Purcel Turner
Sarge Persinger
Hunter and Haiden Knighton
Xzavier Hayslett
Andrew Cole
Mason Hale
ABOUT THE OPPONENT:
If one were to judge by last year’s game against the Alleghany Mountaineers when the Cavaliers fell 29-6, it would be easy to say that history could very well repeat itself. Given the fact that the schools have merged and now AHS has the best of both worlds, it would be fair to assume the odds are in Alleghany’s favor.
At the same time, however, when it comes to high school football, things are not always that simple. Kids graduate, new players are added to the roster to replace the old ones and, sometimes, those new players simply outshine the old ones. While the Carroll County Cavaliers have a lot of returning players on the roster this year, there are also several new recruits as well.
Returning players or not, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the Cavaliers were a playoff team in 2021 during Head Coach Monty Chipman’s first year with the team. Like the Cougars this year, they started off with a 4-0 record before moving to 4-1 in the fifth game that broke their streak.
This year, Chipman is determined to get things moving in the right direction for the Cavaliers following last season’s less-than-impressive record of 2-8. “You know with us continuing to work, even though the record is not where you want it to be,” Chipman said, “… the kids are working hard, trying to improve, so I could not ask more of them.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH (CARROLL COUNTY CAVALIERS)
Mason Crockett
Cody Reece
Noah Manning
Bryce Smoot
Sean Staples
Landon Horton
Trenton Newman
