The Shadow
With the end of the 2009 high school football season quickly approaching, each game is becoming more significant as all three area teams fight for playoff berths.
The Alleghany Mountaineers leap-frogged Robert E. Lee-Staunton in the Region III playoff ratings, moving into fourth place. The Mountaineers trail third place Brookville by one point and lead R.E. Lee by just three-tenths of a point for fourth.
In Region C, Bath County is inching closer to Eastern Montgomery for the second seed, while Covington and Narrows – both 3-4 – are tied for fourth with a 13.86 power rating.
The top six teams in both regions will advance to the playoffs with the top two teams receiving byes.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 27-16 comeback win over the Lord Botetourt Cavaliers last Friday at Mountaineer Field. It was the Mountaineers’ first win over the Cavaliers in 10 years.
Sophomore quarterback Seth Bradley got off to a shaky start with three turnovers in Alleghany’s first six plays but rebounded to rush for 182 yards and three scores on 21 carries. Running back Phillip Lewis also broke the century mark with 103 yards on the night.
After spotting the Cavaliers a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, the Alleghany defense stepped it up and limited Lord Botetourt to just a field goal over the next 36 minutes to pick up their first Blue Ridge District win of the season.
Next task for the Alleghany defense _ stopping Meech Coles and the Staunton River Golden Eagles (1-0, 4-3).
The Golden Eagles snapped a 28-game losing streak on September 18 witha 48-42 win over Patrick County and they’ve been flying high ever since.
Staunton River has gone on to beat James River (48-33), Tunstall (13-0) and Lord Botetourt (34-10) before taking a week off prior to hosting the Mountaineers Friday night in Moneta.
The ever-so-dangerous Coles (5-9, 175, jr.) is averaging 179.7 yards per game on the ground and has rushed for 13 touchdowns this season. Coles had 1,258 yards on 184 carries this year.
The Mountaineer defense limited him to just 76 yards on 19 carries in last season’s 28-7 win and that will be the key Friday night.
Alleghany leads the all-time series between the two schools 11-1.
Staunton River’s lone win came in the 1996 when they beat Alleghany 49-24.
Up next for the Pioneer District-leading Bath County Chargers is the Craig County Rockets.
The Chargers (2-0, 5-2) are coming off a 41-6 shelling of the Parry McCluer Blues in Buena Vista.
J.P. Plecker rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns on five carries as the Charger offense rolled up 265 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Michael Robertson completed seven of 11 passes for 127 yards including a 54-yard scoring strike to Dillon Fry in the second quarter.
Robertson had completed 41 of 84 passes on the season for 633 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Fry now has 18 receptions for 460 yards and six touchdowns on the season and senior tailback Dana Richmond is still averaging over 10 yards a carry with 411 yards on just 38 totes.
The Rockets (1-0, 2-5) are coming off a 34-12 win over Montcalm, W.Va., last Friday night.
Running back Justin Martin rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns, including TD runs of 13 and 52 yards, and James Jones added 97 yards on the ground.
Jones caught eight passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s 46-18 loss to the Chargers in Hot Springs. Bath County owns a 34-3 series record over the Rockets.
The Cougars will make the long trip to Galax for Friday night’s match-up with the Maroon Tide.
Covington (0-2, 3-4) is coming off a 34-6 homecoming loss to James River last Friday at Casey Field.
They were held under 100 yards rushing for the third straight game and the fourth time this season.
Running back Troy Helton – who still leads the area with 571 yards on the season on 92 carries despite missing two games – will make his return to the field to help boost the Cougars’ ground game.
Adam Simmons led Covington on the ground with just 29 yards on six carries.
Covington held a brief 6-3 lead in the second quarter when junior dual-threat quarterback R.J. Jeter hooked up with Simmons on a 13-yard scoring strike, but the Knights bounced back to score 31 unanswered points en route to winning their Pioneer District opener.
James River rushed for 200 yards on 43 attempts and quarterback Jordan Talbott completed 16 of 23 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Galax (0-2, 1-6) is coming off a 31-8 shelling by Mountain Empire District foe Fort Chiswell, who is battling for a Region C, Division 2 playoff position.
Fort Chiswell’s Chris Rodriguez rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, while Johnse Hatfield rushed for 108 yards on 10 carries.
Galax nabbed an early 8-0 lead on quarterback Terrance Mazon’s 68 yard touchdown pass.
The Maroon Tide has good speed at the skill positions and pretty good size up front offensively and defensively.
They also have a prospective D-I recruit in lineman Devae Goins, a 6-foot-5, 230 pounds senior.
Galax’s only win this season came on September 25 in New Castle when they beat Craig County 13-0.
The Cougars and the Maroon Tide have met up just once before and that came in the 1985 Region C championship in which the Cougars shut out Maroon Tide, 20-0.
Safety Gene Bowden pounced on four fumbles, including one for touchdown, and intercepted a pass to lead the Cougars defensively. Running back Timmy Pollard rushed for 93 yards and touchdown on 20 carries.
What carried the Cougars back then was the defense, which posted two straight shutouts en route to the Region C title before losing 14-3 in the Group A semifinal to Powell Valley.
Kickoff for the Cougars’ game at Galax is set for 7 p.m.
