The Shadow
Two teams try and rebound from tough district-opening losses while another will try and continue its dominance of district foes as Week 8 of the high school football season quickly approaches.
Coach Jack Baker and his Alleghany Mountaineers (0-1, 5-2) are coming off a tough 35-28 Blue Ridge District opening loss to Northside last Friday.
The Vikings — led by Dustin Scott’s 270 yards and two touchdowns on 29 touches _ racked up 514 yards on the ground.
But what was equally if not more impressive was the Mountaineers ability to stay within a score despite giving up 573 total yards.
Sophomore quarterback Seth Bradley completed 14 of 30 passes for 234 yards and two scores but was also picked off twice. Junior receiver Taylor Carter, who leads the area with 23 receptions for 445 yards (19.3 yards per catch), hauled in six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.
Junior running back Phillip Lewis rushed for 93 tough yards on 19 carries, including touchdown runs of 37 yards and 12 yards. Lewis leads the Mountaineers on the ground and is second in the area with 430 yards and seven scores on 83 carries.
Defensive lineman Daniel Shifflett continues to wreak havoc in the backfield of opposing teams. Going into last week’s game at Northside, Shifflett had recorded 19 tackles for loss.
The Mountaineers will play host to the Lord Botetourt Cavaliers (0-1, 2-5) Friday night at Mountaineer Field.
The Cavaliers area coming off a 34-10 Blue Ridge District opening loss to the Staunton River Golden Eagles, who won their fourth straight game following a 28-game losing streak.
The Cavaliers are led offensively by junior signal-caller Dalton Hargrove, who have threw for over 400 yards. Freshman tailback Derell Stone can break off a big gain at any time and has a strong offensive line to open holes for him.
The Cavaliers opened the season with a 21-6 win over Group A opponent James River and their other win was a 17-6 win over Patrick County three weeks ago.
Lord Botetourt has been outscored their past two games 69-16.
A win over the Cavaliers would boost the Mountaineers chances at a Region III playoff berth and would also keep them within reach of Northside.
Coach Will Fields and the Bath County Chargers (1-0, 4-2) will try and continue their dominance of the Pioneer District as they travel to Buena Vista to take on the Parry McCluer Fighting Blues.
The Chargers are coming off a 28-6 Pioneer District opening win over the Covington Cougars last Friday in Hot Springs.
Senior running back Dana Richmond led the Chargers 313-yard ground attack with 111 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Michael Robertson rushed for 39 yards on six carries before being knocked out of the game in the second quarter with concussion-like symptoms.
Robertson will make his return to the field Friday night as he was cleared to play after tests revealed no concussion but the Chargers will be without the services of starting wide receiver and cornerback Josh Robertson, who is also the Bath County’s back-up quarterback.
Josh Robertson injured his knee late in the game in the Chargers’ win last Friday. Josh rushed for 89 yards, including a 65 yard TD scamper in the third quarter to break things open last week and picked off a pass on the Cougars’ first drive of the game.
Junior Dillon Fry leads the area in scoring with 54 points and is second in the area with 15 receptions for 366 yards and five touchdowns.
Junior Derek “Bam” Brinkley scored had two touchdown runs and is always a threat to opposing teams’ backfields from his defensive end position. Brinkley has recorded 111/2 tackles for loss and has 51/2 sacks on the season.
The Chargers are in a tight race with Eastern Montgomery for second place in the Region C playoff race. Bath County trails East Mont by one point for second place. The top two teams will receive a bye in the six-team playoff.
The Blues (0-1, 1-6) are coming off a tough 9-7 loss to the Craig County Rockets last Friday.
Craig County freshman kicker Jefferson Lee booted a 36-yard field goal with 10:16 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Rockets the lead and they made it stand.
The Rockets’ defense held the Blues to just 151 yards on the ground with 90 of that coming on Parry McCluer’s opening touchdown five that saw junior quarterback Tyler Kerr punch it in from five yards out.
The Blues operate out of an option-based offense and are very young. Coach Chris Gardner was an assistant at Group AA Liberty for eight season before taking over the reigns of the Blues’ football program this season.
Parry McCluer’s lone win this season was a 27-8 win over Auburn two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Coach Steve Dressler and his Covington Cougars (0-1, 3-3) will try and bounce back from last week’s 28-6 loss to the Chargers when they host James River for their Homecoming Game.
The Cougars were held to just 130 yards offensively. Adam Simmons led the Cougars on the ground with 33 yards on six carries, while freshman sensation Troy Helton gained just 30 yards and a touchdown on eight carries before leaving the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.
R.J. Jeter completed four of 10 passes for 51 yards and was picked off twice by the Bath County secondary. A win over the Knights would be huge for the Cougars in the VHSL Power Points. Covington is currently fourth with the top six teams projected to make the playoffs.
James River (0-0, 1-5) had a bye week last week and has had two weeks to prepare for their district opener against the Cougars following their 40-14 loss to Buffalo Gap two weeks ago.
Two Jordan Talbott to Chris Ware touchdown strikes accounted for the only James River touchdowns in the loss.
Ware (31 receptions, 422 yards, 6 TDs) is a big threat from his receiver position, while Talbott has completed 98 of 172 passes for 1,369 yards and eight touchdowns but has been picked off six times.
K.W. King leads James River defensively with 45 tackles, while Ian Johnson has 36 tackles.
The Knights operate out of the spread formation offensively and their lone win was a 39-6 win over Auburn three weeks ago.
The Knights suffered a close loss to Glenvar, 29-20, in Week 2 and the Highlanders defeated the Cougars, 34-14, on September 25.
