The leaves are starting to turn red, and the temperature is steadily falling (although not enough, especially for outside football practices), that can only mean one thing, fall or autumn (whichever you prefer) is upon us!
Which in turn also means it’s time for the mid-season Fall Sports Recap!
Starting with Volleyball:
So far this season as of the date this is being written, the Lady Gobblers have racked up five wins on the young season. All non-conference wins against former valley foe Waynesboro, a pair of tournament wins against Monticello and Chancellor, and a pair of wins against familiar faces EMHS and Stuarts Draft.
To me, early in the year, the team has been so much fun to watch. They played a heck of a game at home against Turner Ashby which pushed to 5 sets with plenty of action throughout.
Although they didn’t come out on top of the scoreboard like they would’ve liked, the team displayed numerous qualities that are unteachable, like heart and hustle. There were plenty of times a player went flying into the bleachers or against the wall mat in order to keep a ball in play. These Jeter-like plays will lead to more wins than losses in the very near future for coach Frey and Co.
I have no doubt in my mind that the team will remain a thorn in the side of any opponent for the rest of the season.
Next with Football, the team stands at 2-2 through four contests.
An overtime loss at home in week 1 to Fluvanna was followed up by a huge 21-20 win on the road against a very good Strasburg team. The win over the Rams was as good of a win that the team has had in all my five seasons with the program. We came out ready to get after it out of the gate and from the first play on, there was a different feeling in the air. The next contest was a rainy, stormy evening that resulted in a hard-fought win over Waynesboro. The elements were so bad, in fact, that the game was called with 4:22 left in the fourth quarter. Albeit physically uncomfortable with my rain-soaked clothes, I was more than thrilled to come out of the elements with a 21-6 victory.
We lost a tough one last week at home versus Fort Defiance. The team’s rushing attack was too much for us to overcome in the end, losing by a final score of 28-14.
However, last Friday’s home game didn’t come without any sort of positive note.
Last Friday’s game against Fort was our 4th annual Gold Out game, in honor of children battling cancer. It’s about as emotional of a night as they come. Valuable members of our community that we love so much were in attendance which made the atmosphere one that I will never forget.
Although we didn’t win on the scoreboard, we won off the field. Together through various raffles, we raised thousands of dollars to assist those fighting childhood cancer.
Getting to honor those families means the world to us, even though the fight against cancer is one like no other, the whole community is behind each and every individual who is tasked with fighting this horrible disease.
The second half of the season features the Valley District slate. A grueling six-week battle against some of the top teams in the area. The Valley District schedule features road games at Rockbridge Co. (Sept. 22), Turner Ashby (Oct 6) and East Rockingham (Oct. 27), while the team hosts Spotswood (Sept. 29–Homecoming), William Monroe (Oct. 13–Pink Out) and Harrisonburg (Nov. 3–Soldier Tribute).
With much of the Volleyball Season yet to be played and half of the Football Season remaining, be sure to get to BHS and support the Gobblers! Can’t attend? You can hear select Volleyball games and all Football games on the Gobblers Sports Network (http://www.gobblerssportsnetwork.com).
