Marty Gordon
Radford High School will finish the season at 10-0 and slide into the Region C Class 1 playoffs as the top seed, thus hosting games throughout the regionals.
But that’s where lies the question about stadium capacity.
Radford’s visitors’ bleachers have been out-of-commission this year because of structural problems, meaning the home side is shared seating for both schools that might play there on a Friday night.
Athletic Director Greg Wade says the school will host games at its stadium despite that fact.
Meanwhile the 10th game for Blacksburg and Salem has been cancelled. Blacksburg principal Chris Stewart issued this statement:
“With student safety as our primary focus, BHS will forfeit the varsity football game with Salem High School. This decision comes in response to the high number of injuries our student-athletes have experienced that prohibit their ability to return to play and out of an abundance of caution for the limited number of student-athletes that remain active on the roster.”
The administration and coaching staff have determined that this decision is in the best interest of the safety and well-being of our student-athletes.
“We also believe that this is the best decision for the long-term success of the program, we want to see our younger student-athletes stay in the sport and build upon the positive outcomes they have gained during the JV season,” Stewart said.
This week’s junior varsity contest between Salem and Blacksburg has now been moved to the Blacksburg turf on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Stewart said this will give BHS the opportunity to recognize its senior football, cheerleaders, and golf student-athletes prior to the start of that game.
In addition, the Blacksburg Marching Band has agreed to hold a community performance on Friday, so the marching band can perform their show one last time and recognize their seniors at that community performance.
The contest will count as a forfeit for Salem, and they will finish the season 9-1.
So, we are down to just two games in the area this Friday night. Both Eastern Montgomery and Auburn will take to the field.
Player of week: Javier Joplin was on the field for all but four offensive plays for Christiansburg in a loss to Salem. The junior running back tallied 145 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown.
Area Top Five: 1) Salem, 2) Radford, 3) Narrows, 4) Christiansburg, 5) Glenvar.
This week’s games:
Parry McCluer at Eastern Montgomery (2-6)
Parry McCluer (5-4) is coming off a 55-0 loss to unbeaten Bath, where they turned the ball over five times.
Eastern Montgomery’s Friday night game against Twin Valley was move to this past Monday night. Their last outing was a 60-6 loss to Narrows.
Prediction: Parry McCluer 33, Eastern Montgomery 7.
Auburn at George Wythe
Auburn was shutout 40-0 by Eastside last week.
George Wythe (6-3) handed Grayson County a 23-0 loss as Tandom Smith rushed 20 times for 145 yards and a touchdown. He completed three of nine passes including a 64-yard touchdown to Brayden Rainey. Smith also caught a pass and picked off an interception.
Prediction: George Wythe 44, Auburn 7.
