Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Blacksburg High School moved to 7-0 after a win over Cave Spring Friday night. The win clinches another playoff berth for the Bruins as they now lead the Region 4D Virginia High School (VHSL) with ratings of 27.174 to second place Jefferson Forest at 26.667 who is now 6-0.
E.C. Glass is third with 26.167 points. Pulaski County remains fourth, followed by G.W. Danville, Liberty Christian and Salem. William Byrd is now in eighth place just four points over ninth place Carroll County.
With Glenvar’s win on Friday night, they too have clinched a playoff spot. Radford has a bye this Friday, giving the Bobcats time to prepare for next week’s matchup against Glenvar.
Area rushing leaders include: Radford’s P.J. Prioleau, 117 carries for 903 yards; Eastern Montgomery’s Dylan Owens, 91-486; Auburn’s Payson Kelley, 87-569. Passing leaders are: Blacksburg’s Grant Johnston, 92-138 for 1,674 yards and four interceptions Radford’s Zane Rupe, 60-91 for 692 yards with four interception; and Christiansburg’s MJ Hunter, 48-93 for 636 yards with one interception. Receiving leaders are: Christiansburg’s Caleb Henley, 30 catches for 506 yards and Blacksburg’s Tiquest Terry, 21 catches for 495 yards.
The area’s top five squads include: 1) Blacksburg, 2) Northside, 3) Pulaski, 4) Glenvarand 5) Salem. Teams waiting to bust into top five: Radford.
Game previews:
Bland (2-4) at Auburn (3-4)
Last week: Auburn fell 33-14 to Grayson County. Carter Brockman and Payson Kelley scored for the Eagles who jumped out to a 14-0 lead at the half.
Bland was beaten 28-6 by Rural Retreat despite Ethan Cook rushing for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Playbook: Last year, Bland had its eighth losing season in the past nine years but still made the profiles with a 3-8 record. The team returns nine starters on defense and 10 on offense. Last year’s starting QB Jake Waters decided not to play his senior season. Ethan Cook (5-9, 178, senior) rushed for 739 yards last season. Offensive linemen Logan Porter (5-10, 300) and Ethan Buchanan (6-3, 200) do provide some beef up front. Linebacker Ty Ritter (6-1, 219) is a big run stopper.
Broadcast: None.
Narrows (5-1) at Eastern Montgomery (2-4)
Last week: Narrows rallied for a 32-28 win over Covington to put them in the driver’s seat in the Pioneer District. For Narrows, Chase Blaker had five catches for 131 yards with three touchdowns in a win over Covington. He scored one of those with four seconds remaining to ice the 32-28 win.
Eastern Montgomery was shutout 19-0 by Bath County despite the play of the Owens brothers. Devin Owens rushed 151 yards on 19 carries, while Dylan Owens had 12 carries for 71 yards.
Playbook: Kelly Lowe is in his 16th season with a 67-93 overall mark including last season’s 11-2 record where they lost n the Region 2C third round. They are led by former Eastern Montgomery QB Wyatt Freeman (6-3, 186) and return six starters on both sides of the ball.
Freeman passed for 958 yards last season with 14 touchdowns. Chase Blaker (5-8, 140, junior) along with Matthew Morgan (6-2, 172, junior) lead the running attack for the Green Wave.
They do have some big bodies in front of them on the offensive line in Cota McGlothin (6-0, 204), Garrett Wolfe (6-4, 295) and Caleb Clemons (6-2, 210). Broadcast: None.
Pulaski (7-0) at Blacksburg (7-0)
Last week: Pulaski rolled over Christiansburg 42-28 as Gage Mannon, Kade Akers and Jakari Finley, combined for over 200 yards rushing.
Blacksburg picked up a win over Cave Spring, but it might have been costly as they lost all-star receiver Tiquest Terry to an injury. It is not known when he will return.
Playbook: Stephen James is in his fifth season with a 27-16 mark after finishing 6-4 last season. The Cougars return five starters on each side of the ball. Pulaski is a run-based offense but will rely heavily on the pass with Cade Akers (6’2, 190) who threw 216 times last season for 2,191 yards and 20 touchdowns after transferring from Arizona. So far, this season, he is 48 of 77 with two interceptions for 746 yards.
Aker’s favorite target is E.J. Horton (6’2, 175) who has 23 catches for 446 yards. Jakari Finley (5’11, 185, soph.) will see most of the carries along with junior Gage Mannon (6’0, 190, junior).
The offensive line is big with Chandler Dunnigan (6’3, 250, soph.) and Jaxson Callahan (6’1, 265, sr.). The other side of the line is led by Camden Mariotti (5’11, 210) and Noah O’Dell (6’3, 210), who are both tough on the run.
Broadcast: 107.1 FM.
Christiansburg (1-5) at Hidden Valley (1-5)
Last week: Christiansburg fell to Pulaski County in a battle of River Ridge District teams. Caleb Henry had over 170 yards on seven receptions with two touchdowns. QB MJ Hunter was nine of 19 for 205 yards with three touchdowns.
Hidden Valley had an open date but lost 49-21 to Pulaski County two weeks ago.
Playbook: Scott Weaver is his 10th season at HV with an overall record of 45-55 and 2-8 last season including a win over the Blue Demons (45-20).
Last season, the defense allowed 37 points per game but should be improved. Grayson Carroll (6-3, 171, junior) takes over at quarterback. Tight end Kelly Mitchell (6’2, 218) provides a big target for him to throw to after tallying 44 last year. Austin Thompson (6’2, 222) and Luke Arner (6’2, 205) provides to big backups for Mitchell.
Broadcast: 100.7 FM.
Radford (6-1) has open date this week before matching up with Glenvar in Three Rivers District play.
