And, then there was one.
That could sum up our local volleyball entries into the VHSL Final-4 in Richmond this weekend. State quarterfinal action Tuesday night saw Patrick Henry put up a valiant fight before falling to Langley in Group AAA. Ditto for Cave Spring in Group AA as the defending state champs dropped a similar 3-1 decision to E.C. Glass.
Heading to the Siegel Center at VCU for a Friday night semifinal will be Hidden Valley. A win on Friday against Jamestown will send the Titans to the state final at 5:00 p.m. Saturday night. Good luck to Hidden Valley as they look to capture their first volleyball title in school history.
High school football playoffs move to round two this Friday night. Eight of the ‘Big-11’ teams entered last week’s action, and we now have five remaining after losses by Patrick Henry, Lord Botetourt and Glenvar.
Congratulations go out to those three after successful campaigns that led each to a playoff spot.
Things continue to get tougher, so here’s a look at Friday night’s matchups that include two games being played in the Roanoke Valley.
Pulaski County at Salem: Salem remains the only ‘Big-11’ unbeaten and takes on the Cougars after a first-round bye. Pulaski County survived round one with an impressive 32-0 blasting of Magna Vista. Salem will force the Cougars to pass and that may be the decider. Salem- 28 Pulaski County- 20.
Christiansburg at Hidden Valley: Hidden Valley got the other ‘Big-11’ bye in week one, so the Titans were given the chance to regroup and rest. When that happened during the regular season, they responded by winning five of six. Christiansburg throttled Bassett last Friday 64-28. The Titan defense will prove to be more imposing. Hidden Valley- 24 Christiansburg- 16.
Cave Spring at Richlands: Can the Knights win for the second year in a row in coal country? Richlands had the week one bye, but faces Cave Spring with some Blue Tornado personnel problems. The Knights had little trouble with Southwest District Abingdon in last Friday’s 45-0 blowout. River Ridge gets the upset nod. Cave Spring- 31 Richlands- 22.
William Byrd at Heritage: The Terriers got Zac Hill back in week one and shut out Lord Botetourt 23-0. The key to Byrd’s win was over 300 yards rushing. Unless the Terrier passing attack gets a bump, it could be tough night against the 9-1 Heritage squad. Heritage- 35 William Byrd- 14.
Northside at Brookville: The Vikings had little trouble against Ft. Defiance with their 34-7 victory in week one. Brookville comes in ranked number-one in Group AA at 10-0. The Vikings may have the guns to make this one interesting. But, beating the Bees in the beehive? Would take some major swatting. Brookville- 31 Northside- 2.
We now honor a pair of state championships from the ‘Big-11’ that hit the ticker last week.
North Cross boys soccer completed their perfect season with a 1-0 win over Carlisle to bring home the gold. The Raiders third win over the Chiefs this season left North Cross 24-0. They only gave up 9 goals in that 24-game span.
Likewise, the Roanoke Catholic volleyball team had a VIS Division III state championship repeat with their 3-0 win over Westover Christian. Aaron King’s squad finished 24-3 on the season.
Now, to the mailbag where vegetable weighing gets some scrutiny, and Hokie football is put in perspective.
Dear Wild Bill: Couldn’t help but notice last week. You guessed the Roanoker Restaurant’s Great Pumpkin’s weight right on the nose. Isn’t that two years in a row? (Violet/Callaway)
Yep, Violet, two straight years. But, it’s not guessing. All mathematical calculation. You take the pumpkin’s diameter (19 in. for this year’s orange monstrosity); divide by 2 for the radius (9.5 in.). Use the volume of a sphere ( 4/3 x pi x the radius cubed). With pi being 3.14, that equals 3,589.54 cubic inches. This year’s pumpkin weight multiplier, given in Northern almanacs, was .044 lbs per cubic inch, equaling 157.94 lbs. My prediction was 158 lbs, the exact weight verified by an independent source for the restaurant.
Note, the multiplier changes each year based on rainfall. And, it’s not acurate on casaba melons, which should always be calculated by feel.
Dear Hokie Huddler Bill: What’s the best thing you’ve seen in Tech football this year? (George/Vinton)
Probably Friday night at the Cave Spring-Abingdon high school game. I heard my name shouted, looked into the stands and saw four former Cave Spring athletes: brothers Reece and Tyler Kemp, whose late father, Dean, was my fan of the year a couple years ago, the only person ever honored as such in this column. With them was Adam Anderson and a current Hokie football player, Michael Cole.
Only 24 hours earlier, Cole had taken a vicious hit against Florida State and things looked scary while he laid motionless on the field. Makes all that other stuff about a football game seem irrelevant.
Until next week, send all your casaba melons my way and pose those inquiries to: [email protected]
