The final week of the “Big-11” regular season offered quite a few surprises as two teams looked to secure a playoff berth, while others were focused on improving their seeding heading into the first round of post-season play this Friday night.
After everything fell into place late Friday night, only William Fleming and Cave Spring came up short in their hopes for a playoff bid. Cave Spring lost out on a tiebreaker to Alleghany.
On the other end of the spectrum, North Cross completed a perfect 10-0 season Saturday afternoon at Thomas Field, and the Raiders now hold the #1 seed in the VIS Division-II standings.
Here’s a look at the week-11 results as well as where our teams will open play in the first round.
Salem-56 Pulaski County-14
Salem secured a first-round bye in the 4A West Region playoffs with the blowout win over the Cougars in Dublin. Salem finished the regular season with nine straight wins after an opening week loss to Amherst County. The Spartans took control early, returning the opening kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown and rolling out to a 49-7 halftime lead.
Patrick Henry-56 Carroll County-12
Patrick Henry raced out to a 36-0 halftime lead over the Cavaliers in Hillsville, and PH improved to 8-2 to secure a 5A North Region first round home game as the #7 seed. The Patriots will host #10 seed North Stafford (6-4) this Friday night at PH Stadium.
Staunton River-75 Lord Botetourt-29
What a difference two weeks make. Lord Botetourt was rolling along undefeated at 8-0 before back-to-back losses to William Byrd and Staunton River. Staunton River bolted out to a 40-7 halftime lead last Friday night, and by the final horn the Golden Eagles had posted 10 touchdowns and 7 two-point conversions. The loss sent Botetourt to a #7 seed in the 3A West Region playoffs where they will host #10 seed Blacksburg (5-5) this Friday night in Daleville.
Hidden Valley-31 Cave Spring-24
Hidden Valley held off a late Cave Spring bid to tie the game as the Titans won the Southwest County rivalry contest for the fifth straight year. The win gives the Titans (5-5) a #11.seed in the 3A West Region playoffs where they must travel to #6 seed Heritage (6-4) on Friday. The loss eliminated Cave Spring from postseason play.
William Byrd-49 Rockbridge County-6
William Byrd locked up a first round bye in the 4A West Region playoffs as the #2 seed 9-1 Terriers captured the Blue Ridge District title with the victory over winless Rockbridge. Terrier running back Larry Basham captured the “Big-11” regular season scoring title, adding four touchdowns to his resume to edge out Roanoke Catholic’s Jemel Tyree.
Northside-31 William Fleming-0
Northside was in a win-or-die situation for a playoff bid Friday night, and the Vikings came through with the victory over the Colonels. Northside (4-6) grabbed the #14 seed in the 3A West Region and will travel to #3 seed Abingdon (9-1) this Friday night for a first round playoff matchup.
Glenvar-33 Floyd County-21
Glenvar finished the season 8-2 with the win in Floyd, and the Highlanders will be seeded #6 in the 2A West Region where they will host #11 seed Gate City (5-5) this Friday night in West Salem.
North Cross-41 Hargrave Military-0
North Cross completed its perfect 10-0 season Saturday afternoon at Thomas Field as the Raiders will hold the #1 seed in the VIS Division II playoffs, hosting 7-2 Norfolk Christian.
Roanoke Catholic-idle Friday night, locked up the #2 seed in the VIS Division III playoffs, and the Celtics (8-1) will take on 6-3 Fuqua School.in first round action at Vinyard Park this Friday night.
Bill Turner
