by Bill Turner
Week five of high school football is in the rear view mirror, and last week’s stellar predictions went 7-1 for a .875 winning average. That’s the third week in the opening five I’ve only had one miss among the local eleven teams.
So much for my record; with it halfway through the season for most teams, let’s check the standings for our Roanoke-area elite-11.
Northside remains standing as the only unbeaten at 5-0. The Vikings escaped unscathed after close calls at Hidden Valley in week four, and an overtime win last Friday at Salem. Cave Spring and Patrick Henry both come in at 4-1, with the Knight’s loss against Northside and PH falling last Friday to Battlefield.
Glenvar follows closely at 3-1 with an early-season overtime loss to Giles as the only blemish to date. Hidden Valley and Salem are both at .500 with identical 2-2 marks.
Lord Botetourt follows at 2-3. Williams-Byrd and Fleming are still looking for their first wins. In the private school ranks, North Cross and Roanoke Catholic check in at 3-2.
The midpoint of the season brings an unusual break with four teams- Northside, Botetourt, Cave Spring and PH having an open week on the schedule. That leaves us with only five games involving local teams on the crystal ball lineup, so let’s get to it.
William Fleming at Salem: The Colonels are still looking for win number one. Salem is smarting from their overtime loss to Northside. This is no time for an invasion of Salem Stadium. Salem 35 William Fleming 9
William Byrd at Glenvar: Glenvar has passed the test after the opening loss to Giles. Byrd had a week to regroup after an 0-4 start. AA vs A. The Highlanders look too good. Glenvar-28 William Byrd-19
Hidden Valley at Bassett: The Titans two losses came at the hands of two teams that have one combined loss. Bassett has sputtered at 1-4. The Titans finish non-district play with a win. Hidden Valley-27 Bassett-20
North Cross at Hargrave Military: Blue Ridge hung 49 points on Hargrave, winning by 17. North Cross beat the Barons last week by 20. Enough said. North Cross-34 Hargrave- 20.
Roanoke Catholic at Fishburne Military: Catholic won by a single point last year. The Celtics win by a single touchdown this year. Roanoke Catholic-20 Fishburne-13
Now to this week’s infamous mailbag, where celebrity sightings get attention.
Dear Wild Bill: Do you ever run into famous people while attending sporting events? (Delores/Vinton)
Answer- Quite often, Delores. Tuesday night VT basketball coach Seth Greenberg was in the stands at Hidden Valley to watch his daughter, Jackie, play volleyball for Blacksburg. Last year at a golfing event in Bristol, I met Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. But, the best may have been this past Sunday during the Washington Nationals-Atlanta Braves game in DC. I saw Senator Mark Warner coming up the aisle in the section I was sitting in. Having met him previously, I waved as he passed. Later in the game, he stopped at my seat and we talked a little baseball and politics. Interestingly, nobody around us seemed to remotely notice somebody destined for fame and greatness. Heck, as far as that goes, noone recognized Warner, either.
See you next week, Send inquiries to: [email protected]