District play hits the heart of high school basketball scheduling this week with several ” Big-11 ” teams looking to make their move for postseason play.
Although the new conference postseason format has diluted much of the regular-season excitement, district rivalries still provide for exciting matchups.
Large crowds have been the exception, rather than the norm. Monday night, despite two River Ridge teams battling it out, you could hear a pin drop in the Patrick Henry gym when the Patriots took on Blacksburg. Ditto, Tuesday night when PH visited Hidden Valley. The fans of both teams congregated on the home court side, while the fans seated on the opposite side were small in number. There will be no River Ridge tournament and there’s no chance some teams will meet in the playoffs with a
three Group separation within the district itself.
Fortunately, many local rivalries will remain on track. You can count on this Friday’s Hidden Valley-Cave Spring shootout to draw a sizable crowd, and the cross-city PH-Fleming shootout typically fills the seats at both schools.
The local Blue Ridge teams will be fan favorites as Lord Botetourt and William Byrd are both having banner years, and Billy Pope’s Northside squad always offering tough opposition.
North Cross was undefeated in VIC-Division II heading to Thursday night’s game against Hargrave. The Raiders only loss since a holiday tournament in Ashville, NC was the 1-point loss to powerhouse Carlisle.
The countdown continues for neighboring Floyd County and its sharpshooter Caleb Tanner. The senior guard stands less than 300 points shy of the all-time VHSL scoring record of 2,687 set in 1997 by Stacy Ervin of Twin Springs. The record may be in the headlights by early February, with home games in Floyd early that month, and the Buffalos playing in the Roy Stanley Memorial Shootout at the Salem Civic Center on February 8th in a noon game against Salem.Tanner is capable of closing the gap in a hurry, having scored 59 points in a game twice this season.
The Wild Bill ” Big-11 ” Top-5 has a shakeup this week as teams settle in for the playoff run.
#1- Lord Botetourt- The Cavaliers stay in the top spot despite suffering a pair of losses against undefeated Spotswood and upstart William Fleming. Now, we see if LB can hold serve in the Blue Ridge.
#2- William Byrd- The Terriers have too many scoring threats to be ignored. The match ups with Botetourt should be classics.
#3- Patrick Henry- PH is on a roll, moving up the poll after 3 straight wins this week. The Patriots are looking stronger with each game.
#4-William Fleming- The Colonels opened with four losses and haven’t lost since. The win over Botetourt shows a healthy Fleming roster is dangerous.
#5- Salem- The Spartans drop after a double overtime loss to 1-11 Blacksburg on Tuesday. Outside of PH, there’s a lot of parity in the River Ridge.
We don’t want to ignore the girl’s slate, and several ” Big-11 ” teams are setting themselves apart this year. Hidden Valley and Salem are early standard-bearers in the River Ridge, even after the young Lady Titans topped Salem by 20 points last Friday. Lord Botetourt and William Fleming dominate the Blue Ridge girls action, and Glenvar continues to roll in the Three Rivers. Roanoke Catholic was at 7-1 before a setback to Liberty Christian earlier this week.
Make sure to watch for next week’s Roanoke Star print edition where another Wild Bill late night product review differentiates between a fluke and a trend. We’ll just say this one’s for the birds.
Until then, send your wing-flapping inquiries to [email protected]
– Bill Turner