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SPORTS
TIMMONS STARTS FOR HOWARD
Former Highland School boys basketball player Cam Timmons made his first college start for Howard University and shined. The 6-foot-11 sophomore had 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 26 minutes in an 84-63 loss to Bellarmine (Ky.) University.
WWW.FAUQUIER.COM
Fauquier Times | December 9, 2020
HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS, CHEER PRACTICES DELAYED A WEEK Fauquier County’s first basketball games moved from Dec. 21 to 28
County expects parents to drive athletes to games
By Fred Hodge
By Fred Hodge
Special to the Times
The recent surge in COVID-19 diagnoses has led to another round of changes for winter athletes at Liberty, Fauquier and Kettle Run high schools. Fauquier County announced Friday the first day of tryouts for boys and girls basketball and sideline cheerleading would be delayed one week until Dec. 14. The Virginia High School League had set Dec. 7 as the start date for those sports, with the first allowed competition Dec. 21. The local change means the first games cannot be held until Dec. 28 at the earliest. Wrestling, indoor track and swimming will begin as scheduled Dec. 14 and start Dec. 28. The local alterations came days after votes by the school boards for the City of Winchester and Frederick County to delay their start of official tryouts even longer for all five programs until Jan. 4. The Winchester area delays mean basketball games in those two jurisdictions cannot be played until Jan. 12 due to a VHSL requirement calling for a minimum of eight days of practice. At least one local school was to play a Winchester school before Jan. 1. The Winchester delays have a trickle-down effect on Fauquier’s three high schools. “Yeah, it does,” said Kettle Run’s Paul Frye. “We are trying to play out-of-district games before then to get some games in.” Frye said Kettle Run now has a home varsity basketball doubleheader against Brentsville set for Dec. 28, with a boys-girls JV basketball doubleheader at Brentsville that night.. Wrestling and swimming have fewer issues. “We might lose a (wrestling) dual, but all of our swim meets are in January,” Frye added. Basketball’s reboot is disrupting what the eight Northwestern District schools planned. In response to the pandemic, the VHS cut sports to 60 percent of normal contests or 14 for basketball. The district then voted to split the league into northern and southern pods with Handley, James Wood, Millbrok and Sherando in the north and Fauquier, Kettle Run, Liberty and Culpeper in the south. In basketball, each group expected to play a home-and-home double round-robin in its pod for six games and play each school in the opposite pod for 10 district games. Schools could add
Special to the Times
FILE PHOTO
No fans will be allowed at Fauquier County sports events this winter, forcing fans to watch games on the National Federation of State High School Association’s streaming service. Digital cameras now exist in county high school fields and gyms.
20 districts cancel winter sports
According to the Virginia High School League, 20 school divisions out of 132 in the state and 37 public schools out of 318 have canceled their winter sports season. The City of Alexandria is the only Northern Virginia school district to cancel winter sports, but locally the City of Winchester and Frederick County have delayed official tryouts for all five programs until Jan. 4. a maximum of four non-district games to reach 14. Only the first and second-place teams would compete in the district tournament. Now the new plan, although it features fewer games, would be more traditional. The revised scheme for the eight Northwestern District members calls for a single round-robin format of seven league games to seed the postseason tournament. Then comes a standard eightteam playoff of quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game. Both finalists will advance to Class 4 Region 4C play versus two teams from the Dulles District. There will be no automatic region for winning the regular-season crown. Barring more pandemic problems or weather
It appears Fauquier County student athletes can no longer count on county transportation to sports contests. Last Friday, Frank Finn, executive director of student services for the Fauquier County school system, sent a letter to high schoolers’ parents stating a significant change in transportation for athletes. The statement read, “Also, given the current status of transportation services, parents will need to provide transportation for their student athlete to all games. Student athletes may not drive themselves to games.” Finn explained that the spread of COVID-19 in Fauquier County is the reason behind the changes. The pandemic has led to a shortage of accredited school bus drivers, plus the issue of proper social distancing is a concern. Formerly, all athletes were required to ride school-provided transportation to an away venue unless previous permission had been given. Even then, athletes were not permitted to drive themselves. If parents are needed for rides but not allowed to watch games, which is the policy in Fauquier County, it could create extra driving. Already complaints have surfaced on social media from county parents about what they were supposed to do while the game was played. All three schools have Winchester area schools on the schedule, too far to return to Fauquier County. Theoretically, they could wait somewhere near the venue and watch the game on their phones. The county is installing cameras in the gymnasiums for streaming via the National Federation of State High School Associations site. Thousands of games nationally are available by subscription and are available on multiple devices. More information will be forthcoming on how to subscribe. issues, the ADs think it will work. “We are hoping we can still do a round robin for district seedings and still be able to move into the playoffs,” said Fauquier AD Mark Ott, noting playing most of the district games after Jan. 12 shortens the abbreviated season even more.
Kestner starting for Liberty U. women’s hoops, Leach scores TD, Kroll forms non-profit By Peter Brewington Times Staff Writer
Former Liberty High girls basketball star Makaela Kestner has started all four games in her first season for the Liberty University women’s basketball team. The 2018 LHS grad scored eight points with five rebounds in 17 minutes in a 81-66 loss to Virginia Tech. Kestner, who transferred from the University of South Florida, played 12 minutes and scored three points in a 76-72 loss to Ohio University. She had five points, five rebounds and three assists in the Flames’ first win of the year on Dec. 1, a 76-53 win against Norfolk State.
Leach scores first college TD
Former Liberty High football player Kris Leach of Kent State (3-1) caught his first pass of the year for a 3-yard touchdown in a 70-41 loss to Buffalo on Nov. 28. A redshirt junior, Leach has played in the Golden Flashes’ first four games after transferring from Western Kentucky. Former LHS teammate Julian Sams, an offensive lineman, also plays for Kent State, but has been injured. Sams started all 13 games for Kent State last year including a win in the Frisco Bowl.
Casey Kroll forms non-profit
Former James Madison University and Kettle Run High football player Casey Kroll and his JMU team-
mate Lou Chiccehitto, who played quarterback at Liberty and coaches there now, have launched a non-profit organization called The Big Man Foundation to benefit Jamal Powell, who is undergoing cancer. Powell was Kroll’s offensive line coach at JMU during the 2015 and ‘16 seasons. The Dukes won the national title in 2016. The Big Man Foundation is designed to benefit coaches and their families that have fallen on hard times due to illness and unexpected circumstances. For more information, or to make a donation, visit The Big Man Foundation on Twitter or Facebook.
PHOTO BY JON FLEMING
Former Liberty Eagle girls basketball star Makaela Kestner is starting at Liberty University.
