13 MONTICELLO BASEBALL KEEPS ON PUSHING
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VOL 6. ISSUE 17 :: MAY 15, 2015
Recalibration
Albemarle girls soccer leans on experience to change gears for postseason play. PAGE 07
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13 Monticello bAsebAll keeps on pushing
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x’s and o’s 21 07 13
SENIOR SURGE Two seniors boost STAB softball to big improvement
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REMIX Albemarle girls soccer shakes things up
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BALANCING THE SCALES A look at MHS baseball’s model
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GAME TIME Western boys lax tops Albemarle
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THE DOG DAYS OF SPRING Finishing out the school year on a high
Recalibration
VOL 6 . ISSUE 17 :: MAY 15, 2015
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vol 6. issue 17 :: May 14, 2015
Albemarle girls soccer leans on experience to change gears for postseason play. page 07
S TA F F Bart Isley, Creative Director Bob Isley, Infrastructure Director Ryan Yemen, Creative Editor O N T H E COV E R Albemarle girls soccer M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T Local sports are the lifeblood of every community in America, and we’re here to reach beyond the basics and give compelling accounts about Central Virginia athletes to our readers. CO N TAC T U S [ e ] info@scrimmageplay.com [ p ] 434-249-2032
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PREGAME
Top spin Monticello’s girls tennis’ Kathryn Deane is part of a re-tooled Mustangs squad that is trying to fight its way out of a tough, talented Conference 29 tournament. The Mustangs won in the quarters and then fell 5-0 to Western in the semifinals, which pushed them into a third-place match with a region berth on the line Friday against Fort Defiance. ✖ (Photo by Ashley Thornton)
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First Quarter
Over the hump
STAB softball finally returns to VISAA tournament By Bart Isley
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STAB senior pitcher Morgan Booth was a big reason the Saints’ turned thrings around. (Ashley Thornton)
{ 400 CLUB } Three different Saints had a batting average of .400 or better this year.
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t. Anne’s-Belfield’s softball team struggled and sputtered in 2014 as it has for several years before that. For a variety of reasons, the Saints simply couldn’t find their stride and get things headed in the right direction.
That all changed in 2015. With a couple of dedicated, resilient seniors and a wave of young talent, STAB softball powered its way to an 11-7 overall record, the LIS semifinals and a state tournament berth. The squad’s season ended with a 2-0 loss to the state tournament’s No. 1 seed Bishop O’Connell, but considering where the Saints came from, it was a watershed season. “We’re really happy about this,” said STAB pitcher Morgan Booth. “I think we knew we were capable of this at the beginning it was just about putting the pieces together. We’re playing bigger than ourselves. It’s been really cool for the younger kids.” Booth posted an ERA of 3.11 on the season as the squad’s primary pitcher. Booth wasn’t blowing batters away, but she was adept at picking her spots and moving wisely through the lineup. The Saints also turned to freshman Carter Morris in the circle, though Morris did most of her damage at the plate and on defense at shortstop. She knocked in a teamhigh 18 RBI and ripped seven triples on the season, hitting .400 throughout the year. Aliyah Carr was the team’s only other senior besides Booth, and Carr gave the Saints another powerful stick in the lineup, with 12 RBI and a .319 average. She also hit the squad’s lone home run on the year, but it hasn’t always gone that smoothly for Carr and the Saints. “It’s been tough because I’ve been playing
for six years and we’ve never got this far,” Carr said after STAB beat Covenant to advance to the LIS semis. “That’s super exciting. When we all play together and want to be there for each other, that’s when we play our best.” The Saints were at their best late in the season. After going 4-5 to start the year, STAB reeled off a great close to April that carried them into May, winning six of seven games going into the state tournament. Even beyond Morris, the Saints’ young talent played key roles in the breakthrough season. Yndeiah Kilby, an eighth grader, stepped up in a big way this year and sports the team’s highest on base percentage and batting average at .474. The Saints also added some depth from the school’s pool of international students with Chinese student Celia Li, a sophomore, now part of the starting lineup. Morris and Kilby’s emergences in particular when combined with the fact that all but two players should return to next year’s squad is reason enough to believe this wasn’t a flash in the pan. But the squads’ two seniors certainly deserve a great deal of credit for persevering through some lean, tough years for the Saints. Years where wins were much harder to come by. “They’ve been involved with softball here since seventh grade and (2014) was a tough year and I think they came in here with a good attitude,” said STAB coach Terry Lippmann. “It’s exciting to see these girls all buy in.” ✖
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College Update
We’ve gone digital But you can have it in print too!
Former Mustang wastes little time getting started By Bart Isley A lot of times in your first year as a college pitcher, you’re not asked to do a whole lot. The season is mostly about getting your feet wet. About acclimating to the college game. That’s particularly true in Division I, where players often have to wait their turn behind an older player who has paid their dues. That wasn’t the case for Monticello alum Sean Byrnes this year at Elon University. Byrnes was a first team All-Scrimmage Play honoree last year and was also an AllJefferson District selection. He helped spark Monticello to a district title as a junior and a couple of strong playoff runs during his time with the Mustangs. At Elon, he was thrown into the mix early this year for the Phoenix as a reliever. While he suffered a handful of rough appearances as is to be expected of a freshman pitcher who is just a few months removed for pitching for his high school, Byrnes also had some solid moments. He threw 24.1 innings on
the year, including a frame at North Carolina on the road, currently the No. 2 team in the ACC’s Coastal Division. The length of his appearances stretched out late in the season as he threw three innings against Delaware and then another 3.2 innings against East Carolina in two of Elon’s final games. Against ECU, the Phoenix’ season finale that ended in a 7-0 loss, he threw 3.2 scoreless innings and surrendered just two hits while not giving up a walk. He factored into two decisions and was 1-1 in those two games and his walks were the team’s lowest per inning pitched as he only gave up five on the year. The Phoenix went 24-27 in the regular season, and they’ve still got the CAA Tournament left in South Carolina starting May 20. This is just the first step in Byrnes’ career, and having a year of experience under his belt should help him make even more of an impact next year. ✖
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BELOW » Former Monticello ace Sean Byrnes has found a way to make an impact as a true freshman at Elon. (Elon sports information/Ashley King)
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REMIX CAN A TEAM DRASTICALLY ALTER ITS APPROACH TO GET TO THE SAME PLACE? STORY BY BART ISLEY — PHOTOS BY ASHLEY THORNTON 07 :: @scrimmageplay
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RAIGAN TARKINGTON RARELY COMES UP AND GETS INVOLVED IN THE OFFENSE. SHE’S BEEN A ROCK ON THE BACKLINE FOR ALBEMARLE OVER THE YEARS AND HAD DEVELOPED INTO A COACHON-THE-FIELD TYPE WHO RAN ALBEMARLE’S STINGY DEFENSE THAT FOR A LONG STRETCH TO START THE SEASON WHERE THE GROUP DIDN’T SURRENDER EVEN A SINGLE GOAL. But against Monticello in early May, Tarkington, a senior, ventured up into the attacking half, and in an unfortunate twist of fate, tore her ACL and meniscus while looking to create some offense. In an instant everything changed for the Patriots. A team with its sights set on a potential state championship run and at the very least a deep jaunt into the playoffs suddenly finds itself trying to re-tool and recalibrate. For a team that has a large contingent of seniors, there’s no next year. They’ve got to figure it out now because they’re not changing their goals and expectations. Not with the years of work they’ve put in to a program that they clearly love. “We realize that we’re going to get scored on but the thing we need to do is just score more than them,” said senior Jazzy Loredo. “We can win 5-4, it’s okay, we just need to make sure we’re putting more goals in the back of the net than they are.” It’s that simple for the Patriots. The method and the path may need to change, but Albemarle is hoping the destination remains the same. www.scrimmageplay.com ::
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“EVER SINCE I’VE BEEN PLAYING WITH CARMEN, I PLAY A BALL AND SHE GETS TO IT, SHE JUST MAKES ME LOOK SO GOOD.” -— LOREDO 09 :: @scrimmageplay
Albemarle’s girls soccer team has been one of the area’s premiere programs over the last few years. Even while playing in a loaded Commonwealth District night in and night out, Albemarle managed under previous head coach Jon Hall to put together incredible regular seasons, bringing a tremendous level of focus to each and every contest. Little changed in that regard when Amy Sherrill, an assistant under Hall, took over the program last year. Each season the Patriots have blended in new young talent with seasoned veterans, with the well never running dry. But every year in the playoffs, Albemarle has run into a variety of stumbling blocks. The Patriots’ recent seasons have ended in some heartbreaking defeats, with four straight trips to regionals by last year’s senior class ending short of a muchcoveted state tournament berth. In the class of 2014’s final year last season, the villain’s role was played by a talented Tuscarora squad that Sherrill readily admitted afterwards was a bad draw for the Patriots. This year had been clipping along with a similarly torrid run through the regular season and the Patriots finally appeared to have all the key pieces in place. For starters, Carmen Thomas was back in the fold. The Patriots’ electric forward who signed with Division I James Madison spent all of last season on the shelf with a torn ACL, and it was clear that she was missed at the top of the formation. Getting back into a groove took some time too, as it often does with an injury like that. Thomas struggled a bit and in typical fashion it had more to do with the mental part of the injury rather than the physical, but she eventually got things going. “At the beginning of the season I was kind of unsure. I was kind of waving back and forth,” Thomas said. “I’ve kind of blocked it out in my mind. When I’m playing I don’t think about it. It feels great, so I just try and focus on that.” Having Thomas back in the fold has also had something of a multiplying effect. Loredo, an incredible table-setter in the midfield, has always had a wildly productive connection with Thomas since they were both freshmen. “Ever since I’ve been playing with Carmen, I play a ball and she gets to it, she just makes me look so good,” Loredo said. “I think it is from just playing together a long time and knowing each other’s style of play.” While the Patriots do an excellent job of spreading the wealth — 15 of their 18 field players have been involved in a scoring play — Thomas and Loredo are particularly dangerous when they link up. “She looks for me when I’m running and I look for her in the middle,” Thomas said. “She’s got a great shot and she can feed me perfectly no matter where I am. We just kind of feed off each other.” In the back, the Patriots had to undergo an overhaul, but longtime starter Grace Leytham in goal and Tarkington in the central defender slot gave that group a solid core down the middle. The talent that returned was great, but it was what the Patriots were adding to the mix that made things particularly interesting. That started with the addition of junior Sunny
ACADEMIC EDGE
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Carter Allbaugh didn’t have to wait his turn to be a leader for Fluvanna County’s boys soccer team. While most players have to wait until at least their junior year to take on a role as captain, Allbaugh became an official leader as a sophomore. Now a junior, he’s helping push the Fluvanna soccer program to another level. “This is his second year as a captain and as our all-around best player, his leadership, athletic ability and skill on the field have been instrumental to the team’s success,” said Fluvanna coach Earl Gibson. Allbaugh is also a leader in other aspects of school life, serving as the Fluvanna junior class’ vice president. He’s carrying a 3.6 GPA and is committed to James Madison University to play soccer after he graduates. When you combine the hard work it has taken Allbaugh to build his ability on the field and his natural inclination for leadership, it doesn’t make much sense to make someone like that wait their turn. Fluvanna soccer and the school itself is clearly benefitting from pushing up that timeline.
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“IT’S MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE COMPETITIONS WITHIN COMPETITIONS.” - SHERRILL 11 :: @scrimmageplay
Gelnovatch, who missed the first two years of her high school career because she opted to play for the Richmond Strikers’ club as a ninth grader and then was injured in March of 2014 before her sophomore season. Gelnovatch’s presence had an immediate impact as she is one of the area’s finest defensive midfielders and also a major threat to score with seven goals on the year, second-most on the team behind Thomas’ 10. “She’s one of those players that can have 10 girls around her and turn with no problem and just be cool and calm and collected,” Loredo said. “She has a good eye for where to place the ball.” As an experienced and extraordinarily talented player, she gave the Patriots some needed savvy in the defensive half. Plus, she fit in almost instantaneously. “She’s an easy player to play with,” Tarkington said. “When she would split the two forwards and I would pass it to her, we did that all the time, and I just knew what she was going to do. I just knew where to pass the ball to her.” Sherrill also kept a slew of talented freshmen on the varsity — seven in all, which is a lot for any team, but especially for a Group 5A-sized school. It didn’t take long for that group of ninth graders to earn their keep and make an impact. “At first I was like ‘wow this is so many freshmen’ — I haven’t heard of that many on varsity,” Loredo said. “But they’ve jumped right in and taken on some big roles on the team. You’d never know they were freshmen.” Several of those young players (Katie Schnell, Katherine Brady and Emily Udstuen) had older sisters who played or are currently playing in the program, so they had an understanding of the kind of culture that Albemarle looks to create. But blending experienced veterans with that kind of young talent can often create friction, so Sherrill, her staff and the senior leaders had to go out of their way to make sure everyone was comfortable with, well, everyone. “Every day is a competition for us and planning a practice is not just going out there and rolling a ball, it’s making sure that we have competitions within competitions,” Sherrill said. “We want the best 11 on the field and every time they’re out there they’re competing.” Tarkington pointed to that practice structure as source of team unity. “She has practice plans that involve teamwork and working together and making everyone equal,” Tarkington said. That cultivated chemistry led to an incredibly fast start to the year. The Patriots didn’t give up a goal until after Tarkington’s injury, and while it was just a single goal to Western, it was indicative of what a loss Tarkington’s untimely injury was. Tarkington has stayed relentlessly positive and supremely focused on the team’s goals. She has become essentially the squad’s defensive coordinator over the last few weeks in an effort to provide the same savvy she gave the squad on the field. “I just kind of accepted the fact that I’m hurt and there’s nothing I can do about it,” Tarkington said. “I just want to not bring my team down with me. I’ve been cheering them on and helping them out and giving them confidence. I’ve been texting them after every game to give them a lot of confidence to go out
and (get the job done).” Still, assuming the Albemarle defense is going to hold opposing offenses scoreless or allow just one goal when the playoffs roll around without Tarkington in the lineup wouldn’t be a wise move. So the Patriots have changed focus, and the new philosophy seems to be for the offense to attack, and attack often. “It didn’t change our goal, but it changed how we think we’re going to get there,” Loredo said. Suddenly it has become about outscoring the opposition rather than leaning on that impenetrable defense. Obviously the Patriots are confident in the players they have back there, Tarkington wasn’t stopping every run on her own, and with a little time before the regional playoffs, players like Anne Ridenhour or Arianna Decorte or Madison Kersey could grow into a defensive presence like Tarkington. But Albemarle can’t count entirely on that. They’ve got to open things up. They’ve got to create more chances. They’ve got to evolve and create an altered identity on the fly. With the firepower they have, that may even make them a little more dangerous, and dangerous isn’t bad at all when the playoffs roll around. ✖
Above, Anne Ridenhour
TEAM SPOTLIGHT WOODBERRY FOREST’S FOURTH FORM WFS and the fourth form hosted a sports festival for Virginia Special Olympics in April. Over a hundred athletes and their families, friends, caregivers, and coaches enjoyed an excellent day competing in swimming and track and field. The competition was staffed entirely by Woodberry’s sophomore class. The Tigers did a great job by volunteering!
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BALANCING THE SCALES STORY BY RYAN YEMEN PHOTOS BY PAT DIGREGORIO & ASHLEY THORNTON 13 :: @scrimmageplay
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For the last four years with Corey Hunt as coach, Monticello has been the epitome of consistency. When Hunt first took over, there was a wealth of established talent to work with, but the core of that talent moved on two years ago. Last year, if ever there was supposed to be a rebuilding year for a baseball program, it was at Monticello. What happened instead was the Mustangs patched things together, leaned on their balance rather than expect miracles from the same player each day, and somehow it worked. “To be honest this doesn’t happen without the consistency of these players who come out ready to work, ready to listen and fight for one another,” Hunt said. “It’s easy to coach players like that and that’s what I’ve had these last four years. I ask a lot of them and they do it and they do it for each other and it really shows.”
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Below, Jack Decker
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IF YOU LOOK AT THE FUNDAMENTALS AND TAKE CARE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU ACTUALLY HAVE CONTROL OF, THEN THERE’S NOTHING ESLE YOU CAN REALLY DO. — COREY HUNT
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The 2014 Monticello baseball team completely overachieved in the eyes of many. And still, thanks in part to the loss of its pitching staff ace in Sean Byrnes, the Mustangs entered 2015 in a position where a lot of coaches and fans were uncertain of just how good this team would be. Hunt doesn’t care about all that. In truth, he never has since he took over. He’s as technical and straightforward of a coach as you’ll find. He cares about making the game as simple as he can for his athletes. “It’s an incredibly challenging game but when you break it down into its finer parts it’s actually quite simple,” Hunt said. “We try and break down into its simplest fundamental form so that the guys understand exactly what they need to do, what position they need to be in mentally and physically.” Part of the process for Hunt, who starred at Monticello in high school and went on to play at the University of Virginia, is teaching his team about the controllable aspects of the game. At the end of the day, there is really only so much you can do in this sport. A lot of the times, you’re at the mercy of the baseball gods — a funny hop here or there for example. The classic example comes in the notion that a Major Leaguer that fails at the plate two-thirds of the time for 15-20 years can call himself a Hall of Famer. “What makes this game so challenging is that you know you’re going to deal with a lot of failure,” Hunt said. “But if you look at the fundamentals and take care of the things that you actually have control of, then there’s nothing else you can really do. If you take care of those things, put yourself in a position to succeed, you’ll find you come up and deliver when your teammates need you to.” And that’s really been Monticello’s modus operandi under Hunt — his team’s ability to deliver clutch at bats with two strikes, two outs. The Mustangs have that grind in them that makes them a tough out each and every game. For Hunt’s players, so much of that success stems from the way this team practices. His players all buy into his and his staff’s philosophies. “When we come out on the field, we don’t care about style, we care about the fundamentals,” said senior Caleb Archer. “Some days there are practices where you don’t even pick up a baseball and it’s only about the fundamentals.” With the regular season winding down, there’s not a whole lot a team can do to improve. At this point, injuries aside, teams are what they are. Here we are in the middle of May and the Mustangs sit right near the perch of the Jefferson District standings ready to make another run in the playoffs like they have in the previous three years under Hunt. In years past, Monticello’s strength was its depth in the pitching department. When Hunt first took over in 2012 he had a senior in Kyle Jacobson and a sophomore in Josh Malm who almost eliminated the need for a bullpen. Behind that duo, the Mustangs made it to the VHSL state tournament quarterfinals. The following year, Monticello made a run into the Region II playoffs behind Malm, Brandon Beasley and Sean Byrnes to win the first Jefferson District title for the program since Hunt played. Last year, the vast majority of the team were underclassmen and the pitching staff had Byrnes taking over the primary starting role. As it turns out, Byrnes put together one of the best breakout senior years in recent memory
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Above, Kyle Jarrell
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IF YOU PITCH WELL AND THEN MAKE THE PLAYS IN THE FIELD BEHIND YOUR PITCHER, YOU’LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN. IT’S TRUE IN ALL OF BASEBALL. — COREY HUNT
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and the Mustangs were able to lean on him while developing their offense. Once again, Monticello flirted with another JD crown. “It’s always pitching and defense that will keep you in games,” Hunt said. “From where I come from and all those who’ve taught me, if you pitch well and then make the plays in the field behind your pitcher, you’ll have an opportunity to win. It’s true in all of baseball, the game doesn’t change in high school. The speed and skill does as you play further, but the fundamentals are the same in high school — you throw strikes, you collect outs, you limit errors. That’s always going to be true no matter what level you play at.” With Byrnes gone, Hunt has diversified his pitching staff to try and get the most out of what he has. Four different players have thrown 18 or more innings including, John Page, Luke Cieslewicz, Carter Lee and Parker Heinenmann. The Mustangs were dealt a substantial blow in late April when Cieslewicz went down with an elbow injury. His 2.78 ERA was third on the team and his 22 and two thirds innings were second. Since the injury that’s meant giving more work to Heinemann, who’s done nicely and leads the way with his 1.91 ERA. “Parker didn’t get to pitch much early in the season and he’s really come on strong and done well when we’ve needed him to,” said Monticello senior catcher Jack Decker. “Overall (our pitchers) all do well when they get ahead early in counts. That allows them to use all their pitches and if they get ahead early they can all go deep into ballgames and pitch all seven innings.” On the other side of things, the Mustangs have stepped up their game substantially offensively. With 10 seniors on the roster, this is a vetted group that saw a lot of good pitching last year between facing former All-Jefferson District and All-Scrimmage Play standouts in Western Albemarle’s Jack Maynard and Fluvanna County’s Maxx Turner. This season Monticello is averaging 7.18 runs per game and have scored nine or more runs in six of 16 contests. “Really we’re just trying to make sure that we hit pitches that we know we can hit,” Page said. “You just want to stay on top of the ball and hit it hard. You don’t want to jump out in counts too early, just hit what you can.” Few teams are as balanced as the Mustangs are offensively right now as six players have at least eight RBI and five players have at least 15 hits through the first 16 games. Decker leads the team with his .456 average but is followed closely by Tre Dudley at .435 and Page at .432. Decker brings the most pop to the order right now with his five doubles, triple and home run, and he also might have the best eye at the plate as he’s only struck out twice in a team-high 57 at bats. Kyle Jarrell and Jon Heuchert have also been instrumental with extra base hits as they are just behind Decker in doubles. In Robbie Deane the Mustangs have a scrappy hitter who’s flirting with .400 and leads the team with nine steals. The bottom line is that with seven different players hitting over .350, this lineup has a lot of versatility which excites Hunt. “We have our power guys that can give us the hard hit doubles and so forth but I’ve also got guys who can finesse it, hit and run, lay down a bunt,” Hunt said. “It’s a really good mix of guys that can handle any situation.” With just three regular season games left the Mustangs sit at 11-5 on the year and have just two district losses. Monticello sits just
a couple of losses behind Western right now with a second meeting between the two looming large on May 19. When Conference 29 play begins on May 22, this team’s 10 seniors will play knowing full well the next at-bat they take could well be their last. This is Hunt’s first true senior class, he’s had them all four years and they’re eager to make the kind of run this team did back in 2012. “Right now we’re just worried about what we can control, to get the highest seed we can,” Decker said. “We’re going to have to beat some big teams coming down the road later so it’s good to be playing in close games right now.” In the past the Mustangs have thrived in that close game atmosphere in the playoffs. As Hunt pointed out before, the rest of this season boils down to controlling what little they can. The good news for this team is that they’ve been preparing for this for quite sometime and they have the balance all across the field to get the job done. “It’s not just one guy for us, it’s everyone stepping up and doing their job, whatever that job is,” Hunt said. “Each player knows that if their number gets called we expect them to be ready to roll. These guys all understand that so it’s a lot of fun as a coach.” If Hunt is having fun that means the team is doing its job thoroughly on and off the field. Which means the Mustangs could make things interesting down the stretch. ✖
Below, Robbie Deane
Game Time Western 14, Albemarle 13 By Ryan Yemen
Western’s Luke Reilly had five goals in a win over rival Albemarle. (Ashley Thornton)
19 :: @scrimmageplay
The postgame talks were getting a little too repetitive, the mood a little too somber for a little too long. The Albemarle boys lacrosse team has had Western Albemarle’s number for awhile now. Thursday on the road, the Warriors got one last crack at solving the Patriots. In a game that swung back-and-forth in knee-jerk way, Western was able to pick up that elusive win against its rival thanks to a big spurt to end the third quarter and by simply holding on for dear life in the final minutes of the fourth for a 14-13 victory. “For a long time playing against Albemarle has been an emotional block, but tonight our guys came out and played hard and when we do that we can do a lot of good things,” said Warriors coach Alex Whitten. “Our seniors lost to Albemarle four times last year and then we didn’t play well the first time we saw them this year. I think this was a monkey off our back. We challenged the seniors to try and change the culture here. We believe that we can now.” Albemarle led after the first quarter, but things were all tied up at 7-7 at the end of the half. That set up a crazy second half finish. Trailing by two midway through the third quarter, Western played its best lacrosse of the night in a four-minute stretch to finish off the frame on a 5-0 run to claim a 12-9 advantage with Luke Reilly leading the way. “We got the big pump-up speech,” Reilly said of the run in the third. “We talked about how tired we were of losing and that all we had to do was just handle the ball and we did.” The fourth quarter saw Albemarle fight its way back into the contest as the Patriots made it a 1-goal game through the first four minutes of play. Western responded over the next three minutes to reestablish a 3-goal margin at 14-11 with 4:35 to play. From there the Warriors tried to go to work on the clock
and keep Albemarle at bay, something that proved to be exceedingly difficult as a pair of Patriots goals made it 14-13. The Patriots got one last possession with 47 seconds to play, but were not able to get a clean shot off before turning the ball over thanks the interior of Western’s defense stepping up and clamping down Albemarle’s attempt to cut across in front of the net. “We threw in some zone at them, more than the first time we played and that gave them some trouble,” Whitten said. “We were able to get some turnovers there, especially at the end in the middle (of the field).” After the Warriors regained possession and called a time out, Whitten turned to sophomore Ryan Ingram to get the clear and kill the final 28 seconds left on the clock to preserve the win. “We’ve had a lot of success and some big runs but they just played better than us so I don’t think we were ever really able to dig ourselves out of it,” said Albemarle coach Dave King. “Our defense was poor (in the third quarter), we didn’t communicate, but credit Western. They played harder than we did tonight.” On the night, Reilly finished with five goals for Western. Clark Sipe had a pair of goals and assists. Carter Elliot added a hat trick. Sumner Corbett chipped in two goals and an assist. Goalkeeper Jackson Sours came up with 11 saves. “This means a lot to the seniors, it’s their last game against Albemarle,” Reilly said. “We talked about how different it felt after the game in the corner. It was huge for us to win this game.” For Albemarle, Ian Davis led all scorers with his five goals and assist. Justin Moran was close behind with four goals. Andrew Hogg had three goals. Justin Peck had two assists. ✖
See a photograph you like? Defensive stand Warriors goalie has more than one trick | By Ryan Yemen
At Scrimmage Play we pride ourselves on offering the best possible graphics Two years ago the Western Albemarle boys to Shin, who doubles as a Junior National Judo soccer team get was fueled its underclassmen medalist, we can our byhands on, in both our but has developed into one of the with sophomores and freshman bearing the area’s most versatile goalkeepers. magazine as well as at our website at brunt of the work load. The netminder has shown he’s capable of Now two years later, forwards Aaron Myers making big saves, particularly in the team’s www.scrimmageplay.com and Alex Nolet, as well as senior defender two ties. In the first game of the season, Tom Rogers are all in their senior seasons and looking to earn a Region II bid, something that Orange County snatched away from them in the Jefferson District semifinals last season. After the first month of play, the Warriors seem to have the defensive side of the equation figured out and junior goalkeeper Kai Shin is a big part of that. Before Western went on its spring break, none of its four opponents were able to score more than once, a testament to the team’s play in the middle of the field, but also a nod
Shin endured wave after wave of Albemarle attack, but stood tall and showed no rust in the 1-1- tie. But while Shin’s on the field because he can make stops, his strong leg has also been of great use as he’s able to easily clear the zone but also spark fast breaks all by himself. The Warriors averaged a little over two goals per contest before the break, but if that average starts to increase, don’t be surprised if it’s because of Shin’s ability to contribute to the transition game. ✖
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Western Albemarle’s Kai Shin hauls in a shot during his team’s 1-1 tie with Albemarle that kicked off the soccer season for both squads. (Frank Crocker)
Success stories begin here.
Success Story: Russell Bodine Russell Bodine hails from Scottsville, Virginia and first made his name playing for former Fork Union high school coach Micky Sullivan. As a junior and senior, he was an All-State honoree and helped the Blue Devils to a VISAA Division 1 final four showing in 2009. As a three-star recruit, he signed with North Carolina to play in college in February of 2010. At Chapel Hill, Bodine moved from his position as a guard in high school to playing center. As a sophomore he started all 12 games. The following year he was as reliable as before and earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honorable mention as a red-shirt junior. That prompted him to test the waters at the next level. He was rewarded for his decision after he put up 42 repetitions in the benchpress at the NFL combine, the
best in his class. With their fourth round selection, the Cincinnati Bengals made Bodine the 111th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. At just 22 years old, Bodine entered the Bengals training camp as the team’s projected starter, a job he held on to with a stranglehold. The Bengals went 10-5-1 in 2015 and made the AFC playoffs. Bodine started all 16 regular season games for Cincinatti and also in the playoffs. He became the first Bengals rookie drafted outside of the first round to start all games since Eric Steinbach did so in 2003. He was pivotal in helping the Bengals rank third in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed. Bodine was a road grader in high school, in college and is now the same for the Bengals. He got his start and FUMA and has never stopped moving forward.
Fork Union Military Academy is the leading Christian military boarding school for boys in grades 6 - 12 and PG. www.forkunion.com — 1-800-GO-2-FUMA
Overtime
The dog days of spring Finishing up the school year with a sense of pride
T
he spring has a different vibe to its ending than the fall or winter. While for many athletes the end of those two previous seasons mark the finish of a lot of careers, for many more there’s still another season in another sport, or at the minimum, still the everyday business of school. Regardless of the case, so called “senioritis” is different in the fall or winter than in the spring. There’s a finality you hear from coaches and players in the spring that you don’t get in the other two. We see a lot of tears whenever a team meets its end in any season, but it’s a little different in the spring because that paired with graduation seems to breed this feeling that something larger is happening. To be fair, it sort of is. Once graduation occurs, and that’s all over the place for various schools — both private and public — the spring sports are all the athletes have that tie them to what they’ve known for the last four years. It’s the only piece of familiarity. It seems ironic that the season adults equate with growth and hope is actually kind of the opposite for so many teenagers heading to college. Actually in that sense, the spring is the fall, it is the changing of the guard, the great unknown. For many, the summer becomes a winter of fear. There’s a fear that everyone goes through at the end of the school year that makes the spring a little bit more emotional than the other seasons and while I understand it having gone through it myself — and hey everyone, wait four years, you’ll go through it again in college, even if it doesn’t involve sports — I think it’s something that we need to learn to process better. There’s a great Woody Allen quote that I think everyone should mull over that goes “Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering and it’s all over much too soon.” It’s a line that obviously applies to the grandest of scales, but holds true in the smallest microcosms and particularly in athletics. So in that light, I’m talkin’ ‘bout practice. Not the game, but practice. Anyone that’s played sports in the spring knows that practice is different as the end nears. Everyone knows where they’re headed to college. Everyone knows that the end of high school is near. The vibe is different. If you want a truly positive experience later in life, you’ll treat the year-end practices like you did when you were trying to make the jump from junior varsity to varsity, or when you thought your playing time was on the line. Why? Because it’s going to be the practices, not necessarily the games that you remember later on. It’s easy to go all out in a game thinking it’s your last. It’s a lot harder to do that in the practices before that. When you talk to college athletes the first thing they’ll tell you about the difference at the next level is that if you don’t love practice that you’ll never see the light of playing a game. It’s such a different level of intensity and focus. Those athletes that were used to being the best at their high schools are suddenly clumped up with their own kind where they have to compete and rise to the top for playing time. It’s a primary reason we see so many people stop playing or transfer elsewhere in college. It’s a different level of commitment. And so each and every high school athlete should look at practice a little different in these
“Life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering and it’s all over much too soon.” last few weeks of the scholastic year. The message I’m trying to hammer through is that in the spring athletes need to enjoy the mundane a little more and not worry about the glory. Only a handful of teams are lucky enough to achieve that elusive state title. It doesn’t mean that the teams that fell short of that trophy celebration didn’t have something special. Ask any former athlete about what they miss most and they’ll rarely say much about the game, regardless of the sport. They’ll talk about their teammates, the locker room, and practice. So try and not treat practice like it’s your last as though you’re looking forward. That’s the trap. The secret, from all that I can gather, is that if you get locked in and pretend these last few weeks are like being an underclassmen again, you’ll look back on them in say five or 10 years with a sense of accomplishment. No regrets. Nobody likes the nitty-gritty stuff when they’re elbow deep it in. But when they leave it, it’s funny but you’ll start to miss it, and maybe miss it most of all. ✖
Ryan Yemen,
CRE ATIVE EDITOR
back talk » 22 :: @scrimmageplay
Is there something better for sports memories than practice? Tell me at: ryan@scrimmageplay.com
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