05 MONROE GOLF FINISHES 07 BALLARD UP STRONG AGAIN TAKING OVER
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Planting the flag Albemarle comes together to play big role in revamped Jefferson District PAGE 13
VOL 5 . ISSUE 5 :: OCTOBER 25, 2013
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VOL 5 . ISSUE 5 :: OCTOBER 25, 2013
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05 Monroe golf finishes 07 BAllArD uP sTrong AgAin TAking over
ON THE CUSP Monroe golf rises to occasion in D3
MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE CHS field hockey’s Ballard runs wild
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EYES ON THE PRIZE Albemarle makes great strides
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GAME TIME Monticello football stays unbeaten
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THE ROAD LESS CHOSEN Peyton Alley trades one passion for another
vol 5 . issue 5 :: october 25, 2013
Planting the flag Albemarle comes together to play big role in revamped Jefferson District page 13
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’s Drake Bryant leads Pats on to field. 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 4408 Ivy Commons, Charlottesville, VA 22903 [ e ] info@scrimmageplay.com [ p ] 434-202-0553
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PREGAME
End of the streak Fluvanna County’s Leslie Walters and Emily Haden go up for a block against rival Western Albemarle. The Flucos took down the Warriors for the first time in 11 years in October. The Flucos have been one of the only Jefferson District squads that’s managed to take a game off Albemarle and the win over the Warriors combined with a win over Powhatan entrenched them in second place in the standings. ✖ (Photo by Ashley Thornton)
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Family
Corner PRESENTED BY
ABOVE » STAB’s Julia Haney, a Princeton committment and 2013 Scrimmage Play POTY, has to be organized with four AP classes, honors courses, honor council, school sports and travel lacrosse.
Getting organized I might be the only person in the history of middle school to lose my pants at school at least 10 times. No, I didn’t have a habit of streaking or anything like that. I just couldn’t stay organized, much to my mother’s continuing frustration. She still brings up how often I forgot my pants. After basketball or football practice games, I’d inevitably leave a pair of jeans in the locker room about once per week while leaving school in gym shorts. And apparently lost and found was a foreign concept at my school, because I never seemed to recover them. It was clear from that age I was going to struggle with organization, and of course I’m not alone. Staying organized is an incredible challenge for students and adults alike. But the difference it can make is absolutely undeniable. For example, if you know you’ve got your homework in your locker for the next
class because you checked this morning and have a particular spot that you put it in, you can focus on the class you’re in, learn more and do better in class. If you’re always worried about whether you’ve got what you need, you can’t focus on practice and give it the attention that it needs and will allow you to improve as a player. Being organized is a part of the puzzle that helps give you that calm, quiet mind to focus on game day and how you can help your team. Accomplishing real organization starts with a list. It’s truly as simple as that. Making checklists and referring to them regularly is one of the easiest ways to stay organized, and no matter how advanced or technology-based your system is, it’s fundamentally a to-do list. The great thing is, there are more tools than ever out there to keep you organized. So many students now have an iPhone, some kind of smart phone or even an iPod touch,
and that can be a valuable tool. Apps like Evernote can give you a tremendous amount of control over what’s happening in your life too by allowing you to create to-do lists, take notes and set reminders. You’ve got to create an organized environment at home too, that’s key. Make a standing checklist for days you have practice and another for days you have a game and go through it to get your bag ready for school the night before. Many of the world’s greatest athletes are creatures of habit, people who are meticulous about having everything in its place because that’s reflective of the way they attack their sport — with systematic efficiency. When you’re organized, you can focus on whatever the task at hand is instead and simply pick up your bag and be ready to play. Of course any system is only good if you use it, so make sure you tailor your organization to your routine and make sure it fits your life. Get your parents to help too, explain your system to them and give them the authority to check in on it occasionally to keep you accountable. While it’s annoying to hear them nag you about where you’ve put something, it’s deeply satisfying to have them ask about it and have everything in place. If you can stay on top of it, staying organized can give you more time to do the things you want to do. Isn’t it better to be working on your jumper than worrying about whether you’ve got the right socks in your bag? ✖ Scrimmage Play and Triple C Camp partner up to cover family issues related to youth and prep sports in our Family Corner.
Bart Isley,
CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR
www.scrimmageplay.com :: 04
First Quarter On the cusp
Dragons finish just short of second straight state title By Ryan Yemen
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Logan Yates and the Dragons competed closely for a state title after getting bumped up a division. (Ryan Yemen)
{ TOP FOUR } The numbers for the Dragons in the D3 championship (36 holes).
152
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AU STI K AR A NELBAT DERTEN
BEN BO HL M AN
147 JARED S H IFFLETT
LOG AN YATES
149
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s both an individual and team sport, golf is a finicky high school sport where every player is on an island trying to put up his or her best score and hope their teammates are up to the same.
It’s a sport where the coaches often talk about focusing, playing hard and letting the chips fall where they may en route to a great outing as a team. 603 strokes. That’s what William Monroe put together in a 2-day outing in the Division 3A championship. The defending Division 2A champs, the Dragons were bumped up a class this year under the new VHSL format. That didn’t stop them from rolling in the Bull Run District, nor in their conference and region championships, both of which they won. It turned out that two strokes was the difference between Monroe and another state title as Tunstall edged the Dragons with a score of 601 to win the D3 championship. Nonetheless, the Dragons amazing performance at a much tougher level this year, is a testament to one of the fastest rising golf programs in Central Virginia. In years past Monroe saw individual talents make a name for themself, both Logan Yates and Austin Batten starting in 2010, but before that Mikey Moyers, a two-time Division 3 individual champion who went on to star at Virginia Tech. Moyers showing at Old Trail Golf course in the 2008 state championship broke the VHSL record for the lowest medalist score. But with Yates, Batten, Jared Shifflett among others, the Dragons became a powerhouse as a team last season en route to the program’s first ever state championship. This season with those three back and the return of Ben
Bohlman who missed the 2012 campaign after a horrific car accident, Monroe moved up a class but didn’t flinch around the new competition. Add to it that Batten decided to try playing double duty by with football, everything that Monroe accomplished this year is all the more impressive. It’s hard to believe the depth this team had with its top four and they way they played in the last week of the season. Just eight strokes seperated the scorers with Shifflett having an impressive two-round score at 147 to lead the way. In the more competitive division, the Dragons needed more balance outside of Yates and Batten and Bohlman and Shifflet offered that and then some. While the Dragons might have been two shots short of winning a second straight title, with Western and Albemarle dominating headlines in terms of postseason play the last decade, the addition of Monroe as a total team threat on the state level, whether at D2 last year or D3 this year has only helped to solidify Central Virginia as a stronghold for the the sport. With Yates back for a senior season, don’t expect the Dragons to experience all that much of a change. That’s a good thing for the area golf world, a universe that was already deep to begin with. ✖
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College Update
We’ve gone digital
STAB’s McGhee back to old habits at Randolph Macon
But you can have it in print too!
By Ryan Yemen Will McGhee made his name at St. Anne’sBelfield as an outstanding member of coach John Blake’s secondary for three years. He was an integral part of a Saints defense that led the way to a pair of VISAA Division 2 titles and a third showing another state championship game, a loss to Atlantic Shores. But during his senior year, when STAB running back Aaron Clarke (Virginia State University) went down, McGhee answered the call, toting the ball offensively and putting up big numbers. At Randolph Macon, McGhee spent time at running back and playing special teams as a freshman. In 2011, he featured at cornerback and put together 32 tackles and four pass breakups. He also contributed on special teams. Funny how history repeats itself. This season, McGhee was again supposed to feature in the secondary, but in his senior year, he’s once again carrying the rock. The results? In six games at running back for the Yellow Jackets, McGhee is averaging six yards per carry and just recently broke the
1,000-yard mark as he’s put up 167.8 yards per contest so far and punched in 11 rushing touchdowns. Add another 93 yards of receiving and a touchdown there and there’s no argument that the former Saint is the feel good story for Randolph Macon thus far as they’ve won five straight games since falling to Johns Hopkins in week one. He’s accounted for a team best 72 points so far. With four games left in the season, McGhee has a great shot at eclipsing 1,500 yards and an outside shot of hitting 2,000 yards in the postseason. With the senior getting nearly 30 touches per game on the ground and the Yellow Jackets’ offense averaging 31.5 points per game as a result, don’t be surprised if McGhee winds up with hardware to reward his efforts. It’s not often that a college football team falls backwards into a great back, but STAB did it once before that way, so it seems only right that Randolph Macon has watched the same scenario unfold. ✖
HOW TO GET A PHYSICAL COPY OF SCRIMMAGE PLAY Step 1 :: Click here and head to the MagCloud version of the magazine. It’s going to look like this below:
BELOW » St. Anne’s alumnus Will McGhee has piled up 12 total touchdowns in his new role as Randolph-Macon’s running back. (Randolph-Macon Sports Infortmation)
Step 2 :: Click the Buy Print button next to the magazine and follow instructions to order Step 3 :: Wait patiently by your mailbox Step 4 :: When it arrives, take it out and read or stash away to your heart’s delight!
www.scrimmageplay.com :: 06
MECHANICAL
STORY BY BART ISLEY PHOTOS BY ASHLEY THORNTON
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ADVANTAGE
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harlottesville field hockey coach Lindsay Larson has studied Kendall Ballard with a watchful eye over the last three years. The former UVa club hockey player tries to help Ballard identify weaknesses and even matches up against her i n practices to give her the best look she can. At this point though, Larson is no match. “I know where she’s going but she’s just too quick,” Larson said. “It’s almost impossible to stop her. You almost have to force her to have a bad hit or go outside or something because getting the ball from her is nearly impossible.” That’s wild, because speed and quickness aren’t even the first things you think about when it comes to Ballard’s skill set. Frankly they’re somewhere around third or fourth. Ballard has emerged as an evolutionary athlete in local field hockey — she’s simply too much for most any team to manage, much less overcome.
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“I’m finally getting used to my body more,” Ballard said. “I just had so much energy last year and I was kind of all over the place and that made up for it. But this year I’m able to harness, get good touches on the ball and keep it controlled.” It was clear when Ballard arrived at Charlottesville that she was going to be a top-tier athlete — that was obvious to anyone who watched her play as she earned Jefferson District offensive player of the year honors as a freshman in hockey. The only question was what she was going to be best at. A standout basketball and lacrosse player too, Ballard’s competitive fire and relentlessness helped make her a starter on every team she played on in the early stages of her prep career. But field hockey has emerged as her signature sport as she’s played a huge role in lifting an also-ran Charlottesville program into the Jefferson District’s top spot as they dethroned perennial champion Western Albemarle to win a title in 2012. Ballard is much taller than most of her competitors and teammates, and the 5-foot-10 midfielder has found a way to turn her height into an advantage in a sport that happens mostly on the ground. She’s accomplished a lot of that by playing extremely low to the ground and using her long arms and positioning on the defensive end to make plays that most hockey players simply can’t make, which makes her an intimidating presence on the field. Other tall players even at the collegiate level struggle occasionally with ball movement or look awkward changing directions on the field, but Ballard’s game flows. There’s a smoothness to what she does that’s indicative of an elite player and that allows her to make complete plays like her 60-yard, one-woman fast break against Western Albemarle that ended with a blast into the back of the goal. “She’s gotten so good at keeping the ball on her stick the entire time, drawing fouls -- it’s very smart the way she plays,” Larson said. “She’s trying to completely fake you out every time. If you’ve noticed, a lot of players go at full speed, but she’ll stay and beat you about 20 times before she goes.” In turn, Ballard’s power and reach have made her a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches, and when she unleashes either a backhand or forehand drive inside the circle that appears to be traveling somewhere around the 60 mph mark, opposing defenders may be better served to just get out of the way. “She’s just gone above and beyond,” Larson said. “That reverse is probably just as strong as her front hand.”
SUPPORTING THE FUTURE SPORTS STARS OF TOMORROW Best of luck to our 2013 student athletes as they embark on their college careers. Maiah Bartlett Miles Davis Blissie DuBose Will Eppard Tyler Gimple Will Grossman Allie Nicholson Lloyd Smith Stewart Staunton Aaron Stinnie Catherine Towers
University of Mary Washington St. Joseph’s University University of North Carolina Stevenson University University of Mary Washington Colorado College University of Virginia Bates College University of Virginia James Madison University Gettysburg College
Lacrosse Lacrosse Field Hockey Lacrosse Swimming Lacrosse Crew Lacrosse Squash Football Lacrosse
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Ballard, the reigning Scrimmage Play player of the year, was already a huge part of what Charlottesville does and she was clearly the best player on the field night in and night out before this year. But in 2013 it’s just gone to another level. Her coordination has caught up to her already considerable physical gifts at the same time that she encountered some top-notch instruction as a Junior Olympic hockey player over the summer. Ballard was a member of the Under 16 AAU team that traveled to Ann Arbor to compete in the Junior Olympics, one of two athletes in the area to earn the honor with STAB’s Sadie Bryant being the other one. Ballard was able to capitalize on the chance and expand an already impressive skill set into an almost unmatchable combination of athleticism and proficiency that local squads are running into this season. “I had great opportunities to go play in the Junior Olympics and was coached by a men’s Olympic Team member, Pat Cota,” Ballard said. “He was an amazing, phenomenal coach and I really enjoyed getting to know him. He definitely helped me with a lot of my stick skills and fast hands.” It also didn’t hurt that Ballard had to take her game to the next level against increasingly challenging competition either. The hyper-competitive junior has an inherent
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HE DEFINELY HELPED ME WITH A LOT OF MY STICK SKILLS AND FAST HANDS
ability to take her game to whatever level it needs to be. That backhand is a perfect example. Most strong scorers at the high school level have some backhand play in their arsenal — it’s like developing an off-hand shot in lacrosse, and that’s become a necessity. But it’s a major challenge for that backhand to be traveling as quickly and as accurately as her regular shot. The one she unleashed in the squad’s late season meeting with Monticello was devastating, and it came minutes after she wove through the entire defense. She’s become a turnover-creating machine on defense too, using that long reach to end developing fast breaks with deft plays from behind and to force opponents to change the way they attack on offense. “Playing Junior Olympics and Futures program they actually like me more on defense,” Ballard said. “So I got to work a lot on my defense.” The most clear evidence of Ballard’s all-around dominance and improvement is how a Charlottesville team that lost all three other All-Scrimmage Play honorees from 2012 to graduation and a move swept through the Jefferson District regular season in unbeaten fashion. Even with the additions of Orange County and Albemarle, Charlottesville prevailed. In a year where she needed to be better for the Black Knights to repeat as district champions and set themselves up for success in the playoffs, Ballard has been all that and more. If Ballard’s trajectory continues, she’s going to get a chance to play big-time field hockey at a top-flight program. But she is still another year away from that challenge. Right now the junior has to help Charlottesville navigate a tougher conference and region than ever before if the Black Knights want to book a return trip to the state tournament. Ballard lining up against tougher competition? We’ve all seen how what she does when she runs into that. She rises up. ✖
www.scrimmageplay.com :: 12
Drake Bryant (above) is one of a handful of seniors playing on both sides of the play for the Patriots.
“WE TALK A LOT TO THE PLAYERS ABOUT THE WILL TO WIN ... THEY’RE GOING OUT THERE AND GETTING THE JOB DONE.” — MIKE ALLEY
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They’re words that speak to playing against a program that’s had Albemarle’s number for the vast majority of the last decade. A good chunk is the locker room material talk popular in football. While the Patriots are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were one season ago, talk of disrespect about being overlooked on as a major threat to the Mustangs’ JD title chances is brought up. Later the drill is explained by Vrhovac as he notes that Albemarle has to be in peak physical condition to top the depth Monticello has on its roster. After that it’s a quick reminder of last year’s results where the Patriots started strong, played the Mustangs down to the wire but fell short. The players are again reminded about their last shot at making a mark against a team that’s been first or second in the district the last three seasons, this being a potential fourth. No member of this Albemarle team has beaten Monticello. But the real story is that seven weeks into the season, the Patriots are in this new situation. They have a winning record now. They’re likely one win away from clinching a playoff berth and have Orange County and Louisa County on the schedule the following two weeks. Two wins in the last three weeks of the year would likely give Albemarle a home game to open the Division 5A playoffs. Of course, also listening closely to the young assistant’s speech is head coach Mike Alley and his elder assistants, together in their fourth straight season at the school. They watch Vrhovac and the players closely and patiently. Alley gives out compliments to a handful of different players as they run over and over again. The practice ends, the team just gassed from the skill position players to linemen. Not a gripe. “We’ve never been in this position before, I’ve never been in this position before,” said senior defensive and offensive lineman Ryan Londree who’s committed to Old Dominion University. “We might have more games to play in this season, a chance to make something out of Albemarle, get the respect we want and show how much we’ve changed.” It’s somewhat fitting that Londree is the marquee name for the Patriots, a big man in the trenches, one of the guys that does the work that so often yields results for those around him. There’s no arguing that Kent Henry is the face of Western Albemarle, as TJ Tillery is at Monticello, as Chris Thurston is at Charlottesville. Albemarle’s not thought of that way, and that’s what makes it dangerous. Londree, particularly defensively, faces a double team regurlarly, and he’s learned to embrace that role. “Getting double-teamed never bothers me, especially when the linebackers are making the plays behind me,” Londree said. “Whatever it takes to get the job done.” While Londree does his thing on both sides of the line, it’s the Drake Bryants and Dominique Talleys, the Kevin Bernardinos and so many seemingly countless others that make the definitive plays, offensively or defensively. Young additions like D.G. Archer at quarterback have only further bolstered this roster. But not one of them dominates the headlines. Albemarle is arguably the most low key it’s been in years, and here it is sitting one win with three weeks to go from making the post season. “We talk a lot to the players about the will to win, and right now, our kids are practicing well, they’re really taking every game one game at a time and not looking one or two weeks down the schedule.” Alley said. “They’re going out there and getting the job done.” In the last month, Alley’s seen the fruits of having his first real senior class. While the win-loss totals haven’t been on Albemarle’s side his first
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Game Time Monticello 31, Western 21 Mustangs hand Warriors first loss of the year, secure lead in JD standings By Bart Isley
Monticello’s TJ Tillery had 163 yards on the ground to beat Western Albemarle. (Ashley Thornton)
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Monticello’s defense was looking for a little respect. Aaron Dudley’s three fourth quarter interceptions and a big helping of pressure up the middle made sure the Mustangs got it in a 31-21 victory over Western Albemarle. “I think we needed to (earn some respect) against one of the best offenses in Central Virginia, I have a lot of respect for them,” Dudley said. “We wanted to come out with a lot of power, we came out hard on them.” The Mustangs’ defense made a lot of folks believe Friday with a carefully crafted game plan that shared some similarities with what the Mustangs (7-0) did against the Warriors (6-1) in the 2012 playoffs — mainly unleashing the terror that is T.J. Tillery up the middle against the Western backfield to try and disrupt the prolific Western offense’s timing. On the back end, Dudley made play after play, with the school-record three picks, two of which setup the go-ahead and lead-extending scores down the stretch. Sean Means’ solo punt block, recovery and return for a touchdown in the game’s opening minute was a also a huge factor for Monticello early and energized the Mustangs’ efforts. “We didn’t get too high when we were doing well or too low when they were doing well,” said Monticello coach Jeff Woody. “The sooner that we can put kids in the right place at the right time, the better we’re going to be, and T.J. was a move that we made because of the quarterback (Henry) that we played. They’re a heck of a team and they played hard as well, but I’m happy for my guys.” Woody heaped praise on the defensive staff, who put Dudley on Western’s Steven Hearn, the go-to receiver for the Warriors during the early stages of the season who was hobbled early in the clash by a hip
pointer, and moved standout wideout Alex McNair to a deep safety type spot in certain situations. “It’s difficult to completely stop an offense as potent as Western Albemarle, you kind of bend but don’t break,” Woody said. “But they did a great job of devising a plan and trying to put people in the right place to make plays. And pat number 9 (Dudley) on the back, I think the ball hit him in the hands three times and he came down with it every time.” With all that disruption, Hearn’s impairment and an injury that took fellow wideout Nic Drapanas out of the game, Western couldn’t find an offensive rhythm. “I tell people that offense is a game of flow and rhythm and when you don’t have certain guys in there it’s hard to get that flow because you don’t have the reps with those guys,” said Western coach Ed Redmond. Henry hauled in an interception in the fourth quarter that seemed poised to give Western control of the game, up 21-17 with 11:07 to play. But his pass on the ensuing first down ricocheted off the intended wideout and Dudley managed to corral it before it hit the ground for his second pick. Monticello drove the 29 yards on eight plays with a one-yard James St. Hill plunge capping the drive and putting the Mustangs up 24-21with 8:19 left. Western drove quickly to midfield on the next drive, but Dudley snuffed it out with his second interception, this one down the right sideline. Monticello’s offense responded again, eating three crucial minutes of clock with six runs and a pass interfence penalty to move 79 yards. T.J. Tillery pounded the ball in from 17 yards out for the lead-extending score. Dudley then picked off his third pass on the next drive to seal it for the Mustangs in an incredible fourth quarter performance. ✖
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Sean Means didn’t take long to put his stamp on the Monticello/Western clash of unbeaten squads, blocking a punt that he then scooped up and returned for a touchdown on the first possession of the game. It didn’t take him long to make an impact at Monticello academically either after he moved to Charlottesville from Memphis, Tenn. as a junior. Means, now a senior, carries an unweighted GPA of 3.96 and a weighted GPA of 4.66 and is a member of the school’s National, English, Math and Latin honor societies. He pulls that off while playing along the defensive line for the unbeaten Mustangs and serving as a intern at the Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville where he helps compile research for cases related to civil liberties and human rights. Means is also on the Mustangs’ wrestling team, in the Model United Nations and a member of the Monticello Debate Team. He was selected as the school’s Jefferson Scholar Nominee for UVa’s elite academic program.
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The Academic Edge is selected by Scrimmage Play’s staff with the consultation of coaches and athletic directors. To nominate an athlete email info@scrimmageplay.com
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Success Story: Earl Winfield A Petersburg native, Earl Winfield didn’t have to travel far before he really traveled far and put together a remarkable professional football career. After attending Dinwiddle High, Winfield transferred to Fork Union in 1980. In his time at FUMA he made a name for himself quickly. In addition to his efforts on the football field, Winfield was a star track and field athlete, setting records in the pole vault and the 100 meter hurdles to go along with his stand out showings in the long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put and discus. A true athlete in all senses of the word, Winfield parlayed his time as a Blue Devil into a scholarship at the University of North Carolina. And that was just the beginning. As a Tar Heel, Winfield earned first team All-ACC honors at wide receiver as a junior and senior. He graduated with a degree in Recreational Administration
and then he continued his dream of playing football. For ten years Winfield played in the Canadian Football League, suiting up for the Hamilton Tigercats. In 1988, he was the first CFL player ever to score three touchdowns in three different ways, on a reception, a punt return and kickoff return. It was the start of a long career for Winfield. When it was all said and done, he finished with 10,119 yards receiving and 75 touchdowns. Considered one of the greatest wide receivers ever in the league, Hamilton was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame this year. People from travel all over, near and far to go to FUMA, and afterwards there’s no telling where the journey and continued success continues. If ever there was proof, Winfield’s trek is a prime example.
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Overtime
The road less traveled Albemarle’s Alley throws himself into new passion
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hatever that overwhelming need to express yourself creatively is, it hit Peyton Alley hard in the last couple of years. He’s writing music and he wants a chance to share it with as wide of an audience as he can. “I love to perform, but I also love to interact with people from all different places,” Alley said. “I can feel a connection and the way it can move people — the way it can move me.” That feeling was strong enough to pull Alley away from football, one of his other major passions. The Albemarle senior was the starting quarterback for the Patriots in 2012, though D.G. Archer did see some time at the spot as well. Alley showed significant promise, including throwing for 186 yards in his debut as the starter against Western Albemarle. He was the team’s student-athlete of the year honoree at the Falcon Club and seemed poised for even bigger things on the field in 2013 as a senior. But as his passion for music exploded, it dawned on Alley that he was going to have to pour himself completely and wholeheartedly into music if it was going to be everything that he wanted it to be. And that meant walking away from football, which was pretty complicated because Alley’s father Mike is Albemarle’s head coach. Not surprisingly, if you know Mike Alley, he was supportive and encouraging of whatever direction his son wanted to go. “He’s been great, he couldn’t have done better as a dad,” Peyton said. “He allowed me to speak for myself.” The music bug bit Alley years before, while he was a Pop Warner and middle school football standout. He picked up a guitar and started playing in sixth grade, and shortly thereafter had the chance to perform locally at various events. “I played at church first and it was nice after the first two years to get a chance to play in the community,” Alley said. Eventually, as often happens with talented high school musicians, a band began to form. Pairing up with lead guitarist Josiah Ragland who he’s known for years, Tyler Morris on drums and Kirtland Gray on bass, Alley serves as the lead singer and a guitarist for The Kairos Effect. Over the summer, the band joined up with Tate Music Group, a production outfit in Oklahoma, and they’re now running an indiegogo.com fundraising campaign to head out to Oklahoma to record their first professional record. “The biggest thing with me is the chance to produce a record and getting it out there,” Alley said. But in all that focus on making his dreams of a career in music happen, Alley has gotten to witness a resurgent Albemarle football program piloted by his father as the Patriots are above .500 and in position to make the playoffs for the first time in years while D.G. Archer continues to emerge as a reliable starter for the Patriots at quarterback. “I’m very excited, it’s great to see those guys come together,” Alley said. “Especially after that Western game, picking each other up. It’s not so much the wins, but its been focused on them building as a team.” See leaving football hasn’t been really easy, but Alley’s faith in the process and his
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“I still love football, I had to walk away from a social norm — something so big in the community.” passion for creating led him down a different path. Instead of playing in the Homecoming Game last week against Charlottesville, Alley was performing at the Homecoming tailgate with members of The Kairos Effect. Instead of executing plays and running the offense for the Patriots, he’s learning the craft of fronting a band, of working on music and making things happen in a complicated industry. “I still love football, I had to walk away from a social norm — something that’s so big in the community,” Alley said. “You can’t worry about what other people think and have to think for yourself.” ✖
Bart Isley,
C RE ATIVE DIRECTOR
back talk »
Any other musical talents out in the local sports world? Contact Bart at: bart@scrimmageplay.com
BO CARRINGTON COVENANT SCHOOL ‘04 DUKE UNIVERSITY ‘08 ALL-ACC TOURNAMENT 2007 ALL-VISAA THREE TIMES
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Bo Carrington poured it in as a star for Covenant’s boys lacrosse squad, graduating in 2004 with a total of 181 goals and 202 assists. He went on to become a terrific midfielder for Duke University, including his 2007 season when he earned ACC All-Tournament team honors. He was also adept at getting it done in the classroom, where he was on the ACC Academic Honor Roll and took home an Academic All-ACC nod. Carrington, who runs his own commercial real estate firm called Seven Development, is also back at Covenant, serving as an assistant boys lacrosse coach and passing all the lessons he learned at TCS and Duke. He is now poised to help head coach Mike Gardiner groom the next elite lacrosse players from Central Virginia. THE COVENANT UPPER SCHOOL | Grades 7 through 12 THE COVENANT LOWER SCHOOL | Pre-K through Grade 6 175 Hickory Street Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 434-220-7330 1000 Birdwood Road Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 434-220-8125
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TEAM SPOTLIGHT ST. ANNE’S BELFIELD VOLLEYBALL October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and STAB’s volleyball team, like many in the area, donned pink uniforms to raise awareness of the disease. The Saints also had four members of their 11-member senior class earn being named National Merit Semifinalists. The Saints are getting it done in the classroom and with community service. Well done STAB volleyball!
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