Volume 5, Issue 4

05 Covenant keeper back in the fold

13 Louisa Football Sticks together

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A team of their own STAB field hockey endures yearly change, produces same results page 7

vol 5 . issue 4 :: October 8, 2013

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Back in the fold Covenant goalie returns, delivers

Same house, Fresh Paint STAB field hockey keeps moving

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Family, Strength, Unity The Louisa County football mantra

19

Game time Western edges Albemarle in thriller

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Comparing eras is not easy The old guard versus the new

13 LouiSA fooTBALL STiCKS ToGeTher

scrımmageplay vol 5 . issue 3 :: october 7, 2013

A team of their own vol 5 . issue 4 :: October 8, 2013

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05 Senior Tour for TCS GK

STAB field hockey endures yearly change, produces same results page 7

S ta f f Bart Isley, Creative Director Bob Isley, Infrastructure Director Ryan Yemen, Creative Editor O n t h e Cov e r St. Anne’s-Belfield sophomore Annie Cory M i ss i o n Stat e me nt 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.

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pregame

Elevation

Charlottesville’s Leon Straus first made a name for himself at Blue Ridge where he was featured in football as a corner and wide receiver, but also on the basketball court as a guard for Bill Ramsey’s storied program. While Monticello rolled past the Black Knights, 54-16, Straus broke up this touchdown pass in that game. We’ll unofficially call this photo our early CHS basketball preview. ✖ (Photo by Ashley Thorton)

03 :: @scrimmageplay

Family

Corner presented by with the process. If there’s an opportunity to be a big contributor right away, let them know. If not? Let them know that too, because they may prefer the chance to play more often on junior varsity.

ABOVE » Getting the most out of a young player, like Monticello coach Josh McElheney did with Molly Shephard (left), takes balance. The results of that balance can yield big time results.

Making playing up work Sure, they’re young. But sometimes? They’re ready to meet the challenge.

Playing up on a varsity squad can be a rewarding experience for a freshman. A 14 year old lining up with an 18 year old can mean a world of physical and mental developmental differences, but in the right situation, when handled well by coaches and players, playing up can jumpstart player development.

Coaches Playing up starts with the coach, because they’re largely the one who is deciding to extend the opportunity to the younger player to join the team with older players.

Making sure the team culture is inviting, there’s a plan in place for player development and that the athlete is ready are all critical considerations for a coach. A lot of times, according to Monticello girls basketball coach Josh McElheny, who has had five freshmen

on varsity roster in his first two years as the head man for the Mustangs, it comes down to playing against lesser talent or practicing against better talent. If it’s clear a starting spot is going to need to be filled the next year, McElheny would rather have the next player in line on varsity to get every chance to acclimate to the speed of the game whether it’s as part of the rotation or in blowouts.

Before extending that offer, make sure your team chemistry and culture can handle it. Jealousy and sulking because of a new addition to the squad could be a problem, and that could motivate you to consider some of the players on varsity, how they’re approaching things and the environment you as a coach are creating. Prepare any player whose role or playing time could be impacted by a freshman being involved.

It’s also crucial to make sure the freshman understands their role and is comfortable

Players If you’re the player playing up you’ve got to be ready to see the big picture if you’re going to play varsity that early in your high school career. Odds are good you’re not going to be the conference player of the year right out of the gate, that just doesn’t happen often. But the learning experience can be invaluable and make a huge impact on jumpstarting your career the next season. There are countless stories of Central Virginia athletes who turned limited roles as freshmen on varsity into breakout sophomore year performances. Embrace it. Be a sponge in practice and find your role on the team.

This is a great opportunity for a top notch athlete to master the art of being a great teammate.

If you’re an older player on the team when a younger player plays up, embrace the youngster. This is an excellent time to show them how to be a great teammate, to welcome them into the program.

The more comfortable that player feels the more likely they’ll be able to contribute early, which will only help your team achieve their goals.

Playing a player up is going to pay dividends, and with the right approach that time will come sooner rather than later. ✖ Scrimmage Play and Triple C Camp partner up to cover family issues related to youth and prep sports in our Family Corner.

Bart Isley,

cr eative dir ector

www.scrimmageplay.com :: 04

First Quarter Back in the fold

Star keeper returns to Eagles’ soccer squad

By Bart Isley

J

Whyte’s play in net has turned Covenant into a vastly improved defensive squad. (Bart Isley)

{ Brick Wall } The numbers don’t lie, Whyte’s play in net has had a direct effect on the Eagles’ 8-1-1 record.

05 :: @scrimmageplay

sav Ka res a El der

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Win s

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Goals Against average

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onathan Whyte just wanted to be back with his boys.Sometimes that’s really all that matters. And sometimes it’s worth even a little more than what was an amazing experience as a player in the Richmond Kickers developmental academy.

“That was almost all of (the decision) honestly,” Whyte said. “Coming back to my friends here at Covenant and coming back to a great group of guys. I enjoy every second playing with them.”

Whyte spent last year traversing the East Coast playing top flight competition and receiving top notch instruction during the week that made him a better keeper. He was also regularly driving to Richmond for those training sessions in the development program.

“It was a high level of play — going around the nation playing a really high level of soccer and getting some really great coaching from some really great coaches,” Whyte said. “It was a great to experience the high levels of American soccer.”

This year though, Whyte decided that he’d rather reunite with his Covenant teammates who he’d played with as an eighth grader. The Academy schedule and rules don’t allow participants to play for their high school teams, leaving Whyte and other local standouts like current UVa players Luc Fatton and Hayes Fountain to choose between the academies (Fatton and Fountain played with the Richmond Strikers’ Academy program) and their prep programs. Whyte is comfortable with both decisions he’s made, playin with the Kickers and then returning to the Eagles.

“I’m not coming back to just high school soccer, I’m coming back to great times in general,” Whyte said.

Whyte, a sophomore, is a big reason that the Eagles are off to a fast start in 2013, though he

joined a team that was already loaded with talent. The Eagles were seeded fourth in Division II last year before falling in the state quarterfinals to Trinity-Meadowview.

Whyte and a staunch Covenant defense have surrendered just four goals in the first 10 games of the year, with the Eagles posting an 8-1-1 record that includes six shutouts.

He’s bringing a lot of what he learned in his training with the Kickers to the pitch for the Eagles too. Whyte is a particularly adept game manager, constantly positioning the defenders in front of him to keep the opposition from even getting close to taking a shot. In the process, he prevents himself from registering a lot of saves, but Covenant is rarely under threat.

“I’ve always been taught the best keepers don’t let any shots come in on them,” Whyte said. “If I’m talking to (the defense) and not letting them get any shots, that limits my job. That’s something I stress a lot, keeping everyone organized because I can see the whole field.”

It’s a huge help for TCS and a reason why they were ranked No. 2 in VISAA Division II in the first VISAA poll of 2013. It may be a reason the Eagles challenge for a state title too.

“I felt like I was coming back to a team that could make a run for states,” Whyte said.

Come November we’ll see just how deep the Eagles can go. ✖

go online »

For more soccer head to our website at: www.scrimmageplay.com.

College Update

We’ve gone digital

Jackson, Duprey score first collegiate touchdowns

But you can have it in print too!

By Bart Isley Louisa County alum Zack Jackson had to wait bit to home as a college football player.

Why remains a mystery because he was a top-notch citizen and an honor student who could play a variety of positions on the field, but Virginia State, who eventually landed him, is feeling awfully good about what they got just a few games into his freshman season.

Jackson, who found Virginia State once the Trojans hired head coach Latrell Scott and he brought former Monticello head coach Rodney Redd on board, is playing defensive back for VSU and made a major impact play against Kentucky State in September. He scooped up a fumble against the Thorobreds and raced 65 yards for a touchdown as part of a 41-0 blowout.

Jackson threw for 1,287 yards, ran for another 1,173 and accounted for 30 total touchdowns last year at Louisa County as the Lions’ quarterback. He earned first team AllScrimmage Play honors as a defensive back with 55 tackles on the season.

Two other local products, STAB’s Aaron Clark and Buckingham’s Tarian Ayres, also saw action

against Kentucky State with Ayres serving as the backup quarterback behind James Madison transfer Justin Thorpe. Each had a pair of carries on the ground against Kentucky State Jackson wasn’t the only former local standout to score their first collegiate touchdown in September either. William Monroe’s own Zach Duprey caught a 2-yard touchdown pass against Coastal Carolina as he continues to emerge as a tight end for Elon University.

Just a sophomore, Duprey should get an opportunity to play quite a bit in the coming years after seeing action, largely on special teams, as a freshman.

The touchdown against Coastal put Elon up 28-25, but the Chanticleers pulled away from the Phoenix after that in a 53-28 shootout.

Duprey was an All-Scrimmage Play tight end while at William Monroe and rang up five touchdowns and 300 yards as a senior a year after he caught 31 balls for 315 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior.

Both Jackson and Duprey seem well on their way toward making a big time impact at the college level. ✖

BELOW » William Monroe alum Zach Duprey celebrates scoring his first collegiate touchdown in September for Elon. (Dan Anderson, Elon University Communications)

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:

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

same house Story and photos by Bart isley

STAB field hockey keeps making strides despite changing of the guard

Fresh paint

o

ne of the common threads among programs that improve significantly during the span where a single class of players moves through a school is consistency in the coaching staff. That’s logical too.

Over the span of four years, having one head coach gives the program reliable direction. Players get used to expectations, coaches learn their personnel, manage offseason programs better and get to actually create a culture around the program. While particularly excellent teams can maintain success with coaching changes, it’s particularly difficult for a program to improve.

Then there’s St. Anne’s-Belfield’s girls field hockey program.

For the last three years, the Saints have had a new head coach. Each and every year. From Brian Bartholomew in 2011 to Mary Blake in 2012 to first year head coach Shelly Edmonds in 2013, the Saints have consistently had a new coach prowling the sidelines and running practices.

In spite of those changes, the Saints have improved each year, winning an LIS title the last two years in a row to end Covenant’s reign at the top of the conference, This year they started absolutely on fire, rolling up a 9-1 record to start the year and picking up a No. 4 ranking in the VISAA’s Division I in the first state-wide poll of the year.

So how did a team constantly learning a new approach, incorporating new faces and managing the graduation of key players stay on track? Because leadership on the field can keep the plane steady even when the pilot is changing.

“Having so many issues with coaches made us stronger, we had to pick ourselves up,” said senior Morgan Woodrow.

Woodrow and Lauren Gampper are the squad’s two senior captains and they’ve witnessed the team’s improvement and steadiness over the past few years as they were the lone freshmen to make the 2010 varsity squad. That was a rough year for the Saints as the squad struggled throughout the campaign.

“We’ve been improving every year,” Gampper said. “My first year as a freshman we were something horrible like 2-14 and now we’re winning each season so it’s been great.”

“Even though we’ve changed coaches they stick around” - gampper

Gampper has had a role in several particularly huge moments during that span, scoring in the 2012 LIS title victory and burying an overtime game-winner against Covenant in 2011 that was a huge step for the Saints because it ended a drought against the Eagles and helped spark the Saints to an LIS title that year.

Having coaches from those campaigns stay involved with the program during transitions as members of the STAB faculty was also a big help. The program was never really leaderless during the offseason, which can often be the biggest source of problems during changes.

“Even though we’ve changed coaches they still stick around like Mary Blake and (Bartholomew) have helped us through it all and helped with the transition,” Gammper said.

But the Saints’ new head coach, Edmonds, was quick to point out how the essence of the squad has had a lot to do with that eased transition too.

“They have such good chemistry and they’re really confident and strong,” Edmonds said. “The girls kind of lead themselves… they’re just natural leaders. I’m sure in the past they haven’t run into any problems, they’ve just sort of helped themselves.”

Woodrow, a talented midfielder and defender has been a strong presence as well, earning All-LIS honors last season during the title repeat. She’s also benefiting immensely from the arrival of Edmonds, a former UVa defensive standout who seems to have identified Woodrow’s true calling as a field hockey player.

“I found out she played midfield last year and when I saw her play and said ‘this girl is a defender’,” Edmonds said. “It’s just her mindset, she’s very composed, very poised — I’d say she’s a silent leader.

What she says really resonates throughout the team.”

Woodrow is a big reason the Saints are on an early season roll, helping run the back line and holding several dynamic offensive opponents at bay. In a twogame stretch in late September, the Saints outscored St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes and St. Gertrude 7-0, and they were far from the only two shutouts by the Saints defense on the year, with Woodrow and goalie Brittany Schoeb anchoring things.

“Communication is key on defense and our coach played defense so that’s a big factor,” Woodrow said.

“She knows a lot.”

The offense has seen a jump in productivity too, with the Saints averaging 4.2 goals per contest and creating a lot of scoring opportunities with 121 shots on the year. The squad is taking advantage of the entire field and moving the ball well in transition to breathe new life into the system.

“That’s been a new focus for us — movement off the ball and crisp passes,” Gampper said. “That’s

Supporting the Future Sports Stars of Tomorrow Best of luck to our 2013 student athletes as they embark on their college careers.

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something we’re working on.”

The offense is also extremely confident, across the board, which creates a certain level of balance and unpredictably that makes life tough on opposing defenses.

“All the girls think they can score, and that’s a good thing,” Edmonds said.

With Woodrow and Gampper playing a big role, Edmonds had a clear core to build around this season in her first year at the helm. But a lot of teams have senior leadership and still can’t win at the rate the Saints have. That’s where the other big part of the equation comes into play — STAB’s hockey team is stacked with unique athletic talent.

“We have a lot of athletic players and they can see the field differently,” Woodrow said. “Being a lacrosse player or a soccer player helps you visualize the field and know where to be. It’s a great way to transition into hockey.

There’s girls lacrosse Princeton commitment Julia Haney who serves as a captain as well as fellow lacrosse standouts Virginia Speidel and Annie Cory. Cory leads the squad with 28 points on the year, pouring in 11 goals and six assists for an average of more than a goal a game.

Gampper is a star goalie for the Saints’ girls soccer team, and Elizabeth Carden, a freshman, has proven to be an explosive athlete, contributing out of the gate.

The addition of Covenant transfer Sadie Bryant has also played a big role in the quick start for the Saints. Bryant, a junior, built her reputation as a solid all-around player for the Eagles and hasn’t missed a step at STAB as a major factor in the midfield.

With solid seniors like Claiborne Dandridge also contributing in different ways and other young standouts playing a role, the Saints clearly have a lot of talent to work with.

It’s also a unique environment because many of the squad’s

“All the girls think they can score, and that’s a good thing” - Edmonds best athletes play hockey as a second sport — as a way to stay in shape for their main disciplines and to contribute to the school through another program.

The fact that field hockey isn’t a primary focus for many of those players seems to have a unique impact on the Saints. The squad seems to play loose no matter who they’re facing off against and that’s helped them build chemistry and victories during the early going in 2013.

“I don’t want to say that we’re able to not take it seriously but there is a level of fun to it — we’re able to have fun and we’re still serious and passionate about it,” Gampper said. “I think it helps us play better.”

Edmonds, a Pennsylvania native who played defense at UVa from 2007-2011, recognized that that may be part of the squad’s inherent ease and coachable nature.

“Where I went to high school, field hockey was really my sport and I was always feeling pressure to do my best,” Edmonds said. “I could see that, since they’re all really good athletes (in other sports), being in a situation where they can just play a sport, have fun and not feel the pressure of colleges and all that stuff.”

The Saints’ journey last season ended in the state quarterfinals against No. 1 St. Catherine’s in a 5-2 loss.

This year, with leadership and a dash of new talent, the Saints could be poised for something even bigger. ✖

FAMILY, STRENGTH, UNITY: Louisa Football’s code story by ryan yemen photos by ashley thornton

H

e stood on the sidelines and listened closely to hear if his players were in-fighting, if they were doing the kind of things most people would expect when a team is on the wrong side of a route. Louisa County coach Jon Meeks heard nothing of the sort and he loved it. The result of the 42-7 loss to Courtland was something that he and his

staff could work on, that’s the job. However, in just the second week of the season one thing was certain — the Lions coach had picked a mantra for his team and it was befitting.

“We got beat bad by Courtland but there was no quit,” Meeks said. “What I love about this group is the resiliency, the not pouting. The play is over and they know there’s nothing to do but move on.”

At Louisa County, “Family, Strength, Unity” isn’t just a phrase. The players and coaches believe in it and live by it, win or lose, making the Lions a classic example of a community coming together for something more than just what happens inside the white lines.

“What I love about this team Is that they grind it out and I feel like I’ve got a team of friends,” Meeks said. “Everyone, they just like each other. There are no cliques. White kids, black kids, whatever, there’s nothing there (that divides them). They’re just buddies. They all hang out in the hallways, at lunch and they come to play football and grind it out together.”

“So we’re all out here trying to eat.

And we want to, really bad.”

- Markel Groomes That mentality seems to fit this Louisa group on the field too. Through five weeks the Lions have played as a dark horse to make some significant noise in the Jefferson District, but in a style that harkens back to a slightly older era of Lions football.

With Zach Jackson at quarterback the last two years, Meeks’ first two seasons as the head coach, the playbook looked a little different than fans in Mineral were used to. Every coach will tell you that they adjust to personnel and with Jackson, Meeks did just that as he chose to air things out a bit more than Louisa had in previous years. Under former coach Mark Fischer who piloted the first three playoff teams (2006, 2009, 2010) in program history, Louisa was notorious for two things — first its defense led by Meeks, then the defensive coordinator, and secondly its old fashioned ground game. In his third year as coach, Meeks is going a bit retro, and it’s hard to blame him.

The backfield of Trey Cherry at quarterback, Markel Groomes at running back, and Deion Johnson at h-back (for all intents and purposes, as he lines up all over the place), put the Lions

into that position of playing to the bodies on the field. This core group makes no bones about it, they want to be a big part of the programs recent success. They want to build a reputation.

“I’m trying to work and I’m hungry, I’m trying to eat,” Groomes said. “Nobody knows me, they don’t know my boys Trey Cherry, Deion Johnson or my young line and the tight ends. So we’re all out here trying to eat. And we want to, really bad.”

Cherry, a first year starter, is the kind of quarterback that Dillon Hollins was back in 2008 and 2009, albeit faster. The Lions have capitalized on his speed under center to make him a sure thing in short yardage situations as he scored both touchdowns in a 14-13 win over Charlottesville. When Johnson is at receiver, Cherry’s a threat to drop back and throw deep and the way he’s played thus far has earned the admiration of his teammates.

“He’s playing good ball right now and when he makes a mistake, he comes back from it,” Groomes said.

In Groomes and Johnson, the duo have taken to a couple of names that football fans will certainly remember, ‘Smash and

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Blue Ridge School running back PJ White has gained 333 yards on just 16 touches (his average per carry of 20.1 yards leads the area for rushers with more than 15 carries).

He’s scored nine touchdowns in four games three different ways (catch, run and return).

He has 583 all-purpose yards already this season.

He was recently named a Falcon Club Player of the week for accumulating 215 yards rushing, along with 3 touchdowns and one catch for 14 yards and a touchdown in just one game.

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hard on the field and in the classroom.”

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Deion Johnson (above) plays all over the field for Louisa while Trey Cherry (below) has stepped in nicely at quarterback.

Dash’ and ‘Thunder and Lightning’. Groomes is arguably the biggest back in the Jefferson District and his size fits perfectly into what Meeks wants to do. Out of the gate in a 63-21 win over Spotsylvania, the big back put together 170 yards on 29 attempts and found the endzone three times. Groomes is the hammer of the this offense, the one that puts together the back-breaking eight minute drives. Meeks has him running to be a clock melter.

“Grinding is our mentality and its what I tell Markel sometimes,” Meeks said. “He made a nice spin move (against Charlottesville) and broke for five more yards and I’m yelling at him, ‘We don’t do that, lower your shoulder.’ That’s what we are and it’s what we’ve been. It’s about moving the chains. If we pop one for 60 or 80 yards we’re ecstatic. But I think I’m in heaven with six, seven, eight yard runs. There’s just something about that, owning the clock.”

Groomes mentality when he lines up is like that of a kicker on an onside kick looking for the nervous member of the hands team. He’s looking for someone to try and tackle him where as most backs are trying to do the opposite. It’s just another factor into how the Lions are trying to wear out defenses, particularly the ones that have so many players playing on both sides of the ball.

“I look for who I’m going to make mine, who am I going to go find to abuse,” Groomes said. “I’m looking for contact. I’m the type of back that likes contact.”

Getting the big play is where Johnson factors in. As far as versatility goes, there are few that can match what the senior brings to the table.

“I feel like the swiss army knife,” Johnson said. “My speed you can use all around, but if they need me to punch it in on fourth and two, I can do that too. I feel like I’m Markel’s handy man.”

He’s being humble there because for starters, Johnson’s as good as it gets as a lockdown corner on defense. Still, offensively, he fits into the type of role that Rashawn Jackson had back when the Lions swept the JD in 2010. Johnson can line up at wide receiver, play in the slot, run the ball in the back field, catch a pass out of the back field and most of all, make a big play in open space.

As such, having the combination of Johnson and Groomes is great for Cherry.

“They’re such a threat with Markel bringing the power and Deion bringing the speed, it’s just a whole lot of different looks that you have to adjust to,” Cherry said.

What makes Louisa intriguing in particular is just how well its offensive line is plays despite the fact that Thomas Dunnavant is the only member of the unit that played at the varsity level last year. That includes the group of tight ends, so in all Louisa will bring its entire front back next year. In many ways, this is a team still on the rise.

“It’s about going at it and never quitting” - Trey Cherry That melding of seniors with so many juniors and sophomores puts into perspective how unique the team building process has been for Meeks, why he’s so happy that this group isn’t sectioned off into little side groups, teams within a team. The younger and newer members of the team have taken to the attitude so far of just moving on to the next play thanks to the older players having the same mentality.

“We have to make sure that we don’t get down, because then you’re fighting yourself, but the funny thing is that we don’t argue, we don’t fight,” Cherry said. “We try to transcend, we get over the bad plays pretty easy. It’s about going at it and never quitting. We have that.”

And that’s what will make Louisa dangerous each and every week. They’re comfortable with who they are and that’s a team that’s suited to win close ball games. Year after year, opposing coaches talk about the struggles of preparing for the Lions, win or lose because of their physicality. That’s a compliment to the program which over the last eight years has proved to be one of the

toughest outs on any given Friday night. These players all know the program’s history. Their helmet decals have a four-clawed lion because that’s how many playoff teams there have been. They want to be the fifth to give back to its rabid fan base.

“You know there are some big names that have been here in the past and so we have big shoes to fill,” Johnson said. “But we know that if we do our job Louisa County is going to support us.

Last year was a bit of a down year for us and there are a lot of other teams that I know wish they had the crowd we had for us. We plan on making it better for the fans this year. This is a team and a community.”

Watching the team and community come together is what makes football in Louisa special and anyone that’s been to a game in Mineral will explain just that. There aren’t many places in Central Virginia where the players from last year, the year before that and the year before that find a way to get back, stand on the sidelines and cheer on the new crew. At Louisa it happens every season beacuse when they say family, strength unity, they mean it. . ✖

Game Time Western 41, Albemarle 39 Warriors take shootout with Patriots on final play

By Bart Isley

Western’s Nic Drapanas and Steven Hearn celebrate after a Warriors touchdown. (Ron Londen)

19 :: scrimmageplay

There’s no other way to really put it.

“It wasn’t there,” said Western coach Ed Redmond.

And then, suddenly, it was. With Albemarle shutting off the stop and go route down the sideline Western had called, quarterback Kent Henry pointed upfield, directing Steven Hearn to head to the corner.

As the ball floated in, Hearn leapt into the air and caught it after the Albemarle defender tipped it, tapping his right foot in the endzone as he fell to the ground. After checking with the official to confirm the catch, Hearn sprinted toward his teammates to celebrate.

“I turned it into a post corner and fortunately (Henry) put it right where it needed to be,” Hearn said. “It’s unbelievable, I’m still in shock.”

With a final of 41-39, Western Albemarle pulled out another miracle victory at Albemarle, this time in an absolute thriller packed with a never-ending succession of big plays by both squads. Two years ago, Henry led a late game comeback as well to upend Albemarle.

Henry, who’d taken shot after shot from a relentless Albemarle defense at quarterback while grinding it out on defense himself as well, made several startling throws on the night and proved his mettle in the clutch once again.

“It eased my mind because if we don’t score (on the last drive) we aren’t expected to and if we do score, it erupts,” Henry said. “We just laid back and took what they’d give us.”

Albemarle took a 39-35 lead with a minute left to play when D.G. Archer hit Kevin Bernardino on a seam route and the quick, speedy wideout raced into the end zone from 67 yards out. But that left Henry and the

Warriors with just enough time to pull off the comeback. Henry hit Hearn, Nic Drapanas and Burks Summers for big plays to put the Warriors back in scoring position. Then, with 7.1 seconds left, they found themselves at the 18 and completed the fateful pass to tilt a seesaw ball game in Western’s favor.

The Patriots executed their game plan to near perfection in the first half, building a 14-7 lead and keeping the ball out of Henry’s hands for the most part while harassing him heavily when he did get a chance.

On offense, Albemarle appeared determined to hold onto the ball and keep it out of Henry and the dangerous Western offense’s hands. Dominique Talley and Kevin McCarthy were instrumental in that attack with the tandem combining for 303 yards on the ground, including a 73-yard touchdown sprint by Talley and a 78-yard run

by McCarthy in the third quarter alone. Throw in a dash of Vince Huynh and an effective Archer at quarterback and the Patriots were able to dominate time of possession by a factor of around 2 to 1. Western held the ball just 16 minutes and 50 seconds while Albemarle was in control 31:10.

“I thought we ran the ball well tonight, Dominique and Kevin were a great duo, taking turns and giving each other a breather,” said Albemarle coach Mike Alley. “They did a fantastic job for us.”

In the end though, that final minute of possession was enough to lift Western to the win and allow them to escape Albemarle with a victory.

“Nobody deserved to lose that football game,” Redmond said. “In a game like that there’s no winner or loser, I think both teams are winners. I have a lot of respect for Albemarle, their kids and their program.” ✖

Academic Edge sponsored

by

hargrave

military academy

Western Albemarle’s austin gadient

Western Albemarle’s Austin Gadient spends his Friday nights as a left guard for the Warriors, clearing the way for one of the most productive offenses in the area that’s averaging more than 450 yards per game.

During the week though, he’s a top notch student who sports an unweighted GPA of 3.98 and is ranked in the top 10 percent of the senior class at Western. He’s been inducted into the National Honor Society as well as the English, Math, Science and Spanish honor societies, and he doesn’t slow down when it comes to community service either.

Gadient serves as a tutor for students in math and science while also participating in school beautification projects. He’s volunteered at the UVa Biology lab under professor Jay Hirsh since 2012 and he’s done all that while carrying a senior load that includes six AP classes.

Football coaches often say that the offensive linemen on a football team are the squad’s smartest athletes. In Gadient’s case, it’s spot-on.

About Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave believes individual achievement is a gamechanger for all students, both on and off the field. With a college acceptance rate over 99% and a heavy emphasis on academics, your son will have competitive advantages ahead of his peers including leadership and character development.

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

1-800-432-2480 | www.hargrave.edu I m p r o v e d g r a d e s / 9 9 % C o l l e g e A c c e p ta n c e f i n d u s o n fa c e b o o k

Success stories begin here.

Success Story: Avery Martin In his time at Fork Union, Avery Martin was as good a long distance runner as you’d find state-wide, finishing third in the 800 meters and first in the 1600 at the 2012 VISAA championships. In addition, Martin also was a standout for coach Winston Justice’s cross country team.

His efforts in both the fall and spring earned him the right to a full fledged signing day as he inked his deal with Virginia Military Institute along side a dozen prep and post graduate football players.

As a freshman at VMI, Martin made a big splash. In his first collegiate meet he finished third in the mile at the Wake Forest Invite. He also finished eighth in the Big South track and field championship in the 800 with a time of 1:55.77 and 13th in the 1,500 at 4:07.96.

Injury kept him from completing

the cross country circuit last fall, but this fall he’s seeing the same kind of success he saw in the spring on the track circuit. At the Charlotte Invitational at the end of September he placed eighth running the eight kilometer race in 25:33.2, the best showing of any Keydet.

Just a month earlier at the end of August he took 15th in the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, North Carolina with a time of 26:30.52, also an 8K race.

In just his second season with the Keydets, Martin has vaulted himself to the top of both the cross country and middle distance track and field squads. He still has a lot of tread on the tire at VMI, but it’s clear that Martin’s success at Fork Union was only a launching pad for the kind of accomplishments he’s got lined up now at Lexington and beyond.

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

Comparing eras no easy task Not all things are equal in sports, and that’s okay

T

here’s no question, if I had to rank the best parts of my job, getting to talk to the old timers, the guys that played in one of the golden eras of sports (1950 on through the early ‘70’s) comes out on top. It was such a different era from my perspective and it’s hard for me to imagine how the generations below us millennials interperet it.

Every generation has their gripes, the classic ‘walking 50 miles to school in the snow uphill both ways’ kind of banter. My aunts and uncles give us flack that we had it easy growing up with computers equipped with spell check. I give my youngest cousin flack because he has the all-knowing internet, which isn’t nearly the same internet that I grew up with. That’s part of aging, you always feel as though life is cake for anyone younger than you. And that’s also part of progress in society, because in all truth, my grandparents were amazed in their youth by the radio. My older brother’s daughter will never know what life was like without an iPhone. The acceleration, or rather the technological gap between generations is growing exponentially and as such, I think the negative sentiment between the elderly and today’s youth is growing at a similar rate.

But in sports, the technology game isn’t that big of a deal. Alright, the glove that Phil Rizzuto played with at shortstop is an awful lot different looking than the one that I played with. But with the exception of the improvements made in golf equiptment, the games now and 50 years ago aren’t all that different. The athleticism is a bit different now as we’re literally breeding towards building stronger and faster players and throwing in a multiplying effect based on research in nutrition, physiology, ect. The depiction of Ivan Drago in Rocky IV isn’t exactly fiction for todays athlete, hopefully minus the juice. Still, as different as a high school athlete might look up front from 50 years ago, it kind of cancels out because both sides were even. It’s the Hall of Fame argument the baseball writers use, you don’t compare Mickey Mantle and Barry Bonds, you compare an athlete with his counterparts, Mantle to Willie Mays, Bonds to Mark McGwire. That said, the one thing that golden era athletes love to point out that has changed over time is grit. And based on what I’ve seen to start this year and even dating back the last few years is that the old guys were tough and there’s no question that we are softer today.

At a barbeque recently I talked with a grandparent who watched the same game I did on the sidelines, I won’t name teams or players because it’s not about that. It was a sloppy football game, but a relatively low scoring affair that came down to the wire and I asked this gentlemen what he thought of it, because at the very least it was an entertaining game.

His response had me floored laughing because it was so perfect, so out of left field. He said he was embarrassed. I assumed it was because he was on the wrong side of the score. He responded that he couldn’t care less about that. What irked him was this, “They’re soft on both sides, they have all those pads but don’t know how to use them because they don’t tackle and they can’t take a hit.” He was mad that athletes were being held out for suspected head injuries. He couldn’t stand the number of athletes that went down from cramping up. It made me smile. He was right, lost in all the talk about the modern athlete being bigger, stronger and faster is the fundamental play and the insane disregard for pain

22 :: @scrimmageplay

“They have all those pads but don’t know how to use them.” that the golden age athletes had. That’s gone and it’s not coming back.

Listen, I can’t sit here and wax nostalgic about how the games are worse because we’re looking after player safety. For every one rough and tough country boy that played way back when there seems to be a Paul Oliver and Junior Seau now, both former NFL players who dealt with head injuries and ended their lives too early with a gun. We know too much about the damage of sport not to take it seriously.

That’s part of the technological process, what keeps society heading forward and not backwards. I think it’s okay to still admire what our elders did, and I do, but only in sports do we want this status quo. Change happens, and so while today’s athletes can’t — and seriously, they really can’t — say they were tougher than their grandparents, what they can take solace in is that they have their health. I feel like that’s an even trade.

Pride for longevity. ✖

Ryan Yemen,

cr eative Editor

back talk »

Do you think today’s players are soft or is that unfounded? Contact Ryan at: ryan@scrimmageplay.com

Erin Hauser Covenant School ‘09 Randolph Macon ‘13 Four-time All-ODAC VISAA division 2 POY

The Next Step

Erin Hauser was an outstanding student athlete at The Covenant School and then went on to a striking career at Randolph-Macon College, earning all-conference honors four straight years and tallying 108 points. Her deep love of sports and her desire to serve in the athletic arena after graduation led Erin to enroll in VCU’s dual degree Sports Leadership program where she will earn both an MBA and a Masters in Education. In addition, she is gaining practical experience through serving RMC as a graduate assistant coach as well as working for Virginia Sports Properties in client services. The combination of her education and experience will give Erin extraordinary ability to build and shape athletic programs and athletes. It was at Covenant that Erin was prepared to, in her words, “…be a leader and to always strive to be the best that I could be in every aspect of life.” Her present education and work are simply continuing to take the next step.

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

Charlottesville’s Only Christian Pk-12 Liberal ARts and Sciences School

team Spotlight Madison County Volleyball October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Mountaineers rallied together for the cause October 3rd.

Survivors, players, coaches, parents and fans came together to raise money to donate to the Emily Couric Cancer Center at UVa through silent actions and donations made for each kill or block.

MCHS didn’t just help raise money to fight breast cancer, they did it on a local level. That’s community building hard at work. Good job MCHS!

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Come see our team at Taylor’s for all your collision repair needs. Taylor’s has been family owned and operated since 1986.

Always remember you have the right to choose where your vehicle is repaired.

Central Virginia Recruiting Symposium Monday October 21st at 7 p.m.

At The Covenant Upper School Auditorium A town hall style interaction time with a group of 5-7 college and prep school coaches with a wealth of experience in the collegiate recruiting process. Event is free and open to parents and students from any school.

Among the Panelists: Fletcher Arritt

Arritt has been involved in helping basketball players get recruited at all levels for more than 40 years

Jeff Stickley

Patrick Kearns

Micky Sullivan

Division III W&L’s baseball coach for 28 years who has recruited the state of Virginia throughout that time

More than 20 years of experience in helping local athletes get recruited to play college tennis

Former FUMA prep football coach helped countless football players reach the next level in 28 years in the role

f o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n e m a i l i n f o @ s c r i m m a g e p l a y. c o m