Brian Kibler named AD at Central

The Shenandoah County School Board announced the appointment of Brian Kibler as the new Athletic Director at Central High School, effective July 1st.

Kibler joins Central after working in Frederick County Public Schools since 2007.

He brings with him experience as a Physical and Health Education Teacher, wrestling coach, and football coach and most recently served as the Assistant Coordinator of Student Activities at Sherando High School.

Before his time in Frederick County, Kibler worked for SCPS as an Alternative Education Teacher and earned his bachelors and masters degrees in kinesiology from James Madison University.

In the announcement, Kibler said, “I am truly honored and excited to have been appointed as the Central High School Athletic Director… I hope to enhance the overall student-athlete experience by promoting championship-level performance where success is driven by focusing on the day-to-day process both on and off the field.”

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Central wins $5,000 in T-Mobile contest

Central High School joins Strasburg as a recipient of a $5,000 prize through T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights Contest.

Through the social media contest, the school accrued votes based on fans using the T-Mobile hashtag and tagging their school.

Winners were also entered into a pool where 25 finalists were chosen to receive $25,000 and a T-Mobile hosted home game.

The grand prize winning school will win $1 million towards school and stadium upgrades.

The 25 finalists were named Thursday and one school from Virginia made the cut, Madison County High School.

If you would like to vote for our friends down the road, click here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

The Duke’s Hoops Preview: Clarke County vs Central

The Central Falcons head to Clarke County to take on the Eagles in tonight’s High School Basketball Game of the Week on Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com, and The River 95.3 app with coverage starting around 7:15 pm.

Central has taken the region by storm and enters the evening with a perfect 5-0 record.

Coach Jeff Whittle’s squad has tremendous depth this year and an experienced roster of all seniors, juniors, and one sophomore which has helped them jump out to a hot start.

With the exception of the close win over Stuarts Draft, Central has jumped on their opponents in the second half this season to create insurmountable leads.

In their opening win over the Riverheads, Central dominated the 4th quarter 21-2 and mimicked that performance last game against the Gladiators with a 27 point 3rd period.

Central also tallied two impressive wins over Class 4 opponents James Wood and Sherando in the same fashion.

Against the Colonels, Central dominated the 4th quarter 20-7 while the Warriors were outscored 39-22 in the second half.

While the Falcons utilize a variety of players in their deep roster, leading the way for Central this season is 6’4″ senior Luke Williams, three point shooter Haiden Click, and sophomore sensation Dereck Batiz-Lugo.

Clarke County entered this year off an incredible 2023-2024 season which saw the Eagles advance to the State Quarterfinals before falling to eventual State Champions John Marshall, but this years team will look much different.

2nd year Coach Kent Auslander lost five of the top six performers from last season and will be without Tanner Sipe to start the season after a football injury, but there are some promising young players like sophomores Colton Johnson and Isaac Nei.

Returning contributor Lincoln Booker bring back the most varsity experience and averages 9 points this season.

Clarke County’s biggest issue so far this season is turnovers and the Eagles really struggled to get the ball up the floor in their last game against Skyline.

Central’s experienced roster will be able to take advantage of Clarke County’s turnover troubles and a big second half will put the Eagles away.

Central stays undefeated and advances to 6-0, 65-48.

The Duke’s Preview: Central vs Clarke County ft Coach Casey Childs

Clarke County (5-0) visits Central (1-4) for a Monday night edition of the High School Football Game of the Week on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com and The River 95.3 app with coverage starting at 6:30 pm for the 7 pm kick-off.

Clarke County enters the contest flying high with an undefeated start through non-district play including some tight contests against perennial playoff contenders and a few blowouts in typical Eagles fashion, tough defense and a strong running game.

Wyatt Palmer has taken over the role as the lead back totaling 667 yards this season for 9 touchdowns while averaging 9.4 yards per carry and is coming off his best game yet.

Palmer dominated Catoctin with 213 yards on the ground and two bookend touchdowns to secure the 21-13 victory.

Eagles linebacker Carson Chinn regularly stacks up defensive stats as one of the areas leading tacklers (63 total) and added Homecoming King to his accolades off the field during last week’s win.

Chinn, Palmer, and the rest of the Eagles will need to bring their A game to Woodstock to knock off a Central team that will be playing with a chip on their shoulder the rest of the season.

After three of the Falcons opening wins were forfeited due to an ineligible player, Central earned their first official victory of season last week against a tough King William team, 19-10.

While losing your starting quarterback is never an ideal situation, Central is fortunate to fall back on Nick Barahona.

The senior started at quarterback for two seasons including the Falcons run to the VHSL Class 2 State Championship game his sophomore season.

Central has lost a lot of production over the past few years due to graduation including Tyler Forbes, Nathan Lopez, Luc Retrosi and more, but like the Eagles, boast a strong rushing attack and tough defense.

The Falcons defense has not allowed more than 10 points in a game this season and is spearheaded by leading tacklers Brady Hecker (47 total) and Chris Brown (39 total, 2 INTs) along with one of the areas leaders in sacks Matthew Folk (5 sacks, 23 total tackles).

While Central has dominated the series lately, winning 5 of the last 6, the two teams have split the last 16 contests dating back to 2005.

On top of the change at quarterback and a recent tragedy in Woodstock that forced the game to be moved to Monday, Clarke County may be able to focus more on what lies between the chalk lines.

That clarity under longtime head coach Casey Childs will be an advantage over a Central team facing a lot of adversity with a first year head coach in Rowdy Hoover and help the Eagles to a tight victory, 20-16.

To listen to my interview with Clarke County Head Coach Casey Childs, click here.