The Duke’s Region 2B Championships Preview

The Region 2B Basketball Championships takeover Shenandoah University in tonight’s Van Metre Homes Games of the Week on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com and The River 95.3 app with coverage of the Girls Championship Game starting at 5:45 pm followed by the Boys Championship Game around 7:45 pm.

On the girls’ side, #1 seed Clarke County knocked off Page County and Central to advance to the title game while #3 seed Stuarts Draft took out Riverheads and Luray along the way.

Stuarts Draft avoided #2 seed Strasburg after the Rams were shorthanded against Luray in the Regional Quarterfinals before navigating past a Bulldog team that gave them their first loss of the season back in December.

Stuarts Draft enters the Regional Championship game on a nine game win streak and the Cougars are led by Shenandoah District Coach of the Year Chad Seibert and All District selections Ava Flippin, Augusta Seibert, and Madyson Mason.

The 19-4 Cougars have already well surpassed last season’s 12-11 performance that ended in a Regional Quarterfinals loss, but Clarke County will likely be the best team that Stuarts Draft has seen all year.

The Eagles have dominated Class 2 competition this year with just one loss coming against their peers, the other three came while playing higher classifications.

Clarke County is usually led by junior Alainah and freshman Paige McKavish with the elder sister recently being named District Player of the Year while both were named 1st Team All District selections.

Paige Stemberger earned 2nd Team honors and shined in our most recent coverage of the Eagles against Page County on Tuesday night.

Stemberger, a Paul VI transfer, led Clarke County in scoring for the majority of the evening and finished with a stat stuffing line of 23 points, 7 steals, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.

When players like Stemberger, forward Devin Simmons-McDonald, and Eryn Demko contribute at levels like that to go along with the McKavish’s regular production, Clarke County will be a very tough-out for any team in the VHSL playoffs.

Clarke County’s team defense regularly wreaks havoc in their full court and half court zone pressures to build massive leads including a 36-0 start in Regional Quarterfinal.

When the boys take the floor, it will be another #1 vs #3 matchup with Central taking on Luray.

The Falcons and Bulldogs have already faced off three times since February 4th with all three going Central’s way, but each a bit closer than the previous.

The inaugural bout saw Central dominate the 2nd period and pull away to a 22 point win.

The second time the Bulldogs hosted the Falcons and actually led by 6 past the midway point of the fourth quarter before allowing an 18-8 run to lose 53-47.

Central and Luray’s most recent meeting also had hardware on the line in the Bull Run District Championship.

Luray limited Bull Run District Player of the Year Dereck Batiz-Lugo to just 5 points and led by as much as 10 in the 2nd quarter before the Falcons began their comeback.

Central led by just 1 with about 35 seconds left but Luray turned the ball over before getting a shot attempt and eventually fell 61-57.

The Falcons were led by Joseph Pan in that game with 26 points and 8 rebounds, and the junior is one of many Falcons who can lead the team in scoring on any given night.

Coach Jeff Whittle’s balanced approach landed four players on the All-District teams including 1st Teamers Batiz-Lugo and Luke Williams and 2nd Teamers Haiden Click and Maddox Davis.

Coach Matt Huff’s Bulldogs are led by one of the top backcourts in the Valley with Blake Jenkins and Matthew Owens.

The 1st Team All District selections combine for over 32 ppg and the junior Owens could potentially become the highest scorer in school history after already eclipsing 1000 points during the Bull Run District Tournament.

I predict Clarke County will continue to look ahead of the pack tonight but will begin to meet some similarly skilled foes in the State level.

Eagles win 86-67 with another 20+ point performance by Alainah McKavish.

The boys matchup on the other hand will come down to the final possession.

Not many teams can shoot the deep ball to keep up with Luray, but Central’s Haiden Click can help do just that and is coming off a career high 25 points including 5 three-pointers.

He will stay hot to lead Central and Luray’s buzzer beater rims off, Falcons win 51-49.

The Duke’s Doubleheader Preview: Strasburg vs Central and Clarke vs Rappahannock

The Bull Run District Girls Basketball Semifinals take over Berryville tonight as #2 Strasburg faces off against #3 Central at 6 pm then #1 Clarke County hosts #4 Rappahannock County at 7:30 pm in the Van Metre Homes Games of the Week on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

Strasburg and Central wrapped up the regular season against each other last week on Friday, but these rivals left the Valentine’s Day cards at home.

The first half was extremely competitive and saw each team exchange runs before Strasburg pulled away with a 21-5 advantage in the 3rd quarter.

Central’s offense struggled from the floor shooting just 4/37 from two point range with only two made baskets in the second half and looked stagnant against Strasburg’s zone defense.

Strasburg’s balanced offensive approach saw three players reach double figures including our Player of the Game Emily Gorrell who finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals.

The win over Central gave Strasburg a share of the regular season District Championship with Clarke County, but the Eagles earned the #1 seed in the tournament through a tiebreaker.

Clarke County will welcome Rappahannock County for the second game of tonight’s doubleheader in a matchup of 2023 VHSL State Champions.

Rappahannock County is competing at the Class 2 level for the first time this season after dominating in Class 1 with deep playoff runs the last few seasons including that state title.

The Panthers are led by Chloe Jenkins who recently became the 4th player in school history to reach 1000 points and it only took her till her junior season.

Clarke County has already defeated Rappahannock County twice this season by an average margin of 43 and will earn the #1 seed in the Regional Tournament if they can go farther than Strasburg.

The #1 District seed has been led all season long by junior Alainah McKavish who averages over 20 ppg, 4 steals, and is the top free throw shooter in the area at 80.7%.

Alainah’s younger sister Paige has also stepped up as the season progressed with 19 points in her last game against Stonewall and averaging 18 points against Rappahannock County this season.

Both Strasburg and Clarke County will need to avoid looking ahead to the Championship Game because both Central and Rappahannock County have the talent and winning mentality to pull off the upset.

I believe Coach Stinette of Strasburg and Coach Dowling of Clarke County will have their teams focused for the first game of what they both hope is a long playoff run and secure wins to set up a Bull Run District Championship Game rubber match.

Strasburg’s interior defense will leave Central forcing difficult shots once again, Rams win 54-38.

Clarke County will look to pull away early like the previous two games against the Panthers and get some rest for their starters ahead of Thursday’s Championship Game, Eagles soar 78-45.

Traffic advisory this morning

The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office is asking motorists to be patient and show respect this morning, April 20th, while a funeral procession for fallen law enforcement officer, Special Agent D. Sean Baer, travels through Clarke County.

Expect delays and backups between 9 and 9:45 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 340 (N. Buckmarsh St.) and Va. Route 7 (Harry Byrd Hwy.) and
the intersection of Va. 7 and Business 7 (E. Main St. and Audley Farm).

Traffic lights at these intersections will be controlled by Clarke County Sheriff’s deputies. Berryville police officers will assist with traffic control in town.

Special Agent D. Sean Baer, 49, was killed in the line of duty on April 9th.

His funeral procession begins in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., travels south on U.S. 340, and east on Va. 7 to Leesburg.

Please drive carefully.

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

The Duke’s Hoops Preview: Clarke County vs Page County

Tonight’s High School Basketball Game of the Week features an experienced Clarke County Eagles (10-5) squad hosting the up-and-coming Page County Panthers (4-14) on Fox Sports Radio 1450 WFTR, theriver953.com and the Tune In Radio App with coverage starting at 7:20 pm.

The Eagles return a host of familiar faces including Moses Day, Will Booker, Louie Marino, and Michael Kerr-Hobert but have a new head coach leading the bench, Kent Auslander.

Auslander has filled the role well after the tragic passing of longtime head coach Brent Emmart and brings with him Division I coaching and playing experience.

Clarke County’s 6’3″ senior Moses Day has dominated the paint, leading the area in rebounds with 6.6 per game and blocks with 2.1 per game.

He holds his own on the offensive end as well averaging 14 points on 54% shooting from the floor and has the ability to throw down some thunderous dunks

Page County poses a tough matchup in the paint for Day due to their length.

Senior center Seth Cloude provides experience with his 6’1″ frame and 6’3″ sophomore center Isaac Foltz has shown tremendous athleticism to go with his size.

Foltz has also demonstrated his ability to take over a game in Page County’s first win of the season against Mountain View where he led the Panthers with 18 points including all 11 of the team’s 4th quarter scores.

Page County has continued to fight under first year head coach and PCHS alum Tyler Parker and will be able to keep this game closer than some may expect based on the team’s records.

Although they have lost five of their last six, three of those games were by one score including an overtime loss to Luray.

Clarke County’s experienced roster and ability to close games will help them come away with a close win in a defensive battle, 58-52.

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

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

The battle of the unbeatens is finally here.

Central (5-0) will travel to Berryville for their 4th consecutive road game to take on Clarke County (5-0) for our Game of the Week on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com and the Tune In Radio App.

The last few matchups in the series have been instant classics and this game looks to fit the same mold.

Last year, Clarke County took an early 14-0 lead, but Central made a comeback moving Tyler Forbes (121 yards and two touchdowns) from fullback to tailback to win 21-14.

Forbes would stay put as the lead back for the rest of the season, and Central advanced all the way to the state championship game using the same formula of a hard nosed rushing attack and stifling defense.

This year looks to be a lot more of the same as they are off to a hot start with some quality wins and players like Forbes and defensive end Nathan Lopez (52 tackles and 4 sacks) picking up where they left off last season.

Central’s passing game looks to have taken a step back with quarterback Nick Barahona completing just 9 passes and one touchdown through the air to his receiving corps which features mainly underclassmen.

The Falcons will meet a Clarke County team that has made huge strides this season after a difficult year in 2022 plagued by injuries.

Clarke County is led by an experienced offensive line (four seniors, one junior) and a variety of gifted backs including Will Booker, Wyatt Palmer, and Carson Rutherford, who may be available Friday night for the first time since the King William game on September 1st.

Booker has been featured heavily the past few games including a 25 carry, 145 yard, and two touchdown performance against Catoctin last week.

Defensively, the Eagles have been stout allowing just 8.2 points per game and 111.8 yards per game.

They have also been opportunistic in forcing turnovers.

Basketball standout Moses Day has adapted quickly to the gridiron and had two interceptions against Catoctin from his defensive back position.

This game will truly come down to execution and limiting turnovers, but I believe Clarke County’s edge in team speed, experienced skill players, and a rowdy Feltner Stadium crowd will give the Eagles the victory, 26-21.

Press play below to hear my full interview with Clarke County Head Coach Casey Childs.

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