Sports Dogs Podcast: State Championship recap and Bracket Bustin’

3/18/26- The Dogs take a bite out of their Tournament brackets, and look back at a great weekend at VCU for our area basketball teams including:

  • Clarke County’s girls claiming their second title in four years and record-breaker Alainah McKavish
  • Handley’s boys first program title in over 100 years
  • Luray’s boys fending off a record-setting performance to win in double-overtime
  • The valiant efforts by the Central boys, Skyline girls, and Luray girls

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Shenandoah Valley teams claim three State Championships, three Runner-Ups

Congratulations to all our local high schools that represented the Shenandoah Valley with pride during the VHSL Basketball State Championships in Richmond over the weekend.

Three of the six teams claimed state titles including the Luray boys, Clarke County girls, and Handley boys.

In Clarke County’s 67-55 win over Union, senior Alainah McKavish claimed the school’s all time scoring record and bookended her career with a second state title after winning as a freshman.

Handley got over the hump after previously going 0-4 in State Championship games to claim the first trophy in their 103 year history, 61-42 over Hampton.

Luray brought home their first State Trophy in 50 years after a double overtime win over Fort Chiswell 84-82 and overcame Fort Chiswell’s Owen Jackson scoring a state championship record 53 points.

The Luray girls, Central boys, and Skyline girls were named State Runner-Up at VCU and we also congratulate them on incredible seasons.

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

Community rallies to send off State Championship contenders

The VHSL Basketball State Championships tip off in Richmond on Friday with six of our local teams making the finals and now it’s time to send off our hopeful champions and wish them good luck.

Luray High School is holding a send-off for their boys and girls teams at 2pm on Friday and are inviting fans to line main street to show their support.

Clarke County High School is sending off the Eagles at 2:30 pm with a police escort on Thursday down Mosby Boulevard to Martins before turning right and then making a left onto Fairfax Street to 1st Street and continuing to Main Street.

The Central Falcons boys team will hit the road Friday at 8:30 am and the school has invited fans to join them at the gym’s front entrance for the send off.

The Skyline Lady Hawks hit the road Friday at 10 am and will pass the football stadium before following Criser Rd. to S. Royal Avenue and then Rt 55 until reaching 66 and are encouraging fans to bring signs and noisemakers to showcase the team motto of “Small Town, Big Pride”.

John Handley High School will be the final team to leave for VCU as they depart at 3 pm on Friday from Winchester and are welcoming supporters to line Handley Boulevard to cheer the Judges on to their 5th State Championship appearance.

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For more high school basketball coverage, check out the latest Sports Dogs Podcast with previews of all the teams going to VCU here.

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

The Duke’s Bull Run District Championship Preview: Strasburg vs Luray

2/19/26 Strasburg, VA- #1 seed Strasburg hosts #3 seed Luray tonight in the Bull Run District Boys Basketball Championship Game for the Hike Kidz Foundation Game of the Week c/o Brickhouse Bar and Grill with pregame coverage starting around 7:20 pm on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

Strasburg swept Luray in the regular season, but both matchups were competitive with the Rams winning by 11 in Strasburg and by 5 in Luray.

Strasburg earned homecourt advantage tonight by winning the regular season Bull Run District title and finishing 17-6 overall.

The Rams had a massive improvement from last year when they finished under .500 at 10-12.

Luray has continued their winning ways and also finished 17-6 overall after claiming back-to-back Region 2B titles last year and advancing to the Class 2 state semifinals.

The Bulldogs will not have the chance to defend their title after dropping down to Class 1 but now have a better chance at finishing the season with a State Championship (in theory).

Luray is led by Matthew Owens, but the JMU bound Senior has taken a beating this season and missed Luray’s final two regular season games with an ankle injury.

Owens returned to action in the Bull Run Semifinals and finished with a game high 21 points in the win so he should be close to 100% for Thursday’s Championship game.

While Owens was out, senior Connor Hilliard took the lead and averages 13.5 points per game to go with 6.7 rebounds per game.

Hilliard will join Owens at JMU but will take his talents to the diamond at Veterans Memorial Park.

Strasburg limited the talented back court with great team defense and held the Bulldogs to over 20 points below their season average in both regular season wins.

Offensively, the Rams are led by sharpshooter Gavin Dellinger (15 ppg) and forward Jasiah Warner (11.4 ppg).

Warner led Strasburg with 16 points in the BRD semifinal win over Page County while Dellinger was limited to just 8 points, all in the 4th quarter.

The junior guard will need a full four quarters in the scoring column as the Rams will need his offense to go toe-to-toe with Owens, Luray’s All Time leading scorer.

I look for this game to trend towards a slower pace which would benefit Strasburg and the Rams size advantage in the paint with 6’4″ Warner and 6’3″ Jacob Britton.

Owens ankle injury could also limit his minutes with Luray needing to keep larger goals in mind and he might have to score 30 if the Bulldogs want a chance at upsetting the #1 seed on the road.

Ultimately, Strasburg’s defense will be the difference maker and help the Rams to their first District Title in over 15 years, Strasburg 52- Luray 48.

Color Commentator Josh Kirby spoke with Luray Head Coach Mat Huff before the game here.

For more local sports coverage, check out the latest Sports Dogs Podcast here.

The Sports Dogs Podcast: HS Basketball, Commanders & Caps

The Sports Dogs are barkin’! In this episode, we cover the area high school basketball teams who are headed for state semifinal action. Plus a quick Caps (and Ovechkin) update, and a new toy for Cliff Kingsbury and the Commander’s offense!