Sports Dogs Podcast: Week 2 recap, Week 3 preview

The Sports Dogs are barking about High School Football again this week as we put Week 2 in the books and look ahead to Week 3.

Click HERE to listen to the latest episode on The River 95.3 app or website, iTunes, Spotify, or Amazon music.

This week, the Dogs:

  • Look back at big wins for Sherando, Skyline, Handley, and James Wood
  • Tough losses for Strasburg, Millbrook, Clarke County and Central
  • Select Brady Lupton’s one-handed snag as Play of the Week
  • Select Owen Neal and Jaylen Tasco-Murray as Players of the Week
  • Rank our Power 5 (with some big shakeups in the rankings)
  • Look ahead to Game of the Week-Strasburg vs Warren County and all other Week 3 matchups
  • and more…

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

Sports Dogs HS Football Podcast: Week 2 Recap & Week 3 Preview

The Dogs look back at Week 2 in High School Football and preview this weekend’s action. Plus, The Power Five, and Player Of The Week honors! Get to a game this Thursday or Friday, and “be true to your school!”

A Moral Loss

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(Posted 9-7-26)

Greetings from The Booth!

You’ve heard the term “moral victory?” We WVU fans are very familiar, as we suffer heartbreak after heartbreak following “almost” wins and “we were this close” losses. Every West Virginia fan has the score “13-9” ingrained in their membrane. For the unwashed, that’s the result of the infamous 2007 Backyard Brawl, when the Mountaineers lost to a god-awful Pitt team in a game that cost them a spot for the National Championship. I could go in and on with countless other examples of the Old Blue and Gold grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.

Here’s how I got fired up for last Saturday’s opener against Coastal Carolina: earlier in the week I watched a replay of the 2014 Chick Fil A Kickoff Game. In that contest, WVU lost to mighty Alabama, 33-23. The Tide was an almost 4-touchdown favorite, but a gritty West Virginia team hung in there until the very end. Man, nothing fires you up like a loss. On occasion, I’ll watch Tavon Austin’s incredible performance against Oklahoma, where he piled up 572 total yards (by himself!) in a–you guessed it–heartbreaking 50-49 defeat at the hands of the Sooners.

You get the idea…

So, why is it that I can’t be happy about WVUs opening win against the Chanticleers? Because that’s how we are in the Mountain State. We immortalize the legendary losses and pick apart the underwhelming victories. And make no mistake, the Mountaineers’ 31-24 win this past weekend was underwhelming.

After the homecoming hire of Rich Rodriguiez and a 4-8 campaign last year to begin RR 2.0, 2026 was/is supposed to be a return to the 2005-2008 golden era of WVU football. Quarterback Michael Hawkins, Jr. and running back Cam Young were/are going to be the second coming of Pat White and Steve Slaton. An improved O-line, and a blitzing, aggressive defense were/are going to make us the surprise team in the Big 12.

What we got in the first half against Coastal was a hint of that promise, as Young took his first WVU carry 72 yards, then punched it in one play later for a 7-0 lead. Hawkins 49-yard touchdown pass made it 14-0 Mounties. The expected rout was on! WVU added 2 more scores for a 24-0 advantage, but left points on the table as Hawkins lost the football shy of the goal line, and then, inexplicably, Rich Rod took a knee with 50 seconds left in the half and all three of his timeouts. Still, WVU went into the locker room with a 24-0 lead.

A different WVU team came out of the locker room as Coastal Carolina QB Deuce bailey torched a Keystone Cops West Virginia secondary, the WVU defense took bad pursuit angles, and the Mountaineer offense bogged down, as Rodriguez stubbornly tried to run the ball against an 8-man front. Fortunately for the lubricated Morgantown crowd, time ran out on the Fancy Chickens, and West Virginia escaped with a 31-24 victory.

It’s said that the biggest improvement for a team comes between weeks 1 and 2. I hope that’s true, because after an anticipated Saturday win against UT Martin (who?), a 2-0 start is going to have us all pretty depressed in West-By-God.

Until the next visit from The Booth…GO EERS!

RW

 

 

Randy Talks With Casey About Hunting Safety & Storm Prep

It’s out monthly chat with Casey Hollins of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. Hunting season is underway and Hurricane season continues, so here are some things for hunters to keep in mind regarding power lines…and always be prepared for storms that pop up this time of year! For more, visit https://my rec.coop

 

Sports Dogs HS Football Podcast: Week 1 Recap & Week 2 Preview

The Dogs look back at an exciting Week 1 in area High School football and look ahead to Week 2. Plus our first Player of the Week and an updated Power Five! Lots of Thursday games this week due to the Labor Holiday, so check those schedules and “be true to your school!”

Sports Dogs Podcast: HS Football Week 1 Preview

It’s that time of year! The Sports Dogs Podcast becomes the Sports Dogs High School Football Podcast, where we preview the Week 1 matchups and unveil our first Power Five of the season! Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC! Add some curb appeal by visiting https://energywindowsllc.com

Views From The Booth: Commanders Takeaways

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Greetings From The Booth!

Can you feel it in the air? Fall is coming, and with it, “for-real” NFL games, not to be confused with the pre-season contests that whet our appetites this time of year. That being said, I have some takeaways from the Washington Commanders’ 17-13 loss to Detroit this past Saturday. No one cares about the score or the result–that will be forgotten by Tuesday, if it isn’t already. These are the things that concern and puzzle me as we get closer to teeing it up on September 13th in Philadelphia:

Why did Jayden Daniels even play? 3 snaps?!? Are you kidding me? I thought Week 2 of the preseason was supposed to be a “dress rehearsal” for the starters. Especially for a team with new coordinators, new systems, and new players. As for Daniels, his 3 plays consisted of a hurried incompletion, a 10-yard sack, and a “give-up” handoff on 3rd and 20. That was his day. I would have liked to see the starters play for at least a quarter. Nothing was accomplished here.

No running game. The Washington running game Saturday consisted of 45 yards. This paltry total is not so much a reflection of the Commanders running backs as it is an indictment of the offensive line. With several starters on the O-line, this was an opportunity for the “next man up,” and as John Lennon might say, they didn’t pass the audition.

The battle for QB3. Hands down, Athan Kaliakmanis is winning (or has already won) this duel with Sam Hartman. The former Illinois and Rutgers quarterback has good pocket presence and is not afraid to throw the ball downfield. On the other hand, Hartman looks for his check down receivers almost immediately after the snap. Look at the stats. Both have a pretty high completion percentage, but the yardage belongs to AK16, who simply looks to be the better option at QB3. With backup Marcus Mariotta injured, this matters.

Sonny Styles. There has been a lot of fan board and social media discussion about the Commanders linebacker and number one draft choice, who has not dazzled in the team’s first two preseason games. Styles at times looks to be out of position, as he was on a 50-yard quarterback read-option that went for a Lions touchdown. And there seems to be some concern about his size. 2 preseason games does not a season or career make, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt. That being said, maybe he would be a better (strong) safety in the pro game. Let’s give him some time.

Defensive takeaways. The Commanders’ defense has been a turnover machine in the preseason. I’m not sure how this will carry over into the regular season, but it’s an encouraging sign for a defense that couldn’t take candy from a baby in 2025. It was also fun to see a defensive touchdown on the game’s first series.

An overall sloppy effort. For a Week 2 dress rehearsal, Dan Quinn could not have been happy. The eye test revealed a sloppy effort, especially when you consider that this game was an opportunity for players who will not make the Commanders roster but are auditioning for other NFL teams.

Overall grade for Week 2: C-minus.

What can we really take away from the above? Probably nothing. Hopefully we will see a prepared and much different team when the Commanders begin a challenging schedule in Philadelphia in a few weeks. I’m ready…I just hope my team is.

Until the next visit from the Booth…HTTC!

RW

 

 

 

Sports Dogs Podcast: The Road To Week 1-Bull Run District Preview

The Dogs continue their ramp-up to the high school football season by previewing our Bull Run teams: Central, Clarke County, and Strasburg. PLUS, a special interview with author Ryan Sonner, who wrote the book “Until It Was Ours,” about the Rams’ 2025 State Championship. Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC, where Dave can add efficiency and curb appeal to your home. Call him at 540-671-9243. Or visit https://energywindowsllc.com

 

What’s In A Number?

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(Posted 8-17-26)

Greetings from The Booth!

As we wait for College and NFL Football, and watch another Nationals season go down in flames, jersey numbers have become a prime topic in the Nation’s Capital.

Let’s start with the wildfire that is the Jayden Daniels controversy. You can read about this–it’s everywhere–but the gist of the story is that the number 5 that Daniels wore during his time as the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback at LSU was recently given to Tiger’s cornerback DJ Pickett, who apparently was promised the number when he was recruited by the school. This move went against Daniels’ wishes, prompting the Washington quarterback to issue a cease and desist order to LSU to refrain from using his name, image, and likeness.

There’s a lot of nuance to the story, as number retirement is a very complicated thing. A statement issued by the Daniels family states that “Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would…be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university.” Meanwhile, the LSU policy states that an athlete must have completed competition for five years before being considered for jersey retirement. Daniels left the school in 2023.

As for the cease and desist, Daniels’ contract with LSU gave the school only 180 days after his final college game to use his name, image, and likeness, so he has every right to issue the order. Yet, he has become the villain in this whole story. Even other sports teams have been trolling the Commanders signal-caller.

(Sidebar: The New York Mets, in the midst of sweeping the Nats this past weekend, posted on social media after one of those wins that they stopped at 4 runs out of respect for Jayden Daniels. The Mets only need to look at themselves, floundering in last place in the NL East, and worry about playing baseball. The Mets can pound sand).

It seems to me that there are a host of other NFL players more deserving of being vilified than Jayden Daniels (One was just arrested this weekend for domestic abuse). He’s a model player, team leader, and by all accounts a solid citizen, whose primary focus is playing football.  And I might add that he’s the only quarterback in the recent Netflix series of the same name that doesn’t drop an f-bomb every 2 seconds.

Yet, in the world of social media, where anonymity and lack of accountability and facts rule, a quality young man is being cast as the bad guy. Facts matter, and the fact is that Daniels is within his rights to order LSU to stop profiting from his past glories, especially if they promised to protect his number (as he claims), then promising another player that he could wear that number. As former Tiger coach Brian Kelly said, we can’t treat one Heisman winner one way (Joe Burrow, whose number 9 is protected) and another Heisman winner (Daniels) differently.

I have a feeling that once NFL play starts for real, this story will fade from the news cycle and will be much ado about nothing. As for me, all I care about is number 5 raising a number 1 as he hoists a Lombardi Trophy.

Until the next visit from The Booth…HTTC!

RW

 

 

Sports Dogs Podcast: Road to Week 1-Frederick County and Winchester football

In Part 2 of our High School Football “Road To Week 1” series, The Dogs feature previews of the Winchester & Frederick County teams.

Ryan and guest Sports Dog Josh Kirby interview coaches:

  • Jake Smith- Handley
  • TJ Rohrbaugh- Sherando
  • Todd Wilson- James Wood
  • Nick Manuel- Millbrook

To look back to Part 1 of “The Road to Week 1” highlighting Skyline and Warren County, click HERE.

For more of Josh Kirby’s interviews and video coverage from high school training camps, click HERE.

Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC, where Dave can give your home some efficiency AND curb appeal! Visit https://energywindowsllc.com