The Duke’s Hoops Preview: Millbrook vs Sherando doubleheader

1/16/26, Winchester, VA- Sherando takes the short trip to Millbrook for a classic Northwestern District rivalry basketball doubleheader in tonight’s Hike Kidz Foundation Game of the Week courtesy of Brickhouse Bar and Grill on Fox Sports Radio 1450, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

The boys are tipping off first at 6 pm with pregame coverage at 5:45 pm, and then the girls following a ceremony for Millbrook’s Love Loud campaign.

Millbrook High School’s Love Loud game has become an annual tradition to honor, remember, and bring awareness to all types of cancer.

This year’s game honors Millbrook alum and former wrestling standout Dylan Wisman, who was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer, and will support Wisman’s organization, The Outdoorsmen Fellowship, to raise awareness and encourage early screening.

Before the ceremony, the boys take the court with both teams sitting at 9-4 and heating up.

Sherando enters the matchup as winners of four in a row and seven of the last eight while Millbrook has won five of their last seven.

The Warriors have a balanced offensive approach led by Reth Puller (10.7 ppg) and Sean Benton (10.5 ppg) and a stifling defense.

Coach Garland Williams group has allowed only the Handley Judges to eclipse 70 points in a game and Skyline joins Handley as the only teams to go over 60 points.

Sherando will have their hands full with the Pioneers offensive attack led by Rylee Baker who is coming off the best game of his career.

Baker put up 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 steals in a dual against Ashby Copenhaver (31 points, 9 3-pointers) and James Wood.

Baker has been building to a performance like that all season long.

The senior leads the area in scoring by a wide margin at 21.5 points per game and already has105 more points on the season than the area’s second leading scorer on average, Wood’s Brodie Sirbaugh (17 ppg).

Keon Lewis is also coming off back to back double-digit scoring appearances and his best rebounding game against the Colonels with 9 (8 in the second half).

This should be a tightly contested matchup that comes down to the wire and will start early at 6 pm so call out of work early if you have to, it will be worth it!

The schools will then break for Love Loud’s ceremony and then the girls take the floor with both teams still looking to turn the corner in a waning season.

The Pioneers are coming off a win against James Wood that halted a six game losing skid and Strasburg ended a potential winning streak for Sherando after back-to-back wins against Warren County and Liberty.

While the teams haven’t quite put it all together, they both posses star power with two of the area’s most prolific scorers in Jane Moreland and Avery Ryan.

Moreland ranks 3rd in the area in points at 15.8 and 2nd in the area in rebounding with 9.7 per game.

Ryan is just behind her in scoring at 15.6 per game while shooting efficiently and ranking 2nd in 3-point, free throw, and field goal percentage.

Both have the ability to take over the game and may need to if their teammates are struggling.

Some of the younger pieces for these teams are starting to settle in like sophomores Grace Moreland for Millbrook and Kinsley Richardson for Sherando.

The younger Moreland recently put up 17 points against Handley and averages 8.9 per game while Richardson averages 11.3 points per game and is Sherando’s leading rebounder at 6.4 per game.

Both boys and girls matchups appear very even on paper and I predict a split decision for these district bouts with Millbrook’s offense led by Baker to become the 3rd team to reach the 60s against Sherando’s defense, Pioneers win 64-58.

For the girls matchup on the other hand, Sherando’s defensive focus under 1st year coach Regina Downing will start to pay-off.

Sherando makes some clutch free throws late for the 48-44 win.

For Josh Kirby’s chat with:

  • Millbrook girls coach Cary Bartlett, click here.
  • Sherando boys coach Garland Williams and Millbrook boys coach Erick Green Sr., click here.

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

The Duke’s Hoops Preview: Handley vs Sherando doubleheader

12/19/25, Winchester, VA- John Handley High School hosts Sherando High School in a Northwestern District doubleheader for tonight’s Hike Kidz Foundation Game of the Week courtesy of Brickhouse Bar and Grill on Fox Sports Radio 1450 WFTR, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app with the girls tipping-off at 6 pm followed by the boys around 7:30 pm and a Tana Hoffman Pregame Show beginning roughly 15 minutes before each.

In the first matchup, both teams will continue to look for their identities in this young season with Sherando adjusting to a new head coach and Handley finding their footing after the return of their superstar.

Regina Downing made the move from Clarke County to Sherando this offseason after a State playoff appearance.

The Eagles have continued to soar since her departure and are undefeated while the Warriors are still searching for their first win.

Downing is inheriting a Sherando team that went just 12-11 last season but does have some exciting talent in Junior Avery Ryan and Sophomore Kinsley Richardson.

The duo combined for 20 of Sherando’s 22 points in the first half against Kettle Run on Tuesday and can fill-up the stat sheet with steals and rebounds as well.

While the Warriors enter at 0-6, they have closed the gap in recent outings losing the last three games by less than 10 points and will continue to gain confidence in Downing’s style which prioritizes strong man-to-man defense.

Handley has also struggled out of the gates and enters Friday night at 1-6, but the Judges have faced stiff competition mostly without the help of Reagan Edsell.

Handley’s six losses came against teams with a combined 26-5 record this season and the reigning Regional Player of the Year and James Madison commit was sidelined for the majority of those games.

She did return in the 55-50 loss to Loudoun Valley.

Handley also returns a solid roster around Edsell including All District Honorable Mention selection Cameron Hobson and Senior Center Amaya Smith, but the group will need their full lineup to take on top teams come playoff time.

When the boys take the floor following Game 1 of tonight’s doubleheader, Handley will also have the advantage in star power with Will Braun-Duin.

The First Team All-State selection as a Sophomore returns to the lineup after leading the area in scoring (26.4 points per game), steals (2.3 per game), and free throws (87.4 %).

Like Edsell, Braun-Duin will play at the Division-I level and has quite a few options fighting for his commitment including Old Dominion, Mount Saint Mary’s and more.

Coach Zach Harrell-Zook brings back essentially the entire roster around Braun-Duin from last year’s State Title contending squad including the areas returning leaders in rebounds (6.5) and blocks (1.1) Christian Dinges and assists(3.7) Kyren Oglesby.

Sherando also returns some solid talent, but it is more likely that the Warriors will be fighting for second place in the District with the expected dominance of Handley.

The Warriors pair of 6’4″ forwards Jackson Ogle and Sean Benton will need to dominate the paint and win the rebounding battle to give Sherando a chance.

In Sherando’s first win of the season over James Wood, the duo helped lead a 32-16 advantage on the glass and more than doubled the opposition in offensive rebounds.

Coach Garland William’s group could also benefit from a “look ahead” spot with Handley getting ready to hit the road for some holiday season tournaments which includes the Arby’s Classic and a date with national powerhouse Oak Hill.

I do not think that will happen as Coach Harrell-Zook has never been questioned about his intensity and he will have his team focused on knocking down a cross-town rival tonight, Handley wins big 84-54.

For the girls, I look for Reagen Edsell to take the floor and have her coming-out party this season with a double-double to lead the way and keep the Warriors searching for their first win, Judges 52-Warriors 38.

For more coverage of tonight’s matchup, click the links below for color commentator Josh Kirby’s conversations with:

The Duke’s Hoops Preview: Skyline vs Sherando

Tonight’s High School Basketball Game of the Week on Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com, and the Tune In Radio App features the Skyline Hawks (10-3) hosting the Sherando Warriors (10-5) with coverage starting at 7:20 pm.

The first meeting of the two teams was a Sherando victory in a 55-53 season opening thriller.

This matchup is expected to be no different as both team’s enter the game still holding high expectations for this season.

Sherando will arrive in Front Royal on a four game winning streak led by senior guard Trey Williams, who has averaged over 20 points per game in the stretch.

Williams is an early candidate for Player of the Year in the region as the second leading scorer with 17.2 per game, third in rebounding with 6.5 per game, and the leader in assists and steals with 4.4 apg and 2.3 spg.

Skyline enters the evening winning 7 of their last 8 games by an average differential of 22.4 points per game.

While the Warriors are led by Williams from the outside, the Hawks follow the lead of junior forward Dwayne Tucker on the interior.

Tucker has been a dominant force for Skyline in his second year of varsity action.

He led all scorers in the first matchup against the Warriors with 23 points, many of those coming against Sherando’s 6’4″ senior center Drew Tyson.

Tucker has also collected a few double-doubles this season and joined Williams on the All Tournament Team at the Ram Hardwood Classic.

Tonight’s heavyweight matchup could come down to the free throw line, an area that helped Sherando secure a few victories already this season including the first game against Skyline where the Warriors finished 14/21 from the line while the Hawks made just 5/16 free throw attempts.

Skyline’s aggressive defense could end them up in foul trouble and send the Warriors to the free throw line early and often, leading to the difference in a tight Sherando win, 57-54.

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

Former Sherando High School student joins top tier Italian basketball league

Grant Golden, a former Sherando High School student, officially made the roster for Vanoli Cremona, according to a social media post from the organization.

The professional basketball team competes in Serie A, the highest rated league in Italy and oldest league in Europe.

He originally signed with the club in August after playing in the NBA’s G-League with the Grand Rapids Gold, an affiliate of the Denver Nuggets, last season.

As a sophomore at Sherando, Golden averaged 18.1 points per game and 7 rebounds before transferring to St. James School in Hagerstown.

He then played collegiately for the University of Richmond where he helped lead the team to the most conference wins in school history and totaled over 2000 points and 1000 rebounds in his career.

Vanoli Cremona begins their season tomorrow at 2:30 pm against Trento.

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