Sports Dogs Podcast: High School Football Week 1 recap, Week 2 preview

In this episode, The Sports Dogs are barking a day early due to the shortened week for many schools.

Check out the episode HERE featuring:

  • Week 1 recaps including:
    • Strasburg vs Skyline in the first Game of the Week
    • Big wins by Sherando, James Wood, and Handley
    • A heartbreaker for the Pioneers
  • Week 2 previews of:
    • Game of the Week-Millbrook vs Heritage
    • Rematches of Broadway vs Strasburg and Loudoun County vs Sherando
    • Handley’s new game change and more..
  • The first Player of the Week nominees including Millbrook’s Carter Kinley and James Wood’s Jackson Ledford
  • an updated Power Five rankings
  • and more…

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

The Duke’s Preview: Skyline @ Strasburg

8/28/26 Strasburg, VA– Skyline makes the short trip to Strasburg for the first High School Football Game of the Week brought to you by the Hike Kidz Foundation c/o Brickhouse Bar and Grill with coverage starting at 6:30 for the Tana Hoffman Pregame Show then the 7 pm kick-off on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

Strasburg ended a program long State Championship drought last season and will now look to prove this is the start of a dynasty, not the book after a Cinderella story.

The Rams return Class 2 Offensive Player of the Year RB Quincy Williams (2,000+ yards, 27 Touchdowns) and 2x All State selection Gage Gutierrez along the offensive line but will look to replace some key players including QB Brayden Hough, RBs Brady Knight and Linkyn Bosworth, and other key pieces along the offensive line.

OT Cooper Miller filled in during the playoff run due to injury and played will during crucial games for the Rams while many other younger players like Brady Knight’s brother Tyler Knight were able to get varsity playing time thanks to lopsided scores down the stretch.

TEs Carson Duckworth and Alexander Mudd love to block and will provide senior leadership on the ends of the OL.

The defensive side of the ball contains more question marks as the Rams will graduate four Class 2 All State Defensive selections including Brady Knight, Nathaniel Turner, Jacob Britton, and Defensive Player of the Year Hutson Conrad.

Quincy Williams will make impact plays on the defense as well and provides good versatility thanks to his speed and physicality.

James Trainor and Pablo Mora Hernandez will be looked to on the backend after strong junior campaigns and playoff runs.

Skyline is still searching for the school’s first football State Title but did claim the program’s first Region Runner-Up after falling short to Kettle Run in last year’s playoffs.

The Hawks also bring back an All-State level running back in Zayden Burks.

Burks led  Virginia with an astounding 2,897 yards and 28 touchdowns and could realistically surpass those numbers this season.

If Burks can reach that total this year, he would have the second most career rushing yards in VHSL history and he is just 1,236 yards away from 6,000 career yards and ranking in the top 27 in state history.

Skyline returns a strong offensive line including four seniors Tytus Drake, Ryan Held, Adrian Schmitz, and Christian Boone who take pride in opening lanes for their RB and protecting first year starter QB Brentley Grindle.

Grindle’s raw talent, athleticism, and performance as JV QB last year made the decision easy for the Hawks coaching staff and the sophomore has impressed his teammates with his play and leadership in 7-on-7 tournaments and training camp.

Grindle has already formed a good connection with Jr TE Brady Lupton (6’4″ 230 lb) and WRs Caydin Jenkins and Lane Kenney.

Defensively, the Hawks will have many of those OL playing both ways with Lupton and Drake ready to wreak havoc again along the defensive line.

Skyline will need to figure out life without All State LB Andre Ford and the Hawks other leading tackler, Marques Lockhart-Wright (TE at Virginia University of Lynchburg).

With that duo now graduated, Burks could enter the rarified air of 100-plus tackles to go with 2,000-plus rushing yards this season.

Skyline’s defensive backfield of Kenney, Jenkins, and Isiah Grady should be a strong unit again this season.

Now to the matchups, Skyline’s new LB unit without Ford and Lockhart-Wright will be tested in Game 1 against Strasburg’s unique T-Formation.

The Hawks have started the last few season against the Rams so it is not an entirely new concept, but it is still difficult to prepare for, especially at the game speed of the Rams.

Skyline’s new QB Brently Grindle will also get to experience a Varsity defense for the first time and it as a Rams unit that allowed just 12.5 ppg last season.

The Hawks rebuttal to these perceived disadvantages can be pretty simple… we have a hulk… or Zayden Burks.

Burks has game breaking potential every time he touches the ball, even when he is a defenses #1 priority.

Skyline would have an advantage in the defensive backfield against a new starter at QB for Strasburg but the Rams would be completely fine without passing the entire game which would negate that potential edge.

Both team’s offensive and defensive lines should dominate all year long and I would say that category is a push in this matchup.

With two teams who enter the season with high expectations, it may truly come down to who can minimize mistakes and based on the youth at key positions for the Hawks, that could be an issue.

Look for the Rams to come out with some extra energy early as it will be their first time back on Glenn Proctor Field since hoisting the State Title, but this is a motivated Skyline team that would take pride in raining on the Rams return to their homefield.

This game will come down to the final possession, but based on recent history of the Rams undefeated record on the field vs the Hawks since COVID and the momentum from the hometown crowd behind them, it will be tough to unseat the champions in Week 1.

Williams and Burks put on a show with ZB2K slightly outgaining QW1 in yardage, but with the Rams taking the edge on the scoreboard, Strasburg 28-Skyline 22.

For a preview of all the Week 1 matchups, check out the latest Sports Dogs Podcast HERE.

Strasburg Football hosts Ring Ceremony for 2025 State Champions

Strasburg High School is hosting a Ring Ceremony for the 2025 football State Championship team on Thursday, August 27th at 6pm at Ram Stadium.

The celebration will acknowledge the school’s first football state champions and is open to the public.

Strasburg native Ryan Sonner, author of “Until It Was Ours”, a book released today highlighting the Rams title run, will also be in attendance with copies of his book available for purchase.

The Rams claimed the VHSL Class 2 Championship in December with a 49-27 victory over Glenvar from Salem Stadium.

Strasburg will begin their quest to defend their championship on Friday, August 28th at home against Skyline with coverage of the game available on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, The River 95.3 website, and app.

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

The Duke’s Hoops Preview: Central vs Strasburg

2/13/26, Woodstock, VA- Regular season high school basketball coverage concludes tonight with Central hosting Strasburg in the Hike Kidz Foundation Game of the Week c/o Brickhouse Bar and Grill on Fox Sports Radio 1450, The River 95.3 app, and TheRiver953.com starting with the girls matchup at 6 pm, followed by the boys with an estimated tip-off set for 7:45 pm.

It will be a festive evening in Woodstock as the Central community will acknowledge the senior cheer and basketball athletes for Senior Night and the Falcon’s softball team will receive their 2025 State Championship rings during halftime of the boys game.

Amongst the pomp and circumstance, two huge games will be played to determine seeding for the upcoming District and Regional playoffs.

When the girls take the floor, Strasburg will have a chance at the top seed with a win over Central and a Clarke County loss to Luray on Monday.

Central would love nothing more than to spoil that chance a at a top seed for their cross-county rivals and place themselves in a more confident position for the post season.

The Rams will be riding high after their upset win over Clarke County earlier this week.

Strasburg snapped a 12 game winning streak for Clarke County and extended their own winning streak to 11 games after a play originally drawn up for Emily Gorrell ended up in the hands of Jayden Stinnette down-low for the game winning layup.

The senior duo has been integral in Strasburg’s run this season with Gorrell leading the Bull Run District in scoring (17.8 points per game), steals (3.8 per game), and assists (3.2 per game) while Stinnette leads the District in rebounding with 8.3 per game.

Gorrell had one of her best games of the season against Central in the first go round and finished with 27 points (17/18 FT), 7 steals, and 3 rebounds.

If the Falcons want to put themselves in a position to pull-off the win, they will need to defend Gorrell more effectively and keep her from getting to the free throw line.

In Year 1 under coach Rich Cooley, Central has essentially beaten the teams they should and struggled against the other top teams in the District going a combined 1-4 against Strasburg, Clarke County, and Luray.

The Falcons have a talented senior class that will want to leave their homecourt on Senior Night with a win and that group is led by guard Vanessa Gordon.

Gordon is 2nd behind Gorrell in BRD scoring with 14.5 per game and is the best 3-point shooter in the region at nearly a 40% clip.

In the Falcons lone win against top district competition, Gordon knocked down five first half three pointers and her sister Vanessa filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.

It will take a true team effort for Central, and maybe some Senior Night magic to beat the Rams, or for Strasburg to overlook the matchup with their sights already set on a playoff run and riding high from the win over Clarke County.

Following the girls game, the boys will play for the #1 seed in the Region 2B tournament and the regular season District Championship in what should be a very competitive and defensively focused battle.

When these teams played against each other earlier this season, the winner was the first team to 40 and that ended up being the Central Falcons.

Both teams went ice cold in the second half with Strasburg going 0-11 in the third period and Central going 0-6 in the fourth, but the Falcons had enough of a lead and a few clutch free throws to hold on for the win.

Since the loss, Strasburg has rallied for 7 straight wins and seen the growth of Jasiah Warner into one of the top players in the Bull Run.

Warner is coming off a 20 point game against Clarke County and consistently causes problems on defense with his length.

Gavin Dellinger will always get his for the Rams and leads the team with 14.6 per game, trailing only D-1 bound Matthew Owens in Bull Run scoring.

Central’s lone loss since the Strasburg matchup came against Owens and his Luray Bulldogs, but other than that blemish, Coach Whittle has his group playing elite level basketball.

With the departure of John Marshall’s head coach and Luray dropping to Class 1, Central emerged as an early contender in Class 2 for the State Title and has done nothing to make you think otherwise.

Central ranked 5th in the most recent Basketball Coaches Association of Virginia poll.

Dereck Batiz-Lugo picked up where he left off last season after claiming BRD Player of the Year as sophomore and earning 2nd Team All State.

This year, Batiz-Lugo has continued to play at a high level and leads the area in steals with 3.1 per game to go with 14.3 points per game while limiting turnovers as the teams primary ball handler.

Central is a team full of players who know their role and for Jonathan Akasa that job is to get rebounds.

Listed at 6’1″, Akasa leads the Bull Run in rebounding with 7.4 per game and can knock down the three-ball at 37.3%.

Like the first matchup, this game could be a race to 40 and rebounding to give your team an extra possession could mean the difference between a win or a loss.

Central appears to have an advantage on the glass with Akasa averaging a full 2.5 rebounds more than Strasburg’s leading rebounder, Warner, and in the first matchup, Gracen Hottle led Strasburg in rebounds with 9 but that will be hard to replicate for the 5’8″ guard.

Due to that potential edge in rebounding, I look for Central to pull out another close win over the Rams with Batiz-Lugo putting the game on ice late, 42-39.

In the girls matchup, Strasburg’s senior duo of Gorrell and Stinnette combined with Coach Stinnette’s ability to keep the team focused on their rival and not looking ahead will allow the Rams to take the win on the road, 52-43, and keep their hopes of a #1 seed alive.

For more high school hoops coverage, check out the latest Sports Dogs Podcast where we preview the upcoming playoff hopefuls, highlight the biggest local basketball story lines in the “Three Pointer”, and of recap the Super Bowl.

The Duke’s Hoops Preview: Luray vs Strasburg

1/13/26, Strasburg, VA- Strasburg hosts Luray in a boys basketball Bull Run bash for tonight’s Hike Kidz Foundation Game of the Week courtesy of Brickhouse Bar and Grill with coverage starting around 7:15 pm on Fox Sports Radio 1450, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

Luray will take the court as the reigning back-to-back Region 2B champions but are unable to defend that title after dropping down to Class 1 this year.

Still competing in the Bull Run District, the Bulldogs are off to a strong start at 8-2 overall and are coming off a big win against fellow Class 1 front runner, Rappahannock County.

Luray led throughout and sprung to an early 25-9 lead with just one turnover in the first quarter.

Eighth year Head Coach Mat Huff’s squad continued to play clean basketball and dominate in turnovers 22-14 to secure the 69-48 win.

Luray is led by one of the best backcourts in Class 1 with Matthew Owens and Connor Hilliard.

Both JMU commits, Owens for basketball and Hilliard for baseball, fill up the stat sheet and can takeover a game.

Owens leads the way with 21.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.3 steals while Hilliard is just behind at 14 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.6 steals.

The seniors feed off each other and when teams focus their defense on Owens, Hilliard always seems to take advantage.

Strasburg’s defense will need to limit that duo and keep the game low scoring to defend homecourt.

In Strasburg’s 6 wins, the defense held the opposition to just 34 points per game.

The Rams defense feeds off the crowd and have been incredible at home this year going 5-2, compared to just 1-3 away from Millson French Court.

Junior guard Gavin Dellinger will need a big night to continue that trend.

Following up a strong sophomore campaign and a 1st Team All Bull Run selection, Dellinger leads the Rams in scoring and is one of the best three point shooters in the area.

Jasiah Warner also looks to have taken another step forward.

The junior provides great length at 6’4″ and can play inside or outside the perimeter.

If Strasburg can limit possessions and keep Owens and Hilliard in check, the Rams could pull off the upset.

Fatigue could be an issue for Strasburg.

The Rams will play their fourth game in seven days and are on the second night of a back-to-back after last night’s loss to Sherando while Luray has not played since Friday.

I look for that to play a role in the second half, allowing Owens and Hilliard some separation and they don’t need much; Luray pulls away late 62-49.

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

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

Sports Dogs Podcast: 2026 Kick-Off

Happy New Year from the Dogs!

We’re back from the Holiday Hiatus to talk about the Commanders’ recent Black Monday moves, a look at the College Football Playoff semifinals, and The Duke looks at what’s happening in local high school hoops.

A lot is going on in the sports world this first week of 2026, and we’re barkin’ about it, courtesy of Energy Windows LLC.

Visit Dave at https://energywindowsllc.com or by calling 540-671-9243 and bring your vision to life! 

To listen to the latest Sports Dogs Podcast on The River 95.3 online, Spotify, Amazon or iTunes, click here.

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

Strasburg State Championship game highlights

Strasburg High School defeated Glenvar in the VHSL Class 2 State Championship game Saturday, 49-27, at Salem Stadium.

The win marked the Rams first football state title in school history after going winless in the first 5 tries including last season.

Coach Tripp Lamb’s team was led all year by a ferocious offensive and defensive line.

The trenches helped Strasburg to a win by tallying over 300 yards rushing and pressuring Glenvar’s quarterback Brody Dawyot, the all time passing touchdown record holder in Virginia.

Listen back to the big win with highlights from the State Championship broadcast team AKA The Sports Dogs by clicking here.

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

Sports Dogs: Strasburg State Championship game highlights

Look back at Strasburg’s Class 2 State Championship win over Glenvar with the Sports Dogs highlights! Coach Tripp Lamb leads the Rams to the first state title in program history, 49-27.

The Duke’s Championship Preview: Strasburg vs Glenvar

12/13/25, Salem, VA- Strasburg heads back to Salem to take on Glenvar in the VHSL Class 2 State Championship for the final Dave’s Diversified Service 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 10:45 am for the Tana Hoffman-Sager Realty pregame show, 11:30 am kick-off.

The Rams earned the school’s sixth shot at their first title after another great season led by a stellar offensive and defensive line.

Strasburg’s running backs Quincy Williams, Linkyn Bosworth, and Brady Knight have seen massive holes all season long behind an offensive line that returns nearly every piece from last year’s State Championship Runner-Up squad.

Hutson Conrad, Jacob Stickley, Gage Gutierrez, and Jacob Britton have been incredible all year, and after Tadeo Bunch was sidelined due to injury, Cooper Miller has filled the role seamlessly.

Like nearly every game this season, the Rams will have a distinct size advantage in the trenches.

Poquoson attempted to match Strasburg’s strength with 4-Star 6’6″ 280 lb tackle Carter Jones and a few other larger lineman, but the Rams still dominated and seemed to use their opponent’s accolades as fuel to the fire.

Jones made little impact in the stat sheet and Strasburg often used his own aggression against him to force him out of position.

Strasburg’s starting unit averages 6’2″ 257 lbs while Glenvar’s defensive line usually features just three down lineman with the most utilized players averaging 6’0″ 236 lbs.

For comparison, Division-III Shenandoah University’s OL last year averaged 6’0″ 254 lbs.

The Highlanders also only have one player listed over 235 lb (Ryan Harris 6’3″ 300 lb sophomore) while the Rams bring nine players over the same threshold.

Size isn’t everything though and what the Highlanders lack in brute force, they make up for with one of the best passing attacks in Virginia led by the VHSL record holder for passing touchdowns in a career.

Brody Dawyot will be the most talented passer Strasburg has seen this season or the last few combined.

The 6’5″ 225 lb 3-star athlete tallied 2,557 yards and 37 passing touchdowns this season to go with 754 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns.

Believe it or not, those numbers are actually a step-back from his junior season which totaled 2,964 passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns, 701 rushing yards, and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Dawyot’s play on the other hand did not take a step-back as the decrease in stats is due to hardly having to play in the second half this season thanks to some huge leads for the Highlanders.

In a stark contrast from the Strasburg T-formation, Glenvar spreads out the opposition and boasts a talented receiving corps including Brody’s brother Tre, the school’s receptions record holder Cooper Mullins, and multisport stand out Cale Vaughan (Roanoke College baseball commit).

According to WR Jace Forster’s X account, the Highlanders will be without one of their top weapons as he self-reported his injury sustained in the win over Union.

Defensively, Brody Dawyot is a menace setting the edge where he racked up over 30 sacks and 30 TFL the last two seasons.

Joining him along the DL is Nick Wilson, the reigning Regional Defensive Player of the Year and a 1st Team All State selection in 2024.

The Highlanders linebacking corps boasts 1st Team All State LB Vaughan and highlight reel Rawlin Hanks.

Strasburg will need to account for Hanks every play after he racked up 91 tackles, 5 INTs (2 pick sixes), and 8 TFL in the regular season.

While a passing offense is considered a must at the collegiate and professional levels, running the ball and winning at the line of scrimmage is still the recipe in high school football.

Strasburg should be able to do both of those things against Glenvar and the Rams defensive line has the ability to get pressure on Dawyot.

The UNC-Charlotte commit hasn’t lost since the 2024 State Semifinals after Graham’s heavy pressure led to 3 interceptions before their matchup with Strasburg.

I look for the Rams to replicate that gameplan defensively to force some turnovers, win time of possession with the running game, and celebrate the first State Championship in Strasburg history, Rams 28 – Glenvar 20.

Check out the latest Sports Dogs Podcast for more on the State Championship game, JMU’s CFP birth, and Regional Players of the Year selection.