Greetings from The Booth!

It’s hard to believe that this is the penultimate week in the high school football regular season. The leaves are starting to fall like rain and soon the air will be much colder, the trees will be bare, and a few of our area teams will be trying to bring home VHSL trophies. It’s been an interesting season, with teams like Luray and Handley getting out of the gate with 6-0 and 5-0 starts, respectively, then coming back to earth in recent weeks. Luray still sits in good shape in Region 2B, while the Judges will probably need to win their final 2 games and hope for some things to fall their way for a Region 4C spot. In the VHSL ratings system, more weight is placed on the quality of wins, as opposed to quantity of victories. Thus, 2-6 James Wood Colonels are still mathematically alive for a postseason spot.

I’ll make mention of Millbrook, who would be a very dangerous draw for a playoff team who would have precious little time to prepare for a Pioneers single-wing attack that amassed 530 rushing yards last Friday against Liberty. And Sherando looks solid after running an early gauntlet against Berkeley County (WV) teams. At 5-3, the Warriors are in good shape for a postseason berth after winning 3 of their last 4 games.

The top team in the area to me is Class 2 Strasburg, who has yet to lose on the field, and has ripped off 7 straight wins heading into this Friday’s game at home versus Page County. The big challenge for the Rams is to focus on Page and not look too far ahead to the season finale at Woodstock Central, themselves an area power at 7-1. The aforementioned game against Central could very well be for a district title.

And then there’s (death, taxes, and) Clarke County, who have ripped off 4 straight wins after an early season home shutout loss to Strasburg. The perennial playoff mainstays are getting healthy at the right time, and the Eagles will pose a threat to any first round opponent.

Finally, a feel-good story is the Warren County Wildcats, who are 4-4, and if the season ended today, would be in the playoffs in Region 3. The Cats got off to a slow start, but have been building momentum, and are playing well when it counts. It certainly looks like there may be some extra meaning in their finale with rival Skyline, and both schools could very well host first round playoff games, which would make for a very busy November day in Front Royal. It’s going to be an interesting 2 weeks, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out!

Until the next visit from The Booth…enjoy the games this Friday (and Thursday)…and be true to your school!

RW