The Sports Buffet Podcast High School Sports Blog

Remembering Jeff Cocke

2011-08-06T22:51:00.003-04:00

I have had an association with WKDE Radio in Altavista for about 10 years now. I think I started with basketball first in January, and started as a sideline reporter for the football team the next year, but honestly it's been so long I can't remember. Anyways, the first guys I ever met on a football sideline were Robert Duff and Jeff Cocke. Now, I am not a native of Altavista, but one thing that I respect about small towns is the close bond that the town shares, you know where everybody knows everybody. In my mind, Robert and Jeff are probably two of the best people I could have first met. I remember that first year doing games I was always on the sideline and I would wear khaki shorts a lot (that dates back to my days as a student manager at Jefferson Forest, kind of superstitious) and so would Jeff. So anytime after that when one of us wasn't wearing shorts, we'd give the other a hard time about it. I would stand and just look at him and say "What are you doing? Where are your shorts?" and other times if I didn't have them on, he would say (and he had a great voice, I can't explain it, you just had to hear it) "Where are the shorts at tonight?" and I would come up with some excuse as to why I didn't have them on. Later in my broadcasting career, he became the clock operator for Altavista's boys basketball games and when I saw him in the hallway before games, I would go into the shorts stuff.

We talked more about things other then shorts, but never deep conversations, just passing stuff, but I always felt like Jeff was a friend. Going to Altavista games is not going to be the same for me this year, when I look down from the broadcast booth, it's just going to feel different not seeing Jeff sit down there next to Ryan "Soup" Mitchell (Altavista's scorekeeper) and the father of Delano Douglas (I must admit, I don't know his real name, I just know him as Tootie.) to Jeff's left. Oh yeah, Jeff was also a very good umpire for high school baseball as well, as I would see him at various games I would attend during the days of coverage for "Talking High School Sports".

You know it's funny, I think people look at high school sports, and they see people that they know like Mike Scharnus, Mike Cartolaro, and other various head coaches around the area. But, there are a ton of people that contribute to games running smoothly, whether it be officials, administrators, or support staff like the clock operators, scorekeepers and so on.

My prayers go out to Jeff's family, including his wife Vickie, his daughters, Jennifer and Christy, their husbands Jeff Monroe (Head Boys Basketball Coach at Liberty High School)and Brian Murray as well as others including grandchildren and other relatives.

I will be making the trip to Altavista's gymnasium for the visitation tomorrow at 1 pm. The service starts at 3. Normally, I look forward to going to Altavista's gym, because it means a basketball game of some sort, but out of all my trips to Altavista, this is one that I wish was never happening.

I hope I see Jeff in heaven one day, so I can say "Where are the shorts at?"

Page County Wins Group A Div 1 Baseball Title

2011-06-11T14:40:00.001-04:00

PAGE COUNTY EDGES RIVERHEADS TO CLAIM GROUP A DIVISION 1 BASEBALL TITLE

SALEM, Va. – Timmy Cave went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and Patrick Cubbage tossed a complete game to lead Page County to a 3-1 win over Riverheads in the Group A Division 1 Baseball State Championship Saturday morning at Kiwanis Field as part of the 2011 Spring Jubilee.

As a team, Page recorded 11 hits.

Kyle Wilson and Cody Swisher led Riverheads with two hits each.

Jefferson Forest Captures Boys Soccer Title

2011-06-11T12:47:00.001-04:00

JEFFERSON FOREST KNOCKS OFF TWO-TIME DEFENDING CHAMPS TO CLAIM FIRST STATE TITLE, 2-1

RADFORD, Va. – Matthew Crider’s 77th minute strike lifted Jefferson Forest to a 2-1 victory over Blacksburg in the Group AA Boys Soccer State Championship Saturday morning at Radford University as part of the 2011 Spring Jubilee.

Trailing 1-0 at the break, Jefferson Forest’s Drew Henderson collected a loose ball in the box to tie the score 14 minutes into the second half.

Blacksburg’s lone goal came from Garland Smith midway through the opening period.

This is Jefferson Forest’s first Group AA title, while the Bruins have appeared in 17, including six of the last seven.

Preview of Rustburg & Liberty Boys Basketball

2011-02-16T15:11:00.002-05:00

Tonight at Brookville high school, the Rustburg Red Devils and Liberty Minutemen will meet for the Division 3 share of the Seminole District title, before battling the winner of E.C. Glass and Amherst on Friday.

I had a chance to catch up with both coaches, one by audio, one by print.

Jeff Monroe joined me on "The Sports Buffet Podcast", to check out that interview, click here. Brantley Shields and I caught up via e-mail to talk about tonight's match-up with the Minutemen.

Bob Alvis: Anthony Reynolds is a stand out player for them, what all do you guys have to do to make sure Reynolds doesn't kill you all tonight?

Brantley Shields: We have to limit what he can do with the ball and where he catches it. A player like that it is impossible to stop. You just have to try and limit them and force them to catch the ball in positions where you can defend them.

BA: Who are some of their other players that you are worried about, and why?

BS: (Darius) McCoy and (Thomas) Clark because they can flat out shoot it. (Gaitlin) Wright gets solid penetration for them and we have to take away his drive.

BA: A lot of times coaches say that they know can't contain superstar players, but want to limit their touches. How important is it that you not only get the ball to Marshall (Wood), but put him in a good position to where he doesn't have to do a lot of work getting his shot or getting to score. Or is it a situation, where give Marshall the ball and everyone else get the heck out of the way?

BS: A little of both. I think it is impossible to limit touches for great players. They are going to get touches. Marshall has averaged the same shot attempts for just about every game this season with the exception of the last Glass game, and that was just because he got into foul trouble. What Liberty will do is try to turn him into a jump shooter which will do two things. 1. Take him away from the boards 2. Force him to take a lower percentage shot. They did a great job of that in the first game, in the second game Marshall did a better job of catching and reading. Marshall has matured tremendously in the past ten games and the key for us is to get him the ball in spots where he can be successful.

BA: What went right and who stood out for you guys against Brookville on Monday night?

BS: We played really good defense, especially in the second half. We also took really good shots and got to the basket, which allowed us to get to the foul line. That is the formula we try to play and we executed really well the other night, better than we have all season. Hopefully we can do it again tonight.

BA: We have talked about this before, but with the postseason comes a new level of play, what change have you noticed in you guys in terms of mindset and intensity coming into this game?

BS: Really, mentally I haven't seen much of a change. We really stressed consistency, focus, and poise all year. One game isn't more important than the next. Every drill, every play, every practice, every game is just as important as the next. Our kids really bought into that from the beginning. What I have noticed, is our players comfort level in our system increasing. That allows us to start playing through developed habits rather than having to constantly think through everything. This allows us to play faster and make adjustments quicker. I think that it is a big reason why we have played a lot better the past 6 games.

Seminole District Boys Tournament Action on Monday

2011-02-14T16:30:00.003-05:00

Division 3 and Division 4 tournament action takes place tonight in the Seminole District for boys basketball. Rustburg travels to Brookville in Division 3 with a spot in Wednesday's division 3 final against Liberty on the line. Then, in Division 4, # 1 seed, E.C. Glass travels to Jefferson Forest and Amhest will play Heritage on the same floor immediately after. We'll now take a look at how the matchups have gone this year.

Division 3
# 2 Rustburg at # 3 Brookville
Previous Meetings this season
Dec 13 2010 at Rustburg: Rustburg 54 Brookville 42
Jan 18 2011 at Brookville: Rustburg 49 Brookville 35

Rustburg recorded the sweep during the regular season against the Bees, but make no mistake, Brantley Shields views the Bees as a tough out. Marshall Wood is averaging 19 ppg in the series this year (14 in the first game, 24 in the 2nd matchup) and the Red Devils have depth up front with Adrian Stefek. The Bees can play big too though with Korren Kirven banging down low. Matt Blanks is probably the best pure shooter on the Bees.

Division 4
# 1 E.C. Glass at # 4 Jefferson Forest

Previous Meetings this season
Dec 13 2010 at Jefferson Forest: E.C. Glass 60 Jefferson Forest 35
Jan 18 2011 at E.C. Glass: E.C. Glass 58 Jefferson Forest 35

The Hilltoppers have been getting better as the season has progressed. A big win over Rustburg a couple weeks ago ended up being the district clincher for the Hilltoppers, as Heritage would upset Liberty, who would win the district outright. Malcolm Owens is a legit player of the year candidate in the league, but also has a strong supporting cast with D.J. Champion and others. Jefferson Forest surprised some teams early in the season with wins over Rustburg and others, but the Cavs have cooled as of late. However, you can't count a Paul Smith coached team out in the postseason.

# 2 Amherst vs. # 3 Heritage

Previous Meetings this season
Jan 21 2011 at Heritage: Heritage 55 Amherst 54
Feb 5 2011 at Amherst: Amherst 58 Heritage 45

Having seen both these teams earlier in the season, I would have said this would have been a no-contest then, but Heritage has really improved. In what may be one of Dan Stephens youngest teams at Heritage, they are starting to pick it up at the right time. The Pioneers scored a huge upset at Liberty down the stretch, and would like to ride that momentum into Wednesday's division 4 final, and a spot in the Region III Division 4 tournament. Eddie Carter has another athletic team in Amherst Co. and looks to get his team into next week's regional title with a win. Everyone always talks about Marshall Wood, Anthony Reynolds and Malcolm Owens when talking about Seminole studs, but don't sleep on A.J. Richerson, possibly the best player in the Seminole that isn't talked about.

Dogwood District QF's on Monday

2011-02-14T10:57:00.004-05:00

Tonight, District Tournament play is taking place all over the place. Here is a portion of the schedule

Dogwood Boys BB (All games at 7:00)
# 7 William Campbell at # 2 Altavista

Previous Meetings this season:
Jan 7 2011 at Altavista: Altavista 58 William Campbell 37
Feb 1 2011 at William Campbell: Altavista 41 William Campbell 36

Notes: Reigning Dogwood Player of the Year Jerrell Jordan is averaging 10.5 ppg and 9 rpg against William Campbell this season, but Mike Robinson has been the real thorne in Robbie St. John's side. Robinson is averaging 18.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Robinson is shooting an astounding 84 % from the floor against the Generals. The last times these two teams met in the tournament was the 07-08 season, which Altavista won 73-45. William Campbell did defeat the Colonels in 2005-2006 at Altavista 51-50, a loss which kept the Colonels home from making the regional playoffs for the only time in their 8 years in Single A. (Shameless plug here) You can hear this game tonight on 105.5 KD Country

# 6 Nelson County at # 3 Appomattox

Jan 4 2011 at Nelson County: Appomattox 70 Nelson County 64
Jan 25 2011 at Appomattox: Appomattox 77 Nelson County 71

Nelson County could be without Trevor Martin, who suffered an ankle injury on Friday night against Dan River in Ringgold. The Governors do have solid pieces in place though if Martin can't go such as veterans Jordan Wooten and James Saunders along with Quincy Murphy. A big test might be how will Nelson point guard, Adam Pickett (freshman) fair in his first postseason game. Appomattox has versatility in the backcourt (Josh Wilson, Shaquan Moore) and in the front (Devanti Perkins) to name just a few. Perkins, who tallied 20 in the 1st meeting between the two, was sidelined with a one game suspension when the two met a 2nd time (2 technical fouls the game before). However, a combined 54 points from Josh Wilson and Shaquan Moore (29 from Wilson, 25 from Moore) carried the Raiders through. The Raiders have hit 23 3's in two games against Nelson County, with 9 coming from Shaquan Moore. The winner will meet the winner of Altavista and William Campbell either at Altavista or at Appomattox or Nelson County (should the Generals beat Altavista)

# 5 Chatham at # 4 Gretna

Dec 30 2010 at Averett: Gretna 55 Chatham 53
Jan 14 2011 at Gretna: Gretna 60 Chatham 50
Feb 8 2011 at Chatham: Chatham 62 Gretna 46

If you are going by what's in your mind the last, then you have to like Chatham. Aaron Rogers threw in 22 points and recorded 20 rebounds last Tuesday in Chatham to give the Cavaliers the victory. Gretna though has tallied two victories including the holiday shootout at Averett which threw in an extra meeting into the standard 2 between these teams. That meeting back in late December was won when Joe McGee's tip in won it for the Hawks. McGee finished with 24 in that affair, while backcourt mate Devonate Pannell chipped in 18. The winner of this will meet the top seeded Dan River Wildcats Wednesday in Ringgold.

High School Sports News & Notes

2011-01-20T07:50:00.002-05:00

* The Rustburg Red Devils wrestling team placed 9th out of 12 teams last Saturday at the Lancer Invitational. Rustburg dropped matches to Halifax & Northside, before bouncing back to defeat VES and a combined team from Amherst & Broadway.
Individual Standouts for the Red Devils
112: Hannah Gage 2-2
125: Chase Simpkins 4-0 (3 wins by pinfall)
130: Cort Bogan 3-1 (2 wins by pinfall)
135: Duane Waterstraat 1-3 (win by pinfall)
140: Taylor Bennett 3-1 (2 wins by pinfall)
152: Preston Rogers 3-1 (2 wins by pinfall)
160: Cody Presho 3-1 (2 wins by pinfall)
171: Colton Thompson 2-0 (1 pin); J.W. Hamlett 0-2
189: P.J. Kackley 3-1 (2 wins by pinfall)
215: Seth Brubaker 0-2; Brett Bussert 2-0 (1 win by pinfall)
285: Cody Everett 2-2

In High School Boys Basketball in the Dogwood District, the standings are jam packed
Dan River 6-0
Altavista 4-1
Gretna 2-3
Nelson County 2-3
Appomattox 2-3
Chatham 2-4
Appomattox 2-4

Teams being their 2nd go around in the district on Friday, and two games still need to be made up as Appomattox travels to Altavista on Monday, January 24th. Gretna will travel to Nelson County, that is TBA.

E.C. Glass and Rustburg Boys and Girls BB PPD

2010-12-17T11:48:00.002-05:00

Tonight's games have been postponed. The games are tenatively trying to be made up on Monday.

High School Cancellations for Friday December 17th

2010-12-17T11:27:00.001-05:00

Per Chip Berry, Athletic Director at E.C. Glass

The Glass swim meet scheduled for tonight, 12/17 vs. J.F. and Liberty has been postponed and we will work on rescheduling that meet if we can get a date from the Jamerson YMCA.

Glass will play 4 basketball games at Glass tonight vs. Rustburg. Girls' varsity and boys' JV will start at 6:00 and Boys' Varsity and Girls' JV will start at 7:30.

The boys' JV and Varsity basketball games vs. P.H. scheduled for tonight in Roanoke have been postponed until Wed., 12/22.

The Track meet at LU is on for Saturday and everything will run on time.

Other Cancellations

* Boys Basketball: Altavista at Randolph Henry has been PPD tonight. No makeup date yet announced.

* Boys Basketball: Dan River at Gretna has been PPD tonight. No makeup date yet announced.

The Sports Buffet Podcast Running at Full Steam

2010-12-13T14:55:00.002-05:00

Saturday, I ventured to Williams Stadium and used my facebook page "The Sports Buffet Podcast" which is linked to my "The Sports Buffet Podcast" Twitter page and I kept updates going for the two AA state title games (Division 3, Richlands and Poquoson and Division 4, Harrisonburg and Briar Woods) as well as sprinkling in some other score updates from the Beacon Credit Union Classic.

I had a blast.

I am sure some of my Facebook followers were getting tired of the updates, but I felt like I was actually credible and serious, so therefore "The Sports Buffet Podcast" is back!

Now, I need some help.

If you are an athletic director or coach reading this, keep me up to date with what is going on with your team. I am a staff of one. Let me know if an athlete is signing to go to college, let me know if there is a game being rescheduled. Send me a copy of your schedule and roster (TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net) is where you can e-mail me. After your game is over, call me or text me your score, I'll get it on our Facebook page. My goal is to gain more followers (I am currently at 625 and become just as big of a part of the sports scene in the area as the television stations and the newspaper. Also, as you always know, I do preach a focus on Central VA area sports, but we cover EVERYTHING. Let us know if there is anything you want to hear!

Also, shoot any ideas and suggestions to me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Live Updates from Richlands and Poquoson

2010-12-11T13:16:00.002-05:00

Pretty much have moved to our Facebook page and twitter

Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sports-Buffet-Podcast/73886606513
Twitter Link: http://twitter.com/thesportsbuffet

Update from Salem

2010-12-11T12:34:00.000-05:00

1st quarter ends with Riverheads up on Eastern Montgomery, 21-14.

Poquoson ball

2010-12-11T12:26:00.000-05:00

Short kick Poquoson starts at their own 30, 10:47 to go in qtr 2

Richlands 3 Poquoson 2

2010-12-11T12:25:00.002-05:00

26 yard field goal by Reece Strong gives the Blue Tornado the lead with 10:54 left in the 2nd qtr

Blue Tornado 3rd & Goal at the 6

2010-12-11T12:24:00.002-05:00

Lockhart sacked at the 8, it'll set up 4th down and probably a field goal attempt.

Richlands at the Poquoson 10

2010-12-11T12:18:00.001-05:00

Blue Tornado now inside the 10 to set up 1st & goal Richlands

2010-12-11T12:17:00.002-05:00

Albert Fajardo catches the pass from Lockhart. Blue Tornado at Poquoson's 32, 1st & 10

Islanders defense is tough

2010-12-11T12:15:00.001-05:00

Devon Johnson can only get a yard setting up 3rd & 8 for the Blue Tornado.

Live Updates from Richlands and Poquoson

2010-12-11T12:11:00.003-05:00

Finally here and hooked up at the AA State Championships in Lynchburg, with 5:19 to go in the 1st quarter, Richlands trails Poquoson 2-0. Richlands getting the ball back at their own 25

From the mind and fingers of The Sports Buffet

2010-11-25T06:27:00.003-05:00

Way, way back in October of 2008, I wrote a blog detailing the features that I wanted to air on "The Sports Buffet Podcast". Thinking about it, I still want to do some of those features, but I think I have decided a few other segments that I want to do on the podcast.

* "Four Guys" (if you have a better title, I'm definitely up to listening to all suggestions) but the basis of "Four Guys" would be to talk about issues in sports from just four guys. The guys can be in the sports media, but they don't have to be (some of my better friends are in sports media, so I don't want to exclude the media types) but I want it to be just as much of regular fans in sports as well. We could talk the issues of sports, but also throw in some debatable topics too, such as debating sports lists or things of that sort.

* Also, to show gap between generations, I have thought about doing a weekly/bi-weekly podcast with my dad and I, calling it "Alvis and Alvis" or "Father and Son" or "Old School (me) and Older School (my dad)".

I really have a new hunger to do more podcasts and such, but the main issue is time. Having two kids and a full time job is a lot on my plate, but I love doing the podcasts and talking to people about sports (and other stuff), so we (well I guess "I" am) are back on track with "The Sports Buffet Podcast".

Now, there here is a list of a short term goals for "The Sports Buffet Podcast"
- Get a domain name and a dedicated web site back (if there is anyone that wants to help build this website (with very little compensation in return, since I am currently not making any money on the podcast) I am very open to the idea (I know I have asked this before and had some people who wanted to volunteer, but now I am ready to go with it).

- To a degree, create a high school sports almanac. The info I want to have is old rosters, schedule/results, all-district teams, and things of that sort.

- Find some time to edit and get into the some of the specialized features that I had detailed in my October 08 post. I love editing the segments "Where Are They Now" and "Checking In" and those type segments. I think they are fun and hope you all have enjoyed them in the past.

- Earn some compensation from the podcasts/blogs so I can further the development of "The Sports Buffet" and cover more events and give more teams coverage.

Finally, I want to hear from my listeners. Give me your ideas and suggestions. I want to know what YOU want to hear on the podcast and what YOU want on the blog. Granted, I want to give everyone some attention, but if there are certain things that the listeners of the podcast want to hear, and readers of the blogs want to read about, then I want to cater to those needs.

VHSL Football Regional Final Playoff Schedule

2010-11-24T08:39:00.006-05:00

Here is this weekend's VHSL Regional Playoff Schedule (schedule is listed in order of start times of kickoff)

Friday November 26th
Region B, Division 2
# 3 (10-1) Buckingham at # 1 (10-1) Gretna 6:00 p.m.

Region III Division 3
# 3 (11-1) Brookville at # 1 (10-1) Liberty 7:00 p.m.

Region III Division 4
# 2 (9-2) Amherst at # 1 (11-0) Harrisonburg 7:00 p.m.

Region II Division 4
# 4 (11-1) Broad Run at # 2 (10-2) Briar Woods 7:00 p.m.

Region C Division 1
# 3 (9-3) Galax at # 1 (11-0) Eastern Montgomery 7:30 p.m.

Region C Division 2
# 2 (9-2) Chilhowie at # 1 (8-3) Radford 7:30 p.m.

Region B Division 1
# 2 (10-1) Altavista at # 1 (10-1) Riverheads 7:30 p.m.

Region IV Division 3
# 2 (8-3) Cave Spring at # 1 (11-0) Richlands 7:30 p.m.

Region IV Division 4
# 3 (11-1) Magna Vista at # 1 (11-0) Christiansburg 7:30 p.m.

Eastern Region Division 5
# 2 (12-1) Hampton at # 1 (12-0) Phoebus 7:30 p.m.

Central Region Division 5
# 2 (11-0) Dinwiddie at # 1 (11-0) Hanover 7:30 p.m.

Central Region Division 6
# 2 (11-0) Hermitage at # 1 (11-0) L.C. Bird 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 27th
Region D Division 2
# 3 (7-4) Honaker vs. # 1 (9-2) Gate City 12:30 p.m. at UVA Wise

Region A Division 2
# 2 (10-1) Lancaster at # 1 (10-1) King William 1:00 p.m.

Region A Division 1
# 2 (8-3) Sussex Central at # 1 (10-1) Franklin 1:00 p.m.

Region II Division 3
# 2 (9-3) Warren County at # 1 (8-4) Handley 1:00 p.m.

Northwest Region Division 6
# 4 (10-2) Battlefield at # 1 (11-0) Colonial Forge 1:00 p.m.

Northwest Region Division 5
# 2 (8-3) Mountain View at # 1 (11-0) Osbourne 1:30 p.m.

Region I Division 3
# 3 (9-2) James Monroe at # 1 (10-1) Poquoson 1:30 p.m.

Region I Division 4
# 4 (8-3) Eastern View at # 3 (7-4) Courtland 1:30 p.m.

Northern Region Division 5
# 6 (8-4) Hayfield at # 1 (12-0) Stone Bridge 1:30 p.m.

Northern Region Division 6
# 3 (10-2) Chantilly at # 1 (11-1) Lake Braddock 1:30 p.m.

Region D Division 1
# 2 (10-1) J.I. Burton at # 1 (11-0) Clintwood

Eastern Region Division 6
# 2 (11-1) Oscar Smith at # 1 (12-0) Bayside 7:30 p.m.

The Sports Buffet Podcast...One More Try

2010-11-24T08:38:00.000-05:00

Okay, "The Sports Buffet Podcast" is going to make one last try of it. Basically, when I was doing "Talking High School Sports", that was in my BK (Before Kids) era, and I had tons of time to dedicate. Now, I have two kids and a full time job that has me working abnormal hours, so basically I don't have the time that I'd like to dedicate to my podcast. So, I am going to bring back the 'Buffet. The interviews/segments may not be as plentiful as they once were, but it's a labor of love, and I need my hobby back, so the 'Buffet is back in town!More updates and developments hopefully to come. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, please don't hesitate to e-mail them to me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

High School Sports Getting Underway

2010-08-02T12:05:00.002-04:00

Football begins their practices today, while volleyball holds tryouts today. Lots of action coming, be sure to stay tuned to The Sports Buffet Podcast's High School Sports Blog and The Sports Buffet Podcast as we update everything high school sports related starting this coming week.

Any ideas and suggestions, don't be shy. E-Mail them to TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Millbrook Girls Advance to AA Div 3 Finals

2010-03-09T12:29:00.003-05:00

Millbrook defeated Patrick County 61-35 to earn a spot in Saturday's 11 AM final, where they will take on the winner of today's other semifinal between Robert E. Lee and Greensville County. Sara Mead finished with 15 for Millbrook, while Kylene Culler scored 14 for Patrick County.

March Madness.... the High School Variety begins today

2010-03-09T10:51:00.003-05:00

At 11 AM today (about 8 minutes from now) the VHSL begins their marathon of games from Tuesday-Saturday. The girls get under way at 11 AM with the first game being Patrick County and Millbrook. Follow all the action all week long as Robert Blakey and crew keeps you posted. Check out Virginia Preps.com and go to the corresponding message board featuring those teams.

Liberty-Rockbridge Boys BB Game Moved

2010-02-24T11:52:00.002-05:00

Liberty and Rockbridge County will play tomorrow night at 7:00. However, instead of playing at Robert E. Lee, that game has been moved to Staunton River High School.

HS Boys Basketball Results

2010-02-23T22:16:00.002-05:00

Region B Division 1 Results
Madison County 86 Buffalo Gap 32
Luray 85 Cumberland 40
Madison County plays Luray at 7:00 on Thursday night at Orange County High School

Altavista 64 Amelia 34
Page County 58 William Campbell 44
Page County plays Altavista at 7:00 on Thursday night at Eastern Mennonite University. You can listen to the call with Bob Alvis and Jason Kilbourne on 105.5 KD Country or online at KD Country.com

Region B Division 2 Results
Buckingham 53 Strasburg 33. Taylor Boyers led Buckingham with 17.
Clarke County 66 Central Woodstock 60.
Buckingham plays Clarke County at 7:00 on Thursday night at Cumberland High School.

Appomattox 55 Randolph Henry 37. Devanti Perkins led the Raiders with 16.
Dan River 58 George Mason 49.
Appomattox plays Dan River at 7:00 on Thursday night at Amherst County High School.

REGION 3 Division 3
Northside 82 Robert E. Lee 63
Waynesboro 61 Brookville 47
Northside plays Waynesboro on Thursday night at Robert E. Lee at 6:00

Rockbridge Co. 61 Alleghany 46
Rockbridge Co. plays Liberty on Thursday night at Robert E. Lee at 7:30

Regional Tournament Schedules

2010-02-23T05:52:00.002-05:00

BOYS BASKETBALL

Region III Division 3
Tuesday (Quartefinals)
Robert E. Lee at Northside 7:00
Waynesboro at Brookville 7:00
Alleghany at Rockbridge County 7:00

Thursday at R.E. Lee (Semifinals)
Robert E. Lee-Northside winner vs. Waynesboro-Brookville winner, 6:00
Alleghany-Rockbridge County winner vs. Liberty, 7:30

Friday (Finals)
at Robert E. Lee, 7:30

Region III Division 4
Wednesday (Semifinals)
E.C. Glass at Spotswood, 6:00
Broadway vs. Heritage, 7:30 at Spotswood

Friday (Finals) at Spotswood
E.C. Glass-Spotswood winner vs. Broadway-Heritage winner, 7:30

Region B Division 1 Quarterfinals (All games at 7:00)
Tuesday
(8) Buffalo Gap at (1) Madison County
(5) Cumberland at (4) Luray
(6) Amelia at (3) Altavista
(7) William Campbell at (2) Page County

Thursday-Region B Semifinals
Cumberland-Luray winner vs. Madison County-Buffalo Gap winner (at Orange County, 7:00)
Amelia-Altavista winner vs. William Campbell-Page County winner (at Eastern Mennonite, 7:00)

Saturday-Region B Final
at Spotswood High School, 6:00

Region B, Division 2 Quarterfinals (All games at 7:00, except Dan River at George Mason 6:00)
(8) Strasburg at (1) Buckingham
(5) Central Woodstock at (4) Clarke County
(6) Dan River at (3) George Mason
(7) Randolph Henry at (2) Appomattox

Region B, Division 2 Semifinals-Thursday
Strasburg-Buckingham winner vs. Central Woodstock-Clarke County winner (at Buckingham, 7:00)
Dan River-George Mason winner vs. Randolph Henry-Appomattox winner (at Amherst County High School, 7:00)

Region B Division 2 Final-Saturday
at Eastern Mennonite University, 8:00

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Region III Division 3
Wednesday (Semifinals)
Rustburg at Northside, 6:00
Brookville vs. Robert E. Lee, 7:30 at Northside

Friday (Finals at Northside, 7:00)
Rustburg-Northside winner vs. Brookville-Robert E. Lee winner

Region III Division 4
Tuesday (Quarterfinals)
Spotswood at Lord Botetourt, 7:00
Jefferson Forest at Turner Ashby, 7:00

Thursday (Semifinals at Jefferson Forest)
Spotswood-Lord Botetourt winner vs. E.C. Glass, 6:00
Jefferson Forest-Turner Ashby winner vs. Staunton River, 7:30

Saturday (Finals at Jefferson Forest, 3:00)

Region B, Division 1
Quarterfinals-Wednesday (all games at 7:00)
(8) William Campbell at (1) Riverheads
(5) Buffalo Gap at (4) Page County
(6) Amelia at (3) Central Lunenberg
(7) Madison County at (2) Altavista

Semifinals-Friday
William Campbell-Riverheads winner vs. Buffalo Gap-Page County winner (Eastern Mennonite, 8:00)
Amelia-Central Lunenberg winner vs. Madison County-Altavista winner (Amherst, 7:00)

Finals-Saturday
at Spotswood High School, 7:30

Region B, Division 2
Quarterfinals at Wednesday (all games at 7:00)
(8) Central Woodstock at (1) George Mason
(5) Chatham at (4) Strasburg
(6) Clarke County at (3) Dan River
(7) Randolph Henry at (2) Buckingham

Semifinals, Friday
Central Woodstock-George Mason winner vs. Chatham-Strasburg winner (at Eastern Mennonite, 6:30)
Clarke County-Dan River winner vs. Randolph Henry-Buckingham winner (at Cumberland, 7:00)

Saturday,
Final at Eastern Mennonite, 6:30 PM

Region Recaps from Monday Night

2010-02-23T05:19:00.003-05:00

Regional play got underway in Double A Region 3 on Monday night in the girls and boys basketball tournaments.

The Brookville Bees girls basketball team knocked off Waynesboro 55-28. The Bees will now meet Robert E. Lee tonight at Northside in a doubleheader that includes Rustburg meeting up with Northside. Chris Lassiter of the News Leader in Staunton covered the Little Giants loss. Rustburg defeated Fort Defiance on Monday night by the score of 51-43. Rustburg, comes in red hot as the Seminole District tournament winners, by defeating E.C. Glass in the Seminole District final. Once again, Rustburg meets Northside, who knocked off Staunton River in the Blue Ridge tournament, before losing to Lord Botetourt in the Blue Ridge final. Robert Sisk covered the Rustburg win for the Media General newspapers with his report of the Red Devils win.

On the boys side, E.C. Glass knocked off William Byrd in the AA Divison 4 first round matchup. Glass meets up with Spotswood in the Region III Div 4 quarterfinal on Wednesday. In the other matchup last night from Region III, Division 4, Broadway knocked off Staunton River 70-54. Broadway will play Heritage in another game at Spotswood on Wednesday night.

Region B Tournaments Begin Tonight

2010-02-23T04:55:00.003-05:00

The boys take the court tonight in the Group A, Divison 1 or Division 2. Here are the matchups for Region B Division 1

(8) Buffalo Gap at (1) Madison County
- Buffalo Gap won the tiebreaker over Nelson County by having the better overall record. Madison County also held that same edge in the tiebreaker over Page County.

(7) William Campbell at (2) Page County

(6) Amelia at (3) Altavista

(5) Cumberland at (4) Luray

In Division 2 , the matchups are as follows.

(8) Strasburg at (1) Buckingham

(7) Randolph Henry at (2) Appomattox
- Randolph Henry secured the 7 seed over Strasburg by having a better overall record.

(6) Dan River at (3) George Mason
- This will be a 6:00 start time.

(5) Central Woodstock at (4) Clarke County.

All tip times are at 7:00 with the exception of the Dan River game. I'll preview the games a little more in-depth later throughout the day.

High School Basketball Tournaments get underway

2010-02-16T11:31:00.003-05:00

Tonight, the Dogwood District begins play with their boys and girls basketball tournaments. The girls were scheduled to get underway last night but they will get underway tonight. The pairings are as follows.

(1) Dan River-bye

(5) Gretna at (4) William Campbell

(6) Appomattox at (3) Chatham

(7) Nelson County at (2) Altavista

the boys counter with the following matchups

(1) Appomattox-bye

(5) Gretna at (4) William Campbell

(6) Nelson County at (3) Dan River

(7) Chatham at (2) Altavista

Gretna at William Campbell
1st Meeting, at William Campbell: William Campbell 57 Gretna 56
2nd Meeting, at Gretna: Gretna 57 William Campbell 28 (William Campbell was playing without Chris Waller)

Nelson County at Dan River
1st (and only meeting) at Dan River: Nelson County 58 Dan River 55

Chatham at Altavista
1st Meeting, at Altavista: Altavista 78 Chatham 58 (Altavista played without Jerrell Jordan)
2nd Meeting at Chatham: Altavista 67 Chatham 48

Girls Semis are Wednesday at higher seed, Boys semis are Thursday at higher seed

Altavista Boys Basketball Team to play William Campbell on Thursday afternoon in Cancer Awareness game

2010-02-03T19:57:00.002-05:00

The Altavista Boys Basketball team will host a Cancer Awareness game Thursday February 4, 2010 during the contest with William Campbell. The JV game starts at 3:00 with the varsity game to follow. The team would like to have everyone wear the color that represents any cancer that has affected their life. The team and cheerleaders will be collecting donations and giving out different colored ribbons during the game. Some of the proceeds will go to Dante Erk, a seven year old, who has been living with cancer since he was two. All other proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. Please come out and support the cause.

Dogwood Boys BB Games moved to Thursday

2010-01-27T12:17:00.002-05:00

Altavista at Dan River has been moved from Friday night to Thursday night. Same time, same place (6:00 JV Start in Ringgold). Also, the Chatham at Appomattox game has also moved their game from Friday to Thursday at the same time.

Tuesday High School Boys Basketball Scores

2010-01-27T05:09:00.001-05:00

DOGWOOD
Dan River 60 Gretna 54
Appomattox 67 Nelson County 22
Chatham 61 William Campbell 57

SEMINOLE
Brookville 59 Heritage 46
Jefferson Forest 61 Rustburg 56 OT

Carl Koenig's Career from Randolph Macon

2010-01-15T13:00:00.003-05:00

Carl Koenig (61’)

Originally from Springfield, Illinois, Koenig served in the United States Army at Fort Lee in Petersburg, Virginia, just south of Richmond, before coming to Randolph-Macon College as a student in 1957. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from R-MC in 1961, and went on to earn a Master of Science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.

As a forward on the men’s basketball team, Koenig was a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain. He was named Honorable Mention All-American as a senior in 1960-61 as the Yellow Jackets won the Little 8 conference. R-MC also won the Little 8 in Koenig’s sophomore season, and was second his freshman year. For his career, Koenig finished with 1,294 points, which are 20th on the R-MC all-time career list, and a free throw percentage of 81.5%, which is tied for 10th in R-MC history.

Koenig was active at R-MC off the court, as he served as Varsity Club president and was a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society. He went on to have a successful career as a history teacher and coach for 36 years at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond. Koenig also had coaching stints at Henrico High School and Douglas Freeman High School, both in Richmond, as well as Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria.

A father of three, Koenig’s adult children include sons C.J. Koenig and Lon Koenig and daughter Becky Mason. He also has seven grandchildren. Koenig lives in Bedford, Virginia.

More Thoughts on Carl Koenig

2010-01-15T09:14:00.003-05:00

Former Minutemen player Caleb Tomlin chimed in with these thoughts on Coach Carl Koenig.
"I don't know that one email can capture all the wonderful things that can be said about him. To me he was more than a coach but a friend. He was somebody who always wanted to better the lives of young men and he certainly did that. He taught lessons in so many facets of life, whether it be the class room or life in general. He knew that a majority of the guys he coached would not be going on to play college ball so he wanted to allow them to have fun and be prepared for the next step. He was a coach who loved every aspect of basketball. He was a fundamentals coach, always stressing the fundamentals to his players. He worked hard and it made us want to work hard for him. But I won't remember him as just being a good coach but being a good friend."

You can also check out articles from the Roanoke Times and Lynchburg News & Advance.

More Remembrances of Carl Koenig

2010-01-14T20:56:00.007-05:00

Earlier today, I captured just some of the thoughts and such of Carl Koenig. The Head junior varsity boys basketball coach of the Liberty Minutemen passed away at the age of 75 on Wednesday. In searching for people to comment on Coach K, I found no shortage of participants.

According to former Minutemen head coach, Derek Elmore, Coach K had contacted him about coaching at Liberty in 2002, but Elmore took another job and it never came to fruition. But, the next coach that came into Liberty did take Koenig in as an assistant. John Patterson coached the Minutemen from 2002-2005. Patterson told me that Koenig read about him in the Bedford Bulletin and met with him about the job. From there Koenig became a member of the Minutemen coaching staff. To prove what a small world we live in, Patterson and Koenig were both from the same town in Illinois; Springfield.

Two men who have had great success as varsity head coaches in the area, Mike Cartolaro and Dan Stephens, each had their own take on Koenig. Cartolaro said, "He loved working with the players and coaching. More importantly, he was good for the kids."

Stephens commented, "I never got the chance to know Carl well, but I know he was always quick with a smile and a handshake when we crossed paths. He was very unassuming, always introduced himself as if I wouldn't remember him from before. Carl was a throwback in all the right ways. He obviously believed in the coaching fraternity, something that's kind of been lost to some extent in recent years. He was a hard-worker. I often saw him out scouting when Liberty wasn't playing. Just seemed to be a guy that loved to coach and to help the kids he was given responsibility for. We'll miss him in our profession."

Coach Hamill Jones of St.Christopher, stopped by to share his thoughts on his coach and friend, Coach Carl Koenig.

"I first got to know Coach Koenig as a 6th grade middle school student at St. Christopher's here in Richmond. He might have noticed me because I was a big Duke fan and he liked UNC. He was my 7th grade history teacher and 8th grade basketball coach. By that time he had stepped down from coaching the Varsity team after twenty years. He loved the game of basketball, and he liked to see it played correctly. He taught me about the fundamentals of defense, he demanded maximum effort and he loved to fast break with our 8th grade team. When I went on to play basketball at Washington and Lee University, I remember thinking that some of the players on our college team didn't know the important parts of the game like help-side defense that Coach Koenig had taught me as an 8th grader.

A couple of stories stand out to me

First, we always knew that we should not mess around during one of Coach Koenig's practices. If we did, it would be time for a "Bulldog Shuffle", which is what he called the traditional "suicide" sprint. He wasn't afraid to make us run a lot of them.

During my 8th grade season with Coach Koenig, our team lost one game, to a team called Queens Lake Middle School out of Williamsburg. Their best players were Bryan Randall and Brandon Randall who went onto play quarterback at Virginia Tech and basketball at Hampden Sydney, respectively. We were down 1 (point) with about 5 seconds left and Queens Lake was at the free throw line. The shot went in, and we ran a sideline break off a free throw that Coach Koenig had drilled in us to perfection. However, I missed the shot that would have won the game. I remember feeling bad, because I really wanted Coach Koenig to have an undefeated season, and I remember he was more concerned about how I felt. That story will always serve as a reminder that Coach cared about me, and I cared about him.

He is one of the best people that I have ever known and I will miss him.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, flowers were to be placed on his seat tonight as well as other things (team room being named after him and all players wearing a patch with Coach Koenig's college number on it, 21.)

I am a believer in playing for a coach, playing for a cause and things like that. I wasn't able to attend tonight's game in Bedford between the Heritage Pioneers and the Liberty Minutemen, so I can't describe the atmosphere, but I can tell you I am sure Liberty had a 6th man on the court, on the bench and in the locker room with them at all times. I live in my grandparents old house and even though they are both gone, I feel that they are in my heart at all times. When you are in a house and a big influence and a steady presence, i.e. Coach Carl Koenig has always been a part of that house, they are always going to be in that house, so I believe Coach Koenig will always be with the Minutemen. Because memories never go leave you, and from everyone I have spoken with via e-mail, all the memories they have of Coach Koenig won't go away, they will live forever. The Minutemen won both, the junior varsity and varsity, contests on Thursday night.

I am sorry I never got to interview or talk at length to Coach Carl Koenig. The lesson that I take from this (if there is a lesson to be learned) is always greet as many people as you can. Be outgoing, shake hands (their is enough hand sanitizer in the world to where those of you who are germaphobic will be okay) and greet those around us. Because even though a lot of people knew Coach Carl Koenig and can tell us the great stories about him, there are many of us who unfortunately don't have those stories to share.

When I think of Liberty Basketball, you think of the great teams coached by Mark Hanks, and great players like Raymond "Peanut" Arrington, Robert Carson and many others. But I think you can add Carl Koenig to that list as a figure that will be remembered in the lore of Bedford basketball. RIP Coach Koenig, you will be missed.

Remembering Carl Koenig

2010-01-14T11:49:00.007-05:00

Carl Koenig, Liberty High School Junior Varsity Boys Basketball coach, died on Wednesday at his home. He was 75 years old. When I started "Talking High School Sports" back in 2003, Carl was an assistant to John Patterson at Liberty High School on the varsity staff. I never had the opportunity to speak to Coach Koenig, other then the standard "How are you doing", or "Hey coach". Others though had great memories and opportunities to know him.

I set out on Thursday to get thoughts from competitors and coaches who served on staff's with him. Chris Young (Head Boys Basketball Coach at Brookville) and Paul Redgate (Head Girls Basketball Coach at Jefferson Forest, and former boys Junior Varsity Head Coach at Jefferson Forest) only knew him through handshakes. Paul Smith (current Head Boys Basketball Coach at Jefferson Forest) also commented that he did not know him well, but had heard nothing but good things about him.

Koenig joined the Minutemen when John Patterson became the head coach in the early 2000s as his assistant coach on the Varsity staff. When Jeff Monroe joined the Minutemen, he had Coach Koenig coach his Junior Varsity squad. I talked to Coach Monroe via e-mail this morning and here were his comments.

"Yesterday was really tough, and tonight probably will be even tougher when we take the court against Heritage. Coach K, was one of the smartest people I have ever met. Not only was he a good coach, but an excellent teacher. Coach K, probably forgot more basketball then I will ever know. I don't think Coach K ever met a stranger, he always introduced himself and gave a firm hand shake. I have been fortunate to work with some really good coaches over the years (Paul Wheeler, Dean Hubbard, Mike Cartolaro, Stu Richardson) and Coach K, ranks up there with all them. Our basketball program and, me personally will miss him dearly."

John Patterson, former Head Boys Basketball Coach at Liberty High School and current LCA Head Boys Basketball coach chimed in with the following.

I am a better coach, man, and father for having known Carl Koenig. As I began my high school coaching career at Liberty High School, he was my assistant, my mentor and my best friend. He never missed my daughter’s birthday parties no matter what he was doing. His attitude and love for the game was infectious. Here at LCA, I have a quote in my locker room. It says this:

“There is a right way to do everything.”

-Carl Koenig

That was what Carl believed and lived. I know that as my career at LCA comes and goes, Carl Koenig’s legacy of “doing right” will live on forever. I am sorry to see him go as I lost one of my life-lines, but his spirit will live with me forever."

Tonight at Liberty they will be honoring Coach Koenig at Liberty, when the Minutemen meet the Pioneers, by having a moment of silence tonight before both the varsity and jv game tonight. The players will be wearing a patch with the number 21 (Coach K's College Basketball Number) on both varsity and jv uniforms. Also, there are plans to put flowers on his seat tonight during the game and also dedicate the Liberty basketball team room to him

Look for more on Carl Koenig on further blog posts.

Dogwood District Boys Basketball Notes, Standings and More

2010-01-11T05:31:00.007-05:00

Heading into this week, we have a couple of big showdowns in the district, including a battle between the two undefeated teams on Tuesday.

Here are the standings and schedule (Overall record listed in parantheses)

Appomattox 2-0 (9-2)

Altavista 2-0 (3-2)

William Campbell 2-1 (5-5)

Dan River 1-1 (7-3)

Nelson County 1-1 (1-5)

Gretna 0-2 (0-5)

Chatham 0-3 (4-7)

This Week's Schedule

Tuesday

Altavista at Appomattox

William Campbell at Dan River

Nelson County at Gretna

Thursday

Chatham at William Campbell

Friday

Nelson County at Altavista

Dan River at Appomattox

Gretna at Chatham

Interview withthe Head Coach of the Appomattox Raiders, Brantley Shields

Bob Alvis: You guys are 9-2 right now, what's going good for the Raiders?

Brantley Shields: Probably one of the best things that happened to us were the games against Hayfield and LCA. They were really good teams and we had a chance to win both games, but didn't execute in the last 3 minutes of each game. It was a great learning experience for us and hopefully prepared us for a tough Dogwood schedule. Defensively we are playing really well. Most of these guys have been playing together for 4 years and know each other really well. They are all great kids and I have really enjoyed coaching them.

BA: You got some guys late due to football, how long did you feel it would take to get a good chemistry and has your team gelled quicker then you thought?

BS: The majority of these guys have been playing together all of their lives, which is one of the benefits of being in a small school system. Coming into the season, I wasn't as concerned with chemistry as much as I was conditioning. We aren't completely there yet, but we are close.

BA: You have an undefeated (district record) team coming in on Tuesday in Altavista, what worries you about the Colonels?

BS: Jerrell Jordan concerns us more than anything. Any big man that averages a double-double will drive opposing coaches crazy. We have to find a way to control him and keep him off the boards. If we don't, it will be a long night for us.

BA: If you had to give a "player of the week" award last week (from your team), who do you give it to and why?

BS: It would be a tri-player of the week. Kenny Scott, Rico Rose, and Neal Thomas do so many good things for us and have been playing really well. If I had to give a most improved it would be Devanti Perkins, he is averaging close to a double-double and if he could stay out of foul trouble probably would have those numbers (double-double).

BA: Some people have said that you guys are as good as Nelson was the year they won the state, but you don't have a player like Thomas Brown. With that being said, you guys have lots of great options, but do you have that one player you consider the guy? Why or why does it not worry you that you have that one guy that can be called the guy?

BS: I don't like to compare past and present teams, but these guys only lost to that Nelson team by 3 points and 7 points as sophomores and beat them as freshman by 5 and 16. I think we have three guys, maybe 4 that I would have no problem taking the last shot. We have had that guy before in Michael St. John, and I think I would prefer to have it the way we do now. As a coach, it is always easier to prepare for a team that has one dynamic player than it is a team full of good players. I think out of our top 8, there is not one guy a coach can tell his defenders to back off of, or help off of. They are all able to score from different areas of the floor and they all are really good defenders.

Altavista and Appomattox, you can hear all the action Tuesday night on 105.5 KD Country, or at KD Country.com

Rod Johnson's High School Football Thoughts

2009-08-25T22:36:00.004-04:00

We are just a few days away from the start of the season, and here are the thoughts of statewide football editor for Virginia Preps.com, Rod Johnson.

When compiling a preseason AAA Top Ten ranking for the state, the first question that you ask yourself is, "who are the best teams in the state?" and the subtext to that question is, "who will win the Division 5 and Division 6 state championship games this season?"

As a guy who majored in history in college, I like to look for patterns in the past to see if that can help predict the future and, in looking at the past five seasons, an interesting (and not surprising) pattern emerged -- teams winning a state championship at the AAA level performed very well the previous season.

By "very well", I don't mean an 8-2, or 9-1 record or something like that, I'm talking playoff experience well. Note that the last ten state champions (five from D5 and five from D6) all have, at worst, played in the regional championship game the season before.

That's good news for fifteen teams who meet that qualification coming into 2009 (Liberty-Bealeton has moved to Division 4) -- Oscar Smith, Varina, Oakton, Meadowbrook, Woodbridge, Ocean Lakes, Chantilly, Phoebus, Osbourn, Dinwiddie, Stone Bridge, GW-Danville, Hanover, Edison, and Lake Taylor.

Now, determining who will rank in the top ten and where they will rank is a simple procedure of talking to sources and arguing amongst the regional writers until we reach a place where everyone is comfortable. Those results can be seen here. Those rankings predict a repeat performance for Oscar Smith in Division 6 and a second state championship win in four years for the Osbourn Eagles who drop to Division 5 this season after losing the D6 title game last season and winning it in 2006.

However, letting the past five years predict the future, we get very different results.
No team has repeated as state champs in the past five years.

Sorry, Oscar Smith and Phoebus, you're fighting against a tough history as the bulls eyes on your backs have been too much for most teams to overcome. Thirteen teams left in contention.
Only one state runner up has returned to the title game to win it the following year (Landstown 2004).

That puts heat on Dinwiddie and Osbourn. Landstown had Percy Harvin on their roster, neither the Generals or Eagles seem to have a five-star talent like that on their roster this season so let's bump them. Eleven teams remaining.

Three teams have won their region, lost in the semis, then come back to win it all (Oscar Smith 2008, Phoebus 2008, and Hampton 2005).

Since it has only happened out of the Eastern Region and no team from the Tidewater area fits that description this season, we are going to eliminate the programs who are in that situation from the other quadrants of the state -- Varina, Oakton and Stone Bridge.

That leaves us with eight teams, all regional runners up from last season: Meadowbrook, Woodbridge Ocean Lakes and Chantilly in Division 6 and GW-Danville, Hanover, Edison and Lake Taylor in Division 5. Good news for those programs -- six of the past ten champions in AAA football lost in the regional championship the season before -- '04 Meadowbrook, '05 Oakton, '06 Osbourn, '06 Phoebus, '07 Westfield and '07 Stone Bridge all completed that run.

Three did it in Division Five and three did it in Division Six. It has happened in all four regions of the state, most often in the Northern where three of the six winners have followed that path including both 2007 champs.

The past two years have brought us regional sweeps with the Northern pulling the trick in 2007 (Westfield and Stone Bridge) and the East matching the feat in 2008 (Oscar Smith and Phoebus). For that to happen again, the tandems would be...
Meadowbrook and Hanover (Central)
Ocean Lakes and Lake Taylor (Eastern)
Chantilly and Edison (Northern)
Woodbridge and GW-Danville (Northwest)

Going back to the top ten rankings for the best teams in the state, VirginiaPreps has ranked both Ocean Lakes and Lake Taylor as top ten teams.

Another Eastern Region sweep? I wouldn't predict it, but recent history is on their side.

Rod Johnson's High School Football Thoughts

2009-08-19T11:45:00.003-04:00

Even on vacation, Rod Johnson can help out "The Sports Buffet Podcast". He penned this from the Outer Banks.

I'm lucky enough to be writing this blog from a deck at a beach house in the Outer Banks as I'm taking a long weekend vacation before the madness of the football season kicks into full gear and, during times like these, one comes to realize how much enjoyment one can get from the simple things in life -- family, food, nice weather, a walk on the beach and a backyard swimming pool (okay, perhaps that last one is a luxury item, but the point remains).

I bring that attitude to this blog entry because, I think, with the season kicking off in just over a week, it may be time to remind ourselves of the simple things that we can enjoy about the football season -- seeing the lights over neighborhood treelines on a Friday night, watching a future college or pro star play a game with his childhood friends probably for the last time, and catching a glimpse of a player who won't play at the next level reach his athletic peak with a touchdown that he will exaggerate about to his grandchildren.

Make no mistake about the fact that high school football is no longer a pure game. The amount of coverage from TV, radio, newspapers and Internet (including Virginia Preps.com, where I am the state editor) is insane relative to the fact that most of the players being covered are 15-, 16- and 17-year old kids who are still learning how to drive, ask out a girl and understand who they are and the adult that they will become down the road.

Arguments on message boards abound about high school football much the same way that fans argue about their pro and college teams. Rankings of teams and players are debated (sometimes hotly) as interest in and the business of covering high school football continues to grow.

Yet, as I sit here enjoying a simple weekend, I wonder why that attitude can't carry over into the season. Why can't we spend our Fall worried more about players who, for the most part, are enjoying the peak of their athletic careers. Sure, the select few are going to go on to bigger and better things, but years from now, do you want to remember where a player was ranked and who was ranked ahead or behind him? I know I don't.

I'd rather remember Percy Harvin not as the #1 ranked player in the nation but rather as the player who made my jaw drop in amazement almost every time that I saw him but none moreso than the 2004 state championship game where he singlehandedly carried his team to his school's first state championship.

I want to remember Phillip Sims for his outstanding performances in the state playoff games not for the arguments had about whether he should be ranked ahead of or behind Justin Hunter. I care about those rankings now but ultimately all that matters in the end is what happens on the field of play, so let's focus on the purity of that.

The real football season starts soon, let's enjoy the players and their play on the gridiron. That's what brought us all together to being with anyway.

Check out more from Rod, at the source for High School Sports, Virginia Preps.com

Womack to Play Basketball at Averett.

2009-08-14T08:49:00.002-04:00

The Sports Buffet Podcast has learned that Dan River's Terrence Womack will continue his basketball career at Averett University next year. Womack was a key contributor to this past year's Dan River Wildcats, who were the Group A Division 2 runner up this past season.

Rod Johnson's High School Football Thoughts

2009-08-11T08:35:00.003-04:00

Rod Johnson, of Virginia Preps.com, is always kind to contribute greatly to "The Sports Buffet", here is his blog entry this week.

I looked at the calendar the other day and realized that in less than two weeks, teams will begin scrimmaging. In fact, by the time that your read this blog entry, we'll be just over a week away from pads-popping practices against opponents. That means the start of the season is even closer than I thought. In about three weeks from now, I'll be spending weekends tracking down game scores that matter and, most importantly, I'll be travelling the state trying to check out the biggest games.I won't make all of these, but if gas and hotel money was no object, here's what I'd be doing...

August 28 - Venice (Fla) @ Oscar Smith...the Tigers will carry the Virginia state flag on the field against a Florida program sending their quarterback to the University of Florida next season. Those who can't make the game (sure to be a sell out) will be able to check it out on ESPNU, it's that big.

September 4 - Westfield @ Stone Bridge...Anything less than a regional championship at these two schools and people walk away disappointed. Any discussion of either of the AAA state championships starts with these two programs as each routinely ranks among the top ten teams in the state. Can't wait to see who plants their flag atop the NR mountain early.

September 11 - Varina @ Dinwiddie...the top-ranked team in the Central Region visits last year's Division five state runners up in a game that will surely test each of them early in the season.

September 18 - R.E. Lee (Staunton) @ Harrisonburg...Seeing the big line of Harrisonburg battle R.E. Lee's speed and athleticism would be fun and it would give us a nice early season look at two teams looking to establish themselves as AA contenders.

September 25 - C.D. Hylton @ Battlefield...As the Bulldogs try to climb back atop the Northwest Region mountain, they be racing Battlefield to the peak because the Bobcats have been on the verge of a deep playoff run for a couple of seasons now.

October 2 - Amherst County @ Pulaski County...A rematch of the stare semifinal game that wasn't decided until late in the fourth quarter smack dab in the middle of the season? Perfect!

October 9 - Westfield @ Oakton...the Concorde District is almost indisputably the best in the state and these two programs have been the best in the district for a couple of years now. No doubt the Northern Region powerhouses will give the crowd a game to remember and it may be only their first meeting of the season.

October 16 - Green Run @ Ocean Lakes...the Dolphins play host to the Beach's district's second place team last year and the one expected to most challenge them for this year's title. Division I athletes abound in this game with the Stallions carrying three with offers and Ocean Lakes carrying at least four.

October 23 - Phoebus @ Hampton...a crowded and loud neighborhood battle that features two schools who circle each other year round as fans ask the kids about the game at street fairs, McDonald's, school and the barber shop. There is no escaping this game.

October 30 - Chancellor @ James Monroe...two AA regional powers square off in a late season meeting as both likely prepare for postseason runs. The Battlefield District championship could be on the line in this one so bragging rights and the postseason will be in play.

November 6 - Franklin @ Sussex Central...The defending Division I state champions travel to meet the #5-ranked Tigers in a game played just weeks before the playoffs start. Both teams should be primed for a battle.

November 12 - Varina @ Highland Springs...the two highest ranked teams in the Central Region meet up just one week before the playoffs start. The game might decide who gets in and who is left out or it could just be a prelude to a second meeting. Either way, the action will be intense and playing it on a Thursday night could raise the stakes even further as a huge crowd will gather.

What will Rod have next week? What do you want to ask Rod? E-Mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net and we'll forward along your question to Rod for use in a future blog.

Jefferson Forest LB Andrew Brown commits to the University of Richmond

2009-08-06T22:45:00.003-04:00

Jefferson Forest LB Andrew Brown contacted me tonight with the information that he has committed to the University of Richmond.

Brown, the 45th ranked best senior in the state for 2010 according to Virginia Preps.com, told me that he decided on the University of Richmond because "Richmond's academics and the relationships that I had with all of the coaches were the biggest factors in my commitment to Richmond".

Congratulations to Andrew Brown and we'll keep in touch with him throughout the season.

Rod Johnson's High School Football Blog

2009-08-04T22:55:00.004-04:00

Rod Johnson of Virginia Preps.com has agreed to submit a blog for us each Tuesday during the high school football season (and hopefully every Tuesday) for the rest of Rod's life. Got a question for Rod that you'd like him to answer in a future blog, e-mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net and we'll pass along the question to him. Now heeeeeeeeeres Rod.

By the time this blog entry is being read, the countdown clock for the beginning of the high school football season on the front page of www.VirginiaPreps.com will be somewhere around the 23-day mark. That's right, just over three weeks until the first game in Virginia kicks off and, like most of you, I can't wait!
Like any other season, there's plenty of great storylines to track and plenty of questions to answer.
Let's take a look at some of them...
1. It's been seven years since the Central Region has sent a team into the Division Six state championship game but with both Varina and Highland Springs ranking among the top four teams in the Division Six preseason poll, is it time for a Richmond-area team to make a title run? Hard to say given that a state semifinal game against the top-ranked and reigning state champion Oscar Smith Tigers could be on the docket.
2. Speaking of Oscar Smith, on August 28th, the second day of the football season, the Chesapeake-based program will become the first Virginia school to play a nationally-televised game on ESPNU as they take on Venice High School from Florida. How well will the Tigers carry the flag for the Commonwealth? Tune in to see.
3. The Stone Bridge Bulldogs have built one of the most powerful programs in the state but lost 20 of 22 starters from last season's team. How will the young, relatively unknown youngsters answer the call this season. Can they carry on the tradition or is this the year that some programs get their revenge on a the Northern Region power.
4. The Osbourn Eagles played in two of the last three D6 state title games and now they dropped down to Division Five. Ranked the #3 team in the state in our preseason poll, what impact will they have on the championship picture?
5. Is Region I capable of sweeping the AA state championship games? Powhatan appears to be loaded and ready to severely test Amherst and Broad Run in Division 4 while defending champion James Monroe looks strong enough to repeat as Division 3 champs.
6. Broad Run won the Division 4 state championship this year but have a new challenger rising up within their own region as Division 5 Northwest regional champion Liberty-Bealeton has been re-classified as a D4 squad setting up what could be a classic regional final contest provided both advance that far.
7. All this talk about possible state champions leads us to the Amherst Lancers who ruled the roost in both 2006 and 2007 before losing the 2008 Division 4 title game. Ranked the #2 team in the state, they're certainly favored to get back to the title contest, but we'll all be watching to see if they are ready to recapture their stranglehold on the division.
8. Salem and Pulaski have split their last two playoff meetings in Region IV and with both ranked in the top ten preseason poll, are they lined up for a rubber match to determine who is the power program in the area now?
9. In Region A, is Essex, the top-ranked team in the Single A state set to cruise into the D2 state semifinals with no other in-region program ranked in the top ten while Sussex Central, Colonial Beach and defending state champion Franklin provide one of the more exciting races for the Division 1 regional championship?
10. Is a possible Region B sweep in order this year as William Campbell (D1) and Gretna (D2) ranked among the top three in the state for Single A ball? It was just two years ago when Gretna and Buffalo Gap pulled it off.
11. In Region C action, Giles appears to be a legitimate state contender in D2, but will an underdog candidate emerge in the D1 race with no teams ranked in the top ten? Holston, Eastern Montgomery, Galax and Bath County seem to have the most potential but there's room for plenty more contenders out there.
12. It's been five years since a Region D team has won a Single A state championship (Gate City, 2003); can preseason region favorites Gate City or Clintwood make a run at the D2 title?

Remember check out Virginia Preps for all your high school sports need, whether it is sounding off on a message board or reading the latest on recruiting, Virginia Preps.com quenches your high school sports thirst. Questions, comments for me, you can send to TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Talking with Zack McCray (Brookville Defensive End)

2009-08-03T10:35:00.005-04:00

High School Football, it's here! Practices being today, and check out your local newscast (if you are in the state of Virginia), and if a station is worth it's salt, they will have previews now up until the season (the DVR will be working, so I can watch WDBJ, WSLS and WSET). With that being said, I wanted to talk to one of the highest rated prospects in the country who makes his home in Central Virginia: Zack McCray of the Brookville Bees.

Bob Alvis: Before we talk about this season, let's first go back and talk about your commitment to the Virginia Tech Hokies. What were the biggest factors that made you commit to Virginia Tech?

Zack McCray: There were a few big factors in choosing Virigina Tech, that helped them stand out from the other schools. One, was the fact that they are not really deep at the defensive end position. It was really close between a few schools, but the potential to see playing time as a freshman helped make up my mind. Playing for Bud Foster and a top 10 defense was quite appealing! I also like the fact that its close to home. This allows my parents, grandparents, family, friends, and coaches the ability to support me, as well as Logan (Thomas) and I together. I have a great relationship with the Virginia Tech coaches and it felt comfortable, like family. Also, Virginia Tech is a National Championship contender, bowl contender and winner, and ACC contender and champion.

BA: Obviously, the first priority this season is the Brookville Bees, but how much are you going to bend your cousin's (Logan Thomas) ear to find out what college freshman go through their first year of Division 1 football?

ZM: My first priority like you said is Brookville, but on Saturdays I will be at almost all of the Virginia Tech games supporting my cousin and my future team. I think it is definitely a benefit and advantage for me to have Logan there at Virginia Tech. I will definitely bend his ear, so to speak, knowing what to expect, and the do's and don'ts. So, by the time I get to campus next summer it will be an easier transition from high school to college, both on and off the field.

BA: You are a nominee for the Titan Trophy. What would winning the award that goes to the best rising senior in Central Virginia mean to you?

ZM: It is an honor to be considered for the Titan award. There are so many great players in the area. I give credit to God, my family, coaches, teammates, and community for helping me get to this point. I have been blessed with God given talent and abilities and have gone the extra mile by working out above and beyond what is expected. I have been blessed with a wonderful Brookville team, teammates, and coaches to showcase my talents. Just as in receiving a full scholarship to VT, you could say by being nominated for this award, my hard work has paid off and been acknowledged. To be honored by my community, would be a great honor.

BA: Last year you couldn't mention Brookville football and not talk about Logan Thomas. It seems like this year that could be the case but just insert Zack McCray's name in there. Do you feel that you are the face of the program and are you comfortable with that responsibility?

ZM: (Laughing) I don't know if i would say the face of the program. We have so many good players on this Brookville team and a great group of seniors that will help lead the team. I am motivated and comfortable to lead by example on this Brookville team and to take any responsibility that I need to help my team win. I'm comfortable with being the one people look to in both good and bad times, both on and off the field. I hope to be a great role model and mentor to my younger teammates.

BA: I know it's hard for you to tell another guy from another school what to do, but for those guys who are top recruits and haven't committed to a school yet, what advantages do you think committing before the season would give those guys?

ZM: The advantages to committing to college before my senior season for me were the following. 1) It allowed me to relax (physically and mentally), 2) enjoy my summer(vacationing and spending time with my family and friends) and 3) focus on my senior season (lifting and working-out). Otherwise, I would still be traveling to colleges, still attending and competing in camps and combines, and fielding many calls, texts, and emails from colleges and coaches. Also, I don't have to worry about having to prove anything. I can just play my hardest, have fun, and focus on my team, as opposed to focusing on just myself.

BA: Now talking about this year's Brookville Bees team, what do you feel is a strength of this team that most people might not feel to be a strength of this team coming into the season?

ZM: Defense. I think the last few years our offense has been the main focal point of the program and this year I see the defense taking over.

BA: How hungry do you feel this team is going into the season considering the way last season ended?

ZM: I feel that we are hungrier, ever since we lost in a close game (State Championship against James Monroe, 50-46) at the end of the season. Most of us were in the weight room the next Monday after our loss. We were already pushing and encouraging each other, because none of us ever want to feel the disappointment that we felt after that game.

BA: Obviously, people think that it is going to be tough to replace Logan Thomas, but who else is going to be tough to replace off last year's team?

ZM: I feel like ALL of our last year seniors will be missed in one way or another. Besides Logan, I feel like Devin Bolling, Stacey Houston, Corby Weiss, Jarrett Bateman, and Corey Patterson will be most missed.

BA: We talked about who is going to be tough to replace off last year's team, who do you feel is ready to step up this season and who should people keep an eye on when they watch the Bees on Friday nights?

ZM: (Laughing) Keep an eye on Everyone! We have a very successful JV team moving up, but in particular from last year's squad, Lorenzo Smith, Ben Simmons, Michael Leeman, Zach Burns, David Brandt, Brett Woolard, and Alec Thompson. They all had good seasons last year and I just expect this one to be even better. We lost 21 seniors this past season. We will have a young team with lots to prove.

BA: The Seminole District is not an easy league to play in. What are your thoughts on the district this year?

ZM: I think it will be a very challenging season from beginning to end in the Seminole District. With some coaching changes and E.C. Glass coming into the district, it will be interesting to see the outcome. Everyone better be ready for each and every game because from top to bottom, there will be great competition. I believe it will come down to the final game to decide the season standings and play-off picture. I think the district is too difficult to predict games this early on in the season.

BA: Final question Zack, define a successful 2009 season for the Brookville Bees.

ZM: A successful 2009 season for the Brookville Bees is to WIN STATES! This will be our goal from the outset, nothing else can even compare. Last year we got there, this year we want to win it, no if's, and's, or but's.

BA: Thanks for your time and we look forward to talking to you for The Sports Buffet's blog and podcast throughout the season.

ZM: Thank you for everything and I look forward to talking to you in the future.

Follow the Bees all year long on this blog and "The Sports Buffet Podcast". For your one stop shopping, head to The Sports Buffet Podcast.

Talking with Michael Rocco (Liberty Christian Academy Quarterback)

2009-08-03T04:49:00.007-04:00

High School Football is here. Practice starts today, and one team looking to capture a state title is the LCA Bulldogs. I had a chance to catch up with the signal caller of the Bulldogs, Michael Rocco for this talk about the LCA Bulldogs headed into the 2009 season.

Bob Alvis: When looking for a college to decide on, what were the important factors that made you think this would be a good fit?

Michael Rocco: The coaches and people. I also looked for the quality of competition, the quarterback tradition, and the christian presence.

BA: Why Louisville? What other schools were you deciding between?

MR: Louisville fit all those things and fit my needs well. I was offered by Louisville, Penn State, and Liberty. I was also being recruited by North Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

BA: What advice did you receive from the football members in your family (your brother Chris, your father Frank, and your uncle Danny)?

MR: They were all involved in my decision making process, and there was an agreement between all that Louisville fit me best.

BA: Was it important to you to commit to a school before the season began? Why or Why not?

MR: It was nice to have the decision out of the way so that I can now on my senior season.

BA: Now looking ahead to this season, what do you feel are the team's strengths coming into the season?

MR: We have several key players with playing experience, but we also have many young players that will need to step up into key roles.

BA: You guys are going to play the Gretna Hawks this season. How big of a game do you feel that is, when most of your opponents are not known by football fans around here, but people certainly know the Gretna Hawks.

MR: We are excited to play Gretna and will be prepared for the challenge. They are one of three state champions that we play to open the season.

BA: What are this team's goals coming into the season?

MR: Our goal is to win the state championship this year.

BA: Most quarterbacks don't have the luxury to ask their brother or father questions about the position. How beneficial is it being in a football family?

MR: It is a great privilege to be blessed with such a knowledgeable family. It has meant a great deal to me to have their support and guidance through my career. They have provided me with everything i could have ever wanted in growing process as a player. I owe everything to my dad and family who have been there for me in my career.

BA: Final question, define a successful season for the LCA Bulldogs as a team and a successful individual season for Michael Rocco for the 2009 season.

MR: To reach our goals of winning the conference and the state. Also, for me to lead the team in accomplishing these goals while giving God all the glory.

BA: Thanks for your time and best of luck this season.

MR: Thanks for the interview opportunity, and my dad (Coach Frank Rocco) says hello.

I am psyched that the high school season to begin. The podcast is on track to be back very, very soon. But, fear not if you aren't a listener, you will still be able to read as I am prepared to blog all season long. If there is something (or someone) you want to hear on the blog or podcast, e-mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Talking with Andrew Brown (Linebacker-Jefferson Forest)

2009-08-01T19:53:00.004-04:00

High School football practice gets underway this Monday. Football Friday, 1st & 10-The Highlight Show and Friday Football Extra will be back and a part of our Friday nights before we know it. With that being said, I decided to talk to Andrew Brown of Jefferson Forest. Brown is listed as a top 50 prospect by Virginia Preps and will be making a decision soon about what college he will attend next year. We spoke about that upcoming decision, the upcoming season and more.

Bob Alvis: Before we get into talking about the upcoming season, let's talk a little about your future. You are a top 50 prospect for 2010 according to Virginia Preps, you are in the running for the Titan Trophy (given to Central Virginia's best rising senior). When your football career started in high school, did you ever imagine that you'd be at this point headed into your senior year?

Andrew Brown: I had no idea, people always told me when I was younger that I shouldn't take football so seriously and just have fun because I wouldn’t go to the next level. I had a dream ever since middle school ball to play college football and it looks like its finally coming true. My parents and Coach Rice told me when I was younger that if I wanted it bad enough, I could do it, I just needed to put the work into it. Ever since that day I was in the weight room and on the track working everyday trying to achieve my personal goal. I am just grateful that I’ve received all this support and my hard work has finally seemed to pay off.

BA: Talking about the recruitment process, what type of school is a good fit for you? What types of things are you looking for outside of the football program.

AB: Academics have definitely been a major issue for me. I have always taken my school work very seriously, as I was accepted and currently attend Central Virginia Regional Governor’s School. I also have been on the honor roll every year I have attended Jefferson Forest. When I first realized that I had the potential to play college football, my Dad and I made of list of great academic schools from around the area that I would visit. I am either looking to major in business or nuclear engineering.

BA: When do you plan on making your decision of where you will be attending and what schools are on that short list?

AB: I plan on making my decision as soon as possible. I have narrowed my college selection down to University of Richmond, the Naval Academy, and Liberty University. I have received full football scholarships to all three schools and I have great relationships with all three coaching staffs. I am planning to make my decision in the next week or so.

BA: Why is it important to you to commit to a school before the season begins?

AB: I have taken a lot of time to visit all three of these schools, and I believe I have enough information to make an educated decision. I would like to make the decision before the season begins so that I can focus on my senior season. Also, I don't want it to become a distraction for my teammates so that we can focus on the big goal at the end of the road.

BA: Talk about your summer. It seemed like back in the day a lot of guys just lifted during the off-season but now there are all types of camps and everything else going during the summer, what has your summer looked like?

AB: We had great numbers at weekly work outs, which was great as you could see the great improvement in our team’s size and speed at the end of the season. I have camped at about 5 different schools which included my top college choices. I thought the camps were a great tool in helping me decide where I want to play football. My summer has been busy but it’s also been a lot of fun.

BA: Practice starts on Monday for most schools in the state. Be a reporter and preview your team for me this season.

AB: Coming into this season we are going to be very strong on both sides of the ball and very deep in most positions as well. Our offense is switching from the traditional Power I to the Spread offense. Our quarterback, Hunter Hannell, is very experienced and will have the chance to throw the ball a lot more than in the past. Our wide receivers are almost all seniors and are very experienced. Our running back, Rashad Hall, is one of the fastest running backs in the state(4.3 40). Our offensive line is young, but we have incredible size and speed. Our offense should put up great numbers. Our defense is incredibly talented this year as our linebacker core is one of the best in the state. Our two outside linebackers are returning seniors in our 4-3 defensive except our middle linebacker, Tyler Rosser, who I will replace in the middle as I move from defensive end. Our defensive line is young, but very athletic and our secondary is very experienced. We are underrated coming into this season. We have the weapons this year to return to the Region finals and advance to states.

BA: Your coach Don Rice is one of my favorite coaches to interview because he is always straight forward and doesn't sugar coat things. Does he carry that quality over to the field? What type of coach is Coach Rice to play for and what do you like about the man?

AB: Coach Rice is a great coach. Being a former marine, he makes his practices like boot camp. It forces us to become brothers on the field, as we learn to respect each other and our coaches. I have a high level of respect for the whole coaching staff at Jefferson Forest and I believe that is due to Coach Rice.

BA: Full disclosure, I was a student manager at Jefferson Forest when I was in high school, there is a lot of tradition at Jefferson Forest, especially on the defensive side of the ball. How important do you think it is that the players know the tradition and how important is it to uphold it?

AB: Everyone who lives in Forest knows, if you’re a football player in the Jefferson Forest football program, you are a hard nose kid and you will never back down to anything. Saying that, I don’t think we really think about the tradition, we just live it. If our coaches believe you can start on our defense, they know you will keep the tradition alive. I personally believe due to our defensive mentality that we will always be a dominating force on defense as long as that mentality stays alive.

BA: Who is someone from your team and from around the area (maybe a guy that you have seen at camps or something) that you expect to have a big season and why do you think they will have a big season?

AB: I am excited to see how Mike Rocco (LCA Quarterback and Lousiville commitment) does this year. We keep in touch and he is a great kid from a great family over there at LCA. I am glad my defense doesn’t have to face him. Mike is a very talented quarterback who surprises people not only with his arm but his overall athleticism as he shows it off on the defensive side of the ball playing safety. I’m excited to see how well he does.

BA: Year in and year out the Seminole District is a very strong league, how important is it to win those non-district games to have a strong case for the playoffs? Especially, when there's a chance with such a strong league that everyone could have a slip in district play.

AB: Non-district games are very important and they are must wins for our football team this year. Not necessarily in a sense of playoffs, but they are very important in order to prepare us for the Seminole district this year. We are going for it all or nothing this year, and we are preparing to win every Seminole district game this year in order to prepare us for the playoffs.

BA: Final question and I look forward to communicating with you throughout the season, define a successful season for yourself, and then a successful season for the Jefferson Forest Cavaliers.

AB: I believe all-state linebacker is my personal goal. Then, as a team nothing but a state championship will define a successful season. We have the potential to be dominant this year.

We look forward to keeping up with Andrew all season long through the blog and his podcast, and we look forward to hear his college choice when he decides it.

The Value of 7 on 7

2009-07-30T10:31:00.005-04:00

Rod Johnson, statewide football editor for Virginia Preps.com recently shared his thoughts on the value of 7 on 7. Here is what he had to say.

The end of summer is here (for football players) as training camps open up next week for squads from one corner of the state to the other. With the end of summer comes the end of the 7 x 7 passing leagues and tournaments.

A few years back, the publishers, editors and staff at VirginiaPreps.com made the decision to start covering the events throughout the summer and to attend as many events as we could despite common objections / questions like...

Why cover touch football events?
Does it really matter who wins those events?
With no linemen playing and no pads on, is it really football?
Without disagreeing with those sentiments and without answering the objections individually, I will respond by saying that I find value in the events as they help form my opinion about which teams have talent coming together as one and which teams might be struggling to reach their potential.

There are three things that I look at while attending the passing events...

1. Watch the athletes run and compete.
Nothing beats seeing a kid play live and watching how fluidly he moves, he well he competes against kids of the same caliber, how he fights for the ball in the air, how he reacts to the long days in the heat, etc... There really is no substitute for standing on a sideline and watching a kid play to judge his speed, fluidity and competitiveness.

2. Watch teammates interact with each other.
Successful coaches and teams constantly talk about team chemistry and how important it is to their continued success. The tricky thing about team chemistry is that it cannot be measured statistically and there's really no way to put a value on it to compare one team's chemistry against another's. However, it is something that, if you have been around enough teams, can be sensed as you watch the players interact with each other and with other teams. You can get a sense of a team's confidence, their dedication and the seriousness with which they work. For lack of a better term, you get a sense of a team's "personality".

3. Watch the coach's coach.
No single piece of information is more important to gather at a 7 x 7 event then this! Every successful team that I have seen over the past seven years has had a coaching staff with similar characteristics -- organization, setting a fast pace, always pushing for more hard work, preaching excellence, concerned about getting better at a 7 x 7 rather than focusing on winning the event.

Attend an event next summer and watch for the teams who are working drills when there is free time before an event, watch for the teams whose players support each other versus the teams who point fingers at each other, and watch for the teams whose coaching staffs who talk to their players after every play rather than watching from the sideline. Don't worry about who won the event, you'll know who the good teams will be.

Got a question for Rod? E-Mail us at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net and maybe we can start feeding some questions to Rod out of the mailbag. He is always hungry to talk football.

Talking with Dwayne Hamlette (William Campbell Head Coach)

2009-07-23T08:10:00.009-04:00

Dwayne Hamlette was an assistant coach under Brad Bradley during Bradley's tenture at William Campbell. It's now Hamlette's ship with Brad Bradley manning the waters at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke. Recently I spoke with Coach Hamlette, as the season fast approaches. The Generals open their season at home on the 28th of August against Cumberland.

Bob Alvis: For people not familiar with your athletic or coaching background, bring the folks up to date of who Dwayne Hamlette is in the world of his athletic career.

Dwayne Hamlette: I played football in the mid 90s for William Campbell, also played baseball and basketball. This will be my 9th year coaching at William Campbell and first as a head coach.

BA: This is your first head coaching job at the Varsity level. What are you most looking forward to about the challenge and what do you think will be the toughest aspects of your job?

DH: I look forward to the challenge of maintaining the tradition that has been started here. I think the toughest aspect is always not to put too much pressure on myself. I am my biggest critic.

BA: You played for Kevin Saunders, who is now at Gretna. What type of coach was Coach Saunders to play for?

DH: Hard nosed. He coached us hard and we played hard. He is the guy you love to hate but you played hard for him.

BA: Cecil Phillips was also an assistant on that squad. He just competed his first year at Amherst. Tell us some things we may not know about Coach Phillips and what are some things you have learned from him that you hope makes you a good coach?

DH: Coach Phillips is one of those guys you can trust and always lean on. We have often had communication since he coached me at William Campbell and kind of lost communication, when he moved back to the Tidewater area we kept in touch and now since he is at Amherst we talk often. I learned from him to make sure the kids know that you will always be there for them, whether during the time they play for you or even once they leave your program....always keep the door open for them to return.

BA: Many people may not know this but Ben Martin (Appomattox) is your brother in law. How hard is it to seperate football from family, when a family member is another coach in the district?

DH: (Laughing) Usually when Ben and I are together we are discussing football, there is only one week that we are not going to talk but before and after that I will be one of his biggest fans. I think our wives would like us to concentrate on family a little more when we get together (Laughing).

BA: We talked about some great coaches you played for. Well, you coached with a great one in Brad Bradley. What did you learn from Coach Bradley and Coach John Earich (Assistant Head Coach)?

DH: I learned from Coach Bradley, never be out worked. I also learned how to manage not only kids, but a program. Coach Bradley taught me how to deal with on and off the field issues with professionalism. I learned from Coach Earich, how to make sure you get through to kids and also let the kids know that you are in their corner. I learned a ton of football from two good football minds!

BA: Talk about the 7 on 7 tournament a few weeks back at Amherst. How was it to beat Patrick Henry and Amherst on the way to the championship?

DH: We wanted to go to the Amherst Shootout and compete. Our kids did a good job of playing the entire length of games, whether we were down or up. I was really impressed how the kids took coaching on the fly and adapted and played. The defense seemed to be covering every corner of the field. To beat Patrick Henry in the semis was a good feeling, to be able to compete against a guy that you have been in battles with is strange but good. It's always nice to get one up on (Coach) Bradley whether it's Playstation or 7 on 7. The Amherst squad was very althletic and Coach Phillips and his staff had his guys in the right position on day. I'm glad we were able to win the championship and to have our kids understand that yes we can take the momentum into practice, but we still have a lot of learning to do. The fact that we were able to walk away with a 7 on 7 championship has no bearing on our win-loss record this fall.

BA: You kept most of the staff intact from last year's team. Talk about your staff and who is on the staff. How important was it to you to keep the staff intact?

DH: With any coaching change you want to try and keep some normalecy if you are able to. We were able to keep our defensive coordinator in John Meadows, which I was estactic about. Coaches (Andy) Haga, (Shea) Boyd, (Trevor) Freitas have all been on staff and will assume some different roles this year. A new addition to the staff is Jason Hudnall. I have a dedicated staff that will not only prepare our kids for Friday nights but for life in general.

BA: Another new wrinkle for a first team head coach is dealing with factors off the football field, such as the media, ordering equipment, dealing with parents and so forth and so on. What do you feel may be one of the most challenging aspects off the field?

DH: I really don't see any of those issues as challenges. I look forward to dealing with the media and parents/supporters. I would guess that ordering equipment would be the one thing that I'm not use to, but I am adjusting well.

BA: Final question, I think lots of people consider the Dogwood District wide open with the departures of two state championship winning coaches in (Chris) Thurman and (Brad) Bradley. Do you feel that way? If not, who is the team to beat?

DH: The Dogwood has tons of athletes at every school. Right now everybody is 0-0 and in contention so we will see how everything plays out.

BA: Coach, best of luck this season and thanks for your time.

DH: Thank you. We look forward to seeing all the fans out supporting the Generals this fall.

More interviews and previews with fall high school sports coaches to come. Also, look for the podcast portion of "The Sports Buffet Podcast" to reappear in the next few weeks. If you have a suggestion or comment, e-mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

High School Football in Virginia: The Class of 2010

2009-07-10T17:53:00.004-04:00

I spoke with Virginia Preps.com's Football editor Rod Johnson recently about the overall impression that the Class of 2010 might not be as loaded with talent as Va fans are accustomed to. Here were Rod's thoughts on the topic

In recent years, as Virginia's national reputation has grown as a state producing a number of top notch Division I college prospects on an annual basis, expectations have grown that each year's class will match the previous season's talent output. As recruiting analysts study the Class of 2010, the early word on the street was that the annual crop was not as strong as year's past and certainly not as strong as the insanely deep Class of 2011.

Sometimes, when something is said often enough, the opinion seemingly becomes fact. However, upon closer inspection, maybe the problem with the Class of 2010 isn't that the talent is not on par with previous seasons, it might just be that the talent is not at the 'sexy' positions.

A quick survey of the top fifty prospects in the state (as ranked by VirginiaPreps.com) reveals that there are only three quarterbacks, three wide receivers, and four wide receivers -- a scant 20% of the list. Of those top ten 'sexy' position players, only four rank among the top thirty prospects which is generally near the point where the list drops from BCS prospects to mid-major level talent. Both the total number of offensive skill players and the number ranked among the best in the state are lowering than in years past and much lower than next season's expected rankings.

But, does that mean that this class lacks the depth and talent of seasons gone by?

I say no.

The Class of 2010 is stacked with in-the-trench players like few before them. Nearly half of the top thirty (fourteen!) prospects play on the line of scrimmage and that's not counting the consensus top-ranked player Ego Ferguson who had not transferred into Hargrave at the time our last rankings were completed! Heck, five of the top seven players are hands-down kids including Zack McCray, Mark Shuman, Evan Hailes, Quentin Spain, and Nick Acree and each of them held dozens of BCS offers!

The problem with the in-the-trenches prospects is that the average fan is willing to acknowledge the importance of having studs on the line but few understand what it takes to be a great lineman. Face it, few of us watch the line play during a game and, with no true statistics available to help us compare one guy against the guy next to him, there's no quantifiable way to say that Player A is better than Player B. Most coaches, even at the college and pro level, are hesitant to say which lineman played well in a game until they break down the film to see who missed which blocks or assignments.

It's easy to look at a 6-foot-6, 300-pound prospect who runs a 5.0 forty and attempt to project him as a top player because he is already bigger, stronger and faster than most human beings we encounter in our daily lives. Surely, a guy that size can routinely throw around an average citizen. The problem is, they won't be blocking someone that size, they'll be matching up with the rare players who match them in size, strength and speed. There's a scant few people who can accurately project how well a player will play under those circumstances.

Without handy statistics to point to and without having constant video input of a player's performance (like we get from QB's, RB's and WR's), it's tough to get excited about that big guy who your college signed. Thus, a class replete with big men is less 'sexy', less exciting, and less quantifiable than those loaded with skill players.

But that does not necessarily mean that they are less talented.

Virginia High School League All Star Basketball

2009-07-08T05:54:00.005-04:00

For the first time in probably four to five years, I am not attending the VHSCA All Star Games in Hampton. However, thank goodness for newspapers. Read up on the events

Roanoke Times
West Girls and East Boys Prevail

The Daily Press Recap
Boys Game Recap
Girls Game Recap

Matthew Hatfield of Virginia Preps and Hatfield Sports also reviewed the games. Read it here.

Today is the Volleyball Game at Christopher Newport University.

The Buffet's Return

2009-07-03T06:34:00.004-04:00

The target date has been set. "The Sports Buffet Podcast" has set the target date for the podcast portion of "The Sports Buffet" to relaunch on Monday August 3rd. The features that I mentioned in a previous post on October 24th, 2008 are still the features that you will be hearing on "The Sports Buffet Podcast".

Until then, I will be updating my blogs on a regular basis. I have three blogs, one relating to high school sports, one dealing with the general sports world (non high school sports) and one that just deals with the general world and my thoughts as a whole. Also, if you are a Facebooker, you can type in The Sports Buffet Podcast in the search box in the top right and become a fan of the podcast.

I want thoughts and suggestions from you on what you want to hear! E-Mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net or leave me a message or post on Facebook. If you haven't contacted me and volunteered to help with "The Sports Buffet" whether it be as a reporter or blogger, you can offer your services to me there as well.

Look forward to serving you up some good things on "The Sports Buffet". Stay tuned for more exciting news and updates that will be coming to "The Sports Buffet".

Altavista High School Boys Basketball Team Camp

2009-06-23T08:48:00.004-04:00

Friday and Saturday at Altavista High School, Altavista Middle School and the Altavista YMCA, you basketball junkies will have a chance to check out some hoops to quench you summer thirst. The teams participating will be

Altavista Colonels
Rustburg Red Devils
Nelson County Governors
Liberty Minutemen
Prince Edward Eagles
Patrick County Cougars
Dan River Wildcats
Fluvanna Fighting Flucos
Spotswood Trailblazers
E.C. Glass Hilltoppers

Friday June 26-Altavista High School
Noon: Altavista-Rustburg
1:00: Nelson County-Liberty
2:00: Prince Edward-Patrick County
3:00: Dan River-Fluvanna
4:00: Patrick County-Rustburg
5:00: Dan River-Jefferson Forest
6:00: Altavista-Prince Edward
7:00: Fluvanna-E.C. Glass

Altavista Middle School Gym
Noon: Prince Edward-Spotswood
1:00: Dan River-E.C. Glass
2:00: Altavista-Central Lunenberg
3:00: Nelson County-Jefferson Forest
4:00: Prince Edward-Central Lunenberg
5:00: Fluvanna-Liberty
6:00: Patrick County-Spotswood
7:00: Nelson County-Dan River

Altavista YMCA
Noon: Patrick County-Central Lunenberg
1:00: Fluvanna-Jefferson Forest
2:00: Spotswood-Rustburg
3:00: E.C. Glass-Liberty
4:00: Altavista-Spotswood
5:00: Nelson County-E.C. Glass
6:00: Rustburg-Central Lunenberg
7:00: Jefferson Forest-Liberty

Saturday June 27th
Altavista High School Gym
9:00 AM: Patrick County-Liberty
10:15: Altavista-Central Lunenberg
11:30: Altavista-E.C. Glass
12:45: Liberty-Spotswood

Altavista Middle School Gym
9:00 AM: Altavista-Jefferson Forest
10:15: Fluvanna-Rustburg
11:30: Patrick County-Jefferson Forest
12:45: Dan River-Rustburg

Altavista YMCA
9:00 AM: Prince Edward-E.C. Glass
10:15: Dan River-Spotswood
11:30: Prince Edward-Liberty
12:45: Fluvanna-Central Lunenberg

The Sports Buffet Podcast Ready to Come Back

2009-06-23T08:13:00.003-04:00

After attendind the Spring Jubilee a few weeks ago at Radford University, it got my blood boiling again to relaunch The Sports Buffet Podcast. I was honored to be the play by play voice for WKDE's coverage of Rustburg baseball for the state semifianls and state championship game. I also got a chance to see the Dogwood District capture their 3rd straight softball title, as Tim Fenn's Altavista Colonels were able to best Glenvar in the title game. Jedd Zarring and the Jefferson Forest Cavaliers played another epic soccer game with their long distance rival, the Blacksburg Bruins. Then another set of Cavaliers captured a state baseball championship as the Chatham Cavaliers hit their way to a state title.

In the next few weeks, look for podcasts to be added, but until then, go to The Sports Buffet Podcast, check out the blogs, links and more. As always your comments and suggestions are welcome (and encouraged), send them to TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Updates on "The Sports Buffet"

2009-03-25T07:29:00.001-04:00

Just a few updates on "The Sports Buffet Podcast", the page should be seeing some major updates in the next week or two. Hopefully, there will be new blogs, and the page will be updated on hopefully a more daily basis. The podcasts part of the page however will probably not be consistently updated until August. Features that will be on the website (eventually) will include (but not be limited to)

* High School Sports
* College Sports
* Professional Sports
* Podcasts
* Blogs
* Links
* Historical Info on High School and College Sports
* Schedules
* Standings
and much more.

Stay tuned to "The Sports Buffet Podcast" to fill your sports hunger.

Region B Hoops Fans

2009-02-27T12:21:00.002-05:00

Somewhat obsolete now, but there is a great site done by Tom Horn, Athletic Director at George Mason High School, that outlines the Region B Basketball Tournament.

Check it out by clicking on Region B Basketball Tournament and you can follow the tournament online with the updated brackets.

Previewing Tonight's Matchups

2009-02-27T11:18:00.002-05:00

I asked several coaches what worries them about their respective opponent's tonight. Here's what I heard.

- What worries you about your opponent tonight?
James Carter (Buffalo Gap Boys Head Coach; Faces Altavista)
The big man inside. If we help they have great shooters that will make you pay. If we don't help Jordan can really hurt us inside.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach; Faces Lord Botetourt)
They are a mirror image of us. They are big and athletic at their big positions.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach; Faces Lord Botetourt)
They press and trap, both full and half court, we need to take care of the ball. On offense, we need to defend the three point line especially Grace Blaylock- she can flat out stroke it and has very good range.

Jeff Monroe (Liberty Boys Head Coach; Faces Northside)
Northside is very well coached. They are fundementally sound on offense and defense.

- What do you feel as a team, you have been doing well lately?
James Carter (Buffalo Gap Boys Head Coach; Faces Altavista)
We have been playing better half court defense.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach; Faces Lord Botetourt)
We have a lot of resiliency. Our guys don't quit.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach; Faces Lord Botetourt)
I feel like we have been doing a very nice job at the defensive end of making teams work for points.

Jeff Monroe (Liberty Boys Head Coach; Faces Northside)
I think our team defense has gotten better.

- Who has impressed you, or stepped up lately from your group around the end of the season or since postseason has started? What have they done lately, to where you would classify them as the player that has stepped up?
Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach; Faces Lord Botetourt)
Logan (Thomas) has put us on his shoulders. He has led in all areas. His teammates have responded to his leadership and have given consistent team effort.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach; Faces Lord Botetourt)
Talisha Watts has really stepped up. She has been averaging a double double over the last six games.

Jeff Monroe (Liberty Boys Head Coach; Faces Northside)
Carlton Payne has really stepped his game up to another level. He has been more vocal as a leader, and has been working really hard to to get the ball.

- What did you think you did well in your last game, and what do you want to improve on from last game?
James Carter (Buffalo Gap Boys Head Coach; Faces Altavista)
We were able to control the tempo, and play solid half court defense. We can always improve on the defensive end of the floor. We need to be more efficient on the offensive end of the floor.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach; Faces Lord Botetourt)
We rebounded the ball well and executed on the offensive end. We must do both tonight against Lord Botetourt.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach; Faces Lord Botetourt)
Again, I thought we did a nice job at the defensive end making them earn points. We need to do a better job of taking care of the ball and make fewer turnovers.

Jeff Monroe (Liberty Boys Head Coach; Faces Northside)
I thought we played well against Brookville in the tournament game, we just didn't finish it.

Tonight's Games

2009-02-27T06:19:00.003-05:00

Listed below are just some of tonight's Regional basketball games.

Boys
Region B Division 1 at Eastern Mennonite
6:00 (2) Riverheads vs. (3) Cumberland
8:00 (1) Buffalo Gap vs. (5) Altavista

Region B Division 2
7:00 (4) Buckingham at (1) Madison County
7:00 (3) Goochland vs. (2) Dan River at Amherst

Boys Region III Division 3
7:00 at Jefferson Forest: Liberty vs. Northside
7:00 at Brookville: Brookville vs. Lord Botetourt

Region IV Division 3 Final
Cave Spring vs. Marion 6:30 at Graham Middle School

Girls
Region III Division 3
7:45 at Northside: Brookville vs. Lord Botetourt
7:30 at Stuarts Draft: Rustburg vs. Robert E. Lee

Region IV Division 3 Final
Patrick County vs. Graham 8:15 at Graham Middle School

Look for more analysis and matchups to be posted later on today.

Are Spring Sports Teams Hurt By Winter Team's Success

2009-02-25T11:46:00.003-05:00

Some teams have made the Regional Tournaments that wouldn't have made it under the "old" system. I asked two coaches their thoughts on the success of their boys basketball teams.

Scott McGarry (Nelson County Baseball Coach)
We are missing 5 guys. That makes it hard to complete tryouts in terms of final cuts and early roster decisions. It also causes us to shuffle guys defensively which limits time at what will be their primary position once everyone is here. It does hurt the basketball players who pitch as they are not throwing early season bullpens. Since this is just the second year and basketball won the state title last year, things seem “normal” right now because we went through it last season; although, it just involved 2 players then. Despite the difficulties, I certainly support the basketball program. It would be nice to continue to deal with the problem another week.

Jason Kilbourne (Altavista Baseball Coach)
Divisional play has not affected our start at all. Our basketball team has such a strong tradition of advancing to post-season play, that our coaching staff understands that the basketball players that want to play baseball will be out late. I don't mind these prospective players getting out there late. I love the fact that they are participating in other sports.

I then asked both coaches do they think that their sport should have divisional play, and why or why not.
Scott McGarry (Nelson Baseball Coach)
I would love to have divisional play in baseball. The excitement that postseason play provides along with the increase in fan support and awareness is an experience you want for all high school athletes. While I acknowledge the problems that can surface with win-loss records those years some teams in some of the regions struggle, the split divisions provides championship opportunities for twice as many teams/schools/communities. Having witnessed the first team state championship outside of track in school history last year, that opportunity can do amazing things. While we have qualified for regionals in the past in our baseball program, we could become a perennial playoff team under the divisional system. That could be great.

Jason Kilbourne (Altavista Baseball Coach)
I feel like I understand all sides (VHSL, AD's, coaches) of our current situation. From our program's perspective, I would love to have divisional play but I am not going to be consumed by something that is out of my control. We will continue to compete with who is on our schedule and see where that takes us.

Just an interesting take from two coaches who are dealing with not having their kids at practice due to expanded regional play.

High School Basketball Scores

2009-02-24T21:07:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of the Message Boards at Virginia Preps.com

Region III Division 3 Boys
Brookville defeated Robert E. Lee, 48-43 in OT in Staunton. The Bees will now play in the 2nd Region III Division 3 Semi at Brookville on Friday, when they take on Lord Botetourt.

Northside defeated Fort Defiance, 37-36 in OT in Roanoke. Northside will now play in the first Region III Division 3 Semi at Brookville on Firday, when they take on Liberty.

Region III Division 4 Boys
Broadway defeated Jefferson Forest, 40-38. Broadway will take on Spotswood on Friday at Northside.

Amherst defeated Harrisonburg, 61-54. Amherst will take on William Byrd on Friday at Northside.

Region B Girls Division 1
Altavista defeated William Campbell, 54-53 at Altavista. Generals led most of the way. William Campbell missed the front end of 3 1 and 1's in the last 1:30. Altavista will play the winner of Amelia and Manassas Park on Thursday at Amherst.

Buffalo Gap defeated Riverheads, 51-33 at Swoope. The Lady Bison will continue their quest of defending their state title on Thursday, when they play the winner of Central Lunenberg and Stonewall Jackson at Eastern Mennonite.

Region B Girls Division 2
George Mason defeated Appomattox, 66-22 at Falls Church. The Lady Mustangs will play Dan River on Thursday at Eastern Mennonite.

Dan River defeated Buckingham, 62-42 at Ringgold. The Lady Wildcats will travel to Eastern Mennonite on Thursday to take on George Mason.

Strasburg defeated Wilson Memorial, 66-43 at Strasburg. The Lady Rams will make the trip down to Amherst on Thursday to take on Randolph Henry or Clarke County.

Region III Division 4 Girls Basketball Tournament

2009-02-24T16:31:00.004-05:00

Tournament begins tonight with higher seeds hosting. Quarterfinals game time's are 7:00

Jefferson Forest at William Byrd
Spotswood at Harrisonburg

Semifinals are Friday at Spotswood High School
Turner Ashby vs. Jefferson Forest-William Byrd winner (6:00)
Staunton River vs. Spotswood-Harrisonburg winner (8:00)

Finals will be Saturday night either at Spotswood High School or at Northside

Region III Division 4 Boys Basketball Tournament

2009-02-24T16:21:00.005-05:00

Quarterfinals take place tonight at 7:oo

Harrisonburg at Amherst
Broadway at Jefferson Forest

The Semifinals will take place on Friday night at Northside, with the semifinals taking place at 6:00 and 8:00.

William Byrd vs. the winner of Harrisonburg and Amherst
Spotswood vs. the winner of Broadway and Jefferson Forest

Finals are Saturday night at Northside at 7:00

Region III Division 3 Boys Basketball Tournament

2009-02-24T08:51:00.004-05:00

The Region III Division 3 Boys Basketball Tournament gets underway tonight. Quarterfinals are tonight, Semifinals take place on Friday, and the finals take place on Saturday.

Tuesday Night's Games (All Games at 7:00)

Fort Defiance at Northside

Brookville at Robert E. Lee

Friday Night's Games (at Brookville High School)
Fort Defiance-Northside Winner vs. Liberty (6:00)
Brookville-Robert E. Lee Winner vs. Lord Botetourt (7:30)

Championship Saturday Night at 8:00 at Brookville High School

Region B Boys Tournament

2009-02-24T08:07:00.003-05:00

The Region B Boys Basketball Tournament begins on Wednesday night. Here is the layout of both tournaments, Division 1 & 2.

Division 1
Quarterfinals-Wednesday Night (All games at 7:00)
# 8 Nelson County at # 1 Buffalo Gap
# 5 Altavista at # 4 Page County
# 6 Manassas Park at # 3 Cumberland
# 7 Central Lunenberg at # 2 Riverheads

Semifinals on Friday
Nelson County-Buffalo Gap winner vs. Altavista-Page County Winner at Eastern Mennonite (8 PM)
Manassas Park-Cumberland winner vs. Central Lunenberg-Riverheads winner at Eastern Mennonite (6 PM)

Division 2
Quarterfinals-Wednesday Night (All Games at 7:00)
# 8 George Mason at # 1 Madison County
# 5 Appomattox at # 4 Buckingham
# 6 Clarke County at # 3 Goochland
# 7 Wilson Memorial at # 2 Dan River

Semifinals-Friday Night
George Mason-Madison County Winner vs. Appomattox-Buckingham winner at Madison County (7 PM)
Clarke County-Goochland winner vs. Dan River-Wilson Memorial winner at Amherst (7 PM)

Finals are Saturday at Eastern Mennonite. D-1 starts at 6, D-2 at 8 PM.

Region B Girls Tournament

2009-02-24T07:56:00.004-05:00

Here's the Region B Tournament schedule for girls basketball in Division 1 & 2.

Division 1 (All Games at 7:00)
# 8 William Campbell at # 1 Altavista
# 5 Manassas Park at # 4 Amelia
# 6 Riverheads at # 3 Buffalo Gap
# 7 Central-Lunenberg at # 2 Stonewall Jackson

Semifinals-Thursday
William Campbell-Altavista winner vs. Manassas Park-Amelia winner @ Amherst (6 PM)
Riverheads-Buffalo Gap winner vs. Central Lunenberg-Stonewall Jackson winner @ Eastern Mennonite (8 PM)

Division 2 (All games at 7:00)
# 8 Clarke County at # 1 Randolph Henry
# 5 Wilson Memorial at # 4 Strasburg
# 6 Buckingham at # 3 Dan River
# 7 Appomattox at # 2 George Mason

Semifinals-Thursday
Randolph Henry-Clarke County winner vs. Wilson Memorial-Strasburg winner @ Amherst (8 PM)
Buckingham-Dan River winner vs. Appomattox-George Mason winner @ Eastern Mennonite (6 PM)

Finals are Saturday at Eastern Mennonite, with the Division 1 game starting at 11 AM and the Division 2 game will begin around 1 PM.

Boys Basketball: District Semifinals Schedule

2009-02-17T08:30:00.003-05:00

Group A
Dogwood District-Wednesday
(4) Altavista at (1) Dan River 7:00
(3) Chatham at (2) Appomattox 7:00

Bull Run District at Madison County
(2) George Mason v. (3) Clarke County 6:30
(5) Manassas Park v. (1) Madison County 8:00

Shennandoah District
Quarterfinals-Tuesday
(6) Stonewall Jackson at (3) Riverheads 7:00
(5) Luray at (4) Page County 7:00

Semifinals-Thursday at Eastern Mennonite
(1) Buffalo Gap v. Page-Luray winner 7:00
(2) Wilson Memorial v. Riverheads-Stonewall Jackson winner 8:30

James River District-Wednesday
(4) Cumberland at (1) Goochland
(6) Central Lunenberg at (2) Buckingham

More to come later on.

Dogwood District Boys Basketball Tournament

2009-02-16T11:56:00.002-05:00

The Dogwood District Boys Basketball tournament will get underway tonight at higher seeds, as the quarterfinals get underway. Here are the matchups

# 5 Nelson County at # 4 Altavista
# 6 William Campbell at #3 Chatham
# 7 Gretna at # 2 Appomattox.

The winner of the Nelson County-Altavista game will play at Dan River on Wednesday, while Appomattox will host Chatham-William Campbell winner. If the Hawks beat Appomattox, Gretna will travel to the winner of William Campbell and Chatham.

Seminole District Boys Basketball Pairings

2009-02-16T10:46:00.006-05:00

The Seminole District boys basketball tournament begins tonight with higher seeds hosting tournament quarterfinals.

# 7 Staunton River at # 2 Brookville 7:30
#6 Heritage at # 3 Amherst 7:00
# 5 Jefferson Forest at # 4 Rustburg 7:30

Tournament Semifinals Wednesday night at Brookville

I believe it would be
Jefferson Forest-Rustburg winner vs. Liberty at 6:00
Heritage-Amherst winner vs. Staunton River-Brookville winner at 7:30

Things could get very interesting depending on a few things, as two teams have to advance from Division 3 (Liberty has won the district, so they are one) and Amherst is already representing Division 4, being the highest rated team in D-4

Seminole District Girls Basketball Tournament

2009-02-16T10:25:00.004-05:00

It gets underway tonight. Some schools are doing doubleheaders (boys also begins tonight, higher seeds host quarterfinals.)

Here's the lineup
# 7 Amherst at # 2 Brookville 6:00
# 6 Liberty at # 3 Rustburg 6:00
# 5 Heritage at # 4 Jefferson Forest 7:00

Wednesday's Semifinals at Staunton River
Heritage-Jefferson Forest winner vs. # 1 Staunton River 6:00
Rustburg-Liberty winner vs. Amherst-Brookville winner 7:30

Friday Championship
6:00 at Brookville (followed by the Boys at 7:30)

Consolation will probably not be needed. The way it works in Region III (and I will correct myself if I am wrong), is the top two teams get in from Division 3 and Division 4. Staunton River is already guaranteed one spot in Division 4. If Brookville defeats Amherst tonight, then the winner of Heritage and Jefferson Forest would automatically get the other Division 4 spot. Brookville is already guaranteed one Division 3 spot (being the highest Division 3 team), and the winner of Rustburg and Liberty would get the other regional spot.

Girls Basketball: Dogwood District Tournament Pairings

2009-02-13T14:49:00.003-05:00

Depending on what happens tonight in the boys, Dan River-Chatham game tonight, may affect the date of the girls tournament. If Dan River beats Chatham tonight, the girls tournament will remain on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If the Cavaliers beat the Wildcats in the Boys Varsity matchup tonight, then the girls will commence on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with the Boys taking over Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The girls bracket
1 seed-Altavista has a bye.
From everything I have gathered there is a tie between 3 and 4 (Appomattox and Chatham). With that being said here are the tournment matchups. Seed in (parenthses)
(7) Nelson County at (2) Dan River
(6) William Campbell at (3) Appomattox
(5) Gretna at (4) Chatham

Tonight's matchups
Altavista at Nelson County
Appomattox at William Campbell
Dan River at Chatham

Boys Basketball: Dogwood District Standings

2009-02-13T08:39:00.004-05:00

Here are the Dogwood District standings heading into tonight's season finales. If Chatham beats Dan River, there is a three way tie for 1st place which would neccesitate a playoff (because it determines a regional berth and seed). If a playoff is neccessary, the whole thing would be at Altavista High School. Saturday's tilt would feature Dan River against Chatham, with the winner meeting Appomattox on Monday night. The boys tournament would then take place Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, while the girls would play Monday-Wednesday-Friday. If no playoff is needed, the Boys action will be Monday-Wednesday-Friday and the girls would be Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. All games at higher seeds.

(Overall Record in Parenthses)
Dan River 10-1 (17-3)
Appomattox 9-2 (18-3)
Chatham 9-2 (14-7)
Altavista 5-6 (10-9)
Nelson County 4-7 (9-11)
William Campbell 2-9 (3-13)
Gretna 0-12 (0-18)

Nelson County at Altavista
Chatham at Dan River
William Campbell at Appomattox

Seminole District Playoff Note

2009-02-10T11:00:00.002-05:00

To clear up any confusion, any time you have a tie for a district title, you must have a playoff. The regular season meetings do not matter. The playoff must be had, to break the tie, because it is for a berth in the Region III Tournament. With that being said, the reason Staunton River was chose as a site is as follows. Brookville would have been the first site to be chosen, because that is where the Seminole District Boys semis and finals are being played. However, Brookville is not a neutral site, so they went to choice two, which was Staunton River. Staunton River was chosen as a site for two reasons. A) They are hosting boys and girls consolation games in the Seminole District tournament and B) They are hosting the girls tournament.

Any questions? I'll do my best to try and clarify.

Boys Basketball: This Week in the Dogwood

2009-02-08T02:28:00.003-05:00

It's a full week in the Dogwood District Boys Basketball action, there will be Dogwood games every night this week (weather permitting) with the exception of Wednesday.

As we sit here on Sunday morning, these are your district standings. Overall Record in parentheses

Dan River 9-1 (16-3)
Appomattox 9-1 (18-2)
Chatham 8-2 (13-7)
Altavista 4-6 (9-9)
Nelson County 3-6 (7-10)
William Campbell 1-8 (2-12)
Gretna 0-10 (0-16)

Monday Night
William Campbell at Nelson County

Tuesday Night
Gretna at Altavista
Chatham at Appomattox
Nelson County at Dan River

Thursday Night
Gretna at William Campbell

Friday Night
Nelson County at Altavista
Chatham at Dan River
William Campbell at Appomattox

If there is a cause for a 1 game playoff, it would be at Altavista next Saturday night.

Region B Tournament starts the week afterwards.

Region B Playoff Info.

2009-02-06T06:16:00.000-05:00

The Region B Playoffs will commence in a few weeks with Boys & Girls Play. I am attempting to clear up some of the confusion about the Region play with the seeding criteria.

8 teams advance to the region, from the 4 Region B districts (Dogwood, James River, Bull Run & Shenandoah). The top 8 teams in each division will qualify (there are 12 Division 2 teams and 13 Division 1 teams). Here is the order in which teams are seeded

1. Regular Season District Champ & Tournament Champ
2. Regular Season District Champ
3. Tournament Champ
4. Tournament Runner-Up
5. Regular Season District Runner-Up Untied
6. Regular Season District Runner-Up Tied
7. Regular Season 3rd Place Untied
8. Regular Season 3rd Place Tied
9. Tournament Semifinalist
10. Regular Season 4th Place Untied
11. Regular Season 4th Place Tied
12. Regular Season 5th Place Untied
13. Regular Season 5th Place Tied
14. Regular Season 6th Place Untied
15. Regular Season 6th Place Tied
16. Regular Season 7th Place

Teams that qualify on the same seeding criteria (e.g. both teams qualify on line 6, Regular Season 3rd place) will be seeded according to the criteria that follows.
1. Regular Season Winning Percentage in District Games Only
2. Head-to-head results
3. Region Point Scale for District Wins (explained below)
4. Winning Percentage versus common opponents
5. Winning Percentage in games versus all Region B Tournament teams (both divisions)
6. Overall winning percentage
7. Region Draw

Region Point System
For regular season district contests, Region schools will be awarded:
6 points for a win over a Regular Season Champ
5 points for a win over a Regular Season Runner-Up (2nd Place team)
4 points for a win over a Regular Season 3rd Place Team
3 points for a win over a Regular Season 4th Place Team
2 points for a win over a Regular Season 5th place Team
1 point for a win over a Regular Season 6th place team
0 points for a win over a Regular Season 7th place team

Tournament Brackets
1 vs. 8; 2 vs. 7; 3 vs. 6; 4 vs. 5.
Semis: 1-8 winner vs. 4-5 winner; 2-7 winner vs. 3-6 winner
Finals: 2 semifinal winners meet

Tournament Dates, Location/Format
Location: Quarterfinals are held at the higher seeds choice of venue, which may include their own gym. Each district will select a site to use on a semi-final night of the tournament. The site should be located as close to Charlottesville as feasible but in no case farther then 75 miles from Charlottesville. These four sites may host two games in one night but all four sites will host at least one of the semi-final games. The finals will be rotated to one of the district sites. In 2008, Eastern Mennonite University will host all four final games.

Semifinal Site Selection
Teams participating in the tournament will rank each of the four Semifinal sites in order of their preference for playing games there. Assignment of games to sites will begin with the # 1 seeds preference, and continue until all games are placed at one of the tournament sites. In odd numbered years, the # 1 seed in Division 1 will have the first choice, then the Division 2 # 1 seed will have the second choice. Then, the # 2 seed in Division 1, the # 2 seed in Division 2 and so on. In even numbered years, the Division 2 team would get the first choice. The site assignment process may put Division 1 and Division 2 games at the same site as part of the doubleheader. For example, the Division 1 # 1 seed may choose site "A" and the Division 2 # 1 seed may also choose site "A". Those two games would be played as a doubleheader at site "A".

Eligible Sites
No specific criteria is in place but districts will submit their site (and alternate sites in case of weather) for approval by Region B. Non-member school facilities are preferred, however, member schools may serve as sites if necessary, pending approval by Region B.

Weather
Districts will secure a back-up facility in case weather requires all four tournament to play games on the same night.

Finals Format
Finals will be played in two sessions on Saturday. Thursday semifinal winners will play in the early session. Friday semifinal winners will play in the late session. The facility will be emptied between sessions.

High School Basketball 1st Half Thoughts

2009-01-23T11:20:00.000-05:00

Most all high school basketball teams in the Central Virginia area and beyond have completed the 1st half of their district schedules. I got some thoughts from various coaches, boys and girls, to get their thoughts on the 1st Half of the season.

Who is your team's Most Valuable Player in the 1st half of the season?

Brandon Garrett (Nelson County Boys Head Coach)
Trey Barnett because of our lack of depth at the guard position. We lost four guards off last year's team.

Brantley Shields (Appomattox Boys Head Coach)
Kenny Scott has started playing really well the last two weeks. He has started to attack the rim and do some scoring for us, as well as defend and rebound. The past four games (Altavista, Gretna, Nelson County, Chatham) he has had a double double or a near double double.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach)
Logan Thomas: He does about everything. He is our leader in every statistical category, as he goes, we go.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach)
Emilee Dunton is our team leader. She leads us in points and assists. On defense, she guards the best guard on the other team, and usually holds them under their average.

Who has been the most pleasant surprise from your team for the first half of the season?

Brandon Garrett (Nelson County Boys Head Coach)
Cameron Coles: He has stepped up when our leading scorer (Trevor Martin) has been out or limited the last 5-6 games due to injury.

Brantley Shields (Appomattox Boys Head Coach)
Rionn Pradia has been a pleasant surprise to this point. He has committed to doing things other then just shooting. His defense has vastly improved and he has started attacking the rim more.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach)
Dan Wallace has really picked up his game the last two weeks. He has simplified his game in order to help out our team dramatically, especially defensively.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach)
Talisha Watts has been a nice surprise averaging double digits.

Paul Smith (Jefferson Forest Boys Head Coach)
The most pleasant surprise was our early season win against Brookville. It has been a while since JF has defeated Brookville. It was rewarding to get a win against a team that people would consider to as one of the favorites to win the league this year.

Matt Hildebrand (Rustburg Boys Head Coach)
Marshall Wood, a freshman, has contributed more than I thought he would, and in an area I didn't anticipate: defense.

What have you been most pleased/impressed with about your team in the first half of the season?

Brandon Garrett (Nelson County Boys Head Coach)
The fact that we have been competitive and played good defense.

Brantley Shields (Appomattox Boys Head Coach)
I have been pleased with our consistency to this point.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach)
It has been hard to find chemistry and an identity thus far. Out of 46 practices, we have only had 7 where our entire team has been healthy in order to participate. Our team has had some ups and downs, but we have always responded after a down moment.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach)
The ability to win close games. We have won an overtime and a double overtime game.

What does your team need to do better, or what have you been most dissappointed with so far this season?

Brandon Garrett (Nelson County Boys Head Coach)
The biggest dissappointment so far has been the fact that we have not been able to play a complete game for 32 minutes.

Brantley Shields (Appomattox Boys Head Coach)
The biggest dissappointment so far has been our lapses on the defensive blockout.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach)
We need to get the ball inside offensively on a regular basis.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach)
We need to play to our ability night in and night out. We need to continue to get better every day so we are playing our best basketball at tournament time.

What team has surprised you most so far this season and why?

Brandon Garrett (Nelson County Boys Head Coach)
No one has really surprised me in the district so far. I think it's working out like most people and coaches thought it would. I think Chatham may be a little better then some anticipated at the beginning of the year. They have a lot of size and they are very athletic.

Brantley Shields (Appomattox Boys Head Coach)
Dan River: Especially with their defensive intensity.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach)
Amherst is very well coached and they are getting a lot out of their players.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach)
No one has really surprised me. I thought it would be a fight forthe top four spots and it has been so far.

What team do you feel could play the role of sleeper in the 2nd half of the season?

Brandon Garrett (Nelson County Boys Head Coach)
I think Altavista could sneak up on Appomattox, and Dan River but it will depend solely on have their guards develop.

Brantley Shields (Appomattox Boys Head Coach)
Gretna is starting to play better.

Chris Young (Brookville Boys Head Coach)
Amherst has three players that can score. They also have depth and good role players.

Warner Dyke (Brookville Girls Head Coach)
I'm not sure about the second half, but I said before the season that I thought Rustburg was going to be really good this season. They are proving me right. I'm not sure how many people agreed with me before the season, but I think they would all agree now.

Look for more thoughts from these folks and more tomorrow, and be sure to check out a rapidly developing site, at The Sports Buffet Podcast.com

More on Jim Whorley and Some Other Thoughts

2008-12-29T07:52:00.000-05:00

You couldn't watch local news yesterday without seeing how much people adored Jim Whorley. It shows how much someone means when you see people that you think of as men of steel and immortal break down and show emotion with their tears. It especially makes me proud to see a person I coached in Heart of Virginia volleyball, Shelley Parker, to show so much character to sit there and speak about Mr. Whorley. I am not saying it's easier for adults, but to have a high school student stand up there and speak about her principal. It just made me proud to say I was her coach for a few months. If you want to read my earlier blog on Jim Whorley, you can read my previous post.

However, I have been thinking of something that I think would honor Jim Whorley. I don't have to get credit for the idea. It's not about me at all. It's about honoring a great man. So, Seminole District Principals, Athletic Directors, Coaches, if you are reading this, please take note.

We need to get something started called the Jim Whorley Award. I think even though Mr.Whorley had a contribution to the Region and as Leon Brandt said "It's a tremendous loss for the state."

Anyways, the Jim Whorley award would be given to a Seminole District athlete (I wouldn't care if you gave one in each sport, I definitely at least think you should give one to a male and female athlete at the end of the school year) that exemplifies excellence in three areas. Leadership (it can be within the school or within the community), athletic achievement (this could be considered a bit of a gray area, because I don't think you necessarily have to give it to a superstar athlete because then you narrow your field greatly) and finally academic achievement (excellence in the classroom I think was just as important to Jim Whorley as anything) because all principals, I don't care how much they love athletics, want to see their students succeed in the classroom.

Anyway I can help spearhead this effort, I'd be more then willing to help. But, I think this award will always keep the legend of Jim Whorley alive, even after those who knew him best are not around to let everyone know what a great man and public servant he was.

Holiday Hoops
Tonight, Altavista's Christmas Tournament will begin. In the 6:00 tilt, William Campbell will battle Tunstall, followed by Cumberland against Altavista. Tomorrow night, William Campbell will play Cumberland in the opener, followed by Altavista and Tunstall.

In Salem, the Holiday Hoopla tournament continues. The finals pit Garfield against William Fleming, other consolation matchups feature Cave Spring against Patrick Henry, Osbourn plays Hidden Valley and Salem plays Brooke Point.

At Northside, the Northside Invitational continues with today's games featuring winners brackets games that will pair Franklin County and Liberty, and the other semi features Lord Botetourt and Northside. The consolation bracket features Blacksburg against William Byrd, and Martinsville and Staunton River.

At the William Byrd Lady Terrier Classic, Salem will play Lord Botetourt and Staunton River will tangle with Cave Spring. Brookville did not travel to Vinton to play Saturday, due to Jim Whorley's death, no word right now if Brookville will play William Byrd on Monday. The other matchup will see Northside play Heritage.

Tonight in Appomattox, boys basketball will be on display as Appomattox plays Timberlake and Rustburg will play Suessx Central. Tomorrow night, the Red Devils will play Timberlake and Sussex Central will square off with Appomattox.

Finally, at the Register and Bee Tournament in Danville, action concludes with the championship between G.W. Danville and Dan River. In other consolation action, Eastern Alamance will play Liberty Christian Academy, Chatham will play Reidsville (NC) and Morehead (NC) takes on Gretna.

Any other hoops matchups you want to alert people to or any comments, feel free to leave them.

By the way, hopefully "The Sports Buffet" will be starting up again soon. I am very excited about it to start contacting and interviewing coaches again on a regular basis.

Jim Whorley RIP

2008-12-27T19:54:00.000-05:00

I have been involved in high school sports since 1994 when I was a sophomore at Jefferson Forest High School. There, I served as a manager for the football and volleyball team. Later on, I went onto coaching volleyball as an assistant at Jefferson Forest and Heritage High School. I have broadcast high school boys basketball for Altavista since about 2001. I also hosted the show "Talking High School Sports" which I started in December 2003. That transitioned into "The Sports Buffet" podcast. In those 14 years, I saw Jim Whorley at countless Brookville sporting events, but I never had the pleasure to meet him face to face. The most words I may have ever spoke to him are "Where can we fill up our water cooler?" or "Hey, how's it going?"
Therefore, I am going to have to go on observations and the words of others.

I never went to a Brookville sporting event and saw Jim Whorley without a smile on his face. It seemed like there weren't many people who bled maroon and gold like Mr. Whorley did. Being a Jefferson Forest grad, I am suppose to have a rivalry with Brookville people, but I haven't met many people from Brookville that I haven't liked. To me, that reflects a strong leader and a class act, which is what Jim Whorley was. My podcast is shutdown temporarily until my new web site is launched. I always plan on paper and in my head on what I want to do on my podcast and such, after the season I had planned on doing a segment on 60 years of Brookville football (the Bees honored 60 years of Bees football this past season in a game before Rustburg.). Unfortunately, I will never be able to do that interview with Jim Whorley, which I looked forward to, however now I will be doing a piece honoring a legend, Jim Whorley. Something tells me, I won't have a shortage of people willing to discuss what a great principal, great coach, great teacher and great man that Jim Whorley was.

I think some things should be learned from this. Everyday we should be thankful for those that we have around us. We should always treasure those around us and enjoy those times. Never go to bed angry and never end a conversation that way, because you never know when those we love and cherish, won't be around anymore.

I read something where Mr.Leon Brandt, member of the Campbell County school board, said that losing Jim Whorley is not only a loss for Campbell County and Brookville High School, but a loss for Virginia as well. I agree wholeheartedly, because if you look at people who have come out of Brookville High School, the people I have dealt with are not only well-spoken but also respectful, and once again to me that comes from your leader.

RIP Mr.Whorley, Brookville and the World will miss you.

If you would like to be interviewed and comment on Jim Whorley for the feature I will be doing on him down the road (I don't have a specific date yet in mind or anything) E-Mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Latest on "The Sports Buffet" Podcast

2008-12-23T05:02:00.000-05:00

For all you devout fans of "The Sports Buffet" podcast, I just wanted to update you of the status. I have yet to meet with my webmaster yet, I will be hopefully over the winter break, or once the school year resumes after the New Year. I will be developing my own web site. The domain name has yet to be registered or decided. The reason the podcast is not active now, is the website I was using at My Podcast has really been giving me major headaches, and it has made it very difficult/near impossible to upload files. You can still check out the files that have already been uploaded at The Sports Buffet Podcast. The new site will still feature old broadcasts from "Talking High School Sports" and games that have been broadcasted on WKDE. The website will also try to have schedules/scores/results and provide somewhat of a high school sports almanac. I will also hopefully update the blogs and everything else on a more frequent basis as well.

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and anything else, please e-mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Why does everyone not have the same chance?

2008-12-13T15:22:00.000-05:00

The VHSL is in the midst of debating an increase in classifications. Right now, the VHSL plays under an umbrella that has AAA at the top. The VHSL does however have six classifications which gives football teams of equal enrollment sizes chances at winning a state championship. The rules were recently changed to encompass boys and girls basketball in this as well (except for AAA which still awards one state championship). However, all other sports still reward three state champions to each classification.

In my mind, this needs to be changed. I have two daughters, both of young age, why should they not be afforded the same opportunities as people who play basketball and football. There are some kids out there, who dedicate themselves to one sport, who just play baseball or just play volleyball. Some kids participate in more individual sports like cross country, track, golf and tennis (I know they are awarded team titles, but there are also individual champions in each sport).

Thoughts, comments, suggestions? Please leave a comment or e-mail them to me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Once "The Sports Buffet" podcast is back up and running, I will be examining this issue more closely (and I may try to examine it more on the blog as well)

The Future of "The Sports Buffet" podcast

2008-12-13T12:31:00.001-05:00

To all my loyal listeners of "The Sports Buffet" podcast, I appreciate you first off. I would love more comments on the podcasts, what you like, dislike and so forth and so on. You can always reach me by e-mail at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

With that being said, "The Sports Buffet" is going to be on a break or hiatus until probably the first of 2009. The site I have been using for "The Sports Buffet" is just not user friendly anymore and it has been very difficult to upload files. I encourage you to still go to the site and check out some of the older podcasts, to easier search for an episode (you can search by school, name, sport, whatever, by clicking here and typing in the keyword.

There are some other sites out there, but I just want to make sure the next site I go with is long term (even though My Podcast lasted me for longer then a year). I still intend to post "older" interviews and games from my days with WKDE and more. I firmly believe people want to hear new and fresh content, but I believe honoring those and featuring those that I have interviewed in the past should be featured across the world wide web as well. The "New" site is going to feature much more then just a podcast (hopefully) with hopeful links for all high school and college and pro sports fans, as well as stats and schedules and everything else a sports fan could want. I hope to make "The Sports Buffet" one stop shopping for all sports fans.

So, if you are a coach or athlete, and see that your interview has not been posted, please be patient. No one, but no one, is more fustrated by the lack of podcasts then yours truly. I have not forgotten about anything, as well as scheduling interviews and such. Hopefully, my blogs will take a more active role while the podcast is rebuilding, and will continue to be active after the podcast is reborn.

Finally, I also would like to take this opportunity to thank all the coaches, athletes, athletic directors, sports information people, other media members and anyone else that I pester for interviews, information and requests on a random basis. Please know that I appreciate you all more then you think. Also, once again big thanks to the listeners to "The Sports Buffet". I know everyone might not be interested in every single topic I cover, but if I have conducted one interview that you have enjoyed, then I hope you will check back frequently and will tell others about an interview that you may have enjoyed.

Thanks for indulging me and any questions, comments or concerns, please address them to TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

The Sports Buffet Podcast will be moving

2008-12-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

The Sports Buffet podcast will be moving soon to its own website hopefully. The site i have been using is just now not uploading podcasts. I had interviews recorded with Winfred Beale, Amherst Players, Cecil Phillips, Jeff Woody and other folks but the podcast site is not being fully functional, so I apologize to everyone (it frustrates me just as much as anyone)

James Monroe leads Brookville 38-30

2008-12-06T14:04:00.001-05:00

2:58 left in 3rd Quarter. The big play has killed Brookville all day.

James Monroe leads Brookville 26-17

2008-12-06T13:02:00.001-05:00

2:09 left to go in the 1st Quarter. Bees do get the ball first to start the 2nd half

James Monroe leads Brookville 20-17

2008-12-06T12:51:00.001-05:00

Bees taking over at their own 26 with 4:59 left in the 1st half

Brookville 17 James Monroe 14 7:08 left

2008-12-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

James Monroe is driving, they have the ball at the Bees 26.

James Monroe and Brookville

2008-12-06T12:30:00.000-05:00

James Monroe and Brookville are in a doozy here in Lynchburg. It's all knoted at 14. Brookville came out like a house of fire. The Bees won the toss, and deferred their decision until the 2nd half. James Monroe elected to recieve, went 3 and out. Logan Thomas then returned a punt into James Monroe territory. That set up Stacey Houston's 30 yard touchdown run on the 1st play from scrimmage.

Any comments, questions I'll be here all day. You can either comment or E-Mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

District Volleyball Tournaments Begin Tonight

2008-10-27T05:18:00.000-04:00

Seminole District Matchups
# 7 Amherst at # 2 Jefferson Forest
# 6 Heritage at # 3 Brookville
# 5 Liberty at # 4 Staunton River

Semifinals will take place tomorrow at Liberty High School. Rustburg, the # 1 seed will play the winner of Liberty-Staunton River at 6:00 in Game 1. Then, the other two winners will matchup in the night cap.

Thursday, will be the finals and the 3rd place game. Winners of tonight's games will advance to the Region III Tournament, which gets underway next Monday.

Features to be Heard on "The Sports Buffet" podcast.

2008-10-24T11:59:00.000-04:00

In case you don't know (or have been on Mars, Neptune or Uranus) I am the author, creator, producer, writer, director, host and any other superlative you'd like to throw in of "The Sports Buffet" podcast. I always look for feedback on "The Sports Buffet". If you have thoughts (what you think of current podcasts), comments or suggestions (who are your favorite teams and what guests do you want to hear), e-mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net. Also, I am going to be creating a mailing list to update you when new podcasts are added to "The Sports Buffet"."The Sports Buffet" features high school, college and professional sports. You will be able to hear new podcasts as well as older segments from "Talking High School Sports" and other games broadcasted throughout the years on WKDE.Here are some of the segments (most of these will be related to high school sports) that you will be hearing on "The Sports Buffet"

"The Sports Buffet" is going to be taking a lot of the segements/features that were spotlighted on "Talking High School Sports". "The Sports Buffet" (http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com/) continues to add previous broadcasts from "Talking High School Sports" to the pod-cast site, however we also will be developing new ones as well. In order, to do that, Here is what you can expect in terms of segments on "The Sports Buffet"

* "Checking In": This segment features updates on former high school athletes from the Lynchburg area and beyond as they continue their athletic careers in college. You will hear from the athlete, as well as current and past teammates and coaches.

* "Where Are They Now": This is the segment where we catch up with former high school athletes, coaches, media members, officials, athletic directors, athletic trainers and more from the Lynchburg area and beyond to find out what they are doing now. You will hear from the individual as well as people that were associated with them during their time in high school sports in the Lynchburg area and beyond.

* "Teammates": This segment test two teammates from an athletic squad to see how well they know each other. With larger teams, it may become a contest to where it would feature 3 teams of 2, similar to ESPN's "Teammates", where they are competing against one another. But, with smaller teams it will feature two participants from a team to see how well they know each other with questions that pertain to questions away from the sport, i.e. favorite movie, favorite food and so forth.

* Know Your Coach...... New segment that will see how well a player knows their coach. This is very similar to "Teammates" but will instead feature 3 athletes from a team to see how well they know their coach.

* "One on One with Bob Alvis": This segement takes a personality from the sporting world and gives them 12 questions that they would not hear in their normal, everday life, such as "If you were stuck on a desert island, what 3 movies would you want with you?"

* "Inside the Game": This segment is designed to take a fast pace look at a sport or conference and it's most recent happenings. The segment can also be designed to take a look at a specific night. For example, a Friday night in High School Football could be covered on one edition of "Inside the Game"

* "Bumps and Bruises": This segment is designed to allow athletic trainers to talk about a prevention, rehabilitation method, or anything they feel needs to be brought to the public's attention relating to the area of athletic training.

* Away from the Game...... Was to be known as "Off the Field" on "Talking High School Sports" but never really got off the ground. Segment is designed to highlight an athlete's good deeds away from the field. For example, an athlete that may help out at a nursing home, or tutors other students, or is just a good student and is actively involved in their school, church or another organization.

* "Coach's Corner": This is where a coach talks about a technique, strategy, or something that will allow the public insight on the game that they coach.

* "Rules of the Game": This is where a sports official talks about a rule of the sport they officiate. Nothing much more to say about that.

* "The Roundtable": This is where 3 coaches, media members, athletes or officials sit down and talk not so much strategy but more of coaching phillosphies and general sitatuions about sports.

* "Profile": Every now and again we will have a feature on a coach, player, official, athletic director, broadcaster, etc. You will hear from the person being feature, as well as other people talking about them.

You can go to the pod-cast of "The Sports Buffet" (http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com/) and hear examples of the segments from the days of "Talking High School Sports" as well as the new segments that will be added to "The Sports Buffet"."The Sports Buffet" is a free pod-cast developed by Bob Alvis, a self described sports nut, as he looks to promote the great things in sports at all levels as well as to inform and entertain the general public. I do have one child (and another on the way) as well as working a 3rd shift job, so I apologize up front if I don't give as much coverage as I'd like to a certain team

Amelia at Buckingham PPD til Monday at 7:30

2008-10-17T14:44:00.001-04:00

Amelia travels to Buckingham, Monday at 7:30

William Fleming at GW Danville tomorrow at 2

2008-10-17T14:24:00.001-04:00

According to Friday Football Extra's website, this game will be played tomorrow at 2:00

Cancelled High School Football Games 10/17

2008-10-17T14:15:00.000-04:00

Nelson County at Chatham will now play Monday at 6.

Amherst at Liberty will now play Saturday at 6.

Stay tuned for more updates.

"The Sports Buffet" Podcast's Coming Attractions

2008-10-16T10:29:00.000-04:00

Here is what's on tap at the 'Buffet in the next day or two.

- Brad Bradley Interview: Coach Bradley talks about what is going to need to go right for William Campbell to beat Gretna on Friday night in Naruna. Coach Bradley also reviews the Altavista game, as well as talking about a real living legend, his dad, Coach Larry Bradley, who just coached his last middle school game a week ago, as coach at Andrew Lewis Middle School.

- Chris Thurman Interview: Coach Thurman speaks on the Dogwood District as a whole, as well as the Hawks chances on Friday in Naruna. Coach Thurman also talks about the Nelson County game, and the large comeback the Governors had up in Lovingston a couple of weeks back. Also, Coach Thurman talks about the respect he has for Brad Bradley, as well as if we will see Nick Miller back on the field for the Hawks this season.

- Cecil Phillips Interview: Coach Phillips joined me to discuss his Amherst Lancers, who may be one of the hottest teams in the Lynchburg area right now. Coach Phillips previews this Friday's tilt at Liberty. Coach Phillips also shared what he learned from his coaching influences (Bob Christmas, Kevin Saunders and more.).

Also, on Friday afternoon, I will have a comprehensive preview of the William Campbell-Gretna game, with words from some of the assistant coaches from each staff. Then on Saturday morning, hear complete and comprehensive postgame from the battle in Naruna.

Stay tuned to this podcast for opinions and upcoming features on "The Sports Buffet" as well. Also, stay tuned for a big announcement concerning "The Sports Buffet" podcast.

Great News

2008-10-11T15:32:00.000-04:00

Great News. "The Sports Buffet" podcast is back. All computer problems that have fixed, the recording studio has been updated and now "The Sports Buffet" podcast is ready to go again. So, what that means is this: You are going to hear new stuff, old stuff and all the stuff in between. The name and content hasn't changed, we are just back from a long sabbatical. Be sure to visit "The Sports Buffet" for all your high school, college and pro sports needs.

If there is anything you want to hear, be sure to email me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

More rivalry talk

2008-10-09T11:05:00.000-04:00

More rivalry talk.

Mark Hanks (Head Boys Basketball Coach at Pulaski County, formerly Liberty Minutemen head coach)
Obviously the Salem-Pulaski County games. They have the largest attendance in this part of the state,football more specifically. I was there the night they beat us in overtime when we missed a 20 yd fg and Coach Hicks resigned that night only to come back and win a state championship a few years later.

From my days at Liberty, I really enjoyed coaching against Jim Hawley at JF. He always was light years ahead of me preparation wise and we had the studs to even it up !
that evening.

Paul Smith (Jefferson Forest Head Boys Basketball Coach)
In my short time here I do see that JF and Brookville is a big rivalry for the long time JF people. I can tell on game night that the game has a much different atmosphere. .

Rivalries

2008-10-08T08:03:00.000-04:00

Jefferson Forest and Brookville battled last week, but this week features a rivalry for the Old-Timers. E.C. Glass will host G.W. Danville in a battle that marks the last Western Valley District game between the two, before the Hilltoppers drop down to the Seminole. Thus, I had recieved more comments on certain rivalries from the Central and Southwest Virginia area. Here are some more responses that I recieved to these questions

1. What do you think is the best high school rivalry and why?

2. What is your most memorable moment from a rivarly that you are involved in now (or one that you were involved in) and what made it memorable? (If you played/coached more then one sport, please specify the sport from your answer)

Warner Dyke (Head Girls Basketball & Head Golf Coach at Brookville High School)
1. For me, it would have to be brookville versus J.F. It doesnt matter the sport, it is always the biggest crowd of the year. Year in and year out in most sports it seems like we are competing for one of the top spots in the district with each other.

2. I know this sounds cliche but I really dont get wrapped uo in the rivaly's like the kids do. But I guess the best moment with J.F. for me would be the year that we were the only team (girls basketball) in the district to beat them.

Mike Cartolaro (Head Boys Basketball Coach at Altavista High School)
Well, most coaches will say it is one they are in. Certainly the one with us and gretna over the years has been good. Maybe the last couple of years it has lost a little of the shine, but I am not complaining since we have been fortunate enough to win those games. We had the V-T game in bristol: Virginia High and Tennessee High. That was very intense. We beat them on a half court shot one year, when both teams were very good we went to the state double a playoffs and they also qualified.

John Earich (William Campbell Assistant Head Coach for the Varsity Football team)
1. Massillon versus Canton McKinley in Ohio since 1894. Because Ohio football is the best in the nation.

2. Our victory over Gretna in 2002. 33-30 overtime. Watching Vernon Vassal do cartwheels after Josh Moon kicked the winning field goal.

More to come

More Rivalry Comments

2008-10-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

The lateest comments on rivalries. The questions again

The questions
1. What do you think is the best high school rivalry and why?
2. What is your most memorable moment from a rivarly that you are/were involved in?

The newest answers

Paul Smith (Jefferson Forest Boys Basketball Head Coach)
Not being from this area for very long, it is hard to have a real "feel" for this. However, in my short time here I do see that JF and Brookville is a big rivalry for the long time JF people. I can tell on game night that the game has a much different atmosphere.

Mark Hanks (Pulaski County Head Boys Basketball Coach and former Liberty Minutemen Head Coach)
From my days at Liberty, I really enjoyed coaching against Jim Hawley at JF. He always was light years ahead of me preparation wise and we had the studs to even it up !

More to come

More on Rivalries

2008-10-03T11:46:00.000-04:00

More responses from the questions sent out on rivalries.

The questions

1. What do you think is the best high school rivalry and why?

2. What is your most memorable moment from a rivarly that you are/were involved in?

The newest answers

Brantley Shields (Head Boys Basketball Coach at Appmattox, former Tunstall Trojans and Averett Basketball player)

2. Tunstall vs. Dan River in 1997-1998. We trailed in a game at home by 25 points headed into the 4th quarter and came back and won. The game was highlighted by a thunderous alley oop dunk by Lorenzo Preston off of an inbounds play under the basket. One of the greatest games I've ever been a part of.

Dave Close (Assistant Football Coach at Altavista High School)

1. The best High School Rivalry that I have ever seen is in Northeast Ohio, Canton McKinley v.s. Massilon. The game is played in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium (Massilon), or Faucet Stadium (McKinley) (were the Hall of Fame game is played). It is the most intense game that I have ever attended. It is considered to be one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in the country. The stadiums are full(with nearly 20,000 people there) and the football is great. Massilon shuts down @ 5:00 on Fridays for there football games.

2. I have not been at Altavista long enough for any memories of Rivalries, but when I was at Rustburg, we played Liberty in 2006, we had just scored to tie the game with less than a minute left, we lined up in 2 tights & power backs, we sent Jake Wade in motion and threw a flat pass to him, he caught it and muscled his way into the endzone for a two point conversion to win the game.

Stewart Grant (Head Baseball Coach at Liberty (Bedford) High School, Former Athletic Director)

1. If you went with one sport in the area, it would be Gretna/WC in football. Both teams have had alot of success in this decade with both teams winning multiple state championships. If you went with two schools and all sports, it would be Brookville/JF. Both schools have winning traditions in multiple sports combined with the close proximity makes this a clear cut choice.

For an out of the area choice, this would have to be Graham/Bluefield in football. Both teams share the same city and 10,000 seat stadium that overflows when this game takes place. It has been ranked in the top ten nationally by ESPN for rivalry games.

Brad Bradley (Head Football Coach at William Campbell High School)

1. I would pick the William Campbell-Gretna game because every year it is a very competitive game that draws a huge crowd. It has turned into one of the biggest rival game in the state of Va. Whenever William Campbell and Gretna get together, it is a great atmosphere for high School football.

2. It would have to be in 2002 when we beat Gretna 33-30 in OT. Josh Moon kicked a field goal to win the game only after our defense had held Gretna 4 downs from the 10 yard line. That gave us our 2nd 10-0 undefeated season and led us to to the 1st ever state championship in school history.

More to come....

Greatest Rivalries Part 1

2008-10-03T09:13:00.000-04:00

Here are some responses that I have gotten back to two questions I asked on what the greatest rivalries are in high school sports. Here are the two questions

1. What do you think is the best high school rivalry and why?

2. What is your most memorable moment from a rivarly that you are/were involved in?

Here are some of our first answers

Dan Stephens (Head Boys Basketball Coach-Heritage High School)

1. Well, the Sam Rayburn Texans and Pasadena Eagles, of course. The best since I've been a Virginian would have to be Heritage and E.C. Glass. Unfortunately, it is less about the game and more about being seen AT the game. A loud social event-some positive, some not so much.

2. My first exposure to the Heritage-E.C. Glass game as a coach was to walk into the hallway leading to the gym during the JV game and finding one of our varsity players sitting on the floor hyperventilating. I knew then that this wasn't just another game.

Ryan Gilleland (Assistant Baseball and Football Coach at Jefferson Forest High School. Also has served as head baseball coach and was Junior Varsity Boys Basketball coach for a spell as well)

1. Obviously, JF - Brookville. You can throw both teams records out in this rivalry in all sports. The emotion and passion to win this game is higher than any other game we play.

2. I remember in 1991 when JF-Brookville were both 9-0 in football and played against each other the last game of the year at Brookville. JF won the game in the last minute or so and was probably the craziest memory I have of the rivalry. For me, some of the best memories I have of playing against Brookville was scoring a touchdown my Junior year at Brookville as we won the game. In basketball my senior year, I remember playing at Brookville with Frank Beamer in the stands, there to see Anthony Poindexter. Anthony drove the lane late in the game and threw done a thunderous dunk against the Bees as we won the game. From baseball, we beat the Bees in the final game of the year my sophomore year to clinch the regular season Seminole District Championship at Brookville

Dwayne Hamlette (Assistant Football Coach and Former Football Player at William Campbell)

1. William Campbell and Gretna: For the simple fact that these two small areas produce great football teams year in and year out, and the 30 minutes distance helps too. People plan time off from work for these games and it is usually for the district and the winner and loser usually makes a deep playoff run. The really funny thing is both schools have trouble scheduling local teams to play them, especially the larger schools.

2. The rivalry between JF and William Campbell. We played them first the first game of the year my sophomore and junior year and it was a dog fight. We also ended up playing them in the playoffs my junior year and won on a deflected pass that was taken to the endzone. Our two teams didn't like each other at all. Before one of our battles at William Campbell, both teams were side by side under the goal post and had to be separated by the coaches....great times!

More to come. Keep checking back for more memories of great high school rivalries (from all over the map)

Rivalries

2008-10-03T08:45:00.000-04:00

On the eve of the big Seminole District showdown between Brookville and Jefferson Forest, I thought it would be a good time to explore high school rivalries. I have inquires out to current and former high school coaches, athletes, athletic directors and so forth, to find out their favorite rivalries and the moments from those rivalries. I'll get it kicked off and share mine first.

Being a student manager in high school (at Jefferson Forest) for the football and volleyball teams I saw some good rivalries in the Seminole District. In my time as a broadcaster for WKDE (with primary focus on Altavista Boys Basketball and WIlliam Campbell Football), I have experienced new rivalries.

From my high school days, there was nothing better then a contest between Jefferson Forest and Brookville. It didn't really matter what the contest was, but the intensity between Jefferson Forest and Brookville was unmatched. No one memory sticks out to me, but just the collection of the years on the football field, in the gyms, wherever, when Jefferson Forest and Brookville met, there was a lot of intensity in the house.

Focusing on football, even before the game was to begin, I'd get pumped up (and I was just a manager. I can only imagine how the players felt) and by the time the game was ready to start, I was ready to go as well. I just remember how bad our guys wanted to beat Jeff Landrum, Jeff Woody, James Lomax, Peter Givens and so forth. On the other side, I am sure those guys wanted to beat Anthony Poindexter, Nick Mistretta, Jerton Evans and so on. From my eyes in the sky (broadcasting booth), watching William Campbell and Gretna, has probably been some of the more enjoyable high school games that I have seen in any sport. The intensity (from players and fans) and excitement of these games have been breathtaking.

From the volleyball/basketball standpoints, the crowds were hostile to the opposition. The students (both sides) were probably teetering on the border of rude to the athletes. From the broadcasting side, Altavista and Brookville have had their battles on the basketball court, but the best basketball rivalry in my opinion in the Dogwood/Seminole District area is Altavista and Gretna. The rivalry was at it's height (for me) during the Kenny Hunt era in A-Town, but even when it has been Huntless (which in Altavista and Gretna, to not have one Hunt in the game is near impossible) it's still been games to behold.

What will others say? Stay tuned and find out.