First-year Christiansburg head coach Alex Wilkins (right) was on the wrong end of the scoreboard in his team’s 18-0 loss Friday night to Floyd. The Blue Demons will host Giles this Friday.
The opening week of high school football was not kind to several of our area teams as Christiansburg, Radford, Auburn and Eastern Montgomery all pick up losses. Blacksburg started the season off with a win. The Bruins will hope to continue that winning streak this week while the other four will try to rebound and find a way to win.
Christiansburg will be the only home game this week with the rest of our area teams hitting the road and playing the role of visitors. Radford is at nearby Giles, Auburn travels to Craig County, Blacksburg faces last year playoff opponent in Lord Botetourt, and Eastern Montgomery continues its tour of deep southwest Virginia with a visit to Hurley.
Previews for this week’s games:
Giles at Christiansburg
Game time: 7 p.m.
Radio broadcast: 100.7 FM.
Last week for Giles: Lost 51-14 to Blacksburg. Patrick Beidleman rushed for 215 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown.
Last week for Christiansburg: Lost 18-0 to Floyd County.
Christiansburg scouting report: QB Nic Cook (5-9, 180) is back after throwing 50 of 126 for seven TDs, seven interceptions and 628 yards. Cook also rushed for 502 yards. Charles Nwaihese (5-10, 190) will be the workhouse out of the back field.
Giles scouting report: Coach Jeff Williams is in his 10th season with an 82-36 overall mark. Last season, Giles finished 8-4 with a lost in the 2A West Regional. Return seven players on both side of the ball including Beileman (6-1, 170) who rushed for 704 yards last season. The single-wing offense is always tough to stop. TE/DE Kip Green (6-4, 286, soph.) also covers a lot of acreage on both sides of the ball. The program is 65-11 in the last six years.
Radford at Galax
Game time: 7 p.m.
Radio broadcast:101.7 FM.
Last week for Galax: Lost to Glenvar 34-14. Dougie Peoples had 103 yards and two touchdowns for the Maroon Tide.
Last week for Radford: Lost 26-18 to George Wythe. Freshman P.J. Prioleau rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown, and caught a touchdown pass for another score.
Radford scouting report: Radford has 12 players over 200 pounds this season with senior Nathan Cox (6-3, 310) returning to anchor an experienced offensive line. Justice Marshall (5-8, 160) is back after an incredible freshman year that included 85 tackles and three interceptions. Trace Shepherd is expected to be under center after seeing time in 2016. Dale Stanley returns in the backfield after rushing for 197 yards on 52 carries last season.
Galax scouting report: Head coach Mark Dixon is 68-25 overall, going 11-3 in 2016 losing in the Group 1A state semifinals. All-state running back Dougie Peoples who rushed for 1,970 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Lord Botetourt at Blacksburg
Game time: 7 p.m.
Radio broadcast: 105.3 FM
Last week for Lord Botetourt: Won 28-7 behind freshman running back Hunter Rice’s 234 yards on 30 carries and two touchdowns. Preston Martin also scored on a 51-yard run in the contest against Harrisonburg. As a team, they tallied 417 rushing yards.
Last week for Blacksburg: Won 51-14 over Giles. Cole Beck rushing 18 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns. The Bruins did not have to punt in the entire ball game as they scored on every possession Friday night. Grant Johnston also passed 16 for 18 with 216 yards and three touchdowns. The Bruins did give up 351 yards rushing by Giles.
Blacksburg scouting report: Blacksburg fell to 2-4 before a change in personnel led to a state title ride that ended with a win over Staunton River. Cole Beck returns at running back after putting up 2,000 yards last year. He will team with speedster Tiquest Terry (5-9, 165) and QB Grant Johnston (6-5, 200). Depth could be a challenge as the overall roster number only shows 30 total players. Beck also proved he is one of the fastest football players in the state by winning both the 100 and 200 meters in the 3A outdoor meet.
Lord Botetourt scouting report: Finished 8-3 last season, losing in the 3A West region first round to Blacksburg. Rice (6-0, 200) has the size the move the sticks. Cavaliers return eight starters on offense. TE/DE Noah Overstreet (6-2, 260) will try to fill the gaps to stop the Bruin rushing game.
Eastern Montgomery at Hurley
Game time: 7 p.m.
Radio broadcast: None.
Last week for Hurley: Hurley shutout Rye Cove 36-0.
Last week for Eastern Montgomery: Lost 32-29 to Holston. Dylan Owens completed all seven of his passes for 169 yards and a touchdown for the Mustangs. Running back Trevor Brown had 12 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown. Holston scored with two seconds left in the game.
Eastern Montgomery scouting report: The Mustangs join a new district in the form of the Pioneer with schools that are of similar enrollment. The school won a state title in 2010 but has slipped for the past six years. The team returns 14 starters including tailback Devin Owens who rushed for 267 yards and three TDs last season. On defense, Trevor Brown (5-7, 216) is back after recording 97 tackles including 54 solos.
Hurley scouting report: Hurley was 11-1 last season. Quarterback Tayten Sykes returns for Hurley, but the Rebels graduated three playmakers in Brady Justice, Devin Tester and Zack Lester that totaled nearly 5,000 yards rushing.
Auburn at Craig County
Game time: 7 p.m.
Radio broadcast: None.
Last week for Craig: Lost 33-20 to Bland. Coach Mark Harrison is in his first year at the helm of the Rockets.
Last week for Auburn: Lost 27-0 to Narrows. The Eagles were limited to 97 yards total offense.
Auburn scouting report:
Auburn scouting report: The Eagles have gone 23-22 in the past four years after being winless from 2010 to 2012. Tailback Triston Perry (Jr., 5-8, 158) returns after 105 carries for 679 total yards. Last week in a scrimmage with Radford, Perry played QB. Hunter Keith (6-4, 177) is the team’s leading receiver after catching four passes for 89 yards. Auburn does have nine players over 200 pounds including Hunter Carden (6-3, 295). The roster carries 13 sophomores and 12 freshmen with many of those youngsters having to mature quickly. Six seniors will provide the leadership for the team
Craig scouting report: Last year, Craig finished 0-10 and only scored two touchdowns the entire season, while being shut out in seven of the games. The team’s roster only includes 20 players with 14 starters back on both sides field. QB Dakota Henderson (5-11, 185) does return.
