Christiansburg returns home 1-0, Auburn and East Mont looking for first win
Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Radford are 1-0 after the first week of high school football, while Auburn and Eastern Montgomery will be looking for their first win of the year in week number 2. Radford will sit and watch Friday Night Lights with a rare early season open date.
This week’s games:
Lord Botetourt (1-0) at Blacksburg (1-0)
Last week: Blacksburg rolled in a 24-0 win over Giles. Luke Goforth was nine of 14 for 151 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Brian Mitchell scored once for the Bruins and ran 10 times for 87 yards in a return from an injury.
Lord Botetourt slipped by Brookville 15-9. Runningback Hunter Rice exited the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury. Evan Eller picked up the slack with 14 carries for 72 yards and scored once when it mattered late in the fourth quarter.
Game plan: Jamie Harless is in his eighth season where he has compiled a 64-22 record including 11-3 last year, losing in the Class 3 state semis. The team returns seven starters on both side of the ball including Rice (6-0, 220, junior) who has 4,221 career rushing yards at the school. QB James Ryan-Salvi (5-9, 170) does provide a live-arm from the pocket. Both sides of the trenches boast as many as eight players over 220 pounds that have garnered a lot of Division I recruiting attention. Gage Basham (6-5, 315) is among those after transferring from Abingdon. Lineman Colston Powers (6-5, 305) also gives the team a lot of push up front.
Blacksburg will counter with Mitchell on the ground and Goforth through the air looking for receiver Karim Mohamed who had one catch for 47 yards in last week’s win over Giles.
Game time: 7 p.m.
Broadcast: 93.1 and 97.1 FM.
Giles (0-1) at Christiansburg (1-0)
Last week: Christiansburg picked up a 35-16 season opening win over Floyd as Maston Stanley racked up 181 yards and three touchdowns. MJ Hunter threw a TD pass to Jake Clemons and also
ran for another score. Hunter finished with yards rushing on the night.
Giles racked up 154 yards on 55 carries from the single-wing offense. Runningback Chaston Ratcliffe ran 25 times for 57 yards.
Game plan: Coach Jeff Williams is one of the elder statesmen in the coaching ranks with a 96-35 mark in 12 years, but the Spartans experienced a down year in 2018 with a 5-6 record. The team did make the state playoffs but lost in the 2C West first round. Five starters return on both sides of the ball that rolled over the Blue Demons last season. Running back Logan Greenway (5-9, 14) returns after rushing for 783 yards in the Giles-Single Wing offense. Ratcliffe (5-11, 187) finished with 564 yards. The 2018 season was a rare season that Giles did not have a 1,000-yard rusher. Linebacker Ty Lowery (5-7, 175) returns after recording 50 solo tackles.
Christiansburg will continue the strong running game from last week. Expect Stanley and Hunter to grind out the offense on the ground. Receiver Caleb Henley is still not expected to play so Hunter will rely on help from Clemons in the passing game.
Game time: 7 p.m.
Broadcast: 100.7 FM.
Auburn (0-1) at Craig (0-0)
Last week: Auburn was shutout 14-0 by Narrows. QB Payson Kelly completed seven passes for 74 yards.
Craig was unable to fill last week’s open date created by Bland cancelling this year’s football season and will be playing their first game of the year.
Game plan: Craig is one of those programs that could face problems if injuries start falling through their ranks. Initially, they only had 11 players come out for varsity, thus they cancelled their jayvee season and combined the two squads. Mark Harrison is in his third season as the head man on the sideline. The Rockets finished 2-8 last season, including ending a 30-game losing streak with wins over Twin Valley and Montcalm, West Virginia. Kyle Sloss (5-11, 210, senior) does return after rushing for 875 yards on 115 carries. Chase Huffman (6-1, 300) does give the team some size up front. Zachary Peters (5-8, 210, sophomore) will start the season under center.
Game time: 7 p.m.
Broadcast: None.
Rural Retreat (0-1) at Eastern Montgomery (0-1)
Last week: Eastern Montgomery fell (53-26) after a long road opener to Holston. Dylan Owens rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown and passed for two more scores.
Rural Retreat lost a close 15-14 contest with county-rival Ft. Chiswell. Isaac O’Neil had two touchdowns and rushed for 43 yards, while Lucas Brewer added 63 yards.
Game plan: Rural Retreat moved from the Mt. Empire District back to the Hogohegee, where it had been a member for 45 years. Jamey Hughes is in his second season at the school after compiling a 2-8 record in 2018. Junior Dorian Delp and Wyatt Cregger are a potent one-two punch out of the backfield with O’Neil playing QB. O’Neil is also deadly in the running game. Delp had a 338-yard game last season. Brewer is a load to bring down in the open field. The Indians run a split-back veer and power-I offense. Cregger (6-2, 193) is the key on defense from his linebacker spot.
Game time: 7 p.m.
Broadcast: None.
