By Marty Gordon
In the wake of new injuries, Blacksburg’s Parker Epperley and Christiansburg’s Caleb Henley have been honored by their teammates with helmet stickers with their numbers.
Both players lost their spring seasons thanks to torn ACL’s. They both have had surgeries, and the two have supported each other as they struggled with the injury and not being able to play.
They have been injured again. A senior, Henley missed all of basketball season because of rehab from a previous tear. He suffered a second one in preseason football practice.
A junior, Epperley played in Blacksburg’s first game of the season, but after a tackle by an opponent, he was diagnosed with another ACL tear. He is only a junior and could be back on the field by mid-August if his new round of rehab goes as planned.
Turf seems to be the way to go. Christiansburg will have played all of its six scheduled spring games this season on artificial grass. Those sites included their own, Blacksburg, Hidden Valley and Patrick Henry.
Previews:
Hidden Valley (0-3) at Blacksburg (0-3)
Last week: Hidden Valley could not find the end zone in a loss to Christiansburg. The Blue Demons held the Titans under 100 yards of total offense in the contest.
Blacksburg has also struggled to find the end zone and fell 56-0 to unbeaten Pulaski.
Prediction: Blacksburg 30, Hidden Valley 28
Eastern Montgomery (2-2) at Bland (0-3)
Last week: Bland took it on the chin 57-8 thanks to Ft. Chiswell.
Eastern Montgomery ran into a Pioneer District buzzsaw in Narrows (43-0).
Prediction: Eastern Montgomery 24, Bland 18.
Glenvar (1-2) at Radford (2-0)
Last week: Radford remained unbeaten with a 40-0 win over Alleghany as the Bobcats rushed for 225 yards. Quarterback Zane Rupe rushed for 74 yards on eight attempts. The defense held Alleghany to 89 total yards. PJ Prioleau leads the team after two games with 118 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Rupe is 14-of-32 passing for 186 yards with three touchdowns.
Glenvar shut out Floyd 34-0.
Prediction: Radford 37, Glenvar 28
Christiansburg (1-2) at Patrick Henry (3-1)
Last week: Christiansburg picked up its first win of the season, a 26-0 win over Hidden Valley.
Patrick Henry claimed a 32-18 defeat of Cave Spring.
Prediction: Christiansburg 36, Patrick Henry 28
Auburn (1-2) at George Wythe (1-1)
Last week: George Wythe fell 7-0 to Galax.
Auburn hit the road and came home with a 41-13 loss to Grayson County.
Prediction: Auburn 21, George Wythe 20.
