The Northern Shenandoah Valley Gridiron Report Vol. 1

By Moe Murphy

*(Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of reports that will cover high school and college football in the Northern Shenandoah Valley and surrounding regions and will be published at www.clarkecountysports.com)

BLUEMONT, VA (9/7/14) – Our hometown Clarke County Eagles had the week off, as they spent their bye week preparing for the Stonewall Jackson Generals. The game is also the Eagles Hall of Fame night. Inductees will be honored in ceremonies before the game and at half time. Clarke County Sports will be on hand for video coverage of the events. The game will be the Clarke County Sports Game of the Week. Kickoff at “the Felt” will be 7:30PM.

• ·         Friday Night Lights

The Millbrook Pioneers (2-0) made a statement Friday night as they rolled up 73 points against Hedgesville, WV Eagles in a 73-6 rout. The Pioneers team rushing was 395 yards.  Sophomore P.K. Kier scored 5 times on 127 yards and opened the game with a 71 yard kickoff return score.  Nazeeh Johnson rushed for 118 yards on 5 carries.

For the second week in a row the James Wood Colonels (0-2) travelled to Loudoun County to face a Dulles District team. A bit of history this week as the Colonels lost to the Loudoun Valley Vikings (1-0) 38-0 in the first game ever played on the new artificial turf. Andrew Cordani paced the Vikings with 119 yards rushing on 19 carries. Sully Warner was near perfect going 7 of 8 for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Much attention was made to the firing last week of Loudoun Valley coach Danny McGrath. A large show of support with a “Free Danny” movement was the theme of the night.

The Sherando Warriors (1-1) were tested early as the fell to the AAAA Martinsburg, WV Bulldogs 26-0. Trey Boyd scored three times for the Bulldogs rushing for 127 yards on 13 carries. Penalties were a major factor in the Warriors failure to get into the end zone.

The Northern Valley’s biggest and oldest rivalry was played in Winchester on Saturday as the John Handley Judges (1-1) blanked the Harrisonburg Blue Streaks (0-2) 35-0. Will Dearing led the Judges throwing 2 touchdowns on the way to a 188 yards going 13 for 20. The Judges also had over 200 yards rushing.

The Central Falcons (1-1) defeated the Stonewall Jackson Generals (0-2) 38-6. Falcon back Hank Hoover rushed for 112 yards on 13 carries and a score. The Generals will travel to Wilbur M. Feltner to face the Clarke County Eagles on next week’s Clarke County Sports Game of the Week.

The Strasburg Rams had a tough night as they fell to the East Rockingham Eagles (1-0) 42-14. Rams running back Colton Funk had 115 yards rushing on 11 carries.

The Skyline Hawks (1-1) fell to the Fauquier Falcons (1-1) 23-9. Hawks QB Corban Ruch passed for 192 yards going 13-26 but was picked 3 times.

• ·         College Corner

The Shenandoah Hornets (1-0) had to wait an extra day to gain their first win as inclement weather postponed the Saturday night game. The game was played on Sunday afternoon and the Hornets shutout the Gallaudet Bisons (0-1) 20-0. Kicker Jacob Newton hit field goals of 32 and 21. Running back Kye Hopkins scored twice, both 1 yard runs. Drew Ferguson went 13 of 21 for 76 yards and former Sherando Warrior Jalen Briscoe was 1 of 2 for 23 yards. The Hornets open their home schedule on Saturday night at Shentel Stadium against Frostburg State. Kickoff is 7:00PM. Clarke County Sports will be on hand to provide highlights of the game.

The James Madison Dukes (1-1) picked up their first win of the season defeating the Lehigh Cardinals (0-1) 31-28 in a thriller. Jimmy Moreland blocked a Lehigh field goal with less than a minute to go. Quarterback Vad Lee went 20 of 37 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. John Miller rushed 16 times for 106 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Kyre Hawkins led the Dukes with 9 tackles. JMU will host St. Francis, PA on Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium, Kickoff is 4:00PM.

The Bridgewater Eagles (1-0) came from behind to defeat the Gettysburg Bullets (0-1) 33-32. Eagle QB Matthew Pisarcik passed for 202 yards going 19 for 30 and 3 touchdowns. Cliff Woodard had 115 yards receiving on 5 receptions with 2 touchdowns. Former Clarke County Eagle Davey Hardesty had 2 tackles for Bridgewater. Bridgewater hosts Greensboro next Saturday at 7:00PM.

The Shepherd Rams (1-0) knocked off the West Liberty Hill toppers (0-1) 38-13. Ram QB Jeff Zeimba passed for 214 yards going 17 of 25 with 2 touchdowns. Shepherd amassed 423 yards of total offense (219 rushing yards), while West Liberty had 172 total offensive yards (29 rushing yards). Sophomore linebacker Octavius Thompson led the Shepherd defense with eight tackles (four solo). The Rams will host Fairmont State next week at 12:00PM. It will be Ram Nation/Ram Gridiron Club Day.