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Some might say that it’s an awfully tough week — the Charlottesville boys follow their close loss to Madison County this past Saturday with a home contest against Western Albemarle. But given that the Black Knights have six days to prepare for the Warriors, you could also make the argument that Charlottesville’s schedule is doing them a favor.
With the exception of Louisa County, Goochland and Western, all of whom aren’t on the Mountaineer’s schedule, Madison County has been a buzzsaw for the Jefferson District. The Mountaineers are 8-0 against their JD counterparts, but no team gave them a run for the money the way that Charlottesville did over the weekend, keeping the game a one possession contest until the final two minutes.
But while playing a team as good as the Mountaineers with a roster that is dominated by youth is a great way to find out what you’re made of, the similarities between Madison and Western only makes for better preparation.
Take the shooting guards for example. The Mountaineers’ Jerel Carter and the Warriors’ Christian Pierce are both similar in size and speed and both have a knack for getting to the basket.
In the post, Madison’s Logan Terrell and Western’s Dante Crawford also resemble one another, though Terrell is thicker but shorter. Nonetheless, the two dominate their playing spaces, rebounding everything in sight.
So while it might be nice for a team not to have to play arguably their two toughest opponents in back-to-back games, it might also be nice not have employ a completely different mindset towards a completely different opponent.
And as it stands right now, a win for the Black Knights would give them a comfortable gap between themselves and the rest of the field. The Black Knights will head into the matchup with a perfect district record, and with Goochland taking down Fluvanna County on Friday, the Warriors are the only one-loss team left in the JD. Charlottesville also has beaten Western once already this season
So as if the rivalry between these two schools wasn’t enough, there is a whole lot at stake in a game that will undoubtedly be highly contested. Interestingly enough, the road team has taken the last three meetings between these schools.
A storm brewing in Mineral?
It was another entertaining week on the girls end of the Jefferson District, and one team to keep a close watch on as the postseason looms is Louisa County. The Lions started off last week with a big win over Charlottesville and nearly took down Orange County this past Friday before ultimately falling short in the game’s final moments.
Louisa took its lumps last season, but under first coach and former Lion forward Mia Braxton, the Lions have enough weapons to catch teams by surprise.
One of those weapons is Javanique Burruss. Burruss is currently featured in the January edition of Scrimmage Play magazine for her abilities on the track, but will likely be a household name for her work on the hardwood if she continues to put together the type of stat line she did on Friday. The freshman guard hardly looked like a freshman as she tallied nine points, nine assists and nine rebounds while also totaling an astounding eight blocks.
To see the Lions’ blossoming young star in action, click here.
Boys Top Five
1. Blue Ridge (9-3) — The Barons won the first matchup with Miller, and that’s more than enough to hold onto the top spot.
2. Madison County (15-0) —The Mountaineers continue rolling through their schedule, holding off a tenacious Charlottesville squad. If Madison’s supporting cast continues to play at such a high level, opponents will continue to struggle against them.
3. Miller (4-4) — The Mavericks fell to Blue Ridge, but expect them to bounce back in a big way with a pair of home games this week.
4. Western Albemarle (12-3) — The Warriors have been on fire since the holiday break, but a tough test looms Friday when they head down Highway 250 to take on Charlottesville. The Black Knights dropped the Warriors by a point in Crozet early in the year.
5t. Covenant (9-2) — A pair of victories keep the Eagles moving along, but they’ll have to be at the top of their game to stay with the Barons in St. George Tuesday night.
5t. Buckingham (11-2) — The Knights slipped up finally last week, but with Taylor Boyers leading the way, the lull shouldn’t last long. The squad faces Nelson County in a battle of Central Virginia’s southern Group A powers.
Lurking — Albemarle (8-4) and Charlottesville (6-5)
Girls Top Five
1. Fluvanna County (11-1) — Last week it was Goochland and William Monroe’s turn to take a thumping from the Flyin’ Flucos. This week Fluvanna gets to butt heads against a feisty Orange squad before heading for a breather from the JD with home game against Madison.
2. Miller (6-3) — The Mavericks fell in their only game of the week against William Flemming, the 12th ranked team in Group AAA. Miller lost by just four points with Ashley Bowles and Ruta Lizdenyte each scoring 20 points.
3. Western Albemarle (9-4) — The Warriors have a busy week ahead of them with games against Monticello and St. Anne’s-Belfield coming on back-to-back days before they get to rest two days for Charlottesville. The Warriors and Black Knights currently sit tied for second in the JD with two district losses each.
4. St. Anne’s-Belfield (5-3) — The Saints pounded their only opponent of the week as they took down Virginia Episcopal by a whopping 53 points. STAB has won five of its last six as they head into a showdown with local rival Western on Wednesday.
5. Orange County (8-5) — Hornets coach Dave Rabe has had his share of close games to deal with in his first year at the team’s helm. A close victory over Louisa should only help Orange feel more confident, but the Hornet’s start the week off with a tough opponent heading their way in Fluvanna.
Lurking —Charlottesville (5-6) and Covenant (6-4)
