Charlottesville (0-2) at Albemarle (1-1) 7 p.m.
The Basics: For the last time, at least for now, this one counts. Next year, so that Albemarle can make room for Orange County on its Commonwealth District slate, the Charlottesville/Albemarle matchup will become a benefit game, similar to the Madison/Orange rivalry “game” that kicks off the year. It’ll technically end one of the area’s longest running matchups, dating back to Charlottesville’s time as Lane High School. As for this year’s addition, we know next to nothing about Charlottesville right now, but we’ll get a good idea this weekend of where the Black Knights will stack up. For two weeks against R.E. Lee and James Monroe, Charlottesville’s youthful squad took its lumps. Hopefully they learned some things and are ready to roll because they’re facing an Albemarle squad that should play inspired football after knocking off archrival Western last week in a monster of a win for the program.
Key matchup: Albemarle’s secondary takes on Charlottesville quarterback Benj Wilhelm. Wilhelm should have more of a chance to operate the Black Knights’ offense against Albemarle than he’s had the last two weeks. If he can get going, that could be trouble for the Patriots, who struggled against Monticello’s two-headed quarterback tandem in the season opener but managed a couple of interceptions against a struggling Western passing attack.
Who to watch: Albemarle’s Matt Tobin. The savvy inside linebacker in the Patriots’ 3-5 defense had a critical interception against Western that led to the game-icing drive. Can he continue to come up with big plays?
Line: Albemarle by 3. Patriots have the momentum after beating Western last week.
St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes (0-1) at St. Anne’s-Belfield (2-0) 6 p.m. Thursday
The Basics: STAB is off to the right start this season, winning two straight road games over Bishop Sullivan and Virginia Episcopal. Now they get a chance to play at home and St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes rolls into town. SSSA struggled against the run last week in its season opener against St. Christopher’s, surrendering 133 yards to tailback Miles Jackson and they’ll face another potent rushing attack this week. STAB’s Branford Rogers rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight week for the Saints against VES, while Shane Palmateer came up with a touchdown on the ground.
Key matchup: STAB’s front seven takes on St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes’ new quarterback. SSSA is breaking in a new signal caller after three-year starter Ryan Sehrer graduated. Either Brent Armstrong or Julius Bradley will have his hands full with the Saints’ attacking defensive unit.
Who to watch: Palmateer. If Palmateer gives the Saints another backfield threat, contending with STAB is going to get even tougher.
Line: St. Anne’s by 10. Saints are starting to pick up steam with a solid rushing attack. Plus, some of STAB’s lacrosse standouts like Rogers will be looking for a measure of revenge after falling to SSSA in the 2010 state title game.
Madison County (1-1) at Nelson County (0-2) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: Nelson has again started the year with a challenging schedule and lost a bit of a shootout to Riverheads last week 55-33 to fall to 0-2 on the year. A one-two punch in the running game of Quincy Murphy and Rodrell Smith (two touchdowns each in the Riverheads contest). Nelson struggled to stop the opposing rushing game though as Riverheads’ Jordan Jack and Daniel Weekley helped the Gladiators pile up points. Madison has a bounce back job of its own on its hands. The Mountaineers fell to county-line rival William Monroe last week and need to rebound.
Key matchup: Nelson’s front seven against Ralph Yates and the Madison offensive line. Yates managed to get loose against Fluvanna but Monroe bottled the talented tailback up.
Who to watch: Madison’s Dustin Farmer. Madison may be considered a run heavy squad traditionally, but Farmer served notice against Monroe that the Mountaineers’ air attack is formidable. He threw for 207 yards on 10-for-19 passing.
Line: Nelson by 3. The Mountaineers struggled to derail Monroe’s offense last week, and the Governors piled up 33 points against Riverheads. That could spell trouble.
Goochland (1-1) at King George (2-0) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: The Bulldogs waltzed past Amelia County 34-0 Friday just two weeks after laying the ball on the ground a lot against Benedictine. Perhaps Goochland has righted the ship with a bye week? We’ll know after this week against a King George squad that looked good against Colonial Beach last week in a 27-8 victory.
Key matchup: Goochland’s linebackers take on King George quarterback Tevin Jones. Jones didn’t appear to be much of a threat via the air last week, but he chewed up yards on the ground with 102 yards on 13 carries.
Who to watch: Goochland quarterback Ryan Crouch. He doesn’t get many chances to throw the ball, but last week he made good on them, going 3-for-3 including a 77-yard touchdown pass to David McKenna.
Line: Goochland by 3. This will be an interesting road test for the Bulldogs, but if the offense is clicking they’ll be able to put away King George.
Blue Ridge (1-1) at Liberty Christian Academy (2-0) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: If Blue Ridge scores on Liberty Christian, they’ll be the first team this year to do so. The Barons are walking into a hornets nest down in Lynchburg as the Bulldogs have currently outscored two opponents by a total of 83-0, beating public school power Gretna 31-0 and Atlantic Shores (a team that took it to Covenant two weeks ago) 52-0. This will be a monster of a test for a Blue Ridge squad that bounced back nicely against Hargrave last week.
Key matchup: Blue Ridge’s linebackers take on LCA’s hard-nosed running game. Ronnie Stringfield, who started the season as LCA’s fourth tailback piled up 122 yards against Gretna two weeks ago. If the Barons can’t contain whoever carries the ball for LCA, they’ll be in trouble early.
Who to watch: Blue Ridge’s Robin Moore. If the Barons are going to knock off LCA, Moore will probably need to have the game of his life. He certainly logged a solid performance last week, but Friday night he’ll need to be even better.
Line: LCA by 14. The Bulldogs have been flexing their muscles early this year, and Blue Ridge is still a work in progress.
Monticello (2-0) at Powhatan (1-0) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: The Mustangs are rolling now with a two-quarterback system of Tyler Moneymaker and Jhalil Mosley that worked wonders in a pair of blowouts against Albemarle and Huguenot. Now it’s time for some big tests to start with the Indians, a powerful Group AA squad set to move into the Jefferson District in 2011. The two teams have faced off each season the last five years so they know each other well. Expect coach Brud Bicknell to continue to put the offense in Jesse Ayres hands. The tailback is averaging over 115 yards per game so far.
Key matchup: Monticello’s quarterbacks take on Powhatan’s secondary. The Mustangs’ signal-callers need to complete a few passes to open things up for Ayres, but two-way Powhatan standout Kurt Taylor returned an interception for a touchdown against Midlothian last week.
Who to watch: Powhatan’s small, quick star tailback Deon Berry reportedly runs a 4.5 40-yard dash and can move. He’ll be a big test for the Monticello defense.
Line: Monticello by 3. Powhatan has had the upper hand in the series that dates back to 2005, winning the last two years, but the Mustangs appear to be back.
Fluvanna County (1-1) at Buckingham (3-0) 7 p.m.
The Basics: The Flucos had the week off while the Knights rolled past Prince Edward – the same team Fluvanana beat up on in week one — with a huge game from running back Maurice Taylor. As good as Taylor has been during Buckingham’s 3-0 start, just as much credit has to go to the team’s defense as they continue to stuff the run and contain big plays. It will be interesting to see how the Flucos bounce back after their loss to Madison two weeks ago. Fluvanna looked sharp to start but could not hold on. They’ll need four strong quarters to stop Buckingham at home.
Key Matchup: Until someone finds a way to keep him under the century mark, the key matchup every week is Taylor versus the opposing defense. The elusive back is already over 500 yards and we’re still in the middle of September. The Flucos defense has to make sure that when they get near Taylor, they put a lick on him and don’t let him escape.
Who to Watch: One of the best ways to keep Taylor off the field is to keep T.J. Dudley under center. If Dudley and Ben Markiewicz can chew up the clock, that will go a long way.
SP Line: Knights by four. Buckingham has won its last 15 regular season games, the best active streak in Central Virginia.
Courtland (0-2) at Louisa County (2-0) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: The ground game looked even better in game two than in game one. The defense was dominant. The Lions have one last tune-up before they jump into Jefferson District play, and they do it against a team that’s been beaten up by a pair of Commonwealth District opponents in Riverbend and Massapponax. A win here will send Louisa into JD play with a healthy head of steam.
Key Matchup: Courtland’s linebacking corps versus the loaded Lions backfield. The Cougars surrendered 330 yards on the ground last week and there’s no way that Louisa is not going to try and pile up a similar number when given the chance. Anthony Hunter, Andre Mealy, Rayshawn Jackson and Kire Worley can make the most of their touches.
Who to Watch: Worley. As team’s hunker down against the run, it will be interesting to see the quarterback execute the offense as he not only has the speed to hit the edges and make big plays with his legs, but has also come along as a passer since he first took the starting job last year.
SP Line: Lions by 10. It’ll be quick game because Louisa will pound the rock. It’ll be long for Courtland for that same reason.
William Monroe (2-0) at Eastern View (1-1)
The Basics: Breaking the streak was nice, starting a winning streak was a completely different thing for Monroe. After the game Mark Sanford noted he did not know the last time Monroe won back-to-back games, much less their first too. We looked it up and it’s been nine years. After beating East Rockford and Madison County, the Greene Dragons get their toughest opponent so far. Eastern View is coming off of a bye week after falling in a tight contest against Louisa.
Key Matchup: Monroe’s secondary versus Cyclone playmaker Drayton Shanks. As a receiver he’s both big, strong and fast. Shanks has an offer from Syracuse for a reason. Negating him is next to impossible. As Louisa showed though, if you keep him in front, you can roll with the punches.
Who to Watch: Tony Morris-Cousins. Before the season began, Sanford expressed excitement about the young defensive back. He’s made big plays in both of his team’s wins. The Dragons will need him to be strong in the secondary for this game.
SP Line: Cyclones by 4. Sadly, the streak ends for Monroe, but this Eastern View team is as good or better as the majority of the Jefferson District opponents the Dragons get from here on out.
Orange County (1-1) at James Monroe (2-0)
The Basics: The Hornets were able to get back to .500 against Culpeper with a number of key players on the sidelines for the first half. Now, just like two weeks ago, it’s a really good Fredericksburg area team on the slate. The Yellow Jackets smoked Charlottesville last week. Orange has an advantage with its playmakers, but Monroe is big and mean. This should be an interesting contrast.
Key Matchup: Orange’s Amir Waller versus James Monroe’s A’Darius Brown. These two will likely be matched up against one another all game long on both offense and defense. This is a fine skill position battle.
Who to Watch: Hornets linebacker Eddie Ellington. The Jackets like to get the job on the ground, and with a running quarterback like DeMontaz Brown, Orange is going to need its top linebacker to fly around the field and spearhead the rush defense.
SP Line: Yellow Jackets by 3. The Hornets are talented enough to win this one, but much like with Chancellor, Monroe has this team’s number right now.
Fork Union (0-2) at Hargrave (1-1) 7 p.m.
The Basics: You almost have to feel for Hargrave in this one. Don’t get fooled by their record, the Blue Devils are going to come into this contest eager to lay it on thick after taking their lumps to start the season. Last week FUMA fell to another stellar out-of-state team, but saw Christian Hackenburg show plenty of promise at quarterback. The Tigers also took a heavy loss when they traveled to Blue Ridge.
Key Matchup: The Tigers’ secondary versus Nick Naimool and D.J. Randle-el. Fork Union’s athletic wideouts have put up great numbers in both losses and serve as perfect big play weapons when the Blue Devils lull the defense to sleep with running backs Andre Parker and Richard Dyer.
Who to Watch: Fork Union’s Landen Bradley. Bradley leads the team with 14 tackles in two games. 13 of those tackles are solo. The Blue Devils already have one tackling machine in Andre Parker. Parker obviously isn’t alone.
SP Line: Fork Union by 14. Not to pile it on Hargrave, but we feel pretty confident about the Blue Devils in this one.
Bishop Ireton (0-2) at Woodberry Forest (1-0) 2 p.m. Saturday
The Basics: Woodberry rolled last year against Ireton on the road, winning 43-14. Now they’ll host the Cardinals and get a chance to start establishing an identity as an offense. Last week they pulled out a 13-0 victory on the back of some tremendous defense, including a fumble return for a touchdown by Cameron Wooster for 43 yards.
Key matchup: Woodberry’s receivers take on Ireton’s somewhat shaky secondary. The Cardinals surrendered a long touchdown pass in each of their first two games and the Tigers have several gamebreaking wideouts. Can one of them get loose?
Who to watch: Bishop Ireton’s sophomore quarterback P.J. Zingler. Expect Woodberry to come after the accurate, young signal-caller. If they get to him, Ireton’s offense should start to unravel.
Line: Woodberry Forest by 7. The Tigers got a confidence-building win over J.R. Tucker last week and should be able to take care of business in their home opener.
