Behind the outstanding play of guard YaYa Anderson, the Fluvanna County boys basketball team has situated itself as one of the dark horses in the Jefferson District to advance to the Region II playoffs.
Last week the Flucos showed that they can play with the best, as they gave undefeated Madison County, just about all it could handle, ultimately falling by seven points. The only other team that has pushed the Mountaineers that hard is the JD’s first place team, Charlottesville.
But just days after what could be perceived as a moral victory, the Flucos also showed that they are just like everyone else not named Madison. In what can only be called a slip-up loss to Louisa County on Friday, Fluvanna is now three games back behind the front-running Black Knights, and one back of Western Albemarle.
Well if the Flucos plan on making their mark this season, this is the week to do so.
Fluvanna and Charlottesville were scheduled to play their first game against one another back in December, but because of everyone’s favorite winter storm, the game was pushed back to today. It’s a significant move that could wind up playing a considerable factor for when the two teams meet up again.
Why? Because the two games between the Flucos and Black Knights are separated by just four days. There are a dozen different ways to interpret two teams playing each other so closely. In theory, that should allow both squads to be incredibly efficient in practice, as the first game will be remarkbly fresh in everyone’s mind. However, it wouldn’t be hard to argue that momentum from the first game could carry over into the next.
Either way, what matters in the end isn’t how close these games are on the calender — these two meetings are about how close the two squads are in the standings.
While the Flucos are most certainly excited about the opportunity to try and hand Charlottesville its first Jefferson District loss, the Black Knights aren’t sleeping on the Palmyra squad and won’t roll into the Shoebox on Tuesday night expecting an easy victory.
Charlottesville coach Mitch Minor didn’t mince words when it came to Fluvanna calling them “one of the best teams in our district, a very dangerous team.”
But while Charlottesville is showing plenty of respect for the Flucos, they know that they’ve got young talent too — Dayquan Jones, Rickquan Jones and Devin Turner just a few names this team will be counting on in the next few years — but they’ve also got a senior in Maurice Jackson that is pumped up about the prospects of playing defense on Fluvanna’s athletic sophomore.
“It’s going to be a fight — it’s going to be YaYa versus MoMo,” Jackson said with a laugh after the Black Knights win over Western Albemarle.
Coming into the game, Anderson — as just a sophomore — is averaging 19.7 points and 5.5 assists per contest.
If those two players and their teams continue to play at the level they have most of the season, neither game should disappoint. And while it might sound odd, don’t be surprised if the Warriors, who trail Charlottesville by two games, watch from a distance and find themselves cheering for a different shade of blue and yellow than their own.
Boys Top Five
1. Blue Ridge (12-3) — The Barons follow a big win over Miller with a 3-0 stretch last week that’s part of a challenging schedule. Malik Kone, this week’s boys Athlete of the Week, is emerging as one of the top players in Central Virginia.
2. Madison County (16-0) —The Mountaineers only picked up one win last week because of a postponement, but it was a hardfought road victory against Fluvanna, and that’s enough to hold onto the No. 2 spot.
3. Miller (6-4) — The Mavericks got things back on track with two straight wins this week, and a game with the emerging Covenant squad is slated for Thursday.
4. Charlottesville (8-5) — The Black Knights have had their share of struggles early this season, but the comeback win over Western at home is just the kind of win that can springboard a team to a strong finish. And if they play a full game like they did that fourth quarter against the Warriors, there aren’t many teams who can slow down CHS.
5t. Covenant (10-3) — The Eagles bounced back from a narrow loss to Blue Ridge to crush Carlisle. Sam Dale continues to lead the squad with 21.2 ppg and 9.9 rpg.
5t. Western Albemarle (12-4) — The Warriors fell to Charlottesville Friday, but controlled much of the game. They should bounce back this week against Louisa County and Monticello.
Lurking — Albemarle (10-5) and Buckingham (13-3)
Girls Top Five
1. Fluvanna County (14-1) — The Flucos continue to cruise through their schedule with relative ease. Just like the boys, Fluvanna will see the Black Knights twice in just four days, but the shoe is on the other foot as only Western Albemarle has been close in trying to hand the Flucos a district loss. Food for thought — Fluvanna’s point differential is +313 in 15 games, and its average margin of victory is 23 points. Impressive.
2. Miller (8-4) — The Mavericks had a busy week that included a double-digit victory over Mount Zion, an 8-point win over Liberty and a heart breaking 1-point loss to Norfolk Collegiate. Miller gets another talented opponent this week when they head down 635 to play Western Albemarle in the proverbial battle for Crozet.
3. St. Anne’s-Belfield (7-4) — It was a roller coaster week for the Saints as they won a shootout with Western Albemarle, but slipped against St. Catherine’s, managing just 33 points in defeat. However, the following day STAB responded by scoring 70 on Episcopal in a 36-point thumping.
4. Western Albemarle (11-5) — The Warriors rebounded well after a close loss on their home court to St. Anne’s-Belfield by avenging an early season loss to Charlottesville. Western continues its tour of the private sector this week when it hosts Miller. Win or lose, these private school contests only make the Warriors tougher come playoff time.
5. Orange County (9-6) — The Hornets split a pair of district games, falling to Fluvanna early in the week before holding on in a tight contest against Goochland. Another tough week looms as Orange heads to William Monroe before it hosts the Flucos at the end of the week.
Lurking — Covenant (7-5) and William Monroe (8-9)
