t’s all about the games. Whether the regular season or the playoffs, sometimes it’s not about who won, but how the game was won, who was on the field or court. It’s about the drama, what’s on the line, an underdog pulling through or a top dog realizing it’s expectations. No matter the situation, there were plenty of great games for fans, athletes and coaches to rally around. Here are the 10 games that we enjoyed the most.
No. 1 — Western Albemarle football beats Waynesboro in Region 3A West championship
A spot in the Group 3A semifinals on the line when Western Albemarle and Waynesboro football went toe-to-toe in the Region 3A West tournament and fans got treated to a heavyweight bout in the back-and-forth thriller that eventually ended in a 33-28 victory for the Warriors.
Twice Western went down by 14 points, with the first deficit coming early when a second touchdown pass from Chris Baker to Kawan McCarthy put the Little Giants up 21-7. Western closed the gap down just before the half to 21-14 on a Sam Hearn scramble for a TD. But Waynesboro answered in the third quarter, going back up by two scores at 28-14. From there the Warriors scratched and clawed their way back into things, pulling within a point at 28-27 with 7:52remaining, though the Little Giants were highly capable of melting that clock down, which would’ve left a missed extra point as the difference.
Western’s defense stood tall though, with Osiris Crutchfield coming up with a sack on a fourth down with a little more than four minutes to play.
Western followed with an Oliver Herndon touchdown, his third of the day in a 150-yard outing. Then to finish things off, Western recovered an onside kick that they knocked off of a front line player for the Little Giants.
It was a tremendous, well-played football game with a lot of strategic adjustments, great offense and clutch defensive play. Considering the stakes and considering the product, it was the best of the year.
No. 2 — Monticello baseball wins Region 3A West championship
When a team goes down big in a region championship that isn’t an elimination game, it’s usually about time to pack it in and start planning for the state semifinals. Not if you’re Monticello’s baseball.
The Mustangs rallied from down 9-3 against Rustburg in the Region 3A West title game to win 12-10. Monticello’s offense unleashed a 17-hit barrage to put a pack of runs on the scoreboard. The Mustangs’ pitchers backed up that explosion by surrendering just a single run in the last five innings, including Carter Lee and Robbie Deane retiring the side in the fifth and seventh respectively.
The most impressive part of the Mustangs’ comeback, which was the most impressive rally of the entire year, was the fact that it wasn’t a couple of players who did the heavy lifting offensively. In the squad’s six-run fourth inning, Monticello had seven singles. That’s teamwork in the purest sense– everyone contributed and everyone helped turned the tide.
No. 3 – Charlottesville boys and girls basketball Region 4A North quarterfinals
With both teams’ seasons on the line, Charlottesville’s girls and boys basketball teams entered a truly rare home doubleheader with Millbrook in the Region 4A North quarterfinals looking to stay alive.
Both did so in dramatic fashion with the boys winning an overtime thriller thanks to an offensive pop from Mica Gristantas. Caleb Gage did the heavy lifting for The Black Knights in the first half offensively and then Gristantas poured it in in overtime, scoring the bulk of his 16 points in extra time including a huge 3-pointer and clutch free throws.
The girls got it done in regulation with a combination of a clutch Alaijah Ragland bucket with under three seconds to play and an incredible defensive play on a deflection by Kendall Ballard that closed out the win. Neither team quit and they both came up clutch when it mattered most.
No. 4 – Monticello at Albemarle football
Sometimes you’ve just got to have faith in your team to get the job done. You’ve got to take a risk and try and finish it at once. Make one play the decisive moment.
Monticello head coach Jeff Woody did that against Albemarle this fall, handing the ball to Kyree Koonce on fourth down in overtime with his team just needing a short field goal to tie it up. Instead of trying to even it up with a backup holder in the mix after an injury, Woody gave Koonce the rock and showed a ton of confidence in an offensive line that had been playing well much of the night. It worked and went on to pave the way for an incredible complete season by Koonce.
They rose to the occasion against Albemarle to give Monticello a 41-38 overtime victory in a thrilling shootout, a victory that helped avenge the loss the Patriots handed the Mustangs the previous season.
No. 5 – Orange County at Monticello girls basketball
Before Orange County hit the floor it felt like ages since a Jefferson District foe had knocked off Monticello’s girls basketball team. In fact, it had been nearly 2.5 years, more than half a high school career, since any JD team had managed to derail the Mustangs.
Which is why Orange County’s 50-37 victory on January 21 might have been the upset of the year. The Hornets cleared the boards all night with Markiana Smith’s 10 rebounds and 15 points leading the way underneath. Elisha Richardson also posted 10 boards for Orange. The Hornets withstood a strong charge from Monticello’s one-two punch of Molly Shephard and Meghan Comer in the second half and pulled away thanks to strong game management.
The victory helped ignite a solid season for the Hornets, who eventually advanced to the region tournament and took a huge step forward as a program. The win won’t soon be forgotten in Orange County.
No. 6 – Fluvanna County at Albemarle volleyball
A five set match in volleyball is usually a great indicator of two evenly matched teams. But in this case, it was even more so. There were no consecutive sets won. This wasn’t a come-from-behind down 2-0 stunner. In this case, when Fluvanna County traveled to Albemarle, it was just a punch-for-punch slugfest where ever time the Flucos looked poised to take command, the Patriots answered back.
After splitting the first four sets evenly, the fifth set was even closer than the previous four. For 11 straight points the two teams traded serves. With Fluvanna up 12-11, a pair of kills from senior Maddy Kline gave the Flucos the breathing room they needed to close out the match 3-2, (25-16, 20-25, 25-18, 17-25, 15-11).
With this being the Jefferson District opener, the match sent a pretty clear message to the rest of the Jefferson District — Fluvanna and Albemarle were the two teams to beat. Both went on to play in their respective region tournaments and the argument could be made that the meeting in the middle of September set up both squads’ success in the regular season.
No. 7 – Fluvanna County at Monticello boys basketball
Heading into the second half, this did not look like a particularly thrilling contest. Monticello looked poised to run away with things as they went into the third quarter with an 18 point advantage with Rashad Brooks and Ukari Brooks leading the way for the Mustangs. But behind an explosive effort from Vinny Agee, the Flucos turned their visit to Monticello into one of the most entertaining games of the year as he poured in 31 points to get the Flucos within striking distance late in the fourth quarter.
And then Agee fouled out. That probably should have been where the Flucos impressive run ended, but Jameel Wilson made sure that it didn’t when he tied the game up with 1.6 seconds.
In overtime, it was the Fluvanna defense that took over as they forced eight turnovers and then got the job done offensively at the free throw line to put the game away.
Winning on the road is hard enough, and even more so when you start the second half in an 18 point hole. The fact that Fluvanna accomplished all of that and remained tough in overtime without its star player on the floor made this meeting one of the most impressive come-from-behind victories of the season — irregardless of the sport.
No. 8 – Albemarle at Western boys soccer
They were the two most dominant programs in the Jefferson District a year ago and not a whole lot changed in 2015. When Albemarle travelled to Western Albemarle in April, it’s wasn’t just the usual rivalry bragging rights on the line. Add to it that Warriors had the Patriots’ number the previous two years, and Albemarle was due.
After the first half, it didn’t look like much was going to be different between these two with the Warriors up 2-0. But Albemarle rallied. The Patriots came to life behind the play of senior Marcel Berry. Slowly but surely the Patriots cut the lead in half before eventually forcing overtime.
In overtime the Patriots had a trio of chances just come up short before Berry buried the go-ahead goal. The Warriors nearly tied things back up in the closing seconds of the game but Albemarle held on to give Berry and his senior counterparts their first win over Western in their careers.
It was a great game between two great programs and had a spectacular come-from-behind finish. Not much more you could ask for in this one.
No. 9 – Central Woodstock at Madison County softball
With the regular season meetings between Madison County and Central Woodstock split, the rubber matchup between the two in the Bull Run title championship had a lot of pride on the line. With the Mountaineers facing the Bull Run District Player of the year in Bekh Ansboro, winning the rubber match would be no easy task.
Facing a 1-0 deficit heading into the bottom of the sixth, Madison rallied behind big hits from Bailey Colvin and Samantha Breeden, two if to veteran players. And after the Mountaineers took the lead, they shut the door quickly with Megan Shifflett retiring three of the four batters she faced in the top,of the seventh to wrap up the win.
For a team that did a lot of winning and was privileged to its fair share of run rulings thanks to its potent offense, Madison’s championship was arguably its most impressive victory on the year. Not only did the Mountaineers rally from behind against an exceptional a pitcher, they won a tight game with a lot on the line with their defense and their pitching instead of just mashing.
Loaded with seniors that have been playing seemingly forever at the school, the win over Cental for the title should be one of the class of 2015’s fondest memories. It was a well played and hard fought win.
No. 10 – STAB at Blue Ridge boys basketball
There are good games, and then great matchups that make things more interesting. Call it a game within a game. Blue Ridge and St. Anne’s-Belfield put together two of the most talented rosters in the state of Virginia on the court this year. The Barons, the eventual VISAA Division 1 state champions, were led by Mamadi Diakite. The Saints, by Javin Montgomery-DeLaurier.
Just for a second let’s talk one-on-one hoops. The fact that Central Virginia was privy to two of the most highly recruited players in the country is truly unique. The fact that the two got play against each other was a gift.
Blue Ridge might have won 79-69 but it doesn’t speak to just what kind of game this was, one with college scouts almost out numbering the fans. The Saints trailed by as much as 15 before making it tight in the last half of the fourth and the Barons pulling away at the end.
But the take away was that Diakite and Montgomery-DeLaurier put on a show of their own, one that doesn’t tell the story on the stat sheet. Diakite finished with six points and seven rebounds and battled through foul trouble. Montgomery-DeLaurier had 21 points.
In the end, it was the depth that Blue Ridge brought to the table to proved the difference, including the quick start. But all eyes were on the two big men who battled and put on the most high profile show this area has seen since the Barons’ Malick Kone (2011, now at Rutgers) and Miller’s Andrew White (2012, at Nebraska by way of Kansas) locked horns. If we’re lucky, we’ll get another bout between these two teams, these two elite basketball talents.
