Marty Gordon
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The playoff picture is starting to become clearer as high school football heads into its eighth week of the season.
Blacksburg downed Hidden Valley and officially qualified for the 4A playoffs. Others to clinch playoff berths on Friday included: Giles, Glenvar, Floyd, Narrows and Galax.
Here are the points standings as of now:
Region 4D
1 E. C. Glass 7-1, 29.250
2 Blacksburg 8-1, 29.000
3 George Washington 7-1, 27.125
4 Salem 6-2, 26.250
5 Charlottesville 6-2, 25.375
6 Amherst 5-3, 24.750
7 William Byrd 7-1, 24.000
8 Jefferson Forest 4-4, 23.250
9 Pulaski 6-2, 22.750
10 Liberty Christian 3-5, 20.000
11 Carroll County 1-7, 16.875
Region 3D
1 Staunton River 7-0, 27.14
2 Lord Botetourt 6-1, 26.428
3 Magna Vista 4-3, 21.714
4 Northside 4-4, 21.00
5 Abingdon 5-2, 20.428
6 Cave Spring 1-6, 17.57
7 Alleghany 3-4, 17.285
8 Tunstall 2-5, 16.7
9 Patrick County, 1-6, 14.00
10 Hidden Valley 1-6, 13.00
Region 2C
1 Glenvar 8-0, 25.500
2 Appomattox 5-1, 23.333
3 Giles 6-2, 21.875
4 Floyd 6-2, 20.50
5 Gretna 7-1, 20.75
6 Dan River 5-2, 20.4285
7 Ft. Chiswell 5-2, 19.2857
8 Martinsville 3-4, 18.00
9 Chatham 2-5, 13.857
10 Radford 1-6, 13.571
Region 1C
1 Narrows 6-1, 20.285
2 Galax 5-2, 20.00
3 George Wythe 17.142
4 Covington 4-3, 16.428
5 Auburn 3-5, 13.625
6 Bland 3-4, 12.714
7 Parry McCluer 2-5, 12.428
8 Eastern Montgomery 2-5, 11.857
9 Bath County 2-5, 10.285
Blacksburg will take a break this week before coming to Christiansburg for its final game of the season, while the Blue Demons are still looking for its first win of the season at Cave Spring, who remains in the mix for postseason play. Auburn hosts Rural Retreat and Carroll County travels to Radford. The Bobcats’ playoff hopes are slowly disappearing with a 1-7 overall record.
Carroll County (1-7) at Radford (1-7)
Last week: The Bobcats lost to James River in overtime, 21-18. Chris Carter rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Justice Marshall kicked 22-yard field goal.
Last week for Carroll County: Lost to Alleghany 37-13. Connor Horton and Jay Motley, both scored on runs.
Scouting report on Carroll County: The Carroll’s lone win came in win one over Patrick County (25-7), since then they have been outscored 309 to 79 including 53-0 to Galax and 61-15 to Giles. Former Christiansburg and Blacksburg assistant Eddie Sloss is in his fourth season and has not been able to turn around the school’s slide with an overall mark of 3-27. Carroll is 1-9 last season in the River Ridge District with a 0-28 district mark. This season, they moved to the Three Rivers District. A wishbone offense led by quarterbacks Jacob Motley (6-0, 163, soph.) and Lance Rotenizer (5-11, 154, Jr.) will look to runningback Logan Trudell (5-9, 160) for scoring.
Radio broadcast: 101.7 FM.
Christiansburg (0-8) at Cave Spring (1-7)
Last week: the Blue Demons lost to Patrick Henry 42-24.
Last week for Cave Spring: Lost to Salem 56-3. Brij Patel had a 31-yard field goal.
Scouting report on Cave Spring: Tim Fulton is in his 13th season at Cave with a 66-68 mark including 3-7 last season. Runningback Zach Bowling (5-9, 169) leads an inexperienced group that is learning on the fly this year. Jacob Knight (6-4, 200) is under center with a receiving corps of Austin Ragan (6-0, 183), Cameron Caldwell (6-2, 160) and Willie Harden (5-5, 128). Bowling rushed for 1,343 yards last season with 13 touchdowns. Knight is in his third year as a starter and had 847 yards in 2016 with 10 touchdowns. Fulton is calling plays after former OC Josh Woodrum received a call from the Baltimore Ravens to put the helmet back on.
Radio broadcast: 100.7 FM.
Rural Retreat (2-6) at Auburn (3-6)
Last week: The Eagles lost to Galax 35-0.
Last week for Rural Retreat: Beat Northwood 49-27. Lucas Brewer scored six touchdowns and rushed for 244 yards on 26 carries. Rural Retreat tallied 441 yards on the ground.
Scouting report for Rural Retreat: Casey Stewart’s squad was 4-7 last year, losing in the 1A West Region first round. QB Isaac O’Neil (5-11, 165) is only a sophomore and will lean runningbacks Jason Dix (5-9, 180), Westin Coley (6-0, 190) and Lucas Brewer (5-8, 155, also a freshman). The Indians have mixed the run and pass this season with O’Neil’s favorite target being Johnathan Tuell (5-9, 165). Their wins have come over Holston (35-19) and Northwood (49-27), while losing to Galax (63-7) and Ft. Chiswell (46-7). The Indians have been outscored 314 to 166 this season. This will be the first meeting between the two teams as members of the Mt. Empire District.
Radio broadcast: None.
Parry McCluer (3-5) at Eastern Montgomery (2-6)
Last week for Eastern Montgomery: Lost to Covington 52-6. Devin Owens scored on a 55-yard run to begin the ball game.
Last week for Parry McCluer: Beat Bath County 35-0. Zach Claytor was nine of 15 for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Austin Moore had two touchdown catches, and Cole Walker ran for one and caught a pass for another. The defense forced six Bath turnovers.
Scouting report on Parry McCluer: The school lost their coach and most of its potent offense, thus rebuilding this season. They do return eight starters on offense including offensive lineman Jared Mason (5-11, 285) and Eli Wheeler (5-11, 225). PM reached the third round of the 1A playoffs last season before losing to George Wythe. Zach Claytor steps under center for the team. Marcellius Dawson (6-0, 215) rushed for 1,849 in his first two seasons and will be the featured back this year.
Radio broadcast: None.
Blacksburg: Open this week.
Last week: Beat Hidden Valley 44-18. Cole Beck had 109 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown. Grant Johnston was 17 of 28 through the air for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Johnston also rushed for the Bruins who are now 8-1 on the season.
