Week 9 Preview

Week 9 has arrived and I'm calling this week, Big Game Friday!! So many huge games that will determine districts and playoff seeding that it makes my head spin, we will cover the biggest of those games below!

       INTRIGUING MATCH-UPS

    #7 Eastern View (7-1) at #1 King George (6-0)

We'll go ahead and tell you now, this game is basically the equivalent of a district championship in the Battlefield District. There is no real doubt that these are the best teams in the Battlefield this season. For Eastern View, they look like they learned some hard lessons from their 28-6 loss that they suffered at the hands of Brooke Point over a month ago. Their offense, led by QB D'Myo Hunter has scored 53 points per game since then. Brett Clatterbaugh who has made a name for himself on defense has also contributed on the offensive side of the ball in their last 4 games. These past 4 games have served as confidence builders for the Cyclones but the difficulty of their opponent raises several notches tonight. On the other side of this match-up are the King George Foxes who stand at 6-0 and are averaging 54 points all season. We know about how good KG's offense is with players like Mekhai White, Chanz Wiggins and Zach Ferguson being the headliners. But to me what makes this team so hard to beat is their stingy defense. No one has scored more than 13 points against this defense, and that was in their first game on the road against Lafayette who now sits at 6-1. King George has won the last 2 games in this match-up pretty convincingly tonight however, I expect the surging Cyclones to give them a little more of a push back.

Prediction: Eastern View 17 King George 34

                       

#3 Colonial Forge (4-3) at #5 Riverbend (6-1)  

If there ever was an example of not letting early season setbacks determine your season it'd be these two teams right here. Let's start with Riverbend... after an opening week dominant victory over Spotsylvania the Bears hit the road to take on Class 6 Woodbridge based powerhouse Freedom. The result? a 74-0 loss at the hands of the Eagles. For a lot of teams a loss like that can take weeks if not a whole season to recover. Not these Bears however, as I expected Riverbend has bounced back in a big way since, rolling through their last 5 opponents on the way to a 6-1 record. They are now in a position to try and finish with their best record in school history if they can defeat their last 3 opponents that is no guarantee however as those 3 opponents can not be looked over especially not the opponent that they play tonight. The Eagles have flown (no pun intended) under the radar up until last week, and it is fair to say that their record is a large reason for it. However, as we warned in their full preview before the season the Eagles may very well have the best team in the district even thought their record may not reflect that possibility. The Eagles have by far had the most difficult schedule in the area. In the 7 games they've played they've played 4 teams that are considered state contenders in their class. Tuscarora, Stone Bridge, Highland Springs, and Mountain View. And tonight they'll take on another state contender (In my opinion) at Riverbend. Last week we saw the heartbreaking early season losses to Tuscarora and Stone Bridge payoff in a big way knocking off in-county rival Mountain View in their homecoming game. The defense held a Mountain View which has playmakers at every position to just 8 points, capitalizing on the Wildcats penalties and successfully finding a way to bend but not break. This one will likely be close for most of the game if not the whole game which is why it is our game of the week   

Prediction: Colonial Forge 17 Riverbend 20

OTHER GAMES

* Projected Winners in bold

#4 Kettle Run (8-0) at Handley (5-2)

(This will probably be the Cougars biggest challenge to their 10-0 dreams this season)

#6 Mountain View (6-1) at #9 Brooke Point (3-4)

(How does the Wildcat offense respond after letting penalties and turnovers ended their undefeated season hopes) 

Monticello (1-6) at #8 Orange (5-2) 

(The Hornets look to bounce back after being routed by Albemarle just 3 nights ago) 

#10 Liberty (3-4) at Millbrook (3-5)

(The Eagles look to their red hot offense to keep them in the playoff race against an up and down Millbrook team) 

Culpeper (2-5) at Courtland (3-4)

(Courtland will look to bounce back after being upset by Caroline a week ago)  

Chancellor (0-7) at Caroline (2-5)

(Chancellor will look for some improvement from their offense as they will have 3 solid  chances to secure a win before the season concludes) 

James Wood (1-6) at Fauquier (0-7)

(Solid opportunity for the Falcons to notch their first win of the year) 

James Monroe (2-5) at Spotsylvania (3-4)

(2 Teams that have taken their fair share of lumps this season hoping to close out the year strong) 

Stafford (3-5) at Massaponax (2-6)

(Both teams enter tonight on a skid and are looking for any signs of positive momentum)