Rockbridge County (0-2) at Staunton (2-0) WHEN: 7 p.m. on Friday WHERE: Winston Wine Memorial Stadium at Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton. Tickets are $7.
LAST YEAR: Staunton defeated Rockbridge County 42-21, with that game also played in Gypsy Hill Park. A Storm turnover allowed the Wildcats to take an early 7-0 lead on Eli Sorrells’ 3-yard touchdown run, but Staunton responded with 42 unanswered points to assume an insurmountable 42-7 lead by halftime. Marc Geffrard totaled 108 yards and four touchdowns on just seven carries as the Storm racked up 209 yards on the ground. The Staunton defense also limited RC to 87 yards of total offense, with Pat Looney accounting for 47 of those on eight rushing attempts.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: RC is still looking to gain traction under rookie head coach Zach Rhodenizer, falling to Parry McCluer 21-11 and Turner Ashby 44-6 in the first two games of the season. In Friday’s matchup against the Knights – who went 12-1 and reached the Region 3C title game a season ago – a combination of three-and-outs and special teams miscues led to great early field position on multiple possessions for TA, which capitalized to build up a 38-0 halftime edge. Though it was too late to impact the outcome, RC put together a lengthy scoring drive in the second half, and the Wildcats also didn’t commit any turnovers in the game.
SCOUTING THE STORM : Staunton has opened the year with wins over Harrisonburg (28-0) and Rocktown (15-7). In Friday’s road victory over the Raptors, a late forced fumble led to a powerhouse touchdown run from Leon Woodard, sealing the win for the Storm. The numbers through two games obviously indicate that the Staunton defense has been stout, and an RC team that has struggled to move the football consistently – the Wildcats had just 108 yards of total offense against TA, with 72 of those coming against the Knights’ reserves on that second-half scoring drive – will have its work cut out for it in week three.
THE NEWS-GAZETTE’S PICK: For the first time since these teams were Valley rivals several years back, this will be a district matchup, as both schools are now part of the reconfigured Shenandoah District. While we expect the Wildcats will continue to show signs of improvement, the Storm’s defense will prove too much to overcome as Staunton defends its home turf with a 20-6 victory.
