The finals of the VHSL state football playoffs conclude Saturday with the six Groups crowning champions at three locations.
The 6A and 5A finalists battle at Scott Stadium at UVa, 4A and 3A take to the artificial turf at Liberty University in Lynchburg, while the 2A and 1A showdowns play out at Salem Stadium.
The big noise in the “Big-11” rests solely with 13-1 Northside as the Vikings take on 10-4 James Monroe Saturday at noon at Liberty. The Yellow Jackets of James Monroe have played in three of the last five Group 3A finals at Liberty, last winning in 2008. James Monroe finished as runner-up to powerhouse Brookville in 2011 and 2012.
Northside is no stranger to Liberty University, winning the 2009 championship on this same field with a 20-17 win over Bruton.
There was plenty of bulletin board fodder for the Northside locker room this week after James Monroe head coach Rich Serbay boasted that the Yellow Jackets would have won the 2009 title had it not been for an ineligible player that kept JM out of the playoff game.
Interesting how a game can be a lock without actually playing it.
You can bet our Vikings will have something to say Saturday. James Monroe will not have the opportunity of hoisting the trophy without first going through a talented Northside team that should now have additional motivation of an opponent skewing their prior title with a bunch of what-ifs.
The City of Salem will host the Stagg Bowl next Friday night, December 20th, at Salem Stadium to crown the Division III national champion. You could make a good argument that the game should be a dandy. All four teams remaining in this Saturday’s two semifinals are a perfect 13-0, meaning the pair squaring off in Salem will both be 14-0.
Early-season ” Big-11 ” high school basketball has provided a few surprises, with Lord Botetourt, Salem and Glenvar having won all of their games to date.Things will change as the schedules move through non-district competition and holiday tournaments before the actual start of district matchups begins.
The buzz is still loud and clear after the amazing shot Tuesday night at William Byrd by Terrier guard Marvey’o Otey. Chasing down a long pass down the right sideline from teammate Brad Newman late in the game against Cave Spring, Otey leaped to grab the ball while attempting to throw it back toward the court. His right-handed, behind-the-back heave rainbowed straight into the basket for the extraordinarily improbable 3-point basket.
Otey’s momentum carried him out the gym door and into the school’s main hallway. He returned, having never seen the shot or knowing it went in. The fourth quarter score cut the Byrd deficit to 64-61 in what had been a 17-point Cave Spring halftime lead. The Knights did hold on to win by 7, but Otey’s basket set off a media blitz across the country on Wednesday morning.
After the tape of the basket hit the internet and my game story appeared early Wednesday morning here, The Roanoke Star was contacted by The Huffington Post and Fox Sports for permission to use our game story for their report. We obliged and the video continued to be replayed tens of thousand of times.
On Wednesday night I talked to the game’s lead referee, Andre Levisy, about the basket and the call. “I was trailing the play down the sideline and the first thing I had to confirm was that his foot was inbounds and behind the 3-point arc, ” Levisy noted. “The next thing I knew, he went out the door and the ball went through the basket. I’ve refereed for 25 years and never seen anything like this; and, I’m not likely to see anything like it in the next 25 years.”
Things like this is why they play the game.
Next week we take a look back at 2013 and the year-end best and worst of the mailbag. Send your 2013 parting shots to [email protected]
