GAME OF THE WEEK: Lee, Draft meet again

It’s a memory that Robert E. Lee would like to erase — losing 25-14 in the Region III, Division 3 quarterfinals on Nov. 16 to Stuarts Draft.

Tonight in Staunton, both squads will meet again for the first time since that encounter at Draft.

There is still a sore spot for the Leemen after that season-ending game.

“It was disheartening after winning the district title last season and not going to states,” said Lee coach David Tibbs. “We were disappointed and it left a bitter taste. I think we should have had home advantage, but the way the point system works that didn’t happen. But you have to move on.”

The Cougars (3-4, 1-0 Southern Valley) enter tonight’s after losing to Turner Ashby 28-7 in Bridgewater last week. During that same week Lee (6-1,2-0 Southern Valley) added another win to its record after a 47-0 romping of Waynesboro.

Rod Bowers has left last year’s game behind 11 months ago.

“When you dwell on the past you miss opportunities,” Bowers said. “What we do is focus on us, not the opponent and that’s what we will continue to do.”

The Cougars are working on courage rather than dwell on the fear of what opponent they take on.

“We are teaching these kids life lessons,” Bowers said. “There was a game that we only played 28 minutes, the next goal was to focus on playing 48 minutes. It’s one game at a time. That’s what we teach.”

Tibbs never takes anything for granted, regardless of the standings.

“They are one the best teams that I’ve seen that can fake,” Tibbs said. “This is a district game and they want to win as much as we do.”

The veteran coach said that his team got the wake-up call after the Knights handed the Leemen their first loss of the season.

“I think that loss at midseason helped us to practice harder. Look, we go practice to practice,” Tibbs said. “We’re excited that we are putting 49 to 50 points up a game up, especially with a young offense. During the Waynesboro game, our receivers were open and we didn’t throw. When they got the ball, they dropped it. There’s a lot more we need to work on.”

Draft will have the problem many of Lee’s opponents have had — stopping Dae’Quan Scott. The senior has totaled 1,619 yards this year.

“Scott? You have a better chance of throwing a jackrabbit on the field and trying to catch him,” Bowers said. “We know we have to stop him. It’s hard to simulate stopping a player like that during practice. The real test is during the game.”