You can blame the Virginia High School League for a lot of things.

GREENVILLE - Riverheads beat Stonewall Jackson by almost 30 points, stopped its third-quarter surge and limited the Generals to two points in the fourth quarter.

FISHERSVILLE - The final seconds were filled with frantic screams from both crowds as Buffalo Gap squeaked past Wilson Memorial Friday night, 54-53.  The Bison controlled the first half with great shooting and defense to lead 31-27 at the half.  Holly Morgan put the Bison on her back the first two quarters, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the first half.

STAUNTON ‘ In the fourth quarter Robert E. Lee’s alarm went off.

Fishburne survived.

Shame, shame, shame.

SWOOPE ‘ Defense was missing from one side of the court Friday, but Buffalo Gap was not the culprit as they defeated Wilson Memorial 60-58.  “In the first half we played no defense what so ever,“ said Wilson Memorial head coach Rodney Cullen. “You can’t win in this league if you don’t play D.“

Waynesboro’s Devon Brown waited behind the 3-point line near the visitor’s bench four minutes into the second quarter with her hands held out waiting for a pass.

FISHERSVILLE - The 3-point line was the used to its fullest Wednesday night as Waynesboro beat Wilson, 73-58.

Waynesboro’s winning streak rolled right through Wilson Memorial for the second time this season.  Now standing at 11-0, the Little Giants took out their Fishersville rival 72-59 with Waynesboro star Devon Brown contributing 37 points. Brown’s performance put her within 9 points of the official Group AA career-scoring record of 2,202 points held for 28 years by Meg Turner of G. Wythe High listed in the 2007-08 Virginia High School League book of records.

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Waynesboro’s boys basketball team has never had much luck at the Daily Progress/NBC29 Holiday Classic. On Friday night the Little Giants took their first step at changing their fortunes.

CHARLOTESVILLE No Practice, no lessons and no idea what was going on.

STUARTS DRAFT - The third quarter said it all as the Leemen blew past the Stuarts Draft Cougars, 75-44, Tuesday night in the Draft.

Buffalo Gap running back Pickle Nuckols was at a loss for words when he heard he made the Associated Press all-state team.  Then again, what else is new.

A shot goes up.  The buzzer sounds.  Swish!  That was the scene in Stuarts Draft Thursday as Lucas Herron urged the Cougars past the Turner Ashby, 62-61.

FISHERSVILLE - Nelson’s sticky hands kept stealing Wilson’s shot for its third win.

Did it really happen-  Does it have to end here-  Did they not run roughshod through the Shenandoah District-

He could have been cocky.  Instead, he just looked to the floor and grinned when asked to comment. It was one of those ear-to-ear grins.

SALEM - Buffalo Gap won its first Group A, Division 1 title in school history Saturday, running over Clintwood 28-19 and secured a perfect 14-0 season.

SALEM One mississippi, two mississippi …  The clock wound down.  Three mississippi, four mississippi …  Gap was ahead 28-13, 5:50 in the final stanza.  First-and-10. Travis Morris hands the ball to Pickle Nuckols - nothing.

SALEM Fans had just started to pour back into Salem City Stadium after a quick trip to the concessions stand during halftime.

SALEM Like a pogo stick hopped up on truck stop-grade pep pills, Buffalo Gap’s Travis Hale patroled the sidelines, his arms waving to the fans, holding a cupped hand to his air to egg them on to cheer louder and screaming at them while standing on top of the bench on the sideline.

One more game to go.

SWOOPE Open up the hole. Let Pickle Nuckols score. Now go and kick the extra point and don’t forget to run to the other side of the field for the kickoff.  That’s a lot for one player to do, but Bison guard and kicker Ian Rosenfeld doesn’t complain.

If you’re looking for the fabled green veil of jealousy to descend upon the Shenandoah District, well, sorry, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

A seam in the line rips apart like the Red Sea. Pickle Nuckols burst through seeing nothing but empty field all the way to the end zone. Back at the line of scrimmage, Joe Workman looks up from the ground and smiles.

SWOOPE Clashing every week on the Bison tundra, the Buffalo Gap offensive line occasionally gets a nod after a touchdown before going to the sideline.  Statisticians don’t keep track of blocks and rarely a guard or a center is the star of the game. Instead, the running back, quarterback and wide receivers get all the glory, but the Bison linemen know they are essential to every score.  “We know if we don’t do our jobs there is no possible way for them to do their jobs,“ said Bison tight end Alex Brown.

Everybody wanted to touch him.

For years, football fanatics and plain old lunchbox fans have been telling the 2007 edition of Buffalo Gap football that a state title was its for the taking. That’s what happens when you show flashes of talent before your offensive line can see over the counter at the local convenience store.

SWOOPE - Punch the clock and get back to work on Monday.