FISHERSVILLE - A long warm embrace from Dad.

DOOMS - Five pounds - roughly the weight of a small bag of potatoes.

STUARTS DRAFT - Harrisonburg had won 31 straight regular season games dating back to 2004 - that is until Friday night.

PENN LAIRD- After a 6-yard up-the-middle touchdown score by Michael Glover made it 14-8 in the first quarter, the Trailblazers weren’t trailing any longer Friday as Spotswood slammed Waynesboro 44-16 for the non-district victory.

Trailblazers 44, Little Giants 16   Waynesboro   8       0       0       8       16   Spotswood     16       21       0       7       44

Someday the Little Giants will learn to slam the door.

STUARTS DRAFT - Stuarts Draft’s night started out about as well as Custer’s at Little Big Horn when Fort Defiance came to the Den on Thursday with first place in the Southern Valley on the line.  After falling 19-25, 21-25 in the first two games, the Cougars made their last stand against the Indians and won three straight games 25-13, 25-23, 16-14, rallying back and handing the Tribe its first loss of the season.

Nelson Country was only a couple of called-back touchdowns away from upsetting defending Group A Division 1 state champ Riverheads on Sept. 14. Tonight the Governors, who know they could have won, are traveling to Wilson Memorial and looking for a magic 3-1 start to their season.

Nah, it’s just Kala Guy.

FORT DEFIANCE - H-E-A-R-T.    That’s all there is to it to describe the way Fort Defiance and Waynesboro battled for the Southern Valley match up on Tuesday in the Indian gym.

STUARTS DRAFT - Some teams have a problem with getting too tense when they make mistakes.  Stuarts Draft isn’t one of those teams and that’s not always a good thing.

Stuarts Draft may be getting all of the attention in the Southern Valley so far, but with Thursday’s matchup against district rival Fort Defiance on the road, the Indians are ready to put in their two cents.

STUARTS DRAFT ‘ Seconds after Lexie Eichner’s serve fell out of bounds, Wilson Memorial coach Kim Claytor lifted both hands in the air, turned toward the large Green Hornet crowd and pumped her fists.

LOVINGSTON - Riverheads’ wing-T was the perfect offense for Friday night’s rainy weather. Nothing risky. Nothing flashy. Just misdirection, solid blocks and consistent chunks of yardage.

The Stuarts Draft seniors have seen it all.

FISHERSVILLE - Wilson Memorial proved Friday night that a good defense would beat a good offense.  The Green Hornets limited Fort Defiance to just 150 yards of offense and stopped the Indians on a late drive with a key interception as the hosts pulled out a soggy 7-0 non-district win.

Cougars 52, Little Giants 0

Once the turnovers began, the bleeding never did stop for the Little Giants as they lost the Battle for the Ball for the second straight year, falling 52-0 to Stuarts Draft in a rainy River City on Friday.

Stuarts Draft has its name on the Ball one more time than Waynesboro, leading the series 4-3 since the inception of the annual showdown between Draft and Waynesboro in 1999.

Waynesboro’s first win of the season came at the perfect time - right before the Battle for the Ball - the annual meeting between Waynesboro and Stuarts Draft.

STAUNTON Most cross country runners put in mile after mile during the summer months preparing for the season. Some run in community races or work out with a club to stay in shape while others work on their own time running in a park.

STAUNTON - In Game 2, Waynesboro had its chances to break free, but with several mental mistakes, the Little Giants fell in three to Robert E. Lee on Thursday 25-14, 25-18 and 25-16 for their second district loss.

STUARTS DRAFT - The new Stuarts Draft gym’s doors remained locked for the Cougar volleyball team’s homecoming, forcing their classic Valley District showdown with Turner Ashby into the sweltering Den.

When it comes to playing Robert E. Lee in volleyball, it’s all mental, according to Stuarts Draft’s power hitter, Tabitha Bowman.

STAUNTON - With a gym that felt like a burning sauna room, there was only one phrase that Grace Christian volleyball coach Sue Leonard continued to pound into the Warriors heads as they took on Wilson Memorial in the final match of the Lee Invitational on Saturday: “Keep up the energy. Keep up the energy, ladies.“

Steve Isaacs was right. It didn’t matter whom this first win was against at all.

Stuarts Draft         6         10         15         7         38   Riverheads         13         15       0       7         35