The L.C.A. Bulldogs play at Richmond Collegiate Saturday at 1:30. L.C.A. demolished Potomac School 63-0 last Friday night in the semifinals, and the scary thing is, Bulldogs coach Frank Rocco said he still feels his team can play better! If the Bulldogs do, Richmond Collegiate better bring its "A" game Saturday afternoon. L.C.A. has won state titles in three of the last five seasons.
The E.C. Glass volleyball team is having its best season in school history. Tuesday night's 3-0 win over Hidden Valley ran the Hilltoppers' record to 26-and-2 and more importantly sends them to the Final Four at VCU's Siegel Center this Friday night at 6.
If the Hilltoppers can win Friday night, they'd play for the state championship Saturday at 12:30.
E.C. Glass' gym was packed Tuesday night for the match with Hidden Valley, just a great atmosphere for both teams, lots of excitement, plenty of noise. Hidden Valley put up a great fight, taking game two to the limit and then some before falling 28-26. All three games were tight, but Glass swept all three. Amazingly, the Hilltoppers swept through the regionals without losing a single game and kept the streak alive against Hidden Valley.
Glass has a talented group of six seniors, Meg Kenny, Kim Amerell, Taylor Riley, Mary Grace Lemon, Blair Blanchette and Rachel Mullen. They've had their ups and downs in four years, but right now they are playing their best volleyball.
If they continue to play like they have in wins over Lord Botetourt and Hidden Valley, the Hilltoppers are going to bring home that state championship trophy to Lynchburg.
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The "Football Friday" high school playoffs really heat up this weekend. Amherst County, Liberty, Altavista, Gretna, Salem, Cave Spring and Hidden Valley are among the area teams playing at home. Brookville has a tough test at Northside Friday night, the winner gets the winner of the Liberty/Robert E. Lee matchup.
FYI - 2010-13 bowl partnerships announced Thursday by Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford.
The agreements, which will be in force for the 2010 season and conclude after the 2013 campaign, feature partnerships with eight bowl games including serving as the host team of the FedEx Orange Bowl of the Bowl Championship Series in Miami. As part of the BCS, the FedEx Orange Bowl, now in its 76th year, will be televised by ESPN after each of the 2010-13 seasons.
The order of bowl selection will be: the FedEx Orange Bowl or BCS followed by the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the Champs Sports Bowl, the Brut Sun Bowl, the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, the Advocare 100 Independence Bowl and the Eagle Bank Bowl. -------
UVa fans – is Al Groh out the door after this season? My answer Yes. Over their last 13 games, UVa is 3-10. Not good. As mentioned in an earlier post, losses at home to W&M and Duke – even worse for Groh. Maybe even more important, no one is showing up for games. Money talks everywhere these days, especially in athletic departments and when butts aren’t in the seats, money is not coming in. Groh is gone but it doesn’t take away from what he does for his players. His players truly believe in him.
Virginia travels to Miami to face the Hurricanes. The Cavaliers have also lost their last two games, both at home to Georgia Tech and Duke. If the Cavs fall at Miami, they'd have the daunting task of having to win their final three just to be bowl eligible. The Cavs finish with Boston College at home, then at Clemson before hosting the Hokies in the regular season finale the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 28th.
The Liberty Flames are halfway through their Big South schedule with a perfect 3-and-0 record. This Saturday, they host VMI and the Keydets triple-option attack. It's the Flames' final home game of the season, Liberty wraps up the year with Big South games at Gardner-Webb and Stony Brook as LU tried to nail down a third-straight conference championship. The Flames made a huge jump this week in both the Sports Network national rankings (16th) and the Coaches Poll (17th). If the Flames can run the table and win out, including those two big road games to finish the season, the Flames could be making their first trip to the playoffs in school history.
Florida coach Urban Meyer's punishment, or lack thereof, to star linebacker Brandon Spikes is drawing sharp criticism around the country. Last week in the Gators' win over Georgia, Spikes was caught on tape trying to gouge the eyes of running back Washaun Ealey, a clear cheap shot. Meyer says Spikes told him the action was in retaliation for a Georgia player ripping his helmet off and poking his eye earlier in the game. That could have happened, we don't know about the poke in the eye. But we do know what the tape shows us. Meyer has suspended Spikes for the first half of this Saturday's game against 2-and-7 Vanderbilt. That's it? The first 30 minutes of a game you're expected to win big. For many, that's pretty lame punishment. Interestingly, though, the Georgia player Spikes poked says he doesn't think there should be a suspension at all. He said his eyes were closed and he wasn't hurt, saying he believes similar incidents happen all the time.