“Go out there and make your story one to be remembered for generations to come,” she said during a teary address on the very warm late spring evening.

A row of James River seniors watch and wait their turn to go up and receive their diplomas during last week's graduation. - Photo by Ed McCoy

Principal Jamie Talbott congratulated the 120 seniors during the commencement, while noting 53 will attend four-year schools this fall, 39 will attend two-year institutions, two are entering the military and 26 are going into the workforce.

During his remarks, he took a moment to recognize Amanda Petty, who did not get to graduate with her class in 2010 because of serious injuries she suffered in an automobile accident.

“We are proud of how you’ve battled through the recovery process and we are proud of your accomplishments,” he told her as she received a standing ovation from the rest of the Class of 2011 and the crowd.

Talbott went on to offer his final lesson for the graduates– lessons he said they could take from “The Evolution of Dance” performance at the school’s fun day the week before.

Carla Seaver and her classmates filed in for their commencement exercises last Wednesday evening on the James River High School football field. - Photo by Ed McCoy

“Have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously and try something new,” he told the class. “Don’t be afraid to fail,” he said referring to the “dance” performance that he said took 24 faculty and 13 students, “and learn to work together.”

He then admonished the graduates, “Don’t forget to stop and ask for help.”

Class President Shannon Kessler used the Dr. Seuss story “Oh! The Places You’ll Go!” to encourage her classmates. With Purgatory Mountain rising in the background from the school football field, she quoted the final lines, “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!”

SCA President Kendyl Kelly told her classmates among the things she’d learned at James River was,” That when you work so hard for something, there’s no shame in crying when you achieve it.”

Salutatorian Elizabeth Amos used the “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen” lyrics to encourage the class.

The Region C, Division 2 rivals advanced to the state championship game Thursday night—but in different fashions.

River's Jordan Talbott (22) drives to the basket in the Knights' 65-31 state semi-final win over George Mason Thursday night.

Radford needed overtime to take out Lancaster 67-61 while James River breezed past George Mason 65-31 at VCU’s Siegel Center.

The two teams hold title to the past two Division 2 state championships. The Bobcats won it in 2009 and the Knights are the defending champs.

River also is the Region C champion after beating Radford 56-52 on the Knights’ home floor two weeks ago.

Radford’s girls were on track to make the finals, too. They led George Mason 32-16 in the second quarter of that semi-final game Friday afternoon.

There were some worried looks in Radford's student section as regulation came to a close in Thursday night's state semi-final game. The Bobcats took the game into overtime and beat Lancaster 67-61 to advance to the Division 2 championship game with James River Saturday at 5 p.m.

If the Lady Bobcats’ lead holds up, they’ll play at 3 p.m. Saturday for the state championship.

River shot a team score of 328 to win the Pioneer tourney at the Vista Links course in Buena Vista. Korey Watts of River had a two-under-par 70 to win medalist honors for the Pioneer. Korey was four under with two holes to go but bogeyed the last two holes, but he still won the individual title by eight strokes.

Also scoring for River were Irina Boothe at 81, Tyler Duke at 87, and Colin Guilliams and Jaret White both shot 90. Parry McCluer, the regular season champ, was second with 332.

“It was a gratifying win, that’s for sure,” said River coach John Shotwell.

With the win River and Parry McCluer advanced to Tuesday’s Region C tournament in Wytheville. The top two teams advance to the state next week in Gloucester. River had to shoot a real good score Tuesday to advance.

“We’ll have to shoot around 315,” said Shotwell, prior to Tuesday’s tournament. “Giles is the defending state champ and Galax is very good.”

Botetourt will take a 72-stroke lead to Ole Monterey next Monday for the fifth and final round of the BRD regular season tournament. Northside is the closest team to LB, and the Vikings would have to beat the Cavaliers by an average of 18 strokes per man to catch them. For example, if all four LB scorers shot 90, then all four Northside golfers would have to shoot 72 just to tie, and that’s not going to happen on either count.

The Cavaliers put it away with a round of 296 at Mariners’ Landing last week, and that was the completion of an earlier outing that was delayed by bad weather. Northside was second with 325, William Byrd shot 328, Alleghany had 339 and Staunton River shot a 363.

With that result Botetourt was at 1,123 for the season, followed by Northside at 1,195. Byrd was next at 1,221 with Alleghany at 1,241 and Staunton River at 1,283.

Individually, Lyndsey Hunnell and Justin Nichols both shot 71 to tie for medalist honors at Mariners’ Landing. That moved them both within five shots of William Byrd’s Brandon Bailey for overall individual champion in the BRD. Bailey leads with 276 and Hunnell and Nichols both have 281. Ben Matthias and Austin Broyles are tied for sixth place at 287 and Andrew Long is ninth in the district at 293. Broyles shot 76 at Mariners’ Landing and Kris Hoffman also scored for LB with a 78.

If Botetourt can hold off the district, as expected, the Cavaliers will have a berth in the Region III tournament. The Blue Ridge District tournament is also at Ole Monterey on Wednesday, Sept. 22.

Blues take PD golf title away from River

The Parry McCluer golfers won the Pioneer District regular season when they outshot James River by five strokes in Covington last week.

Korey Watts tees off for James River. Photo by Brian Hoffman

The Blues had a nine-hole total of 158 while River had 163 at the Cliff View course, site of the final district match of the season. Bath County also beat the Knights with a 159, so the final district records are 17-2 for Parry McCluer and 15-4 for River.

“Now we have to make the regional by winning the tournament, or at least finishing second to Parry McCluer,” said River coach John Shotwell. “I think we should be able to do that.”

Korey Watts had an even par 36 to lead River at Cliff View. Irina Boothe had a 37 while Jaret White and Tyler Duke both shot 45.

“We had one bad hole, a par three where three of our kids had double-bogeys,” said Shotwell. “Irina was one under and that was the last hole she played so she finished one over.”

On Thursday, River will have a non-district match against Glenvar and Alleghany at the Botetourt Country Club.

The Knights stunned host Lord Botetourt last Friday with a convincing 15-9 win over the host Cavaliers as their intra-county rivalry continued in Daleville. River dominated the line of scrimmage, and thus the game, as the Knights never trailed in winning the county match-up for the first time since ’93.

A setting sun lit up the sea of red in the home stands as Lord Botetourt and James River squared off last Friday night in Daleville. Photo by Ed McCoy

“That’s too long,” said a happy James River coach Philip King. “This was a big win for the whole community. So many people from the community called me over the weekend to congratulate me, but I told them this team is everyone in the community. Our football community extends far beyond the locker room and this win is for them.”

The Cavaliers enjoyed a big size advantage on the line, but it didn’t appear to be much of an advantage in the first half. The River defense swarmed the LB ball carriers wherever they went, and when the Knights had the ball, quarterback Jordan Talbott stood in the pocket calmly and picked out receivers.

“We couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback,” said LB coach Tater Benson. “Our defensive backs played well enough, they covered the receivers as good as possible, but you can only cover them for so long. They have some good players.”

When Botetourt had possession the Cavaliers had a tough time moving the ball. Botetourt didn’t get a first down until midway though the second quarter, and had only eight for game.

“I’m as proud as I can be of our effort on defense,” said King. “Our kids played every play like it was their last play. They hustled and laid it on the line.”

River never trailed in the game. The Knights drove deep into Botetourt territory on their first possession but settled for a 31-yard Zach Ewen field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

On their next possession, River drove 85 yards to paydirt. With the ball on the LB 11, Talbott rolled right. Assessing the situation, he waved Jonny Falls to the left corner of the end zone, where Falls was all alone for a touchdown catch. It was a heady play by the senior quarterback.

“I didn’t know whether to chew him out or give him a hug,” said King. “We tell him if no one is open, just throw it to grandma in the seats. But with Jordan, you have to give him a little leeway because he’s so cool out there.”

Indeed, Talbott was as cool as a cucumber with bodies flying around him. He would calmly study the secondary and pick his receiver, frustrating the LB defense.

“Their kids played with a lot more confidence than ours, and that surprised me,” said Benson.

The Cavalier defense stiffened up in the second quarter and kept the Knights off the board in the second and third periods. Meanwhile, Botetourt cut the lead to 9-6 late in the third quarter on a touchdown by Derell Stone, who fumbled the ball into the end zone but recovered it himself for the score.

River answered with a drive in the fourth quarter, and this time it was Talbott’s running that was the difference. Talbott picked up five and six yards at a time as the Knights ran time off the clock and chewed up yards. Then, from the LB 14, Talbott hit KW King on a slant, and the senior receiver kept his balance after being hit in the air and raced in for a big touchdown with just over eight minutes remaining.

“That was his wrestling ability right there,” said coach King, KW’s dad. “He was able to keep his balance, and you can credit wrestling for that.”

River missed the extra point again, and on the ensuing kickoff Stone broke loose and almost broke the return for a touchdown. He was hauled down at about 35 by Thomas Lythoe, and a huge tackle it was. If Stone takes it to the house Botetourt would have been back to within a field goal, or less, with almost eight minutes still to go. Instead, the Cavaliers had to use more clock to try and score, and then they settled for a 27-yard Jay Phillips field goal to cut the lead to 15-9 after being stalled at the 10.

River was able to run the clock down to just over a minute before giving the ball back to LB. However, the Knights weren’t about to let this one get away, as they stopped LB’s final effort and celebrated on the Cavaliers’ field.

Talbott was the player of the game. He hit 17 of 33 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 59 yards. On defense, he had 12 tackles, including two for a loss, along with a first half interception and a fumble recovery. A couple times he was in the backfield before LB quarterback Will Cline could hand off the ball.

The Knights had three receivers with 50 yards or more. Chris Ware had 70 yards on five catches, Falls had six catches for 50 yards, and KW King had five catches for 50. Brandon Garrett ran for 31 tough yards.

Teamwise, River outgained the Cavaliers 278 to 124 and there was only four seconds difference in time of possession, with River holding the ball for 23:58 and LB for 24:02. The Knights had 14 first downs to eight for the Cavs.

For LB, Stone ran for 34 yards, as the Knights did a much better job than last year when Derell, as a freshman, ran for over 100 yards. Cline hit nine of 18 passes for 75 yards, including 49 yards on five catches by Cody Weddle and three for 23 yards by Andrew Williams.

On defense, Lythgoe had 13 assists and five solo tackles for River, and Dylan Johnson had 11 tackles. Both had two tackles for losses.

KW King had 10 tackles, Owen Deacon had nine, and Justin Stevers had a key pass breakup.

For LB, Thomas Kennedy had three tackles and five assists, while Mark Reynolds had five tackles, an assist, a sack and a tackle for a loss. The Cavaliers weren’t able to pick off any of Talbott’s passes.

“James River’s a good team,” said Benson. “I knew we’d have to play a good game to beat them and we didn’t execute well on offense or hustle enough on defense, and that’s very disappointing.”

For LB, it’s a tough way to start the season with a trip to Salem on the schedule next. However, Benson doesn’t see River as just another Group A team.

“They have an experienced team,” he said. “I don’t worry about that A, AA or AAA stuff, it’s 11 on 11.”

For River, it was a very sweet win. The Knights will get some nice VHSL points for beating a Group AA school, and now King is pulling for the Cavs because that will help River’s point total every time LB wins a game.”

“What a great win,” said a happy Philip King, who has two sons on the River team. “Everyone can share in this. Our football team extends beyond this locker room, I’m just lucky enough to be able to stand on the sidelines.”

Salem will have a big crowd at the spacious stadium and the Spartans will be ready to play after sitting out last Friday with a bye while everyone else in their district, the River Ridge, played. Salem is coming off an 11-1 season and the Spartans expect to be good once again.

River's Jonathan Falls pulls down a pass in Friday's game with Lord Botetourt. Photo by Ed McCoy

Returning for the Spartans is quarterback Adam McGarrell, the first time since 2004 Salem has had the same QB for two years in a row. Most of the rest of the offense is rebuilt with high-jumping twins Reggie and Stephen Barnette at the University of Richmond and Salem’s top three ball carriers from a year ago graduated. McGarrell does not have a receiver or back who has caught a pass in a varsity game, and the line has newcomers at four of five positions.

Salem’s strength should be the defense, led by returning all-state candidate Seth Fisher. He’s a linebacker who gets to the ball quickly and is a sure tackler. Salem has solid linebackers, a good line and speed on the corners.

LB has only beaten Salem or Andrew Lewis, the former high school in Salem, once ever. That was in 2001 when Jared White kicked a long field at the end of the game for a 10-7 win. Salem then beat LB in the playoffs that year, 41-0.

Playing at Salem is a tough way to try to rebound from a disappointing loss.

Botetourt County, Virginia

The Knights will try to make it two in a row as they travel to Glenvar to play the Highlanders. This will be Glenvar’s first game of the season, and the Highlanders haven’t hit someone else since scrimmaging Gretna two weeks ago.

This game is for the Main Street Newspapers Rocking Chair. James River administrators initiated this “prize” after Glenvar pulled from the Pioneer District to join the Three Rivers. It was expected that with the rocking chair on the line it would add extra meaning to this game.

Well, this game is pretty important as it is. Both teams are in Division 2 of Group A so they could end up fighting for playoff position at the end of the season. At the worst, it will be a good game for points for the team that wins.

Glenvar is expecting to have a good season. The Highlanders are huge this year, averaging about 250 pounds per man across the front, including a couple in the 280 range who can move pretty good for their size. With the beef up front, the Highlanders will “come right at you” more than they have in the past.

Glenvar will start Jacob Mabry at quarterback, which is somewhat of a surprise since three-year starter Cam Holshouser returns. However, Mabry beat out Holshouser in summer practice as GHS coach Kevin Clifford likes his ability to run and create plays.

“It was a very exciting win,” said LB coach Cheryl Shockley. “A lot of credit goes to all the team members. The girls really played well.”

Katey Hall of the Lord Botetourt volleyball team serves one up. Photo by Brian Hoffman

It was a heartbreaker for River, who led 12-4 in the fifth game before the Cavaliers rallied behind the serving of Erin Lee. Botetourt then pulled out the game, and the match, by a 16-14 score in the fifth game.

“The girls played very hard through the whole match,” said River coach Audrey Easter. “We are very grateful for all the support we had at LB to play our cross-county rival and hope for the same amount of support when we play against them at home next week.”

The gym was rocking at LB as the host team took the first game, 25-21. River rallied to win the second, 25-19, but LB edged the Knights in a close third game, 25-24, to regain the lead. River then won the fourth game, 25-16, to tie the match and appeared to have it under control in the fifth game to 15 until Lee served eight consecutive points to swing the momentum. River was up 9-1 at one point of the fifth game.

“Our girls just never gave up,” said Shockley. “It was a great match. James River played very well.”

Katey Hall led the Cavaliers with nine kills. Macey Tyree had eight kills and 17 digs and Brooke Fuhrey had six kills. Allyssa King had four kills and Lee finished with 13 digs.

Rachel Parker and Kelsey Argabright split the setting chores and both did well. Parker finished with 19 assists and Argabright had 13.

For the Knights, Conner Sprinkle had five aces, one block, five digs and seven kills. Taylor Statome had three blocks, 14 digs, 30 assists and two kills on a busy night. Maribeth Kern had two aces, four blocks, two assists, eight digs and 13 kills.

“And Haily Cook performed phenomenally as we moved her positions and she still earned 17 digs,” said Easter.

The two teams will play again next Thursday, Sept. 9, only this time River will host.

Monday’s win improved LB to 2-1 overall. Last Thursday at home the Cavaliers dropped a four-game match to a strong Jefferson Forest team, 25-13, 25-13, 19-25 and 25-20.

“They had some big hitters,” said Shockley. “We got off to an awesome start. Our girls were pumped up and went right after them, but they called a timeout and made some adjustments. They were very good.”

Hall had 10 kills, Tyree had nine and Fuhrey had three. Parker and Argabright split 23 assists, and Lee and Tyree had 14 digs each.

LB was scheduled to host Pulaski County on Tuesday, and Thursday night the girls have their first road game with a trip to Glenvar. Next week Glenvar is here Tuesday.

The Knights are 1-1 after Monday’s loss, having opened with a three-game win over Alleghany in Low Moor, 25-14, 25-22 and 25-17.

The Knights were led by Kern, Statome and Savannah Sharkey. Kern, playing both as a middle hitter and an outside hitter, posted four kills, a block, five aces and two digs.

“Her jump serve proved to be our best offensive weapon against the Mountaineers,” said Easter.

Statome, the setter, added seven assists, two aces, four digs and one kill. Sharkey, River’s senior middle hitter, posted two kills, one assist and two blocks.

On Thursday the Knights have their first home game of the season against Floyd.

“Floyd is a great game for us because they are a Division 2, Group A school as well and will be a perfect match,” said Easter. “We split games with Floyd last season.”

This year’s game will begin at 7 p.m., moving up a half-hour from recent years. Most of the local districts, except for the River Ridge, will go with 7 p.m. start times as more high school teams have gone to pass-oriented attacks and the games have run longer.

“I don’t care if we play at two o’clock in the afternoon, we’re just ready to play,” said LB coach Tater Benson.

Both teams wrapped up their scrimmage seasons last week. Botetourt scrimmaged at Tunstall last Friday and it was a defensive battle, as neither team scored in the first 30 plays. Finally Botetourt’s Conner Bronson broke loose for a 40-yard TD run and LB ended up winning on the scoreboard, 10-3.

“They never moved the ball on us,” said Benson, who has taken over the defense himself this year. “We still have some things to work on, but overall I was pleased with the defense.”

James River played a benefit game at Narrows and looked impressive. The first three quarters were played under game conditions and River outscored the Green Wave 37-6 during that time.

This Friday’s game will be the fourth since the rivalry was renewed in 2007. The county schools used to play every year, for The Fincastle Herald trophy, but the game was discontinued after the 1999 season. It was renewed as a scrimmage “benefit game” a few years later, and in 2007 it was back on the schedule as a regular game.

Botetourt has won the game in each of the past three years. The Cavs won 36-7 in 2007, 24-7 in ’08, and 21-6 last year. This season, with James River returning 16 starters, it figures to be a good game.

“A lot of people are saying this is the year to get us if they’re going to get us,” said Benson. “The whole story of this game is their senior-dominated team against our young kids. It the old guys against the young guys.

“We know we’ll get their best effort,” he continued. “This is like the Super Bowl to them.”

River coach Philip King used to dread this matchup, but he’s come to accept it.

“I used to try and downplay this game but they know better than that,” he said. “It would be a tremendous boost to our kids if we could win this game, but if we don’t it’s not the end of the season. There’s a lot more pressure on them, they’re the Group AA school.”

Everyone in the Blue Ridge and Pioneer Districts open this Friday. In the BRD, Covington is at Alleghany in another intra-county brawl, William Byrd is at Rustburg, Staunton River is at Cave Spring, and defending Division 3 state champion Northside is home to Jefferson Forest to open the season.

In the Pioneer District, Eastern Montgomery is at Bath County, Auburn is at Craig County, Parry McCluer hosts Randolph-Henry, and, as mentioned, Covington goes to Alleghany.

Don’t miss a preview of the James River and Lord Botetourt teams in a special section included in this week’s Fincastle Herald.

The BRD was scheduled to play at Mariners’ Landing and Ole Monterey last week. After a rain delay that forced a late tee-off in Moneta Tuesday, the Blue Ridge golfers played a little more than half a match before the skies opened up and washed out play for the day.

“Everyone got in between nine and 12 holes,” said LB coach Todd Smith. “They saw lightning on the radar and cleared the course, but it didn’t rain all that much. I think we could have gotten it in.”

On Thursday there was no debate, as heavy rain for most of the day made it impossible to start. That match was scheduled for Ole Monterey with Northside as host.

On Tuesday of this week the BRD was scheduled to play Blue Hills, with Byrd hosting. At that time the coaches were to decide when to finish the match at Mariners’ Landing, and reschedule the match from Ole Monterey.

The Pioneer District had a little more luck. On Tuesday of last week the district had a match in Buena Vista at the Vista Links, hosted by Parry McCluer. It was a big match for James River, as the Knights are getting a challenge from the Blues this season for district supremacy.

The Pioneer golfers played nine holes Tuesday and tied Parry McCluer, as both teams shot a 159. That necessitated a one-hole playoff, with the top four from each team playing one hole. Parry McCluer won that playoff and took the head-to-head result.

Irina Boothe led River with a 36. She was two-under after eight holes but double-bogeyed the ninth to keep her from having an even better round.

Korey Watts was ill and not expected to play, but he gutted it out and shot a 40. Colin Guilliams had 41 and Tyler Duke had a 42.

On Thursday at the Botetourt Country Club, the Knights shot a 313 to win their head-to-head with Parry McCluer, who shot 326. Watts had 71, Duke had his best ever score of 77, Boothe had an 80 and Guilliams shot 85.

River is now 10-2 against Pioneer teams and Parry McCluer is 11-1. There was some confusion over how the standings would be kept, as in past matches only the home team played all the others. This year, it’s head-to-head with everyone at every match.

“They need to get this cleared up, because I wasn’t sure what we were doing and neither were the other coaches,” said River coach John Shotwell. “I wish they’d just do like the other districts and keep a total score.”

River had a chance to tie Parry McCluer for the Pioneer lead on Tuesday as the district took a turn at Needle’s Eye, with Highland County hosting. Next Tuesday, Aug. 31, the Knights are at Ashley Plantation for a non-district match with Glenvar.

Blacksburg won the tournament with a four-man score of 290. The Bruins also had the low individual, as Ryan Mondy shot 69 for first overall. Parker Davis of Salem was second at even-par 71 and James River’s Korey Watts took third with a score of 72.

Korey Watts chips to the pin at the Botetourt Country Club. Photo by Brian Hoffman

Watts, a sophomore, was the leader in the clubhouse for a while. He played in the first group and finished his round of 72 as the best in his foursome. After the second and thirds groups came in, Watts was still low man so he was looking good, as the players were seeded with the best golfers teeing off first.

Finally, in the fourth group, Mondy posted his 69, and Parker came in with the fifth group. Still, it was a nice round for Watts, who is considered one of the top high school golfers in the area.

“He was hitting his iron shots better and he really likes that course,” said River coach John Shotwell.

River shot a 329 as a team. The next best scorer for the Knights was first year golfer Tyler Duke, who came in at 84. Irina Boothe carded 88 and Colin Guilliams rounded out the scoring at 85.

Lyndsey Hunnell of Botetourt watches her drive. Photo by Brian Hoffman

“I was very pleased with our finish,” said Shotwell. “Irina had 10 three-putts, and if she could have cut that in half she would have had a good score.”

Another girl, Lyndsey Hunnell, had the low score for Lord Botetourt. The freshman was playing number four for LB, in the 10th foursome, but she came in with a strong 77, tied for 11th overall. Seven of the golfers ahead of Hunnell were from either Blacksburg or Salem, the top two teams.

“She played very well,” said LB coach Todd Smith. “Her putting was lights out.”

LB shot 322 as a team. Austin Broyles was second individually at 79, followed by Kris Hoffman at 82 and Ben Matthias at 84. The team score put LB in the top half of the 13 teams with a sixth place finish, but that wasn’t what Smith was hoping for.

“I was a little disappointed,” he said. “I thought we could have played better, especially since it was at the Botetourt Country Club. We just couldn’t get our putts to fall.”

Second place overall went to Salem with an even 300, followed by Hidden Valley at 311, Cave Spring at 316, and Franklin County at 320. Botetourt was next, the low score among four Blue Ridge District teams in the field. Alleghany was the only BRD team not in the Metro.

Botetourt is back in the district race this week. The BRD teams were at Mariners’ Landing in Moneta on Tuesday, and on Thursday the five district teams play at Ole Monterey. These are the third and fourth rounds of the five round season tournament, and LB took a 31-stroke lead over Northside into Tuesday’s round. A good week and Botetourt can bury the field.

“Hopefully, we’ll get back to playing like we did before the Metro,” said Smith.

James River was at Parry McCluer for a Pioneer District match on Tuesday. Most likely, Watts would not be able to play, as he was ill Monday and hoping to be back by Thursday’s district match at the Botetourt Country Club.

The Pioneer’s first match was held at Bath County last week and Parry McCluer had the low score of 167 for nine holes. The match was cut short due to the heat.

In the Pioneer, the host team plays against all the others and the visiting teams play only against the host. River shot a 176 and that was better than Bath at 186, so the Knights stood at 1-0 in district play.

This week, River goes head-to-head with Parry McCluer, as both teams are host schools. The Knights were at a decided disadvantage Tuesday with Watts on the shelf, so Thursday’s match at BCC will be a big one.

“If we can split with them this week I’ll be happy,” said Shotwell. “That would make us tied for first.”