“If we win and also defeat Highland on Friday, that will force a play-off with the Cougars for the regular season championship,” said River coach Dan Bowser. “This is a big game for us. One of our goals at the begining of the season was to be district champions and now we have the opportunity to make that happen. We are looking forward to the challenge and hope that our fans will come out to support us.”

River comes into the game at 16-3 overall and 7-1 in the district, having lost only at Covington in Pioneer District play. Last week the Knights had little trouble with Craig County and Bath County as they beat both to set up the big game with Covington tonight.

The Knights beat Craig in Buchanan, 57-30. River was up 29-13 at the half and coasted to the win, with everyone on the team contributing.

“It was good to get everyone some playing time,” said Bowser. “Reanna Hamm got back into the lineup with a little playing time after being sidelined with an ankle sprain.”

Taylor England led River with 13 points and Morgan Hufford had 12 points, and six steals. Ashley King had nine points, Hamm had six, Ceira Webb had five and Cassandra Shaffer and Kaye Woods both had four points. Kaitlyn Barger and Libby Rhodes each had a bucket.

Last Friday at Bath the Knights won 45-30.

“We knew going in this would be a tough game,” said Bowser. “It was a close game until about halfway through the fourth quarter. We got several stops on defense and then converted from the foul line. We have been saying that sooner or later we would win a game at the foul line and that is what happened.”

The Knights were 13-for-16 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and 20-for-27 for the game. Hufford led River in scoring with 15 points and also had five steals and five assists. King had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Hamm just missed a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds. England and Shaffer each had 4 points and Woods had three.

At 17-3 the Knights are now tied for sixth in the state poll of sportswriters and broadcasters among all Group A girls’ teams. Floyd County, at 19-1, is the top-ranked team in the state.

In the corner of the Radford University dugout, John Shotwell just smiled and put a “K” in his scorebook for the final time. His days of jumping around had ended years ago.

James River’s softball team poses with the Group A, Division 2 state championship trophy after beating Virginia High 2-1 Saturday. Photo by Brian Hoffman

Shotwell, who devoted 50 years of his life to coaching young people, went out with a state championship when his James River girls defeated Virginia High, 2-1, in the Group A, Division 2 championship game Saturday morning. It was his fourth state championship and his last, as he announced prior to the season that this would be his swan song. What a way to go!

“You couldn’t have dreamed up a better ending than this if you were writing a book,” said Shotwell. “I told the kids before the year that we were going to win the state championship and they just looked at me. I reminded Haley of that before the game, and she just smiled.”

Haley is Shotwell’s granddaughter, senior Haley Shotwell. John’s son, Andy, is an assistant coach for the team and Andy’s younger daughter, Lindsay, is a freshman reserve on the team. The team played home games on John Shotwell Field in Buchanan, so you can see this was more than a hobby to the Shotwell family.

“This is really unbelievable, beyond my wildest dreams,” said Andy, who coaches third base and calls pitches for the Knights. “To win the state championship with my oldest daughter on the field and my dad and younger daughter next to me in the dugout, what more can you ask for?”

The Knights came to Radford as the Region C, Division 2 champions after defeating longtime rival Glenvar, 1-0, in the regional final at the Botetourt Sports Complex. That gave River a home game in the state quarterfinal, and the Knights beat Coeburn on Tuesday, 5-1, as Simmons scattered 10 hits.

The game was tied 1-1 into the bottom of the fifth when River put a crooked three on the board.  Jenna Sprinkle knocked in two with a bases-loaded hit and Hannah Morrow’s RBI ground out made it 4-1. That’s all Simmons would need.

That put the Knights in Friday’s state semifinal against Nandua at Veterans Field in Radford, home field for the Radford High School team. The Knights pounded out nine hits and took advantage of six Nandua errors for a 13-1 win.

Actually, the game was much closer than the final score indicates. River scored two runs in the third and Nandua got one back in the top of the fifth to make it 2-1 at that point. However, Taylor Statome’s home run off the top of the fence highlighted a three-run bottom of the fifth to give the Knights some breathing room at 5-1.

Taylor Statome crushes the ball for a two-run homer during James River's semifinal win over Nandau Friday. Photo by Brian Hoffman

“The ball was inside and I got a good turn on it,” said Statome, who was River’s top hitter down the stretch.

Nandua totally collapsed in the bottom of the sixth, as River scored eight more runs with help of some shoddy fielding by the Warriors. Shotwell let freshman Abby Tincher pitch the seventh. She’s the younger sister of Angela Tincher, who led the Knights to two state championships before moving on to national fame at Virginia Tech.

In the other semifinal, Virginia High of Bristol defeated Mathews, 4-0, to set the scene for the state championship. That was scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Radford University varsity field, and a large delegation from Botetourt County was on hand on a beautiful sunny day. All that was needed was one more win to send Shotwell out in style, but it wouldn’t come easy.

River struck first in the championship as Statome hit a bomb in the third inning. While her home run in the semifinal hit the top of the fence and bounced over, this one soared over the fence to the right of the left field scoreboard.

“It was a low fastball and that’s my favorite pitch,” said Statome. “I have a habit of swinging at the first pitch and when I hit it I felt like it was gone.”

Statome had never homered prior to this year, and she had just two this season before the state, both against Craig County. It’s fitting that her final home run would be at RU.

“I’m going to Radford University next year and I’m thinking about trying out for the softball team,” she said. “It was exciting to hit one in the championship game. I like finishing strong.”

That homer was the only run of the game through five innings, as River’s solid defense denied the Bearcats at every turn. Right fielder Morrow made a sensational running catch in the second inning on a ball that was straight over her head. First baseman Haley Shotwell and third baseman Connor Sprinkle made picks on a couple shots at their respective corners, and catcher Hope Falls made a diving grab of a pop foul behind the plate.

“Those were four great defensive plays,” said Shotwell. “We played great defense all year. That’s what it takes to win a state championship.”

The Knights put a second run on the board in the top of sixth. Statome opened the inning with a walk, and after Casie Hill popped up, Jenna Sprinkle drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Morrow followed with a ground ball to second. The Bearcat second baseman tagged Sprinkle, but threw low to first and an alert Statome came around to score on the play.

That run proved big when Virginia scored a two-out run in the bottom of the sixth, but Simmons got out of the inning without further damage. She then put the Bearcats down one, two, three in the seventh and the celebration was on.

“I came to the first championship to watch when I was little and we wanted this so bad,” said senior Haley Shotwell after giving hugs all around. “When we got up 2-0, I felt like we were going to win, but I didn’t want to count the chickens before they hatched. We all have a lot of confidence in Jessica.”

Simmons finished the season with a 14-2 record. Just a sophomore, she split time on the mound with Haley Shotwell for most of the season, but Simmons was the horse the Knights rode in the playoffs.

“She improved a lot this season,” said John Shotwell. “What makes her a good pitcher is that she never throws the ball the same speed two times in a row. And Andy called a great game. He’s one of the best assistants you could ever have. He even kept me calm down the stretch.”

Andy Shotwell coached most of these girls at one time or another during recreation and travel softball.  Many of the girls have played together since they were 9 years old.

“I remember watching them when they were 9 and thinking these girls might win me a state championship some day,” said Shotwell.

On Saturday it all came to be, and Shotwell went out holding the state trophy. At 73, he’s had enough.

“I still enjoy the games, but at night when I go home after practice I’m just too tired,” he said. “I’ve had enough. It’s time to turn it over to someone else.”

That person would be Kasey Austin, who was announced as the new coach. Austin played for Shotwell and he feels she’ll do an exceptional job. John also hopes E.D. Schechterly, who also applied for the position, will stay on.

“E.D. has done a fantastic job as assistant coach,” said Shotwell. “He’s been with me for 18 years and he’s been a big part of the program.”

Andy Shotwell would also like to return, “if the new coach will have me,” and don’t expect John Shotwell to ride into the sunset, never to be seen again. He has too much red and black in his veins to stay away completely after 20 years, 372 wins, and four state championships with the James River softball team. And who could keep him away from John Shotwell Field?

“I told Kasey that I’ll be over to help if she needs me,” said Shotwell. “I don’t want to interfere, but I’d love to help if they need me.”

And what better help could you have?

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.”

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.”

“We didn’t win, but second place is a lot better than 15th or 30th, you know what I’m saying?” said River coach Greg Dyer. “I’m very proud of our girls.”

Reanna Hamm (center) is on her way to a school record time and state championship medal in the 100-meter dash. Photo by Richard Shumaker

The Knights had high hopes for a state championship, but it just didn’t work out. A couple girls couldn’t run at the end of the season, and distance runner Britta Grim gutted it out with an injured foot. River lost a few other points the Knights figured to get, and in a meet this close every point was important.

“I said before the meet, everyone had to PR (personal record) in everything and we’d be in good shape,” said Dyer. “It didn’t happen. That’s a lot to ask.”

Cheyenne Falls won the state Group A shotput with a 36'7" toss. File Photo

River did have some great all-around performances. Freshman Reanna Hamm won the 100 meters in a school record time of 12.19, breaking Brittany Chambers’ River record. Hamm was also second in the long jump and second in the 200.

Cheyenne Falls won the shot put with a toss of 36’ 7” and Grim was third in the 1600 and fifth in the 800.

The Knights were still in it as the last event was held, the 4×400 rely, but the Knights would have to run their best time ever by more than a few seconds to make up the difference. If they had won the 4×400, then River and Manassas Park would have tied with the same number of points.

But the Knights finished fourth with a time of 4:23.33 with the team of Grim, Hamm, Kendall McGuire and Ashley King. The winning time, by the Appomattox foursome, was 4:08.17, about 10 seconds faster than River’s best relay time of the season.

“The Appomattox team ran a great time,” said Dyer. “It was very hot at the meet and our girls were tired by that point. They did a great job.”

Clarke County won the boys meet and River tied for 20th. All the points came from the weight crew as Russell Rexrode took fourth in the shot and eighth in the discus and Cheve Tolbert was sixth in the shot.

Rexrode and Tolbert are both seniors, but River returns every girl who scored in the district, regional or state meets. Dyer is also hoping to get a few back who were out with injuries, so if all goes as planned the Knights are the early favorite for next year’s state meet. Of course, that’s a long time from now.

“Next year should be our year,” said Dyer. “But then again I thought this was going to be our year. Everything has to go just right.”

The girls soccer team plays Radford today (Wednesday) at 5:30 p.m. at George Wythe High School in Wytheville.

Fort Chiswell's keeper can only watch as James River's Ethan Brannan scores in Tuesday night's Region C game. Photo by Ed McCoy

On Thursday, the baseball team plays Glenvar at 7 p.m. at Kiwanis Field in Salem, the softball team plays Holston at Damascus Middle School in Holston at 5 p.m., and the boys soccer team plays Radford at 6 p.m. at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista.

The baseball team’s defense shone with four inning-ending double plays while its offense battered Grayson County pitching for 14 runs in the 14-5 regional quarter-final game in Springwood.

Senior Andrew Fields didn’t allow a run in the four innings he pitched, even though Grayson put runners on in each inning.

The Knights bats were hot from the start. They scored 7 runs in the first inning, then Ryan Hepler led of the bottom of the second with a shot over the left field fence. The senior catcher also had a double and two RBIs.

Brent Cummings and Grant Sowder also doubled up on hits and RBIs.

Jenna Sprinkle’s two-run homer in the fifth sealed the win at Grayson Conty for the Lady Knights, who were the only River team playing on a foreign field Tuesday.

Again, solid pitching and defense kept Grayson off the scoreboard in the 8-0 shutout.

The girls soccer team was unchallenged in a 14-1 win over Bland County in the first of the two soccer games at JRHS Tuesday, while the boys collected three goals from K.W. King and two from Ethan Brannan to end Fort Chiswell’s season, 5-1.

River was rained out of a game with Craig County last week but got it in Tuesday evening at JRHS. The Lady Knights beat Craig 5-1 to force the  playoff. Meanwhile, Bath had one more game to play as well before it became official that the Chargers and River were indeed tied for the top spot in the regular season. Coming into the week both had just one loss, splitting in their head-to-head series.

Taylor Statome waits her turn at bat for River. Photo by Brian Hoffman

The tournament is scheduled to begin next Monday, but the top two seeds won’t play until Wednesday, May 26. Craig County will host the Pioneer girls softball tournament this year.

Jessica Simmons and Haley Shotwell struck out 14 batters between them when they shutout Craig Tuesday night.

They got offensive help from Hailey Cook’s RBI triple and Chelsea Rodriquez and Hannah Morrow’s RBIs.

River played at Covington last Friday and took a 16-0 win in five innings. Shotwell and Simmons combined on a one hitter, as a Cougar reached on a bunt single in the fifth to break up the no-hit bid.

For the Knights, Conner Sprinkle, Taylor Statome and Shotwell all had two hits. Sprinkle drove in three runs as well and Casey Hill had three RBIs and one hit.

Last Thursday at the Botetourt Sports Complex the Knights dropped a 2-1 non-district game to visiting Brookville, a Group AA school from Lynchburg. The Knights left the bases loaded in the first, then the Bees came buzzing back with two runs in the top of the second, and that’s all they would need. Haily Cook had two hits for River and Dee Seemann knocked in the Knights’ only run.

Shotwell and Simmons again combined their efforts on the mound, fanning 10 and allowing just four hits. Shotwell pitched the first five innings and Simnons finished up.

“We wanted to face some good pitching before the playoffs,” said River coach John Shotwell.

River is 16-4 overall and 9-1 in the Pioneer.

Two James River players have been named to the All-Group A, Division 2 first team in basketball and Coach Mike Goad has been named the State Division 2 Coach of the Year. In addition, Ethan Humphries has been named the Division 2 Player of the Year.

Ethan Humphries is the Group A, Division 2 Player of the Year. Photo by Brian Hoffman

Seniors Humphries and Patrick Bennett were both named to the All-State first team after leading the Knights to the Group A, Division 2 championship the previous weekend. Humphries was also named to play in the VHSL All-Star game in Hampton this summer, while Bennett is an alternate and Goad will be on the West coaching staff for that game. The game will be played July 6 in Hampton.

Humphries, who has yet to decide on a college, is the first player from James River named as state Player of the Year in basketball. According to Goad, who was on the committee of coaches picking the squad, it wasn’t even close.

Mike Goad is the Group A, Division 2 Coach of the Year. Photo by Brian Hoffman

“It was a unanimous decision, and that says it all,” said Goad. “Ethan has been a great player for our program and we’re really going to miss him.”

Humphries was the point guard for River. He handled the ball a majority of the time and was a team leader on the floor and in the locker room. His ability to drive to the basket and either score or dish off to an open teammate was a key to River’s attack. He also played solid defense.

Patrick Bennett was named first team All-State. Photo by Ed McCoy

Bennett, also a first team all-state selection, was the leading scorer on the team playing forward and center. After another River starter was lost for the season, Patrick had to often guard the tallest player on the opposing team. Despite being outsized he did a solid job on the defensive end and was a tough matchup for anyone when he had the ball.

Goad, who was named Coach of the Year, has guided the Knights to 100 wins in the past four years and three trips to Richmond for the state Final Four. A graduate of Lord Botetourt High School, he’s a member of the Cavalier Athletic Hall of Fame.

The two wins concluded River’s season at 28-2 and gave the Knights a four-year record of 100-12. Seniors Ethan Humphries and Patrick Bennett have been four-year starters over that span, and they flanked coach Mike Goad behind the Group A, Division 2 trophy at Saturday evening’s post-game press conference.

James River's boys basketball team poses with the Group A, Division 2 championship tropy, game ball and state bracket after Saturday's win over Buckihngham County. Brian Hoffman Photo

“When it was over all the hard work we’d put in over the past four years all came rushing back to me,” said Humphries, River’s floor leader at point guard. “This made it all worthwhile.”

Bennett, who will attend Virginia Tech next year, played his last game of school ball. He was River’s leading scorer in both games, a 52-50 overtime win over Dan River on Friday and a 47-43 win over Buckingham in the championship game Saturday.

“We have so many good memories over the past four years,” said Bennett. “I’ve been able to play with my friends and have a great time, and it was exciting to be able to finish it off.”

If not for Bennett’s block at the end of regulation Friday, none of this would have happened. With the score tied at 44-44, Dan River had the ball with the clock winding down. Raymond Hairston took a shot with four seconds left and missed, and Kevin Eldridge of Dan River grabbed the rebound. His follow up shot was blocked by Bennett at the buzzer, forcing overtime.

In the overtime period, River took a 49-48 lead with 1:06 on the clock, as John Bennett scored off an assist from Humphries. River would not trail again. Jordan Talbott hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point lead, then stole the ball and was fouled. He made one of two again to make the score 51-48, and when Dan River’s R.J. Myers tipped in a missed shot with nine seconds left River was still up one. Patrick Bennett was fouled, made one of two, and Dan River couldn’t get off a final shot.

Patrick Bennett led River with 19 points on five for eight shooting and also had a team-high nine rebounds. River was out-rebounded for the game, 39-32, but the Knights shot 42 percent and held Dan River to just 33 percent, and that was the difference.

Talbott had 11 points in the semifinal and John Bennett had 10. Humphries had seven points and seven assists and Andrew Tucker had five points. Jordan Brogan was the only substitute in the game for River, and he played just one minute.

In the other semifinal, Buckingham defeated Lebanon, 42-39, to set up an “All Knights” final on Saturday. It was River’s first trip to the state final since 1990 and only the third time ever. River lost to Fluvanna in 1990 and to Luray in the 1978 state final, with John Shotwell on the end of the bench for River both times. A smiling Shotwell was in the crowd Saturday to watch the Knights finally bring home the bacon. In fact, most of Buchanan was there.

“I can’t tell you how much the community support has helped this team,” said coach Mike Goad. “Everywhere we went, whether it was at Cave Spring or at Pulaski to play Radford or at the Salem Civic Center or here in Richmond, we had the bigger crowd. This was a real community effort. You had young kids out here and you had elderly people. You had faculty, administrators, cafeteria workers– everyone from the local farmers to the bank presidents were here to support us.”

River got off to a great start Saturday and threatened to blow the game wide open in the early going. The Knights shot 63 percent in the first half and led by as many as 12 points at 30-18 with two minutes left in the half. River went into the locker room up 32-23 and appeared to have the game under control.

But Buckingham wasn’t going to go down without a fight. The B-Knights outscored River 12-2 in the third quarter to take a 35-34 lead. River went from 6:05 of the third period to 2:53 of the fourth without a point, a span of over 11 minutes of clock time, without scoring. Several times the ball went in and popped out, or rimmed out without dropping.

“It was a panic situation, but we didn’t panic,” said Goad. “Patrick had one that just wouldn’t drop, then Ethan had one rim out and John had a lay up blocked. The thing is, all that time we were playing great defense on the other end, taking charges and contending their shots as best we could.”

The score remained at 35-34, in Buckingham’s favor, from the 3:23 mark of the third period to the 3:40 mark of the fourth, when Taylor Boyers of Buckingham hit a three-pointer to put River down 38-34. The four-point lead was the largest of the game for Buckingham, and when Humphries missed a quick three at the other end the River fans were getting nervous.

But the Knights were through these wars before, and they came up big. Humphries hit a driving lay up to cut the lead to 38-36, and after a turnover at the other end Patrick Bennett was fouled. He made one of two to cut the lead to one. River then held on the other end and Humphries hit a three with 1:08 on the clock to give the Knights a 40-38 lead.

River didn’t trail again, as the Knights hit their foul shots down the stretch. Talbott hit two with 43 seconds left, Humphries hit two with 21 seconds left, and Andrew Tucker hit three of four in the final 12 seconds to nail down the state championship. As the final horn sounded the Knights celebrated on the floor to a roar from behind their bench.

Bennett finished with 15 points, Talbott had 14, and Humphries had 13 points and seven more assists. Patrick Bennett had eight rebounds and the five-man lineup, including Tucker and John Bennett, played the entire 36 minutes.

“Credit their mental toughness,” said Goad. “They’ve done that before. We had a stretch of six games in nine days and we’ve had back-to-back games before. Everyone’s tired at that point and talent will take you just so far. Our mental toughness was the difference.”

The Knights were the kings of the county Monday as they returned to school triumphantly. Now the “banquet circuit” begins, which is a far cry from the past three years, when the Knights twice went to the semifinals and were disappointed. Last year was especially tough to take, losing to Radford on a last-second shot.

“After the loss we had last year we felt like we had to make amends,” said Goad. “We had to finish what we thought we should have taken care of last year.”

Easier said than done.

“It’s not easy, a lot of things have to go your way,” Goad continued. “You have those intangibles like the flu and injuries. We had a little adversity this year, but we didn’t change our expectations and some kids stepped up for us. That’s where mental toughness comes in.”

After the game the players gave their state medals to the managers and trainers in an unprecedented show of appreciation for the support staff. Time will pass, but March 13, 2010, will stand still for the rest of time for the members of this team and community.

“It’s a great feeling, walking around like a champion,” said Goad. “Not everyone gets the opportunity to experience this, and you don’t know if it will ever come around again. I told the boys this is a moment we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.”