It didn't take long for Central's J.J. Armentrout, The Northern Virginia Daily's Boys Athlete of the Year, to become an outstanding tight end: In his first season, he caught 21 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns; as a senior, he caught 22 passes for 420 yards and five touchdowns.
Best friends off the field, Hinegardner and Ebersole do their damage on the diamond By Tommy Keeler Jr. - tkeeler@nvdaily.com WOODSTOCK -- One of the first times Ashley Ebersole and Brea Hinegardner ever met, they were on opposing sides. Hinegardner was pitching in a little...
Winning a state title in any sport is hard enough; so to repeat as state champions, even for a Clarke County track and field team that brings 22 male and female athletes to Saturday's Group A state meet at Radford University, is a rare feat in its own right.
MINERAL -- Ashley Rasmussen and Tootie Jackson, who compete in the discus and shot put for the Skyline girls track and field team, are like most close teammates.
STEPHENS CITY -- Sherando senior Nick Merchant told coach Pepper Martin on Thursday that he wanted to pitch in the Warriors' Northwestern District tournament quarterfinal against Handley. Martin decided to let Merchant start the game and put him on a pitch cout. Merchant didn't disappoint as hed led the Warriors to a 6-2 win over the Judges in baseball action on Friday.
WOODSTOCK -- Central coach Donn Foltz has good reason to feel optimistic about his team's chances in the Northwestern District tournament, which begins today.
STEPHENS CITY -- Finally back on the field, in a game that actually yielded a result this time, Tre Porter and the rest of Sherando's baseball team didn't waste the opportunity.
Daily Staff Reports SHENANDOAH -- Stonewall Jackson's boys soccer team took care of business against its main competition, Wilson Memorial, and polished off the rest of the Shenandoah District in convincing fashion to claim the league title for the first time since 2006. That title,...
WOODSTOCK -- Depite his team being down by two goals at the half, Central coach Duff Rice said that he was relatively pleased with the way the lady Falcons played in the second half, when they held the Skyline Hawks scoreless for 35 minutes.
FRONT ROYAL -- There had to be a sense of deja vu when the Skyline Hawks returned to their dugout, down six runs before batting for the first time Saturday afternoon against Northwestern District softball rival Central.
QUICKSBURG -- The twitch muscles in Colin Christensen's legs are weak. That lack of strength, which Christensen cites as one of his "downfalls as a distance runner," prohibits the Strasburg junior from reaching that extra gear in the final leg of the 1600- and 3200-meter runs, and has kept him winless all season.
WOODSTOCK -- The James Wood Colonels got a complete game effort from Matt Copley and timely back-to-back hitting in three innings to top the Central Falcons, 4-2, in Northwestern District baseball action Thursday night.
WOODSTOCK -- Ashley Ebersole found the perfect way to cap off her senior night on Thursday. The senior belted a two-run homer, her seventh of the season, in the bottom of the eighth to give the Falcons an 8-6 win over James Wood in Northwestern District action.
NOKESVILLE -- Central hung tough with Brentsville this time around. The Falcons got a solid outing from pitcher Brea Hinegardner and another homer from Ashley Ebersole, but still fell to the Tigers, 4-1, on Tuesday in Northwestern District softball action. The two teams met last week and the Tigers came away with a 14-3 win.
WOODSTOCK -- Central started off slowly, but led by Ashley Ebersole's fifth homer of the season the Falcons got back on track for a 6-2 Northwestern District softball win over Millbrook on Friday.
Daily Staff Reports QUICKSBURG -- For one inning, it all came together for the Stonewall Jackson baseball team. On a night when the Generals struck out 13 times, the fourth inning saw the home team make solid contact batter after batter as the 10-run frame...
WOODSTOCK -- The thought of his older sister going away to college was weighing on Mason's Smith mind. So throughout basketball season, the James Wood sophomore continually tried to talk her into coming out for the Colonels' track team this spring.
WOODSTOCK -- Brentsville feasted on Central on Wednesday, gorging on 14 hits, including three home runs, while the Falcons managed just one hit off each of two pitchers in a 14-3 loss to the Tigers.
FRONT ROYAL -- The experienced battery tandem of Central junior Brea Hinegardner and senior Ashley Ebersole squared off against Warren County's freshmen battery of Nicole King and Taylor Bass on Saturday night.
FRONT ROYAL -- Central's Sam Dowdy took the mound Saturday and pretty much turned off the lights at Bing Crosby Stadium as the visiting Falcons shut out Warren County, 2-0, in a pitchers' duel.
STRASBURG -- The Rams overcame a 3-0 deficit after the top half of the first inning to rout the visiting Madison County Mountaineers, 13-3, in a five-inning Bull Run district baseball game on Friday.
WOODSTOCK -- Daniel Park spent most of last year watching from the sidelines, but by the end of the season he was able to make it into Handley's starting tennis lineup. Park even played at No. 5 singles in the regional quarterfinals, where he pulled out a long three-set victory.
WINCHESTER -- James Wood took advantage of two Handley errors and came up with some timely doubles to pull out a 3-1 Northwestern District baseball victory over the Judges on Thursday.
STEPHENS CITY -- Sherando rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh and then scored the winning run in the eighth as the Warriors defeated Millbrook, 4-3, in Northwestern District baseball action on Wednesday.
FRONT ROYAL -- Central picked up its first win of the season rallying for a 2-1 Northwestern District win over Skyline on Tuesday night in girls soccer action.
WOODSTOCK -- The Central Falcons broke away from their recent habit of waiting until the seventh inning to get win-earning run production and built a nine-run lead after three innings and held on for a 14-8 win over the Stonewall Jackson Generals in a non-district baseball contest Monday night.
WOODSTOCK -- Sherando coach Erin Manuel was disappointed with her team after Tuesday's lopsided loss to Brentsville and has been preaching the last few days about the importance of staying focused no matter what the score is.
WOODSTOCK -- The regulation, seven-inning game has been the perfect length for Central lately, as the Falcons pulled off their second consecutive come-from-behind win in the seventh inning on Thursday.
WINCHESTER -- With her team down by two runs entering the top of the seventh inning, Ashley Ebersole entered the dugout and implored her team to keep fighting.
WINCHESTER --James Wood was hoping for a quick seventh inning on Tuesday night, so they could try to win the game in the bottom half of the inning, but the Falcons had other plans.
LURAY -- Sam Herndon went 3-for-4 with six RBIs, inlcuding a two-run homer to lead Clarke County to an 18-2 nondistrict softball win over Luray on Tuesday.
WINCHESTER -- Following Millbrook's win over Central on Tuesday night, there was a resounding notion amongst the Pioneers that anything can happen in baseball.
WINCHESTER -- Michelle Long wasted no time getting to the point. "Right now, I have a team that's playing with very little heart, very little desire and very little urgency," Millbrook's softball coach said Tuesday. "I'm trying to get through their heads how much better they can be if they decide they want to do that. This season's been a lot about personal responsibility, and it's not being taken."
WOODSTOCK -- The Strasburg Rams managed to score eight runs on a stingy diet as Central Falcon pitcher Brea Hinegardner surrendered four hits, tossed four shutout innings, struck out three, issued two walks, and hit a homer to aid her own cause.
Daily Staff Reports STEPHENS CITY -- Danielle Walls had two hits, including a double to rally Handley past Sherando, 7-5, in Northwestern District softball action on Thursday. The Judges trailed 5-0 entering the sixth inning, but scored two in the top of the sixth and...
STEPHENS CITY -- Sherando's boys tennis squad hopes to pick up where it left off last season. The Warriors lost a couple of their top six players to graduation, but with two talented newcomers added to the team, they have good reason to be confident this year.
WINCHESTER -- Brian Tavenner stayed calm even when Central was threatening to score early in the game. The senior was able to get out of a few jams and his teammates rewarded him. The Judges used an eight-run fifth inning to break open a close game and pull out a 9-1 Northwestern District baseball victory on Tuesday.
WOODSTOCK -- In their Northwestern District boys soccer season opener, the Central Falcons were overly gracious hosts for the Warren County Wildcats in a steady drizzle on Saturday.
WOODSTOCK -- Eventually one team was going to break through in Central's 2-1 victory over Warren County in Northwestern District softball action on Friday night.
WOODSTOCK -- The spring of 2007 was a special time for the Central softball team. Following a winless campaign in 2006, Jill Yew's first season as the Falcons' head coach, pitcher Brea Hinegardner and catcher Ashley Ebersole were reunited at Central, after playing years together in various leagues, and paraded the Falcons to nine wins in 2007 and 11 in 2008.
QUICKSBURG -- Stonewall Jackson coach Nate Hissong stands in the middle of a barren field, his soccer team scrambling in every direction around him and dribbling soccer balls as they go.
WINCHESTER -- Often meaningless before a pitch has been thrown, the early-season expectations for James Wood -- as they were last Tuesday -- haven't always been so high.
SALEM -- The image of Jake Crawford leaping into the outstretched arms of Millbrook coach Chris Haines spoke more to the jubilation of the moment than words ever could.
SALEM -- Central coach Scott Fletcher was just as ecstatic as Thomas Cooper (160 pounds), the Falcons' only state qualifier, who was 2-0 through the first two rounds of the Group AA State Wrestling tournament.
WINCHESTER -- From the eyes of Roger Wilkins, Central's head coach, watching the progression of Handley's basketball team is an annual occurrence. Meeting twice in the regular season, he said, there is initially a "getting started" element to the Judges' game, and a noticeable improvement during the second matchup.
WOODSTOCK -- After being out-rebounded in the first half, Central coach Roger Wilkins gave his team a pep talk about the importance of pulling down the boards in the rest of the game. The players responded to his words and Central dominated on the boards and used its height advantage to pull out a 70-51 Northwestern District tournament quarterfinal win over Sherando. The fourth-seeded Falcons will play at top-seeded Handley on Wednesday in the semifinals.
WINCHESTER -- The constant buzzing -- a bothersome wail caused by a scoreboard malfunction in the second quarter -- provided for headaches during the unveiling of Handley's newly renovated gym on Jan. 16.
WOODSTOCK -- The Central Falcons used an effective press and dominance in the paint to close out the regular season with a convincing 71-47 win over the Brentsville Tigers on Monday night.
STEPHENS CITY -- Millbrook wrestler Derrick Borlie remembers the last time the Northwestern District tournament was held at Sherando High School: He was "embarrassed" and pinned in the championship bout by A.J. Bakos.
WOODSTOCK -- It was senior night for the Central Falcons as they hosted the Skyline Hawks in girls Northwestern District basketball action Friday night. The special occasion may have given the Falcons additional motivation.
WOODSTOCK -- Following a missed free throw -- his only miss from the charity stripe all night -- Central junior Aaron Heishman twisted his head around and revealed a face of anguish.
WOODSTOCK -- It's not that Andrew Oates was unusually jazzed for the second half; he just happened to be the first player to exit the locker room after halftime for visiting Millbrook on Thursday.
FRONT ROYAL -- It took the Skyline Hawks nearly a quarter to re-adjust to playing basketball. Head coach Andrew Lacey had given his team "three-to-four" days off from practice -- measures for flu-like conditions that had plagued his team. Once they found their rhythm on...
WINCHESTER -- Scoreboard malfunctions, a sluggish third quarter and hungry opponents with equally ravenous fans did their best to spoil Handley's quasi-homecoming on Friday.
WINCHESTER -- Erin Drumheller sank four free throws over the final minute and 30 seconds Friday to lead Handley to a 48-43 girls basketball victory over Central. Drumheller led the Judges with 18 points and helped seal victory for the formerly beleaguered club, which had...
FRONT ROYAL -- The Warren County Wildcats had their claws out and showed their teeth in leading the Central Falcons in each of the first three quarters, taking a three-point lead into the fourth quarter on Wednesday night.
WOODSTOCK -- Central used a stingy defense and an even contribution on offense to rout Warren County, 64-18, in Northwestern District girls basketball action on Wednesday. Ashley Ebersole led the way for the Falcons with 13 points, while Kelsey Bowman and Ashley Jernigan each tacked...
In front of a raucous home crowd on Friday, Central sank seven 3-pointers in a 50-35 Northwestern District victory over the Hawks. Aaron Heishman had 11 points and J.J. Armentrout had 10, while Morgan Reynard and Seth Bauserman both connected twice from 3-point range.
FRONT ROYAL -- After coming out of the game early in the third quarter, Kelsey Corcoran knew it was time to make a difference. Once she re-entered the game, she took advantage of her opportunity dominating inside to lead the Hawks to a 52-40 victory over Central in Northwestern District girls basketball action on Friday.
WINCHESTER — During the Central Falcons’ latest practice, head coach Roger Wilkins made sure his team put a special emphasis on free-throw shooting. During the practice, each player was asked to step up to the line and try to put together a string of consecutive free throws. The Falcons went 13-for-13.
WOODSTOCK -- Aaron Heishman had a lot on his plate. Central's high-energy junior guard had the unenviable task of juggling advance placement classes and Chemistry 2 at school, his various duties with Future Farmers of America, as well as his chores at home on his parents' farm.
QUICKSBURG -- One might expect the demeanor of a team, just prior to hosting a county rivalry game, to be confident, but not cocky; resolute, but not relaxed. But during the pregame shootaround at Stonewall Jackson, Heather Stout and the rest of the Generals paraded around the gym with a swagger not typical of a team about to host a Central squad which had already dealt the Generals a loss this season.
QUICKSBURG -- Having devoted their last two practices to offense, with a specific focus on shooting, spacing and ball movement, the Central Falcons were eager to see if their ceaseless drills had paid off.
WINCHESTER -- The adrenaline was flowing through Aaron Heishman's body as he had the ball in his hands. The student section was ready to storm the court as emotions ran high. The Central guard had a dilemma in the final seconds.
WOODSTOCK -- Millbrook coach Debby Sanders liked what she saw in the Pioneers at the start of the game. Now she would just like her team to be able to play that way for an entire 32 minutes. The Pioneers used an early 18-0 run to pull out a 51-30 girls basketball victory over Central on Monday night.
WOODSTOCK -- Normally high school athletes don't enjoy having to practice. Handley's boys basketball team will be the exception when they finally get back in the Daniel Morgan Middle School gym.
WOODSTOCK -- In a basketball game dominated by defense and intensity it was only fitting that the biggest play of the night was a blocked shot by Central's Michael Marston.
WOODSTOCK -- The Central Falcons used balanced scoring, a full-court press, eight 3-pointers, and two lopsided quarters against Warren County on Wednesday.
