STRASBURG -- Central extended its early season winning streak to three Tuesday night by defeating Shenandoah County rival Strasburg 45-33, but it wasn't pretty at times as the teams' defenses dominated play.
"We're very happy with the way we played on defense," Central coach Stephanie Mathews said. "On offense, I thought that we were impatient. We need to learn to be more patient and wait for a good shot."
FRONT ROYAL -- Both host Warren County and Central looked to start off their girls basketball season in the win column on Wednesday night, but only one could prevail.
In the end, the more experienced Falcons were able to pull together and notch a victory as they held off the Wildcats, 61-33.
THE PLAINS -- Katlyn Ayers doesn't like it when an opponent is close behind.
For some runners, having somebody on their heels might serve as motivation to keep pushing harder and harder, but that doesn't work for Ayers. If it were up to the Strasburg junior, her closest opponent would be plenty of distance away.
So when George Mason's Julia Estrada started to close in on Ayers, who held the lead in the Group A state cross country championships with less than 100 yards to go, Ayers knew she couldn't let her cushion slip away.
ELKTON -- Strasburg won the Region B cheerleading title on Saturday at East Rockingham High School.
The Rams finished with 230 points, followed by Manassas Park (226), Central (221.5) and East Rockingham (206.5).
ELKTON -- Momentum can be a fickle thing in volleyball. Central found that out the hard way Monday night.
Just when the Falcons thought they had momentum, it quickly disappeared in a 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23) loss to East Rockingham in the Shenandoah District tournament quarterfinals.
WOODSTOCK -- One year ago, Central suffered a heartbreaking loss at Buffalo Gap, allowing 28 points while managing just 6. The loss was devastating to the Falcons' playoff hopes at the time, culminating with the defeat that kept Central sitting at home during the postseason. It was the kind of blowout that's not easy to forget, the one that sticks with a team for 12 months until they have a chance at redemption.
On Friday night, the Falcons got their shot at redemption and behind quarterback Matt Sherfey and wide receiver Sean Semones, they didn't miss. Sherfey threw for 279 yards, 176 to Semones, as Central celebrated homecoming night with a 35-7 win over Buffalo Gap.
NEW MARKET -- Central's Brandon Poff finished first and led the Falcons to the boys team championship. Luray's Deanna Teter was the fastest girl and Page County took the girls team top spot in the Shenandoah District cross country meet Wednesday afternoon at the 5K/3.1 mile New Market Battlefield Park course.
WOODSTOCK --The Page County Panthers took some of the air out of the Central Falcons' Senior Night celebration balloons, with a 3-2 (25-18, 24-26, 25-10, 17-25, 15-10) Shenandoah District volleyball win Tuesday night.
The Falcons recovered from a monumental 17-8 deficit in the second set, and recovered from a 25-10 third set thrashing to win the fourth set, and played to a 10-10 tie before losing the decisive fifth set.
STAUNTON -- Central won its second consecutive Shenandoah District competition cheerleading title on Saturday.
The Falcons had 240 points in the first round of competition, and 241 points in the second round to win the crown. Page County finished second, and Buffalo Gap was third. Stonewall Jackson finished sixth.
GREENVILLE -- The Riverheads Gladiators dominated the first half, taking a 28-0 lead, en route to a 42-12 victory over Central in Shenandoah District action Friday.
The Gladiators ripped through the Falcons' defense for 323 first-half yards, while the Riverheads' defense held Central to just 33 yards on 17 plays.
WOODSTOCK -- Central hosted the Shenandoah County cross country meet Saturday morning at the 3.0 mile Wetzel Farm course off North Street.
Strasburg junior Katlyn Ayers took first place and led the Rams to the girls title.
Central junior Brandon Poff finished first among the boys, leading the Falcons to the boys top spot.
QUICKSBURG -- When talking about Central's offensive attack, Matt Sherfey's arm seems to get all the credit.
Not that it shouldn't, mind you. With 168 yards and two touchdowns in Friday's 24-8 win over Stonewall Jackson, the Falcons senior certainly showed why his throwing skills steal the headlines.
FALLS CHURCH -- Central coach Mike Yew has a theory pertaining to punt returns: Once the ball takes its first bounce, players tend to let up.
And in the first quarter of Central's football game at George Mason on Friday night, Yew's theory proved true.
The Northern Virginia Daily Sports staff collaborated to create a football top 10 list. Each staffer voted, with 10 points being awarded to the top-ranked team, nine to the No. 2 team and so on. Numbers in parenthesis indicate where each team was last week.
WOODSTOCK -- Clarke County rolled into Falcon Stadium and set the tone early, never looking back as they left town with a 35-8 victory against Central to remain undefeated on Friday.
WOODSTOCK -- Strasburg seniors Lauran Agnew and Casey Spiker have been together for enough volleyball matches that they know each other's strengths quite well.
WOODSTOCK -- It was an emotional night for Central, especially the seniors. The Falcons beat Strasburg, 28-8, on Friday night, keeping the seniors undefeated against their Shenandoah County rival.
WOODSTOCK -- Central quarterback Matt Sherfey passed for 246 yards Friday night. In the past year, he certainly hasn't forgotten how to throw the football.
Strasburg's Samantha St. Clair tries to spike the ball past Central's Rebecca Sigler during Tuesday's volleyball match. The host Rams won, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-23).
WOODSTOCK -- Central's first game isn't until Sept. 3, and coach Mike Yew said having that extra week to get his team ready has been very helpful this preseason.
WOODSTOCK -- David Hoye still remembers learning his team's fate at last year's Shenandoah District tournament. The Central Falcons had turned in an impressive day, shooting a collective 356 behind Hoye's 89 and teammate Josh Edmonds' 88.
WOODSTOCK -- When Mickey Clinedinst played basketball at Central under then-head coach Jerry Walters, he occasionally thought of one day coaching the Falcons himself.
Clinedinst has been an assistant coach at Central for a number of years, most recently to boys basketball coach Roger Wilkins, who stepped down in April.
WOODSTOCK -- The Bull Run District champion George Mason Mustangs girls soccer team scored three goals in the first eight minutes and went on to dominate the Shenandoah District champion Central Falcons, 10-0, in their Region B semifinal contest on Wednesday.
Central High School
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