BEALETON -- Sherando wide receiver Dominique Porter stood on the sideline, the Friday night lights dancing on the red and yellow and green turf field at Liberty High School.
Porter yelled to his brother, Tre, who stood 20 yards deeper than the rest of the Sherando defense, the eyeshield of his helmet glistening. Warriors quarterback Jalen Brisco yelled to Tre Porter, too. The offense, for four quarters, had done its part, giving Sherando a three-point lead over undefeated Liberty in the game's fading minutes.
Time for the defense to finish what the offense started.
WINCHESTER -- Whatever it takes.
That's been Handley's team motto all season. On Saturday it took a whole lot. It took overcoming four turnovers, two successful Sherando on-side kicks, and a tired defense on the field for three-straight possessions in the fourth quarter.
WINCHESTER -- Trying to catch up to Kayla Gibbons isn't easy. In just her second season at Warren County, the sophomore has established herself as the top runner for the Wildcats and one of the fastest runners in the area.
FRONT ROYAL -- With one swing of the putter, two sets of eyes began to well up.
As the ball sailed just past the hole, Cory Hammons, the man responsible for the shot, knew he had fallen, that the shot he needed to continue the playoff hadn't gone in.
WINCHESTER -- Sherando, to be sure, had been looking forward to Tuesday night with a growing enthusiasm.
James Wood had, too.
And now the match between the Northwestern District rivals is over, finished, kaput -- Sherando waltzed into Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium sporting camouflage warm-ups and fluffs of red hair, then walked out with a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-14) win.
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.
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Ross Metheny waited patiently Saturday.
He put on his helmet and waited some more as VMI completed a first down midway through the third quarter. Finally Virginia stopped VMI and forced a punt.
STEPHENS CITY -- Joseph Ojo did it again. In a 59-20 stomping of Jefferson County, the Sherando tailback rushed for 218 yards and four touchdowns. He gained another 18 yards receiving and another 17 yards on a kick return.
STEPHENS CITY -- A funny thing happens to a team in the year following a district championship season: Local spectators provide the team with a list of clichés meant to describe its particular situation.
FRONT ROYAL -- At first, Eric Pfeifer just wanted to make the team. With a deep pool of talent returning for Sherando, the freshman knew the odds would be tough, but all he wanted was his chance.
LEESBURG -- Joseph Ojo had no doubt he was going to get the ball into the end zone. Facing a third-and-goal from the Loudoun County 2-yard line with a little over two minutes left in the game, the Sherando junior running back followed the offensive line and burst into the end zone to give Sherando a 21-14 win over the Raiders on Thursday night.
STEPHENS CITY -- Sherando and Loudoun County are two different teams from last year, but that doesn't mean this year's game won't be just as competitive and well played.
STEPHENS CITY -- After his team dropped three of its last four matches against some of the best competition on its schedule, Sherando High School volleyball coach Chuck Ashby was looking for one thing Tuesday night -- confidence.
STEPHENS CITY -- It might not have been James Wood or Millbrook across the net, but you would not have known it watching Sherando's volleyball team go to work Thursday night.
STEPHENS CITY -- One day after surviving a tough road test at Liberty, the Sherando High School volleyball team wanted to come out strong and make an early season statement.
STEPHENS CITY -- Conventional wisdom says that good fortune comes from being in the right place at the right time, then taking advantage of the given circumstances.
Kelley Washington has found a new home. The Sherando graduate signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday. It's the fourth different team Washington has played for in his eight-year career.
STEPHENS CITY -- The move had everything to do with family and community.
So while it pained him to leave the girls he coached and the community he spurred at Loudoun County, former Raiders coach Kevin Reed will coach Sherando's girls basketball team this winter.
NOKESVILLE -- Two of Sherando's boys tennis players just missed a trip to the Group AA state championship on Wednesday, falling in both singles and doubles to a strong Western Albemarle team.
NOKESVILLE -- As the sun beat down on the court, baking the concrete and leaving a dry heat lingering in the air, it became clear this match wouldn't be won with just the skills of a tennis racket.
STEPHENS CITY -- Broad Run baseball coach Pat Cassidy could sense Sherando was gaining momentum and about to steal away Monday's Region II quarterfinal game.
STEPHENS CITY -- As their season passed, the Sherando Warriors girls soccer team, gathering at midfield, with a few stragglers openly lamenting the season's end, waited for head coach Rob Kilmer to huddle the team together one last time.
STEPHENS CITY -- Sherando High School's softball team saw its chance of advancing to the Region II tournament semifinals slip away Monday night as Park View scored five times in the final two innings to defeat the Warriors 7-4 at Sherando Park.
CROZET -- For the past few years, Western Albemarle has been the ultimate test for Sherando's boys tennis team. The three-time defending state champions, fittingly sharing Sherando's "Warrior" nickname, have plagued the Warriors from Stephens City each season. Last year Western knocked Sherando out in the regional tournament final and kept them from capturing a Region II championship.
Sherando High School
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