The Patriots made the most of the home field advantage as both teams finishing second and qualified for the VHSL state championship.

Dedrick Epps could have done a double-take.

When it comes to private school football, there may be no bigger rivalry in the area than St. Anne’s-Belfield and Blue Ridge. 

Well, maybe this year’s strain of injury virus won’t be as vicious as some Virginia basketball fans feared.

“This is a bright and shining moment,” Mayor Michael Nutter said. “We’re going to have a great time.”

Over the next two weeks, Albemarle’s father-son tandem that has been a fixture on the sidelines — since Zach joined his dad when he became the Patriots’ ball boy as a fourth-grader — will play out their final two games together. It’ll start with the pair’s final home game Friday night against Stafford, their 29th together of what will soon be an even 30 contests.

Every weekend in the fall, however, football serves as Stanley’s escape from the hectic grind, just as it will when Virginia (5-3, 3-1 ACC) entertains Miami (5-3, 2-2) at Scott Stadium on Saturday.

Riley Martin, a freshman on Western Albemarle’s varsity volleyball team, has made an immediate impact in her starting role for the Warriors, who face Louisa County tonight in the Jefferson District tournament semifinals.

The streak of University of Virginia football players running into legal trouble grew longer Wednesday when starting junior fullback Rashawn Lamont Jackson was charged with grand larceny and breaking and entering.

Scattershooting around the ACC, while not ever remembering a school losing both its top two quarterbacks in the same game as Virginia Tech did last Saturday against Florida State ...

On Wednesday evening the two teams went at again in their semifinal match of the LIS tournament, but this time around it was the Cougars who came out on top 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 17-25, 15-8).

For now, the villagers have put away their torches and pitchforks. It isn’t Al Groh’s head they want, but rather the continuance of Virginia’s current four-game winning streak.

Miami will get its shot at revenge on Saturday — the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2 ACC) invade Scott Stadium at noon with hopes of upending Virginia (5-3, 2-1) and jumbling the league’s Coastal Division standings even further.

The Patriots advanced to the second round of the Commonwealth District tournament with their 3-2 win, but got all they could handle from visiting Stafford.

Each time that UVa has started to get offensive production from a first-year, that player has gone down with an injury soon after.

The Virginia High School League laid out a a new proposal for how to divide the state with regards to the postseason, and the new proposal clearly coincides with the Redistricting and Reclassification committee’s desire to “think outside the box,” as detailed in the power point presentation.

Riding the emotional high of an upset win over William Monroe in its regular-season finale, Louisa County got past Orange County 3-0 last night in a home quarterfinal match in the Jefferson District tournament.

Having lost his starting spot to a younger, less experienced player, Nate Collins had every reason to hang his head.

Orange County’s postseason fate is unknown, but one thing is for sure — the Hornets came a step closer to reaching their goal Friday night.

UVa defeated Georgia Tech 24-17 on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 away in Georgia. 

At ACC Media Day on Sunday, Virginia — to nobody’s surprise — was picked to finish dead last (12th) in the conference.

As they have done over the course of their current four-game winning streak, the Cavaliers (5-3, 3-1 ACC) have promptly shifted their focus from one opponent to the next in rapid fashion.

For the second straight week, the Cavaliers mounted an improbable comeback in the second half, defeating No. 21 Georgia Tech 24-17 to move into sole possession of first place in the ACC’s Coastal Division. It marked Virginia’s first road win over a ranked opponent since upending Clemson in 2001.

Virginia offensive coordinator Mike Groh learned a long time ago, that when in doubt, hand the ball to Cedric Peerman.

While UVa defensive backs had a few hiccups in the first half, the unit came up huge when it really counted.

Although Virginia inside linebacker Antonio Appleby had his right ankle heavily taped and dressed out for the game, junior Darren Childs got the first start of his career.

Follow the action with Jay Jenkins as he blogs the game from Georgia Tech. 

With their undefeated district record on the line, Monticello’s defense rose to the occasion to force a turnover on downs.  Bicknell then chose to make it a two-possession game with 56 seconds remaining and secure the difficult 28-13 victory.

The more Virginia wins, the more accolades come the Cavaliers’ way. While channel surfing the past few nights, I couldn’t help but notice all the warm comments directed toward UVa football coach Al Groh.

After salvaging its season with a three-game win streak at home, Virginia (4-3, 2-1 ACC) is suddenly a player in the conference race — for now.