05 REBUILDING ON THE DIAMOND
07 THE ALL-SP WINTER SQUADS
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OVERHAULING ABOUND Baseball teams going with youth
ALL-SCRIMMAGE PLAY The 2013-2014 winter edition
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STICKING WITH THE PLAN Enjoying UVa’s dream season
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S TA F F Bart Isley, Creative Director Bob Isley, Infrastructure Director Ryan Yemen, Creative Editor O N T H E COV E R The Miller School girls basketball team M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T Local sports are the lifeblood of every community in America, and we’re here to reach beyond the basics and give compelling accounts about Central Virginia athletes to our readers. CO N TAC T U S 4408 Ivy Commons, Charlottesville, VA 22903 [ e ] info@scrimmageplay.com [ p ] 434-202-0553
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PREGAME
Setting the stage
Western Albemarle’s Henry Kreinenbaum rounds third for home in his team’s win over Fort Defiance. While March was mostly a quiet month, especially in baseball with so many cancellations, the Warriors set the early tone for the Jefferson District season as they took down the two-time defending champs in Powhatan with a 10-5 win. In that win Kreinenbaum, a sophomore, had a pair of hits to help lead the way to a key victory at home. ✖ (Photo by Bart Isley)
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Family
Corner PRESENTED BY
ABOVE » STAB’s Phil Stinnie serves as an example of a coach who’s influence goes beyond his team. Anyone truly serious about basketball quickly learns what an asset he is to the hoops community.
Finding proper guidance Finding a mentor isn’t often as easy as just showing up to class or practice and eventually having a teacher or coach take interest in you. You’ve got to seek and search for the appropriate kinds of people to guide you. In our last installment we talked about how important having an engaged, mentoring support system is to navigating school. But building that system isn’t always easy. To start with, teachers and coaches are pretty overworked as it is, and while the great majority will take time to engage with you if you ask (for many that level of personal engagement and impact is why they’re in the profession) , asking isn’t easy for every student. So, consider what you’re looking for out of a mentor. Most importantly, you’re looking for inspiration. You’re looking for a role model. You may find that in a parent, a coach, a teacher or an administrator. But that inspiration doesn’t necessarily have to come
from someone in your school or around your team. With the proliferation of information that’s accessible today, you can find people have trodden paths that may not be exactly the same as your own but are at the very least parallel. Check out online TED talks or YouTube videos that are about subjects that interest you or careers you think you might like to pursue. Along the way you’re going to find inspirational figures who you can pick up on small things that they do things or ways they approach problems that could help you in your life. If you have a particular sport or player you love, use the web to find out as much as you can about them and how they got where they are. There’s an entire generation of basketball players I grew up with that adopted parts of Michael Jordan’s practice routines and philosophies. Very few ended up as professional players, but the discipline and approach to hard work they developed was applicable to
anything they ended up doing. When you’re out there seeking out inspiration, whether it’s on the web or in person via a teacher, a coach or a peer, be sure not to get hung up on something that’s a single negative. That’s the pit of the cherry that you can spit out. Take the sweet parts of your interaction and apply them, but don’t let a negative experience color your entire experience. Also, don’t take everything a mentor says as gospel truth. Sometimes mentoring is about listening to dissenting opinions and attacking those challenges. You have to use your own discernment. My collegiate advisor gave me some incredible guidance, assistance and advice over the years well after I graduated and I wouldn’t be where I was without it, but he also told me he was concerned about starting a certain media company back in 2009. I listened and adjusted based on some of his concerns. But if I’d gotten discouraged, Scrimmage Play wouldn’t be here today. ✖ Scrimmage Play and Triple C Camp partner up to cover family issues related to youth and prep sports in our Family Corner.
Bart Isley,
CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR
www.scrimmageplay.com :: 04
First Quarter Overhauling abounds Rebuilding the early theme for most baseball programs By Ryan Yemen
I
Covenant’s Matt Shobe at the plate in his team’s win over Fork Union. (Ashley Thornton)
{ DIFFERENCES } The number of freshmen players on a handful of local baseball teams.
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2 TAB KSAR A EL DER
0 WES TERN
MO N RO E
FORK UNION
1
t doesn’t happen often happen like this, but just two weeks into the baseball season, one thing is clear — if you aren’t William Monroe, St. Anne’s-Belfield or Western Albemarle, you’re basically in full rebuild mode.
Of those three, only the Dragons haven’t been through a massive turnover over the last three years. Two of those programs involved in the massive turnover, Covenant and Fork Union squared off at the end of March with the Eagles edging the Blue Devils 5-4 and both teams showing that the next wave of talent is on its way. It’s just a matter of fostering it. At FUMA, coach Rodney Carter led a senior-laden team to the VISAA Division 1 playoffs last year, but has a group of underclassmen this season highlighted by freshman in Jacob Grabeel and Adam Hackenberg. Covenant on the other hand is under the lead of new head coach Jeff Burton and has young talents like Matt Shobe and Jamison Steljes to develop to get TCS back to its state championship form from 2011. Over in the public ranks, while Western Albemarle is coming of age, just about everyone else is dealing with massive turnover. Monticello coach Corey Hunt is without Josh Malm (injury) and Alex McNair (transfer), which leaves the Mustangs without their best pitcher and arguably the district’s most powerful hitter. Albemarle is rebuilding in the wake of the graduation of Joe Burris, but coach Jimmy Bibb has been through three straight classes of talent moving on and found a way to make the Patriots contenders each year. Other teams like Fluvanna County are dealing with graduation and transfers. The Flucos made it to the JD title game last season, but
coach Mike Sheridan has a group of mostly new and younger players to work now. Even JD powerhouse Powhatan is back to the drawing board which should give the district an ‘anything could and will happen’ feel. Nothing is certain for this group of teams. Back over to the private schools, Miller remains an intriguing group as coach Billy Wagner played with a roster packed with freshman, sophomores and middle schoolers last year and got that group to the state playoffs. One year older but still insanely young, the Mavericks are in the spot that Western and STAB were last year and will look to take the next step before expectations truly mount for them in the next two years with this core group of young talent. The bottom line is that across the board, baseball is young and the teams that develop young pitching will be far ahead in their rebuilds. Looking back at recent history, it’s not unusual for young pitchers to thrive. Malm led the Mustangs to a Region II appearance as a freshman in 2011, and the door is open for so many programs to rewrite a similar story. But the learning curve for most is going to be high, and as a result, expect an unpredictable season. For the established veteran groups over at Monroe, STAB and Western, that means not taking any opponent lightly. On the diamond, unpredictability sometimes gives underdogs an edge, and so the younger and more inexperienced teams are more dangerous than usual in other sports. ✖
go online »
For more baseball coverage head over to our website at: www.scrimmageplay.com
College Update
We’ve gone digital
Monticello alumnus Lilley off to fast start at Mary Washington
But you can have it in print too!
By Ryan Yemen During Connor Lilley’s junior and senior year at Monticello, the Mustangs’ baseball team enjoyed a resurgance to the top the of the standings, playing in the Jefferson District title game in back-to-back seasons after years of struggling. Lilley’s play at catcher behind the dish had an awful lot to do with that. Now a sophomore at Mary Washington, the former Mustang hasn’t missed a beat. As a freshman, Lilley had to claw his way into the lineup, initially just on the practice roster and catching bullpen sessions for the first seven games. But 12 games into the season he was bumped up into the leadoff spot for the Eagles and went 3 for 5 while also throwing out a pair of base runners. He stayed in the leadoff spot for the rest of the season as he hit .349 and had a .429 on base percentage. He caught 10 games in all while serving as the designated hitter for UMW in the other games. Over the summer, Lilley played for Mike
Maynard’s Albemarle Post 74’s American Legion squad where he was a critical leader for a group mostly made up of high school underclassmen. Lilley and Post 74 advanced through the District 13 tournament as has become standard over the last five years, but did something special by winning the program’s first ever state tournament and advancing to the Southeast Region Tournament in North Carolina. While this season is just getting under way, Lilley has a full time job with 13 games on his belt already. In that stretch he’s hit .281 but only struck out twice in 35 plate appearances as he tries to find his 2013 form. Of course behind the plate, he’s his usual reliable self as he has a perfect fielding percentage so far and only allowed one stolen base. He was a rock solid foundation to build on for Monticello in high school and it looks like he’s well on his way to the same thing now at Mary Washington. ✖
HOW TO GET A PHYSICAL COPY OF SCRIMMAGE PLAY Step 1 :: Click here and head to the MagCloud version of the magazine. It’s going to look like this below:
BELOW » Monticello graduate Connor Lilley has found a new home at Mary Washington in Fredricksburg, after a breakout freshman season. (UMW Sports Information)
Step 2 :: Click the Buy Print button next to the magazine and follow instructions to order Step 3 :: Wait patiently by your mailbox Step 4 :: When it arrives, take it out and read or stash away to your heart’s delight!
www.scrimmageplay.com :: 06
2 0 13-201 R E T N I 4 W
With so many breaks in play, this winter was frantic, but filled with winners in the end. The Western Albemarle girls swim team won a fourth straight state title and the Miller girls basketball team won its first ever VISAA Division 2 championship after a recent move up. On the wrestling mat some great high school careers came to a close. With that in mind, we present our All-SP awards for the season.
Presented by:
Stories by Ryan Yemen and Bart Isley /// Photos by Ashley Thornton, John Berry, Covenant Athletics and Ryan Yemen
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- B OYS B A SK E T B A L L -
Straus
Smith
Stokes
Temple
Ayres
Ragland
Chisholm
Sims
Montgomery-DeLaurier
Katstra
Early
Hayden
Hollins
Diakite
Saylor
Bryant
FIRST TEAM Leon Straus /// Charlottesville, Sr. Jefferson District POTY, first team All-Region 4A North, 21.5 ppg Cameron Smith /// Miller, Sr. First team All-VIC, 18.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.1 spg Chase Stokes /// Western Albemarle, Sr. First team All-Region 3A West, All-JD, All-Conf. 29, 15.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.3 spg Matt Temple /// Madison County, Sr. First team All-Bull Run District, 18.1 ppf, 11.2 rpg Javin Montgomery-DeLaurier /// St. Anne’s-Belfield, So. All-Prep League, 11.7 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.0 spg, 2.3 apg, 2.7 bpg Austin Katstra /// Albemarle, Fr. First team All-Jefferson District, All-Conf. 16, 15.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.4 bpg Jeff Early /// William Monroe, Jr. Bull Run District POTY, 17.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.7 bpg Josh Hayden /// Goochland, Sr. Second team All-Region 2A East, All-Conf. 34, 16.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.5 bpg
SECOND TEAM Justin Ayres /// Buckingham County, Sr. First team All-JRD, second team All-Conf. 37, 9.9 ppg, 15.9 rpg, 2.1 bpg Leon Ragland /// Buckingham County, So. First team All-Conf. 37, All-James River, 14.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.7 apg Sam Chisholm /// Western Albemarle, Sr. HM All-Region 3A West, First team All-JD, All-Conf. 29, 10 ppg, 9.7 rpg Aamir Sims /// Fluvanna County, Fr. Second team All-Region 4A North, 16.4 ppg, 12.5 rpg Dominic Hollins /// Fork Union, Jr. All-Prep League Mamadie Diakite /// Blue Ridge, So. First team All-VIC, 14.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg Jordan Saylor /// Charlottesville, Jr. First team All-JD, 4.0 apg, 8.8 ppg, 2.5 spg DeNeil Bryant /// Covenant, Sr. First team All-VIC, 12.5 ppg, 3.0 apg, 1.6 spg
HONORABLE MENTION
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Parker Morris /// St. Anne’s Belfield, Jr. Kameron Hill /// Orange County, Fr. Scottie Chambers /// Tandem, Jr. Sacha Killeya-Jones /// Woodberry Forest, So. Juan Porta /// Blue Ridge, Jr. Jalen Harrison /// St. Anne’s-Belfield, So. Sam Lorenzo /// St. Anne’s-Belfield, Sr. Connor Schroeder /// Miller, Sr. Jake Hahn /// Albemarle, Fr. Eli Sumpter /// Western Albemarle, Sr. Austin Batten /// William Monroe, Sr. Gui Guimarares /// Miller, Sr. B.J. Snead /// Goochland, So. Rees Parrish /// Tandem Friends, Sr.
Mamadi Diakite /// Blue Ridge, So. First team All-VIC, 6.0 bpg Kareem Johnson /// St. Anne’s-Belfield, So. Guarded opposing team’s best player, 2.2 spg Will Mason /// Western Albemarle, Sr. Versatile defensive stoppper in the paint and in space Austin Batten /// William Monroe, Sr. Guarded opposing team’s best player, 1.9 spg Goodience Flanagan /// Fluvanna County, Jr. Key backcourt defender on young team, 2.2 spg
www.scrimmageplay.com :: 8
- P L AY ER OF T HE Y E A R BOYS BASKETBALL
LEON STRAUS, CHARLOTTESVILLE Leon Straus had that one quality that every coach covets. While Straus brought incredible emotion to the court, his ability to tap into his talent particularly late in contests, made him a true force. While the Black Knights were a true team defensively with Jordan Saylor and Caleb Gage and countless others doing their job, the duties on the other end of the floor belonged to Straus. An inbetweener type player, Straus made the most of his ability to shoot outside, while also playing aggressively with his height and raw athletic talent inside. His 21.5 points per game were the best in the area and much needed for a team built around its team defense. Charlottesville needed a pure scorer and they had the guy in the 2013-2014 season with Straus. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Straus this season was the fourth quarters he put together. The scouting report was out before the Black Knights campaign ever began that stopping Straus was the key thing defensively for Charlottesville’s opponents. There were times teams could keep him out of the score book for the most part in the first three quarters, but rarely was anyone able to do it in the fourth. In arguably the most important regular sea-
son game, Western Albemarle saw that happen as the CHS senior was quiet early on, but simply took over to finish up the game and lead his team in what was a pivotal moment of its season. The win established the Black Knights as the team to beat in the Jefferson District. Straus’ confidience was key for Charlottesville as he had little issue spotting up for 3-pointers. But his electric play getting to the basket made the Black Knights a step above their competition. A Straus dunk, and there were plenty, brought this team to life on countless occasisions. His ability to create a shot inside off the dribble was also key for an undersized team. While he fit in perfectly for a team that thrives in transition, his presence in the paint was probably the most significant contribution, particularly against teams like Albemarle and Western that brought plenty of size to the court. In the end, Straus’ lone season at Charlottesville proved awfully fruitful. He was the area’s most prolific scorer and his team rallied around him to vault the Black Knights to a Jefferson District Championship. ✖
- COACH OF THE YEAR BOYS BASKETBALL
MUNRO RATEAU, FLUVANNA COUNTY There was some legitimate concern among members of the Fluvanna faithful this season that even though Munro Rateau was only five wins away from 500 career victories, it might be tough for the Flucos’ head man for the last 34 seasons to get those five victories. Amazingly, it only took until early December to get the celebrated coach his 500th win. With only his scorekeeper Ben Sheridan returning to the varsity program this year, Rateau and his staff had to completely rebuild a team that brought back absolutely no varsity experience. Eight graduates and five transfers including All-Scrimmage Play honorees Vinny Agee and Jalen Harrison exited the program from 2013’s regional quarterfinal squad and only Sheridan, keeper of the book, remained. As if all that wasn’t tough enough to handle, one player poised to
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be the new-look Flucos’ point guard, junior Hunter Deforge, suffered a season ending knee injury before Fluvanna even took the floor. No one, apparently, told Rateau his team was supposed to crater after all that. Instead, he rebuilt the squad around his flock of newcomers, with freshman Aamir Smms as the new centerpiece. The ninth grader flourished in his first year as a varsity player, posting one of the area’s top averages at 16.4 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. The Flucos also found a guard in Goodience Flannigan who could give the backcourt a lift with Deforge out. Flannigan came on strong late in particular and averaged 11.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Fluvanna found roles for tons of other young players like Talavious Hughes and Carter Allbaugh too. While few posted huge statistics,
they all seemed to grasp and embrace their respective roles in the Fluvanna system as the year went on. The Flucos scratched and clawed their way to a record just north of .500 (11-10 in the regular season), and after making short work of Amherst in the first round of the Conference 23 tournament, Fluvanna came up just one win short of a 4A North region berth when the Flucos fell to a familiar team, the Jefferson District champs, Charlottesville 61-53. Rateau surpassed that 500-career win mark and that was just the beginning to one of his more memorable campaigns. With most of that roster set to return next year, Fluvanna may be poised to do even bigger things come 2015. So much for that concern about Fluvanna bottoming out. ✖
- NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR BOYS BASKETBALL
AUSTIN KATSTRA, ALBEMARLE Albemarle freshman Austin Katstra’s game just kept expanding as basketball went on this season. Or even if he wasn’t expanding his game, he certainly kept showing a new wrinkle here or a new wrinkle there in each outing. Whether it was a nifty hook shot or a creative outlet pass, Katstra clearly improved throughout the year, which isn’t easy to do as a freshman playing against older, stronger players night in and night out. That’s what comfort level can do though. As you settle in, you can do more. And Albemarle asked for a lot more than a normal freshman from Katstra this year. Along with classmate Jake Hahn, Katstra was thrown into the fire as a ninth grader, forced to provide much of the scoring punch for the Patriots who’d lost leading scorers Harmon Hawkins and Dee Mallory to graduation. But Katstra wasn’t playing by default by any means. He was playing because he was, clearly, ready. He averaged 15.4 points per game and pulled down 7.2 boards per game. He wasn’t a black hole in the post where the ball never came back out once the Patriots found Katstra inside either. He was adept at working through the flow of the offense and kicking it back out to players like Juwan Carter, Hahn or Corey Lesher. In recent years under Greg Maynard, Albemarle has reloaded with a significant crop of new players, but they’ve often been juniors or seniors breaking out for the first time. This time, Maynard appeared to be making a move for the future when he inserted Katstra and Hahn into the starting lineup. Clearly that move was for the present too, as the young Patriots finished third in the newly-expanded Jefferson District behind Charlottesville and Western Albemarle. In three regular season chances against the Warriors, Albemarle fell three straight times, but in the fourth clash in the JD semifinals it was clear Katstra and the Patriots had grown up. He scored 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds in a 62-59 win over the Warriors. It may have just been the beginning of even bigger things for Katstra and the Patriots though. ✖
www.scrimmageplay.com :: 10
- GIRLS BASKETBALL -
Ilang
Barbour
Hussaini
Comer
Steppe
Taylor
Childress
Maupin
Shephard
Riggleman
Odumu
Ballard
Hairston
Ragland
Coleman
Roberts
FIRST TEAM NK Ilang /// St. Anne’s-Belfield, Sr. All-VISAA D1, All-LIS, 14.1 ppg, 11.5 rpg, Loyola-Marymount signee KK Barbour /// Albemarle, Jr. First team All-Region 5A North, All-JD, All-Conf. 16, 18.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg Samira Hussaini /// Albemarle, Sr. Second team All-Region 5A North, All-JD, All-Conf. 16, 10.3 ppg Meghan Comer /// Monticello, Jr. First team All-JD, All-Conf. 29, 12.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.4 apg Molly Shephard /// Monticello, Jr. Jefferson District POTY, All-Region 3A West 15.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 3.3 spg Lilly Riggleman /// Miller, Jr. First team All-VISAA D2, All-BRC, 11.4 pg, 4.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.7 spg Rachel Odumu /// Miller, Sr. Second team All-VISAA D2, All-BRC, 8.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.1 apg Kendall Ballard /// Charlottesville, Jr. Conf. 23 co-POTY, All-Region 4A North, All-JD, 12.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg
HONORABLE MENTION Tamara Starchia /// Charlottesville, Sr. Kate Stutz /// Fluvanna County, So. Emma Kulow /// Western Albemarle, Sr. Chandler Gentry /// Madison County, Sr. Rebecca Harvey /// Orange County, So. Kiana Scott /// Monticello, So. Shae Hurt /// Buckingham County, Fr. Alajiah Ragland /// Charlottesvile, Fr. Arica Brown /// William Monroe, Sr. Jessica Liddle /// Goochland, Sr.
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SECOND TEAM Mailyn Steppe /// St. Anne’s-Belfield, So. 10.5 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.2 spg Ashley Taylor /// St. Anne’s-Belfield, So. Second team All-VISAA D2, All-LIS, 13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg Kiana Childress /// Fluvanna County, So. All-Region 4A North, All-JD, Conf. 23 co-POTY, 15.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.0 spg Emily Maupin /// Covenant, Fr. All-LIS, 15.5 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 3.9 bpg Kendra Hairston /// Albemarle, Jr. Second team All-JD, 9.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.2 apg, 3.5 spg Adrienne Darden /// Miller, Jr. All-BRC, Delaware commit, 9.5 ppg, 2.3 bpg Micaila Coleman /// Buckingham County, Fr. First team All-Conf. 37, All-James River, 13.5 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 4.0 spg Reagan Roberts /// Monticello, Jr. Second team All-JD, All-Conference 29, 8.1 ppg, 8 rpg, 1.1 bpg
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM Kiana Scott /// Monticello, So. Key backcourt defender for JD champs, 2.3 spg Bri Tinsley /// St. Anne’s-Belfield, Fr. Tenacious backcourt defender for state runner-up squad, 2.7 spg Shae Hurt /// Buckingham County, Fr. First team All-Conference 37, 5.0 spg Tamara Starchia /// Charlottesville, Sr. Relentless backcourt defender and rebounder for her size, 1.5 spg River Frazier /// Covenant, Sr. Critical turnover-creating defender at guard for Eagles, 4.1 spg
SUPPORTING THE FUTURE SPORTS STARS OF TOMORROW Best of luck to our 2013 student athletes as they embark on their college careers. Maiah Bartlett Miles Davis Blissie DuBose Will Eppard Tyler Gimple Will Grossman Allie Nicholson Lloyd Smith Stewart Staunton Aaron Stinnie Catherine Towers
University of Mary Washington St. Joseph’s University University of North Carolina Stevenson University University of Mary Washington Colorado College University of Virginia Bates College University of Virginia James Madison University Gettysburg College
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- P L AY ER OF T HE Y E A R GIRLS BASKETBALL
NK ILANG, ST. ANNE’S-BELFIELD & KK BARBOUR, ALBEMARLE Sometimes there’s no way to differentiate the importance one player from another. The numbers may be different, but the tale of the tape is the same. Certainly, KK Barbour at Albemarle and NK Ilang at St. Anne’s-Belfield have different styles. They have different coaches, but those two coaches (Phil Stinnie at STAB and Rachel Proudfoot at AHS) preach similar philosophies. It also doesn’t hurt that Stinnie coached both in AAU ball in the off season. At the end of the day, Barbour and Ilang were simply brilliant this winter and there was little to differentiate one from the other. Scrimmage Play’s staff and the coaches consulted on this matter felt the same way and so the result is what it is. If you could pick one player this year you’d pick both. Barbour’s junior season at Albemarle saw her take that next step, growing from a true post player into a true point forward. She averaged 18.5 points per game to lead the area in scoring and did so with her standard play inside, owning offensive glass and mid-range jumper, but also added a smooth looking 3-point release. Her 10.2 rebounds per game made her a one person wrecking crew. It should come as no surprise that she’s become one of the area’s most desired college recruits.
Illang, on the other hand, maintained her status as one of the hardest working players in the area from one end of the court to the other. The STAB senior owned the glass with 12.1 rebounds per contest but also developed a more versatile game offensively. In years past, Ilang’s hustle was simply too much to deal with. This year that was the case, but teams also had to contend with her as a legitimate outside threat, both mid-range jumpers and 3-point shots. Barbour led Albemarle to nearly keep pace with Monticello in the Jefferson District and pave the way to a Conference 16 showing on the Division 5 stage, the teams’ second straight postseason run in a row after nearly a decade off. Ilang took STAB to the next level, improving on the program’s final four showing the year before to a VISAA Division 1 state final appearance. Ilang is headed to Loyola Marymount after this spring. Barbour will join her on the Division 1 level the next year as she weighs various offers. In 2013-2014, if you got to see either play, you got a great look at what a complete college talent looks like. It’s not often that two players take the court in the same season so few weaknesses in their game. ✖
- COACH OF T HE Y E A R GIRLS BASKETBALL
JIM DALY, CHARLOTTESVILLE Who had Charlottesville as the last public program alive in their postseason pool? Jim Daly navigated the waters properly and he did it with a team with just one senior. Guard Tamara Starchia was his defensive leader. Junior Kendall Ballard was his do-everything talent. The rest was all proper role playing. The Black Knights weren’t supposed to be as good as they were on paper, and so you have to tip your hat Daly who got the most out of a group that’s still in development, but the only program to win a Conference title, on either the boys or girls side in the public ranks. Were it not for the postseason run, Daly’s work might have gone unjustifiably unnoticed by most. The Black Knights finished behind Albemarle and Monticello in the standings. While Charlottesville was able to split with the Patriots in the regular season, it couldn’t get over the Mustangs in either meeting. Albemarle edged Charlottesville in
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the JD tournament in the semifinals, but Daly and his bunch got back to work to win the Conference 23 tournament as their regular season earned them a top seed. They did not faulter there and as such, with just the graduation of Starchia, this group has incredible playoff experience for a team still so young. Some of Charlottesville’s best stuff came in losses. After it’s surprise win over Albemarle in early December, the Black Knights gave an experienced and gifted St. Anne’s-Belfield team all it could handle late in the some month. The Black Knights’ team defense was up to the task all year as its offense developed from the inside out. Daly turned freshman Alaijah Ragland loose, and she turned into one of the area’s more effective 3-point shooters. Daly helped Ballard
develop into a baseline-to-baseline menace, and brought along one sophomore and freshman after another into the fold to help set the table for the bright future ahead. Rachel Proudfoot at Albemarle did a similar thing last year. Josh McElheney at Monticello did the same in 2012. Those massive improvements made the area better. Daly’s work in 2014 help to put the Black Knights back in a familiar place, at the forefront. Charlottesville was the cream of the crop for so long under the direction of Harry Terrell. After Dee Mitchelson helped lead the way to a 2010-2011 JD title, Daly rose from the assistant ranks to lift the program once again. There’s no question that the Black Knights will be an even tougher out next year. ✖
- NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR GIRLS BASKETBALL
EMILY MAUPIN, COVENANT The first thing that’s striking about Emily Maupin is her height. The 6-foot-2 freshman for Covenant has the kind of size any girls basketball coach would be thrilled to have on his roster. The second thing that stands out is how well she takes advantage of that size. Many tall high school players today want to play on the wing, preferring to take advantage of their height outside rather than mix it up inside. Surely, it’s not enough when it comes to talking about playing in college to only be good at one spot on the floor, but in high school, someone of Maupin’s height can’t be shy about getting on the block and going to work. That’s not a problem for Maupin. Maupin plays big minutes and puts up big numbers in the paint, posting 15.7 points per game while hauling down 13.9 rebounds per game. Considering the fact that she’s one of the few threats on the boards that Covenant had this season (Cameron Wright’s 5.4 rebounds per game was the next highest average), that’s an incredible average. Teams really only needed to be worried about blocking out Maupin and very few could accomplish that task. Only once all year, in Covenant’s season opener against Western Albemarle, was she held under 10 boards in a game, and she had nine. As the Eagles’ only double digit scoring threat, she drew a lot of attention on offense, but that never really slowed her down either. It’s not an easy task to be the centerpiece for a varsity squad on both ends of the floor as just a freshman, but Maupin has handled it well, averaging an area-wide high of 4.2 blocks per game. The Eagles stumbled to a 6-10 record under first year head coach Rock Watson, but with multiple eighth graders and freshmen playing big roles, that was at least partially a product of inexperience. With two years of varsity under Maupin’s belt now — as an eighth grader she managed 5.5 points and five rebounds per game for the Eagles — she has already caught up to the speed and intensity of the high school game. The only question is how much better she can get, and that makes her future and Covenant’s future a bright one. ✖
www.scrimmageplay.com :: 14
- S W IMMING -
R E M E DY R U LE
GIRLS Remedy Rule /// Western Albemarle, Jr. Group 3A state champion in 100-butterfly, 100-backstroke
BOYS Ali Khalafalia /// Fork Union, Sr. VISAA 50-free and 100-free state champion and record holder
Hannah Harper /// Albemarle, Sr. Group 5A state third place in 100-fly, sixth in 200-free
Hogan Harper /// Albemarle, So. Group 5A fourth in 200-IM, fourth in 100-back
Storrs Lamb /// Western Albemarle, Sr. Group 3A state third in 50-freestyle, seventh in 100-free
Jack Robbins /// Albemarle, So. Group 5A third in 500-free, fourth in 200-free
Colleen Higgins // Western Albemarle, So. Fifth in Group 3A state 100-breast, sixth in 200-IM
Zach Greenhoe /// Charlottesville, Fr. Seventh in Group 4A state 200-free, eighth in 500-free
Corie Morton /// Albemarle, Sr. Group 5A state runner-up in 200-free and 500-free
Danny O’Dea /// Western Albemarle, Sr. Group 3A fifth in 100-free, fifth in 100-back
Larissa Neilan /// Orange County, Sr. Group 5A state champion in 100-breast, fourth in 200-IM Madison Noga /// Albemarle, Jr. Group 5A state Fourth in 500-free, fifth in 100-fly Brazil Rule /// Western Albemarle, So. Group 3A state seventh in 200-free, sixth in 100-free Anna Hurdle /// Fluvanna County, Fr. Group 4A, 4A North and Conference 23 diving champion Kara Morgan McHaney /// Madison County, So. Group 2A state champion in 100-fly, runner-up in 100-free
SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR COACH OF THE YEAR 15 :: @scrimmageplay
Bryce Campanelli /// Fluvanna County, Sr. Group 4A, 4A North and Conference 23 diving champion Ian Milbrum /// Fork Union, Sr. VISAA state third in 100-back, ninth in 200-IM Karim Elsayed /// Fork Union, Sr. VISAA third in 100-fly, fifth in 100-breast Nick Switzer /// Woodberry Forest, So. VISAA runner-up in 200-IM and 200-breast Justin Edwards /// Goochland, Sr. Group 2A state champion in 200-IM and 100-breast BOYS: Ali Khalafalla /// Fork Union, Sr. GIRLS: Remedy Rule /// Western Albemarle, Jr. Ellyn Baumgardner /// Albemarle
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The Blue Ridge School.indd 1
2/24/14 2:23 PM
- W R E S T L ING -
I SA I A H CO L EM AN- COMBS
Isaiah Coleman-Combs /// Orange County, Sr. Group 5A state third place at 120 lbs, runner-up 5A North region
Jacob Welch /// Madison County, Sr. Group 2A third place at 132 lbs, Conf. 35 champion
Brandon Walker /// Woodberry Forest, Sr. VISAA state champion at 138 lbs, Prep League champion
Derek Rakes /// Madison County, Sr. Group 2A third place at 195 lbs, Conf. 35 champion
Jordan Grimsley /// Albemarle, Sr. Group 5A state sixth place at 126 lbs Gavin Tingen /// Louisa County, Sr. Group 4A state third place at 160 lbs, Conf. 23 champion Bruce Schlegel /// Orange County, Jr. Group 5A state seventh at 154 lbs, JD Champion, runner-up 5A North region Wade Kammauff /// Charlottesville, Sr. Group 4A state sixth place at 170 lbs, Conf. 23 champion Andrew Dickerson /// Western Albemarle, Sr. Group 3A fourth place at 113 lbs, Region 3A West runner-up Jefrey Sisk /// Louisa County, So. Group 4A third place at 113 pounds, Conf. 23 champion
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR COACH OF THE YEAR 17 :: @scrimmageplay
Kyle Biesecker /// William Monroe, Sr. Group 3A sixth place at 145 lbs, Region 3A East third place Ryan Brown /// Monticello, Sr. Group 3A fourth place at 138 lbs, Region 3A West fourth place Chris Miller /// Western Albemarle, Sr. Group 3A fourth place at 182 lbs, Conf. 29 champion Torian Pegram /// Blue Ridge, Sr. VISAA state runner-up at 195 lbs, VIC champion Jared Engh /// Woodberry Forest, Jr. VISAA state champion at 145 lbs, Prep League champion Nathan Johnson /// Blue Ridge, Sr. VISAA state runner-up at 285 lbs, VIC champion
Isaiah Coleman Combs /// Orange County, Sr. Mike Sacra /// Madison County
IT’S BACK AGAIN SATURDAY APRIL 12TH Email combine@scrimmageplay.com for information
scrımmageplay
CENTRAL VIRGINIA
ELITE COMBINE
Game Time St. Anne’s-Belfield 6, St. Xavier (Ky.) 5 By Bart Isley
STAB goalie Eric Buhle had seven saves and surrendered just five goals against St. Xavier. (Bart Isley)
19 :: scrimmageplay
St. Anne’s-Belfield’s boys lacrosse team has played more games than a lot of local squads at this point, but they’ve lost three contests to snow and as banged up as the Saints have been, it doesn’t feel like they’ve got more than 10 games under their belt. “The weather has wreaked havoc on everyone,” said STAB coach Bo Perriello. “I don’t think I’ve had a year where I’ve lost even one game to snow. And we’ve had as many as five guys out. We had two guys back for their first game today.” Both those players had a big impact, and one of them, Phillip Robertson, scored with 2:08 to play to lift STAB to a 6-5 victory over St. Xavier. Robertson’s goal completed a fourth quarter surge that started with the Saints trailing 5-3 at the end of the third. Freshman Joe Robertson ignited the rally with a pair of goals. The game-tying tally came after Robertson drew a penalty near the top of the box. He fell down, maintained possession and sprinted toward the goal line extended. He veered back toward the center of the field at the goal line and buried a shot for the equalizer. It isn’t often that a freshman makes a huge impact for the Saints, a traditional power, but Robertson has been carrying a lot of the weight offensively with his older brother Phillip Robertson and Scott Cathcart out with injuries. “Joe has had to really grow up very fast,” Perriello said. “With Philip (being sick) and Scott, the only really returning attackman, having a concussion, Joe has really been our leading scorer and our most consistent performer this year. We’ve also had to throw
Jack Schultz to the wolves and he’s been able to respond. The only real silver lining to having those guys out is giving the chance for these young guys step in and step up.” The Saints’ defense came up with several key stops down the stretch and held on in the final 10 seconds as St. Xavier desperately sought an answer and a chance to send the game to overtime. STAB’s Austin Park picked up six ground balls and Rob Schotta came up with four of his own to help bolster the Saints’ defensive effort. “We’ve been fairly consistent on the defensive end in terms of staying healthy and that’s allowed us to be a little more consistent down there,” Perriello said. The Saints built a 3-1 a lead in the early stages of the game, with Cathcart, the other player returning to the lineup from injury, scoring twice and Grant Schultz adding another. But late in the second quarter St. Xavier took control and tied the game at 3-3 at the break. It was more of the same in the third quarter as STAB struggled and Xavier nudged ahead for a 5-3 lead at the start of the third. That’s when Joe Robertson gave the Saints a spark and his older brother finished things off with the go-ahead goal. The win gives the Saints a nice boost going into a big rivalry game Friday night at home against St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes. “That’s always one we’ve got circled on our calendar with them being such a perennial powerhouse,” Perriello said. “I know the guys are excited and we’re hoping to maybe get a couple of more guys back before Friday.” ✖
ACADEMIC EDGE SPONSORED
BY
HARGRAVE
MILITARY ACADEMY
ALBEMARLE’S MEGAN SCHNELL
Albemarle’s Megan Schnell has been a big part of an incredibly successful run of Albemarle girls soccer teams, giving the Patriots some added scoring punch as part of three straight teams that have won Commonwealth District titles in each of her first three years. As a junior she earned second team All-Northwest Region honors and a spot on the first team All-Commonwealth squad while scoring 17 goals and dishing out seven assists. This season as a senior, the Patriots will look from even more from her after the departure of star scorer Maggie Tubridy. Schnell has put together a strong academic resume as part of the Math, Engineering and Science Academy at Albemarle High, posting a 4.58 GPA while taking a load packed with advanced placement classes. She’s already been accepted at Iowa State University, home to a highly regarded engineering program. Whatever Schnell’s next stop is, she’s certainly laid the groundwork for another successful run in the classroom.
ABOUT HARGRAVE MILITARY ACADEMY Hargrave believes individual achievement is a gamechanger for all students, both on and off the field. With a college acceptance rate over 99% and a heavy emphasis on academics, your son will have competitive advantages ahead of his peers including leadership and character development.
The Academic Edge is selected by Scrimmage Play’s staff with the consultation of coaches and athletic directors. To nominate an athlete email info@scrimmageplay.com
1-800-432-2480 | WWW.HARGRAVE.EDU I M P R O V E D G R A D E S / 9 9 % C O L L E G E A C C E P TA N C E F I N D U S O N FA C E B O O K
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THE NEXT STEP
Philip Bartleski was the centerpiece of the 2002 Covenant baseball team that made the state final four. However, that was only the beginning of his career on the diamond. After his time with the Eagles, the former All-VISAA hurler played at powerhouse Oklahoma City University and helped the Stars win a national title in 2005. Bartleski majored in Kinesology and shortly after his graduation he was signed by the New Yankees as an undrafted free agent. He started out playing for the Yankees’ Single A affiliate out of Staton Island before working his way up to play AA ball for Trenton in 2009. The former Eagle played professional baseball for six years before hanging up his cleats in 2012. A truly local product, Bartleski came through the Dixie Little League ranks, and his time at Covenant helped him with his long journey from OCU to playing minor league baseball. THE COVENANT LOWER SCHOOL | Pre-K through Grade 6 THE COVENANT UPPER SCHOOL | Grades 7 through 12 175 Hickory Street Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 434-220-7330 1000 Birdwood Road Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 434-220-8125
CHARLOTTESVILLE’S ONLY CHRISTIAN PK-12 LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES SCHOOL
TEAM SPOTLIGHT WOODBERRY FOREST MOUNTAIN BIKING The Tigers came to help Community Bikes in Charlottesville this March to help the non-profit organization that aids in getting bicycles in the hands of the less fortunate who need them for transport. The Tigers cleaned and helped re-organized the shop. Then they assembled and repaired bikes, and hauled out scraps aftewards. Great job Woodberry Forest Mountain Biking Team! Your passion for your sport is seen in the community service you’ve provided.
495 Brookway Drive, Charlottesville, VA, 22901 434-296-9821 www.taylorautobody.com
Come see our team at Taylor’s for all your collision repair needs. Taylor’s has been family owned and operated since 1986. Always remember you have the right to choose where your vehicle is repaired.
Overtime
At long last
The road for true fans is rough, but the rewards are sweet
I
didn’t grow up a UVa fan. Raised in North Carolina by a pair of UNC-Chapel Hill graduates, my early life loyalties were chosen for me before I was born. In fact, when I chose UVa over North Carolina while selecting a college, my initial tuition payment was made on a check with a Tarheel background and the paperwork was signed with a Carolina blue pen. My grandmother joked (maybe?) that I was being written out of her will after choosing to go to Virginia. My family was making a point about what a monumental choice I was making, and it hit home during basketball season. I think when you choose a school, you sell out to being a fan of that school for good or bad. I’d grown up with a national title for UNC back in 1993, one of my first significant memories as a sports fan (I’m known for having an awful memory, so 10 years old is an acceptable starting point for me) and while I heard from folks about Ralph Sampson and all, it was pretty clear that from a basketball standpoint I was making a major trade down in tradition. With UNC your devotion and excitement was almost always rewarded. Not so much with the Hoos. But Pete Gillen seemed to be getting things going when I showed up in the fall of 2001 and I can’t emphasize enough what an incredible ambassador for that program he was around school. He showed up at the dining halls and signed autographs and took pictures or just talked with students for long stretches. He engaged with professors on campus and he was (and continues to be) an incredibly likeable guy. We were camping out for games at U-Hall back then — I think I even camped out for multiple days for a Wake Forest game right after winter break — and Gillen showed up with food during each stretch in the tent. “We’ve got wings and donuts folks, wings and donuts,” Gillen said while standing on a chair above a throng of hungry students, some of whom hadn’t been attending much class during that entire stretch (if my parents are reading I wasn’t in that group…who am I kidding, they’ve seen my transcript). “The wings line is here and donuts are here. Just don’t mix the two, you’ll get a stomach ache.” UVa was coming off a 20-win NCAA tournament campaign in 2001 and everything seemed like it was only going to trend up. As we all know, it didn’t. Instead we had to get excited about things like Jason Cain’s mustache that averaged 2.6 points per game. The program bottomed out in 2005 with a 4-12 record in the ACC and Gillen resigned. I graduated in 2005. During that span my brother enrolled at UNC and the Tarheels promptly won a national title. During my four years we didn’t even win an ACC tournament quarterfinal. Then I endured the Dave Leitao era with the highs of Sean Singletary (a Gillen recruit) and the lows of Calvin Baker and Tristan Spurlock. I have an immense amount of respect for UVa basketball fans who’ve endured multiple decades of frustration interrupted by brief interludes of moderate success because this last decade has been hard enough. But it made what happened this year that much sweeter. A Sweet 16 run and a regular season and ACC tournament sweep. I actually got to go to the ACC tournament this year, a
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“The wings line is here and donuts are here. Just don’t mix the two.”
first for me despite 30 years as a fan of some team in the conference. Watching UVa win in Greensboro was glorious. It was an amazing ride and there’s no reason to be mad about how it ended. Not with so many great players back in the fold next year and such a long wait — since before I was born — for a 30-win season. So if you go to college and you’re a sports fan, get behind your school even if it’s not going well. I could’ve easily soaked in that Chapel Hill glory from afar and admittedly I wanted to on many occasions. But even if the reward takes more than a decade, I can now attest that it’s worth the wait. ✖ Columnist Bart Isley has so many old UVa t-shirts his wife turned them into a fleece blanket (see above).
Bart Isley,
CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR
back talk »
What was your favorite part of UVa’s run? Contact Bart at: bart@scrimmageplay.com
Success stories begin here.
Success Story: Kareem Jackson Dating back to 1954 when Steve Meilinger was selected by the Washington Redskins with the eighth overall pick, 11 players have attended Fork Union Military Academy and been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. In 2010, the Houston Texans used their first round pick, the 20th overall to select Kareem Jackson. Just four years before that, Jackson was hard at work at Fork Union looking to find to the right college. When Jackson arrived to play for John Shuman’s postgraduate football team in 2006. he was a running back. During his senior year as Westside High in Macon, Georia, he put together 1,436 rushing yards, 256 receiving yards and 22 total touchdowns. Shuman and his staff saw great potential in Jackson’s abilities and turned him into a full-time defensive back. It was an instant fit and Jackson hauled in five interceptions for the Blue Devils that fall and rose to No. 17 nation-
ally by Rivals.com. With offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Connecticut, Ohio and Vanderbilt, Jackson chose to sign with Alabama. In his three years for the Crimson Tide, Jackson started almost every single game. He had three picks as a freshman, 44 tackles and 10 passes defended as a sophomore and 27 tackles and nine passes defended as a junior en route to helping Alabama win the 2009 national title. Since joining the Texans, Jackson has started all but five games and compiled 222 tackles, 41 passes defended and seven interceptions. He had 56 tackles in 2013, his best total since in 2010 during his rookie season. In just seven years Jackson went from unsure of what position he’d play and what college he’d attend to becoming an elite cornerback on the biggest stage there is. As the saying goes at Fork Union, grind now, shine later.
Fork Union Military Academy is the leading Christian military boarding school for boys in grades 6 - 12 and PG. www.forkunion.com — 1-800-GO-2-FUMA