North Surry 27, West Stokes 6
Great finale for the JV Greyhounds. We finally got a game that always has haunted us off our backs. Thrillers with West has cost us the last few years.
Heading into this I wasn’t sure if we’d pull it out or sandbag it due to the fact we had 5+ starters out for various things (lost 3 to the FFA convention and had a few hurt,) but the kids we put in managed to play well considering most hadn’t started before. That’s a + for next year. West played very hard considering all they’ve went thru this year and made us earn it from kickoff to the final whistle which is what we were expecting and needed. In the big picture they were our biggest and only real challenge we had in conference play this year. First half was very close. We got the ball first and scored on a 30 yard pass on the first drive but missed the XP. For a while it looked like it may have cost us. The rest of the first half was scoreless until the very last play before halftime where they scored on a freak one handed catch. Thankfully that miss came in handy as they had a botched snap and only settled with 6.
2nd half was a full circle moment for the guys. We lost the first 2 games due to horrendous 2nd halfs so to win due a strong 2nd half was awesome. West got the ball first but stalled and tried to punt but had an epically bad snap which we recovered at their 12. 2 plays later we scored and their avalanche started for West. They got the ball back and took some time off the clock but we got it back. Much like the last drive it took 2 plays and we scored again on a 70 yard run for our RB that more or less sealed it. West went exclusively to the pass and we got a pick six in the 4th. West decided to play their bench like we were doing and that was that.
Overall this is one of the most unique seasons I’ve experienced with the JV’s. To say I expected this win streak is just folly; after the start we had I was expecting a rough year. Then all of a sudden we came ready to play MA and just started rolling. It was week by week at that point because we played a lot of squads no one knew anything about. We had fun nights against Atkins, Carver, and Forbush and played meh against Walkertown and Central but we had to prep for everything and anything. What impressed me the most about these kids were 2 things: 1.Their desire to get better, and 2.The team spirit. After those 2 awful non conference starters they learned how to practice and prep and really that was the best thing for them. They actually scored more and gave up less than last year’s team in conference play; I never thought I’d see that. We turned the corner defensively after Walkertown and played good ball. Offensively we were fun to watch East Surry game and on.
I’ll miss watching these fellas play; they weren’t as intense as last year’s squad but they were fun in their own right. They are one of the best transformation stories I’ve seen but like the cliche the sky is high for them. They got a lot of potential and I hope to see them get to it in a couple of years.