Cavaliers can win Blue Ridge District Championship Friday

After a slow start to the season the Lord Botetourt football team has come on like gangbusters. The Cavaliers defeated Franklin County in Rocky Mount last Friday, 49-28, to remain undefeated in the Blue Ridge District.

Lord Botetourt will host Staunton River this Friday in the regular season finale, and if the Cavaliers prevail they’ll be BRD champions for the third year in a row. They were co-champs with Northside in 2018 as the bordering rivals played twice during the regular season and split. A win this Friday would also clinch a 10^th straight winning season for LB.

The Cavaliers began this season at 1-3, then were off two weeks due to COVID and a bye. They returned to action on October 8 and have won four straight Blue Ridge District games to improve to 5-3 overall. They’re currently ranked fifth in the Region 3D rankings behind Christiansburg, Abingdon, Bassett and Hidden Valley. It’s unlikely the Cavs can move up, as Christiansburg and Abingdon are both 8-1, Bassett is 7-2 with a home game against Martinsville Friday and Hidden Valley is in the clubhouse with a 7-3 record. If the rankings finish like they are today, LB would open the playoffs at Hidden Valley on November 12.

The Cavaliers will finish with just nine games due to losing a game with Princeton of West Virginia. LB will be favored against Staunton River this Friday, but the Eagles are currently the eighth seed in Region 3D and fighting to hold their spot in the region playoffs, which is an eight-team tournament.

“We’re not taking them for granted,” said Harless. “Anyone can be beaten on a good night, and Staunton River is scrappy.”

The Cavaliers were hitting on all cylinders last Friday night at Franklin County. The Eagles were also 3-0 in the district and playing at home, but they couldn’t stop Botetourt’s heralded rushing attack. The Cavaliers had 404 yards rushing in the first half alone as they built a 35-13 halftime lead. Jakari Nicely ran for touchdowns of 25, 57 and four yards, K.J, Bratton had an eight-yard TD run and Andrew Gilbert scored the first TD of the game on a 15-yard run.

The LB offensive line has taken charge since the two-week layoff and Nicely, a sophomore, has established himself as the starting quarterback with Bratton and Bryce Harrison in the backfield. On Friday, Nicely had 22 carries for 253 yards, Bratton had 13 for 175 and Harrison had seven for 64 as LB rolled up 510 yards rushing on 45 carries, an average of 11.3 yards per carry.

Nicely was three-for-four passing and Bratton had all three completions for 55 yards, giving him 230 yards of total offense. K.J. also scored on runs of 43 and 14 yards in the fourth period to put some icing on the cake.

Depending on what shakes out for the regional, Friday could be the last home game for the Cavaliers this season. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.