Photo by Jim and Regina Devinney
With just three games to go in the regular season the Lord Botetourt football team is on top of the Virginia High School League Class 3 D rankings. Botetourt has a healthy lead over second place Christiansburg, 25.4 to 23.0, but the next two weeks will be key.
The ratings are important because if LB finishes the regular season on top they’re assured of playing at home for all their region games as long as they survive. The Cavaliers are 6-1 overall and have won their last six in a row after dropping their season opener to E.C. Glass, the top-ranked team in Class 4D.
This will be an interesting week for LB as they play at Northside, a Class 3 school that is winless and ranked 11th among the 12 Region 3D schools. A win over Northside won’t be a big point grab for the Cavaliers, while Christiansburg has a chance to gain ground with a win at Patrick Henry. The Patriots are a Class 5 school with a 5-2 record.
LB’s big game among the remaining three will be on October 28 at home against Franklin County. The Eagles are a Class 6 school and they’re also 5-2, meaning big points for the Cavs if they can win that game.
Last week LB was at William Fleming and they dropped the Colonels to 2-5 with a 41-27 win. Botetourt jumped to a 28-13 halftime lead and won going away.
“We were flawless on the offensive line against a Fleming team with some real good kids,” said LB coach Jamie Harless. “Fleming always has some good athletes.”
One key to the game was that LB had just one penalty in the entire game. The week prior, against William Byrd, they had 14.
“Needless to say that makes a big difference,” said Harless.
Jakari Nicely had another good game at quarterback for the Cavaliers, rushing for 210 yards on 25 carries and scoring four touchdowns. Zion Woody scored LB’s first touchdown when he broke free for a 76-yard run, then Nicely scored on runs of three, eight and eight yards in the first half.
Jakari scored his fourth touchdown in the third quarter on an 11-yard run as LB opened a 35-7 lead after three quarters. Woody scored on a four-yard run to close out the scoring in the fourth quarter, and he finished with 154 yards rushing on 19 carries. The Cavs finished with 364 yards rushing compared to 162 for Fleming.
This week LB will travel to Northside to play the winless Vikings. The Cavaliers will be heavy favorites but Harless will make sure the boys don’t overlook Northside with Franklin County coming in the following week.
“Northside has some good athletes and some good kids on the line,” said Harless. “And one thing you have to give them credit for, they always play hard.”