Upon Further Review

Friday night lights can’t get any better than this.

OK, maybe they can. But I’ve never been to Texas, never watched pretty good volleyball in Kentucky and have no plans of writing about that stuff on an Augusta County sports blog. (So there.)

But, now that someone else calls the shots in the sports department, I’m sent out to games at the behest of my sports editor. So you can imagine how I felt when I heard that I was being sent out to cover Stuarts Draft hosting Riverheads last Friday.

Full stands on both sides, nowhere to walk along the fence because fans were piled four-to-five deep every step of the way and teams (on both sides) welcomed off the field after each set of downs to thunderous applause. (Granted, thanks to the Cougars’ 35-7 win, most of the applause came from the Draft side of the field.)

So there I am,trolling the sidelines with my briefcase slung over one shoulder (with my poncho handy in case the Storm of the Century decided to rear its ugly head) and the whole time I’m thinking: Yes, this is high school football.

Say what you will about Rod Bowers, but the guy has proven that he can not only coach, but can build a program.

Proof? Well, remember, this is a Stuarts Draft team that lost 14 players (half the team, folks, half the team) from last year, yet has still managed to start the season off 2-1.

Spot Rod Bowers for $1,000 Mr. Trebek: No, he’s not one of the guys screaming, yelling and holding up fingers and signs. Those are assistant coaches. See that guy with the headphones on lurking at the far end of the coaches’ box? Yeah, that’s him.

Hey look, I think Michael Hicklin just made another tackle.

Seeing all those fans at Draft (again, on both sides of the field) and the whole time I’m thinking: This will never, ever happen at a Waynesboro football game. And it does not matter how good the Little Giants become. Heck, the Little Giants can run the table the rest of the year, finish 8-2, make the playoffs and you still won’t get half of what a meaningless, non-district game in Stuarts Draft got Friday.

Why? Well, there’s no annoying PA guy constantly barking out reminders that, sorry, if you’re a student, you have to be seated in the stands during the game. Really? Seriously? Heck, if my high school did that (and no, I’m not going to spin yarns about my home state, I leave that to others) I would have never stepped foot into our football stadium.

Seriously, Waynesboro administration, if Steve Isaacs wants the kind of atmosphere he got at Bath County or Western Albemarle (and trust us, he wants it just as badly as the players do, you know, the ones giving and taking hits on the field, not you guys walking around carrying walkie-talkies), you have to change this. And change this now.

So I get an e-mail Saturday thanking me for noticing the play of Draft’s Hicklin. And the whole time I’m thinking, Ray Charles would have had a hard time not noticing Hicklin.

So how does Hicklin handle being media darling for a night? Very well, actually. His teammates handled it even better, doing everything they could to harass the junior into breaking into a smile or laughing while he talked to the press.

Yep, that’s a team for you folks. That’s a team for you.

So, Stuarts Draft starts to pull away, thanks in part to a nifty move by DJ Hines at the Riverhead’ 35 that led to the touchdown, and the whole time I’m thinking: If this game happens in October, Draft doesn’t win by that much.

Hey look, the Little Giants showed some heart and it equaled a win. Do the math, fellas.

And they invite Grace Christian to the Lee Invitational for what reason? Oh, to win the darned thing.

Don’t look now, but something tells me that Shenandoah volleyball isn’t a one-Guy race. I’m just saying.

Another e-mailer on Sunday wrote they were surprised I wrote a column after they saw me at the game. Seriously, why else do you think I go? So I can sit in the press box and work for the school by giving them other area scores? So I can hear them thank me over the PA system? No, I go to find and tell stories.

You know, stories like Michael Hicklin. A kid that waited his chance and when he finally got it Friday, proved that Stuarts Draft not only has its football team back, but a program.

Raise your hand if you feel good for former Draft coach Tom Goforth. OK, you can put your hands down now.

And another thing: In three games R.E. Lee has scored 146 points. Are the Leemen this good or does nobody want to play defense against them? I’m just asking.

I think Hicklin just recovered another fumble.

(Remember, all Waynesboro High School students must be in the bleachers during the game. Hey, don’t kill the messenger.)

Again, different year, same old Pickle Nuckols.

Uh, oh. I think Hicklin just—oh forget it, you get the point.