Upon Further Review

Derek McDaniel is a lot of things.

He’s a down-home, aw-shucks country guy that bleeds Wilson Memorial green and white. He’s a former athlete who was an injury away from getting a sniff of pro baseball. He’s the kind of guy you expected that, when his own dreams of pro ball went south, would return home to coach the team he once played his heart out for.

There’s one thing McDaniel is not, however. And that’s subtle.

Heck, our face has met frying pans with more subtlety than McDaniel. And the ball coach made it clear Friday night after watching his Green Hornets fall to Buffalo Gap 35-9 that this Bison team was missing one thing if they hoped to repeat as Group A, Division 1 champions.

One very big thing, for that matter.

“They’re going to miss 7,“ he said, a reference to someone he called one of his favorite high school players—former Bison quarterback Travis Morris who wore the No. 7 with enough swagger to fill a Guns N’ Roses concert.

“That offense is just as good as last year,“ he said. “But you ain’t got 7 and 7 won games. I watched him beat Fort Defiance by himself.“

What McDaniel watched Friday night was a one-two punch from the Bison that goes by the name of Pickle Nuckols and Michael Johnson, or, as ESPN 1240’s Jerry Carter calls the two, “Thunder and Lightning.“

Johnson put three scores into the end zone — a 6-yard run, a 29-yard interception return and, the finishing touch, a 79-yard pass and catch from Ryan Sheridan, the heir apparent to No. 7.

“Johnson can make plays in space,“ McDaniel said. “He’s a good high school athlete.“

McDaniel continued to throw kudos the Bison way.

“Their running game is solid,“ he said. “They’re going to run the ball well. But, in the postseason, they’re going to have to throw the ball more. They’ll miss 7.“

And another thing: McDaniel said his team’s game plan was not “let Johnson beat them,“ though the senior wide out eventually did with his three big plays, but to contain Nuckols. A job that’s easier said than done.

“Pickle’s going to get his yards,“ McDaniel said. “What you can’t do is let Pickle get 30-, 40-yard runs. Make Pickle get 4, 5, 4, 5. Nuckols is going to get his yards, that’s a good offensive team. But if he’s going to get his yards, make him get them on 20 carries, not 10.“

Nuckols broke one huge run, a 47-yard TD scamper with 9:28 left to play in the game, and finished with 174 on 19 carries. That’s a 9.2-yards-per-carry average. That, according to McDaniel, is what kills teams.

Very large and, on Friday, very in charge: Go ahead and call Ian Rosenfeld the largest place kicker in Augusta County (because, with his girth, he sure is), but he’s no one-trick pony. Rosenfeld, whose foot came up big during last year’s postseason run, pushed all five of his extra-point attempts through the uprights Friday. And he did his job on the defensive side of the ball.

Rosenfeld garnered four tackles, four assists and scored a key sack of Wilson quarterback Jake Bailey.

Yes, he’s large. And yes, those stats show that he is, in fact, in charge. See. We don’t lie here.

Again, we’ll ask, why on god’s green Earth does Gap’s Boone Jones say, “You don’t want to talk to me,“ after the game Friday?

Was it because he only had one interception? We’ll wait for your e-mails.

You cannot and will not blame Waynesboro lineman Jacob Lipscomb for enjoying the Little Giants’ second win of the season and first ever Southern Valley win.

“This does feel like a playoff game or a World Series game to us. It was a good night,“ he said after the Little Giants slapped Fort Defiance 40-16.

This game was all on the defense. Sure, Terrell Thompson ran circles around the Indians and Steven Brown, who never entered the end zone, managed to run for over 180 yards. That’s expected from the two when they are healthy and used right.

What nobody expected was the much maligned defense to pick up the slack. Lipscomb falls on a fumble, William Bane-Harrison snares and interception with 3:30 left in the first half and all the momentum swings the Little Giants’ way.

Folks, listen here and listen good, this team allowed the Indians to score on the first drive of the game and clamped down the rest of the way. Um, that’s how this team should have been playing all along.

“This is their win,“ said coach Steve Isaacs, now owner of three wins in almost two seasons as Little Giants coach. “We are going to build on this.“

Thompson didn’t get a chance to rest at halftime, the baseball star-turned football magician was named homecoming king. Then, desperately watched for Brown, the workhorse of the night, to get an elusive score. Brown’s biggest chance came early in the fourth when the rumbling fullback busted off a 73-yard scamper but was brought down at the Fort 6.

“I was hoping he would get in there,“ said Thompson, who finished the drive himself two plays later. “He deserved it.“

What about volleyball? Oh, we haven’t forgotten about what could be the match of the year for Wilson Memorial. (Actually, it is the match of the year for the Green Hornets).

Wilson hosts Luray on Tuesday in a match that will decide the Shenandoah District championship. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the perfect time for the Green Hornets to get out of the Game 2 funk they’ve been in most of the season.

A win not only gives them the automatic Region B berth, but allows them to avoid defending Group A champion Strasburg in the first round. Trust us, you don’t want to play Strasburg just yet with your season on the line.

So, yeah, there’s a lot at stake Tuesday night.

Final thoughts: Don’t forget the Shenandoah and Southern Valley cross country championships on Wednesday. I’ll be at the Southern Valley meet hosted by Fort Defiance where, on the girls’ side, it should be Fort Defiance senior Whitney Fulk battling it out with Waynesboro freshman Meredith Figgatt. Folks, this should be good stuff.

Did you join the Pooch Punt fanpage on Facebook yet?  Or how about checking out past episodes of The Sports Desk (you know, the only Web cast in Augusta County that actually talks about local sports, not the one that advertises itself as local but then features Valley writers doing nothing but talking about the Redskins. Seriously, the freakin’ Redskins!!! Yeah, that one.)