Upon Further Review

It’s early Saturday and, you know Augusta County, I got some thoughts.

And yes, I’m going to go ahead and assume that when I type, “Augusta County” you realize I also mean Waynesboro and Staunton. I reject your “boundaries” when it comes to football. Sue me.

But I digress.

OK, so at what point did the Stuarts Draft players suddenly decide they have all the answers and not need to play the way their coaches have taught them to?

At what point did the offense decide it was time to just, oh, I don’t know, start making up formations while their coaches stand on the sidelines wondering what the heck the players are doing?

Because when Cougar coach Rod Bowers says, “We were in formations that I’ve never seen before,“ well, let’s just say the game won’t end well. Right. Of course. Because it didn’t end well. So, yeah, Cougars, let’s get this taken care of. OK?

On a running play (probably one of these newfangled formations the players came up with on the fly) two Cougars collided in the backfield. Not on a bad handoff. But. Just. Collided.

Are the players done with this self-taught experiment yet?

It wasn’t all gloom and doom for the Cougars. Heck, the defense looked top-shelf, including a first-and-goal for Spotswood that the unit turned into a missed field goal with 2:47 left to play. That kept the game at 7-0 Trailblazers and gave Draft the ball back with plenty of time for the equalizer (and maybe the win). This, of course, came after Bowers went and challenged that defense. The sidelines started rocking (both soaking wet players and wading fans). And they stuffed them.

The defense steps up. The offense runs formations that might as well be written in Yiddish. And the Cougars lose the game. Do the math.

Wilson Memorial slaps the living daylights out of Covington. (Expected.)

Waynesboro gives up a big-chunk of points in a half, then decides to play defense when it’s too late. (Status quo.)

And Riverheads loses its Homecoming game to Clarke County. (What?!?!?!)

If the Gladiators want to make coach Robert Casto happy (and they do, because “it’s an honor to wear the red at Riverheads,“ is what they say ‘round those parts) they need to know that these games in the rain are what they’re built for. Built to win. Not built to lose.

Draft’s Bowers went into Friday thinking his guys were “mudders.“ But everybody knows the OMs (that’s “original mudders” for you not in the know) are at Riverheads. Playing in the rain? Heck, the Gladiators would take the field if Little Spy Mountain was erupting. Riverheads playing football whilst our big, bad city schools cancel games because of the rain is the norm. It’s tradition. It’s as important as wearing the red, the black or winning two cords of wood.

And speaking of canceling games because of the rain. Why, R.E. Lee? Draft played. Wilson played. Fort played. Heck, even Waynesboro played. (Did we mention Riverheads played? Of course we did.) We’ll open our Outlook and wait for your e-mail.

OK, so they say the drainage system at Memorial Stadium doesn’t, well, drain so well. We understand that. So, hey, how about next time the city wants to spend extra tax dollars on a crusade against movies, maybe put that same kind of knuckleheaded gusto into fixing the field. I know, I know. Fixing things for kids, it’s an amazing concept, isn’t it Staunton?

OK, time for some straight talk (or typing, whichever) here. So fill up your coffee, add some cream and grab a breakfast bar. Go ahead, we’ll wait. (Twiddle thumbs, twiddle thumbs, twiddle thumbs.)

Good, you’re back.

Some day soon, Waynesboro will be winning games. And when the Little Giants are beating the H-E-double-hockey-sticks out of opponents by the same margin they’re losing now, here’s hoping that group of Little Giants remembers what the past few groups of Little Giants have gone through. (You know, like your girls basketball team did in the winter, eliciting cries of “foul” from Internet trolls, glorified newspaper ad reps and folks who haven’t sniffed a high school classroom since ascots were all the rage.)

But until that time, Little Giants, how about doing something here? Let’s begin with playing defense and holding onto the ball. Whaddya say?

And for the Fort Defiance bleachers: How about we stop blaming coach Dale Spitzer since, well, let’s be honest here, he’s the coach and doesn’t play. Just a thought.

So, yeah, you got any thoughts? Because I’m done. (Until Monday.)