High School Football Week 2 Preview: Local Teams Seek Bouncing Road Wins | High school

Here’s a look at this week’s game slate:

The Warriors travel to Ringgold tonight for an annual out-of-district game against Dan River.

Magna Vista struggled in the season opener last week, falling to Liberty Christian Academy 40-0. The good news for the Warriors is that the defense turned the tide in the second half of the loss, holding LCA scoreless for the third and fourth quarters.

Dan River is coming off a 46-20 home win over Tunstall last week. Wildcats quarterback Jaidon Haynes scored four total touchdowns – two rushing and two passing – and had 317 yards through the air, going 17-24. UVa commitment Ty’Lyric Coleman had nine catches for 205 yards. Sophomore DJ Gregory had two touchdowns and 123 yards, and Tilden Garland added a touchdown catch.

Magna Vista and Dan River have faced each other every year but one since 2013 (they didn’t play in the spring of 2021 as the season was shortened to just six games). Meanwhile, Magna Vista has won six of eight games, including the last four. In four straight wins, the Warriors outscored the Wildcats 128-40.

Another annual out-of-district game. Besides the shortened 2021 spring season, Patrick County and Floyd County have played each of the past 17 seasons.

Patrick County enters this week’s road contest after a 56-25 loss to Carroll County in Stuart. The high-scoring game saw Cougars senior Demontez Hill reach the end zone twice — a reception and a rushing TD — while rushing for 101 yards. Senior QB Triston Underwood added two passing touchdowns and 84 yards through the air.

Floyd County is coming off a 41-0 loss to Christiansburg on the road last Friday. The Buffaloes were held scoreless twice all last season – including in their game against the Blue Demons.

The Cougars are 3-14 against Floyd County and have lost 11 consecutive meetings with the Buffaloes, dating back to 2010. Floyd won last year’s game, 43-26.

Martinsville opens the season against Glenvar for the second season in a row, having used their bye in Week 1.

The Highlanders are coming off a 27-20 road loss to Galax in Week 1. Galax scored the game-winning touchdown with four minutes left in the game. Elijah Carter ran for a touchdown for Glenvar, and Nick Woodson returned an interception for a touchdown.

The Bulldogs will be looking for a little revenge against the Highlanders. Glenvar beat Martinsville in the Bulldogs’ first and last game last season. Glenvar beat Martinsville 25-7 at MHS last September, then knocked out the Bulldogs in the second round of the Region 2C playoffs, 38-0.

These two games are the only clashes between the two teams since 2004.

Glenvar went 11-2 last season and fell in the 2C Region Championship game.

Bassett suffered a tough home loss to Franklin County on Friday night and will have an extremely tough Week 2 game as they look to bounce back in the win column.

The Bengals travel to Lynchburg on Friday to take on Liberty Christian Academy, one of VHSL’s top-ranked Class 3 teams.

LCA dropped in the Class 3 state championship game a season ago and started this season with a 40-0 win over Magna Vista at Ridgeway last Friday night. Sophomore Gideon Davidson — one of the nation’s top prospects in his recruiting class — scored four touchdowns for the Bulldogs in the win, three offensively and one on an interception return. He ran for 112 yards on nine carries and scored on 70 and 12 yard runs. He also caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from Joe Borchers early in the first quarter.

LCA finished with 324 total rushing yards and held Magna Vista to just 94.

Bassett blew a 10-point first-quarter lead against Franklin County, allowing the Eagles to score 21 points in the second and third quarters for a 21-17 victory.

Friday will only be the second meeting between Bassett and LCA. The teams played last year, with the Bulldogs earning a 45-28 win at BHS.