September 10, 2012

Patrick Mauney
VirginiaPreps.com Senior Writer

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Each week, we'll review the best games of the past weekend, highlight surprises and upsets, and focus on some of the top individual performances from Friday and Saturday.

Game of the Week

The top game in last week's Top Ten AA Games of the Week was a battle of unbeaten teams as Pulaski County took on AAA Patrick Henry in Roanoke. The Cougars had already doubled their 2011 win total and have put up huge numbers on the ground through two weeks, while Patrick Henry had beaten Hidden Valley and Bassett, two region IV, division 4 teams that will likely battle with Pulaski County for playoff position later in the season.

The game turned out to be a good battle between two teams dedicated to running the ball. Patrick Henry's 21-10 victory was not decided until a fourth quarter touchdown by Xavier Whorley, his second of the game. Pulaski ran the ball on almost 90% of their plays, while Patrick Henry kept it on the ground for 80% of their plays. Neither team turned the ball over, both averaged just over 4 yards per carry and, though Patrick Henry threw for almost 100 yards versus just 6 passing yards for the Cougars, the difference in the game was the Patriots' ability to put the ball into the endzone when they had the opportunity.

Despite the loss, Pulaski County again showed that it is a different team than the 1-10 2011 team. The running game, in particular, continues to show promise and the defense has played well. The home game with Richlands this Friday will give the Cougars another chance to show whether they are set to be contenders heading into River Ridge District play in October.

Best Game of the Week?

While the Pulaski County and Patrick Henry game was pretty good, the better game between River Ridge and Western Valley district foes was in Salem, where the Spartans beat Franklin County 31-24 in overtime. Salem never trailed in the game as first quarter touchdowns by Devante Payne and Chad Fisher gave them a 14-7 lead and Arius McConnell's third quarter touchdown restored their lead to 21-14. Franklin County came up with a game-tying field goal as time expired in regulation to force the extra frame, where Salem's Matt Hill found Coleman Fox on first down and the Spartans defense put Franklin County in a fourth down and eight on their possession, which the Eagles could not convert. Salem came in with high hopes this season with speed on offense and strong players returning on the line and through two games, the Spartans have impressed. They now sit at #4 in VirginiaPreps.com Division 4 top ten.

Read on for more on the TOP AA games of the Week AND Top AA individual performances of the week!

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