PREPS PLUS: AHS grad Archer hits his mark for Tribe

Former Albemarle High standout R.J. Archer made his first career start at quarterback for William & Mary this past Saturday.

The redshirt junior filled in admirably for the injured Jake Phillips, a captain and All-CAA quarterback and the brother of Virginia tight end John Phillips.

Archer threw for 307 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two more as the Tribe fell to Villanova, 38-28.

The 6-foot-2, 218-pounder led the team on a second-half rally, as he hooked up with Elliott Mack for a 44-yard TD pass in the third quarter and ran for two scores in the fourth quarter on runs of three and six yards, respectively.

Archer finished 21 for 37 passing with an interception and rushed eight times for 20 yards. For the season, he is 25 of 46 passing for 356 yards and has rushed 20 times for 107 yards.

As a sophomore, he appeared in 11 games for the Tribe and hauled in 39 receptions for 451 yards — second on the team.

Archer, a three-year starter at quarterback for the Patriots, holds the school’s record for passing yards (4,568), touchdown passes (41), completions and attempts.

William & Mary (2-2, 0-1 CAA) travels to unbeaten New Hampshire this Saturday at noon.

VHSL loses friend, colleague

Former VHSL Assistant Director Larry Johnson died Monday after a battle with liver cancer.

Johnson, who worked in the league for 18 years, was instrumental in implementing the six-division playoff format in football.

In 2005, he was inducted into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame.

“Larry Johnson was an ideal representative for the Virginia High School League, totally dedicated to serving all member schools and to serving their student participants,” VHSL executive director Ken Tilley said in a release.  “What made Larry special was how much he did to build positive relationships with coaches, officials, school administrators, athletes and fans.”

The VHSL will hold a celebration of life service on Oct. 28 prior to the Group Board Meetings at Charlottesville’s Doubletree Hotel from 8:15 -8:45 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to support the Youth Group at the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Main Street, Richmond, Ohio, 43944.

Shuman still hampered by knee injury

Fork Union lineman Mark Shuman sat out this past week’s game against St. Christopher’s, but coach Micky Sullivan hopes to have him back on the field soon. Shuman went down with a knee injury during the Blue Devils’ win over Woodberry Forest on Sept. 27. Sullivan said Shuman is rehabbing the knee and as soon as he gets his flexibility and strength back, he’ll play.

Sullivan hopes to have him back for Friday’s game against Liberty Christian but it may be the following week.

No. 3 Courtland comes

to town

Monticello plays host to an unbeaten Courtland team ranked No. 3 in the latest Group AA Associated Press poll on Friday.

Courtland is 5-0 following a 42-0 win over Spotsylvania last week, while the Mustangs, the defending Group AA, Division 3 champions, are coming off a win over Louisa County.

Monticello received two votes in the poll this week.

In the AP Group A poll, Gretna stayed at No. 1 after its win over Nelson County.

Madison County, which improved to 5-0 after beating Stonewall Jackson-Quickburg, received four votes in the poll.

Albemarle must work for home court in playoffs

Albemarle’s 3-1 volleyball loss to Colonial Forge last week has put the Patriots in a precarious situation.

Lucky for the Patriots, they’ve been here before — and last year, no less. Unfortunately for Albemarle, last year didn’t go that well.

“It’s eerily like last year,” Albemarle coach Mark Ragland said. “Where we had a one game playoff at neutral site for regular season title up at Orange.”

Albemarle dropped that contest to the Eagles, who were led last year by two tall, college-bound freshmen on the front line. But this year’s loss on the road, was more painful, for the Patriots, who could’ve almost certainly locked up home court advantage in the Commonwealth District tournament and would have had a big leg up on the regular season title.

“It was one of those things where we let the circumstances and the crowd get to us,” Ragland said. “We were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to win and we didn’t play our normal game.”

Albemarle’s hitting percentage dipped to an uncharacteristically low .050, a product of inaccurate hitting and spotty passing. The Eagles’ fan base managed to create a hostile environment that seemed to shake up the usually ice-cold Patriots squad.

Still though, Albemarle is far from done. The Patriots just have to clear the mental hurdle of taking care of business against Colonial Forge. It’s clearly not a talent gap, the Patriots crushed the Eagles 3-1 in early September, and while CFHS has improved, so has Albemarle, and the Patriots have Kara Elder, perhaps Central Virginia’s top player. Elder had 14 kills against Colonial Forge.

If the Patriots manage to run the table (five games between Tuesday night and Oct. 21) and set up a rubber match against the Eagles again this season, look out, because it has the potential to be a fantastic match. Albemarle will certainly be looking to exact revenge with homecourt advantage in the district tournament and the first round of the Northwest Region tournament on the line.

Barclay out for Albemarle Invitational

Albemarle High’s cross country teams are hosting this weekend’s Albemarle Invitational, but one of the Patriots’ top female runners won’t be available.

Liz Barclay, a senior runner who finished second in the state as a sophomore, tore tendons and ligaments in her ankle three weeks ago at Willomere Park in Fredericksburg when Albemarle ran in a meet up there, the squad’s only chance to see the Commonwealth District meet course. Barclay has started non-impact training in the pool and work on the bike according to head coach Lance Weisend. There’s a chance the Patriots, who are very deep could get Barclay back for the Regional meet.

Look for more on Saturday’s Albemarle Invitational later this week.