Friday, August 30, 2013

VIRGINIA VOLLEYBALL SHOWCASE STARTS TODAY!

Some of the best volleyball action of the season comes early, as Labor Day Weekend means 32 of the best teams in the state converge on Richmond Volleyball Club for the Virginia Volleyball Showcase!

Consult our Twitter feed (@hanoversports) for a complete listing of county teams and their game times on Friday.

We'll be there Saturday for all the action!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

HCS MEDIA NETWORK DEBUTS TONIGHT! LISTEN LIVE!!!!

Click on the link below beginning at 6:45pm to listen LIVE as we kick off the 2013 football season with Caroline battling Glen Allen in a matchup two members of the new "Conference 20"!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/blue67ccm

Make sure you let other fans know that we are on the air LIVE tonight, and tomorrow night when J.R. Tucker battles Henrico, also at 6:45pm!!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

HCS Media Network Joins Forces With American Heart Association for Richmond Heart Walk!

Many of you know that, on April 8th of this year, Rob Witham, head of operations for HCS Media Network (and better known as the "@hanoversports guy"), suffered a heart attack while napping at home.

Through the incredible work of Henrico EMT's and the staff at Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center, an emergency stent procedure was performed on a 100 percent blockage of the entrance to his aorta. Two days later, amazingly, he was home from the hospital.

We've spent the summer rehabilitating, getting ready to make 2013-14 our best year of sports coverage yet. And now, we're ready to give back to those who helped us, in the hopes that others will never have to face the same challenge.

HCS MEDIA NETWORK (including @hanoversports, @henricosports, @cfieldsports) is proud to announce we will have a team participating in the 2013 Richmond Heart Walk, taking place Saturday September 28th on Brown's Island!

We need your help!  You can help either by becoming a member of our walking team or by donating to our team!

We hope that, by tomorrow, to have all the links up that you need to join us in this effort.  OUR GOAL is to raise $2,000 to fund research and awareness to help the American Heart Association reach its mission of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

Follow us on all three Twitter feeds for links to donate or join the team!  They should be up tomorrow!

And from Rob and the gang at HCS Media Network, THANK YOU!

WEDNESDAY: Golfing in the Rain, Field Hockey Played and Postponed....

The wet Wednesday weather didn't stop county golfers from teeing it up at the County Quad at Hanover Country Club....

Atlee nipped Hanover by three strokes, 157-160, with Patrick Henry close behind at 163. Lee-Davis struggled and finished fourth at 187.

A good day for both Hanover freshman Ward Wilkinson and Lee-Davis' Austin Diehr, both shooting 36 to be co-medalists for the day.

PHOTO GALLERY is available at this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.641230905900880.1073741855.478338905523415&type=3&uploaded=6

************************
Today's field hockey home opener for Atlee against Deep Run fell victim to the weather. It will be rescheduled for Tuesday September 10th.

Meanwhile Hanover squared its early season record at 1-1 with a 3-1 victory over Monacan, a fellow member of the new Conference 20 in Class 4A South.

Monday, August 26, 2013

MONDAY NEWS: Field Hockey Starts, NBC12 and WHAN Radio Join Forces for High School Football Fridays!

The 2013 Field Hockey season officially got underway Monday with three county teams facing early road tests.

The Atlee Raiders, looking to rebound from a 10-7 season, fell behind early at Mills Godwin, but tied the match with 14:52 to go on a goal from Hayley Anna and took the lead once and for all with 3:10 to go on a goal from Jasmine Zollar as Atlee held on for a 2-1 victory.

Meanwhile, Hanover started on the road against perennial power Midlothian, falling 3-1 in a hard-fought match. Patrick Henry traveled to Azalea Avenue and came away with a season opening 2-1 win over Henrico. Two of three victories for Hanover County to open 2013.

Lee-Davis looks for a measure of revenge Tuesday afternoon when they open their season hosting Douglas Freeman, the team that eliminated their from last year's Central Region tournament, at 5pm. We will LIVE tweet from the L-D/Freeman showdown!

********************

WHAN Radio, the home of the High School Football Game of the Week, announced tonight a new strategic partnership with NBC12, the home of "On The Sidelines" Friday Night High School Football highlight show!

NBC12 Sports Director Marc Davis and Sports Reporter Matt Estrich will join host Rob Witham weekly on WHAN's new, exclusive high school sports talk show, "Central Region LIVE!", premiering next Monday, September 2nd at 7pm to talk about the latest football news and preview their upcoming coverage!  NBC12 will also have a presence in WHAN's weekly Friday coverage of both the Game of the Week and Collegiate Cougars football on Friday afternoons, while you'll hear more about WHAN Radio coverage of high school football during NBC12 News.

As a strategic partner with WHAN's coverage ourselves, HCS welcomes NBC12 aboard as we continue to build the best network of coverage for all high school sports in this new era in Virginia!

Friday, August 23, 2013

FOOTBALL: Randolph-Macon Handles North Carolina Wesleyan in Lone Scrimmage

15 days before they play for real, the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets hit Day Field to finally play some football against someone other than themselves.

North Carolina Wesleyan made the two-hour trip north from Rocky Mount, NC. In the end, the Yellow Jackets took a 36-13 win, showed great flashes and typical August mistakes, and many new players got their first taste of game action in Ashland.



Returning QB Zac Naccarato looked very sharp in his nearly two quarters of work. The erratic throwing that beset him at times in 2012 was nowhere to be found. Backup Bubby Morgan led the Jackets on their final drive of the first half, which stalled just yards from paydirt.  A short field goal gave the Jackets a 24-7 halftime edge en route to a 36-13 win.

As well as Naccarato, a good night for sophomore tailback from Manassas Park High School, who scored the game's first touchdown and rushed well in typical Yellow Jacket "north-south" fashion. Returning leader rusher Will McGhee was held out of the scrimmage. McGhee is not injured; the coaching staff felt there was much risk and little reward to put perhaps their top returning offensive threat from 2012 in a scrimmage.

Byrd took advantage of that decision with a powerful performance.

The Jackets, picked to finish second in the 2013 ODAC race, open the season at home September 7th looking to avenge a loss to open 2012 to Johns Hopkins.

PREVIEW: Look for Rob Witham's (@hanoversports) in-depth preview of the 2013 Yellow Jackets this coming Thursday, August 29th, in the Hanover Herald-Progress!!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

ALERT: Sam Rogers To Start As Walk-On Freshman for Hokies (with commentary)

He was receiving nicknames from the coaching staff by last week.

Then his name ascended to 2nd string at fullback on the depth chart.

Today, the ascension was completed.

Sam Rogers, the most decorated football player in the first decade of history at Hanover High School, was announced late Tuesday afternoon as the starting fullback for Virginia Tech when the Hokies open their 2013 season next Saturday in Atlanta against two-time defending National Champion Alabama in Atlanta.

Remember that Rogers was a walk-on freshman when he arrived at Blacksburg.  He received two FCS scholarship offers, but in a conversation with HCS last December, he spoke at length about his desire to play college football at the highest level, even if that meant doing it the hard way.

Here's a portion of the profile of Rogers that ran in the Herald-Progress at the end of 2012.

"I don't want to settle for something less than that. I'm pretty sure it'll be at an FBS or FCS school. I know I can do it, I have confidence in myself and in my abilities, thanks to the wonderful influences I've had in my life."

Rogers has invited walk-on opportunities at both the University of Virginia and at Virginia Tech, and there will undoubtedly be more. But, lest you forget, while Rogers sells himself to colleges to find the right fit, he's also looking for the right coach.

"I'm looking for a coach that trusts me and trusts what I can do. At this point, you can't be picky if you're not the highest recruit. But I'm confident in what I can do on the field, and I'm looking for a staff that wants to win."

Rogers, though impressed with Mike London and UVA, felt the right choice was with Frank and Shane Beamer at Virginia Tech.  The coaches have described him as working the hardest, and knowing the playbook better than anyone.

We are surprised by neither.

COMMENTARY:  I have been watching high school football for over 30 years, and have called play-by-play on WHAN Radio Friday nights, now going into my 12th season.

A few players have shown "warrior-like" qualities from time to time.  Sam Smith, Jeff Thompson, and Adrian Cavanaugh of Patrick Henry come to mind.  

But no player has received the moniker of "warrior" on a regular basis from me, save one: Sam Rogers.

In 2011, he suffers an elbow injury mid-season that would shut the regular 16 year-old down for the year. He comes back, wears a protective brace, and, knowing he can't play quarterback, helps his team win the Central Region and go to the state semis playing H-Back and his showing his usual leadership on defense.

In 2012, he suffers a freak finger injury in practice, then returns to, again, lead the Hawks to the regional crown, and, appropriately, in the 2012 state semis against Stone Bridge, his last high school pass was a 4th and 23 completion of 27 yards to Donte Haynesworth for a touchdown in a comeback that fell short only because the clock ran out before Rogers could get the ball back in his hand.

I had never sought out a player after a game to compliment them after a broadcast....until that night.  I found Sam, leaving the Hanover field for the final time in his uniform, by the Hawks statue, and told him he was a warrior.

He's proved it again.

Sam is making Hanover High School and Hanover County proud, as did many players before him (Jock Jones, Damien Woody, Erron Kinney to name just a few...).  There are others from the Class of 2013 doing the same thing even now.

But this day we salute the warrior, Sam Rogers.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to set my DVR for August 31st at 5:30pm.  :)

Saturday, August 03, 2013

GRAL Swimming Champs This Weekend; Fall Sports Start Monday!

Eleven Hanover County swimming clubs sent a total of 504 swimmers to the Greater Richmond Aquatic League's annual CHAMPS post-season competition, being held this weekend for the first time at the new Collegiate School Aquatic Center in Chesterfield.

8-and-under competition was held Friday night. Today is competition for 9 to 12 year olds. Sunday wraps up the tournament with competitions for 13-to-18 year olds.

Look for Twitter coverage Sunday on @hanoversports, plus photos on our Facebook page and a recap of the tournament in the August 8th edition of the Hanover Herald-Progress!

------------------

The day has arrived!  Monday August 5th will begin, in earnest, the 2013-14 high school sports seasons, as two county football teams will begin practice and countless others will come to team tryouts and first-day practices.  Golf teams have already begun preparation for their season, which begins in ten days when Patrick Henry welcomes Orange for their first-ever meeting at Hanover Country Club.

We'll be covering and previewing every team from every sport at all four schools throughout August here on our web site, and in the sports section of the Hanover Herald-Progress each week.