Thursday, August 31, 2017

WEEK 2 FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD

#8 Lee-Davis 30, Mills Godwin 0 (Ned Anthony, pictured, left, with a fumble recovery for a touchdown for Lee-Davis, now 1-0)

Deep Run 13, Atlee 7 (Raiders lose home and season opener, now 0-1)

NOTE: The Patrick Henry at Caroline game scheduled for our Game of The Week Friday has been postponed to Monday at 5pm. Airtime will be 4:30pm on 102.9 FM, 1430 AM, and online here at www.hanovercountysports.net !


Wednesday, August 30, 2017

LISTEN LIVE LINK: Game Of The Week Football: Lee-Davis at Mills Godwin

Press play on the embedded player below to listen to Lee-Davis' 2017 football opener at 1-0 Mills Godwin Thursday night at 7:15 on our RVA Sports Network YouTube Channel!


Saturday, August 26, 2017

WEEK 1: Monacan 26, Hanover 14

Over 300 yards passing by Tyler Elrod was not enough as Monacan built an early 20-0 lead, then spent the rest of the night holding off a young, hungry Hanover Hawk squad 26-14 in the season opener for both teams Friday night, as heard live on The RVA Sports Network.

Hanover scored 14 unanswered points thanks to two John Dustin field goals and an 80-yard strike from Elrod to Parker Chenault after a big interception at Eric McLemore caused a touchback, keeping Monacan from extending their lead in the second quarter.

Korey Bridy rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns for Monacan, including a 28-yard run in the third quarter which gave the Chiefs a cushion Hanover could not overcome. The Hawks, 0-1, have a bye next week, then go to Massaponax September 8th.


Thursday, August 24, 2017

GAME OF THE WEEK: Monacan at Hanover

Press play and listen live Friday at 6:45 as the Hanover Hawks begin the 2017 football season hosting Monacan exclusively on the RVA Sports Network Game of The Week!


Tuesday, August 22, 2017

TUESDAY SCOREBOARD

GOLF:
Hanover 153, Atlee 166, Lee-Davis 175, Patrick Henry 180

BOYS VOLLEYBALL:
Lee-Davis 3, Maggie Walker GS 0
Patrick Henry 3, Midlothian 2 (Patriots win tiebreaker 15-9)
Hanover 3, Mills Godwin 0
Atlee 3, Clover Hill 0

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL:
Hanover 3, Mills Godwin 0
Lee-Davis 3, Maggie Walker GS 1
Midlothian 3, Patrick Henry 0

FIELD HOCKEY:
Patrick Henry 7, Louisa 0
Lee-Davis 10, Hermitage 0


Monday, August 21, 2017

#amRVA Podcast; Tuesday August 22

Hanover and Atlee field hockey begin play Monday, the annual County Golf Quad is today, plus Patrick Henry boys volleyball among several teams opening play Tuesday night!

CLICK HERE for the Tuesday edition of #amRVA, the exclusive morning mini-podcast of The RVA Sports Network!


Sunday, August 20, 2017

#amRVA Returns!

CLICK HERE for the return of the morning mini-podcast of The RVA Sports Network, #amRVA, available weekdays at 5am throughout the 2017-18 high school sports season with the latest scores, schedules, news and much more!

Wednesday, August 09, 2017

Revised School Dress Code Approved

After multiple complaints at their July meeting, the Hanover County School Board revised and adopted a new dress code for the 2017-18 school year at their meeting Tuesday night.

The text is below:


2017-2018 Student Dress Code
Student dress is an important factor in maintaining a positive educational environment.  The School Board and school division staff rely on parents and students to support the division’s emphasis on safety and avoiding disruptions in the learning environment.  A student’s dress and appearance should not cause disruption, distract other students from their school work, or compromise health or safety.  This dress code applies to all school functions.  Note:  Principals can make exceptions to the student dress code at their discretion to account for age appropriateness and special events.

  1. For health and safety reasons, appropriate footwear, as determined by the building principal, must be worn at all times.
  2. Skirts, dresses, jumpers, and shorts must completely cover the pelvic area and extend to the mid-thigh at all times, including while students are standing, sitting, or engaging in physical activity.
  3. Clothing should not expose the student’s midriff, chest, or private areas at any time.
  4. Sleeveless garments must have 2 inch straps and not expose undergarments.  Spaghetti straps, tube tops, halter tops, camis, and tank tops may be worn under tops, shirts, and blouses that have at least 2 inch coverage across each shoulder.
  5. Yoga pants and leggings may be worn with tops that provide additional coverage of the pelvic area.
  6. Pants and shorts must be worn and secured to prevent the student’s undergarments from being exposed, to prevent the waistband from sagging below the student’s hips, and to prevent the garment from dragging on the floor.

Students MAY NOT WEAR the following:

  1. Clothing, jewelry, and other personal belongings displaying language or images that are vulgar, lewd, or obscene; that reflect adversely on or disparage another’s race, gender, sexual orientation, skin color, religion, national origin, ancestry, or disability; that promote the use of drugs, illegal substances, or alcohol; or that contain threats, gang symbols, symbols of groups associated with threatening or violent behavior, or groups that promote the unlawful use of weapons or other criminal behavior.
  2. Hats, hoods, face masks, or head coverings of any kind while inside school buildings during regular school hours, unless worn for religious or medical reasons or approved in writing in advance by the building principal.
  3. Sunglasses while inside school buildings unless required under a physician’s prescription.
  4. Chains of any type or studded/spiked jewelry.
  5. Pajamas, sleepwear, swim wear.
  6. Clothing that is constructed of see-through fabric, is revealing, or that resembles undergarments.

Sunday, August 06, 2017

COMMENTARY: How I Will Handle The Atlee Aftermath

(The following is an editorial by RVA Sports Network's Rob Witham concerning the situation involving the Atlee Junior Softball All-Stars that caused their disqualification from the World Series this weekend....)

****

Saturday August 5th, 2017 was the most difficult day of reporting I've experienced in 32 years of media. By late evening, I purposefully closed my laptop and phone, and walked away for a couple of hours so that I, as a person, could decompress from, not as much the news of the day involving the disqualification of the Atlee Junior Softball All-Stars from the World Series due to the now infamous Snapchat post, but from the myriad of reaction to it.

The reaction continues, from all directions, hot and heavy today, Sunday, just as these girls will return to what should be their safe haven. Home. 

Before I continue, readers should understand that there is, and always will be, a clear line between what I do as a reporter, and what I do as a private citizen. 

So, going forward, this is how the RVA Sports Network will handle this situation:

1) We will continue to follow, and report, the story and any other possible developments, if there are any. The outcome of the tournament will not be changing. Poland, Ohio won the World Series over Kirkland, Washington on Saturday and that will go into the record books. But if there are any follow-up stories or details that should be reported, we will endeavor to do so.

2) We will continue to treat this story the same way we do with all stories about student-athletes under the age of 18. We will never post the infamous picture in question. While TV stations and, now, national newspaper outlets, are posting it while blurring out faces and the inexcusable gesture, we have chosen not to post it at all. We've received complaints about it being "the center of the story", and, thus, we should post, and while that is true, a description of the picture suffices. 

Now, we're not naive. We know the picture has gone viral on phones and texts and via other channels over the past 24 hours. What private citizens do is their business. RVA Sports Network has never been about attempting to gain web hits at the expense of 12 to 14 year old children or any teenage student athlete. I can guarantee you that is part of the motivation of some national media to run with the story. We are in an age where long-time reputable media members have, at the bottom of their web pages, "click bait" with ridiculous headlines in the hopes of you clicking on it to better their page results so they can attract more advertisers. You don't see that here.

3) We are here to celebrate the achievements of our area's student-athletes, and in the case of this site, @hanoversports on Twitter, and our Facebook page, we also do our dead level best to report the truth. And sometimes the truth is very tough. This was the case on Saturday.

*******

Now, let me explain to you how I will handle this situation as a person, taking off my media hat for a moment.

1) I choose to celebrate the on-field accomplishments of the Atlee Junior Softball All-Stars. They were clearly the best team at the World Series, and likely would have been bringing a championship trophy home today were it not for such poor judgment off the field. Their work on the field should be applauded.

2) I choose to use this as a teachable moment. I understand the perils of social media, and understand the platform I have in Hanover County that, perhaps, no other person has, on the very social media that is at the heart of this story. As we have spotlighted important issues over the past year from teenage depression and suicide (which is on the rise) to equality in athletic opportunity in this, the 45th anniversary year of Title IX legislation, we will also spotlight how to use social media in today's rapidly-changing world.

3) After talking long and hard with friends and family privately Saturday night, I spent hours trying to place myself as the parent of a player involved in the photograph. I've decided that there was no punishment I could give my child in this situation that could be any more effective or long-lasting than the one they've already received. 

When they turn on the TV or their smartphone to watch the World Series in October, or next year's College Softball World Series, they'll remember. When they step on the field in high school, they'll remember. I don't need to go further to prove my point.

The members of this team will have to deal with this forever. So I choose to support these young ladies, pray that they have and will continue to learn from this error so that they can turn it, both personally and in other ways, into a positive so that weeks, months, or years from now, they can help others in the position where they were Friday not make the same mistake. I'm praying this incident makes them stronger.

I'm very, very ready, as a person, to begin helping the process of letting these young ladies put this ordeal behind them, letting them grow from it, and letting them move on to the next adventures of their lives.

I'll support them. Fully

Did they let us down with a terrible lapse of judgment? Yes.

Will we suffer like they are because a trophy didn't come home to Atlee Little League? Absolutely not

They need us to move forward as a county, so they can, too. 

So let's get started.

Rob Witham
RVA Sports Network (@hanoversports)

******

NOTE: Have comments? They can be left here (and are monitored) or you can contact Rob directly at hcsmediallc@gmail.com.  

Saturday, August 05, 2017

WORLD SERIES: Atlee Disqualified

An inappropriate social media post has caused the disqualification of the Atlee Junior Softball All-Stars from today's World Series Championship Game in Kirkland, Washington.

Click HERE for the latest on the story from RVA Sports Network.

Friday, August 04, 2017

WORLD SERIES: Atlee Junior All-Stars Reach Championship Game

Atlee has owned the sixth inning this postseason, but things weren't going their way in the bottom of the sixth on Friday evening.

They found themselves in a gritty 1-0 battle with host Kirkland, Washington, a team they defeated in pool play by fourteen runs, and suddenly, a pair of errors gave Kirkland the chance to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth, turning the script on Atlee. But the hometown heroes found a way to get out of that inning, then pulled off the biggest double play in Hanover County since the Atlee Raiders pulled a 6-4-3 double play to win the 2016 VHSL Group 5A State High School Championship, as Kirkland left the field having the winning run on base, but not able to get the tying run to cross the plate.

The 1-0 win, as Leslie Currie strikes out five, puts Atlee in the Little League Junior Softball World Series Championship Saturday afternoon in Washington State where they will face the Central Region champions of Poland, Ohio, who handed the East Region champions from Warwick, Rhode Island their first and only loss 6-1 in the other semifinal, for the title at 3pm Eastern Time. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. Atlee defeated Ohio in pool play, but as the semifinal game showed, past results mean nothing when everything is on the line.

Congratulations to the Atlee Junior Softball All-Stars, one win away!