Fort Chiswell – When playing basketball at the Junior Varsity level a team is prone to have nights 🌙 where the opponent is further along then they are and other nights were the match-up is in your favor. Carroll County traveled up US-52 and ran into a buzz saw in the Fort Chiswell Pioneers. FCHS moved to a perfect 4-0 on the season and have yet to be challenged by anyone to date.
Trailing 11-0 after one quarter and 25-6 at the break, Head Coach Jason Stockner took his squad into the lockeroom and focused on coming out strong in the second half.
Trailing by 19 points on the road to start the third quarter a team can easily give up on the game as a lost cause or they can play to win the second half. Carroll County continued to run their offense and tightened up their defense against a quicker opponent and their hard work paid off immediately. The Cavaliers started out the third quarter with a 10-6 spurt to trim the lead to 15 and eventually played their host to a 20-20 draw over the second half of the contest.
Playing on the road against an undefeated team minus one of your starters (Hayden Jackson recovering from injury) you look for games within the games to build for the future. Trace Reavis led the scoring for the Cavaliers with eight points and Dane Leonard chipped in seven as the team tried to dig out of an early 18-1 deficit.
Colton Gravely added 5 points while Blake Reed, Landon Kinder and Jayden Jones each finished with 2 points to round out the scoring for Carroll County.
The team will get one night off before traveling to Pulaski County for the back half of the home 🏡 and home 🏡 with the Cougars. The two teams played on the Hill earlier this season with the Cougars winning 46-25.
The fact that the younger Cavaliers played with their heads up after none of their early shots would fall is a very promising sign for the growth of the team!
A tip of the cap to the two fine men leading our youth !
Assistant Coach Ryan Largen and Head Coach Jason Stockner ahead of the contest.
The internet inside the Gymnasium is hit and miss right now so the bulk of the photos 📷 might have to wait until later in the night 🌙.
Early on the Cavs are getting some good looks but the ball is refusing to drop. End of the first 6:00 has the Pioneers leading 11-0. The Pioneers are 3-0 on the season and play well as a unit.
We have reached the break with the score in favor of the home team, 25-6.
Our Cavaliers continue to put forth the effort on both ends of the floor but they’re facing a relentless defensive effort. We have two more 6 minute quarters to try and get closer.
6:37 – Second Half underway
Cavs score the first four points to cut the lead to 15. Make it the first 6 and Fort calls a TO at 4:29 (3).
Cavs leading the quarter 10-6 with 1:30 remaining
End of 3rd – 38/17 Fort
Fort pulls their starters at 4:00 mark and Coach Stockner continues to rotate his full roster.
3:19 – CCHS TO, 43-21
7:04 – Final Score, 45 -26….
Stay tuned for the Varsity !
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Cavaliers jump out to a 15-4 lead in the first four minutes! Right after this young Lady 👩 crushed our National Anthem
Cavs defense turns into instant offense for the first 8:00. CCHS leads 24-8
44-11 2:15 TO (2)
We have reached the Half, 56-15. We played nine in the first half and nine have scored!
64-18 TO @ 5:47, 8-3 start for Cavs
We are now playing with a running clock ⏰, score after third quarter is 70-30.
All 12 Cavaliers have seen the floor and 10 have scored….
Your Final score at 8:32pm is 81-40. The teams played the second half 25-25 with the clock ⏰ running 🏃♂️ non-stop.
The screen shot above comes from the media outlet known as NewsBreak and it concludes the cycle on a game that would have gone unreported on if not for a trek made on a less than desirable afternoon.
I understand that my desire to treat every Junior Varsity Cavalier Student Athlete the same as their Varsity counterparts is a minority thought. But equality is the goal for us here so yes you head out in plenty of time to both watch and report on the JV Girls 👧 contest.
That story will be available on this site for the next 20 years but it won’t see the light of day otherwise. The Parents of the younger Cavaliers drive 🚗 same amount of miles, pay the same admission and eat the same Concession Stand food as the Varsity parents do. Most people believe equality is about Race or Status where I believe equality goes across the board.
That’s the reason I try and announce the JV Softball games and the JV Volleyball games with the same level of energy and try to provide them the same level of coverage as the older ones. They are our future, right ?
Back to Honaker and the Girls Varsity game a few nights ago. Anyone who has seen 👀 the Book that Kris Richardson and I created on the program already knows just how historic I feel this current run is. This season has a great chance to add to the lore that already exists.
I was sitting in the office 🏢 of the Carroll News leading up to the moment it was time to either get in the car 🚗 and drive the loop or just head back home 🏡. Going on that trip allowed me to type out a story on a great game that then jumped from site to site before finishing up on the NewsBreak page.
Coach Marc Motley and Senior Alyssa Ervin both operate at a different level then most people doing what they do and what they need is for the rest of the team to believe in themselves in the same manner that those two believe. Each game that the team plays gives them a bit more confidence. I believe in these young Ladies and my hope is that if someone gets the chance to read about just how much they are progressing they can appreciate their efforts as well as others can do the same and in return offer encouragement to them.
Katie Lam, Sarah Alderman and Madison Lyons already know how to play the game but this year they also have to mentor the younger ones.
The group that came up to join them is a group that I know well after watching them play together 17 times last year. Kacie Young, Corrie Delp, Laiken Burnett and Callie Harris are all going to be part of the regular rotation and will all be needed to come through in clutch moments during the season. Young had her first moment at Honaker when she blocked 🚫 the shot that would have given the Tigers 🐅 the lead in the closing seconds.
In my mind the Two Time Defending State Champions shouldn’t play a game all season that goes uncovered but what do I know – I feel the same way about the Boy’s JV Basketball team. Everyone that gives of themselves to put on a jersey / uniform for the Cavaliers deserves to be acknowledged.
Savannah Swecker, Bailey Allen, Amie Delp and Madison Coleman are also members of the Varsity team and will continue to work hard to grow in Coach Motley’s system so when the their number is called they will be ready to go.
Here’s hoping that Corrie Delp 🙏 is healing up nicely and can return to the lineup soon. The same goes for her Big Sister, Amie.
Circling back to the purpose of this post we have two things. First being that here if nowhere else other than to their families and friends, the JV seasons are relevant.
Second – I think everyone out there playing for one of our School teams should be treated with the same level of respect as Ervin in Basketball 🏀, Davis Reitzel and Ethan Richardson in all of there three sports, Emma Leath in Softball, Jabin Talley in 🎾 and Corrie Delp in everything she touches. The list could include other names but I think it makes the point.
Our community is full of talented Student Athletes and no one knows when the last game will be played. A select few get the chance to play at the professional level with a few more getting to lace them up at the College level. For most though it ends with the final Varsity game in High School 🏫 and for others it doesn’t go past Junior Varsity. It’s okay to acknowledge the efforts of All that choose to compete for our Community !!
A.S.P.N on The Hill 