This past Wednesday, November 3, Rockbridge County High School junior varsity football team crushed Turner Ashby in Bridgewater with a score of 37-8. This win concludes the JV wildcat’s season and leaves them with the title of champions in their respective district. 

Ninth graders wide receiver, Clayton Irvine, and quarterback Jayden Layman said that they had a lot of fun with their team this year and are sad that the 2021 season is over. 

“This season was rough at the start but it was fine. After quarantine it feels like everything just kind of turned around for our team,” said Irvine.

 “To celebrate making districts this year we smashed the hammer in the middle of Turner Ashby’s field,” said Layman. 

In further news, Senior Night took place last friday, November 5, at RCHS when the football varsity team played against Turner Ashby. While they were able to celebrate their seniors, Rockbridge County High School was unable to celebrate a win. With spirits high they closed the game with a score of 31-0, wrapping up their last home game. 

Senior, linebacker and offensive lineman Austin Higgins talked about senior night and how he felt this season has been for the team.  

“It sucked that we lost our game, especially with it being senior night but you can’t play football forever. I would have liked to win senior night and end up with a win but we still have a chance for playoffs. We did our best but we came short with injuries and ended with five to five. I can’t complain with five to five,” said Higgins. 

Likewise, Junior defensive back and wide receiver Garrett Stillwell, has similar feelings about the last game. 

“It was a rough game but sometimes you can’t help but get the short end of the stick. It was a bad way for the seniors to go out but they definitely set the example for what we should try to strive for,” said Stillwell.  

Stillwell goes on to explain how he thought the team did this year despite the obstacles that presented themselves. 

“Overall, I think we’ve done really well. Considering three games in eight days and all of the injuries we had, we did really well. When you weigh in all of the factors I feel like we had a really good season,” said Stillwell. 

Freshman, defensive backer, and quarterback Elijah Fox had talked about what a difference the seniors made on the varsity team this season and how they should be proud of their accomplishments. 

“The seniors have had a great run since they’ve been at Rockbridge and really helped turn the whole football organization we have here around. They’ve been great mentors and have really helped me and gave me guidance since I’ve been here,” said Fox. 

Fox continues to explain how unfortunate the last home game was considering it had been senior night. 

“It sucks that we didn’t win our senior night game but our seniors have had 5 straight playoff appearances and an undefeated season last year and that’s really something to be proud of.”

Overall, the RCHS Wildcats had a great week. While we are proud to celebrate our seniors moving forward and all they have accomplished throughout their football careers, we also congratulate our JV team on taking District Champions.