DALEVILLE, Va. – The WSLS 1st and 10 High School Camp Tour kicks off with a stop in the Blue Ridge District. The district drops from seven to five teams after losing Rockbridge County to the Valley District and Alleghany to the Three Rivers District. The Lord Botetourt Cavaliers are one of the five remaining teams in Blue Ridge. They are coming off an 8-3 season. 2016 saw the Cavs win their first eight and then drop three in a row, including a first-round playoff loss to the eventual state 3A champ Blacksburg.
The Cavs are now two seasons removed from their Virginia High School League 3A state runner-up finish in 2015.
Coach Jamie Harless has the numbers, and the Cavaliers have had the offseason commitment to keep Lord Botetourt in the contender category come playoff time. They have a pair players with multiple Division I offers in Noah Overstreet and Jesse Hanson, but for now it is about doing the work in Daleville.
"We are solid everywhere and I say that when we are going into a game I don't think we're gonna walk into a game and feel like we don't have a chance to win every game. I'm not broadcasting that we're going 10 and 0 but I believe we've got a good crew of kids that we can compete with anybody on our schedule. The turnout and weight room numbers now is right at 90 -- kids, JV and varsity -- which is a tremendous amount of kids playing football and a lot of programs don't have even 50, " says coach Harless.
The Cavaliers open with Class 5A Harrisonburg before heading to meet defending state 3A champion Blacksburg on Sept. 1.