Football

The Varsity football team had a strong start to their season last week playing in scrimmages against Waynesboro and Harrisonburg.   They showed off some good offensive plays and came away feeling confident in their defense, finishing with a pre-season record of 1-1 against the two teams, as they defeated Harrisonburg 21-7 and lost to Waynesboro 28-0.

“The team is way ahead of where I thought they would be.  I’m impressed to see how the kids have responded to our challenges and I hope it continues,” said Head Coach Jason Barnett.

The Flucos face some tough competition this year, including power house team Monticello, but that hasn’t stopped them from setting goals for the season.  “My team goals are for us to improve and do better than last season.  As a team, we should live up to the potential that we know we have,” said Varsity quarterback Gavin Patrick.

There have been some coaching staff changes within the football program this year which will hopefully benefit the team.  Coach Norman Gee, formerly of FUMA, is the new Offensive Coordinator.  “It definitely helps tremendously and it’s a very good change to the coaching staff,” said Patrick.  “He is always at practice trying to help us get better; he’s very dedicated, has a good mind set and is a hard worker,” he said.  Patrick added that his personal goal this season is to “work as hard as I can, be a vocal leader, and show the team all the right ways to do things.”

The Flucos are hoping to exceed expectations.  “I expect a big improvement from last season.  The things we have asked our team to do in practice and in the off season will better our Friday nights,” said Barnett. To kick off their regular season, on Aug. 29, the Flucos will travel to Roanoke to take on the William Fleming High School Colonels.

Golf

Unlike most fall sports which don’t start regular competition until late August, the golf team’s season is well underway.  On Aug. 6 they went to Harrisonburg to play at Spotswood’s Lake View Course.  The top four scorers were Jack Stanke, who shot an 89, Christian Baber, who shot a 91, and Nick Yancey, who shot a 103, and Kaitlyn Presley, who shot a 110. Although they didn’t win, coming in 12^th out of 16 teams, the Flucos shot well enough to encourage Coaches Bryan Search and Stephen Szarmach.

“We’ve had some good scores and some scores that I know some players and coaches want to see improvement on.  That’s what we are trying to work on and keep focus on each day,” said Searcy.  “My expectations are that we have a really good chance of going to Regionals as a team,” he added.

The Flucos’ second match of the season was on Aug. 11 in Albemarle at Birdwood, where they came in 7^th out of 8^th teams.  Yancey shot an 87, Stanke shot a 95, Baber shot a 104, and Presley shot a 107.

Like Searcy, sophomore Jack Stanke has high hopes for the year. “Putting the work in and keeping focus in practice should put us where we want to be at the end of the season.  Each of us has a certain thing that we need to work on individually,” he said.

The Flucos will host their first match at Lake Monticello against Orange County on Aug. 28.

Cross Country

Sweat drips in the woods of Pleasant Grove on a hot afternoon under the mid-August sun as some of the most athletic students from FCHS tread through damp trails. Stroll through those woods at any given week day after 3:45 pm and you’re likely to come across a long line of runners urging each other to go faster, to push themselves beyond their comfort zones and reach for “distant” goals.

Junior runner and long-time cross county athlete Bridget Bossong is encouraged about the season. “[As a unit] we look stronger than the previous years I have been a part of this program. We have more competition for the top seven,” said Bossong. An elite group of the best seven runners from each squad (boys and girls), the “top seven” are those runners who compete at conference, Regionals, and States. Bossong hopes to see her own name on the top seven list. “Kudos to [Coach] Brogan,” she said, adding that “the workouts this year have me in better shape now than I was in mid-season last year. By the end of this year I will be blowing my last years’ time out of the water.”

As a team, both the girls’ squad, and they boys’ squad (under the direction of long-time coach Tom Casto) seem excited for this year’s potential. “The sky isn’t the limit for us because we have already surpassed it,” said Bossong. The team’s first race will be an away event at Madison County on August 27.

Volleyball

With an experienced team, the Lady Flucos’ volleyball program is determined to take off right where they left off last year. And with the direction of Coach Christi Harlowe, and leadership from senior co-captains Leslie Walters and Maddie Kline, there seems little to slow the program down. Last year, they lost late in the regional playoffs to Loudon. Rather than wallowing in self-pity, the ladies have used the loss as a motivating factor so that every girl on the team understands what they are up against and the job that needs to be done.

Walters appears to have set out on a mission to be the best leader she can, as well as one whom underclassmen can approach for advice. At the same time, she is very critical of her girls and holds everyone, especially herself, to extremely high standards. Every practice, she says, has high intensity and the mindset of blowing arch-rival Loudon “out of the water,” surpassing last year’s limits, and ultimately accumulating a championship ring by the end of the year.

“This is my class’ ‘do or die’ year,” said Walters, reflecting on the fact that for many players, it is their senior year. “It is now or never for that championship, and we all realize that. It’s our mindset with whatever we do and we believe and know in our hearts it is what needs to be done,” she said. The girls’ first game will be home against the Waynesboro Little Giants on Sept. 4.