Weekly Watch: Oct. 2 Paper

North Stafford at Brooke Point
Friday 10/2 at 7:30
As North Stafford’s dream season still has a perfect record, their latest game couldn’t have gone much better. The Wolverines scored four first-half touchdowns en route to a 50-0 win against Albemarle. Five different North Stafford players found the end zone on the ground, with the top rusher being Torry Hart. The junior tailback recorded his third straight 100-yard game Friday, going for 134 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll go for four in a row, while the team aims for five victories in a row, when the Wolverines face Brooke Point. The two-time defending Commonwealth District champs certainly won’t give up their long-worn crown very easily. The Black-Hawks bounced back from a rough 20-0 loss to Loudoun Valley with a strong offense against Mountain View. They got 388 passing yards and four touchdowns from senior quarterback Gary Pisall in a 37-15 triumph.

Mountain View at Riverbend
Friday 10/2 at 7:30
Other than North Stafford, the lone unbeaten in the Commonwealth District is Riverbend. In its league opener, the Bears ran past the Stafford Indians to the tune of 332 yards on their way to a 41-22 win. Both Mitch Ratcliff and Jesse McNeal eclipsed the century mark. After opening the game with two consecutive three-and-out possessions, the Riverbend offense clicked. In the second period, they rattled off 20 points. Mountain View had difficulty stopping Brooke Point’s passing game last weekend. The Wildcats, though, managed some solid offensive contributions of their own. Quarterback Jordan King threw and 80-yard scoring pass to Aaron Williams, giving them an early 6-3 advantage on the Black-Hawks. But after that, they couldn’t manage much. A much more pressing concern is the injury to running back Shane Black, who left Friday’s game in the first quarter and never returned.

Virginia at North Carolina
Saturday 10/3 at Noon
Will Atlantic Coast Conference play prove to be better off for Virginia than non-conference play was? The Cavs opened with an unacceptable loss to lowly William & Mary, then got blitzed by No. 16 Texas Christian and most recently blew a lead and a win at Southern Miss. One positive was the play of quarterback Jameel Sewell. The senior signal caller threw a pair of touchdowns and was 24-of-46 for 312 yards against the Golden Eagles. It wasn’t amazing, but it was good. But he’ll need to be better than good if the Cavaliers want to get by a North Carolina team that was ranked before falling to a quality Georgia Tech team. The Tar Heels have allowed 14.3 points per game and are set to open a three-game homestand.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Redskins
Sunday 10/4 at 1:00
The Redskins have so many questions surrounding them right now that it’s virtually impossible to find a starting point. They reached ultimate embarrassment with their 19-14 loss to the Detroit Lions, a team that hadn’t won a regular season game since December of 2007 — 19 straight games. Now, head coach Jim Zorn’s status as head coach is shaky to say the least. The running game, even with Clinton Portis, is non-existent. The defensive line looks old and unable to get pressure on the quarterback. At first, it looked as if Washington would have a soft open to its 2009 schedule. Now, no game seems winnable or a certain victory. Even next weekend at home against Tampa Bay. The Bucs are 0-3 and struggled mightily with losses to Dallas, Buffalo and the New York Giants.

— Brian Wright