Virginia
Virginia Football: Players to Watch in UVA’s Road Matchup Against Wake Forest
After a solid performance against Richmond, Virginia football drives down to Winston-Salem to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Here are our players to watch as the Cavaliers look to go 2-0:
#10 Anthony Colandrea – Quarterback, Virginia
In his first game of the season Colandrea played a near perfect game against Richmond throwing for 297 yards and two touchdowns with a 73.9 completion percentage in a game that was easily won. Against Wake Forest, Colandrea is going to need to be even sharper as the Wake defense will be a big step up in competition. The Demon Deacons return only five members of their secondary so it will be important for the Cavaliers to take advantage of that unit still discovering their chemistry. Watch to see if Colandrea throws the ball down the middle more as that was something the Cavaliers did not do much last week.
#15 Chico Bennett Jr. – DE, Virginia
The defensive line struggled last week against Richmond, only recording one sack. We’ve said it a bunch on this website that in 2022, Chico Bennett Jr. had seven sacks, which was momentous for the Virginia defense. The Wake Forest offensive line ranked 8th in the FBS last year and if the Cavaliers are going to win, Bennett Jr. and the other UVA pass rushers needs to disrupt the flow of the slow mesh offense.
#8 Malachi Fields – WR, Virginia
The senior from Charlottesville put on a show last Saturday night with five catches for 100 yards to achieve his first-ever 100-yard game in the blue and orange. If Colandrea and this offense want to continue to have success, Fields will need to assert himself early in this game to allow the Cavaliers to keep pace with a talented Wake Forest offense.
#9 Hank Bachmeier – Quarterback, Wake Forest
Bachmeier leads the charge for the Demon Deacons after playing a year at Louisiana Tech and four years at Boise State, a true product of the transfer portal. In his debut against North Carolina A&T, he went 18/28 for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Bachmeier is a pocket passer with an impressive arm and quick release which will be a step up from facing Kyle Wickersham last week against Richmond. To add, Wake Forest had the fourth highest rated offensive line in the power five last year according to Pro Football Focus and with three starters returning to that group Bachmeier should have plenty of time in the pocket.
#1 Demond Claiborne – Running Back, Wake Forest
Claiborne is once again the starting tailback for Wake Forest after leading the team with a career-high 620 rushing yards and five touchdowns. In the season opener, Claiborne further solidified his talent in the backfield with 135 rushing yards, one touchdown and a 48-yard rush. Claiborne also serves as a kick returner for the Demon Deacons and recorded one touchdown last year against Virginia Tech.
#2 Taylor Morin – Wide Receiver, Wake Forest
Pairing the explosive running back in Claiborne, Morin is a speedy wide receiver who recorded 41 catches for 617 yards and two receiving touchdowns last season. In his first game in 2024, Morin recorded six catches for 100 yards in addition to a 73 yard punt return touchdown.
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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia has plenty of state symbols, be it the black bear as the state animal, the cardinal as the state bird or the rhododendron as the state flower, but did you know that the Mountain State also has its own official gun?
The Hall Flintlock Model 1819 was first manufactured in Harpers Ferry by John H. Hall in 1811 and was adopted by the United States Army in 1819, making it the first breech-loading rifle ever adopted by a country’s military.
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Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution -
Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution
All of this information is listed in Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, which was introduced and passed during the 2013 West Virginia Legislative session, and officially recognizes the Model 1819 as the official firearm of the State of West Virginia.
On top of being created in West Virginia, the resolution also points out that the rifle saw use during the Civil War, an event that directly led to West Virginia’s statehood.
While having an officially recognized state firearm may seem far-fetched, West Virginia is not the only state that has one. As a matter of fact, a fifth of the states in the country have officially designated a state firearm, including West Virginia’s neighbors in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this world of college football, with the transfer portal and recruiting battles, bad blood is present more than ever before between head coaches.
That’s not the case between the Virginia Tech head coach and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, however. In fact, Franklin revealed at ACC Kickoff on Thursday that the two are actually close friends, dating back to their time at the Nike trip that various coaches take over the summer.
“Dabo’s my guy,” Franklin said on Thursday. “We go way back. We’ve been on the Nike trip for a long time. His wife and my wife are friends.”
The long-time Penn State head coach is making the move to the ACC after being fired from the Nittany Lions in October. 12 seasons of being with the program had Franklin hold a 44-21 record against top 10 opponents, an impressive record for a new conference foe of Swinney’s.
But when that trip comes around, there’s a camaraderie between Swinney and Franklin and both of their wives. In fact, the two hang out with each other instead of the other coaches at times. It simply comes to an “edgy” time in college athletics that raises tempers.
“I’m going to be honest, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily like the type of people that love a lot of other coaches and a lot of other programs,” Franklin said. “It’s hard when you just compete year-round.”
On Swinney’s end, there are a few who could immediately come to mind among Clemson fans. Perhaps the most recent would be Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, who played the most significant role in the tampering of former linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
It’s a select list of coaches who make the good side of the Tigers’ head coach, and Franklin is certainly on that list. On the other hand, Hokies’ head coach has Swinney on his own shortlist.
“Obviously, tremendous respect for what he has built at Clemson and what he’s done at Clemson, and what he’s done for the ACC,” he said.
The two will see that close relationship face off at Memorial Stadium this upcoming season. Clemson will host the Hokies on Oct. 24 in what could be a potential title-eliminator for the ACC Championship.
Of course, the last game that we’ve seen the Tigers play in was against Franklin’s former team in Penn State at the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. That game ended in a 22-10 contest that saw a foundation of Franklin players end Clemson’s season in disappointment.
Swinney will see many of those players once again in October, including starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, in that contest. The anticipated Hokie starter recorded 260 yards and two passing touchdowns on the Tigers in the Bronx that day.
Although friends become foes, another ACC coach has given Swinney his flowers for what he’s been able to do for the conference. In the upcoming moments, Franklin will look to prepare his team to prove itself on one of the biggest stages in the ACC, while Swinney looks to put his team back at the top of a conference he’s dominated for over 15 years.
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Extreme drought conditions in parts of Virginia have prompted an emergency drought warning for a wide swath of the region, including Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Roanoke counties, along with the cities of Danville, Roanoke, Salem and Martinsville.
The governor has warned that if conditions worsen, she will activate mandatory nonessential water-use restrictions.
In Martinsville, city leaders have issued a voluntary water conservation notice and are urging residents and businesses to cut back where they can. The request comes as local businesses that rely heavily on water say the drought is already affecting day-to-day operations.
SEE ALSO: Botetourt County residents adjust daily routines as voluntary water restriction continues
John Hughes, owner of John’s Car Wash, said the dry conditions have hit his business hard in recent weeks. “For the last 3 weeks, it’s been hitting pretty hard. We done three yesterday and haven’t done anything today with the drought and hot weather. Yeah, I’m really concerned about it,” Hughes said.
Restaurants are also feeling the strain. David Kitzmiller, an owner of Be Wiched, said water is essential for routine tasks such as washing dishes and preparing some menu items.
“We use a lot of water for washing dishes and some of our recipes if they limit us in anyway defiently can’t produce and its a scary aspect,” Kitzmiller said.
Kitzmiller added that cutting back is not always realistic for businesses that must meet sanitation needs. “Not really feasible for a business that depends solely relies on water to wash their dishes, so that can’t definitely be an impact there,” he said.
City leaders emphasized that the conservation request is voluntary for now, but they are encouraging everyone to do their part by taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when it is not in use, washing only full loads of laundry, and limiting outdoor watering whenever possible.
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