Liberty opens playoffs at Botetourt

The Minutemen get another shot at the Cavs. This time, Liberty won?t be facing their arch-rivals from the East. Instead, these Cavaliers are situated to the west.

Liberty opens its second season, hitting the road for an opening-round playoff game with Lord Botetourt.

Liberty is the number 5 seed in Region III, Division 3, while Botetourt is the number 4 seed. Botetourt (4-6) got the higher seed than Liberty (5-5) due to the VHSL points system, despite a worse record.

The Cavaliers were in danger of not making the playoffs, but they earned their way in by nabbing a win over Blue Ridge District rival Northside in the final game of the season.

The Cavaliers are on a mini-roll, having won their last two games, including a win over suddenly-cold Alleghany, the number six seed in the Region.

There is some mitigation to Lord Botetourt?s unimpressive record: the Cavaliers played a non-District slate that included Salem, Hidden Valley and Blacksburg.

The Cavaliers came into the season with moderate expectations, as this year looked to be a rebuilding one. However, the Cav defense has been the principal driver in its success.

Last year, Lord Botetourt squeezed into the playoffs with a 5-5 record, edging the 5-5 Minutemen out of the picture.

Game time is 7:30 p.m. this Friday night at Botetourt.

The winner of this game wins the right to travel to Brookville to play the top-seeded Bees.

It will be incumbent on the Minutemen not to overlook the Cavaliers, thinking instead of ways to rectify the debacle of their last meeting with Brookville.