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High school basketball fans will have a full selection of games to go to this weekend while supporting a noble cause at the 11th annual Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout this Friday and Saturday at Rockbridge County High School.
All four local high school teams will participate in the event, which is presented by ALCOVA Mortgage and Rock Hardwoods, with many other sponsors contributing, and is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The event consists of 12 games, one more than last year, showcasing some of the best basketball players in the Mid-Atlantic Region. In the first 10 years, Rock the Ribbon raised more than $100,000 for the ACS. The founder and director of the event is Senior Investigator Travis Patterson of the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office.
Day passes for Rock the Ribbon are $10 and can be purchased at the gate, with children 10 and under getting in free.
Spectators can come and go as they please. T-shirts and concessions will be sold, with barbecue from the local Sunrise BBQ, along with pizza available.
There will be four games on Friday and eight games on Saturday.
Starting the action during the school day on Friday at 1 p.m. will be the Rockbridge County girls and Roanoke Catholic girls.
The next Friday game will be between the Rockbridge County boys and Stuart Hall. At 7 p.m., the prestigious Oak Hill Academy boys of Mouth of Wilson, Va., coming in at No. 23 in the ESPN poll will face Mt. Zion Preparatory Academy of Lanham, Md., ranked No. 15 in the ESPN poll. Friday’s action will conclude with an 8:30 p.m. showdown between Huntington Prep School of Huntington, W.Va. and Blue Ridge School of St. George, Va. Among the highly touted recruits at Rock the Ribbon is Huntington Prep’s Kameron Mercer, the top-ranked prospect from the Class of 2028.
Saturday’s action will start with two games featuring the Parry McCluer teams. The PM boys will face Gretna at 10 a.m., and the PM girls will take on Gretna at 11:30 a.m.
On Saturday afternoon, the Spotswood girls, ranked second among Class 3 teams in the Basketball Coaches Association of Virginia (BCAV) poll last week, will face Floyd County at 1 p.m. The next game will be between the Spotswood boys, ranked sixth in the BCAV poll, and Jefferson Forest at 2:30 p.m. At 4 p.m., Alleghany boys will face Loudoun Valley. The next matchup will be at 5:30 p.m. between the Mt. Zion Prep boys and Huntington Prep. At 7 p.m., the Oak Hill Academy boys will face Blue Ridge. The event will conclude with an 8:30 p.m. showdown between the Fort Defiance boys and Roanoke Catholic.
For updates on the event, visit www.facebook.com/Rockthe-RibbonRoundballShootout, and see next week’s newspaper for the full stories and photos.
Friday, Jan. 24
1 p.m. – Rockbridge County vs. Roanoke Catholic (Girls) 5:30 p.m. – Rockbridge County vs. Stuart Hall (Boys) 7 p.m. – Oak Hill Academy vs. Mt. Zion Prep (Md.) (B) 8:30 p.m. – Huntington Prep (W.Va.) vs. Blue Ridge (B)
Saturday, Jan. 25
10 a.m. – Parry McCluer vs. Gretna (B) 11:30 a.m. – Parry McCluer vs. Gretna (G) 1 p.m. – Floyd County vs. Spotswood (G) 2:30 p.m. – Jefferson Forest vs. Spotswood (B) 4 p.m. – Loudoun Valley vs. Alleghany (B) 5:30 p.m. – Mt. Zion Prep (Md.) vs. Huntington Prep (W.Va.) (B) 7 p.m. – Oak Hill Academy vs. Blue Ridge (B) 8:30 p.m. – Fort Defiance vs. Roanoke Catholic (B)
