The forecast in Rappahannock for Friday evening was calling for rain, but in West Virginia, the weather was far from overcast. The good weather, though, didn't help the Rappahannock County High School varsity football team's game against East Hardy High School.

This was the team's first game outside the Bull Run District and they were in unfamiliar territory.

East Hardy's Cougars – in yellow and green – came out ready to play. The Cougars scored first, late in the first quarter, but the Panthers responded quickly with a touchdown by No. 5 Matt Fletcher.

The defense made a fine effort – led by No. 57 Matt Adams with several tackles – but East Hardy managed to push past the Panther defense and score.

There seemed to be some hope for the Panthers after No. 24 Josh Frye scored. After a time out by the Panthers, No. 14 Chris Cooper scored Rappahannock's last touchdown of the game, dragging two lanky East Hardy players with him into the end zone.

In the end, however, the score favored East Hardy 39-18. Asked how this game might affect his strategy Coach Bob Czekaj stated, "My strategy hasn't changed at all...we just need to execute better."

After the game, the players didn't seem too discouraged and knew what they had to do to improve for the next game.