Jefferson Forest’s football team rides a five-game winning streak into Friday night’s Division 4, Region III championship at Amherst.

With tryouts just a couple days behind them and the first game in less than a week, the Lancer girls basketball team is in a rush to get used to playing together.

The question hung over the field during the first half like the ominous fog that bore down on the players and blurred the sidelines: Could Amherst come from behind? Twice?

Amherst faces a familiar foe in Jefferson Forest for the Division 4, Region III championship game Nov. 21 at Lancer Stadium.

A tranquil starry sky belied a bitter wind as the first bobbing headlamps signaled runners crossing the James River into Amherst County.

The Lancers finished the regular season with 9-1 record. The only loss was 24-21 to Brookville in the first game of the season on Aug. 22. Since then, Amherst has outscored teams 371-72, which is a testament to full team execution.

For an offense that’s often pounding out a few yards at a time, the Lancers busted plenty of timely scoring plays in their 38-20 victory over Heritage at City Stadium Friday night.

The Monelison Trojans showed scoring power Oct. 30, scoring on every offensive possession in a 38-6 win against cross-county rivals, the Amherst Middle School Cougars.

The crowd at mud bog races is in for a surprise when Derek Wright wins a race and emerges from the ’78 Chevy pickup with 33-inch tires.

The Lancer boys cross country team didn’t have any breakout performances, but together than ran a solid race, taking fourth place in the Seminole meet behind Jefferson Forest, Heritage and Brookville on Oct. 22.

A powerful Bridgewater team swept the Vixens in three games (25-16, 25-16, 25-12) on Oct. 18. Sweet Briar (1-7 in the ODAC) was without its starting setter, Brooke Moody, who was recovering from an illness. Her absence forced the team to learn a new rotation in one practice.

Senior Sean Clark (217 pounds, 6-foot-4) leads the offensive line as the starting center for the Lancers. Amherst (7-1, 3-1 Seminole) hosts Staunton River on Oct. 24 for a 7 p.m. senior-night game.

The Lancers fell to Liberty (7-11, 4-6) in three games at home on Oct. 9. Amherst could get on a roll if there was more talking on the floor, said senior hitter Lauren Taylor.

Seniors golfers Tyler Hunt and Colton King finished in the top half of the field but out of medal contention in the Group AA State Tournament at Old Trail Golf Course in Crozet on Tuesday.

The Lancer boys get one more race to see what they’re capable of before the Seminole District Meet on Oct. 22. Amherst travels to Jefferson Forest’s Wolf Branch Farm, the site of districts, on Oct. 15 for a final regular season meet.

When senior Jacqui Wendland said, “There’s constant struggle for places on our team,” she meant it was a plus. With just eight runners, the kind of competition that improves everyone could be hard to find.

Jonathan Fitzgerald took second place to lead Amherst in a 28-31 win against Brookville on Oct. 1. Staunton River was third with 76.

Amherst jumped on the Red Devils in the opening minutes, scoring on their first possession when big gains by Jamar Glover and A.J. Parrish led to quarterback Anthony Rose running in a 7-yard touchdown en route to a 41-8 district win on Oct. 3.

As Courtney Madison’s spike ricocheted off a diving Heritage defender for game three’s winning point, she turned to her teammates with a resounding, “Finally.”

Coaches expect quarterbacks Anthony Rose and Kirby Anderson to produce big scoring plays. The Lancer running backs get their share, too, and the offense has averaged 300 yards a game.

Amherst trailed Jefferson Forest by 11 strokes on the season going into the Seminole District Tournament but couldn’t make up that difference on home turf, failing to qualify as a team for regionals in competition at Winton Golf Course on Sept. 22.

Seven women set off down a gravel road, winding up through the tree line under a cloudy sky just after dawn the morning of Sept. 11.

When starting quarterback Anthony Rose was sidelined by an ankle injury at G.W. on Sept. 12, it was clear the Lancers needed two quality quarterbacks.

Defensive end Timmy Johnson was so focused on George Washington threat David Wilson that the black stickers beneath his eyes read “David” and “20.”

One week after a turnover-riddled season-opening 24-21 setback to Brookville, which ended its 26-game winning streak, two-time defending Group AA, Division 4 state champion Amherst’s football team regrouped with a 42-6 victory at Charlottesville on Aug. 29.

The boys and girls cross country teams came away from their first meet with wins over Rustburg and Liberty at home on Sept. 3.

Starting junior Renesha Chiles often single-handedly changes the momentum of the game with her powerful spikes and stuff blocks. After scoring a point, the 5-foot-10 middle blocker sets her chin and broad shoulders firm, as if to challenge her opponents.

Amherst may have lost its match 3-1 to Nelson, but coach Dennis Gilbar said the close games bodes well for the Lancers. Nelson, a Group A school, plays at a caliber comparable to the Seminole District, he said.

Amherst bounced back from its opening loss to Brookville with a 42-6 win over Charlottesville on Aug. 29.