OUR VIEW: Blue Devils golf team is fall sports’ success story

» Culpeper County High School is off to a fantastic start on the links; meanwhile, an “ironman” has emerged for Eastern View football.

A polite golf clap might be proper etiquette when it comes to congratulating those who swing the sticks for Culpeper County High School. But considering the recent athletic struggles at CCHS, a Happy Gilmore-style celebration might be more appropriate.

Halfway through the golf season, Culpeper is 5-1. The Devils won their first five matches before dropping a close one to King George, the defending Battlefield District champion.

New CCHS coach E.J. Oullette took over a program that was loaded with young players. In fact, it’s been a freshman, Charlie Peavley, who has led the Devils in most matches, hopefully signalling continued success for years to come.

Just about all the athletic programs at CCHS are improving this year, but the great strides by the golf team offer the community a particular reminder that the Blue Devils are getting better.

After a rough 2008, this school needed an athletic success story — and the golf team has nicely risen to the occasion.

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Across town at Eastern View, junior wide receiver/cornerback Drayton Shanks picked up an impressive accolade in just the second week of his high school football career: Shanks was a finalist for Virginia’s Army Iron Man Player of the Week award, given to the state’s best two-way high school player.

Shanks didn’t win — that honor went to Isle of Wright’s Heath Price — but he was the first player from a Culpeper school to become a finalist for the award. We imagine there are more football awards ahead for Shanks, who intercepted a pass and had five catches for 156 yards and a touchdown against Louisa.

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Speaking of high school football, we should note that area teams are attracting the attention of Charlottesville radio station, ESPN 840. Friday night, the radio station offered live play-by-play on the Internet of both the Culpeper-Orange game and the Madison-William Monroe contest. You can also listen to a rebroadcast Sunday at 9 a.m.