LOW MOOR, Va. – Alleghany High School was in its final football season before merging with Covington High and becoming the Alleghany Cougars.
You could say they saved one of their best for last.
Garrett Via is a three-sport star for the Mountaineers, and he certainly left his mark on the football field in a big way this fall. The Alleghany back had already set the school record for yards in a game and followed it up with a 262-yard -5 touchdown performance against Staunton River in Week 5. His combination of speed and power served the Mountaineers well in Alleghany’s final go-round as the ‘Mountaineers. The 1st and 10 ‘Trophy Tour’ traveled to the home of the Mountaineers and yours truly (John Appicello) did the honors--handing over the hardware. Via will graduate as the Alleghany single-season rushing leader, and touchdown scorer. It is an example the younger players can certainly follow.
“That’s why I was trying to be a leader the whole entire way through the season and just letting people know that we can win pretty much any game we play as long as we play hard. So in the weight room, we would push each other to try and get better every single time we could. Especially in the summer it was really good – we would push each other. So I really think that changed our season pretty much over the summer,” Via explained.
”His skill set is phenomenal. He was a great leader and he’s self-motivated. When that happens - like I say - it makes my job a whole lot easier,” Alleghany running back’s coach Danny Christian said.
Via competes in basketball and baseball as well. We’ll keep you posted on this guy’s future. His best sport might just be baseball!