It was another successful football season at Andrew Lewis Middle School as the eight grade team finished a perfect 11-0 and the seventh graders also had a winning record at 6-2-1.
The eighth grade team defeated William Byrd, William Fleming, Hidden Valley, Read Mountain, Christiansburg, Clifton Forge, Pulaski County, Cave Spring, Northside, Blacksburg and Patrick Henry.  The team had 34 football players with 29 players returning from the 2016 7th grade team.
The team played very few close games in the course of the season, scoring 348 points, which averages out to 32 points per game. The team scored 56 points against Read Mountain and 42 in the Clifton Forge game.
The defense averaged giving up five points per game. Special teams were an important part of the team’s success as seven kickoffs were recovered and several kickoffs- punts were returned for touchdowns.
The highlight of the season was the 56-14 victory over Read Mountain and the 20-6 win over Blacksburg Middle School, as both teams finished the season with only the loss to Andrew Lewis Middle.
The annual tradition of attending a college football game continued with the team attending the Virginia Military-Samford game in October where former Andrew Lewis Middle and Salem players Austin Coulling, Cody Peregoy, Tyler Fedison, Isaiah Parker, Alex Ramsey and Blake Moushegian visited with the team.
“The experience and the number of young men in the Andrew Lewis Middle School program will benefit the J.V. and varsity programs in the years ahead,” said coach Brian Hooker.
The team was coached by Hooker, Anton Jones, and Jason Staples.
The seventh graders notched wins over William Byrd, Patrick Henry, Franklin County, North Cross, Craig County, and William Fleming. The team tied Read Mountain and lost to Glenvar and Patrick Henry.
The team had 30 players with the highlight of the season being the victory over Patrick Henry after losing to them in their first meeting. Team members improved each week and their improvement will benefit the 8th grade team next year.
The team was coached by Squeaky Valentine, Hal Johnston, and Josh Kestner.