Skyline Returns Home, Comes Back a Winner
By B.J. Koubaroulis
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, September 11, 2007; E08

Coach Heath Gilbert posted a 21-19 record in four seasons at Warren County before leaving to start the program at Skyline -- the new Front Royal high school that draws much of its enrollment from Warren County.

On Friday, before a crowd of about 6,000, Gilbert and 15 players who suited up for Warren County last season returned to their former field and rode 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior running back Nathaniel Jackson's 266-yard, four-touchdown performance to a 39-0 rout of their new rival.

"I didn't know what it was going to feel like," Gilbert said. "We were going into it as just another game, but as the week got going and, as we got to game time especially, we could feel it. We can't lose to someone in our back yard."

The Hawks improved to 2-0, and Warren County was shut out for the second consecutive game.
The defense, led by Tyler Settle's interception, held Warren County to 122 yards, and the Hawks' special teams chipped in nine points with a field goal, a safety and four extra points. Jackson is averaging 16 yards per carry for an offense that has outscored its first two opponents 81-12.