Hope everyone digested the turkey well and all the trimmings from Thanksgiving. Now, it’s time for some football! There are 24 VHSL Region Championship games that’ll bring us our State Playoff field as the calendar flips from November to December.
Let’s get to the Predictions and highlight what jumps out to us on each matchup (we’ll go in-depth on some games, not so much on others).
Matthew Hatfield and Coach Ed Young are all squared up for the playoffs, concerning just their picks for Tidewater. But now they expand beyond the ‘757’ area code, so we’ll see who grabs bragging rights as they disagree on four of the 24 games, plus the VHSL-Reference.com Simulator, which relies on data and results to this point, is in play, too . . .
Region 6A Finals: #3 Thomas Dale (9-3) at #1 Oscar Smith (11-1) . . .
This is the third playoff meeting between these two teams. The most memorable meeting of course came in 2009 when Thomas Dale knocked off a defending State Champion Oscar Smith team 20-17 during a State Semifinal that went to overtime played under brutal weather conditions. That Knights team, coached under the late great Vic Williams, went on to win the state title the very next week. Meanwhile, Oscar Smith would win its second state title in 2011, but they got another crack at Dale in 2015 when they handled the Knights 21-3.
Oscar Smith is playing in the regional title round for an unprecedented 16th consecutive time. They are 8-7 in those region title games with all seven defeats coming at the hands of Beach District schools: Bayside, Landstown, Ocean Lakes and Salem. The Tigers are coming off a 20-16 escape of one of those teams, Landstown, in last week’s regional semis. As for schools outside the Beach District, the Tigers have fared quite well in going 4-0.
Heading up the Smith attack is sophomore QB Ethan Vasko, who has thrown for 2599 yards and a remarkable 39-5 TD/Int. ratio after arriving from Currituck High in North Carolina. There’s no shortage of talent around him with RB Tyvon Norfleet (810 yards, 12 TD’s), WR Romon Copeland Jr. (43Rec. 13Yds; 352 yards, 6TD’s rushing) and wideouts Raymond Hall and Amonte Jones. Keeping the pocket clean around Vasko will be important for an offensive line anchored by senior Mitavis Edwards, junior Marquis Kimble and promising sophomore Maarten Woudsma.
Thomas Dale simply waxed the previous Region 6A Champ, Ocean Lakes, on the road to the tune of 36-6. That followed up a 55-28 win over Grassfield, another team Oscar Smith is quite familiar with being that they hail from the Southeastern District. Notre Dame commit Chris Tyree has not put up the kind of numbers we’d expect from him, mainly due to injuries, although he showed some signs of being closer to full strength in last week’s triumph. Versatile athlete Jasiah Williams, a University of Richmond commit, has flourished in a dual-threat QB role for Kevin Tucker’s Knights, accounting for 1531 yards and 24 touchdowns from scrimmage, including a 7-TD effort against his old team, Dinwiddie.
Dale has had five 100-yard rushing performances this year, and in order to beat Oscar Smith, you need both dimensions of the attack working. Certainly junior RB/WR DeAngelo Gray (35Rec. 832Yds. 8TD’s; 73Car. 528Yds. 5TD’s) will be a focal point of the game-plan along with Tyree and Williams, too. The Oscar Smith defense is allowing only 7.9 points per game and yet to give up more than 16 in any contest. Old Dominion commit Malcolm Britt is the face of their defense from the linebacker spot, but there are several others that get in on the act.
Up front, Caleb Jones was a constant force getting after the QB vs. Landstown, while Jah’Ke Hilliard, a junior that Head Coach Chris Scott raves about, has had his coming out party this year. Although it’s probably easier to move the ball on these Tigers by air than ground, don’t sleep on the secondary because Copeland, Trey Duke, Maurice Freeman and Ricky Thompson all have the necessary athleticism to match up in this one. The Dale defense will be counting on highly coveted junior DE Bryce Carter (6 sacks) and LB Judah Jones, who ironically enough began his career wearing the Oscar Smith uniform.
Matt Says: Oscar Smith 26-18
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Oscar Smith 22-13
Coach Young Says: Oscar Smith 28-21
Region 6B Finals: #4 Massaponax (10-2) at #3 Colonial Forge (10-2) . . . After Massaponax won five straight in this series from 2003-05, including twice in the playoffs, Colonial Forge has won seven of the past 12 encounters, which includes three straight victories over the Panthers. Maybe more impressively is that the Forge defense has been able to solve – at least lately – the intricate triple-option attack of Massaponax. Their last three wins over the Panthers have been 21-3 this year, a 35-0 shutout in 2018 and 36-7 triumph two seasons ago.
Massaponax is coming off a thrilling 45-42 win at previously undefeated Freedom, prevailing on a field goal at the end in a game that was tied 35-all at half-time.
Matt Says: Colonial Forge 23-20
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Colonial Forge 27-16
Coach Young Says: Colonial Forge 21-18
Region 6C Finals: #3 Lake Braddock (10-2) at #1 South County (12-0) . . . Since Lake Braddock’s back-to-back victories over South County in 2016 and 2017, the Stallions have responded with three straight wins in the series. They won the two games last year relatively close – 16-14 in the regular season finale and 15-9 in the opening round of the playoffs. Earlier this year, South County capped a perfect 10-0 regular season by beating the Bruins 40-21. That marked the most points given up by a stingy South County defense, which has pitched four shutouts in the past seven weeks, including two in the playoffs.
Lake Braddock escaped with a 30-24 overtime win over Mount Vernon a week ago, intercepting three passes in the win. Two of those interceptions were made by Austin Rawlins, who had an interception in the end zone in OT to seal the victory. For the year, the Bruins have 23 interceptions.
Matt Says: South County 23-15
VHSL-Reference.com Says: South County 29-13
Coach Young Says: South County 18-12
Region 6D Finals: #3 Yorktown (11-1) at #1 Westfield (12-0) . . . A year ago in the playoffs, Westfield had its way with Yorktown, routing the Patriots 49-6. Two very prolific quarterbacks will be in action with Grant Wilson, a two-time Liberty District Player of the Year for Yorktown, and Westfield’s Noah Kim, a Michigan State commit who was chosen as the Concorde District Offensive Player of the Year.
What separates things in the 2019 meeting? Besides Kim being a better runner, the Westfield defense tends to rise to the occasion this time of year. Sure, they got hit for 34 points by both Chantilly and Lake Braddock this season. However, they have so many experienced parts on that side of the ball with Max Ahiakpo, Ryan Moses, Richi Aguillar, E.T. Bushra and Caleb Wheatland all earning First Team All-Concorde District honors. Ahiakpo was the Defensive Player of the Year. Their play generally improves in the postseason.
While Westfield is allowing just 11.8 points per game, the Yorktown defense shut out five of their first eight opponents this season before bending a bit towards the end. Nonetheless, the defense for Bruce Hanson’s Patriots is statistically the school’s best, yielding just 7.9 points per game, since 1965 (they gave up only 5.6 PPG that year). If both defenses perform at their best, this can be a great, low-scoring tussle.
Matt Says: Westfield 30-13
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Westfield 35-7
Coach Young Says: Westfield 33-14
Region 5A Finals: #2 Maury (12-0) vs. #1 Salem (12-0) at VB Sportsplex . . . Just a year ago, Maury won in the regional semifinals, 31-28, on a Lucas Weber field goal in the closing seconds.
Matt Says: Maury 28-14
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Salem 21-20
Coach Young Says: Maury 24-20
Region 5B Finals: #4 Varina (10-2) at #2 Manchester (11-1) . . . This is a re-match of a regular season game that Manchester won in double-overtime, 45-38. However, Varina has to feel like it could’ve won that season opener as they led 28-17, yet needed a field goal late to force the overtime. Varina avenged is other regular season loss, 27-20 to Highland Springs, by building a three-touchdown lead a week ago on the Springers and edging the reigning four-time State Champs, 27-21 to snap their 40-game winning streak. Barry Hill was the standout with four interceptions on defense.
While Varina seeks their first region title in 11 years, Manchester has won seven straight playoff games as the reigning Class 6 State Champs try to capture the crown in a new classification.
Matt Says: Manchester 28-24
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Manchester 41-33
Coach Young Says: Manchester 30-28
Region 5C Finals: #2 Woodgrove (7-4) at #1 Stone Bridge (10-1) . . .
The Woodgrove Wolverines won a state title last year, beating Lake Taylor in the Class 4 title game. Stone Bridge won the first ever meeting between these two programs, 44-14, back on October 18.
Matt Says: Stone Bridge 35-17
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Stone Bridge 45-10
Coach Young Says: Stone Bridge 33-7
Region 5D Finals: #2 North Stafford (8-4) at #1 Mountain View (10-2) . . . Mountain View ended a four-game losing streak in the head-to-head series back in October, defeating the Wolverines 34-26.
Matt Says: North Stafford 35-29 (OT)
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Mountain View 33-23
Coach Young Says: Mountain View 28-14
Region 4A Finals: #2 Churchland (10-2) at #1 Lake Taylor (10-2) . . . Before this season, Churchland had never won a playoff game. This year they’ve won two, albeit against teams that were under .500 in Menchville and King’s Fork. Now they try to end a nine-game losing streak in their series with Eastern District rival Lake Taylor, which won the regular season encounter 37-24 a month ago, and earn their first ever State Semifinal berth under third-year Head Coach Dontrell Leonard.
Lake Taylor head man Hank Sawyer, no stranger to playoff success as he’s won a couple of state titles and seeks his fifth regional crown, recently picked up career victory #200.
Matt Says: Lake Taylor 27-26
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lake Taylor 36-22
Coach Young Says: Lake Taylor 30-20
Region 4B Finals: #7 Dinwiddie (7-5) at #4 Patrick Henry-Ashland (9-3) . . . This is the first encounter between these two programs since 2007 when Patrick Henry-Ashland prevailed 25-19 over the Generals in a playoff game.
Matt Says: Patrick Henry-Ashland 30-24
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Dinwiddie 24-17
Coach Young Says: Patrick Henry-Ashland 24-17
Region 4C Finals: #2 Tuscarora (11-1) at #1 Broad Run (12-0) . . . This will be the fifth playoff meeting between these programs since 2014, yet the first time with them both as Class 4 members. They moved down from Class 5 this past off-season. Back in late August, Broad Run won the regular season matchup 28-26, marking their sixth victory over the Huskies in the past seven encounters. A major question looms about the re-match in regards to the health and effectiveness of Broad Run star signal caller Mitch Griffis, a Wake Forest commit.
Tuscarora counters with a very dangerous QB/RB combo with Ethan Gick and Bryce Duke, a sophomore who is quickly ascending into one of the best players in the state at his position. Receiver Jevonn Gilyard can catch the deep ball, while Matei Fitz, the Dulles District Defensive Player of the Year, has already set school records for sacks and tackles for loss.
The Broad Run defense has been stellar all year long, seeing different players step up, whether it’s Kesean Dyson off the edge, Chaz Allison at linebacker, or the likes of Romy Miner and Cam Chambers in the secondary. If Griffis can’t go or is less than 100% and his younger brother, sophomore QB Brett Griffis, has to start, then the Spartans will be leaning on this defense even more to drive them on to the State Semifinals.
In many people’s eyes, the winner of this game here will be considered the front-runner to capture the Class 4 crown. I’m not one to disagree with that feeling.
Matt Says: Tuscarora 28-21
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Broad Run 27-24
Coach Young Says: Broad Run 18-12
Region 4D Finals: #2 E.C. Glass (11-1) at #1 Salem (11-1) . . . We haven’t seen Salem and E.C. Glass square off in 32 years. The Hilltoppers won that last meeting, 24-7, back in 1987. In fact, E.C. Glass leads the all-time series 5-1-1 and this is just the second ever playoff encounter; the Hilltoppers won a 7-0 postseason match in 1986.
Since 1996, Salem has won nine state titles. That includes a couple of three-peats from 1998-2000 and most recently in 2015-17. The man that directed five of that state titles – Stephen Magenbauer – unexpectedly retired in the off-season, though the reins were turned over to longtime assistant Don Holter.
Matt Says: E.C. Glass 34-28
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Salem 29-27
Coach Young Says: E.C. Glass 30-28
Region 3A Finals: #3 Phoebus (11-1) at #1 Hopewell (12-0) . . . It’s just the second ever meeting between Phoebus and Hopewell, which two years ago pulled an upset of the Phantoms when they won 7-6 at Darling Stadium. Can Phoebus exact revenge this time as the lower seed on the road? If the Phoebus defense has anything to say about it, they will. Since their 23-22 loss to Lake Taylor in the opener in a game where the Titans drilled a field goal in the closing seconds, the Phantoms have given up just 57 points over the past ten contests with five shutouts pitched during that stretch.
So you have a Phoebus defense playing lights out, taking on a Hopewell team that has scored a school-record 543 points – breaking the previous mark of 522 from 2015 in two fewer games. No one is more electrifying than junior TreVeyon Henderson, a do-it-all player with offers from SEC schools Alabama, LSU, Tennessee and many others around the country. Henderson’s numbers are eye-popping: 138 rushes for 1855 yards, more than 13 yards per attempt, and 37 touchdowns.
In total, Henderson has accounted for 45 touchdowns with a passing strike included. He’s not the only threat on this Hopewell team either. Junior running back Robert Briggs is 74 yards away from 1000 rushing. Defensively, the Blue Devils have recorded 50 sacks with seniors Kaiveon Cox (15 sacks) and Keyon Williams (10 sacks) the catalysts of that effort. They’ll be chasing after Phoebus QB Chris Daniels, who will need to use his mobility to extend plays out of the pocket. Daniels also is going to count on support from running backs Jaylen White, a Naval Academy commit, and Anthony Turner, a junior that was the Peninsula District Offensive Player of the Year.
Matt Says: Hopewell 20-10
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Hopewell 30-13
Coach Young Says: Phoebus 26-24
Region 3B Finals: #2 James Monroe (9-3) at #1 Goochland (11-1) . . . After a three-game losing streak dropped them to 2-3, James Monroe has reeled off seven straight victories. The Yellow Jackets are 47-23 all-time in the playoffs with 44 of those victories credited to current Head Coach Rich Serbay, a man with four State Championships (1986, 87, 1996, 2008). Believe it or not though, this is the first meeting with Goochland, which is aiming to win its first state title since 2012.
Goochland opened 14-0 last year under new Head Coach Alex Furth, then fell to Graham 31-9 in the Class 2 State Championship. They moved up to Class 3 this season, got handled by Lafayette 33-0 in the opener, but haven’t lost since that point. Their closest call was a 13-7 overtime win over Buckingham.
Matt Says: Goochland 24-16
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Goochland 27-14
Coach Young Says: Goochland 30-21
Region 3C Finals: #2 Spotswood (12-0) at #1 Heritage-Lynchburg (11-1) . . . After dropping their season-opener to Charlotte power Vance 35-7, the reigning Class 3 State Champion Pioneers from Heritage-Lynchburg have reeled off 11 straight victories. Their closest call came in a 15-14 overtime triumph over previously undefeated E.C. Glass to win the Jug Bowl and bring Head Coach Brad Bradley his 200th career win.
Statistically speaking, the Pioneers are better than the 2018 squad when you consider they’re averaging 39.1 points per game, a slight increase from their 36.5 PPG average, plus the defense is holding foes to 14.2 PPG, also better than the 22.1 PPG allowed from last season. Two years ago when these two programs met in the playoffs, Heritage rolled to a 55-14 win.
Spotswood is enjoying its finest season by a country mile. The only other time they won double-figure games was in 1991 when they went 10-1 overall. These Blazers have outscored foes 499-98, an average of 41.6 – 8.2 per contest. Just two games have been decided by single-digits – a 20-12 win over East Rockingham in the opener an 14-10 victory over Turner Ashby on October 18th.
Matt Says: Heritage-Lynchburg 21-14
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Heritage-Lynchburg 31-13
Coach Young Says: Heritage-Lynchburg 20-12
Region 3D Finals: #2 Northside (9-3) at #1 Lord Botetourt (12-0) . . . A Lord Botetourt team that has been no stranger to the injury bug in recent seasons will be the roadblock standing in the way of Northside and a State Semifinal berth. However, the Vikings have beaten the Cavaliers before, prevailing 27-24 in 2018 before suffering losses to them of 24-20 and 23-7 later in the year. In fact, earlier this season, Northside played Lord Botetourt to a relatively tight game, which the Cavs won 14-7.
That 14-7 win is one of four victories by seven points or less for Botetourt this season. Fortunately for Head Coach Jamie Harless, even with all the injuries, he has junior running back Hunter Rice on his side. Rice ran for in excess of 300 yards during their 33-13 rout of Hidden Valley in the regional semifinals.
Matt Says: Lord Botetourt 27-23
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lord Botetourt 21-20
Coach Young Says: Lord Botetourt 30-14
Region 2A Finals: #2 King William (9-3) at #1 Thomas Jefferson-Richmond (10-2) . . . To call this uncharted territory for Thomas Jefferson in football would be putting it mildly. This is a program that finished with a win ten times from 1998-2011. Not until this year had they reached the double-digit victory plateau or scored over 400 points in a season.
Matt Says: Thomas Jefferson 32-18
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Thomas Jefferson 22-19
Coach Young Says: Thomas Jefferson 34-30
Region 2B Finals: #6 East Rockingham (8-4) at #1 Stuarts Draft (11-1) . . . It’s pretty remarkable to think that Stuarts Draft got beat 41-2 at the hands of East Rockingham last year and here the Cougars are as the top seed for a regional title game against those Eagles. Only thing is this is a different Eagles team than the one last year, which opened 13-0 behind 2000-yard rusher J’Wan Evans (now at Virginia Tech) and reached the State Semifinals.
Donnie Coleman’s East Rock bunch recovered from a 2-4 start and pulled seeded upsets over both Clarke County and Buckingham County, scoring 41 points on each. They’ve scored 40 or more in five straight games, part of a six-game winning streak. Stuarts Draft will pose a bigger challenge defensively than some of their recent opponents, though. The only setback for this year’s Cougars came in the regular season finale against Class 1 juggernaut Riverheads by a margin of 49-14.
Matt Says: Stuarts Draft 40-29
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Stuarts Draft 34-17
Coach Young Says: East Rockingham 24-21
Region 2C Finals: #3 Gretna (9-3) at #1 Appomattox (10-2) . . . From 2001-08, Gretna won every encounter in this series. Now things have flipped a bit as Appomattox looks for their seventh straight win over the Hawks, who have scored more than seven points only once in that stretch against Appomattox. Interestingly enough, Appomattox saw its bid for a fourth consecutive state title come up short a year ago in a 28-25 loss to Radford, who just got ousted in the regional semifinals by Gretna, 48-20.
Appomattox dropped two of their first three games by double-digits to Buckingham and reigning Class 3 State Champ Heritage-Lynchburg, but they’ve found their way on offense during a nine-game winning streak, scoring less than 45 points only twice in that timeframe – a 21-7 win over Gretna in October and 21-0 shutout of Glenvar in the region semis.
Matt Says: Appomattox 24-17
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Appomattox 23-7
Coach Young Says: Appomattox 28-20
Region 2D Finals: #4 Central-Wise (10-2) at #3 Graham (10-2) . . . While it has been a season to remember for Central-Wise, which just took out top-seeded Ridgeview with 2000-yard running back Trenton Adkins, 14-7 in the regional semifinals, this Graham team has given them problems in the past. Graham has won the past two years over Central by a combined total of 93-24. The defending Class 2 State Champs, who saw their stud Cameron Allen move on to Purdue, had some early struggles on defense in losses to West Virginia power Bluefield 41-27 and to Union 37-35.
After that 2-2 start though, the G-Men are playing much better defensively, holding eight straight foes to 14 points or less. Meanwhile, the offense – headlined by Old Dominion commit in QB/WR Devin Lester – has scored 35 or more points in 11 consecutive outings. Lester had 152 yards and three rushing touchdowns as Graham avenged their regular season loss to Union by walloping the Bears 48-7. Tailback Tre Booker finished 11 yards shy of 100 on the ground in that game as well.
Junior C.J. Crabtree has certainly put himself on the statewide radar for the Warriors with 1807 yards rushing, most in school history for a season. The next yard he gains will give him 3200 for his career, so getting to that 5000-yard barrier before graduation is well within reach. However, a huge night in this game will be tough for Coach Luke Owens’ bunch and playing from in front early is going to be pivotal.
Matt Says: Graham 41-19
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Graham 35-14
Coach Young Says: Graham 36-12
Region 1A Finals: #2 Rappahannock (9-3) at #1 Essex (11-1) . . . Going back to 1991, Essex has a whopping 41 playoff victories in comparison to 21 postseason losses during that stretch. The Trojans take on a Northern Neck District rival in Rappahannock that has struggled with the Trojans lately. Essex has 23 straight victories in this series with ten of those being shutouts. One of those shutouts came just three weeks ago in the regular season finale, 48-0. Rappahannock has played into December only one time before and that was in 1992.
In drawing back to their previous meeting this year, Essex QB Ashton Ashlock had a field day with four touchdown passes, all coming before the fourth quarter. Avante Banks had his two scoring receptions total 121 yards, while Tahraun Hammond had a touchdown catch, a two-point conversion and a pick-six. The Radiers are fully capable of getting one side of the football to close the gap, but two? That’s hard to imagine, against a well-oiled machine like the Trojans.
Matt Says: Essex 35-7
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Essex 36-13
Coach Young Says: Essex 36-20
Region 1B Finals: #2 Sussex Central (10-2) at #1 Riverheads (12-0) . . . After a rare 2-8 losing season last year, Curtis Jefferson’s Tigers at Sussex Central have bounced back in a big way, winning seven straight games following a 42-24 loss to Essex in the opener. Sussex is 56-30 all-time in the playoffs with a 1-2 mark in the State Championship game under Jefferson. One of those losses in the State Final came against Riverheads three years ago by a 49-6 count.
Robert Casto’s Gladiators have simply dominated the competition this year, outscoring foes 577-126 for an average of 48.1 to 10.5 per contest. Their closest call was a 17-point victory over Class 2 member Glenvar, a perennial playoff contender. Casto’s crew hasn’t lost in the postseason since Galax edged them 7-6 in the 2015 State Championship. This group looks to be well on their way to a fourth consecutive state title, riding a 14-game playoff winning streak. If they get it, it would be their seventh State Championship, quite a feat for a program that was 0-6 all-time in the playoffs before the turn of the century and Casto’s arrival.
Junior Zac Smiley, the Shenandoah District Offensive Player of the Year, ran for 116 yards and a score in last week’s 59-6 blowout of Franklin. Smiley is closing in on 2000 yards rushing for the season and just might get there, if given the opportunity and the score doesn’t get out of whack too quickly. Sussex, led by a standout runner of their own in Imir Clark, has arrived ahead of schedule. Certainly the Tigers must have the stars align to have a chance come fourth quarter against a fundamentally sound, disciplined group that seldom makes mistakes.
Matt Says: Riverheads 48-12
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Riverheads 42-6
Coach Young Says: Riverheads 33-21
Region 1C Finals: #3 George Wythe (9-2) at #1 Galax (10-1) . . . When these two teams hooked up back on October 18, the regular season tilt went the way of Galax, 45-14. The Maroon Tide, under the direction of former Miami Dolphins NFL offensive lineman Mark Dixon, have won five straight over George Wythe.
Matt Says: Galax 42-20
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Galax 40-14
Coach Young Says: Galax 30-20
Region 1D Finals: #2 J.I. Burton (10-2) at #1 Patrick Henry-Glade Spring (12-0) . . . . While J.I. Burton comes in with more of a playoff pedigree historically, the Rebels won’t come in fearing the Raiders. Mark Palmer’s Patrick Henry squad eliminated Burton, 61-36, a year ago from the playoffs. That came one year after Burton won 36-28 in the postseason. For the second straight season, Patrick Henry is putting up over 40 points per game, but they’ve shown considerable improvement on defense in holding foes to 10.6 PPG compared to the 22.2 PPG allowed from 2018.
Burton has made it this far with a new Head Coach in Jacob Caudill. A big reason why they have made it this far and took out Chilhowie, the Class 1 runner-up each of the past two years, by a count of 12-7 was their defense. Mikey Culbertson is a two-way standout for the Raiders. Strong performances from him and Esau Teasley, a hard runner, will be important against a Patrick Henry team that overwhelmed Holston 29-6 a week ago, thanks to the tandem of QB Dakota Rector and RB Cody Smith. Those two guys combined for 335 yards and four rushing scores.
Matt Says: Patrick Henry-GS 38-21
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Patrick Henry-GS 20-6
Coach Young Says: Patrick Henry-GS 33-12
Let’s get to the Predictions and highlight what jumps out to us on each matchup (we’ll go in-depth on some games, not so much on others).
Matthew Hatfield and Coach Ed Young are all squared up for the playoffs, concerning just their picks for Tidewater. But now they expand beyond the ‘757’ area code, so we’ll see who grabs bragging rights as they disagree on four of the 24 games, plus the VHSL-Reference.com Simulator, which relies on data and results to this point, is in play, too . . .
Region 6A Finals: #3 Thomas Dale (9-3) at #1 Oscar Smith (11-1) . . .
This is the third playoff meeting between these two teams. The most memorable meeting of course came in 2009 when Thomas Dale knocked off a defending State Champion Oscar Smith team 20-17 during a State Semifinal that went to overtime played under brutal weather conditions. That Knights team, coached under the late great Vic Williams, went on to win the state title the very next week. Meanwhile, Oscar Smith would win its second state title in 2011, but they got another crack at Dale in 2015 when they handled the Knights 21-3.
Oscar Smith is playing in the regional title round for an unprecedented 16th consecutive time. They are 8-7 in those region title games with all seven defeats coming at the hands of Beach District schools: Bayside, Landstown, Ocean Lakes and Salem. The Tigers are coming off a 20-16 escape of one of those teams, Landstown, in last week’s regional semis. As for schools outside the Beach District, the Tigers have fared quite well in going 4-0.
Heading up the Smith attack is sophomore QB Ethan Vasko, who has thrown for 2599 yards and a remarkable 39-5 TD/Int. ratio after arriving from Currituck High in North Carolina. There’s no shortage of talent around him with RB Tyvon Norfleet (810 yards, 12 TD’s), WR Romon Copeland Jr. (43Rec. 13Yds; 352 yards, 6TD’s rushing) and wideouts Raymond Hall and Amonte Jones. Keeping the pocket clean around Vasko will be important for an offensive line anchored by senior Mitavis Edwards, junior Marquis Kimble and promising sophomore Maarten Woudsma.
Thomas Dale simply waxed the previous Region 6A Champ, Ocean Lakes, on the road to the tune of 36-6. That followed up a 55-28 win over Grassfield, another team Oscar Smith is quite familiar with being that they hail from the Southeastern District. Notre Dame commit Chris Tyree has not put up the kind of numbers we’d expect from him, mainly due to injuries, although he showed some signs of being closer to full strength in last week’s triumph. Versatile athlete Jasiah Williams, a University of Richmond commit, has flourished in a dual-threat QB role for Kevin Tucker’s Knights, accounting for 1531 yards and 24 touchdowns from scrimmage, including a 7-TD effort against his old team, Dinwiddie.
Dale has had five 100-yard rushing performances this year, and in order to beat Oscar Smith, you need both dimensions of the attack working. Certainly junior RB/WR DeAngelo Gray (35Rec. 832Yds. 8TD’s; 73Car. 528Yds. 5TD’s) will be a focal point of the game-plan along with Tyree and Williams, too. The Oscar Smith defense is allowing only 7.9 points per game and yet to give up more than 16 in any contest. Old Dominion commit Malcolm Britt is the face of their defense from the linebacker spot, but there are several others that get in on the act.
Up front, Caleb Jones was a constant force getting after the QB vs. Landstown, while Jah’Ke Hilliard, a junior that Head Coach Chris Scott raves about, has had his coming out party this year. Although it’s probably easier to move the ball on these Tigers by air than ground, don’t sleep on the secondary because Copeland, Trey Duke, Maurice Freeman and Ricky Thompson all have the necessary athleticism to match up in this one. The Dale defense will be counting on highly coveted junior DE Bryce Carter (6 sacks) and LB Judah Jones, who ironically enough began his career wearing the Oscar Smith uniform.
Matt Says: Oscar Smith 26-18
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Oscar Smith 22-13
Coach Young Says: Oscar Smith 28-21
Region 6B Finals: #4 Massaponax (10-2) at #3 Colonial Forge (10-2) . . . After Massaponax won five straight in this series from 2003-05, including twice in the playoffs, Colonial Forge has won seven of the past 12 encounters, which includes three straight victories over the Panthers. Maybe more impressively is that the Forge defense has been able to solve – at least lately – the intricate triple-option attack of Massaponax. Their last three wins over the Panthers have been 21-3 this year, a 35-0 shutout in 2018 and 36-7 triumph two seasons ago.
Massaponax is coming off a thrilling 45-42 win at previously undefeated Freedom, prevailing on a field goal at the end in a game that was tied 35-all at half-time.
Matt Says: Colonial Forge 23-20
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Colonial Forge 27-16
Coach Young Says: Colonial Forge 21-18
Region 6C Finals: #3 Lake Braddock (10-2) at #1 South County (12-0) . . . Since Lake Braddock’s back-to-back victories over South County in 2016 and 2017, the Stallions have responded with three straight wins in the series. They won the two games last year relatively close – 16-14 in the regular season finale and 15-9 in the opening round of the playoffs. Earlier this year, South County capped a perfect 10-0 regular season by beating the Bruins 40-21. That marked the most points given up by a stingy South County defense, which has pitched four shutouts in the past seven weeks, including two in the playoffs.
Lake Braddock escaped with a 30-24 overtime win over Mount Vernon a week ago, intercepting three passes in the win. Two of those interceptions were made by Austin Rawlins, who had an interception in the end zone in OT to seal the victory. For the year, the Bruins have 23 interceptions.
Matt Says: South County 23-15
VHSL-Reference.com Says: South County 29-13
Coach Young Says: South County 18-12
Region 6D Finals: #3 Yorktown (11-1) at #1 Westfield (12-0) . . . A year ago in the playoffs, Westfield had its way with Yorktown, routing the Patriots 49-6. Two very prolific quarterbacks will be in action with Grant Wilson, a two-time Liberty District Player of the Year for Yorktown, and Westfield’s Noah Kim, a Michigan State commit who was chosen as the Concorde District Offensive Player of the Year.
What separates things in the 2019 meeting? Besides Kim being a better runner, the Westfield defense tends to rise to the occasion this time of year. Sure, they got hit for 34 points by both Chantilly and Lake Braddock this season. However, they have so many experienced parts on that side of the ball with Max Ahiakpo, Ryan Moses, Richi Aguillar, E.T. Bushra and Caleb Wheatland all earning First Team All-Concorde District honors. Ahiakpo was the Defensive Player of the Year. Their play generally improves in the postseason.
While Westfield is allowing just 11.8 points per game, the Yorktown defense shut out five of their first eight opponents this season before bending a bit towards the end. Nonetheless, the defense for Bruce Hanson’s Patriots is statistically the school’s best, yielding just 7.9 points per game, since 1965 (they gave up only 5.6 PPG that year). If both defenses perform at their best, this can be a great, low-scoring tussle.
Matt Says: Westfield 30-13
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Westfield 35-7
Coach Young Says: Westfield 33-14
Region 5A Finals: #2 Maury (12-0) vs. #1 Salem (12-0) at VB Sportsplex . . . Just a year ago, Maury won in the regional semifinals, 31-28, on a Lucas Weber field goal in the closing seconds.
Matt Says: Maury 28-14
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Salem 21-20
Coach Young Says: Maury 24-20
Region 5B Finals: #4 Varina (10-2) at #2 Manchester (11-1) . . . This is a re-match of a regular season game that Manchester won in double-overtime, 45-38. However, Varina has to feel like it could’ve won that season opener as they led 28-17, yet needed a field goal late to force the overtime. Varina avenged is other regular season loss, 27-20 to Highland Springs, by building a three-touchdown lead a week ago on the Springers and edging the reigning four-time State Champs, 27-21 to snap their 40-game winning streak. Barry Hill was the standout with four interceptions on defense.
While Varina seeks their first region title in 11 years, Manchester has won seven straight playoff games as the reigning Class 6 State Champs try to capture the crown in a new classification.
Matt Says: Manchester 28-24
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Manchester 41-33
Coach Young Says: Manchester 30-28
Region 5C Finals: #2 Woodgrove (7-4) at #1 Stone Bridge (10-1) . . .
The Woodgrove Wolverines won a state title last year, beating Lake Taylor in the Class 4 title game. Stone Bridge won the first ever meeting between these two programs, 44-14, back on October 18.
Matt Says: Stone Bridge 35-17
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Stone Bridge 45-10
Coach Young Says: Stone Bridge 33-7
Region 5D Finals: #2 North Stafford (8-4) at #1 Mountain View (10-2) . . . Mountain View ended a four-game losing streak in the head-to-head series back in October, defeating the Wolverines 34-26.
Matt Says: North Stafford 35-29 (OT)
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Mountain View 33-23
Coach Young Says: Mountain View 28-14
Region 4A Finals: #2 Churchland (10-2) at #1 Lake Taylor (10-2) . . . Before this season, Churchland had never won a playoff game. This year they’ve won two, albeit against teams that were under .500 in Menchville and King’s Fork. Now they try to end a nine-game losing streak in their series with Eastern District rival Lake Taylor, which won the regular season encounter 37-24 a month ago, and earn their first ever State Semifinal berth under third-year Head Coach Dontrell Leonard.
Lake Taylor head man Hank Sawyer, no stranger to playoff success as he’s won a couple of state titles and seeks his fifth regional crown, recently picked up career victory #200.
Matt Says: Lake Taylor 27-26
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lake Taylor 36-22
Coach Young Says: Lake Taylor 30-20
Region 4B Finals: #7 Dinwiddie (7-5) at #4 Patrick Henry-Ashland (9-3) . . . This is the first encounter between these two programs since 2007 when Patrick Henry-Ashland prevailed 25-19 over the Generals in a playoff game.
Matt Says: Patrick Henry-Ashland 30-24
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Dinwiddie 24-17
Coach Young Says: Patrick Henry-Ashland 24-17
Region 4C Finals: #2 Tuscarora (11-1) at #1 Broad Run (12-0) . . . This will be the fifth playoff meeting between these programs since 2014, yet the first time with them both as Class 4 members. They moved down from Class 5 this past off-season. Back in late August, Broad Run won the regular season matchup 28-26, marking their sixth victory over the Huskies in the past seven encounters. A major question looms about the re-match in regards to the health and effectiveness of Broad Run star signal caller Mitch Griffis, a Wake Forest commit.
Tuscarora counters with a very dangerous QB/RB combo with Ethan Gick and Bryce Duke, a sophomore who is quickly ascending into one of the best players in the state at his position. Receiver Jevonn Gilyard can catch the deep ball, while Matei Fitz, the Dulles District Defensive Player of the Year, has already set school records for sacks and tackles for loss.
The Broad Run defense has been stellar all year long, seeing different players step up, whether it’s Kesean Dyson off the edge, Chaz Allison at linebacker, or the likes of Romy Miner and Cam Chambers in the secondary. If Griffis can’t go or is less than 100% and his younger brother, sophomore QB Brett Griffis, has to start, then the Spartans will be leaning on this defense even more to drive them on to the State Semifinals.
In many people’s eyes, the winner of this game here will be considered the front-runner to capture the Class 4 crown. I’m not one to disagree with that feeling.
Matt Says: Tuscarora 28-21
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Broad Run 27-24
Coach Young Says: Broad Run 18-12
Region 4D Finals: #2 E.C. Glass (11-1) at #1 Salem (11-1) . . . We haven’t seen Salem and E.C. Glass square off in 32 years. The Hilltoppers won that last meeting, 24-7, back in 1987. In fact, E.C. Glass leads the all-time series 5-1-1 and this is just the second ever playoff encounter; the Hilltoppers won a 7-0 postseason match in 1986.
Since 1996, Salem has won nine state titles. That includes a couple of three-peats from 1998-2000 and most recently in 2015-17. The man that directed five of that state titles – Stephen Magenbauer – unexpectedly retired in the off-season, though the reins were turned over to longtime assistant Don Holter.
Matt Says: E.C. Glass 34-28
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Salem 29-27
Coach Young Says: E.C. Glass 30-28
Region 3A Finals: #3 Phoebus (11-1) at #1 Hopewell (12-0) . . . It’s just the second ever meeting between Phoebus and Hopewell, which two years ago pulled an upset of the Phantoms when they won 7-6 at Darling Stadium. Can Phoebus exact revenge this time as the lower seed on the road? If the Phoebus defense has anything to say about it, they will. Since their 23-22 loss to Lake Taylor in the opener in a game where the Titans drilled a field goal in the closing seconds, the Phantoms have given up just 57 points over the past ten contests with five shutouts pitched during that stretch.
So you have a Phoebus defense playing lights out, taking on a Hopewell team that has scored a school-record 543 points – breaking the previous mark of 522 from 2015 in two fewer games. No one is more electrifying than junior TreVeyon Henderson, a do-it-all player with offers from SEC schools Alabama, LSU, Tennessee and many others around the country. Henderson’s numbers are eye-popping: 138 rushes for 1855 yards, more than 13 yards per attempt, and 37 touchdowns.
In total, Henderson has accounted for 45 touchdowns with a passing strike included. He’s not the only threat on this Hopewell team either. Junior running back Robert Briggs is 74 yards away from 1000 rushing. Defensively, the Blue Devils have recorded 50 sacks with seniors Kaiveon Cox (15 sacks) and Keyon Williams (10 sacks) the catalysts of that effort. They’ll be chasing after Phoebus QB Chris Daniels, who will need to use his mobility to extend plays out of the pocket. Daniels also is going to count on support from running backs Jaylen White, a Naval Academy commit, and Anthony Turner, a junior that was the Peninsula District Offensive Player of the Year.
Matt Says: Hopewell 20-10
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Hopewell 30-13
Coach Young Says: Phoebus 26-24
Region 3B Finals: #2 James Monroe (9-3) at #1 Goochland (11-1) . . . After a three-game losing streak dropped them to 2-3, James Monroe has reeled off seven straight victories. The Yellow Jackets are 47-23 all-time in the playoffs with 44 of those victories credited to current Head Coach Rich Serbay, a man with four State Championships (1986, 87, 1996, 2008). Believe it or not though, this is the first meeting with Goochland, which is aiming to win its first state title since 2012.
Goochland opened 14-0 last year under new Head Coach Alex Furth, then fell to Graham 31-9 in the Class 2 State Championship. They moved up to Class 3 this season, got handled by Lafayette 33-0 in the opener, but haven’t lost since that point. Their closest call was a 13-7 overtime win over Buckingham.
Matt Says: Goochland 24-16
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Goochland 27-14
Coach Young Says: Goochland 30-21
Region 3C Finals: #2 Spotswood (12-0) at #1 Heritage-Lynchburg (11-1) . . . After dropping their season-opener to Charlotte power Vance 35-7, the reigning Class 3 State Champion Pioneers from Heritage-Lynchburg have reeled off 11 straight victories. Their closest call came in a 15-14 overtime triumph over previously undefeated E.C. Glass to win the Jug Bowl and bring Head Coach Brad Bradley his 200th career win.
Statistically speaking, the Pioneers are better than the 2018 squad when you consider they’re averaging 39.1 points per game, a slight increase from their 36.5 PPG average, plus the defense is holding foes to 14.2 PPG, also better than the 22.1 PPG allowed from last season. Two years ago when these two programs met in the playoffs, Heritage rolled to a 55-14 win.
Spotswood is enjoying its finest season by a country mile. The only other time they won double-figure games was in 1991 when they went 10-1 overall. These Blazers have outscored foes 499-98, an average of 41.6 – 8.2 per contest. Just two games have been decided by single-digits – a 20-12 win over East Rockingham in the opener an 14-10 victory over Turner Ashby on October 18th.
Matt Says: Heritage-Lynchburg 21-14
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Heritage-Lynchburg 31-13
Coach Young Says: Heritage-Lynchburg 20-12
Region 3D Finals: #2 Northside (9-3) at #1 Lord Botetourt (12-0) . . . A Lord Botetourt team that has been no stranger to the injury bug in recent seasons will be the roadblock standing in the way of Northside and a State Semifinal berth. However, the Vikings have beaten the Cavaliers before, prevailing 27-24 in 2018 before suffering losses to them of 24-20 and 23-7 later in the year. In fact, earlier this season, Northside played Lord Botetourt to a relatively tight game, which the Cavs won 14-7.
That 14-7 win is one of four victories by seven points or less for Botetourt this season. Fortunately for Head Coach Jamie Harless, even with all the injuries, he has junior running back Hunter Rice on his side. Rice ran for in excess of 300 yards during their 33-13 rout of Hidden Valley in the regional semifinals.
Matt Says: Lord Botetourt 27-23
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lord Botetourt 21-20
Coach Young Says: Lord Botetourt 30-14
Region 2A Finals: #2 King William (9-3) at #1 Thomas Jefferson-Richmond (10-2) . . . To call this uncharted territory for Thomas Jefferson in football would be putting it mildly. This is a program that finished with a win ten times from 1998-2011. Not until this year had they reached the double-digit victory plateau or scored over 400 points in a season.
Matt Says: Thomas Jefferson 32-18
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Thomas Jefferson 22-19
Coach Young Says: Thomas Jefferson 34-30
Region 2B Finals: #6 East Rockingham (8-4) at #1 Stuarts Draft (11-1) . . . It’s pretty remarkable to think that Stuarts Draft got beat 41-2 at the hands of East Rockingham last year and here the Cougars are as the top seed for a regional title game against those Eagles. Only thing is this is a different Eagles team than the one last year, which opened 13-0 behind 2000-yard rusher J’Wan Evans (now at Virginia Tech) and reached the State Semifinals.
Donnie Coleman’s East Rock bunch recovered from a 2-4 start and pulled seeded upsets over both Clarke County and Buckingham County, scoring 41 points on each. They’ve scored 40 or more in five straight games, part of a six-game winning streak. Stuarts Draft will pose a bigger challenge defensively than some of their recent opponents, though. The only setback for this year’s Cougars came in the regular season finale against Class 1 juggernaut Riverheads by a margin of 49-14.
Matt Says: Stuarts Draft 40-29
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Stuarts Draft 34-17
Coach Young Says: East Rockingham 24-21
Region 2C Finals: #3 Gretna (9-3) at #1 Appomattox (10-2) . . . From 2001-08, Gretna won every encounter in this series. Now things have flipped a bit as Appomattox looks for their seventh straight win over the Hawks, who have scored more than seven points only once in that stretch against Appomattox. Interestingly enough, Appomattox saw its bid for a fourth consecutive state title come up short a year ago in a 28-25 loss to Radford, who just got ousted in the regional semifinals by Gretna, 48-20.
Appomattox dropped two of their first three games by double-digits to Buckingham and reigning Class 3 State Champ Heritage-Lynchburg, but they’ve found their way on offense during a nine-game winning streak, scoring less than 45 points only twice in that timeframe – a 21-7 win over Gretna in October and 21-0 shutout of Glenvar in the region semis.
Matt Says: Appomattox 24-17
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Appomattox 23-7
Coach Young Says: Appomattox 28-20
Region 2D Finals: #4 Central-Wise (10-2) at #3 Graham (10-2) . . . While it has been a season to remember for Central-Wise, which just took out top-seeded Ridgeview with 2000-yard running back Trenton Adkins, 14-7 in the regional semifinals, this Graham team has given them problems in the past. Graham has won the past two years over Central by a combined total of 93-24. The defending Class 2 State Champs, who saw their stud Cameron Allen move on to Purdue, had some early struggles on defense in losses to West Virginia power Bluefield 41-27 and to Union 37-35.
After that 2-2 start though, the G-Men are playing much better defensively, holding eight straight foes to 14 points or less. Meanwhile, the offense – headlined by Old Dominion commit in QB/WR Devin Lester – has scored 35 or more points in 11 consecutive outings. Lester had 152 yards and three rushing touchdowns as Graham avenged their regular season loss to Union by walloping the Bears 48-7. Tailback Tre Booker finished 11 yards shy of 100 on the ground in that game as well.
Junior C.J. Crabtree has certainly put himself on the statewide radar for the Warriors with 1807 yards rushing, most in school history for a season. The next yard he gains will give him 3200 for his career, so getting to that 5000-yard barrier before graduation is well within reach. However, a huge night in this game will be tough for Coach Luke Owens’ bunch and playing from in front early is going to be pivotal.
Matt Says: Graham 41-19
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Graham 35-14
Coach Young Says: Graham 36-12
Region 1A Finals: #2 Rappahannock (9-3) at #1 Essex (11-1) . . . Going back to 1991, Essex has a whopping 41 playoff victories in comparison to 21 postseason losses during that stretch. The Trojans take on a Northern Neck District rival in Rappahannock that has struggled with the Trojans lately. Essex has 23 straight victories in this series with ten of those being shutouts. One of those shutouts came just three weeks ago in the regular season finale, 48-0. Rappahannock has played into December only one time before and that was in 1992.
In drawing back to their previous meeting this year, Essex QB Ashton Ashlock had a field day with four touchdown passes, all coming before the fourth quarter. Avante Banks had his two scoring receptions total 121 yards, while Tahraun Hammond had a touchdown catch, a two-point conversion and a pick-six. The Radiers are fully capable of getting one side of the football to close the gap, but two? That’s hard to imagine, against a well-oiled machine like the Trojans.
Matt Says: Essex 35-7
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Essex 36-13
Coach Young Says: Essex 36-20
Region 1B Finals: #2 Sussex Central (10-2) at #1 Riverheads (12-0) . . . After a rare 2-8 losing season last year, Curtis Jefferson’s Tigers at Sussex Central have bounced back in a big way, winning seven straight games following a 42-24 loss to Essex in the opener. Sussex is 56-30 all-time in the playoffs with a 1-2 mark in the State Championship game under Jefferson. One of those losses in the State Final came against Riverheads three years ago by a 49-6 count.
Robert Casto’s Gladiators have simply dominated the competition this year, outscoring foes 577-126 for an average of 48.1 to 10.5 per contest. Their closest call was a 17-point victory over Class 2 member Glenvar, a perennial playoff contender. Casto’s crew hasn’t lost in the postseason since Galax edged them 7-6 in the 2015 State Championship. This group looks to be well on their way to a fourth consecutive state title, riding a 14-game playoff winning streak. If they get it, it would be their seventh State Championship, quite a feat for a program that was 0-6 all-time in the playoffs before the turn of the century and Casto’s arrival.
Junior Zac Smiley, the Shenandoah District Offensive Player of the Year, ran for 116 yards and a score in last week’s 59-6 blowout of Franklin. Smiley is closing in on 2000 yards rushing for the season and just might get there, if given the opportunity and the score doesn’t get out of whack too quickly. Sussex, led by a standout runner of their own in Imir Clark, has arrived ahead of schedule. Certainly the Tigers must have the stars align to have a chance come fourth quarter against a fundamentally sound, disciplined group that seldom makes mistakes.
Matt Says: Riverheads 48-12
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Riverheads 42-6
Coach Young Says: Riverheads 33-21
Region 1C Finals: #3 George Wythe (9-2) at #1 Galax (10-1) . . . When these two teams hooked up back on October 18, the regular season tilt went the way of Galax, 45-14. The Maroon Tide, under the direction of former Miami Dolphins NFL offensive lineman Mark Dixon, have won five straight over George Wythe.
Matt Says: Galax 42-20
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Galax 40-14
Coach Young Says: Galax 30-20
Region 1D Finals: #2 J.I. Burton (10-2) at #1 Patrick Henry-Glade Spring (12-0) . . . . While J.I. Burton comes in with more of a playoff pedigree historically, the Rebels won’t come in fearing the Raiders. Mark Palmer’s Patrick Henry squad eliminated Burton, 61-36, a year ago from the playoffs. That came one year after Burton won 36-28 in the postseason. For the second straight season, Patrick Henry is putting up over 40 points per game, but they’ve shown considerable improvement on defense in holding foes to 10.6 PPG compared to the 22.2 PPG allowed from 2018.
Burton has made it this far with a new Head Coach in Jacob Caudill. A big reason why they have made it this far and took out Chilhowie, the Class 1 runner-up each of the past two years, by a count of 12-7 was their defense. Mikey Culbertson is a two-way standout for the Raiders. Strong performances from him and Esau Teasley, a hard runner, will be important against a Patrick Henry team that overwhelmed Holston 29-6 a week ago, thanks to the tandem of QB Dakota Rector and RB Cody Smith. Those two guys combined for 335 yards and four rushing scores.
Matt Says: Patrick Henry-GS 38-21
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Patrick Henry-GS 20-6
Coach Young Says: Patrick Henry-GS 33-12
