Before we get to a small sample of forecasting Friday night's games, let's review how the Predictions went for yours truly and Coach Ed Young...
Matt Hatfield's Thursday 9/2/21 Total: 11-3 (78.6%)
Matt's Tier 1 - 1-1
Matt's Tier 2 - 3-0
Matt's Tidewater - 7-2 (77.8%)
Hatfield's Season Tidewater Games: 20-5 (80%)
Matt Hatfield's Season Total: 40-12 (76.9%)
Coach Ed Young's Thursday 9/21 Total: 6-3 (67%)
Coach Ed Young's Season Total: 19-6 (76%)
Analysis: Young, who turned down the Bishop Sycamore vacant hoops gig over contractual demands since they refused to meet his request of 14 million over three years, fell a game back of Hatfield. He got Matt on Grafton over Denbigh, but Hatfield's Beach District knowledge lifted him as Tallwood beat Landstown and Cox defeated Kempsville. Ed wasn't alone in missing those as the newspaper guys also had the Falcons and Eagles in those contests.
... Once again, we'll break these games into three categories - the A-List, B-List and Tidewater matchups Young and Hatfield battle.
Hat's A-List Games for Friday 9/3/21:
Manchester at Highland Springs (1-0) . . . Fans have been waiting for this one for quite a while as their scheduled encounter in the Region 5B Championship last spring got canned when Manchester was unable to play due to COVID-19. A couple of future Hokies teammates collide as Manchester RB Ramon Brown faces a Highland Springs defense full of size, speed and strength, headed up by DE Rashaud Pernell.
More from Byron & Danny in the Preview Here.
Matt Hatfield Says - Highland Springs 20-16
Danny Lewis Says - Manchester 24-17
Byron Jones Says - Highland Springs 21-19
Freedom-PW (1-0) at Riverbend (1-0) . . . The Riverbend defense is stout with a couple of scholarship players leading the way in LB Aiden Fisher and DE Mathias 'Mega' Barnwell, known for his exploits at tight end. It's a different animal they face in Freedom, which put up 70 points on Brooke Point behind a sterling effort from QB Davis Byron, who connected on 12 of 14 passes for 277 yards and 4 TD's. Freedom will want to avoid third down, must convert situations to keep their offense playing fast and loose, whereas Riverbend has to use some clock and show a more methodical approach.
More in the Fredericksburg Preview from Devin Payne Here.
Matt Hatfield Says - Freedom 30-27
Devin Payne Says - Freedom 49-21
Brookville (1-0) at Turner Ashby (1-0) . . . The tandem of QB Drake McDaniel and Tayshaun Butler, who can haunt defenses running or catching the ball, will pose a mighty challenge for a Turner Ashby team with lots of experience and seeking a signature win to crack the Class 3 Top Ten. In fact, Chris Fraser's bunch was one of the harder teams for me to not rank at the season's start and all the did was wallop Fort Defiance 47-6 in their opener. Don't be surprised to see the Brookville defense be the story from this one, particularly if the Turner Ashby defense rises to the occasion and keeps the Bees from firing on all cylinders in the early going.
Matt Hatfield Says - Brookville 31-14
Hat's B-List Games for Friday 9/3/21:
Courtland (0-1) at Louisa (1-0) . . . The Lions are looking for their 38th consecutive regular season win in this one. Jordan Smith is a two-way standout for Louisa who had over 100 on the ground and 5 sacks in a 30-0 shutout of Huguenot.
More in Central VA Preview from Robert Edmonds Here.
Matt Hatfield Says - Louisa 30-12
Robert Edmonds Says - Louisa 35-14
Rustburg (1-0) at Appomattox . . . Under new Head Coach Burt Torrence, Rustburg opened some eyes with its 53-13 romp of Monticello, but this is a different type of test against the reigning Class 2 State Champion Raiders, who welcome back Doug Smith to the sideline after his battle with cancer.
Matt Hatfield Says - Appomattox 40-18
Luray (1-0) at Buffalo Gap (1-0) . . . This is a true litmus test for two teams that both won their openers by comfortable margins of three touchdowns or more. Expect a much closer match this week as Buffalo Gap leads the all-time series 19-16 with an even 3-3 mark the last six meetings. Each of the last four encounters has been decided by 10 points or fewer.
Matt Hatfield Says - Luray 26-21
THE REST: 757 Style with Ed Young vs. Matt Hatfield
Bruton (1-0) at Surry . . . Trey Corbin was the Tidewater Player of the Week as he accounted for 5 TD's in a 32-28 comeback win over Northampton, so the Surry defense will have to corral him to keep the
Matt Hatfield Says - Bruton 28-20
Coach Ed Young Says - Bruton 18-16
Grassfield (0-1) at Churchland (0-1) . . . Grizzlies Coach Martin Asprey once was at the helm of Churchland, but this marks the first meeting between the two schools since Grassfield pitched a 7-0 shutout back in 2008.
Matt Hatfield Says - Churchland 27-9
Coach Ed Young Says - Churchland 20-18
Western Branch (1-0) at Granby (0-1) . . . Optimism is growing for the Bruins, who beat Churchland 20-14 in a game where they racked up 401 total yards of offense behind 227 on the ground from Shimique Blizzard and 131 passing by Taquan Trotman.
Matt Hatfield Says - Western Branch 36-6
Coach Ed Young Says - Western Branch 40-0
Warhill (1-0) at Norcom . . . The key in this one could be how well Norcom blocks Warhill DE Luke Holmes, who had seven tackles and two sacks as the Lions beat Warwick 22-6 in their opener last weekend.
Matt Hatfield Says - Norcom 20-18
Coach Ed Young Says - Norcom 26-22
Southampton at Lakeland (0-1) . . . The trio of QB Alkendric Overton, RB Damarion Jordan and WR Jayden Rogers were enough to help Lakeland put up 43 points a week ago, but their defense will have to be better against Southampton as they gave up 46 points in a loss to Manor that stretched their losing streak to 17 games.
Matt Hatfield Says - Lakeland 34-18
Coach Ed Young Says - Lakeland 18-17
Essex (1-0) at Jamestown (0-1) . . . To even their mark to 1-1, Jamestown must be able to slow down Essex ball carrier Dorian Harris, who found the end zone three times in a 33-16 season-opening triumph over Sussex Central.
Matt Hatfield Says - Essex 42-14
Coach Ed Young Says - Essex 34-6
SATURDAY ACTION (9/4/21) . . .
Bethel (0-1) at Warwick (0-1) . . . After Bethel won five straight in the series from 2011-15, Warwick ha responded by winning three of the past four matchups between these two squads.
Matt Hatfield Says - Warwick 21-19
Coach Ed Young Says - Warwick 27-16
Matt Hatfield's Thursday 9/2/21 Total: 11-3 (78.6%)
Matt's Tier 1 - 1-1
Matt's Tier 2 - 3-0
Matt's Tidewater - 7-2 (77.8%)
Hatfield's Season Tidewater Games: 20-5 (80%)
Matt Hatfield's Season Total: 40-12 (76.9%)
Coach Ed Young's Thursday 9/21 Total: 6-3 (67%)
Coach Ed Young's Season Total: 19-6 (76%)
Analysis: Young, who turned down the Bishop Sycamore vacant hoops gig over contractual demands since they refused to meet his request of 14 million over three years, fell a game back of Hatfield. He got Matt on Grafton over Denbigh, but Hatfield's Beach District knowledge lifted him as Tallwood beat Landstown and Cox defeated Kempsville. Ed wasn't alone in missing those as the newspaper guys also had the Falcons and Eagles in those contests.
... Once again, we'll break these games into three categories - the A-List, B-List and Tidewater matchups Young and Hatfield battle.
Hat's A-List Games for Friday 9/3/21:
Manchester at Highland Springs (1-0) . . . Fans have been waiting for this one for quite a while as their scheduled encounter in the Region 5B Championship last spring got canned when Manchester was unable to play due to COVID-19. A couple of future Hokies teammates collide as Manchester RB Ramon Brown faces a Highland Springs defense full of size, speed and strength, headed up by DE Rashaud Pernell.
More from Byron & Danny in the Preview Here.
Matt Hatfield Says - Highland Springs 20-16
Danny Lewis Says - Manchester 24-17
Byron Jones Says - Highland Springs 21-19
Freedom-PW (1-0) at Riverbend (1-0) . . . The Riverbend defense is stout with a couple of scholarship players leading the way in LB Aiden Fisher and DE Mathias 'Mega' Barnwell, known for his exploits at tight end. It's a different animal they face in Freedom, which put up 70 points on Brooke Point behind a sterling effort from QB Davis Byron, who connected on 12 of 14 passes for 277 yards and 4 TD's. Freedom will want to avoid third down, must convert situations to keep their offense playing fast and loose, whereas Riverbend has to use some clock and show a more methodical approach.
More in the Fredericksburg Preview from Devin Payne Here.
Matt Hatfield Says - Freedom 30-27
Devin Payne Says - Freedom 49-21
Brookville (1-0) at Turner Ashby (1-0) . . . The tandem of QB Drake McDaniel and Tayshaun Butler, who can haunt defenses running or catching the ball, will pose a mighty challenge for a Turner Ashby team with lots of experience and seeking a signature win to crack the Class 3 Top Ten. In fact, Chris Fraser's bunch was one of the harder teams for me to not rank at the season's start and all the did was wallop Fort Defiance 47-6 in their opener. Don't be surprised to see the Brookville defense be the story from this one, particularly if the Turner Ashby defense rises to the occasion and keeps the Bees from firing on all cylinders in the early going.
Matt Hatfield Says - Brookville 31-14
Hat's B-List Games for Friday 9/3/21:
Courtland (0-1) at Louisa (1-0) . . . The Lions are looking for their 38th consecutive regular season win in this one. Jordan Smith is a two-way standout for Louisa who had over 100 on the ground and 5 sacks in a 30-0 shutout of Huguenot.
More in Central VA Preview from Robert Edmonds Here.
Matt Hatfield Says - Louisa 30-12
Robert Edmonds Says - Louisa 35-14
Rustburg (1-0) at Appomattox . . . Under new Head Coach Burt Torrence, Rustburg opened some eyes with its 53-13 romp of Monticello, but this is a different type of test against the reigning Class 2 State Champion Raiders, who welcome back Doug Smith to the sideline after his battle with cancer.
Matt Hatfield Says - Appomattox 40-18
Luray (1-0) at Buffalo Gap (1-0) . . . This is a true litmus test for two teams that both won their openers by comfortable margins of three touchdowns or more. Expect a much closer match this week as Buffalo Gap leads the all-time series 19-16 with an even 3-3 mark the last six meetings. Each of the last four encounters has been decided by 10 points or fewer.
Matt Hatfield Says - Luray 26-21
THE REST: 757 Style with Ed Young vs. Matt Hatfield
Bruton (1-0) at Surry . . . Trey Corbin was the Tidewater Player of the Week as he accounted for 5 TD's in a 32-28 comeback win over Northampton, so the Surry defense will have to corral him to keep the
Matt Hatfield Says - Bruton 28-20
Coach Ed Young Says - Bruton 18-16
Grassfield (0-1) at Churchland (0-1) . . . Grizzlies Coach Martin Asprey once was at the helm of Churchland, but this marks the first meeting between the two schools since Grassfield pitched a 7-0 shutout back in 2008.
Matt Hatfield Says - Churchland 27-9
Coach Ed Young Says - Churchland 20-18
Western Branch (1-0) at Granby (0-1) . . . Optimism is growing for the Bruins, who beat Churchland 20-14 in a game where they racked up 401 total yards of offense behind 227 on the ground from Shimique Blizzard and 131 passing by Taquan Trotman.
Matt Hatfield Says - Western Branch 36-6
Coach Ed Young Says - Western Branch 40-0
Warhill (1-0) at Norcom . . . The key in this one could be how well Norcom blocks Warhill DE Luke Holmes, who had seven tackles and two sacks as the Lions beat Warwick 22-6 in their opener last weekend.
Matt Hatfield Says - Norcom 20-18
Coach Ed Young Says - Norcom 26-22
Southampton at Lakeland (0-1) . . . The trio of QB Alkendric Overton, RB Damarion Jordan and WR Jayden Rogers were enough to help Lakeland put up 43 points a week ago, but their defense will have to be better against Southampton as they gave up 46 points in a loss to Manor that stretched their losing streak to 17 games.
Matt Hatfield Says - Lakeland 34-18
Coach Ed Young Says - Lakeland 18-17
Essex (1-0) at Jamestown (0-1) . . . To even their mark to 1-1, Jamestown must be able to slow down Essex ball carrier Dorian Harris, who found the end zone three times in a 33-16 season-opening triumph over Sussex Central.
Matt Hatfield Says - Essex 42-14
Coach Ed Young Says - Essex 34-6
SATURDAY ACTION (9/4/21) . . .
Bethel (0-1) at Warwick (0-1) . . . After Bethel won five straight in the series from 2011-15, Warwick ha responded by winning three of the past four matchups between these two squads.
Matt Hatfield Says - Warwick 21-19
Coach Ed Young Says - Warwick 27-16
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