Below, VirginiaPreps.com Publisher and ESPN Radio 94.1 host Matthew Hatfield makes his Picks for the 2020-21 High School Football Region Championship games against his ESPN Radio 94.1 co-host, Coach Ed Young, of Nansemond River High in Suffolk...
Matt Hatfield Region Semis Record: 37-10 (78.7%)
Ed Young Region Semis Record: 36-11 (76.6%)
Last week, Hatfield edged Young out thanks to Maury's victory over Salem in the Region 5A Semis.
Region 6A Finals:
#2 Thomas Dale (6-0) at #1 Oscar Smith (6-0) . . . Since their 20-17 overtime loss to Thomas Dale in the 2009 State Semis, the Tigers have won the last two playoff encounters with the Knights, including 29-7 on Thanksgiving weekend in 2019. Smith's defense has given up just six points in six games, shutting out five opponents to date. Dale comes in averaging 35.7 points per game and racked up 433 yards rushing with five rushing touchdowns in last week's regional semifinal triumph over Franklin County. Meanwhile, the Tigers - making their 17th consecutive regional title game appearance - put up more than 55 points per game contest with junior QB Ethan Vasko directing their balanced attack/
Matt Hatfield Says: Oscar Smith 35-7
Coach Ed Young Says: Oscar Smith 30-12
Region 6B Finals:
#4 Patriot (5-1) at #2 Massaponax (7-0) . . . The Panthers feature the Commonwealth District Offensive Player of the Year in QB Luke Morley, a Navy commit, as well as the Commonwealth District Defensvie Player of the Year in LB Eliajh Christopher, who'll play his College Football at Washington & Lee. Patriot upended top-seeded and previously unbeaten Gar-Field 13-7 in last week's regional semifinals, but can the defense duplicate that against the vaunted triple-option of the Panthers? Eric Ludden's squad has put up at least 38 points every time out and the defense has pitched four shutouts, yielding just 8 PPG as this is the first time since 2005 they're holding foes to single digit points per outing.
Matt Hatfield Says: Massaponax 36-13
Coach Ed Young Says: Massaponax 30-20
Region 6C Finals:
#2 Robinson (5-2) at #1 South County (7-0) . . . The reigning Class 6 State Champion Stallions bring in a 22-game winning streak overall and have won six in a row over the Rams, who last triumphed in this series in 2012. Robinson boasts a five-star All-American offensive lineman in Clemson signee Tristan Leigh, helping pave the way for an offense that had its way in a 58-35 regional semifinal victory over Lake Braddock a week ago. Do the Rams have the defensive formula to slow South County's explosive offense? The Stallions have plenty of firepower with UVA-bound QB Charlie Miska (1593Yds. 19-2 TD/Int. ratio; 648Yds. 11TD's rushing) alongside dynamic receivers Cam Hoskins (28Rec. 544Yds. 9TD's) and Brock Spalding (24Rec. 533Yds. 6TD's)
Matt Hatfield Says: South County 42-27
Coach Ed Young Says: South County 33-24
Region 6D Finals:
#3 Chantilly (6-1) at #1 James Madison (7-0) . . . These two teams have gotten here largely because of their defenses. Led by Notre Dame commit and junior d-lineman Aiden Gobaira, Chantilly is giving up just 5.4 points per contest. Madison, off to its best start since going 8-0 in 2007, limits foes to a mere 6.4 PPG. Chantilly had won eight straight in this head-to-series from 1991-2015, one of which was a playoff encounter six years ago. Madison has since rebounded to win in a row over the Chargers, which included a 10-3 low-scoring battle back on March 26th.
Matt Hatfield Says: Madison 12-7
Coach Ed Young Says: Madison 21-18
Region 5A Finals:
#4 Maury (5-1) at #3 Deep Creek (6-1) . . . Maury has won two of the three all-time meetings, including 41-7 in the 2019 regional quarterfinals on their way to an undefeated State Championship season. Both teams won by identical scores of 20-7 in the regional semis with Maury taking out top-seeded Salem for the third consecutive postseason, while Deep Creek got off to a strong start and ousted a Cox team that went 5-0 in the regular season. The lone loss for Deep Creek came at the hands of Oscar Smith, the top-ranked team in Class 6, by a count of 51-0, while Maury's only defeat was to Lake Taylor, the top-ranked team in Class 4, by a tally of 27-14.
Matt Hatfield Says: Maury 24-16
Coach Ed Young Says: Maury 30-26
Region 5C Finals:
#2 Briar Woods (5-1) at #1 Stone Bridge (6-0) . . . Mickey Thompson's Bulldogs are putting up a whopping 58.3 points per game, fresh off a 74-6 romp of Freedom-South Riding in the regional semifinals. Briar Woods is 0-6 all-time against Stone Bridge with the closest they've come being a 28-17 loss in 2015.
Matt Hatfield Says: Stone Bridge 49-19
Coach Ed Young Says: Stone Bridge 40-12
Region 5D Finals:
#4 Mountain View (4-3) at #2 William Fleming (5-2) . . . Fleming is coming off a 63-21 trouncing of Harrisonburg in the regional semis, while Mountain View doubled up top-seeded Patrick Henry-Roanoke by a count of 14-7. Mountain View won the only other previous meeting between these two teams when Lou Sorrentino's Wildcats pitched a 35-0 shutout of the Colonels.
Matt Hatfield Says: Mountain View 20-13
Coach Ed Young Says: William Fleming 20-13
Region 4A Finals:
#2 Churchland (4-1) at #1 Lake Taylor (5-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Lake Taylor 30-13
Coach Ed Young Says: Lake Taylor 28-6
Region 4B Finals:
#2 King George (7-0) at #1 Monacan (7-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Monacan 26-18
Coach Ed Young Says: Monacan 20-16
Region 4C Finals:
#2 Broad Run (5-1) at #1 Tuscarora (6-0) . . . These two teams have had some absolute battles over the years. In fact, this is the sixth postseason meeting between these two programs since 2014. Back on March 12th, it was Tuscarora sneaking out a 20-19 win, a lot closer than their 30-7 victory over the Spartans for the Region 4C Championship back in November of 2019. Broad Run leads the all-time series 7-6. The Spartans have one of the state's best QB's in Brett Griffis, a junior verbally committed to Wake Forest. Tuscarora counters with a running back in Bryce Duke that has a handful of FBS offers and a game-changer on the defensive line in Matei Fitz, who has signed with JMU.
Matt Hatfield Says: Tuscarora 23-20
Coach Ed Young Says: Tuscarora 30-28
Region 4D Finals:
#2 GW-Danville (6-1) at #1 Salem (7-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Salem 35-16
Coach Ed Young Says: Salem 30-24
Region 3A Finals:
#2 Phoebus (4-0) at #1 Lafayette (6-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Lafayette 20-14
Coach Ed Young Says: Phoebus 20-18
Region 3B Finals:
#2 Independence (4-1) at #1 Goochland (6-0) . . . This is the first ever encounter on the gridiron between these two teams. If it's anything like their Region 3B Championship encounter earlier this year in basketball, won by Independence 112-107 in triple-overtime, then fans are in for a treat. Goochland is no stranger to this spot as back in 2019 they led Hopewell, the eventual Class 3 State Champs, in the State Semis before the Blue Devils rallied for the victory. Independence is led by its dual-threat junior QB Brian Courtney, who earlier this week gave a pledge to play his College Football in the ACC at Florida State.
Matt Hatfield Says: Goochland 27-21
Coach Ed Young Says: Goochland 24-18
Region 3C Finals:
#4 Heritage-Lynchburg (6-1) at #3 Liberty Christian (5-1) . . . The Pioneers, under the direction of Brad Bradley, are used to making deep playoff runs and won the Class 3 State Championship as recent as 2018 when they beat Phoebus at Liberty University. His Pioneers dominated top-seeded Rockbridge County 48-10 in the regional semifinals. LCA, which upended a Brookville team that handed Heritage its lone loss to date on the season, put forth a dominant showing in ousting the Bees 42-14 in the regionals. The headline name for LCA is 5-star junior offensive lineman Zach Rice, regarded as the best player at his position in the country for the Class of 2022.
Matt Hatfield Says: LCA 34-28 (OT)
Coach Ed Young Says: LCA 30-26
Region 3D Finals:
#2 Abingdon (6-0) at #1 Lord Botetourt (7-0) . . . To call Lord Botetourt dominant this year might be an understatement. They've scored no less than 49 points in any of their victories with the closest game being a 55-13 running clock rout of William Byrd. After going 14-1 and losing to Hopewell in the State Finals in 2019, the Cavaliers look like a team on a mission. Abingdon is no slouch in outscoring foes by an average margin of 42-6, but can they conquer this challenge? Botetourt, which features multiple college-bound prospects in the trenches, won both of the previous playoff encounters back in 2015 (39-28) and 2018 (63-27) by double-digits.
Matt Hatfield Says: Lord Botetourt 44-14
Coach Ed Young Says: Lord Botetourt 40-12
Region 2A Finals:
#4 Poquoson (3-2) at #3 Amelia (3-3) . . . The Islanders escaped with a 16-12 victory over top-seeded Nottoway a week ago, while Amelia advanced due to a COVID related issue with regional favorite King William to officially declare the game ruled as no contest.
Matt Hatfield Says: Poquoson 22-12
Coach Ed Young Says: Poquoson 28-20
Region 2B Finals:
#2 Strasburg (6-1) at #1 Stuarts Draft (6-1) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Stuarts Draft 27-10
Coach Ed Young Says: Stuarts Draft 24-20
Region 2C Finals:
#3 Glenvar (5-2) at #1 Appomattox (7-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Appomattox 30-17
Coach Ed Young Says: Appomattox 36-12
Region 2D Finals:
#4 Union (5-2) at #2 Central-Wise (5-1) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Central-Wise 21-14
Coach Ed Young Says: Central-Wise 24-20
Region 1A Finals:
#2 West Point (4-2) at #1 King & Queen (6-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: King & Queen 27-13
Coach Ed Young Says: King & Queen 36-20
Region 1B Finals:
#2 Central-Lunenburg (4-2) at #1 Riverheads (7-0) . . . The Gladiators continue their quest for a VHSL record fifth consecutive state title. They currently share the record with Hampton from 1995-98, Phoebus from 2008-11 and Highland Springs from 2015-18. Lunenburg opened eyes last week when it knocked off William Campbell 62-32 in the regional semis.
Matt Hatfield Says: Riverheads 42-7
Coach Ed Young Says: Riverheads 38-14
Region 1C Finals:
#2 Narrows (7-0) at #1 Galax (7-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Galax 14-13
Coach Ed Young Says: Galax 24-21 (OT)
Matt Hatfield Region Semis Record: 37-10 (78.7%)
Ed Young Region Semis Record: 36-11 (76.6%)
Last week, Hatfield edged Young out thanks to Maury's victory over Salem in the Region 5A Semis.
Region 6A Finals:
#2 Thomas Dale (6-0) at #1 Oscar Smith (6-0) . . . Since their 20-17 overtime loss to Thomas Dale in the 2009 State Semis, the Tigers have won the last two playoff encounters with the Knights, including 29-7 on Thanksgiving weekend in 2019. Smith's defense has given up just six points in six games, shutting out five opponents to date. Dale comes in averaging 35.7 points per game and racked up 433 yards rushing with five rushing touchdowns in last week's regional semifinal triumph over Franklin County. Meanwhile, the Tigers - making their 17th consecutive regional title game appearance - put up more than 55 points per game contest with junior QB Ethan Vasko directing their balanced attack/
Matt Hatfield Says: Oscar Smith 35-7
Coach Ed Young Says: Oscar Smith 30-12
Region 6B Finals:
#4 Patriot (5-1) at #2 Massaponax (7-0) . . . The Panthers feature the Commonwealth District Offensive Player of the Year in QB Luke Morley, a Navy commit, as well as the Commonwealth District Defensvie Player of the Year in LB Eliajh Christopher, who'll play his College Football at Washington & Lee. Patriot upended top-seeded and previously unbeaten Gar-Field 13-7 in last week's regional semifinals, but can the defense duplicate that against the vaunted triple-option of the Panthers? Eric Ludden's squad has put up at least 38 points every time out and the defense has pitched four shutouts, yielding just 8 PPG as this is the first time since 2005 they're holding foes to single digit points per outing.
Matt Hatfield Says: Massaponax 36-13
Coach Ed Young Says: Massaponax 30-20
Region 6C Finals:
#2 Robinson (5-2) at #1 South County (7-0) . . . The reigning Class 6 State Champion Stallions bring in a 22-game winning streak overall and have won six in a row over the Rams, who last triumphed in this series in 2012. Robinson boasts a five-star All-American offensive lineman in Clemson signee Tristan Leigh, helping pave the way for an offense that had its way in a 58-35 regional semifinal victory over Lake Braddock a week ago. Do the Rams have the defensive formula to slow South County's explosive offense? The Stallions have plenty of firepower with UVA-bound QB Charlie Miska (1593Yds. 19-2 TD/Int. ratio; 648Yds. 11TD's rushing) alongside dynamic receivers Cam Hoskins (28Rec. 544Yds. 9TD's) and Brock Spalding (24Rec. 533Yds. 6TD's)
Matt Hatfield Says: South County 42-27
Coach Ed Young Says: South County 33-24
Region 6D Finals:
#3 Chantilly (6-1) at #1 James Madison (7-0) . . . These two teams have gotten here largely because of their defenses. Led by Notre Dame commit and junior d-lineman Aiden Gobaira, Chantilly is giving up just 5.4 points per contest. Madison, off to its best start since going 8-0 in 2007, limits foes to a mere 6.4 PPG. Chantilly had won eight straight in this head-to-series from 1991-2015, one of which was a playoff encounter six years ago. Madison has since rebounded to win in a row over the Chargers, which included a 10-3 low-scoring battle back on March 26th.
Matt Hatfield Says: Madison 12-7
Coach Ed Young Says: Madison 21-18
Region 5A Finals:
#4 Maury (5-1) at #3 Deep Creek (6-1) . . . Maury has won two of the three all-time meetings, including 41-7 in the 2019 regional quarterfinals on their way to an undefeated State Championship season. Both teams won by identical scores of 20-7 in the regional semis with Maury taking out top-seeded Salem for the third consecutive postseason, while Deep Creek got off to a strong start and ousted a Cox team that went 5-0 in the regular season. The lone loss for Deep Creek came at the hands of Oscar Smith, the top-ranked team in Class 6, by a count of 51-0, while Maury's only defeat was to Lake Taylor, the top-ranked team in Class 4, by a tally of 27-14.
Matt Hatfield Says: Maury 24-16
Coach Ed Young Says: Maury 30-26
Region 5C Finals:
#2 Briar Woods (5-1) at #1 Stone Bridge (6-0) . . . Mickey Thompson's Bulldogs are putting up a whopping 58.3 points per game, fresh off a 74-6 romp of Freedom-South Riding in the regional semifinals. Briar Woods is 0-6 all-time against Stone Bridge with the closest they've come being a 28-17 loss in 2015.
Matt Hatfield Says: Stone Bridge 49-19
Coach Ed Young Says: Stone Bridge 40-12
Region 5D Finals:
#4 Mountain View (4-3) at #2 William Fleming (5-2) . . . Fleming is coming off a 63-21 trouncing of Harrisonburg in the regional semis, while Mountain View doubled up top-seeded Patrick Henry-Roanoke by a count of 14-7. Mountain View won the only other previous meeting between these two teams when Lou Sorrentino's Wildcats pitched a 35-0 shutout of the Colonels.
Matt Hatfield Says: Mountain View 20-13
Coach Ed Young Says: William Fleming 20-13
Region 4A Finals:
#2 Churchland (4-1) at #1 Lake Taylor (5-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Lake Taylor 30-13
Coach Ed Young Says: Lake Taylor 28-6
Region 4B Finals:
#2 King George (7-0) at #1 Monacan (7-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Monacan 26-18
Coach Ed Young Says: Monacan 20-16
Region 4C Finals:
#2 Broad Run (5-1) at #1 Tuscarora (6-0) . . . These two teams have had some absolute battles over the years. In fact, this is the sixth postseason meeting between these two programs since 2014. Back on March 12th, it was Tuscarora sneaking out a 20-19 win, a lot closer than their 30-7 victory over the Spartans for the Region 4C Championship back in November of 2019. Broad Run leads the all-time series 7-6. The Spartans have one of the state's best QB's in Brett Griffis, a junior verbally committed to Wake Forest. Tuscarora counters with a running back in Bryce Duke that has a handful of FBS offers and a game-changer on the defensive line in Matei Fitz, who has signed with JMU.
Matt Hatfield Says: Tuscarora 23-20
Coach Ed Young Says: Tuscarora 30-28
Region 4D Finals:
#2 GW-Danville (6-1) at #1 Salem (7-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Salem 35-16
Coach Ed Young Says: Salem 30-24
Region 3A Finals:
#2 Phoebus (4-0) at #1 Lafayette (6-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Lafayette 20-14
Coach Ed Young Says: Phoebus 20-18
Region 3B Finals:
#2 Independence (4-1) at #1 Goochland (6-0) . . . This is the first ever encounter on the gridiron between these two teams. If it's anything like their Region 3B Championship encounter earlier this year in basketball, won by Independence 112-107 in triple-overtime, then fans are in for a treat. Goochland is no stranger to this spot as back in 2019 they led Hopewell, the eventual Class 3 State Champs, in the State Semis before the Blue Devils rallied for the victory. Independence is led by its dual-threat junior QB Brian Courtney, who earlier this week gave a pledge to play his College Football in the ACC at Florida State.
Matt Hatfield Says: Goochland 27-21
Coach Ed Young Says: Goochland 24-18
Region 3C Finals:
#4 Heritage-Lynchburg (6-1) at #3 Liberty Christian (5-1) . . . The Pioneers, under the direction of Brad Bradley, are used to making deep playoff runs and won the Class 3 State Championship as recent as 2018 when they beat Phoebus at Liberty University. His Pioneers dominated top-seeded Rockbridge County 48-10 in the regional semifinals. LCA, which upended a Brookville team that handed Heritage its lone loss to date on the season, put forth a dominant showing in ousting the Bees 42-14 in the regionals. The headline name for LCA is 5-star junior offensive lineman Zach Rice, regarded as the best player at his position in the country for the Class of 2022.
Matt Hatfield Says: LCA 34-28 (OT)
Coach Ed Young Says: LCA 30-26
Region 3D Finals:
#2 Abingdon (6-0) at #1 Lord Botetourt (7-0) . . . To call Lord Botetourt dominant this year might be an understatement. They've scored no less than 49 points in any of their victories with the closest game being a 55-13 running clock rout of William Byrd. After going 14-1 and losing to Hopewell in the State Finals in 2019, the Cavaliers look like a team on a mission. Abingdon is no slouch in outscoring foes by an average margin of 42-6, but can they conquer this challenge? Botetourt, which features multiple college-bound prospects in the trenches, won both of the previous playoff encounters back in 2015 (39-28) and 2018 (63-27) by double-digits.
Matt Hatfield Says: Lord Botetourt 44-14
Coach Ed Young Says: Lord Botetourt 40-12
Region 2A Finals:
#4 Poquoson (3-2) at #3 Amelia (3-3) . . . The Islanders escaped with a 16-12 victory over top-seeded Nottoway a week ago, while Amelia advanced due to a COVID related issue with regional favorite King William to officially declare the game ruled as no contest.
Matt Hatfield Says: Poquoson 22-12
Coach Ed Young Says: Poquoson 28-20
Region 2B Finals:
#2 Strasburg (6-1) at #1 Stuarts Draft (6-1) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Stuarts Draft 27-10
Coach Ed Young Says: Stuarts Draft 24-20
Region 2C Finals:
#3 Glenvar (5-2) at #1 Appomattox (7-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Appomattox 30-17
Coach Ed Young Says: Appomattox 36-12
Region 2D Finals:
#4 Union (5-2) at #2 Central-Wise (5-1) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Central-Wise 21-14
Coach Ed Young Says: Central-Wise 24-20
Region 1A Finals:
#2 West Point (4-2) at #1 King & Queen (6-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: King & Queen 27-13
Coach Ed Young Says: King & Queen 36-20
Region 1B Finals:
#2 Central-Lunenburg (4-2) at #1 Riverheads (7-0) . . . The Gladiators continue their quest for a VHSL record fifth consecutive state title. They currently share the record with Hampton from 1995-98, Phoebus from 2008-11 and Highland Springs from 2015-18. Lunenburg opened eyes last week when it knocked off William Campbell 62-32 in the regional semis.
Matt Hatfield Says: Riverheads 42-7
Coach Ed Young Says: Riverheads 38-14
Region 1C Finals:
#2 Narrows (7-0) at #1 Galax (7-0) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says: Galax 14-13
Coach Ed Young Says: Galax 24-21 (OT)
