High School Football Predictions Battle: 2024 Regular Season Totals
Matthew Hatfield – 203-31 (86.7%)
Coach Ed Young – 197-37 (84.2%)
Young went 20-2 with his only blemishes being Bayside’s 20-7 victory over Ocean Lakes and Warhill’s 35-29 triumph over Tabb. Meanwhile, Hatfield went 19-3, also missing on the Bayside/Ocean Lakes game as well as Western Branch’s 24-20 win over Grassfield that put them in the Region 6A playoffs as well as Hampton’s 35-21 victory over Bethel on Halloween.
GAME OF THE WEEK: 11/2/24
Poquoson (9-0) at Lafayette (9-0) . . . Oddly enough, not much is at stake in this matchup for either tea in terms of playoff seeding since Lafayette has already locked up the No. 1 seed in Region 3A, while Poquoson is guaranteed to be the No. 1 seed in Region 2A. However, don’t tell the players and coaches this one lacks for significance. In Lafayette’s case, the Rams are trying to wrap up their first 10-0 regular season since 2018. Andy Linn’s Rams, who reached the Class 3 State Finals at Liberty University last December, are outscoring opponents by an average of 50 – 5.2 points per game with four shutouts.
As for Poquoson, the Bull Islanders soundly beat Lake Taylor on the road to open its 2024 campaign and they are playing their best brand of football at the right time of the year, fresh off a season-high in points scored in a 42-6 rout of previously unbeaten Bruton. Elliott Duty’s team has thrived in close battles with three wins by seven points or less, including a 34-31 triumph over Smithfield in quadruple-overtime. They’re putting up 29.6 PPG and allowing just 10.3 PPG. It’s the first 9-0 start for Poquoson since 1978 and beating the Rams would mark the program’s first 10-0 regular season since 1974.
Lafayette has won 11 straight in the series with Poquoson’s last triumph over the Rams coming in 2011 by a count of 27-10. However, it was far from easy a season ago as Lafayette erased a 14-point deficit on its way to winning 17-14. Poquoson out-gained them 148-44 in the first half of that contest. One of the key plays in the comeback was a 28-yard touchdown reception by All-State tight end Daniel Jackson. Both teams are mirror images in that they want to establish the running game and play ball-control in Wing-T systems with stingy defenses helping that cause considerably. The Rams are a bit more on the explosive side in terms of producing the long gainers via the ground or by air.
Thus far, Lafayette is putting up more than 300 yards rushing per game with Brayden Smalls (889 yards, 16 TD’s rushing), Joshua Simpson (704 yards, 8 TD’s rushing) and Breon Stokes (473 yards, 12 TD’s rushing) leading the way. Blockers Anthony Consolo, Yianni Kokolis, Camden Summers, Mason Mills, Andrew Buckley and Greydon Wilson open plenty of running room. Sophomore QB Baum Hogge has thrown for 747 yards and run for another 107, proving to be a steady influence around their host of backs and rock solid linemen.
Poquoson mixes it up with various backs, such as Dylan Bullard, Khaelo Smith and Cody Little. Last week against Bruton, seven different players ran the ball on their way to amassing 288 yards. Carter Jones, Gavin Coffman, Grayson Powell, Ryan Burke, Nathaniel Quiroz and Christian Leonard help pave the way up front. Jones is a D-1 talent with an offer already from Old Dominion. Additionally, the return at QB of Eli Tyndall – known best for his prowess on the baseball diamond – from an early season injury helps balance out the attack, giving the Islanders a threat to get to the edge and complete passes when defenses stack the box.
Bullard from the linebacker spot had two interceptions on defense last week against Bruton, who also saw defenders like Jayson Kell and Dom Galacgac from the secondary victimize them. Coffman and Leonard had pick-sixes in their narrow escape against Tabb when the squad, particularly the offense, dealt with some injuries. Quiroz and Austin Conley have given them dependable tacklers from the second level of the defense to make running games really work to extend possessions. The pressing question will be can Poquoson loosen up the Lafayette defense when it has to with a critical pass conversion on third-and-long if needed?
Even in Lafayette’s worst defensive showing of the season, a 58-20 win over Grafton, seven different defenders made a stop behind the line of scrimmage and two others – Naye’Ron Hudson and the aforementioned Simpson – intercepted passes. Both Stokes and Jackson are disruptive forces on the d-line, while Hogge leads the team in sacks with eight from his linebacker position. Kicker Aidan Gerda has made three field goals on the year to give Lafayette a quality kicking game.
Matt Hatfield Says – Lafayette 26-13
Coach Ed Young Says – Lafayette 33-12
More Action for Thursday 11/7/24:
Smithfield (7-2) at Tabb (4-5) . . . A win for Smithfield most likely secures the No. 2 seed, just ahead of Hampton, in Region 4A. Meanwhile, Tabb can clinch a playoff berth with a victory in Region 3A, or else they play the wait-and-see game, which could include a scenario where they are locked in a three-way tie with Heritage and Petersburg for seeding. Both teams had wild comebacks last week with Smithfield erasing a 31-7 deficit through three quarters of play to stun New Kent, 37-34 in overtime. Tabb put up 26 unanswered points to lead Warhill 29-21 in the fourth quarter before succumbing, 35-29 to the Lions. Corbin Eckert threw for 155 yards and 3 TD’s in that one for Tabb. Meanwhile, the Smithfield offense goes as RB Kinye Martin (183Att. 1381Yds. 9 TD’s) takes them.
Matt Hatfield Says – Smithfield 30-20
Coach Ed Young Says – Smithfield 24-21
Menchville (5-4) at Bethel (5-4) . . . The inability to get timely stops on third down really plagued Bethel in its 35-21 loss to Hampton on Halloween. On offense, tailback Amari Pryear (152Att. 1177Yds. 19 TD’s) is a major force not only running the ball, but also catching passes out of the backfield as a weapon in the screen game for QB Derek Fisher, a mobile, dual-threat type. The winner of this game here locks up the No. 6 seed in Region 5B. Menchville did not look crisp in the early going of its 28-7 win over Denbigh, where they were tied at the break and could’ve easily been down if the Patriots had made a chip shot field goal. LaDarius Adams is a firm tackler for the Monarchs defense, which is giving up 22.4 PPG compared to the 22.7 PPG allowed by Bethel.
Matt Hatfield Says – Bethel 28-14
Coach Ed Young Says – Bethel 24-18
