I think playing when you aren't used to playing is more a factor when you are playing an uncommon opponent. That's when the magnitude of the game/the situation gets to a team sometimes. Since this is a game between two schools from the same district who's players know each other very well, it will be like any other game they play. Rapahannock gets to play at home too. Essex is only coming from a few miles away across the river, but it's still a positive for Rappahannock. It will be a hard fought game between two big NND rivals!

gwb16 said:

Upset of the playoff season.
If Phoebus comes out with overconfidence (read that as not respecting the Crabbers) and a boat load of penalties, it could spell trouble.

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No

AntGZee said:

Where will the game be played?

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LCA

Where will the game be played?

Vaborn76 said:

I'm confused, no more than two weeks ago, right after Handley nearly defeated Salem and honestly should have there is a post on here talking about the fact that Salems D is still bad. A win against GW is is what it took to turn the Salem haters back into believers?

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I’d agree that Salem dodged a bullet against Handley and should be super fortunate that they won the game. I just think that Salem looks like they have an extra step when they play the kind of defense that they played this past Friday night.

I'm picking Sherando but the edge has to go to Salem here.

On offense Sherando will need to make Salem respect the pass because they don't have any dominant running backs and may have a backup at QB. If Salem is allowed to stack the box I can't see Sherando having much success on offense. Not respecting the pass actually burned Jefferson Forest after Carlson went down late in the third. They left a couple guys open trying to get at Henry and gave up what would turn out to be the game-winning touchdown.

Sherando has given up a bunch of yardage on defense this year but very few opposing offenses have much to show for their efforts. I sometimes hear it joked that "bend but don't break" defense is just code for "we don't have any confidence in our defense." I don't think that's the case for the Warriors. Sherando only gave up 99 points in the regular season and almost half of those were against an underrated Kettle Run team whose QB had a lights out performance. The "bend but don't break" defense didn't work against them because KR was consistently able to convert third and longs with short pass plays over the middle, and when those weren't open they threw bombs down the sidelines and took advantage of mismatches at WR/DB.

This year's edition of the Warriors doesn't feature any superstars who can take over a game like George Aston or Ross Metheny (though Walters has shown up late in the season after having been injured most of the year). They have a bunch of solid players who are well-coached, and they'll need to play their best game of the year to win later this week.

I think Sherando wins a low scoring affair. If Salem reaches 25-30 points the Spartans take it.

Obviously Phoebus. But is Hampton making real progress? Can this be a game within the next 2 years?

Hasn’t Phoebus already beat the brakes off Hampton in the regular season?

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 he was the only one that could match yall speed that year. Johnson Harrison & Pegus were just out running us

General172011 said:

once we tied the game we knew we were going to win the PAT was our Kryptonite that entire 2nd half smh

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Film on that Monday was so funny. Coach just kept replaying that WR #4. Jackson i think. Just running up and down the field on us.

GoBlue2109 said:

Woah brother that 2009 game we let yall back in it. But for real I became a fan of yall that day. I was like damn that's 1st team we played that was in the same type of shape we in.

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once we tied the game we knew we were going to win the PAT was our Kryptonite that entire 2nd half smh

General172011 said:

We should have 3 wins against them but not having a field goal kicker in 2009 held us back & 2012 was one of the worst officiated games I’ve seen

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Woah brother that 2009 game we let yall back in it. But for real I became a fan of yall that day. I was like damn that's 1st team we played that was in the same type of shape we in.

Salem is gonna Salem they just overreact because they expected a more comfortable win vs a backup QB. We gotta remember these are 14-18 year old kids. But at the end of the day Salem is gonna Salem!!! Ima say it now if Salem scores first they may win this game 10-0 or 10-7 they do whatever it takes to win a game they literally never surprise me no matter how “down” they are. I expect 3/4 Championship Games to be highly contested. All 3 are 50/50 toss ups

Phoebus Fan said:

Yes i agree Varina and Dinwiddie are in the top 4 of 4A and they’ll now get a chance to win their area and move on and play the best from another area. The only change that needed to be made was made and that was changing A vs B and C vs D in state semi round.

It’s a state playoff so having a final four bas d on geographic location is the best route. Plus imagine a year where a team from out west could come to play in 804 then the next week the 757 then the next week to the 804 again. Who’s paying for all of that?

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The long travel distances are the norm now. Several regions already have long travel times every round. In 2022 Kettle Run had to make back to back trips to Lynchburg for the State-semifinals and finals. That's just one example but it happens quite often.

Clearly VHSL doesn't care about geographic locations. They wouldn't have changed the semifinal format last year and this year if so. They are trying to get the best matchup in the championship, even if it means having two teams from the "eastern" half of the state. Which, I am completely fine with. I just want to see the most competitive games possible, especially in the semifinals and finals.

The cool thing about this matchup is, it's 2 teams that mirror each other in a lot of ways.

Dinwiddie out in the country.
Even though Varina is in Henrico the school is surrounded by acres of cornfields.

Dinwiddie has a blue collar workman program under Mills. No excuses just work.

Varina since the Chilcoat days have prided themselves on being the hardest working team in the area and it's a lot of guys that played under Chilcoat on the staff.

Both teams have physically worn down their opponents all year. Varina more defensively and Dinwiddie more offensively.

Strengh of schedule is about the same for both teams. Varina was super unfortunate to lose the Freedom/Hayfield/PME whatever you want to call them game. Since Dinwiddie played Maury that will be the best team either team has played. I think that could play a factor. Dinwiddie won't be shocked by Varina’s defense how Huguenot was.

Both teams have "Weaknesses" but I don't think they're glaring. It's just a matter of can a team take advantage.

Let's start with Dinwiddie.
Pass defense seems to be the only weakness. But if you look a lot of those big plays it's just other guys making plays. Matoaca literally only had success hitting bombs and most of King George's success was on bombs. King George easily has one of the more sophisticated and well run offenses in the state and Dinwiddie adjusted to that as the game went on. Varina to me really only has 1 guy in particular that can challenge you deep but he is a MONSTER. Varina's passing game isn't sophisticated like KG so let's see how they plan to attack the secondary.


For Varina: Their main weakness is just the offense overall. Sometimes it's play calling. Sometimes the oline is just stuck in mud and doesn't move very well. I'm sure you're looking at the numbers (33 ppg)and thinking I'm crazy but look at what's actually happening in the games. Simply put KALEB WYCHE is freaking ridiculous. When Varina has success it's just been "Wyche go do something". We've talked about Varina having an improved offense, but it's largely due to Wyche being a better player. 5 Henderson at RB has been an upgrade over previous backs and has played well but again he hasn't exactly put up great numbers this year. Overall the offense being bland and not creative worries me at this point of the year.

So with that said can Varina’s Dline overwhelm Dinwiddie's Oline? Maybe but I think it will be close to a stalemate.

Will Dinwiddie be able to shut down Varina’s offense? Possibly but Varina has dudes that will make something out of nothing.

I think most thing between the teams balance out where one team has an advantage then other team has an advantage in a different spot.

Finally coaching. Varina has had some question marks but they're in the Region championship for 3rd the time in 4 years. So hey, they're doing something right on Messer Rd. The defense will be ready to play. The offense will have to make adjustments but I'm skeptical as to what they can come with.

I dont have any questions about Mills and crew bringing the kitchen sink to the game. They'll adjust and adjust and adjust until something sticks. The question is will this be a 1 possession/tie game going into the because that's where those moves will show.

Last X factor: with all things very close it might be as simple who makes more plays between Dalton and Wyche. Dalton has been there and done it and Wyche looks next in line to take best player in the region.
Wyche goes both ways but hasn't face an offense like this that might wear him down.
Will we see Dalton on defense????

As the name says GoBlue !!! I'm going to punk out and not make a pick.

I'm confused, no more than two weeks ago, right after Handley nearly defeated Salem and honestly should have there is a post on here talking about the fact that Salems D is still bad. A win against GW is is what it took to turn the Salem haters back into believers?

I think Salem wins. They have been there before. Strong running game and good defense is a recipe for success.

Phoebus will beat Hampton being Phoebus. No opponent is overlooked. That's how u get to a 46 game winning streak. Hampton has improved but was recently blown out by Warwick 3 weeks ago.

@General172011, the naysayers always talk about our interior line size and play. We have always had small o lines who get on the d lines hips and trap well. Coach Davis always has that group prepared. You know better than anybody what we do to teams who don't play disciplined in the trenches. Also its always the same story about how our db's don't play up and face guard. Oh well, Dinwiddie has always played bend, but don't break defense. One more quick point. One reason most Dinwiddie defenses give up 15-18 points a game is because we score fast and often. Teams get more opportunities thus more points. Unless Varina shuts our offense down for four quarters we and the sod will take it's toil on their big boys.

No easy task for Mills and company, but I bet he already has to tendencies mapped out.

@BoKnowsSports, Varina get hit with fouls, because Wyche is super mobile and extends plays. Hard for lineman to know when he is going to run or pass. Same thing with holding. The longer you have to extend your block the likelihood of a holding calls. Varina's Helter Skelter long ball offense is tough to scheme for.

A week ago I would have gone with Sherando. However, from what I saw out of the Salem defense on Friday the team looks like it’s gelling at the right time. I think the Salem run game will cause problems for Sherando. I do think Sherando will score but eventually the Salem line play and ground game will just get to be too much. With Carlson’s status up in the air I’ll go with Salem in this one. Salem 31 Sherando 17

CLASS 4 PLAYOFFS

Tuscarora
Phoebus
Salem
Dinwiddie


CLASS 5 PLAYOFFS

William Fleming
Riverbend
Maury
Green Run


CLASS 3 PLAYOFFS

Liberty Christian
Kettle Run
Lord Botetourt
Lafayette


CLASS 6 PLAYOFFS

Patriot
Oscar Smith
James Madison


CLASS 2 PLAYOFFS

Strasburg
Glenvar
Poquoson
Graham



CLASS 1 PLAYOFFS

Altavista
Rye Cove
Essex
Bath Co