Region A. As expected, it looks like King William regardless of it's seed, will be one of the last 2 standing along with Poquoson, unless Poquoson get's upset at home by Lunenburg and KW loses at Bruton, but KW is the favs to win that game, so after all has shaken out, very likely the final 2 most fans probably expected from early on will be the two that meet again. Can't count out Bruton and Central yet though.
Region B. As expected from early on, most fans knew it would probably be up in the air with several teams having a shot to win the Region as Central Woodstock's coach retired and Riverheads lost Triple C. It turns out, it's up in the air and that theme still holds. Clarke County going 10-0 and then losing in round one is a surprise, but again the diversity and depth of this region holds true with MC's win. I think Buckingham, Riverheads, and Strasburg (any of these 3) making it to the region title game is no surprise. If Madison County pulls off a win at BC next week and makes it to the Region Title Game, that would be considered a surprise when looking simply at the numbers with MC being the 8th seed. But again, when you look at MC's quality of play on the field and potential, it's not a huge surprise.
Region C. Much like Region A, few to any surprises. Glenvar was expected to be the team to beat and they are the one seed and many thought they would be hosting Appo in game 2 of the playoffs, but Floyd beat Appo close. Most fans knew Appo would be down a bit this year. Radford, I thought would end up the 3 seed behind Gretna to start the season, but most figured it would be Gretna and Radford as the 2 and 3 seeds and us two teams meeting in game 2 of the playoffs and we are. It's just at Radford instead of Gretna and it figures to be a close game as expected. Most give Floyd little chance to win at Glenvar. No major surprises in Region C this year. Appo was down a bit more than I thought they would be and Gretna is not quite as strong as I thought they would be, but no major surprises.
Region D. Most figured Graham, Union, Ridgeview and this has held true, but Va High is the oddball. We (Radford) beat Va High early on in the season and over the last 4 or 5 weeks, Va High doesn't even look like the same football team. If any surprises in Region D, it would be Va High, especially if they could win in Bluefield at Graham (tall task-both literally and figuratively).
Predictions.
Region A. Poquoson and KW both win next week setting up another great game between two heavyweights in the Region A Title Game.
Region B. I think Buckingham County playing at home wins very close and gets the monkey off it's back for good with early playoff exits and plays for the Region Title against Riverheads who I think will beat Strasburg. Everything tells me to pick Strasburg who I think is the more complete team, but picking against Riverheads in the playoffs within the region is never a good choice. Riverheads finds a way to rise to the occasion and we saw it again with Stuarts Draft last night when it mattered most. Both MC and Strasburg can win and no surprise if they do. Even the matchup with Strasburg's ability to throw the football favors them over Riverheads and playing at home, but I'm picking Riverheads. If Strasburg wins this game, it will be a game where Strasburg wins by 10 points or more. If it's close, Riverheads isn't losing. If Strasburg wins, it will be a game where they are wide open on offense and the football is in the air a lot and they beat Riverheads by 14 or so points with over 150 passing yards (this is very possible and many or most would probably predict Strasburg to win and I don't blame them).
Region C. Glenvar and Radford both win next week setting up a region title game between 2 rivals. I picked Gretna to be in the Region C Title Game preseason based on what Radford lost and what Gretna returned and I would pick Gretna to win this game next weekend over Radford, if it were at Gretna. Playing at home, I think we beat Gretna in a very close game. No surprise if the Hawks win though.
Region D. I'm picking Graham and Union. Both teams can lose on their home fields. Ridgeview is good enough to win at Union and Va High is playing good enough to win at Graham, but both will need to be perfect and both will need Graham and Union to have major penalties and boneheaded plays and a few turnovers. Union and Graham as talented as both are, can pull this off and self destruct with penalties in a hurry, but I don't think it will be enough for Ridgeview and Va High playing on the road and now it's cold in the mountains. Very cold, and that usually favors physicality and Graham and Union are brutally physical and in my opinion, the most physical two teams in Class 2.
