It's the penultimate weekend of the 2022 Virginia High School Football regular season. While there was some Thursday night action that saw Freedom of Woodbridge wrap up a perfect regular season, Essex and Salem prevail by comfortable margins, and Central-Lunenburg shut out Buckingham in a James River District showdown, we have plenty of intriguing matchups on the docket for this final Friday of October.
Headlining things are unbeatens in action with Louisa hosting Albemarle in a Jefferson District tilt and two-time defending Class 6 State Champ Oscar Smith visiting Chesapeake rival Western Branch. Meanwhile, Virginia Beach has a key matchup of 7-1 squads with Cox taking on Kempsville in a game that has been moved to the Sportsplex. In Lynchburg, Brookville hosts E.C. Glass in a battle that will have ramifications in both 4D and 3C. Plus, eyes will be following undefeated Fairfax visiting Robinson in Northern VA, and Grayson County trying to keep its unblemished year going against George Wythe in a Southwest VA clash.
Let's quickly review the Predictions race between VaPreps Publisher Matthew Hatfield and his ESPN Radio 94.1 counterpart, Coach Ed Young...
Hatfield's 10/21 & 10/22 Weekend Total - 29-4 (87.9%)
Hatfield's 2022 Season Total - 263-50 (84%)
Hatfield's Tidewater Season Total - 177-26 (87.2%) + 18-2 for the weekend (90%)
Coach Young's 10/21 & 10/22 Weekend - 18-3 (85.7%)
Coach Young's 2022 Season Total - 175-32 (84.5%)
Coach Young's Tidewater Season Total - 173-30 (85.2%) + 18-2 for the weekend (90%)
While both Hatfield & Young missed on Fairfax defeating Lake Braddock, each competitor went 18-2 inside the Tidewater area. Each missed on Kellam knocking off Landstown, while Ed correctly called New Kent defeating Tabb, but Matt was able to stay even for the weekend thanks to Churchland topping Norcom. Outside Hampton Roads, Hatfield went 11-2 to strengthen the overall win percentage, up to 84% on the campaign.
THURSDAY 10/27/22 Action in Tidewater:
Smithfield (2-6) at Grafton (4-4) . . . Can Grafton’s Colton Sandiford get to 1000 yards rushing before the season is done? He comes into this one with 745 yards and 7 TD’s on the ground, facing a Packers defense allowing 33.4 PPG during a five-game losing skid.
Matt Hatfield Says – Grafton 24-16
Coach Ed Young Says – Grafton 28-21
Key Battles Around VA Outside the ‘757’ Area Code:
Albemarle (7-1) at Louisa (8-0) . . . It’ll be interesting to see how an Albemarle defense yielding a mere nine points per game contains a Louisa offense that has already eclipsed 400 points on the season behind seasoned QB Landon Wilson (1331 yards, 16 TD’s passing) and a couple of superb freshmen in Savion Hiter and Dyzier Carter. The duo of Carter and Hiter enters combining for 1099 yards and 18 TD’s rushing to go with 41 catches for 1037 yards and 12 TD’s.
Matt Hatfield Says – Louisa 28-18
E.C. Glass (7-1) at Brookville (6-2) . . . There are some really good storylines and matchups within the game in this one. Jeff Woody, Head Coach of Glass, won two state titles at the helm of Brookville before arriving to the Hilltoppers. His Brookvile offense has lots of balance, headed up by QB Drake McDaniel. Meanwhile, Glass comes in with a steady defense that is really bottling up foes lately and did so in last year’s meeting that they won 42-7, the third straight triumph in the series. Brookville will need to establish a pass rush and get after QB George White, the Seminole District leader in touchdown tosses with 16, to give their seniors their first win in this head-to-head matchup.
Matt Hatfield Says – E.C. Glass 34-26
Fairfax (8-0) at Robinson (6-2) . . . Until last year’s 52-28 breakthrough, Fairfax had dropped four in a row to Robinson. The Rams have to figure out a way to handle Lions four-star and Penn State commit Tony Rojas, a threat both running the football and disrupting a team’s offense from his linebacker position.
Matt Hatfield Says – Fairfax 32-21
Midlothian (7-1) at Powhatan (6-2) . . . Revenge should be on the minds of the Trojans, who have lost four straight in this series, including 42-7 a year ago.
Matt Hatfield Says – Midlothian 27-20
John Champe (6-2) at Patriot (8-0) . . . Because of high-powered Freedom and reigning Region 6B Champ Battlefield, some are forgetting about the terrific season the Patriot Pioneers are enjoying. Champe will need to find an answer for Pioneers receiver Gabe Bigbee, who comes in with 38 receptions for 703 yards and 9 TD’s.
Matt Hatfield Says – Patriot 28-14
Grayson County (8-0) at George Wythe (5-3) . . . Just a couple weeks ago, George Wythe beat Galax 20-7 in a game where Tandom Smith broke off a 99-yard touchdown run. The Maroons will need more of that and the defense to be on their A-game to slow down a Grayson attack averaging 37.1 points per game with QB Austin Dowell performing at a spotless level (812 yards, 12-0 TD/Int. ratio).
Matt Hatfield Says – George Wythe 27-21
FRIDAY 10/28/22 Action in Tidewater:
Oscar Smith (7-0) at Western Branch (8-1) . . . This one has long been circled for Western Branch since the schedule came out and it ironically is the regular season finale for the Bruins, who last beat Oscar Smith in 2003 during a 49-45 shoot-out. Ryan Pond quarterbacked that team to victory. Current Bruins QB Taquan Trotman will have to be a judicious decision-maker and get the ball in the hands of RB Shimique Blizzard and WR Paul Billups, a UNC commit, with great frequency in space to halt a 22-game losing skid in the series.
While some are wanting to see more from an Oscar Smith offense that has seen both Parker Lancaster and Cade Cox share duties at quarterback, the defense remains very opportunistic behind the Tidewater area’s leader in interception, Damon ‘D.J.’ Etheridge, who had three of his eight picks to date in a comeback win over King’s Fork. This Tigers defense is likely up to the task as they are holding opponents to 10.7 points per game, but don’t sleep on the Western Branch defense as they are allowing just 11.5 PPG and can certainly set their offense up with great field position by creating turnovers of their own.
The matchup to watch will be the Bruins secondary with Billups, C.J. Fraser and Devin Cook taking on a Smith receiving core that is dynamic like many of their past Championship squads with Jamauri ‘Bam’ Knox, Xavier Lewis and West Virginia commit Tory Johnson Jr. headlining this particular outfit.
Matt Hatfield Says – Oscar Smith 27-14
Coach Ed Young Says – Oscar Smith 35-12
Kempsville (7-1) vs. Cox (7-1) at the VB Sportsplex . . . The Chiefs have been dealing with some injuries, but Kempsville is still running the ball with regularity, routinely torching defenses for 200 and sometimes even 300-plus yards. They should get NaiQuan Washington-Pearce (107Att. 959Yds. 15 TD’s) back after he’s missed multiple games with a foot injury. Now, that type of success on the Falcons won’t be easy. That’s because the Cox defense is playing at a high level, allowing just 7.8 points per game during a six-game winning streak. Junior defensive lineman Gerard Johnson has picked up a handful of FBS offers and comes in with eight sacks.
The Kempsville defense has thrived on getting sacks and takeaways, led by six interceptions from DB/WR Ryley McIntosh. Cox has turned the football over only four times all season, so they do a great job minimizing mistakes. Getting Jordin Cooper (11 total TD’s from scrimmage) the ball as much as possible will be a focal point for the Falcons.
Expect this one to go right down to the wire. Cox hasn’t had a game decided by single-digits, but the Chiefs won a 14-10 thriller in their last outing vs. Salem right before their bye week.
Matt Hatfield Says – Kempsville 20-13
Coach Ed Young Says – Cox 20-18
Tallwood (3-5) at Green Run (8-0) . . . After leading Salem 14-10 in the third quarter, the Stallions were able to speed things up quickly with 28 unanswered points behind dual-threat QB Kevin White to stay unbeaten.
Matt Hatfield Says – Green Run 49-16
Coach Ed Young Says – Green Run 40-12
Phoebus (8-0) at Gloucester (1-7) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Phoebus 46-0
Coach Ed Young Says – Phoebus 40-0
Maury (5-1) at Booker T. Washington (3-5) . . . Duke commit Peyton Jones has rushed for 762 yarsd and 6 TD’s on just 59 carries, so he should be well-rested and fresh for the playoff stretch.
Matt Hatfield Says – Maury 54-18
Coach Ed Young Says – Maury 44-6
Lakeland (1-7) at King’s Fork (7-1) . . . The Bulldogs have multiple players that can rush for 100 yards on a given night in senior Kaletri Boyd, who’s also a threat at receiver, and sophomore JaVon Ford. Don’t anticipate much resistance from a Lakeland defense allowing 39.6 points per contest.
Matt Hatfield Says – King’s Fork 56-12
Coach Ed Young Says – King’s Fork 52-0
Lake Taylor (7-1) at Granby (0-7) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Lake Taylor 48-6
Coach Ed Young Says – Lake Taylor 45-0
Warwick (8-1) at Menchville (5-4) . . . The Raiders got a lift recently with the return from injury of WR Isaiah Wallace, who was thought to be lost for the season when he went down in September.
Matt Hatfield Says – Warwick 37-15
Coach Ed Young Says – Warwick 33-14
Poquoson (6-1) at Lafayette (7-1) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Lafayette 35-7
Coach Ed Young Says – Lafayette 28-13
Deep Creek (4-4) at Indian River (5-3) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Indian River 24-20
Coach Ed Young Says – Indian River 22-14
Manor (1-6) at Churchland (5-3) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Churchland 48-14
Coach Ed Young Says – Churchland 36-13
Warhill (6-2) at York (6-2) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Warhill 20-10
Coach Ed Young Says – Warhill 24-21
Landstown (3-5) at First Colonial (2-6) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Landstown 21-14
Coach Ed Young Says – Landstown 28-12
Bayside (5-4) at Princess Anne (0-8) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Bayside 48-8
Coach Ed Young Says – Bayside 38-0
Jamestown (0-8) at New Kent (4-4) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – New Kent 41-3
Coach Ed Young Says – New Kent 44-0
Salem-VB (5-3) at Kellam (4-4) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Salem-VB 40-19
Coach Ed Young Says – Salem-VB 38-12
Hampton (2-7) at Kecoughtan (6-2) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Hampton 12-10
Coach Ed Young Says – Kecoughtan 18-16
Grassfield (1-7) vs. Nansemond River (5-3) at Lakeland HS . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Nansemond River 42-15
Coach Ed Young Says – Nansemond River 36-18
Great Bridge (2-6) at Hickory (1-7) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Hickory 20-18
Coach Ed Young Says – Great Bridge 24-22
SATURDAY 10/29/22 Tidewater Action:
Tabb (1-7) at Bruton (5-3) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Tabb 24-16
Coach Ed Young Says – Bruton 24-16
Norview (4-4) at Norcom (6-3) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Norcom 20-6
Coach Ed Young Says – Norcom 21-18
Bethel (2-6) at Heritage-NN (4-4) . . .
Matt Hatfield Says – Heritage-NN 22-17
Coach Ed Young Says – Heritage-NN 24-20
