oh yes, thanks NNDman. I could see where it might be confusing indeed. The tool I was "referencing" rates the entire state (as you stated, it is not affiliated or endorsed by the actual governing body of the VHSL). They call their state ratings - VHSL Football 2015 Division 1 State Rankings. It was used to illustrate a point that WC and AltaVista were the favorites last night over their NND opponents.
So WC was #3 in VHSL Reference, WC was #7 in Gilliam Ratings, and #8 in the Va Preps poll.
However, the only tool that "officially" counts is the VHSL's Group 1A East Region Football Ratings which had William Campbell at #5 (which, of course, put them just out of the top 4 and the byes in the East.