A quick recap of how the Picks went for Matthew Hatfield and his counterpart, Coach Ed Young, who you can listen to on 757 Saturday Sports Talk every Saturday at 10 AM on the Virginia Beach Sportsplex YouTube channel ...
Hatfield's 9/22/23 Picks on the Fab Five Games: 4-1 (80%)
Hatfield's Week 5 Total in Tidewater: 16-5 (76.2%)
Hatfield's VHSL Season Total: 138-39 (78%)
Hatfield's Tidewater Season Total: 93-26 (78.2%)
Young’s Week 4 Total in Tidewater: 12-9 (57.1%)
Young’s Tidewater Season Total: 85-34 (71.4%)
Matt got four of his five picks on the must-see matchups on the V.I.P. Board correct, only misfiring on Rustburg/Jefferson Forest in a matchup of Seminole District teams on the rise. In the head-to-head with Coach Young, it was an easy 4-0 domination as the victories by Poquoson, Southampton, King's Fork in double-OT and Grafton in Tidewater increased the lead for Hatfield.
... Now let's get to our Super Six - the Must-See Matchups this week on the gridiron involving Virginia High School Football teams...
Matt's Must-See Matchups:
Friday, September 29 Action....
South County (4-1) at Madison (5-0) -
Hatfield Says - Madison 20-17
King’s Fork (4-0) at Indian River (3-1) –
Hatfield Says – King’s Fork 28-18
Briar Woods (4-0) at Fort Hill, MD (4-0) – This is going to be a tough one for Briar Woods as Fort Hill comes in having outscored its opponent 98-21 on the season, but they are run-oriented. In fact, Fort Hill has attempted only two passes per game, yet the Sentinels are averaging 257.8 yards rushing per game with freshman Carson Bender being the standout with 328 yards and 4 TD’s during the first three contests. Defensively, six different players have registered a sack, so the Falcons will need their pass protection to be on point so that junior triggerman Brady Carmical – who has nearly 1000 yards passing and 11 TD tosses already – can attack both vertically and horizontally.
Hatfield Says – Fort Hill, MD 24-20
Christiansburg (5-0) at Riverheads (3-1) – It feels like not enough people are talking about the reigning Region 3D Champs from Christiansburg, who brought back a lot of talent from last year, including standout QB Tanner Evans. Offensively, they’re putting up 37.4 points per game. The defense is limiting opponents to 14 points per game, although they did get hit for 33 by Cave Spring and 20 by Pulaski County. In that 44-20 win over Pulaski, the Blue Demons did it with its running game, out-gaining the Cougars 387-126 on the ground. The concerning thing to a degree was that they allowed seven pass completions for 167 yards and three touchdowns through the air, all to one player (Marcus Reed).
Fortunately for them, Riverheads likes to ground and pound it more, although without injured State POY Cayden Cook-Cash, the Gladiators could turn to the air some. If QB Levi Dunlap dazzles with his arm and feet, plus the Riverheads defense gets early takeaways, then Big Red can make this a close battle to the end in front of the home faithful.
Hatfield Says – Christiansburg 35-19
Thomas Dale (4-0) at Dinwiddie (3-2) – For the injured Ethan Minter, junior Ethan Medley stepped in and was superb in a 41-14 win over Prince George by connecting on 15 of 18 passes for 300 yards and 4 TD’s. While this Dinwiddie hasn’t played at an elite level or looked like a vintage one during their title runs yet, it still can pose more problems than any of the opponents the Knights have seen this year as LB Se’Von McDowell, a Coastal Carolina commit, is a sure tackler that can lead the run-stuffing effort. If the Generals contain the run, that forces the Knights to go to the air and that might not be the way to win this game, trading strikes through the air.
Hatfield Says – Dinwiddie 31-21
Radford (5-0) at Glenvar (4-0) –
Hatfield Says – Radford 35-34
Millbrook (4-0) vs. Kettle Run (4-0) at Liberty-Bealeton – So much for losing QB Abram Chumley and record-setting WR Jordan Tapscott leading to the Kettle Run Cougars entering a re-build. All the runner-up in Class 4 from a season ago has done is put up over 50 points per game in starting out 4-0. Junior QB Jake Mulhern is completing 68% of his passes for 920 yards and 12 TD’s with WR Sam Rodgers (27Rec. 602Yds. 8 TD’s) developing as the go-to guy, while RB Colton Quaker continues to hurt opposing defenses on the ground with 532 yards rushing and 10 TD’s with over seven yards per rush.
For Millbrook to avenge the two defeats to Kettle Run from a year ago, which includes a 38-14 loss in the Region 4C semis, much will fall on their defense tackling well, but also the offense being able to control the clock and keep the Cougars playmakers watching from the sideline. Out of their single-wing, the Pioneers are rushing for more than 375 yards per game and if the o-line controls the line of scrimmage, this is game they can win. Equally important though, the likes of Cohen Creswell, Cole Purdy and the Millbrook defense will need to contain the Cougars breaking off long chunks, whether it’s Mulhern scooting out of the pocket, Quaker up the middle or even Rodgers on the outside.
Hatfield Says – Kettle Run 39-32
Hatfield's 9/22/23 Picks on the Fab Five Games: 4-1 (80%)
Hatfield's Week 5 Total in Tidewater: 16-5 (76.2%)
Hatfield's VHSL Season Total: 138-39 (78%)
Hatfield's Tidewater Season Total: 93-26 (78.2%)
Young’s Week 4 Total in Tidewater: 12-9 (57.1%)
Young’s Tidewater Season Total: 85-34 (71.4%)
Matt got four of his five picks on the must-see matchups on the V.I.P. Board correct, only misfiring on Rustburg/Jefferson Forest in a matchup of Seminole District teams on the rise. In the head-to-head with Coach Young, it was an easy 4-0 domination as the victories by Poquoson, Southampton, King's Fork in double-OT and Grafton in Tidewater increased the lead for Hatfield.
... Now let's get to our Super Six - the Must-See Matchups this week on the gridiron involving Virginia High School Football teams...
Matt's Must-See Matchups:
Friday, September 29 Action....
South County (4-1) at Madison (5-0) -
Hatfield Says - Madison 20-17
King’s Fork (4-0) at Indian River (3-1) –
Hatfield Says – King’s Fork 28-18
Briar Woods (4-0) at Fort Hill, MD (4-0) – This is going to be a tough one for Briar Woods as Fort Hill comes in having outscored its opponent 98-21 on the season, but they are run-oriented. In fact, Fort Hill has attempted only two passes per game, yet the Sentinels are averaging 257.8 yards rushing per game with freshman Carson Bender being the standout with 328 yards and 4 TD’s during the first three contests. Defensively, six different players have registered a sack, so the Falcons will need their pass protection to be on point so that junior triggerman Brady Carmical – who has nearly 1000 yards passing and 11 TD tosses already – can attack both vertically and horizontally.
Hatfield Says – Fort Hill, MD 24-20
Christiansburg (5-0) at Riverheads (3-1) – It feels like not enough people are talking about the reigning Region 3D Champs from Christiansburg, who brought back a lot of talent from last year, including standout QB Tanner Evans. Offensively, they’re putting up 37.4 points per game. The defense is limiting opponents to 14 points per game, although they did get hit for 33 by Cave Spring and 20 by Pulaski County. In that 44-20 win over Pulaski, the Blue Demons did it with its running game, out-gaining the Cougars 387-126 on the ground. The concerning thing to a degree was that they allowed seven pass completions for 167 yards and three touchdowns through the air, all to one player (Marcus Reed).
Fortunately for them, Riverheads likes to ground and pound it more, although without injured State POY Cayden Cook-Cash, the Gladiators could turn to the air some. If QB Levi Dunlap dazzles with his arm and feet, plus the Riverheads defense gets early takeaways, then Big Red can make this a close battle to the end in front of the home faithful.
Hatfield Says – Christiansburg 35-19
Thomas Dale (4-0) at Dinwiddie (3-2) – For the injured Ethan Minter, junior Ethan Medley stepped in and was superb in a 41-14 win over Prince George by connecting on 15 of 18 passes for 300 yards and 4 TD’s. While this Dinwiddie hasn’t played at an elite level or looked like a vintage one during their title runs yet, it still can pose more problems than any of the opponents the Knights have seen this year as LB Se’Von McDowell, a Coastal Carolina commit, is a sure tackler that can lead the run-stuffing effort. If the Generals contain the run, that forces the Knights to go to the air and that might not be the way to win this game, trading strikes through the air.
Hatfield Says – Dinwiddie 31-21
Radford (5-0) at Glenvar (4-0) –
Hatfield Says – Radford 35-34
Millbrook (4-0) vs. Kettle Run (4-0) at Liberty-Bealeton – So much for losing QB Abram Chumley and record-setting WR Jordan Tapscott leading to the Kettle Run Cougars entering a re-build. All the runner-up in Class 4 from a season ago has done is put up over 50 points per game in starting out 4-0. Junior QB Jake Mulhern is completing 68% of his passes for 920 yards and 12 TD’s with WR Sam Rodgers (27Rec. 602Yds. 8 TD’s) developing as the go-to guy, while RB Colton Quaker continues to hurt opposing defenses on the ground with 532 yards rushing and 10 TD’s with over seven yards per rush.
For Millbrook to avenge the two defeats to Kettle Run from a year ago, which includes a 38-14 loss in the Region 4C semis, much will fall on their defense tackling well, but also the offense being able to control the clock and keep the Cougars playmakers watching from the sideline. Out of their single-wing, the Pioneers are rushing for more than 375 yards per game and if the o-line controls the line of scrimmage, this is game they can win. Equally important though, the likes of Cohen Creswell, Cole Purdy and the Millbrook defense will need to contain the Cougars breaking off long chunks, whether it’s Mulhern scooting out of the pocket, Quaker up the middle or even Rodgers on the outside.
Hatfield Says – Kettle Run 39-32
