John Champe

[NoVaKane8]

I know there isn't usually any talk on these boards about the Loudoun schools and there hasn't been any talk on here about John Champe who moved up to 4A this year. They are 2-0 on the year and have beaten a very good Woodgrove team and a solid Spring Mills team. Champe has a very good young coach who was on the Broad Run staff with Coach Burnett when they won back to back state Championships. The 4A Loudoun schools no longer play the 5A schools in Loudoun (Briar Woods, Broad Run, Pot Falls, etc.) - so looking at Champe's schedule it is a real possibility they will be 10-0 and receive a very high seed come playoffs - the playoffs in the West might even go through Adlie! It will be interesting to see if this program can come off the radar and surprise some people in November.

The only 4A West team I have seen play live is Sherando when I traveled out to Stephens City to watch my cousin's squad play Martinsburg - but tonight I am heading out to see the Woodgrove v Dominion game - two teams that could be right in the thick of things come November. If I get an opportunity this weekend - I'll post some info on both teams so the 4A west fans can get a little insight (at least my opinion) into what the state of 4A football is out here in Loudoun.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Champe has the goods. I wrote a somewhat lengthy piece about them after they won the Westfield 7x7 this summer and highlighted their win over Woodgrove to start the season in my first recap article.

They have a ton of good pieces in place and should, at worst, make the final 16 in the state and might have enough to take it a round or two deeper.

 

[anon_vu6vqwsr4nf3b]

I wonder if Champe has been getting transfers from the other potent area schools. I know Dominion has some transfers from Briar Woods.

 

[Shruikan]

I always worry about the Loudoun schools. It wasn't too long ago that Broad Run, Briar Woods, and Tuscarora were average teams at best. And then over a couple seasons they became state powerhouses. 4A West playoffs are definitely going to be interesting since quite a few teams have very good shots at going undefeated; Salem, Jefferson Forrest, Sherando, and John Champe come to mind.

Still, anything can happen on the field.

 

[hamspear]

Doubt John Champe is getting transfers from the Ashburn schools, Aldie ,va is completley on the other side of the County. Closest Schools to Aldie are Chantilly and South riding area. Looking at John Champe schedule, only real challenge left is possibly Dominion. All the rest of the schools are really down in 4A Loudoun. This is not a good year for 4A schools in the Loudoun area. I could see John Champe going undefeated in the regular season.

 

[NoVaKane8]

I wonder if Champe has been getting transfers from the other potent area schools. I know Dominion has some transfers from Briar Woods.

I have been out of the rumor mill loop now since my son graduated from Briar Woods a few years ago - so I don't know anything about who is getting transfers from where here in Loudoun. Aldie is about 25 minutes from Ashburn and about 20 minutes from Leesburg - two locations here where schools with good football teams usually draw from. While it's not a stretch to say a kid would want to transfer to John Champe from one of those areas - they would have opportunities to play in good football programs closer to home. What I do know is that a majority of John Champe's school population came from Freedom (South Riding) - anyone familiar with Freedom knows they have not traditionally fielded competitive teams so I doubt 'a lot' of talent came to Champe from South Riding . I will tell you that there has been an explosion in new single family home housing developments in and around Aldie and those neighborhoods are a gold mine for talent in places up here. I think Champe's success is a reflection of good coaching and an ever increasing talent pool provided by the housing boom in that part of Loudoun County.

Now the big question will be how long do John Champe, Rock Ride, Riverside, and Woodgrove stay 4A? Those are the newer schools in Loudoun and they were built to handle large school populations because of the sustained growth in the area. Schools like Loudoun County, Loudoun Valley, Park View, and to some degree Dominion, that were built many years ago are not capable of handling larger populations and are more likely to stay 4A. If I am not mistaken I believe the next vote the VHSL does for classification will be for 4 years instead of 2 years - so if John Champe and Woodgrove are able to make the cut and stay 4A until 2020 - they have the potential to produce some really good teams.

 

[one man]

I know there isn't usually any talk on these boards about the Loudoun schools and there hasn't been any talk on here about John Champe who moved up to 4A this year. They are 2-0 on the year and have beaten a very good Woodgrove team and a solid Spring Mills team. Champe has a very good young coach who was on the Broad Run staff with Coach Burnett when they won back to back state Championships. The 4A Loudoun schools no longer play the 5A schools in Loudoun (Briar Woods, Broad Run, Pot Falls, etc.) - so looking at Champe's schedule it is a real possibility they will be 10-0 and receive a very high seed come playoffs - the playoffs in the West might even go through Adlie! It will be interesting to see if this program can come off the radar and surprise some people in November.

The only 4A West team I have seen play live is Sherando when I traveled out to Stephens City to watch my cousin's squad play Martinsburg - but tonight I am heading out to see the Woodgrove v Dominion game - two teams that could be right in the thick of things come November. If I get an opportunity this weekend - I'll post some info on both teams so the 4A west fans can get a little insight (at least my opinion) into what the state of 4A football is out here in Loudoun.

#50, #77 are studs on the lines for Dominion. QB #5 is pretty good signal caller as well. Dominion, Woodgrove, Champe, Heritage are all in great shape to make the playoffs. I'd bet 3 of the 4 will make it, possibly all 4 if the chips fall the right way. Can't wait to hear your summary of the game and opinion of both teams strengths/weaknesses and also how they compare to Sherando who you've also seen live.