This is probably one of the most poorly written, poorly communicated directives the VHSL has ever put out. If you saw a game with a running clock that stopped for a first down, technically, that was correct.
For some reason the VHSL wrote a policy that's completely different than any other state's or common sense, in my opinion.
According to the VHSL policy, the only time a clock continues to run is when the play ends in an incomplete pass or goes out of bounds. So that infers the VHSL wants the clock stopped on first downs, which makes no sense to me.
Most states stop it according to one of two acronyms -- SIT or SPIT. The P is for Penalties. Some let it run, others stop it for penalties. The other letters indicate Scores, Injuries and Timeouts.
These states let it run through changes of possession.
Of course, some clock operators do their own thing and let it run.
