Class 5 games are a tossup and must watches for me. I believe Freedom should beat Stone Bridge, but I would not be surprised if Stone Bridge wins. Whoever wins will probably be the favorite to win it all. Maury is physical and Green Run has the firepower, hard to pick a winner. I give the coaching edge to HSHS over Freedom, but Freedom has the wow factor this year and despite not having HSHS' championship pedigree, sometimes those special teams like Freedom just come along.
Once again I'm going to ask what team has Freedom played this year that we can use as a true measuring stick. What tough road opponent did they face this year. SB was the best team they played and that was early in the season, early in the season SB almost lost to Colonial Forge and HSHS throttled Colonial Forge. All I'm saying is we don't who would beat who until they line up against one another. HSHS definitely has more than enough athletes and physicality to beat Freedom and Freedom has not won any championships to say they can handle that kind of pressure. And I also give HSHS the edge in far a coaching goes. Don't forget HSHS lost a bunch of seniors last year, lost in state semi finals last year, and still ended rank nationally this year. Is Freedom ranked nationally or ranked number 1 in the state of VA? 👀
Actually Massey Ratings has Freedom at #39 nationally and Highland Springs at #108. Calpreps has Freedom at #149 and Highland Springs at #231.
It's mostly message board fodder once you get out of the top 25, ie Freedom moved up 15 spots and HS dropped 12 after last week 🤷♂️. Take a team like Spartanburg that'll play anyone...Hughes (GA), Dutch Fork (twice), Grayson (GA), and then Byrnes, Gaffney and Dorman. Would Martinsburg be rated almost 100 spots higher with that schedule?
Massey rating and Cal preps also had chambers and Martinsburg both beating Highland Springs by more than one score this year and we saw how that ended up. Both of those rating systems base their rankings off of point differential and not quality of opponent. Fact is, the only quality win freedom has the entire season is over a Stonebridge team that was missing their starting quarterback.
On Maxpreps Board, Highland Springs is ranked #56. Freedom is not listed in the top 100. They do have Freedom #1 and HS #2 in the State rankings.
HSHS has ZERO players that didn’t play for their middle schools or JV = That is a very untrue statement....I won't name kids or numbers but there are several...*Edit: I'm not knocking it; it's a part of today's landscape*
Hey BN and DP, good luck tomorrow! I'm rooting for you guys as well! Go Generals!
The VHSL contracts with the NHFS who have exclusive TV/video broadcast rights. They should have a camera at each playoff site. Radio broadcast can be done for a $100.00 fee.
HS did do NFHS this year. @Chambers and
I meant only their home games. I watched the Chambers game. That's still one of the best games of the year.
Patriot is no slouch, definitely better than Varina and probably better than Martinsburg.
Hate to see the rivalry end this year, hopefully the coaches schedule each other in the regular season in the years to come.
Congratulations to highland springs to Coach Johnson coaches and players. I do have a bad heart but you guys got the job done.
BN you hit this nail right on the head! It was another classic battle! Final score HS 19 SB 14. Except Springers started strong (19-0), Then SB made the 4th qtr tense and interesting! Scoring 14 points, then getting the ball back after stopping HS with a little over a minute left. It was pins and needle! The crowd was louder than ever!
I know it’s tough losing and being only one game away from the big game, but SB is a classy program and you have a lot to be proud of.
