Besides the Phoebus and Varina, who are the top contenders in this division. Heck, does anyone have their own preseason poll? Can Dinwiddie still compete?
Top Contenders in 4A
- Thread starter VaSportsJunky
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Dinwiddie will certainly be in the mix and I would not rule out Huguenot as a darkhorse. The Falcons have the talent but I'll leave it for others to speak on why they have gone out early the past two years.
Out of the Central Region I would rank Class 4 contenders as the following:
Varina
Dinwiddie
Huguenot
Loudoun County will have a pretty damn good team, Hard to see any of the LoCo teams challenging the teams mentioned above but either County or Loudoun Valley will play past Black Friday.
I know we said except Varina and Phoebus but I did not know Varina got Farley from Saint Christopher’s and Brown from Richmond Arts. I knew about SirPaul but Farley is a good back definitely interesting.
Phoebus is the favorite to win it again. Been into a lot of film (and talked to some coaches) these past few months and I’m liking Louisa a lot this year with what they bring back. Haven’t seen their names mentioned but I’m bigger on Louisa and Dinwiddie than who you got for 4B.
You have Dinwiddie and Louisa over Varina and Huguenot? That’s a little far fetched I can understand Dinwiddie they a little close but the matchup with the team improvements of Varina And Huguenot just not there. Huguenot just do not have any challenges that’s their issue but they definitely have the talent.
I do. Dinwiddie was young in a lot of areas last year and bring back 90% of their team. Even without Dalton, they will put up a lot of points. Zion Boisseau is all I will say. He’s him. Hope people don’t try to compare him to Harry, two totally different players and skill sets.
Did you watch the state championship game? Varina/Dinwiddie? Indian River/Varina? As loaded as Route 5 is, those boys got ate up in the run game. Bull Richardson, Bray Hood and J Dub are some dudes and are the 3 best defensive players in C4 as far as I’m concerned, but you telling me Savion Hiter isn’t getting his in the cold and more than likely in the Jungle? Louisa is a terrible matchup for Varina or Huguenot. Louisa has athletes in space plus two super athletes who have lived up to their high rankings. Louisa is going to be the wildcard of this region along with Spotsylvania.
I watched those Dinwiddie vs. Varina games and yeah, the score says it was a two-touchdown game, but let’s look at it for what it was: that last-second touchdown was against Varina’s third-string players depends how you look at it. When you look at it from a real perspective, about 90% of Varina’s team is coming back plus more theirself, and they’re not just returning they’ve added some serious talent. Not just average players, but actual stars. So honestly, with everything considered, how does the outcome change this time around? Boisseau a great athlete I do believe he’s him but do I believe he’s the factor to beat this Varina team? I just don’t yes Dinwiddie was young but so was Varina it just don’t change anything, I do believe if we had to compare each category with both teams Varina winning all positions besides coaching . This doesn’t mean Dinwiddie or Louisa is not good but Varina, Huguenot and Phoebus are juggernauts that people aren’t ready for but Dinwiddie is the closest.
I think a coaching in-house change on a certain side of the ball for Varina just changed this conversation of coaching for late November and December!
Louisa to me will have the 2 best players in the region. Hiter and Carter and are a different level. It's just a matter of what does Louisa's supporting cast looks like. I think they for sure will have a say come November.
Varina has supposedly been changing it up for two years. It’s so much confusion on that staff and that’s why they can’t get over the hump. Exactly why I’d pick Louisa or Dinwiddie to win this region.
You rested my case with your “besides coaching” statement. Varina is probably the second or third most talented team in all of Virginia (on paper) and they got all the way to the state championship off talent alone. They’ve been loaded every year since joining C4 and only has 1 state championship to show for it. Going to have to earn it coming out of this gauntlet.
I get that this is one of those agree to disagree debates because they had the better coaching last year and Varina was the better team and Varina still came out on top, don’t get me wrong coaching is important in this game but that can only get you but so far because those coaches can’t play for you on that field.
Varina won by two scores and Dinwiddie played without 3 significant starters, all of whom Dinwiddie brings back too. Definitely not taking away from Varina, I’ve been high on them and have been following them very closely the past 7 years. Just letting people know who are automatically giving them the region that the gap between Seed 1 and Seed 5 is very very small.
I agree margin is definitely small between the seeds I’m not taking nothing away from Dinwiddie, but again that game was a 3 touchdown lead until Dinwiddie scored with seconds left against the backups to make it a two touchdown game. Even if the other two guys played that game they still would have lost it just would have been a little closer. Now take into account 6,2 and 4 is gone that’s not easy to replace and important pieces to their line but those other 2-3 guys are back nothing changes.
Seeds 1 through 4 might as well be a roll of the dice. A rider point or two might make a heck of a difference. But I think we all pretty much agree who the top four seeds are most likely going to be.
But, for the next four, holy cow. There are 18 teams in 4B. Remove the consensus top four and that leaves 14. Of those 14, I believe the only team, sadly, that you can fully discount as making it into the playoffs is Richmond HS, (George Wythe). For certain, a few of the remaining 13 would be a surprise, but you can’t say that they have no chance. Last year, with only two games left in the season, there were numerous teams that had a realistic chance of being the 7th or 8th seed. I don’t expect it to be any different this year.
Now, would someone PLEASE educate us on 4C? I love to know about all of the teams around the state, but solid information about those teams is mighty hard to come by.
IMO, Phoebus and Varina are the teams to beat again this year. They were top 2 last year and I don't see anything that keeps them from starting the season as the top 2 in my mind. IF Varina can be more composed and disciplined this year, (incl the coaching staff in that statement) I'd give them the edge, considering Phoebus graduated a lot of championship experienced players. 1) Phoebus will have to contend with 2) Lafayette in Reg A, 1) Varina will have to fend off 2) Dinwiddie, 3) Huguenot, and 4) Louisa. I put them in the order I think they'll be in each Region.
[I mean no disrespect to Varina coaches or players in my statement above, but I think they had as much or more talent last year than Phoebus, but lost because of lack of composure and discipline in critical situations.]
Reg C is always a question mark in my mind because I know the least about those teams. The most consistent team is Tuscarora, so I'm sure they'll be in the mix. Loudoun Co, Woodgrove, Champe, Broad Run, IDK which of these teams will challenge. I defer to @bceagle47 as he has the pulse of the Reg.
Reg D, I'd start the season with Salem as the frontrunner. If they have some good OL/DL and LB, then they'll certainly be the frontrunner with proven RB's in McCadden and Arrington, a top notch WR in Logan, and an exciting rising QB that is eager to make his mark this year. I'd say Sherando, JF, Handley, GW, Glass, will all be in the mix, but I really don't know which way I'd order them.
[I mean no disrespect to Varina coaches or players in my statement above, but I think they had as much or more talent last year than Phoebus, but lost because of lack of composure and discipline in critical situations.]
Reg C is always a question mark in my mind because I know the least about those teams. The most consistent team is Tuscarora, so I'm sure they'll be in the mix. Loudoun Co, Woodgrove, Champe, Broad Run, IDK which of these teams will challenge. I defer to @bceagle47 as he has the pulse of the Reg.
Reg D, I'd start the season with Salem as the frontrunner. If they have some good OL/DL and LB, then they'll certainly be the frontrunner with proven RB's in McCadden and Arrington, a top notch WR in Logan, and an exciting rising QB that is eager to make his mark this year. I'd say Sherando, JF, Handley, GW, Glass, will all be in the mix, but I really don't know which way I'd order them.
@bceagle47 is the Reg C guy. I really appreciate his takes on Reg C. It would be nice to have some other input from a Reg C area HS football fan.
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Folks in this thread are sticking to teams that have been in 4A the last few years except for a couple of posts that mentioned Louisa who is moving from 5A to 4A next year. Is there anyone else moving from 5A to 4A or maybe from 3A to 4A who should be in the discussion? Have a good one!
