What’s the best area in VA for HS Football?
- Thread starter BoKnowsSports
- Start date
Maybe we don't have a lot of 757 members in the forums but over the past 5 years 757 has put out some really talented teams. 2 years ago Oscar Smith was dominating class 6, Maury has been consistently strong in class 5, Kings Fork was tough in class 4, and Phoebus was elite in class 3. I'm an 804 guy and I feel 804 has the best football but 757 is right there too, also NOVA has some good ball for class 5 and 6.
I tend to look at this question a little differently. If you are talking about rating the teams in all classes overall I would say the the 804 has a slight edge over the 757; however, if you also include factors like fans, stadiums, attendance, tradition and atmosphere I would lean towards the following:
1. SWVA
2. Roanoke/NRV
3. 804
4. Lynchburg
5. NOVA
6. 757
7. Fredericksburg
8. Central
9. Shenandoah
10. Southside
Admittedly, I lean towards the areas I have attended games in and know more about. I grew up in Roanoke, played in SWVA, Lynchburg and Southside and I live and work in the 804, so I am a bit biased. I also love small town football, so places like Appomattox, Rustburg, Richland's, King William, Sussex, and Stuarts Draft intrigue me the most. Good topic @BoKnowsSports.
1. SWVA
2. Roanoke/NRV
3. 804
4. Lynchburg
5. NOVA
6. 757
7. Fredericksburg
8. Central
9. Shenandoah
10. Southside
Admittedly, I lean towards the areas I have attended games in and know more about. I grew up in Roanoke, played in SWVA, Lynchburg and Southside and I live and work in the 804, so I am a bit biased. I also love small town football, so places like Appomattox, Rustburg, Richland's, King William, Sussex, and Stuarts Draft intrigue me the most. Good topic @BoKnowsSports.
What's included in the best football in va, the best attendance, the best teams, the most championship from one area and the best player's so if this is so 757 tidewater 804 central va and 571,703 nova.
From Ben Cates with the Lynchburg News & Advance:
For the last 21 years, at least one team from Lynchburg or its surrounding counties have advanced to a state championship game. The last year a team from the area didn't play in a state title game was 2001. Prior to that, at least one area squad had played for a state title for 11 straight seasons, from 1990 through 2000.
In the last 21 seasons, this area has produced 22 state champions.
For the last 21 years, at least one team from Lynchburg or its surrounding counties have advanced to a state championship game. The last year a team from the area didn't play in a state title game was 2001. Prior to that, at least one area squad had played for a state title for 11 straight seasons, from 1990 through 2000.
In the last 21 seasons, this area has produced 22 state champions.
Lynchburg area will sneak up on ya. The Seminole is one of the most competitive if not the most competitive 3A/4A district in the state. Then you have little brother, the Dogwood which has had its fair share of success too with dominant dynasties (Appomattox, Altavista, Gretna) as well as WC also claiming state titles since 2000. Meanwhile Dan River has just produced the Edmunds brothers and other D1 athletes. I know that gets into the Southside somewhat, but man that’s two good districts right there in the Lynchburg area. Meaning on a given Friday night you could not repeat a stadium and be able to find a good game each week.
It's hard to compare areas equally because, for instance, NOVA, Tidewater, and Richmond Metros are all about 2-3x+more populated than the Roanoke/Lynchburg/NRV/Southside combined markets.
Also, an area that might be awesome in football right now, may not have been as good historically. There probably needs to be a time frame consideration when comparing areas.
Also, an area that might be awesome in football right now, may not have been as good historically. There probably needs to be a time frame consideration when comparing areas.
Salem is a top tier program in the state no matter what the classification is. Also have to look at the history of Pulaski County, Giles, Fleming, Northside had a great run, and then teams like Botty, PH, Radford and Glenvar who are top 10 teams yearly in their respective classes, yearly. That first group I mentioned aren’t what they were but at one time they were dominant.
Agree 757, 804 , and nova all have population over a million plus people . But va overall has great football.
I did some number crunching a few years ago on this question if you're defining "best" by number of state championships. The results are below as of the 2016 season. It shows the state championships by every officially defined metropolitan and micropolitan area in Virginia. Those titles won by schools in none are designated rural. My final metric was the number of state titles per 100,000 population in the MSA, which generated the most intuitive result IMO. The metric, however, is biased against larger metropolitan areas which have larger schools so fewer per 100,000. I thought about trying to correct this bias, but I never did. The best conclusion to this question IMO is that Lynchburg punches above its weight, especially since the titles are spread across many schools.
| MSA | Titles | Population | Per 100,000 |
| Big Stone Gap | 20 | 61,313 | 32.6 |
| Bluefield | 5 | 45,078 | 11.1 |
| Lynchburg | 21 | 252,634 | 8.3 |
| New River | 10 | 162,958 | 6.1 |
| Martinsville | 4 | 67,972 | 5.9 |
| Danville | 6 | 106,561 | 5.6 |
| Bristol | 5 | 95,888 | 5.2 |
| Staunton | 5 | 118,502 | 4.2 |
| RURAL | 32 | 785,242 | 4.1 |
| Roanoke | 12 | 308,707 | 3.9 |
| Virginia | 233 | 8,001,024 | 2.9 |
| Hampton Roads | 40 | 1,648,136 | 2.4 |
| Culpeper | 1 | 46,689 | 2.1 |
| Winchester | 2 | 104,508 | 1.9 |
| NOVA | 46 | 2,623,079 | 1.8 |
| Richmond | 20 | 1,258,251 | 1.6 |
| Harrisonburg | 2 | 125,228 | 1.6 |
| Charlottesville | 2 | 190,278 | 1.1 |
Counting Salem in Roanoke's area feels disingenuous though, Salem isn't Roanoke and doesn't want to be Roanoke. It also creates an unreasonable image of the football being played in Roanoke which is, frankly, not good.
Salem is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the US Census Bureau, which is what this analysis considers. The data is through the 2016 season, so Salem would account for 8 out of the 12. Roanoke city's lone title was by Patrick Henry in 1973. In Roanoke County, Glenvar won in 2014 and Northside in 2009 and 2013. No titles have been won by schools in Botetourt, Franklin, or Craig Counties.
I don't have the data in front of me, but I think that schools in the City of Richmond would also account for only a few of the Richmond MSA's 20.
I've thought of going back to the data and seeing if I can put together how many schools per MSA have at least one title, which may be a better measure of how strong an area is overall. Again, I suspect that would make the Lynchburg MSA look even stronger.
If I were to redo my original analysis through the 2022 season, Staunton-Waynesboro MSA would go way up due solely to Riverheads.
Thanks @blackknight_pride. I know the State government does not consider the Tri-City area as part of Metro Richmond. I tried to check the census data, but I could not find the answer. I hope all is well with you.
Update: I just found the Richmond MSA map and you are correct. The tri-cities are included.
Update: I just found the Richmond MSA map and you are correct. The tri-cities are included.
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Here are the localities whose schools, as of 2016, had won four or more state championships along with the number of schools in the locality which had won at least one title.
| Locality | Titles | Schools | MSA |
| Hampton | 22 | 3 | Hampton Roads |
| Fairfax County | 18 | 9 | NoVA |
| Wise County | 15 | 3 | Big Stone Gap |
| Campbell County | 11 | 4 | Lynchburg |
| Salem | 8 | 1 | Roanoke |
| Loudoun County | 7 | 4 | NoVA |
| Spotsylvania County | 7 | 2 | NoVA |
| Chesterfield County | 5 | 3 | Richmond |
| Prince William County | 5 | 3 | NoVA |
| Tazewell County | 5 | 3 | Bluefield |
| Augusta County | 5 | 2 | Staunton |
| Buena Vista | 5 | 1 | RURAL |
| Pittsylvania County | 5 | 1 | Danville |
| Scott County | 5 | 1 | Bristol |
| Dickenson County | 4 | 1 | Big Stone Gap |
| Fredericksburg | 4 | 1 | NoVA |
| Giles County | 4 | 1 | New River |
| Lunenberg County | 4 | 1 | RURAL |
| Southampton County | 4 | 1 | RURAL |
Can’t ever really trust Wikipedia but if you go to the specific town/county/city on their wiki page it usually says which MSA they are in.
Where’s Henrico County? Highland Springs has won 5 alone since 2016 and Varina has 1.
Edit: maybe 2016 was the cutoff? HS was Henrico’s first state football championship in 2015 if I’m not mistaken? Right @CRF4Dan
Yes, I compiled the data after 2016. I just pulled up my old spreadsheet when I saw this thread. I'm not sure if or when I can update the data; maybe after this season.
Appreciate you for getting this data out to us.
