In a typical year, we would be talking high school football playoffs but 2020 has been far from typical. The entire globe has been rocked by the coronavirus and its’ impact has altered our daily lives as well as the sports landscape dramatically.
As we wait and hope that our young student-athletes will retake the gridiron for competition in a few short months, we take a look back at last falls’ playoff picture.
In round two, the competition stiffened as teams attempted to reach their respective region final contest. Here is what transpired last fall in the second fall.
Class 6
On the road against 10-1 Patriot, Colonial Forge advanced to the Region B finals with a convincing 42-21 victory in Nokesville.
Fellow Commonwealth District participant Massaponax advanced to face the Eagles by dropping Freedom-Woodbridge 45-42. The Panthers pulled out the victory when kicker Jack Hudson drove a 20 yard field goal between the uprights as time expired to help his team keep their season alive.
Class 5
Following a win over Harrisonburg in the opening round of the postseason, William Fleming wasn’t able to muster any sort of attack against Mountain View. Mark Shelton scored three touchdowns and Ike Daniels added two as the Wildcats defeated the Colonels 35-0.
North Stafford advanced to the Region 5D championship with a 31-7 victory over Patrick Henry-Roanoke. Javon Swinton led the Wolverines offense, finding the endzone on three separate occasions leading the Wolverines to the second trip the regional title game in back-to-back seasons.
Class 4
A dominating season came to a screeching halt for Louisa County as the Lions fell to Patrick Henry-Ashland 16-15. A late score by Jarett Hunter put the Lions in the drivers seat but Will Dorsey’s 32 yard field goal with 15.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter to secure the Patriots victory.
Salem-Roanoke handed George Washington a 48-21 defeat led by its’ powerful rushing attack which accumulated nearly 350 yards on the ground. Cameron Leftwich led Salem with 146 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
The 4D Region Championship was set when E.C. Glass defeated Pulaski County to setup their showdown with Salem. The visiting Cougars appeared to have the upper hand early, jumping out to a 10-0 lead but the Hilltoppers stormed back with 27 unanswered points to complete the 27-10 win.
Liberty-Bealeton received their first loss of the season against Tuscarora ending the Eagles season. Ethan Gick rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns while adding a passing score and 208 yards through the air for the Huskies. Bryce Duke added four touchdowns on the ground in the 53-22 win over the Eagles.
In a hard fought battle with Dinwiddie, Eastern View also saw its’ year come to a close with a 25-17 loss to the Generals. Dinwiddie’s defense slowed down the Cyclones consistently in the second half of the contest and did just enough to allow the teams’ offensive attack to pull out the win and advance.
Class 3
Lord Botetourt continued their dominance with a 33-13 win over Hidden Valley to advance to the Region 3D title game. Hunter Rice rushed for 303 yards and four touchdown scores for the Cavaliers. Rice missed almost the entire first half of the season but still managed to rush for over 1100 yards during the regular season in the potent Cavaliers ground game.
Dominance of the opening half for Northside as they hosted Magna Vista continued in the second as the Vikings defeated the Warriors 27-6. Christian Fisher accounted for 128 rushing yards and three touchdowns setting up a showdown for his team with Lord Botetourt.
Spotswood remained undefeated with a 42-0 drubbing of Rockbridge County. The Trailblazers defense intercepted their opponents five teams during the contest and Ethan Barnhardt ran for 191 yards and three touchdowns in the Spotswood victory.
A showdown in Lynchburg saw Heritage defeat Liberty Christian 20-7 to advance to the 3C regional final game. Trailing at halftime, the Pioneers turned to KJ Vaughan and the rushing game in the second half. Vaughn rushed for 223 total yards for his team and carried Heritage to victory down the stretch.
James Monroe recorded a 34-7 victory over Brentsville to advance to the Region 3B Final. The Tigers ended the season at 8-4 after the Yellowjackets defense slowed a Tigers offense that had over 24 points in the six games prior to the contest.
Following a big victory in the first round against William Monroe, Skyline found themselves stifled against Goochland. The Bulldogs secured a 56-22 victory over the Hawks to easily advance to the region 3B final contest.
Class 2
Central-Wise advanced to their first ever Region 2D championship game with a 14-7 win against Ridgeview. The Warriors led by two scores entering halftime and held off the Wolfpack despite a scoreless second half for the win.
Graham rolled to victory against Union 42-7 setting up their contest with Central-Wise in the Region 2D title game.
Daelyn Miller scored six touchdowns for Gretna and rushed for 222 yards in the Hawks 48-20 dominant victory over Radford.
Stuarts Draft advanced past Strasburg 28-14. The ability for their defense to slow the Rams when they needed to the most along with an impressive performance from Cougars quarterback Henry Cooke propelled the home squad to the win in a close contest.
Nathan Rodriguez scored three touchdowns and Trenton Morris added a pair to lead East Rockingham to a 41-17 victory over Buckingham County.
Appomattox County blanked Glenvar 21-0 to advance to the Region 2C final game.
King William sprinted out to a 25-7 first half lead against Poquoson and went on to win 46-20 against the Bull Islanders to advance. Demond Claiborne scored three times (2 rushing, 1 receiving) for the Cavaliers in the teams’ win.
Greensville County held a lead at halftime but Thomas Jefferson-Richmond outscored their opponents 29-3 in the second half as the Vikings advanced with a 44-18 victory over the Eagles.
Class 1
Riverheads advanced to 12-0 with a 59-6 win over Franklin. Elijah Dunlap and Braeson Fulton connected on three Gladiators scores through the air while the Smiley brothers, Noah and Zac, along with Aidan Miller led the teams’ powerful rushing attack in the win.
Sussex Central capitalized on early turnovers by Altavista to jumpstart their attack en route to a 54-28 win. Imir Clark scored three touchdowns for the Tigers while Jayllen Jones threw for three touchdowns scores and ran for another in Altavista’s final game of the season.
Galax rolled to a 56-14 win over Auburn to advance to the Region 1C title game.
Narrows took a 21-7 first quarter lead over George Wythe and appeared to be on their way to victory. The Maroon, however, had different ideas reeling off 49 straight points on the way to a 56-28 win.
Patrick Henry-Glade Spring remained undefeated, advancing to 12-0 with a 29-6 victory over Holston.
A game ending interception by Mikey Culbertson secured a 12-7 win for J.I. Burton and ended the season for Chilhowie in the region semifinal contest. The turnover came with less than 30 seconds remaining in the contest.
Robert lives in Gordonsville and has been contributing to VirginiaPreps.com since 2013. He also provides freelance contributions to the Daily Progress. Robert began working in the sports sector in 2006 and covers public and private schools throughout the state of Virginia.
Feedback is appreciated! We want to give you the information you want to see and read. If you have suggestions or comments, please let us know.
Information can be emailed to bigrob2523@gmail.com and find him on twitter @bigrob2523.
