Change is constant, nothing stays the same... As we look ahead to this coming football season that is never more evident. The Richmond Region has undergone a ton of change since May 1st when the curtain closed on the Spring 2021 season.

The most glaring change comes in terms of regions and classes... The realignment in 2013 shook up the Central Region... splintered is more like it. Since that time every couple of years we see teams fluctuate between classes… usually that fluctuation occurs between Classes 3 & 4 or 5 & 6 but the change that has occurred in the offseason sees four teams drop from Class 5 to 4.

Atlee, Henrico, Matoaca and Varina all drop from Class 5 to Class 4.

Atlee, Henrico and Matoaca had been mainstays of Class 5 since the 2013 realignment whereas Varina began in Class 6, fell to Class 5 in 2015 and now drops a class again. These four programs are now lumped in to Region 4B with the likes of Dinwiddie, George Wythe, Hanover, Huguenot, Mechanicsville, Monacan, Patrick Henry and Powhatan… teams within the footprint of the old Central Region. Also in this group is Chancellor, Courtland, Eastern View, King George(defending region champion) and Spotsylvania. This makes for a crowded field, a region of 17 teams fighting for 8 playoff spots. Can perennial region contender Varina thrive in Region 4B? Can Atlee, Henrico and Matoaca change their fortune in a new region?

Manchester is the other team on the move. The Lancers who spent the last two years as a region contender in 5B now returns to Class 6A where they won a state title in 2018. They rejoin a region with fellow Chesterfield schools Cosby, James River and Thomas Dale. This region also includes Franklin Co., Grassfield, Kellam, Landstown, Ocean Lakes, Oscar Smith and Western Branch. The Lancers have a young but talented team coming into the Fall with the experience of a Spring season that could prime them to be a serious threat within the region.

In total 5 schools have left Region 5B and Region 5B as we knew it no longer exists, it will now be known as Region 5C and include just 12 schools with 8 making the playoffs. Who will step-up in a region now absent of Varina, Henrico, Atlee and Matoaca? Clover Hill, Deep Run, Douglas Freeman, Glen Allen, Hermitage, JR Tucker, LC Bird, Meadowbrook, Midlothian, Mills Godwin and Prince George will all look to topple the mighty Springers or at least pose a threat.

Needless to say, the changes within regions and class will make for some interesting playoff races and ultimately playoffs.

Change can also be found at the head coaching position where a record 11 teams will have new head coaches when they take the field this Fall.

Armstrong, John Marshall and Prince George made their hire before the Spring 2021 season. Armstrong and John Marshall did not play due to the fact that the City of Richmond chose not to play sports so when Jeremy Pruitt(Armstrong) and Willis Gillus III(John Marshall) take the field, although on the job for more than a year, it will be their first game. Both were assistant coaches at their respective schools before being promoted. Coach Pruitt has a tougher road ahead of him rebuilding a program that has just 6 combined wins over the last 5 seasons. Coach Gillus on the other hand looks to keep what Coach Phillip Sims was building going but it won’t be easy given a season missed.

Scott Girolmo at Prince George on the other hand was hired to succeed Coach Bruce Carroll. This past Spring he coached at Battlefield where in two seasons he went 9-8 making the playoffs this past Spring which followed a 4-6 campaign in 2019. He takes over a program that is coming off back-to-back winning seasons and back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in the history of the program.

Prince George is just 1 of 3 Central District teams to take the field this Fall with a new head coach as Colonial Heights and Meadowbrook will as well. Kyle Krupp stepped down from Colonial Heights shortly after the end of the season and now taking the helm is former Amelia head coach Justin Keeler. Keeler most recently was an assistant at Prince George. Meadowbrook will have their third head coach in three seasons with Kevin Healy stepping down after one season. Healy is replaced with Recharde Goodwyn who will look to bring the Monarchs long losing streak to an end, a losing streak that goes back to 2017!

The most change at coaching occurs within the Colonial District as there will be five new head coaches. In addition to John Marshall there will be new coaches on the sidelines at Deep Run, Hermitage, Mills Godwin and Thomas Jefferson.

Coach PJ Adams left Thomas Jefferson to take over a Mills Godwin program that has won just four games the past two seasons and has not made the playoffs since 2017. Filling the void left by Coach Adams at Thomas Jefferson is assistant Josef Harrison who has been at Thomas Jefferson since 2016.

Coach Chad Hornik left Deep Run, stepping down after five seasons at the helm of the Wildcats. Stepping in to take the lead of the program is Coach Joe Mullinax who comes to the region from Brentsville. Coach Mullinax is faced with a program that not only loses a head coach but also a senior class that was among the most talented in the history of the program.

In a bit of a shocking move Coach David Bedwell stepped down at Hermitage following an undefeated regular season in which the Panthers appeared to be back on the scene as a player in the region. The sudden move saw the Panthers promote from within with Timothy Jean-Pierre taking the helm. Can the Panthers continue to climb back to relevance in the region or will they fade back into mediocrity?

In the Dominion District there are two coaching changes… James River is a program influx since Coach Defrancesco stepped down after the 2016 season. Last season alone the Rapids had two coaches, beginning the season with James Riley and ending the season with Kyle Freedman. Looking to lead the Rapids to better days is Jacob Hodges who comes to James River from Atlee where he served as offensive coordinator.

Then there is Huguenot after Coach Addison Hayes departed the program for Edward Waters University after one season. This means the Falcons will have their third coach in as many seasons when they take the field this Fall. That new coach we found out this week will be a familiar one in former James River coach, James Riley.

More changes comes from Highland Springs and JR Tucker will both will breaking in new stadiums after playing on the road the past two years. In the post-game interview after the state final loss, Coach Loren Johnson beamed at the thought of playing at home and that moment will happen in less than a month.

There is much optimism for a return to a normal football season but as we all look forward to that normal season in the background is a virus that has plagued our lives for a year and a half now.

The Delta Variant seems to be on the rise and there is growing concern that there will be an impact to our football season. An impact could be as small as a program pausing for a couple of weeks as we saw some do this Spring or a bigger impact that saw Manchester's season end last Spring. Or would we have schedules shrunk or a pause in the season a whole?

I like so many of you hope there is no impact but we just don't know from day to day.

Having covered the region since 2013 this year the coverage of the Richmond Region is split in two with the addition of Byron Jones to the staff here at VirginiaPreps. The articles will look similar to previous seasons but the region will be split in two this year with Byron covering the southside consisting of the Central and Dominion Districts while I will cover the Capital and Colonial Districts.

Get ready, it’s going to be a fun season.