Throughout the month of August, VirginiaPreps.com will begin previewing the upcoming 2019 High School Football season. As part of our comprehensive coverage, we will be counting down the Top Ten Rankings for each classification.
#10 - Gretna Hawks
What to Know: The Gretna Hawks been on both ends of the spectrum, going through a stretch they lost 43 games in a row during the 1990's, to producing Championships on a regular basis in the Vic Hall era where the former quarterback who went on to play at UVA and then in the NFL took them to unprecedented heights. Gretna won five State Championships from 2003-11. Now in his sixth year at the helm, Head Coach Cole Simpson has the Hawks back to where they are a contender.
After going just 1-9 in Simpson's debut of 2014, they're coming off back-to-back playoff trips where the team finished 8-3 and last season went 9-3, marking the program's first postseason victory in seven years. A good chunk of that team, which rushed for a whopping 3333 yards and 52 touchdowns in 2018, returns in the form of 15 starters. At the forefront is senior signal caller Tabron Mabins (5-9, 165), who threw for 1027 yards on 49 completions with a 12-10 TD/Int. ratio. Complementing him will be two stellar rushing options in Jordan Berger (6-1, 200) and Daelyn Miller (5-10, 191).
Berger, who ran for 579 yards and 8TD's as a junior, has been offered by Morgan State University. He'll also stand out defensively at linebacker. Miller, offered by Division II Concord in West Virginia as a strong safety, ran for 507 yards and 7TD's during his junior campaign. What Simpson really likes is that they bring back three starters on a sturdy offensive line that figures to bigger, stronger and better overall than from a season ago.
Corylin Witcher (6-2, 225), an All-Region performer on both sides of the ball last fall, leads them on the o-line. A freshman to watch out for on the o-line is Onsley Baker. It does remain to be seen who ends up being the top target in the passing game for Mabrins after the graduation departure of Dajon Hicks, their leading receiver with more than 700 yards and 8TD's. Another question Gretna will have to answer is can they come anywhere to close their exceptional performance on defense from last year? Gretna yielded only 73 over their past 12 games.
Coach Simpson admitted that it's a relatively young and inexperienced defense, though believes they can develop into a strong group by season's end with Berger, Miller and Witcher leading the way. Senior DE Ray Jefferson (6-2, 230) is another player to watch out for on that side of the ball with experience. Gretna has a really fast secondary that'll allow them to be aggressive and take some chances. Not only do their inside linebackers run well, but the outside 'backers are long-armed. Another freshman with a chance to start is DB Matthew Thompson.
Playing in the Dogwood Dsitrict will have Gretna ready come playoff time. Their schedule features some matchups with other Top Ten schools around the state with Radford, William Campbell, Appomattox and Thomas Jefferson of Richmond. Last year, they split with Radford, winning 7-6 in the regular season before falling to the Bobcats 20-7 in the second round of the Region 2C playoffs. There's a decent to good chance they run into them again, or perhaps the likes of Appomattox or Glenvar, all of whom are serious title contenders at the Class 2 level. Avoid injuries and Gretna can be right there with them.
Final Class 2 Rankings for 2018:
#1 - Graham (14-1)
#2 - Goochland (14-1)
#3 - East Rockingham (13-1)
#4 - Radford (12-2)
#5 - Appomattox (11-2)
#6 - Central-Woodstock (11-2)
#7 - Glenvar (10-2)
#8 - Poquoson (9-4)
#9 - Gretna (9-3)
#10 - Ridgeview (10-2)
Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him weeknights from 6-7 PM on The 757 at 6 as well as every Saturday at 10 AM to Noon on ESPN Radio 94.1.
