Class 4 Top Ten - #1 Salem

Throughout the month of August, VirginiaPreps.com will begin previewing the upcoming 2018 High School Football season. As part of our comprehensive coverage, we will be counting down the Top Ten Rankings for each classification.

What to Know: The Spartans are one of the most prestigious football programs in all of Virginia with nine state titles - second only to Hampton High's 17 - and they enter the 2018 campaign off three consecutive Championship victories over the likes of Lake Taylor, Dinwiddie and Louisa. Last year's team was able to re-group from two regular season losses, including avenging a 37-point defeat to Blacksburg by edging the Bruins 33-32 in the Region 4D Championship. Coach Stephen Magenbauer heads into his 15th season trying to capture a sixth ring and bring Salem a rare four-peat.

Salem graduated six All-State honorees - RB De'Angelo Ramsey, WR/DB Viante Tucker, DB Joseph Quinn, DB Nick Wade, OL Thomas Farrell and kicker Nate Craft - from their three-peat squad. Filling the shoes of Tucker, who had 171 receptions for 3522 yards and 44TD's in his career, may be the hardest. However, the passing game is in trusty hands with senior quarterback Jack Gladden (6-2, 186) at the controls. In his first year as a starter, Gadden completed 107 of 180 passes for 2053 yards and 28 touchdowns compared to just eight interceptions.

There doesn't appear to be that one stud ball carrier as the case was with Ramsey when he ran for 1158 yards and 12TD's during the 2017 playoffs alone. Nonetheless, the Spartans have a myriad of quality rushers with sophomore Zavione Wood (5-10, 170), junior Isaiah Persinger (5-11, 170), junior Jerod Chaney (5-7, 158) and junior Bobby Pinello (6-2, 240), a standout on defense from his linebacker spot. Without Tucker, the Spartans will look to spread the ball around to juniors Chase Ferris (6-1, 190) and Luke Reid (5-9, 158) as well as senior tight ends Avery Close (6-5, 225) and Peyton McBride (6-0, 221).

Coming off a junior campaign in which he earned 2nd Team All-Region accolades and recorded 69 tackles chasing ball carriers from his linebacker and defensive end spots, Close is quite coveted by colleges at the next level. So far, he holds offers from Fordham, Lehigh, Old Dominion and Richmond. A couple of multi-year senior starters that they'll be counting on in the trenches alongside him are OG/DT Da'Jon Cardwell (6-1, 295) and DL/FB Van Richardson (5-10, 195). Cardwell earned 2nd Team All-Region recognition on the d-line last year.

Joining them up front as a couple of key blockers on the o-line are senior center Luke Grinnell (6-0, 295) and junior tackle Samuel Cosnotti (6-5, 309). The Spartans aren't hurting from a size perspective on the line, which should help a great deal in protecting Gladden and opening holes for their mixture of backs to run through. While Close made a team-high 11 tackles in the State Championship win last December, right behind him with 10 stops was Chandler Sutphin (6-1, 181), a junior who's back to lead them at linebacker.

Pinello and senior Sam Sumpter (5-11, 179) project as the other starters at linebacker. What looks to be the biggest - and really only serious - question mark about this Salem team is how well will they defend a proficient passing attack with some inexperienced bodies in the secondary? Quinn, Tucker and Wade were mainstays on the back end. Some underclassmen to watch out for in the defensive backfield are freshman Chauncey Logan (5-10, 158), sophomore Jorden McDonald (6-2, 179), sophomore Jayden McDonald (6-2, 174) and sophomore Shawn Collins (6-2, 172).

Some around the Salem program believe that Logan, who'll play corner and wideout and had a couple of interceptions in their first scrimmage, is a budding star in the ilk of Tucker. He's also a highly regarded baseball player. Before entering the teeth of their River Ridge District schedule, the Spartans will have a challenging road test at Dinwiddie (Sept. 7), who they've played a couple of classic ballgames with the past two years. When push comes to shove, while there are teams as or more athletic and with better quickness, Salem generally won't beat itself with mistakes and bring a winning pedigree to the table.

Other Class 4 Top Ten Previews:

#2 - Sherando Warriors - Read More Here

#3 - Lake Taylor Titans - Read More Here

#4 - Dinwiddie Generals - Read More Here

#5 - GW-Danville Eagles - Read More Here

#6 - Lafayette Rams - Read More Here

#7 - Eastern View Cyclones - Read More Here

#8 - King's Fork Bulldogs - Read More Here

#9 - Woodgrove Wolverines - Read More Here

#10 - E.C. Glass Hilltoppers - Read More Here

Final Class 4 Rankings for 2017:

#1 - Salem (13-2)

#2 - Louisa (14-1)

#3 - Dinwiddie (12-1)

#4 - Lafayette (12-2)

#5 - Blacksburg (11-2)

#6 - Monacan (11-1)

#7 - King's Fork (11-2)

#8 - Eastern View (11-1)

#9 - Sherando (11-3)

#10 - GW-Danville (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 every Saturday at 10 AM to Noon on ESPN Radio 94.1.