Are you ready for some football? Throughout the month of August, VirginiaPreps.com gets you set for the 2022 High School Football season with content you can't find anywhere else.

As part of our comprehensive coverage, we count down the Top Ten Rankings for each classification. It's found exclusively on this web site with updates weekly during the season.

What to Know: About to embark on their fourth season under Head Coach Sean Finnerty, the Pioneers followed up a 5-2 mark during the abbreviated COVID campaign by going 7-4 last fall. Their five-game winning streak was halted with a narrow 42-41 loss to Cedar Run District rival Battlefield in the regular season finale, then they were surprised by No. 6 seed Unity Reed - a team they blanked 36-0 in October - by a count of 49-35 in the opening round of the Region 6B playoffs. However, only seven seniors graduated from that squad, so there's plenty in the cupboard for the crew from Nokesville.

Fresh off earning 1st Team All-State honors as a junior, UVA commit Cole Surber (6-6, 275) is a pure stalwart in the trenches. A couple other proven commodities can be found in senior QB Sam Fernandez (6-2, 190), a three-sport standout who earned All-State honors in lacrosse, and dynamite senior wideout Gabe Bigbee (5-9, 160), a 1st Team All-Region 6B performer.

Fernandez completed 95 of 152 passes for 1414 yards and a 15-4 TD/Int. ratio a season ago to earn 2nd Team All-Cedar Run District honors. Meanwhile, Bigbee makes up for what he lacks in size with heart and a big-play swagger, having produced nearly 2000 yards and 26 TD's over 26 games in three seasons with 46 grabs for 604 yards and 5 TD's during his junior campaign. Don't be surprised to see him get moved around quite a bit and even touch the football out of the backfield.

In recent years, Patriot has had a workhorse back, such as Tim Baldwin (Indiana and then UMass) and Keith Jenkins, the Cedar Run District Offensive Player of the Year who rushed for 1516 yards and 22 TD's in 2021. Look for them to mix it up with more than just one ball carrier this season, including William Quentin Harrison (5-10, 205), one of the Cedar Run's finest returning linebackers, and sophomore Jackson McCarter (5-11, 185). Of course, they feel good about their o-line with Surber, center Branden Chandler (5-10, 290) and fellow senior Brandon Khu (5-11, 255), a 2nd Team All-Cedar Run District pick, paving the way.

While the offense has more balance, versatility and flexibility than perhaps in the past, the defense brings back its entire defensive line and a linebacking core that Finnerty is expecting a lot from. Senior MLB Kam Mahoney (6-0, 210), senior DL Josh Folds and senior DE/TE Chase Collins (5-11, 210) are a few to watch on that side of the ball as well as senior Eddie Henry II (5-9, 160), a 2nd Team All-Region selection at DB.

Schedule-wise, things should shake out for Patriot to get off to a strong start, considering they don't play a team that finished with a winning record last season until a trip to Osbourn on October 14th. That's their seventh game of the campaign. The regular season finale at Battlefield is always a big one that's circled and will have major playoff implications.

The No. 10 spot in the Preseason Class 6 Top Ten has had nice fortune, too. Back in 2019, it's where South County began prior to a 15-0 state title winning march.

Final Class 6 Rankings from 2021:

#1 - Oscar Smith (13-1)

#2 - Madison (13-2)

#3 - Battlefield (13-1)

#4 - South County (11-3)

#5 - Freedom-Prince William (10-3)

#6 - Centreville (10-3)

#7 - James Robinson (10-2)

#8 - Western Branch (10-3)

#9 - Manchester (8-3)

#10 - West Potomac (8-5)

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network. 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 from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on ESPN Radio 94.1.