Football season has returned. With that, VirginiaPreps.com is the place for you to get the comprehensive coverage you crave for the 2024 campaign that you won't find anywhere else.
As part of our in-depth breakdowns, we count down the Top Ten Rankings for each classification. It's found exclusively on this web site, the only one that has been ranking each class in Virginia for over two decades. We'll be updating it weekly during the season, too.
Enjoy!
#10 - Patriot Pioneers
What to Know: For the fifth consecutive season under Head Coach Sean Finnerty and the eighth straight time in general, the Patriot Pioneers qualified for the playoffs in 2023. How they did it wasn't exactly easy, re-grouping from a 1-2 start to win four in a row, which included two of their three shutouts on the season. There were narrow losses late in the regular season to Mountain View by a 14-13 margin and by a 26-23 count to Cedar Run District rival Battlefield, which then bounced them from the opening round of the Region 6B playoffs a week later, 26-6.
The offense hummed to the tune of 35 PPG, though down from their gaudy 44.9 PPG average during the 11-2 campaign of 2022. With eight regulars back on that side of the ball, Finnerty is quite confident the strong production should continue, especailly with one of the finest running backs in the entire state, Villanova commit Jackson McCarter (6-0, 200). Chosen 2nd Team All-State in Class 6 and 1st Team All-Region 6B last season, McCarter rushed for 1754 yards and 24 TD's on 199 carries (8.8 yards per attempt) as a junior. He also earned 2nd Team All-Region honors as a return man.
Joining McCarter in the offensive backfield is senior QB Tyler Knutson (6-4, 200), who in 11 games last year threw for 1341 yards and 16 touchdowns to provide a respectable passing threat. As opposing defenses concentrate on the run with McCarter, opportunities to unleash the deep ball with Knutson - and receivers like seniors Diasian Noakes (6-2, 170) and Colton Kershaw (5-9, 155) as well as junior Aidan Pagonis (5-10, 180) - ought to be there.
Depth is always a concern. Although Patriot graduated five All-Region players from a season ago, two of which came in the trenches, they do bring back four offensive linemen that have starts under their belts in senior LT Sayfaldeen Hamad (6-3, 240), senior LG Joey Sipina (6-3, 250), junior RG Jorden Benjamin (6-0, 275) and senior RT Hans Schmidt (6-3, 290). In the case of Benjamin and Schmidt, each earned 2nd Team All-Cedar Run recognition last year.
Another 2nd Team All-Cedar Run pick that's back is junior defensive end Tyler Johnson (5-10, 220), who'll be joined on the line of scrimmage by Sipina, junior DE Harrison Outman (5-10, 200) and sophomore DT Chris Umana (6-1, 260). Finnerty believes this can be one of the best defenses he's had at Patriot and the addition of junior inside linebacker Mathieu Kanu (6-3, 220), who recorded 60 tackles at Unity Reed last fall, is definitely one of the main reasons why.
With inexperience at the corner spots, the Pioneers will be counting on returning starters at safety in Pagonis and junior Leo Sribar (6-0, 190), a 2nd Team All-Region 6B pick, to make plays.
Road games the first month of the season against two teams that beat them a season ago in Westfield and Colonial Forge will be very telling in regards to how much this Patriot team has improved. The October 10th game with a Gainesville program that's on the rise is another one to circle. But the biggest measure when it comes to Championship-caliber will be the regular season finale at home on November 8th against Battlefield, which has won each of the past six in the series.
Final Class 6 Rankings from 2023:
#1 - Freedom-PW (14-0)
#2 - Highland Springs (13-2)
#3 - Manchester (11-2)
#4 - James Madison (12-2)
#5 - Battlefield (12-1)
#6 - Thomas Dale (11-1)
#7 - Lake Braddock (11-3)
#8 - Mountain View (11-1)
#9 - Fairfax (9-4)
#10 - South County (9-3)
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 be sure to Subscribe to CoVA Sports TV where you can watch and hear his Podcasts.
