VirginiaPreps.com's preseason Division 6 top 10 countdown continues. Today we release the number five team in our rankings, the Chantilly Chargers. Head coach Mike Lalli has taken the Chantilly program to heights not experienced since the Chargers 1996 state championship and in doing so has established himself as one of the top young coaches in the region. Lalli, a Bishop Ireton grad and former football player at Notre Dame will have another top notch team this fall. The 2006 team that made it all the way to the Division 6 title game against Osbourn, was led by All-Met defensive end Zach Hally, Patrick Madaj, Nate Worek, Danny Simms and Austin Morris.

5. Chantilly - A lot of key players return for last year's Northern Region champ, making this an attractive pick to repeat as region champs. The backfield duo of Torrian Pace and Antonio Cross return as well as quarterback Austin Decker. Decker only played in two games last year, but in those games he was able to dethrone Westfield and Varina to lead his team to the state championship game. On defense, many key players return for a

squad that was among the region's best last year. On paper, this team is a top contender and their match-up with Westfield on 9/20 should be marked on everybody's calendar.

6. Osbourn - The defending champions lost 12 starters from a season ago,

none will be more missed than Brandon Hogan, everyone's AAA player of the year

last season. But the good news for coach Steve Schultze is that he does

have 12 other starters returning. One quality transfer is John

Carter, who will help out on both sides of the ball, the 5-foot-10 Carter can

run with the ball and tackle as well when playing defense. Coach Schultze

told VirginiaPreps.com: "Coming off of an undefeated and state title, we know that we have a bulls eye target on us so we are going to have to outwork our opponents. Defensively up front – almost our entire D line is returning so stopping the run should be one of our key areas. We are also going to modify our spread attack to emphasize our personnel strengths which is speed and quickness in the skilled positions."

7. Thomas Dale - After a couple of successful "just-miss" years in a very tough district, the Knights should be back in the playoffs in 2007. Considering how loaded D-6 is in the Central Region now, that's saying a lot. The offensive line and linebackers (led by Malcolm Piggott) will be particularly strong, and the Class of 2009 is one of the better groups in Dale history. The only thing standing in Dale's way is the fact that one loss could keep them out of the playoffs.

8. Centreville - It's been two years since Centreville qualified for the playoffs and it's been six years since they won a playoff game. Yet what makes Centreville a contender is their coach and new offense. Centreville has one of the region's top tandem of

running backs with Darryl Hamilton and Andrew Morgan. New head coach Gerry Pannoni will give these two more than enough carries. Pannoni has also won everywhere he's been. How far he takes the Wildcats should be interesting to follow.

9. Hylton - Despite graduating 27 seniors, Hylton returns multipurpose player Morgan Carter (4 offers), TE Eric

Martin (committed to VA Tech), 3 o-line starters, and 3 starting LB's led by Danzel White. Despite losing ironman tailback Omoniyi Bakare (1500 yards), the running game will be more diverse with 2 JV, 1 transfer, and 3 returning varsity players competing for starting spots. After missing the playoffs for the first time since 1997, the Bulldogs are focused and united in their quest to climb back to the top in the Cardinal District and the NW Region.

10. Western Branch - The Western Branch Bruins will be undergoing a shift early in the season first year Head Coach Scott Johnson takes over the reigns of the program where he has been the Defensive Coordinator for over a decade. Early adjustments aside, the Bruins have more than enough talent to make a series run at a regional title with Class of 2009 QB Kevin Newsome leading the offense along with Hykeem Brodie, one of the state's top SPARQ scorers, at tailback. Linebackers Justin Conyers, Darwin Nichols and cornerback Olimas Robinson return as three-year starters to a defense traditionally ranked in the top five in the region.

HM: Robinson, Maury, Landstown, Meadowbrook, Highland Springs, Varina, Oakton, West Potomac, Hermitage, Woodbridge, Gar-Field, Ocean Lakes

Robinson is always in the thick of things in the Northern Region and Coach Mark Bendorf is one of the best in the business. The Rams have graduated a lot of talent the past two seasons and it will be interesting to see the new parts of the 'machine' this fall.

Landstown, three years ago they defeated Robinson for the state title, and two years ago they fell to Oakton in the state title game. Last year after a tough start the Eagles rebounded and were very competitive - will it carry over to this season? Time will tell.

Meadowbrook, now a division 6 school, is also just a couple seasons removed from a state title (d5) and have a good mix of experience and young talent - and excellent coaching. Should be interesting to watch this fall.

Highland Springs - year in and year out in the Central Region Scott Burton has the Springers in title contention and this year should be no exception. The Springer are very athletic, and have a starter returning at qb, always a good sign for a high school football team. Don't sleep on the Springers!

Varina - does any school produce more talent than the Blue Devils? Coach Chilcoat and his staff seem to reload every year - and watch out they have a very talented group of rising juniors and sophomores. By the end of the season they could be as good as anyone in their region. Stay tuned!

Oakton - another team just a couple of years removed from a state title, and well coached too. Could be a Northern Region 'sleeper'.