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Final VHSL Top Ten Football Rankings for 2021

Two rings in a calendar year made for better than one for a few VHSL schools - such as Stone Bridge, Riverheads and Oscar Smith
Two rings in a calendar year made for better than one for a few VHSL schools - such as Stone Bridge, Riverheads and Oscar Smith (Ray Williams, Infinity Photography by Ray)

The 2021 Virginia High School Football season is in the books... and completed literally seven months after the condensed one from the 2020-21 school-year came to a close. That's because the VHSL decided to move Fall Sports - such as football - back in the calendar to better give an opportunity

Say what you want, and there will always be critics, but the VHSL, coaches and players all over the Commonwealth deserve considerable credit for navigating tricky waters and difficult times.

Ironically enough, two State Championships were won in the same calendar year by a few different schools: Oscar Smith in Class 6, Stone Bridge in Class 5 and Riverheads in Class 1.

Oscar Smith's wins were the most dominant, prevailing by a combined margin of 104-38 over Northern Virginia schools South County and Madison. Stone Bridge's were the most dramatic, edging Highland Springs in overtime on a TD catch in overtime by Jacob Thomas, who threw the game-winning score as time expired in regulation to Zeke Wimbush vs. Maury at ODU. Riverheads goes down as the most historic, becoming the first school to win six straight titles.

Riverheads will enter the 2022 season riding a 50-game winning streak, trailing only Phoebus (52 wins in a row, which was snapped in 2011 by Woodside). Speaking of the Phantoms, they outlasted Liberty Christian to win the Class 3 crown. It marked their eighth state title for Phoebus and first since 2011.

After falling short in the Championship round in both 1998 and 1999, Varina won its first ever state title by beating Broad Run in the Class 4 Final, while King William routed Graham to win its first State Championship in 21 years. Wake Forest-bound running back Demond Claiborne scored 52 touchdowns to place third in VHSL history for a single-season behind only Heritage-Lynchburg alum Elijah Davis (59 TD's) and Hopewell grad TreVeyon Henderson (53 TD's).

We take a look at our Final Rankings for the season, plus you can view the playoff brackets for all six classifications below as well as where each team checked in at in our Preseason Top Ten in the charts...

See Final Playoff Brackets Here


By beating Madison 42-17 at ODU's S.B. Ballard Stadium to win the Class 6 crown, the Oscar Smith Tigers captured their fourth State Championship in program history, and maybe most impressively, have found the end zone at least six times in each of those four title victories
By beating Madison 42-17 at ODU's S.B. Ballard Stadium to win the Class 6 crown, the Oscar Smith Tigers captured their fourth State Championship in program history, and maybe most impressively, have found the end zone at least six times in each of those four title victories (Ray Williams, Infinity Photography by Ray)
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Class 6 Top Ten:
Rank Preseason School Record

1

1

Oscar Smith

13-1

2

4

Madison

13-2

3

NR

Battlefield

13-1

4

2

South County

11-3

5

7

Freedom-PW

10-3

6

9

Centreville

10-3

7

HM

Robinson

10-2

8

NR

Western Branch

10-3

9

3

Manchester

8-3

10

NR

West Potomac

8-5

Dropped Out from previous Top Ten: #9 Thomas Dale (7-3) and #10 Fairfax (9-2)
Stone Bridge came from behind to stun Maury on the game's final play and win the VHSL Class 5 State Championship at ODU
Stone Bridge came from behind to stun Maury on the game's final play and win the VHSL Class 5 State Championship at ODU (Ray Williams, Infinity Photography by Ray)
Class 5 Top Ten:
Rank Preseason School Record

1

1

Stone Bridge

15-0

2

3

Maury

8-2

3

2

Highland Springs

10-4

4

4

Green Run

13-1

5

NR

Kempsville

9-2

6

HM

Mountain View

11-2

7

HM

Hermitage

10-3

8

5

Riverbend

9-3

9

10

Salem-VB

8-3

10

NR

Midlothian

7-3

Dropped Out from previous Top Ten: #7 Massaponax (7-2) and #10 Woodgrove (7-3)
Varina held off a fourth quarter rally by Broad Run to win the Class 4 State Championship at Lynchburg's Liberty University, 28-21, on December 11, 2021
Varina held off a fourth quarter rally by Broad Run to win the Class 4 State Championship at Lynchburg's Liberty University, 28-21, on December 11, 2021
Class 4 Top Ten:
Rank Preseason School Record

1

9

Varina

13-1

2

3

Broad Run

13-2

3

1

Salem

12-2

4

8

King's Fork

11-2

5

5

Patrick Henry-Ashland

10-3

6

6

Dinwiddie

9-1

7

HM

King George

10-1

8

2

Tuscarora

10-3

9

HM

GW-Danville

9-2

10

NR

Matoaca

9-2

Dropped Out from previous Top Ten: #8 Kettle Run (9-2)
The Phoebus Phantoms had to wait 11 years between their seventh and eighth state titles in program history, but it was a satisfying 22-14 win over Liberty Christian at Liberty University to say the least
The Phoebus Phantoms had to wait 11 years between their seventh and eighth state titles in program history, but it was a satisfying 22-14 win over Liberty Christian at Liberty University to say the least (Clarence 'Skip' Perry)
Class 3 Top Ten:
Rank Preseason School Record

1

4

Phoebus

14-1

2

1

Liberty Christian

13-1

3

HM

Abingdon

12-2

4

6

Brookville

8-4

5

NR

York

11-2

6

10

Brentsville District

11-3

7

8

Heritage-Lynchburg

9-3

8

3

Lord Botetourt

8-4

9

7

Hopewell

6-4

10

NR

Christiansburg

10-2

Dropped Out from previous Top Ten: #7 Lafayette (9-2)
King William averaged 51.2 points per game during the postseason on their way to capturing the program's first State Championship in 21 years
King William averaged 51.2 points per game during the postseason on their way to capturing the program's first State Championship in 21 years
Class 2 Top Ten:
Rank Preseason School Record

1

5

King William

13-1

2

2

Graham

13-1

3

1

Appomattox

11-2

4

9

Glenvar

11-2

5

HM

Central-Woodstock

11-2

6

4

Stuarts Draft

9-3

7

NR

Nottoway

11-1

8

10

Ridgeview

9-4

9

7

Clarke County

10-2

10

3

Union

8-4

Dropped Out from previous Top Ten: #9 Central-Wise (8-4)
A little rain couldn't get in the way and spoil the celebration for Riverheads as the Gladiators beat Galax 45-14 to claim their sixth straight state title, and simultaneously, take a 50-game winning streak into 2022
A little rain couldn't get in the way and spoil the celebration for Riverheads as the Gladiators beat Galax 45-14 to claim their sixth straight state title, and simultaneously, take a 50-game winning streak into 2022 (Marsel T. Mason, VirginiaPreps.com)
Class 1 Top Ten:
Rank Preseason School Record

1

1

Riverheads

14-0

2

2

Galax

11-3

3

8

Holston

13-1

4

7

Essex

8-2

5

6

King & Queen

10-2

6

10

Patrick Henry-Glade Spring

9-4

7

NR

Twin Springs

9-2

8

HM

Buffalo Gap

9-4

9

NR

Parry McCluer

9-4

10

4

Northumberland

7-3

Dropped Out from previous Top Ten: #6 Central-Lunenburg (8-3)


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 don’t forget to listen to him from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on ESPN Radio 94.1.


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