Last week, Matt Hatfield widened his lead on both VHSL-Reference.com and Coach Ed Young with a 22-2 mark, only misfiring on Denbigh’s upset of Bethel that halted a 33-game losing streak and Great Bridge’s surprise of King’s Fork. The likes of Green Run, Princess Anne, Grassfield, Gloucester and Menchville also notched victories over perennial playoff teams such as Bayside, Cox, Western Branch, Hampton and Heritage to help put some distance in this Predictions Battle as both Young and the Simulator went 16-8 . . .

Woodside (8-0) at Phoebus (6-1) . . . Over the past 15 meetings between Phoebus and Woodside, the Phantoms have prevailed 13 times. Many of them have been close though, including the 19-13 escape for Phoebus last year and 13-6 victory on a Saturday night in September during the 2017 campaign. Of course, a couple of those Woodside wins – the 15-0 shutout in 2016 and 14-9 victory from 2011 that ended a 52-game winning streak by Phoebus that at the time was not only a VHSL-record, but the nation’s longest – were quite memorable. What will be remembered about the 2019 encounter?

Woodside comes in undefeated, still in the hunt for the top seed in the Region 5A playoff field as their stifling defense – headlined by Menchville transfers in Seth Naotala and his younger brother Koa – has yet to give up a touchdown to a Peninsula District foe in seven league games. In fact, the only points they’ve given up to a PD opponent came a week ago on a field goal in their 47-3 thumping of Kecoughtan. Norview is the only team to score a touchdown on them, though the Pilots fell 32-14.

Phoebus comes in as no slouch. They’ve pitched three shutouts and have won six in a row – all by at least 23 points – since their 23-22 loss to Lake Taylor in the opener on a field goal. Josiah Silver registered a pair of sacks from his defensive line spot in that game against the Titans. When the Phantoms handled arch-rival Hampton, their defense recorded six sacks from five different players, none of which were Silver, so the Woodside offensive line will have its hands full dealing with all the different defenders chasing their dual-threat QB Kahleef Jimmison.

Operating the Wing-T attack for Woodside, Jimmison has completed nearly 64% of his passes for 627 yards and a 7-3 TD/Int. ratio while also rushing for 395 yards and seven scores. Woodside will spread the ball around to several different ball carriers, including Bryce Phipps, Tyler Thompson, Breyden Byrd and receiver Ricky Key Jr. (26Rec. 398Yds. 6TD’s). Thompson – who can also play some QB – and Phipps have combined for over 1200 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns.

The Phoebus defense has turned opponents over regularly and part of it is because they do such a good job against the run with Silver, Austin Gilliam, Trevion Stevenson and company. Behind them, Corey Wilson is the reigning Peninsula District Defensive Player of the Year and brings the type of versatility to make an impact versus the run or the pass for Jeremy Blunt’s Phantoms.

Beyond the Naotala brothers, the Woodside defense has seen a number of different players step up this year. Two of the veteran, multi-year starters are Tyreece White from his defensive end position and Andrew Chamblee at safety along with Jimmison occupying a corner spot. All have scholarship offers, and more than anything the Wolverines want to dare Phoebus to throw. While QB Chris Daniels of the Phantoms has performed well in a number of big games, directing them to the Class 3 State Championship last year, the strength of the Phoebus offense is their running game.

There might not be a better backfield rushing tandem in all of Hampton Roads than Navy commit Jaylen White and junior Anthony Turner, who’s being recruit by UVA, Akron, ODU and a host of others. That duo combined for a whopping 289 yards rushing and eight touchdowns against Kecoughtan earlier this season, plus combined for 292 yards and a couple of scores on Warwick a week ago. Moving the chains on third down and finishing drives has been problematic for Woodside’s opponents, but the Phoebus offense should enter plenty confident given the fact they are averaging 47.5 points per game during their six-game winning streak.

In years past, one would ordinarily give the offensive edge to Woodside with some of the explosive weapons they’ve had around QB’s (Aaron Evans, Donnell Lewis, Tyhier Tyler and others) that can throw or run effectively. Additionally, the Phoebus defense would have the advantage as they’ve had so many hard-nosed tacklers from the linebacker and defensive line spots. Oddly enough, the offensive advantage might go to Phoebus in this year’s matchup and the better defense statistically to this point has been Woodside.

Both rely heavily on being able to run the ball, so the offensive line that can control things the best will give their team the best chance of coming out on top. When it comes to running downhill and getting those hard to earn yards, Phoebus tends to find a way late in games. If Danny Dodson’s Wolverines contain that ground attack, then their defense has to be considered a threat to take them far come playoff time in a Region 5A full of high-scoring offenses.

Matt Says: Phoebus 14-10
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Phoebus 21-20
Coach Young Says: Phoebus 18-12

Booker T. Washington (3-4) at Maury (7-0) . . . Following a 43-22 loss to Booker T. Washington in 2017, Maury got revenge last year with a 30-22 win over the Bookers. The Commodores are three wins away from their first outright Eastern District title in 29 years and completing an unbeaten regular season for the first time since 1972. Two of the top rushers in the Eastern District will be in action with Booker T. Washington’s Rodney Hammond and Maury’s C.J. Beasley, a senior committed to Virginia Tech.

Besides having a stellar ground attack, Maury boasts a lethal offense with one of the top passers in QB Eric Gibson with a trio of D-1 commits in KeAndre Lambert (Penn State), Ty Granger (Towson) and Dashaun Peele (Navy) to distribute the ball to, plus a defense – headed up by Temple commit Darian Varner on the line – that has held five foes to single-digits in points. Booker T. has held just one opponent to single-digits in points and that was Armstrong in a 66-0 shutout.

Matt Says: Maury 42-7
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Maury 39-6
Coach Young Says: Maury 33-8

Kempsville (0-7) at Bayside (3-4) . . . Coming off a bye week, can Kempsville put an end to its 63-game losing streak? It may not be as far-fetched as you think, although the faithful are really circling the November 1 date with winless First Colonial.

Keep in mind that last year Bayside trailed the Chiefs in the second half before rallying for a 31-20 victory. However, Kempsville has been held to single-digits in points in each of the previous 11 meetings, so mustarding up enough offense could be the biggest problem for them in this spot. Though the Marlins have not had the type of season they envisioned, in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008, WR Nick Young (33Rec. 481Yds. 8TD’s) is a consistent big-play threat for them on the outside in the passing game.

Matt Says: Bayside 27-16
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Bayside 33-10
Coach Young Says: Bayside 28-6

Tallwood (3-4) at Cox (4-3) . . . From 2009-16, Cox won eight straight meetings, then Tallwood scored a late touchdown at home to grab a 28-24 victory over the Falcons in 2017. Cox returned the favor with a narrow 13-10 escape last year. It’s a must-win for Cox and its playoff hopes in Region 5A, whereas Tallwood is on thin ice in Region 6A themselves, knowing a mild upset on the road would certainly boost their chances before closing out the regular season against Kellam and Princess Anne, both of which are at home.

Matt Says: Cox 34-13
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Cox 28-14
Coach Young Says: Cox 30-18

Ocean Lakes (5-3) at First Colonial (0-8) . . . While the world has been crashing down around Ocean Lakes the past two weeks in getting outscored by unbeaten Class 5 contenders Maury and Salem by a combined total of 76-6, the Dolphins get a chance to return to form against a First Colonial team that hasn’t beaten them on the field since 2006. FC snapped a string of six straight games having not scored when they played Tallwood a week ago, but still fell to the Lions 22-16.

Matt Says: Ocean Lakes 41-0
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Ocean Lakes 53-9
Coach Young Says: Ocean Lakes 44-0

Green Run (4-3) at Princess Anne (5-2) . . . These two have played some exciting games in recent years with each of the past four meetings decided by seven points or less. Princess Anne won 18-14 last year and 35-28 in 2017, whereas Green Run prevailed 9-6 back in 2015 and 30-28 in 2016. It’s a highly critical game for each as they try to crash the postseason party in Region 5A.

Matt Says: Princess Anne 28-22
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Princess Anne 27-14
Coach Young Says: Princess Anne 24-18

Salem-VB (7-0) at Kellam (2-5) . . . The SunDevils have shut out six of seven Beach District opponents with the only one scoring on them being Princess Anne, which was beaten by Salem 46-12. Kellam was blanked 35-0 by Landstown a week ago, and sustaining offense won’t be the only challenge for the Knights. Stopping Salem running back Kaelon Black, who has returned healthy in 2019 after an injury-plagued junior campaign, will be a tall order. Black has rushed for 1033 yards and 18 touchdowns, including over 200 yards rushing in last week’s 45-0 domination of Ocean Lakes.

Matt Says: Salem 46-3
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Salem 49-6
Coach Young Says: Salem 40-0

Lake Taylor (6-2) at Granby (2-5) . . . Winning 13 of the past 14 meetings, Lake Taylor has dominated this series, winning by double-digits 12 times in that stretch. The lone breakthrough for Granby two years ago when they held on for a 14-12 victory when the Titans started a freshman quarterback in Jeff Foster and ninth grade running back in Malik Newton. Both are now juniors and key elements to a Titans attack that’s putting up 36.4 points per game.

Newton is coming off back-to-back 200-yard rushing performances on Churchland and Norcom, while Granby was blanked 52-0 by that same Greyhounds team that surrendered 57 to Lake Taylor earlier this month.

Matt Says: Lake Taylor 48-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lake Taylor 57-13
Coach Young Says: Lake Taylor 44-0

Norview (1-7) at Wilson (1-6) . . . Seven of the past eight meetings in this series have been won by Norview, a 28-7 victor last October over the Presidents, who surprised the Pilots with a 12-6 upset two seasons ago. Turnovers have plagued Wilson at times, such as when Lake Taylor scored five touchdowns off fumble recoveries earlier in the season. They must be aware of where Norview sophomore DB Daylen Everette – the Eastern Distirct’s leader in interceptions with eight – is at all times.

Matt Says: Norview 26-6 VHSL-Reference.com Says: Norview 28-14 Coach Young Says: Norview 30-12

Deep Creek (6-1) at Oscar Smith (6-1) . . . While the Hornets are coming off their first loss of the season, 20-14 to Indian River as the Braves scored the go-ahead touchdown from 41 yards out with 21 seconds remaining a week ago, this is a very capable Deep Creek squad. Corner Ali Brooks has seven interceptions and linebacker Gabe Fuster, a Liberty commit, had a pick-six against Indian River last week. Can they slow down the Oscar Smith offense though?

The Tigers are averaging 51.5 points per game against Southeastern District opponents, rebounding nicely from that 13-6 season-opening loss to four-time defending State Champion Highland Springs at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. Sophomore QB Ethan Vasko is part of a quartet of Tigers that picked up offers from Virginia Tech in the past week. The others include RB Tyvon Norfleet, OLB/S Maurice Freeman and ATH Sherrod Covil. The best thing for Head Coach Chris Scott? All will be back for 2020, and Vasko is the top passer for the time being in the Southeastern District.

Matt Says: Oscar Smith 24-10 VHSL-Reference.com Says: Oscar Smith 26-13 Coach Young Says: Oscar Smith 28-14

Grassfield (3-4) at Great Bridge (3-4) . . . Leading the all-time series 9-3, Grassfield hasn’t fallen to Great Bridge since 2014, when the Wildcats pulled out a 25-24 nail-biter. Both teams have seen their starting quarterbacks suffer injuries, but Great Bridge has discovered its offense with 86 points over the past two weeks, wins over Suffolk schools Lakeland and King’s Fork. Grassfield scored the final 13 points to break a 20-all tie with Western Branch in the second half last week.

Matt Says: Grassfield 34-26 VHSL-Reference.com Says: Grassfield 27-20 Coach Young Says: Grassfield 30-20

Hickory (3-4) at King’s Fork (2-5) . . . To keep their playoff hopes alive in a very deep, competitive Region 5A field, Hickory must notch its first win over King’s Fork since 2011. There’s hope, given the fact Hickory beat Great Bridge 19-18 earlier this month and the Wildcats just defeated the Bulldogs 40-36. Unfortunately, the transitive property doesn’t always equal a win. The Hawks will need to duplicate the defensive from a week ago in their 31-7 triumph over Lakeland rather than the previous five weeks when they were allowing an average of 35.8 points per contest.

Matt Says: King’s Fork 21-14 VHSL-Reference.com Says: Hickory 24-23 Coach Young Says: King’s Fork 33-12

Indian River (5-2) at Western Branch (2-5) . . . Overcoming three turnovers and more than 100 yards in penalties, Indian River was able to hand Deep Creek its first loss of the season last week, prevailing 20-14 on Tyrell Spruill’s 41-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds left to play. Besides the stellar runs of Spruill and the electric LaMareon James, the key to Indian River’s win was their strong play in the trenches, which limited Deep Creek standout Antoine Flora to just 11 yards rushing in the second half.

Greg Gibson’s Bruins love to run the football. They’re going to have to win the turnover battle and get the likes of Teion Coston, Noah Wallace, Lincorey Lucas and Cameron Hunter blocked long enough to avoid third-and-long situations that dictate throwing the football.

Matt Says: Indian River 36-12 VHSL-Reference.com Says: Indian River 33-10 Coach Young Says: Indian River 30-6

Lakeland (0-7) at Nansemond River (5-2) . . . After three-point wins over their Suffolk rivals in both 2016 and 2017, Nansemond River handled the Cavaliers 40-6 a year ago. Lakeland, under first-year Head Coach Joe Jones, has been outscored 299-47. Nansemond River, which boasts a strong defensive line with Joeziah Autrey and Payton Payne as two of the leaders in the trenches, became the first Southeastern District team to hold Oscar Smith below 40 points this year. They fell to the Tigers 28-7 in a game that was tight until ladder stages of the third quarter.

Matt Says: Nansemond River 48-6 VHSL-Reference.com Says: Nansemond River 56-7 Coach Young Says: Nansemond River 44-8

Bethel (3-5) at Warwick (4-4) . . . The Bruins are smarting from coughing up a 14-point lead to Denbigh as the Patriots snapped a 33-game losing skid and beat Bethel for the first time since 2013. Warwick has won two of the past three meetings with Bethel, prevailing 20-13 last year and 28-24 in 2016. All four losses for the Raiders have been to teams over .500 in Lake Taylor, Phoebus, Woodside and Hampton. Their four wins? Over squads below the .500 mark in Denbigh, Heritage, Menchville and Kecoughtan. Bethel comes in two games below .500.

Matt Says: Warwick 23-16 VHSL-Reference.com Says: Bethel 20-19 Coach Young Says: Bethel 22-20

Denbigh (1-7) at Gloucester (5-3) . . . It’s conceivable that Gloucester gets to the seven-win plateau for the first time since 1986, then under the direction of Turnley Todd. At the very least, a win in this spot would ensure the Dukes of their first winning season in 32 years. The Gloucester seniors have outscored Denbigh 126-59 in their careers with a shutout during the 2017 campaign mixed in that stretch.

Matt Says: Gloucester 42-14 VHSL-Reference.com Says: Gloucester 36-8 Coach Young Says: Gloucester 30-12

Heritage-NN (1-7) at Kecoughtan (1-7) . . . With their 22-19 comeback win over Heritage last year, thanks to a 77-yard kick return for a touchdown by James Mozelle with 4:05 to play, followed by Darrell Cone’s two-point conversion, Kecoughtan ended a six-game losing streak in the head-to-head series vs. the Hurricanes. Both teams notched their lone win over a Denbigh team that had suffered 33 straight defeats before last week’s comeback against Bethel.

Matt Says: Heritage 14-13
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Heritage 21-14
Coach Young Says: Heritage 24-16

Norcom (5-2) at Churchland (6-2) . . . From 2004-09, Churchland won all six meetings with Norcom. Then when 2010 rolled around, the Greyhounds began their domination of the Truckers, taking eight of nine encounters, one of which came in the playoffs. Churchland still has an outside shot at claiming the top overall seed in Region 4A, something that would aid their chances greatly of earning the school’s first postseason win in football.

It’s a great contrast of excellent offense against solid defense in this Portsmouth rivalry showdown. Churchland is yielding just 14.5 points per game, where most were allowed to dynamic offenses Lake Taylor and Maury. Those two combined to score 79 of the 116 points allowed by the Truckers all year. Howard commit Kenny Gallop at safety leads an experience defense that features ten seniors.

Norcom counters with a lethal attack that’s averaging 46.6 points per game and features quite a few playmakers, from four-year starting QB Jacoby Smith and talented RB Demonte Dunlap, to fleet-footed receivers Karon Prunty and Wilson transfer Shyhiem Cannon. Prunty picked up an offer from Virginia Tech out of the ACC earlier this month. Which Greyhounds defense will show up though? Will it be the one that blanked Granby 52-0 last week and got takeaways and sacks, many of those big plays fueled by Prunty and A.J. Waddler? Or will it be the defense that struggled in losing a 27-point lead in a 57-56 OT loss at Lake Taylor?

Matt Says: Norcom 29-20
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Churchland 24-20
Coach Young Says: Norcom 28-24

Hampton (5-3) at Menchville (3-4) . . . To find the last time that Menchville beat Hampton on the football field, you have to go all the way back to 1993 when the Monarchs prevailed 13-7 at Todd Stadium, ironically enough the site for this matchup. Hampton leads the all-time series that dates back to 1971 by a whopping count of 45-2-1, outscoring the Monarchs 1723-169 – that’s an average of 36-4 per game essentially if you round up like I did.

But the Crabbers have dropped three of their last five games since a 3-0 start with some inconsistent play on offense making it hard to complement a defense that is usually ready to get the job done. Meanwhile, Menchville has one of the Peninsula District’s top rushers in Geo Hales, and if he’s able to come up with a strong effort, this Monarchs team can put a scare into the storied Crabbers. Certainly it’ll help if the Monarchs perform the way on defense that it did in last Saturday’s 27-0 shutout of Heritage.

Matt Says: Hampton 26-20 (OT)
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Hampton 27-14
Coach Young Says: Hampton 33-16

Grafton (1-6) at Warhill (7-0) . . . For the first time in program history, Warhill is 7-0. First-year Head Coach Jerome Rhodes, a former assistant at Woodside, has gotten steady contributions from a number of different players, most notably 1000-yard rusher Michael Akpan. Several seniors – from Christopher Saunders on the o-line, to Devante Safewright in the backfield, Dylan Cottrell on defense and even Austin ‘A.J.’ Price at quarterback – have been very instrumental in this superb start. The Lions can secure the top seed in Region 4A if they win out, but they have much stiffer tests following this matchup against Bay Rivers District contenders York and Lafayette come November.

Matt Says: Warhill 44-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Warhill 45-3
Coach Young Says: Warhill 44-0

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 weeknights from 6-7 PM on The 757 at 6 as well as every Saturday at 10 AM to Noon on ESPN Radio 94.1.