2/25/2021 football Edit

VHSL Football Top Tens - First Edition for 2020-21

Matthew Hatfield • VirginiaPreps

Publisher

Matthew Hatfield has been with VirginiaPreps.com since 2004, officially taking over as Publisher in 2016. Hatfield hosts 757 Saturday Sports Talk every Saturday, 10 AM to Noon, on ESPN Radio 94.1.

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The 2020-21 Virginia High School League Football season is already underway. After literally no games in the calendar year of 2020, pigskin action returned here in February - yes, February - this week.

It ended a drought of 436 days without High School Football, going back to December 14, 2019 when the likes of South County, Maury, Lake Taylor, Hopewell, Appomattox and Riverheads hoisted State Championship trophies.

There will be plenty of storylines to follow in an abbreviated season over six weeks of regular season games with four postseason rounds, one fewer than the norm.

Of the 318 VHSL member schools, most all are planning to play, though there are some that have opted out due to concerns with COVID-19. There are also some schools that will be playing a shortened season, just not competing in the VHSL's playoff structure.

Below you can see a list of those not participating, color coded with a look at the schools who are playing in which classification and what region.

*** List as of 2-22-21 of Schools Not Participating + Delayed in VHSL's 2020-21 Season 2 ***

As things move along, the Top Ten will be adjusted, most likely on a week-to-week basis. Check back here on VirginiaPreps.com for periodic updates, and to see results, make sure you visit our Scoreboard Forum.

So without any further ado, here are the Top Tens for each classification . . .

Note - This list was compiled on Monday, February 22, 2021.

Might Oscar Smith and South County meet again in the State Championship game? (Ray Williams, Infinity Photography by Ray)

Class 6 Top Ten:

Rank	Team	2019 Record	2019 Final Rank
1	Oscar Smith	13-2	2
2	Westfield	13-1	3
3	South County	15-0	1
4	Lake Braddock	10-3	7
5	Massaponax	10-3	5
6	Freedom-PW	11-1	6
7	Ocean Lakes	8-4	NR
8	Colonial Forge	11-3	4
9	Centreville	4-7	NR
10	Riverbend	3-7	NR

Honorable Mention:
Thomas Dale
Yorktown
Patriot
Landstown
Unity Reed
Osbourn Park

Oklahoma signee Damond Harmon is part of another star-studded squad at Highland Springs, which goes for its fifth state title in six seasons (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 5 Top Ten:

Rank	Team	2019 Record	2019 Final Rank
1	Highland Springs	12-1	4
2	Stone Bridge	12-2	2
3	Maury	15-0	1
4	Manchester	11-2	6
5	Deep Run	11-1	7
6	Salem-VB	12-1	5
7	Varina	11-3	3
8	Princess Anne	8-3	NR
9	Woodgrove	7-5	NR
10	Mountain View	10-3	10

Honorable Mention:
Hermitage
Indian River
North Stafford
Cox
Woodside
Green Run
Briar Woods

Since 2012, Hank Sawyer's Titans have 27 playoff victories, three of which were in State Championship games (Matthew Hatfield)

Class 4 Top Ten:

Rank	Team	2019 Record	2019 Final Rank
1	Lake Taylor	13-2	1
2	Tuscarora	13-2	2
3	Salem	12-2	3
4	Broad Run	12-1	4
5	Liberty-Bealeton	11-1	8
6	Dinwiddie	7-6	NR
7	Patrick Henry-Ashland	10-4	6
8	Louisa	11-1	7
9	Pulaski County	9-3	10
10	Churchland	10-3	9

Honorable Mention:
Eastern View
GW-Danville
Monacan
Loudoun County
Warwick
E.C. Glass

Lord Botetourt will look to run behind another massive o-line as they try to make their third trip to the State Championship game since 2015, but this time win it (Madison Oxley, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 3 Top Ten:

Rank	Team	2019 Record	2019 Final Rank
1	Lord Botetourt	14-1	2
2	Hopewell	15-0	1
3	Lafayette	9-2	NR
4	Phoebus	11-2	4
5	Heritage-Lynchburg	12-2	3
6	Magna Vista	8-4	NR
7	Goochland	12-2	5
8	Brookville	4-7	NR
9	York	11-1	7
10	Abingdon	5-6	NR

Honorable Mention:
James Monroe
Skyline
Liberty Christian
Southampton
Brentsville District
Hidden Valley

Tre Lawing and the Raiders have their sights set on capturing the program's fifth state title in six seasons as they play for their Head Coach, Doug Smith, who battles cancer (Malcolm Johnson, Appomattox Photographer)

Class 2 Top Ten:

Rank	Team	2019 Record	2019 Final Rank
1	Appomattox	13-2	1
2	Graham	11-3	3
3	Radford	9-3	9
4	Central-Wise	10-3	5
5	Stuarts Draft	13-2	2
6	Ridgeview	9-3	7
7	Clarke County	8-3	NR
8	Glenvar	7-5	NR
9	Poquoson	7-5	NR
10	East Rockingham	8-5	8

Honorable Mention:
Union
Richlands
King William
Strasburg
Gretna

The Class 1 conversation always seemingly begins and ends with Riverheads, a program aiming to sit in exclusivity come May as the only one in VHSL history to win five consecutive State Championships (Marsel T. Mason)

Class 1 Top Ten:

Rank	Team	2019 Record	2019 Final Rank
1	Riverheads	15-0	1
2	Galax	12-2	2
3	Chilhowie	9-3	8
4	J.I. Burton	10-3	7
5	George Wythe	9-3	5
6	Narrows	11-1	6
7	Patrick Henry-Glade Spring	13-1	3
8	William Campbell	5-6	NR
9	Rappahannock	9-4	10
10	Northumberland	5-6	NR

Honorable Mention:
Hurley
Altavista
Grayson County
Holston

Opted Out:
5. Essex

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 from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on ESPN Radio 94.1.