Louisa County (4-0) at Western Albemarle (3-1), 6:30 p.m. Friday
The Basics: Louisa County heads to Crozet looking to stay unbeaten while also holding on to the No. 4 spot in a loaded Region 4B playoff field. The Lions used special teams to jumpstart them in a road victory over Fluvanna County with Jaylen Beach with a kick return for a touchdown and Armani Comfort ripped off another long return. Jordan Smith has emerged as a Swiss Army knife type weapon capable of impacting the game in a number of different ways. But the Lions’ defense is the crown jewel, a relentless front seven led by Lowell Johnson, Eli Brooks, Qwenton Spellman and A.J. Proffitt coupled with a ball-hawking back end. They’ll face one of the area’s other most effective defenses, a Western crew that has emerged with a lot of intensity on that side of the ball in the last few games. Since a late let down against Monticello, the Western defense has essentially been lights out, including eight straight quarters of shutout football the last two weeks. Whether it’s Grant Goodall or Carson Tujague or Ross Barrett, each Western defender seems to understand their role and understand how it fits within the scheme.The Warriors need the upset in this one to keep themselves in the Region 3C’s top four. They’re in fourth and with Louisa and Orange left on the schedule winning out is going to be a serious challenge. But that might be what it takes to get in, with five teams with similar records lurking just behind the Warriors. The stakes couldn’t be clearer or higher in this one, and this annual matchup has produced some unexpected results in the past decade, so this one isn’t above getting spooky.
Key Matchup: Western’s offensive line takes on Louisa’s defensive front. The Warriors have blocked well the last two weeks and cleared the way for two huge outings by Austin Shifflett against Charlottesville and Albemarle. But the Louisa defensive line is a different challenge altogether. The Lions don’t read and react. They don’t fill gaps. They attack. They swarm. The offense has to react to the havoc that the defensive front causes because Louisa has the defensive talent to force the issue, to impose its will and take away a team’s strength. Western is currently fairly one dimensional with the occasional play action pass or deep ball to try and take the top off the defense interrupting a relentless dose of running. Can Louisa find a way to bottle up the Western ground game or will Western’s emerging offensive line take another step forward?
Who to Watch: Louisa County’s Landon Wilson. This is the kind of game quarterbacks get remembered for. Zack Jackson’s performance for Louisa in this game in 2012 cut short Western’s unbeaten campaign. The year before that in 2011, Kent Henry kicked his career into high gear with a road win against the Lions that vaulted Western into the playoffs. Wilson helped the Lions’ clinch a district championship with a win over Western as a freshman. Now he’s a much more fully developed weapon for Louisa, capable of beating teams with his arm or his legs. Western’s defense will have its work cut out for it if Wilson is clicking because trying to stop running back Kalep Shelton is a huge problem in and of itself.
The Line: Louisa County by 10. The Lions’ swarming defense is the difference here.
Charlottesville (0-5) at Albemarle (2-2), 6:30 p.m. Friday
The Basics: There’s no reason to mince words, Albemarle came out flat against Western Albemarle last week in what seemed set to be the game of the season but ended in a Western Albemarle blowout. Now Albemarle has to quickly pick up the pieces and take care of business in this one in order to make sure they get a chance to play in the Region 5D tournament. That’ll require more offensive than the 13 points that the Patriots have produced in total over the last three weeks. Charlottesville gets a chance to play spoiler in the Black Knights’ final regular season game here and this one has produced some narrow escapes for both programs over the last few years. This one has the potential to be another exciting installment.
Key Matchup: Charlottesville’s defensive backs take on Albemarle’s wideouts. While underclassmen Will Townsend and Christian Humes may not quite be the gamebreakers on the edge that Albemarle has enjoyed in recent years, they’re solid route runners and if Albemarle can get the ball in their hands it really opens things up for running back Eb McCarthy. The Black Knights have a number of talented defensive backs, but guarding precise route runners requires precision on the other end, so they’ll have to be on their game in this one.
Who to Watch: Albemarle’s offensive line. The Patriots have definitely stagnated offensively the last week and they’ve struggled to clear lanes or protect the quarterback in particular. That unit will need to take a significant step forward in order to handle the Charlottesville defense which has had some moments of brilliance this year and has largely been steady. Clearing the way against a group that has been opportunistic and adept at forcing offenses to snap it again regularly won’t be easy.
The Line: Albemarle by 7. The Patriots can essentially sew up a playoff spot here. Expect them to rise to the occasion.
Orange County (1-3) at Fluvanna County (1-3), 7 p.m. Friday
The Basics: Orange put a scare into Goochland early before falling to the Bulldogs while Fluvanna absorbed a home loss to Louisa County last week, so both squads are looking for a win here as the season starts to draw to a closer. The Hornets had to turn to a new starting quarterback with an injury to Paul Poirier and Caelen Reinhold took advantage of the array of offensive weapons that Orange has throughout the offensive lineup. Still, three turnovers proved costly for the Hornets. Fluvanna played without Kobe Edmonds last week and stumbled like most everyone has against Louisa the last few years. Can the Flucos get back on track at home against the Hornets?
Key Matchup: Fluvanna’s defensive backs go toe-to-toe with Orange’s fleet of pass catching options. Doug Newsome and Donald Brooks have emerged this season as one of the area’s best one-two threats at wide receiver, and with Rebel Fretwell also catching a touchdown last week, it’s just an immense challenge to matchup with the Hornets. Fluvanna’s defensive backs like A.J. Wyche have been opportunistic before but they’ll be stretched thin against this group of Orange receivers.
Who to Watch: Orange County’s Markell Jackson. Jackson stepped up in a big way against Goochland with Poirier out, rushing for 129 yards on 29 touches to carry the Hornets’ offensively. Fluvanna will likely see a huge dose of Jackson early as Orange continues to try and establish the run and create one-on-one opportunities for their speedy receivers on the edge. It’s a pretty solid formula and has the potential to get the Hornets back in the win column.
The Line: Orange County by 7. The Hornets still have enough talent to pick up this one even if Poirier remains on the shelf.
Stonewall Jackson (0-4) at Madison County (0-4), 7 p.m. Friday
The Basics: Madison County continues the uphill climb of rebuilding the program, and they square off against a program they only lost to by three points last year. Now the Mountaineers get a chance to test themselves against a foe in an equally unenviable position of trying to rest their program. This should be an interesting measuring stick for Madison, a chance to see what stage the rebuild is in at this point with an eye toward the future.
Key Matchup: Madison’s pass rush takes on Stonewall’s beat up quarterback unit. Three of Stonewall’s quarterbacks got hurt against Luray last week. Can the Mountaineers get pressure on the quarterback and make whoever runs the show for Generals Friday night get things done under duress? That’ll go a long way toward sparking Madison to a potential win.
Who to Watch: Madison’s Wade Fox. For the Mountaineers to pull off their best shot at a win up until this point, Fox will need to be at his sharpest. The young quarterback has given Madison a lot of reasons to believe he’s the guy to build around, and his toughness is chief among them. He’ll need to bring that to this battle in order to lift the Mountaineers.
The Line: Madison by 1. The Mountaineers have shown some serious signs of progress the last few weeks and have the chance to get the job done here.
Fork Union at Benedictine, 1 p.m. Saturday
The Basics: A pair of old rivals lock up in this one as Benedictine and Fork Union go toe-to-toe as two of the state’s highest profile military academy squads face off. Fork Union struggled last week against St. Albans, but the Blue Devils are accomplishing exactly what head coach Mark Shuman set out to do when the Blue Devils got the green light to play this fall — give an important group of veterans a chance to play as often as possible. Now they hit the road for another clash against an elite opponent as they play the reigning state champions in VISAA’s Division I and a squad that would’ve been an easy pick to repeat with UVa signee Jay Woolfolk back at quarterback and defensive back where he’ll likely play in college. This will be a sizeable challenge again for Fork Union.
Key Matchup: Fork Union’s passing attack takes on the Benedictine secondary. The Blue Devils threw four interceptions last week and now they’ll go toe-to-toe with a secondary led by Woolfolk. Woolfolk picked off three passes last week against a stout St. Christopher’s squad, returning two of them for pick six touchdowns. Fork Union would be wise not to put the ball anywhere in Woolfolk’s vicinity but that’s easier said than done.
Who to Watch: Fork Union wideout Myles Garrett. Garrett caught a number of balls against St. Albans last week and can be a major matchup problem for smaller defensive backs at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. He gets a major test this week though against Benedictine’s stout group of back-end defenders.
The Line: Benedictine by 10. Benedictine has too much firepower for the Blue Devils, but mission accomplished for Fork Union, giving their football student athletes every opportunity to compete this school year.
Goochland (4-0) at Central Lunenburg (1-1), 1 p.m. Saturday
The Basics: Common opponents tilt this one pretty heavily in the direction of the Bulldogs as Goochland crushed Amelia in week one and Central won 34-16 against the Raiders last week. But the James River District can be a fickle place to play, especially on the road and Central has a lot to play for here. Is this a trap game? Maybe, possibly. But Goochland has been pretty good at getting it done on the road so far this year, with a shutout win at Albemarle and a huge victory over Liberty-Bealeton a couple of weeks ago. Goochland hasn’t gotten tripped up very many times over the years in games like this, and odds aren’t good they do here too. They’ve shown an ability to win a lot of different ways and the emergence of Jason Woodson as another impact player (he forced a fumble and scored on the ground last week) is reason to believe that the Bulldogs just have too many weapons for Central to contain.
Key Matchup: Central’s offense takes on Goochland’s opportunistic defense. Teams have moved the ball against Goochland’s defense this year, but the Bulldogs are mastering creating turnovers including four last week with four different players recovering fumbles or picking off passes as Eyan Price and Andrew Jones had interceptions while Isaiah Walker and Enrique Alvarez pounced on a fumble each. If that group makes those kind of plays again, Central could be in for a world of trouble.
Who to Watch: Goochland’s Connor Popielarz. With just 16 touches last week Popielarz gave the offense a rhythm, 80 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Goochland is at its best when it has the option to ground and pound and then ride a stifling defense, and they’ve got that right now when Popielarz is rolling.
The Line: Goochland by 21. The Bulldogs roll in this one.
