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His father was a mudder. His mother was a mudder.

No. 2 St. Anne’s-Belfield (8-2) at No. 1 Trinity Episcopal (8-2), Noon Saturday in VISAA D2 Championship game

 

The basics: St. Anne’s-Belfield is back in the state final for the second-straight year, and the revenge factor is high for the Saints in this one as they face a Trinity Episcopal team that beat them for the title in 2014 and knocked them off earlier this year 40-21. STAB went on a six-game win streak after that loss, a wave they rode all the way to this championship game. But the Saints have their work cut out for them trying to clamp down on Trinity as the Titans average 38.8 points per game, with the emerging threat of running back Quentin Wingo the latest wrinkle in the Titans’ offense. Expect STAB’s usually wide open style, the kind of risk-taking approach that led to a mortar kick recovery on the opening kick and a fake punt pass that went for a touchdown against Blue Ridge last week in the state semis. The Saints will also likely put more of the load on quarterback Jalen Harrison, who took over behind center after the first meeting with Trinity. Look for Harrison to challenge Trinity over the top and try and put the senior quarterback in space on the edge to pick up yards on the ground and keep the sticks moving.

 

Key matchup: STAB’s front seven takes on Trinity quarterback Blake Bowen. Bowen was a difference maker last year for the Titans as he returned in time to beat STAB in the 2014 title game after being absent from the lineup in the first meeting between the two. Containing Bowen, who threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns last week in the win over Bishop Sullivan in the state semifinals, will be job one for the STAB defense. The Saints have the defensive backs to lock things down as Trinity boasts an array of weapons including Nevada pledge Trevion Armstrong and Jake Brown. The Saints’ pass rush also put a lot of pressure on Blue Ridge, particularly in the regular season finale.

 

Who to watch: STAB’s Javon Johnson or whoever else ends up carrying the load at running back. Whether it’s Cameron Carr, Michael DiGiacomo or Johnson, the Saints have been able to move the ball of late on the ground without solely relying on Jalen Harrison to create from quarterback. But Johnson is particularly explosive and if he can play at a high level, he gives the Saints a dynamic presence. Look for STAB to use some combination of the three. Then if the Titans have to focus and load up against the run, that could open up things downfield for Kareem Johnson or Campbell Miller.

 

The line: Trinity Episcopal by 7. The Titans are at home, they’ve put together a solid record against a strong schedule and they beat STAB in the title game last year as well as this year’s regular season clash.

 

No. 8 Greensville (7-4) at No. 1 Goochland (8-3), 7 p.m. Friday in Region 2A East second round

 

The basics: Goochland is back in the driver’s seat once again in the playoffs as the Bulldogs won’t have to get on a bus unless they’re headed to Salem for the state final. They cruised against Wilson Memorial 35-0 last week despite the fact that the Hornets, who Goochland seems to be unofficially contractually obligated to play in the playoffs, are uniquely built to give Goochland some problems. That didn’t seem to impact Goochland as they built a 28-0 halftime lead and settled in from there. Greensville, on the other hand, is coming off a 32-27 victory over rival Brunswick in the first round of the playoff where the Eagles had to rally from being down 21-0. This could potentially be a bit of a trap game for the Bulldogs, but Goochland’s key players have been through playoff runs too often to let themselves slip up this early and look past an opponent.

 

Key matchup: Greensville’s defense takes on Goochland’s balanced offense. For this year at least, selling out against the run is simply not an option for Goochland’s opponents. Last week the Bulldogs were extremely balanced with Reid Chenault running the offense as they ran for 166 yards and threw for 146. That balance forces opponents to both keep an eye on the explosive Marcus Burton (seven carries for 98 yards last week in the win over Wilson) and respect the Bulldogs’ aerial attack.

 

Who to watch: Goochland’s defense. The Bulldogs’ defense may be rounding into shape at exactly the right time as they held Wilson to just 126 total yards of offense. They’ll have an interesting task this week against Greensville quarterback Shyheim Anderson this week as the dual threat helped engineer the Eagles’ rally against Brunswick last week with his feet and his arm. Can the Bulldogs speedy group that likes to fly around get to Anderson and disrupt the Greensville offense.

 

The line: Goochland by 14. The Bulldogs may have seen a more challenging opponent last week when they faced Wilson Memorial, they should take care of business against the Eagles.

 

No. 8 Staunton River (7-4) at No. 1 Western Albemarle (10-1), 7 p.m. in Region 3A West second round

 

The basics: So far, so good for Western Albemarle. The 3A West was perhaps the state’s wildest region last year with No. 16 Waynesboro defeating top-seeded Hidden Valley last year, but the Warriors avoided a similar fate by beating that same Hidden Valley team comfortably last week. Now Western faces a surging Staunton River team that rolled 61-24 in the first round last week against Blacksburg. The Golden Eagles employ a single wing attack — think classic Louisa County — and if the opposing defense doesn’t tackle soundly and play assignment football, it can turn into a nightmarish night. But Western proved adept at handling strong ground attacks by limiting Orange and Louisa in victories over both Jefferson District foes. Look for the Warriors to stay at home and avoid getting sucked in on most plays. If they can limit Staunton River’s explosive plays on the ground, the Warriors offense should be able to handle the rest.

 

Key matchup: Western’s defense takes on Staunton River’s Grayson Overstreet. The single wing’s leading threat is Overstreet. He’s already rushed for 2,000 yards on the year and last week went for seven touchdowns in the win, with six coming on the ground as part of a 264-yard night when the seventh came on a pick six defensively. Western’s front seven may be just as much of a challenge for the Golden Eagles as Staunton River has to figure out a way to block and handle a physically imposing defensive line and a linebacking corps that’s strong, quick and capable of making all the right reads. Can linebackers Stephen Kuzjak, Matthew Mullin and James Buetow step up and handle the single wing again?

 

Who to watch: Western Albemarle’s offensive line. The Warriors’ front five may be one of the area’s most underrated units. While Louisa’s offensive line is extremely tough to handle and Monticello’s group has three particularly hard-nosed blockers, Western’s group is truly better than the sum of its parts. Sam Carey and Jarrett Smith stand out, but the entire unit has been opening up holes for running back Oliver Herndon and protecting quarterback Sam Hearn nicely most of the year, working together and communicating to help neutralize opposing defensive fronts. Can they keep it going against a physical Staunton River squad?

 

The line: Western Albemarle by 14. The Warriors handled Louisa County well, no reason to believe they can’t employ a similar game plan against the Golden Eagles’ single wing.

 

No 5. Buckingham (10-1) at No. 4 Richlands (10-1), Region 2A West semifinals, 7 p.m.

 

The basics: So winning 10 straight games gets you a road trip to the far-west corner of Virginia. Buckingham is the victim of a loaded Region 2A West. The Knights cruised past Martinsville 47-7 in the first round. The Blue Tornado rolled past Grayson County 63-7 in their first round matchup. These two teams have a lot in common. For starters, their two losses are both by just one score. And both those losses were in the first two weeks of the year. Buckingham has won 10 straight game, Richlands, nine. Both teams are scoring 40-50 points per game since then. But there is a fundamental difference offensively between these two, and how that plays out will be awfully entertaining.

 

Key matchup: Buckingham’s defensive line versus Richlands quarterback John-Lule Asbury. The Blue Tornado receiving corps is gifted, as in they have four great receivers and someone that wants to get the ball in their hands. The Knights have a great defensive front led by Michael Mabry on the line. Buckingham has to get after Asbury and make his life tough. The Knights have talent in the secondary, but the secondary will only be able to get the job done if group up front keep Asbury from being able to make long reads. It’s a tall task, but Buckingham isn’t a stranger to teams passing as they’ve put up such impressive leads that opposing offenses have had no choice but to air things out to try and catch up.

 

Who to watch: Buckingham running back and safety Leon Ragland. So he’s had a bit of time to rest up with the way the Knights have played down the stretch. Now it’s time for the Knights to lean on their bell-cow on both ends of the field. He’s the best defensive back they have, and while Buckingham has other good athletes in the secondary like Hunter Edwards, Ragland will likely be tasked with playing on which ever Richlands receiver the Knights are most threatened by. But then there’s the other end, arguably much more important. If Ragland can continue to have his way on the ground behind this outstanding offensive line, the Knights can keep the Blue Tornado’s talented offense on the sideline. Buckingham did this to Goochland. They won that game by just owning the clock and scoring whenever they had the chance. Ragland has to be successful to open things up for quarterback BJ Gough to do his thing. And as we’ve seen, when both are clicking, there’s no stopping this offense.

 

The line: Buckingham by 1. We give them the nod because they’ve won on the road in this situation before with a lot of this team — at Dan River two years ago. Buckingham’s defense has been better this year than Richlands. It’s offense is built for playoff football. The Knights can squeek one out here if they execute on offense.

 

Monticello (8-3) at Lord Botetourt (10-1), Region 3A West semifinals, 7 p.m.

 

The basics: Monticello hits the road after a dominating 25-6 win over last year’s playoff darling, Waynesboro. It could have been a larger margin had the Mustangs closed in the redzone, but kicker Jeanluc Lapierre’s value was shown as his three field goals helped Monticello build an early lead which blew open when the offense found its groove in the second half. But on top of that the Mustangs defense held their opponent to one touchdown or less, and this week that score came in garbage time. Now that defense gets its best test since Louisa County just a month ago. The Cavaliers are a running team and rolled to a 52-14 win over Liberty-Bedford in the opening round.

 

Key matchup: Monticello’s linebackers against Botetourt running back Noah Fletcher. He’s got 2,003 yards and 32 touchdowns. He poured on 271 yards and five TDs against Liberty. He’s got break-away speed and great unit up front to give him the holes to run through. Monticello’s 3-5-3 defense did a great job against a physical Albemarle team. Another great job against Powhatan that loves to run the ball, but was shorthanded by injury. Last week this unit was outstanding again with a Waynesboro team that also liked to run the ball and operate through the misdirection its versatile quarterback allowed. The Mustangs can do this, but this team is better than the three opponents they faced prior. The linebacking corps has to tackle in open space, it’s as simple as that. They can’t miss or Fletcher is going to continue his amazing year.

 

Who to watch: Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jarrell. He’s a sophomore, but not playing like one right now. He’s deceptively quick and gives Monticello a lot extra yards on the ground. He’s got great receivers in Seth Weaver, Austin Haverstrom and Bryce McGlothlin among others. If he is poised in the pocket, picks and choses his battles wisely between his legs and arm, the Mustangs have not only something to look forward to for years, but also the athlete that could turn things in their favor to swipe one on the road. The offensive line has been good, particularly in the second half of games the last three go arounds. If they can give Jarrell some windows, he’ll be able to do his thing. Easier said than done though.

 

The line: Lord Botetourt by 4. Home field advantage and offense that is just churning out the rushing yardage gives the Cavaliers the edge here. Monticello will need some key turnovers in their favor to slow this beast down.

 

 

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