For a WINA radio podcast discussing many of these games, click here.
Louisa County (8-0) at Monticello (5-3) 7:30 p.m. WINA radio
The Basics: The Lions reach the end of the hardest stretch of their schedule with one last hurdle in the Mustangs. Louisa will be tested on the road by a physical Monticello team. The Mustangs are in the hunt for a playoff spot and a win over Louisa would net huge points in the standings. In the end, it sets up to be a great battle between great running backs. The Lions won a similar battle pretty easily last week against Goochland. Monticello bounced back from a disappointing loss to Western by taking it out on Charlottesville.
Key matchup: Louisa’s linebackers against Monticello’s Jesse Ayres. So far, nobody’s done it, but if you can keep Ayres under the century mark, the Mustangs offense would likely come to a grinding halt. The Lions want to do that, and so its up to the five seniors to wrap Monticello’s bruising back up when they get the chance.
Player to watch for: Lions linebacker Deangelo Johnson. The senior has stepped in a great way for Louisa with Andre Mealy missing because of injury. This is a game where Mealy is greatly missed, but Johnson has shown that he can step up to the plate and fill the part, and that’s in addition to his previous duties on the offensive line.
Line: Lions by 3. The Louisa offense statistically is every bit as potent as Monticello’s. But if you compare the defenses, the Lions come out on top.
North Cross (6-3) at Covenant (1-8) 3 p.m.
The Basics: Covenant can officially take on it’s newest identity this week—potential spoiler. Things have far from gone as planned for the Eagles this season, with last week’s loss to St. Anne’s-Belfield the latest chapter in a maddening season. It seems at times when Covenant and first year head coach Dandridge Payne find an answer for one problem another hole rears its head. But the next two weeks they’ll face two teams in playoff position starting with Division III North Cross. Can Covenant’s offense kick into gear and win a shocker.
Key matchup: Covenant’s secondary takes on North Cross’ Fuller Clark. The Eagles’ secondary got scorched last week by STAB’s Andrew Crockett and Nicco Freeo last week. Clark is a similar style of receiver who hurt Atlantic Shores last week on a pair of long touchdown passes. Covenant has to have fixed last week’s problems if they’re going to contain Clark.
Who to watch: Covenant’s Lee Coppock. The senior quarterback is closing out an extremely productive football career at Covenant this week. He’s thrown for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns this season.
Line: North Cross by 3. But don’t count out Covenant. Being a spoiler can be a powerful motivation late in the year.
Chatham (2-5) at Nelson County (0-7) 7 p.m.
The Basics: The Governors’ struggles continued last week with a 12-point loss to Appomattox. Can Nelson finish the season a high note with Chatham, William Campbell and Altavista still on the schedule? Chatham fell to Altavista last week when head coach Paul Grekos was suspended. Grekos returns to the sideline this week for the Cavaliers.
Key matchup: Nelson’s front seven takes on Chatham’s quarterback-focused rushing attack. Two weeks ago, Chatham quarterbacks Cam McLellan and D.J. Hammock combined for over 200 yards and three touchdowns in a win over William Campbell. Nelson will have its hands full.
Who to watch: Nelson’s Rodrell Smith. Smith ripped off two long touchdowns last week of 66 and 53 yards. Can he spark the Governors to their first win with more fireworks?
Line: Nelson by 3. The Governors’ slide could finally end this week.
Christchurch (6-1) at STAB (7-1) 7 p.m.
The Basics: Now things get serious for the Saints. St. Anne’s-Belfield has been in control of first place in Division II most of the year and they remain there by the slimmest of margins—four hundredths of a point ahead of Potomac. To hold onto the No. 1 seed, St. Anne’s need a monster win Friday night at home against Christchurch, the No. 3 ranked team in D-II.
Key matchup: STAB’s dynamic defensive front takes on Christchurch tailback Cool Battle. Christchurch’s top back is a dynamic force, rushing for 159 yards and four touchdowns on just 11 touches last week against Trinity Episcopal.
Who to watch: STAB quarterback Charlie Murray. How can it not be Murray after the week he put together against Covenant last Friday? Murray threw for 335 yards and four touchdowns against the Eagles. Will his continual progression take another step against the Seahorses?
Line: St. Anne’s-Belfield by 3. The Saints won big last week without standout tailback Branford Rogers. Odds are good they keep finding ways to get it done, starting with Friday night.
Western Albemarle (4-4) at Orange County (5-3) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: This one will, almost certainly be on the high scoring side. The Hornets have lit up three of their last four opponents with more than 50 points and the Warriors have suddenly found a groove on offense with Abbot Wallenborn, Adam Diehl and a developing receiving corps. Wallenborn and Orange’s Cameron Hughes have emerged as two of the area’s best quarterbacks, and they’ll likely make this a shootout.
Key matchup: Orange linebackers Terry Mack and Eddie Ellington try to contain Wallenborn. The Warriors’ quarterback cut loose for 254 yards on the ground last week — it’ll up to Mack and Ellington to hold him in check.
Who to watch: Orange County’s Amir Waller. The Warriors, like most teams, will have trouble matching up with the Hornets’ star wideout. Waller could be in for a big game.
Line: Orange County by 7. Home field gives the Hornets enough of an advantage to hold off the red-hot Warriors.
Albemarle (3-5) at Mountain View (6-2) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: The Patriots have shown well in Commonwealth play for the most part, but Mountain View is currently ranked No. 2 in the Northwest Region and set for a playoff bye. This will be a tall, tall task on the road for the Patriots.
Key matchup: Albemarle’s linebackers facer Mountain View’s running threat at signal-caller Bubby Morgan, who rushed for 144 yards last week in the narrow win over North Stafford.
Who to watch: Albemarle’s Tim Aker continues to develop as an option in the passing game. Aker has hauled in 326 yards and three touchdowns on the year.
Line: Mountain View by 7. The Wildcats should be able to handle the Patriots at home.
Charlottesville (0-8) at Fluvanna County (3-5) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: The Black Knights are nearing the end and looking for ways to improve for next season. Charlottesville fell to Monticello last week as Jesse Ayres ran wild for five first half touchdowns. The Flucos are also looking to finish up on as strong a note as possible, especially this week after Orange County handed them a lop-sided loss.
Key matchup: Fluvanna’s run defense against Charlottesville’s Chris Thurston. Expect the Black Knights to pound away with the young and promising Thurston. If Fluvanna wraps the freshman up early, they can pin their ears back and bring the blitz to sopohomore quarterback Benj Wilhelm.
Player to watch for: Flucos running back T.J. Dudley. With the Mustangs bowling over the Black Knights on the ground last week, Duley could be licking his chops. The Fluvanna back, since his move to running back from quarterback, has shown he’s ready to go back to carrying the load at tailback like he did as a sophomore.
Line: Flucos by 7. Fluvanna’s defense rebounds.
William Monroe (3-5) at Goochland (4-4) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: The Dragons find themselves in a bit of a funk after a great start to the season. Monroe needs to show up as that collected yet physical bunch everyone saw back in September. The Bulldogs come off a game against Louisa where they played a great first quarter, but were worn down from there after. With the playoffs still a great possibility, this is a must win for the Bulldogs.
Key matchup: Monroe’s secondary versus Goochland running back Dustin Plummer. For the most part, everyone knows what’s coming from the Bulldogs — David McKenna up the middle or Plummer on the edge. It’s easy to get fooled on the fake to McKenna. The Dragons can’t bite when that happens because Plummer will fly to endzone if they do.
Player to watch for: Dragons quarterback Mitchell Morris. Goochland will likely throw everything they can at the Monroe ground game. The Bulldogs secondary has a few holes and if Morris can take advantage of that, this has the makings of a quality game.
Line: Bulldogs by 7. Right now Goochland has too much to play for. Expect them to show it on senior night.
Madison County (6-1) at Strasburg (3-5) 7:30 p.m.
The Basics: The Mountaineers got off to a bit of a slow start against George Mason in their Bull Run opener after a bye week, but won easily nonetheless. This week they face a more talented Strasburg squad, albeit a Rams unit that’s been hammered by Manassas Park and Clarke County in back-to-back weeks. Madison will look to extend that unkind streak an extra week as they prepare for two very big weeks after this.
Key matchup: The Stasburg offensive line against Mountaineeers’ linebacker Bradley Meadows. The senior was on a rampage last week, piling up nearly 20 tackles. When Meadows is making plays that means Madison’s opposition isn’t offensively. To get any ground game going the Rams will have to find a way to keep Meadows from wreaking havoc.
Player to watch for: Madison’s Rashad Bolden. The junior has caught a touchdown in the last two contests and looks to extend that streak to three games. Bolden is playing dueling-banjos with fellow receiver Travis Warren right now in both total yards and touchdowns. That’s a nice problem to have, especially if you’re quarterback Dustin Farmer.
Line: Mountaineers by 7. Madison sets up a big senior night against Manassas Park with comfortable win on the road.
Woodberry Forest at St. Christopher’s (5-3) 1 p.m. Saturday
The Basics: The Tigers continue a two-game tour of Richmond private schools and they enter the game with a four-game win streak including a blowout win over Benedictine. What started as a promising year for the Saints has turned into a nightmare with losses in three out of the last four games. It won’t get any easier against the rock solid Tigers.
Key matchup: St. Christopher’s run game goes toe-to-toe with a Woodberry defense that held Benedictine to just 159 yards last week.
Who to watch: Woodberry inside linebacker Buckley Davis. Davis leads the Tigers with 13 solo stuffs. He’s a key part of a lockdown Tigers front seven.
Line: Woodberry by 14. The Tigers can start two weeks of preparation for their huge game against Episcopal after taking care of business in this one.
Fork Union (3-4) at Benedictine (4-4) Saturday 1 p.m.
The Basics: It was a must win situation against Collegiate last week and the Blue Devils came through, exacting revenge on the Cougars for last year’s two losses. Fork Union’s in position now to perhaps make the postseason. A win over Benedictine could be enough to get the job done. The Cadets followed up a trip to New York and a 30-0 loss to Poly Prep with a trip to Woodberry Forest where the Tigers handed over another beating.
Key matchup: Benedictine’s special teams and defense versus Richard Dyer. The slippery return man and lighting fast running back had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown and a pair of 50-yard-plus scoing runs. The Cadets had better bring Dyer down to the ground when they first see him, because if they miss, they’re not going to catch the track and field phenom.
Player to watch for: It’s Dyer. This is all anyone needs to know from FUMA’s handling of Collegiate last week. Dyer had five carries for 166 yards, meaning that he averaged almost exactly one-third of the football field with each touch.
Line: Fork Union by 9. The Benedictine pass-happy offense isn’t enough to keep pace with the Blue Devils.
Blue Ridge (5-3) at Atlantic Shores (5-3) Saturday 1 p.m.
The Basics: The Barons knocked off Virginia Episcopal last week in a game that they had easily put away early, but had the Bishops surging in the fourth. Blue Ridge had its weapons making big plays in all three areas of the game, making the end of last week’s a bit of a letdown. The Seahawks laid a 43-0 drubbing on Arcadia last week and have won three of four since an early season lull.
Key matchup: Blue Ridge’s front seven versus Atlantic Shores running back Jaquay Hall. The Barons’ defense can’t let Hall pile up the yards after contact, a specialty of his. That means not over pursuing and not throwing arm tackles. If they slow Hall down, the Seahawks will be in a tough spot.
Player to watch for: Baron’s running back Mayn Francisco. It’s not only because he’s getting the job done on the ground and in the passing game out of the backfield – Francisco has only been at Blue Ridge for a few months but is already becoming the vocal leader of this team, and coach Del Smith is encouraging him to ramp it up. If Francisco can lead this team to past Shores, the Barons will be in great shape for their showdown with arch-rival St. Anne’s-Belfield.
Line: Blue Ridge by 1. Tough game, but the Barons outnumber the Seahawks in quality athletes.
