No. 2 Albemarle (6-3) at Orange County (1-8), 7:30 p.m.
The basics: Albemarle is one of Central Virginia’s hottest teams, as they’ve reeled off four straight victories and are in position to earn a home game in the Region 5A North playoffs. But they’ll need to take care of business on the road against the Hornets to have a shot at bringing the football postseason back to Hydraulic Road for the first time in what’s thought to be at least a decade. Orange was within range of pulling off the shocker of the season last week, but Monticello pulled away from the Hornets late. If Orange can build on last week’s momentum, they’ve got the potential to give an Albemarle team that hasn’t exactly been prolific on offense a challenge in a close game.
Key matchup: Orange’s run game takes on Albemarle’s stingy front seven. The Hornets’ ground attack has shown signs of life of late, with Isaiah Ferguson rushing for 167 yards and two touchdowns against Monticello last week. But the Patriots have proven capable of shutting down opposing ground games all year long, and Orange faces a stiff challenge this week trying to move it on the ground.
Who to watch: Albemarle’s Jordan Shelton. It’s unclear how much Albemarle really intends to use the package the Patriots went to against Louisa County last week with Shelton at quarterback employing a lot of power running. But if they do, it’s got the potential to be an incredible change of pace or clock-melting package against the Hornets and potentially in the playoffs. With a shutdown defense built to allow the Patriots to hold onto the lead, that kind of ball control clock-grinding attack could be devastating for opponents hoping to rally against Albemarle.
The line: Albemarle by 10. Patriots haven’t shown the ability yet to pile up points, but their defense should put the clamps on a resurgent Orange offense.
No. 6 Powhatan (6-3) at No. 9 Charlottesville (4-5), 7:30 p.m.
The basics: Charlottesville has found its offensive footing the last few weeks, with an explosive effort against Fluvanna last week that’s turned Chris Thurston and Rashard Brock into a 2013 version of the 2012 duo of Thurston and Rashad Davis. The defense managed to keep Fluvanna in check but obviously Powhatan will be a much tougher challenge than the Flucos were. Charlottesville needs a win too. Powhatan is definitely in the playoffs right now, but the Black Knights still need a little help even with a win to get in, but could rise as high as 12th in the 4A North standings. If they lose, they’ll be placing their fate in the hands of a slew of other teams.
Key matchup: Charlottesville’s defensive line takes on Powhatan’s Logan Allen. Allen is a rugged, tough power back and the Black Knights struggled just a few weeks ago to stop a much less effective ground game from Western Albemarle. If Allen runs roughshod over the Indians, it could be a tough night for the Black Knights.
Who to watch: Charlottesville’s Rashard Brock. Brock has emerged the last few weeks not just as a promising young talent but one of the area’s most complete backs. He’s averaging 9.8 yards per carry, which is third in the area among frequent ball carriers and he’s just eight yards shy of 1,000. Brock will make Powhatan pay if they try and zero in on Chris Thurston.
The line: Powhatan by 1. The way Charlottesville’s offense is playing, they will be a very tough out for the Indians.
Fluvanna County (1-8) at No. 2 Western Albemarle (8-1), 7:30 p.m.
The basics: Western Albemarle will surely be on their toes in this regular season finale a year after the Warriors fell to Louisa, which prevented the Warriors from going unbeaten in the 2012 regular season. Fluvanna’s defense will likely struggle to contain the multi-dimensional Western offense, but Diondre Key could be a factor against a Western offensive line that’s had occasional ups and downs this season. If they give Henry time like they have in key games, Western will be able to operate and get into a groove.
Key matchup: Western’s defensive line takes on Fluvanna’s rushing attack. The Flucos continue throwing offensive curveballs at opponents, so expect nothing less Friday against the Warriors, but the Warriors’ front has to find a way to disrupt whatever scheme Fluvanna employs. Look for Osiris Crutchfield to wreak havoc as the Flucos try and get Marcus Jackson on track early.
Who to watch: Western’s Kent Henry. The do-it-all quarterback is less than 30 yards away from 10,000 total yards for his career and a run-of-the-mill Kent Henry performance could vault him into sixth all-time in state history for career yards. He now owns both the Total Yardage and Total Passing Yards marks for Central Virginia football after breaking the passing record held by former Blue Ridge standout Chad Byers last week.
The line: Western by 21. The Warriors’ offense will likely be too much for the Flucos to handle Friday night.
No. 10 William Monroe (3-6) at Clarke County (9-0), 7:30 p.m.
The basics: William Monroe’s season looked nearly dead at halftime of last week’s clash with Manassas Park. Then a completely different Dragons team exited the locker room and breathed new life into the campaign. Now the Dragons are back in the playoff picture and with an upset of Clarke on the road would certainly get in. Clarke, on the other hand, is looking for an unbeaten season and to improve or maintain its stellar playoff position. Both squads have a lot on the line, which should lead to fireworks in Berryville.
Key matchup: Monroe’s linebackers take on Clarke’s single wing-style attack. It’s time for the Dragons to get as physical as they have all season. Monroe has to make some stops and play assignment football against the Eagles’ attack. Shutting down or even containing big-time ball carries like Sean McDonald and Josh Dulaney among others won’t be an easy task.
Who to watch: Monroe’s Tyler Trevillian. Trevillian needs to put together two halves of strong play and avoid the Jekyll and Hyde performance from last week where he turned around a rough first half and was on point after the break. Monroe as a team has to avoid a slow start against a Clarke team that’s too good to climb out of the hole against,
The line: Clarke by 3. Tough draw for a Monroe team fighting for a playoff spot, going on the road against a team looking to complete an undefeated regular season.
No. 5 Goochland (7-2) at Amelia County (5-4), 7 p.m.
The basics: Goochland is sitting at No. 8 in the current playoff scenario, but a win against a 5-win Amelia squad could definitely help boost the Bulldogs up at least a spot or two. It likely won’t be enough to keep Goochland out of the scenario that’s clearly facing them now — if the Bulldogs want to get back to Salem for the third straight year, they’re likely going to have to win on the road after the first to do it. Getting a victory away from their home turf Friday would help give everyone more confidence in their ability to do just that.
Key matchup: Amelia’s defensive line takes on the Goochland ground game. The Bulldogs piled up 500 total yards on the ground and had three players rush for more than 100 yards against Prince Edward. Amelia is going to have its hands full.
Who to watch: Amelia’s Deandre Johnson. Odds are good at least one Goochland running back will outgain Johnson, but his story is worth noting. The Richmond Times Dispatch reported that Johnson, formerly an offensive lineman, was converted to running back “out of necessity.” He rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown on 23 touches. That’s not a position switch that happens often.
The line: Goochland by 24. Amelia won’t be able to slow down Goochland’s rushing attack that’s firing on all cylinders.
No. 4 Monticello (8-1) at Louisa County (3-6), 7:30 p.m.
The basics: This game has big playoff implications. The Mustangs shook off a turnover-laden start to handle Orange County last week. The Lions ran into a red hot Albemarle squad and were shut out, something that almost never happens to Louisa. While the Mustangs are fighting for positioning to maintain a home game in the opening round of the Division 3A West playoffs, the Lions have to have this one to slip into the Division 4A North playoffs. Two teams that love to pound the ball, this game is about as old school as it gets with a lot on the line.
Key matchup: Louisa’s defensive line takes on Monticello’s T.J. Tillery. There’s no secret here. The Mustangs run the ball incredibly well with the help an offensive line that’s highly effective, but also not talked about enough. So with that said, when the Lions do get penetration, they have to bring Tillery down and that’s another problem. Aside from Kenneth Johnson at Buckingham, there might not be a better yards after contact runner than Tillery. The most plausible way for Louisa to win this game is to limit this offense to less than 200 yards.
Who to watch: Monticello quarterback James St. Hill. If he plays well, he’s a big difference maker. The Mustangs passing game wasn’t as on point as it had been in previous weeks. When St. Hill finds Josh Malm and Alex McNair in the air, the Mustangs’ offense has been next to unstoppable. The Lions have to tap into what Orange managed to pull of last week and get this passing game to turn the ball over or at least hold it to minimal gains when the Mustangs choose to air it out, which isn’t all that often. Look for Lions cornerback Deion Johnson to play a big role in just how well St. Hill is able to find his targets.
The line: Mustangs by 7. Louisa has built a reputation for closing the season strong (think last year’s finale at Western Albemarle), but this is still a Monticello team that’s one play away from being undefeated.
Warren County (6-3) at Madison County (3-6), 7:30 p.m.
The basics: The Wildcats are coming of a narrow win over Strasburg while the Mountaineers are trying to bounce back from a loss to Central Woodstock. While Warren is cemented into the playoffs, Madison is sitting in the final spot for the Division 2A East. The Mountaineers could see that change with a loss, but a win would easily lock up a spot. So there’s a team with a good bit to play for and another that’s trying to put a bow on its regular season. The difference between these two teams is that Warren edged George Mason and William Monroe in the Bull Run District. That’s about it. Central was a tall task for Madison, but this is a winnable game with this Mountaineers offense.
Key matchup: The Wildcats pass rush takes on Madison quarterback James Graves. Given the way that Warren struggled against the pass against Woodstock two weeks ago, they’re going to have to get after the strong armed Graves. The passing game is engine that drives Madison, and if the Wildcats get shorten the time that Graves has to lock and load, they’ll be in good shape. If not, it could be another huge game for Graves and his favorite target, the Mountaineers all-time leading receiver, Ashton Weakley.
Who to watch: Madison’s Bray Lamb and Andrew Alley. The senior defenders are the top two tacklers for the Mountaineers and its this senior class that will determine if this team locks up a postseason bid or the year ends early. With Alley averaging 6.9 tackles and Lamb coming up with 5.9 per game, they are the lynchpins for this defensive unit that has to find a way to stop running back Demetrus Yates. A speedster, stop Yates means the Mountaineers have to get penetration early and take the proper angles. One-on-one tackling, at least in the open field against Yates, isn’t going to be an enviable position. If Madison can just bend and not break defensively, they’ve got the right matchup offensively to make this a really great game.
The line: Warren by 3. Unfortunatley for Madison, the Wildcats have shown they can gut out the close wins, but the Mountaineers could easily pull the upset here.
No. 8 STAB (5-4) at Bishop Sullivan (10-0), 7 p.m.
The basics: The Saints pulled off one of the best storylines of the regular season last week by winning their fifth straight game after four losses to start the year. And while that put them in the playoffs for the first time since 2010, it put them up against the top dog in VISAA Division 2. The Crusaders are unbeaten and are coming off a thrashing of Norfolk Academy. STAB fell to Sullivan in week two 49-22. This is a big hill for the Saints to try and climb. We’re not saying that the Crusaders can’t be beat, but what should be noted here is that nobody, especially after four weeks of play, thought this STAB team would be in the postseason except coach John Blake and his team. They willed their way into the postseason and if they play Sullivan close, that’ll be just as impressive in terms of the journey this program’s gone through these last two years.
Key matchup: STAB’s Jalen Harrison and Kareem Johnson vs. Sullivan’s Jamil Kamara and Liam Korka. Whether it’s those two Saints on offense or on defense, they have to either match the receiving numbers to turn this game into a shootout or come up with big plays defensively to slow down the Crusaders’ impressive passing game that’s worst game was in week one when they managed to pave to the way to just a 37-point showing. Sullivan’s scored 40 or more with those two at receiver and Blake Larussa at quarterback ever since. The good news for STAB is that Harrison is no stranger to this position, whether here with the Saints or previously at Fluvanna and Johnson couldn’t have played better on both sides of the ball last week against Blue Ridge.
Who to watch: STAB quarterback Lee Parkhill. To say he had a good game against Blue Ridge is an understatement. Parkhill was just about perfect going 13 for 16 with 315 yards. And he did it with the Barons essentially throwing its entire defense at Harrison. So he got the ball to Johnson and Campbell Miller and they made the big plays. If Parkhill plays like he did last week and goes blow-for-blow with Larussa on the other side, the Saints can make this interesting.
The line: Bishop Sullivan by 9. A team that’s unbeaten and scoring about 50 a game, the odds aren’t with the Saints on this one, but crazier things have happened, especially in the Division 2 playoffs.
Gretna (6-3) at Nelson County (0-9), 7 p.m.
The basics: The Hawks have lost two straight, losing last week Dan River after a defeat the week before against Blacksburg. In that sense they’ve fallen off the perch a bit given how insanely good this program’s been the last decade. But this is still one of the best Division 2A teams there is. Nelson is coming of a really tough showing against Appomattox. The Governors are trying to build for the future and with a thin roster. The younger members of this team aspire to be where Gretna is and has been. They’ll get to see first hand what it takes with Gretna.
Key matchup: Nelson’s front seven against the two-head rushing combo situation of Dyon Russer and Jeremiah Chambers. Pick your poision here. At quarterback, as always is the case at Gretna, is solid dual threat Rosser who’s thrown for almost 1,000 yards and rushed for 740 yards. Chambers hasn’t rushed for all that much, but he is the second option when Rosser isn’t doing his thing. Nelson has to stop Rosser as everyone does with this offense, but it can’t let Chambers gash them, particularly in the redzone where he’s most effective. So selling out against the quarterback rush here isn’t going to be an option. That’s going to be tough for this young group which is also undersized overall.
Who to watch: Nelson coach Mark Poston. While the Governors weren’t positioned to be a big player in the Dogwood District or the Division 2A playoffs, the hopes were that Nelson would be able to embrace the winning culture he created East Montgomery. That hasn’t shown up in the win totals, but it doesn’t mean the right things aren’t already in place. The feel-good winning opportunities were lost against Page County, Hargrave Military and William Campbell. Gretna never takes it easy on anyone and they’ve got all the pieces to sprint past Nelson. How Poston uses his roster in this season finale, the postgame message he gives to this senior class, the experience and the message to the underclassmen is all going to be important headed forward.
The line: Gretna by 21. The Hawks can’t really move up the rankings in the playoffs here, but they can fine-tune their offense which has struggled against two really good teams here.
No. 7 Buckingham (6-3) at Prince Edward (1-8), 7 p.m.
The basics: The Knights cruised again for the second straight week, absolutely dismantling rival Cumberland last week. The Eagles got a sour taste of Goochland last week in a blowout loss. Buckingham is in great shape here, it’s got a home playoff game to look forward to here. It’s got a chance to tweak with things on either side of the ball with how out-gunned Prince Edwards is, even on its home field. Consider this a victory lap before the post season begins.
Key matchup: The Eagles’ front nine against Kenneth Johnson. Nothing changes here. Johnson wrapped up the Central Virginia rushing title two weeks ago. He’s been on a tear. He’s got 26 touchdowns to his name, 1,674 yards. Another standard showing here and he’s lined up to break the 2K mark in the playoffs. Maurice Taylor was the last to do that and he’s now at Virginia Tech. If anyone’s wondering if Johnson could carry the team offensively without his old tailback teammate Kyree Koonce, he’s long since answered that question. Prince Edward is going to have to throw everything at Johnson and just hope it works out. If it doesn’t Johnson will get the numbers he’s had the last month and half and in the first half and get to watch from the sidelines later.
Who to watch: Leon Ragland and John Edwards. Kudos to Buckingham coach Craig Gill. Aside from the heavy dose of Johnson, every team he’s faced has to figure out which of these two will play at quarterback or wide receiver. They’ve both made plays at both positions. What happens in this game will be interesting as they look forward to a home playoff game, but one that will be against a solid opponent as the Knights sit in the top end (6th) of the middle of the Division 2A West pack right now. Look for some decision making to be done here. But in all truth, both have had their moments, and a lot of them to each other, whether its Edwards throwing to Ragland or the other way around.
The line: Buckingham by 17. Great finish to the year for the Knights, but they’ll have to get out of blowout mode quickly come next week.
No 1. Woodberry Forest (7-1) at Episcopal (5-3), Saturday 2 p.m.
The basics: If only this game had a little history, there’d be something to discuss, but these rivals have only played each other a couple of other times, so there just isn’t much to talk about with regards to this one. We’re kidding of course. Like North Carolina and Duke in college basketball, both teams will measure this year’s success largely on how this, the 113th installment of The Game, turns out. These squads bypass the playoffs just for the honor of finishing the season playing against each other. Woodberry is looking for its sixth-straight victory over its archrival and based on results against common opponents they’re in good position to do so. But just like any good rivalry, you can’t really count on that. Strange things happen when the Tigers and Maroon get together and both teams are going to lay it on the line.
Key matchup: Episcopal quarterback Will Hollister takes on the Woodberry defense. The Maroon’s signal caller has seen some tough defenses this year in the IAC and across the state of Virginia, but Woodberry has proven adept at transforming the defense into whatever will cause the opposition the most nightmare. The best bet against the Tigers might be to do whatever the opposite of what you were planning to do was. If you usually run the majority of the time, throw. If you usually throw, run. Hollister’s 1,500 yards leads the IAC, but getting past the Tigers will be one of the toughest tasks of the season for the senior.
Who to watch: Woodberry’s seniors. Some lesser-known senior seems to always shine for the Tigers in this matchup, but any number of impact players in that class could turn the tide. Whether it’s a big name like Greer Martini, Spencer Bibb or Christian Asher or whether someone like Myles Brown or Trent Ragland that makes a play, odds are good some senior will explode for the Tigers.
The line: Woodberry by 10. The Maroon may lead at some point, but Woodberry has an answer for whatever Episcopal throws at it. The Tigers are just too strong, too versatile.
