It’s playoff time for high school football . . . one loss and your done for the season. Unfortunately, unless your team wins a state championship, they will finish their season with a loss.
We started week-1 of the high school playoffs with nine “Big-11” teams in the hunt.
Three have now dropped out and six remain standing. Two of those, North Cross and Roanoke Catholic, win or lose, will play their last game this weekend where both will be shooting for a state championship in the VIS private school ranks.
Here’s a look at what happened last weekend, and the slate of games remaining as the playoffs continue.
North Cross-53 Norfolk Christian-20
The Raiders remained the only unbeaten “Big-11” team at 11-0 with the blowout win Saturday afternoon at Thomas Field over the Ambassadors. North Cross now advances to the VIS Division II state championship this Saturday at home against Blue Ridge. The Raiders broke open a scoreless first quarter with 20 second quarter points and led 34-0 in the third quarter before Norfolk Christian finally dented the scoreboard. Tyler Slash headlined the North Cross defense, returning two interceptions for 55 and 78 yards for touchdowns. North Cross quarterback Miles Lowman threw four TD passes and ran another on a 62-yard keeper.
Roanoke Catholic-52 Fuqua-30
Roanoke Catholic rolled out to a 30-11 halftime lead and held off the Falcons in the VIS Division III semifinal win Friday at Vinyard Field. The Celtics advanced to the state championship game this weekend where they will travel to play #1 seed Quantico on the eastern shore. Catholic was led by Jemel Tyree, who ran for two touchdowns, brought in a 34-yard touchdown pass and returned a kickoff 97 yards for a fourth TD.
Northside-21 Abingdon-7
Northside needed a regular season final week win to slide in the 3A West Region playoffs as a #14 seed. Friday night the Vikings dispatched the #3 seed Abingdon Falcons to advance to play Heritage this Friday night in Lynchburg. The Vikings fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter before the Northside defense pitched the shutout the rest of the way and the Viking offense came up with three touchdowns.
Glenvar-34 Gate City-27
Glenvar took a 28-14 halftime lead in West Salem and the Highlanders held off the Blue Devils from Gate City to advance to the second round of the 2A West Region playoffs this weekend where they will travel to far Southwest Virginia to take on the 10-1 Richlands Blue Tornado. Highlander quarterback Jacob Mullins paced the Glenvar offense with three touchdown passes of 53, 24 and 11 yards to go along with a 14-yard scoring keeper that opened the scoring in the first quarter.
Week-1 Byes- William Byrd and Salem in 4A West Region:
Byrd will now host #10 seed Heritage-Leesburg (8-3) this Friday night while Salem will host #6 seed Millbrook (10-1) Friday night at Salem Stadium.
North Stafford-44 Patrick Henry-21
North Stafford opened a 30-21 halftime lead and the Wolverine defense pitched a shutout in the second half as North Stafford ended the Patriots’ season Friday night at Merrill Gsiner Field in the 5A North Region first round playoffs. PH quarterback Jontae Murray threw touchdown passes for 30 and 75 yards and amassed 342 total yards in the air. Patrick Henry running back Brandon Smith added a PH touchdown on a 10-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
Heritage-47 Hidden Valley-41
Heritage broke a 41-41 tie late in the fourth quarter on Elijah Davis’s 23-yard run as Heritage ended the season for the Titans in the 3A West Region first round playoff game in Lynchburg. Hidden Valley quarterback Jonah Fitzgerald threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Navy recruit Ryan Mitchell and scored on three keepers of 11, 1 and 1 yards. Titan running back Cason Bennett added a pair of touchdowns on runs of 23 and 2 yards.
Blacksburg-56 Lord Botetourt-34
Blacksburg broke open a 13-7 halftime lead with 43 second half points as the Bruins ended the season for Loird Botetourt in the first round 3A West Region playoff game in Daleville. Botetourt, the 3A runner-up last year saw its season come to an end after opening the season 8-0 before giving up 185 points in its final three games. Botetourt QB Preston Martin threw for three touchdowns to receiver Tanner Hall on tosses of 67, 6 and 28 yards, whilke running back Ty Maust added a pair of TD runs for the Cavaliers.
Bill Turner
