1. L.C. Bird (9-0)
As everyone expected, the Skyhawks took care of Huguenot in convincing fashion, 55-0. The Falcons have not scored a point on L.C. Bird since 2006, as Tim Holmes, a friend and twitter follower of mine points out, George W. Bush was still in office. That Huguenot team defeated L.C. Bird at home that season, though.
As far as the game goes, J.B. Wright rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns and now has rushed for 1602 yards and 20 touchdowns on the season. Shedrick McCall pitched in 116 yards and two touchdowns in mop-up time, while Jalen Elliott connected with Kier Townsend for a touchdown yet again.
Defensively, Rayshard Ashby had 6 tackles, 4 for a loss, a sack and a fumble recovery. Manell Robinson had six tackles, two for a loss and Maciah McGriff tallied five tackles.
The Skyhawks’ second half of the season was a down-tick in difficulty compared to the first half, and they have breezed through all opponents. This week, they get a defensive-minded James River team that’s developed as the season has come along. The Rapids (4-5) will give the Skyhawks their best shot.
Up Next: Senior night vs. James River, 7:30pm
2. Monacan (9-1)
The Monacan Chiefs have qualified for the playoffs. From the looks of it, they can go no higher than a two seed, but will likely start things off as the third seed in their half of the 4A East Playoff Bracket. Their victory over Manchester was an exciting, and impressive way to end the regular season.
In a see-saw battle, the Chiefs came out on top. On a fake pitch to running back Khalik Hamlin, who rushed for a whopping 210 yards and two scores, Syour Fludd found Diontae Bruce, a track star for a 50 yard score to take the lead late.
Monacan has really come along since Syour Fludd returned from his high ankle sprain, and the Monacan Maniacs have something to be excited about this postseason- an opportunity at another big run. Courtland, the top seed in the Chief’s bracket had a convincing 38-6 victory over James Monroe this week. James Monroe was chasing Hopewell for the #1 seed in the 3A East. Courtland may be a tough opponent, but it looks like Monacan is ready for anything.
Uniquely, Monacan will have their bye week the last week of the regular season for most teams.
Up Next: First round of playoffs, November 13.
3. Hopewell (7-2)
The Blue Devils came to Chester and got the job done, defeating Thomas Dale 37-29 and scoring more points than any other team has on the Knights defense all season. Unlike the L.C. Bird game, where the Skyhawks scored three touchdowns on defense, Hopewell did it all through a balanced offense featuring both the run and the pass.
Sophomore Ronnie Walker continues to have a break out season. Perhaps Hopewell’s primary back in a stable of running backs, he rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown against Thomas Dale. Another playmaker, Ronnie Monroe, caught 8 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Virginia Union is a fan of his. Last week, Anthony Crawford and Notorious Smith had big games, but this week, Big Nas Cooper stepped it up, running for 71 yards and bowling over defenders to score a touchdown. All of that is without mentioning Cameren Hill, who was 10-16 passing for 143 yards and three touchdowns, while running for 57 more yards.
Things are looking great for Hopewell, who with a James Monroe loss to Courtland, should have the top seed locked down in their half of the 3A East Bracket, which means, more home games. The last order of business in the regular season is a match-up with Prince George. A big rivalry, the Blue Devils cannot overlook this game.
Up Next: On the road at Prince George, 7:30pm.
4. Thomas Dale (6-3)
The Knights have faltered the past couple of weeks, but coach Kevin Tucker was encouraged by a better performance against Hopewell than Meadowbrook. Mistakes were less prevalent, and while Thomas Dale was forced to run the spread more against the Blue Devils, the passing game and Matt Lawton largely responded, less a second-half interception.
Lawton finished the game with 261 yards passing. He was 11-29 and threw two touchdowns. The passing game for Thomas Dale is, at times, high-flying. With two excellent athletes in Brian Bullock, who’s the a threat to score every time he touches the ball, and Mariel Jennings, a big receiver (6-4) that can go up the ladder with ease, there’s no surprise. Bullock finished with 145 yards receiving while Jennings hauled in two top-shelf catches for 31 yards and a score. Trnent Williams, usually a running back is a great pass catching option out of the backfield.
The last two losses are not a product of Thomas Dale not being talented enough, they are more of a product of unforced errors and then playing a team like Hopewell who is probably underrated because they are a smaller school.
Next week, get ready for a big-time rivalry game as Thomas Dale travels to Matoaca in a game that both teams and student bodies will be ready for.
Up Next: On the road at Matoaca, 7:00pm.
5. Manchester (6-3)
The Lancers lost a hard fought game to Monacan Friday, and their other two losses have come to top talent in L.C. Bird, Hermitage. With a game at Cosby left on the schedule, the game is a must win to ensure a first round playoff game at home.
Kionte Hamlet has done a great job filling in for Brendon Clark at quarterback, and the Lancers offense has gotten a charge out of Frank Boyd an ultra-fast running back who’s filled in for an injured Bryce Hall. Boyd rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns against a very tough Monacan run defense.
For Manchester, this week’s match-up with Cosby will come down to how well they can stop the run. Cosby has two backs- Trevor Laury and Joe Hunt who are capable of lighting it up. Laury has gone for 770 yards and Hunt for 692 this season. If the Lancers can slow down the run, they should cruise into the playoffs with a four seed and a first round home game.
Up Next: On the road vs. Cosby, 7:30pm.
Matoaca (6-3) rebounded by putting up 59 points on Colonial Heights as they cruised to a 59-20 victory. Next week, they get Thomas Dale on their senior night in what will be a very raucous environment. The offense looked good against the Colonials, but we’ll see how the Knights’ defense can adjust after a rough week against Hopewell.
Dinwiddie (6-3) defeated Petersburg handily on Saturday, in a game that was rescheduled. The Generals have a tough draw against a tough Meadowbrook team who’s won three straight contests.
Meadowbrook (5-4) won their third straight game, beating Prince George 31-8. If not anything else, the Monarchs have been opportunists, capitalizing better on opponent’s mistakes than perhaps anyone else in the region. Running back Jace Miller eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark against the Royals and will hope to keep the momentum going against the Generals and into the postseason.
Cosby (5-4) beat up on George Wythe (0-9) and used a strong running game to put up five touchdowns on the Bulldogs. They’ll need to employ that strong running game again this Friday vs. Manchester in what is a very important game for playoff seeding. A loss for Manchester would likely drop them out of a home playoff spot. A win for Cosby, depending on other results could move them into better position, and perhaps a rematch with Forest Park, a team they beat in the first round last season.
James River (4-5) defeated Clover Hill (2-7) 28-18. The Rapids have L.C. Bird the last game of the season, and even with a win would be hard pressed to sneak into the playoff picture in 6A South. The Cavaliers have been eliminated from postseason contention and finish up the season with Midlothian.
Colonial Heights (3-6) is holding onto a playoff spot and will likely qualify in their half of the 3A East bracket. Seeded at 5 last week, they may drop a notch to 6 this week. Petersburg (2-7) really needs to pick up a win to stay in the playoff race this week vs. Colonial Heights. This game will be under the radar, but should have good entertainment value.
Prince George (3-6) will look to play spoiler to Hopewell this week on the Royals’ senior night. PG has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
