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This is not the Mayor’s Cup.
The Noel C. Taylor Classic trophy will not be presented.
But Friday’s 5:30 p.m. Region 5C first-round game between visiting William Fleming and Patrick Henry has more at stake than any of the previous 73 played between the two Roanoke city rivals.
That’s correct, Patrick Henry and William Fleming never have met in a playoff game.
Before the VHSL expanded its playoffs in 1986, then again in 2013, PH and Fleming had only qualified for the playoffs in the same season just twice prior to 2019. Also, Fleming spent several years as a Group AA Division 4 school including the last time the Colonels made a state final, losing 6-0 to Powhatan in 2003.
Despite Patrick Henry’s recent command in the series, William Fleming led PH after three quarters before the Patriots recovered for a 27-19 win when the teams met Sept. 15 on the corner of Brandon and Grandin.
Patrick Henry is 3-11 in playoff games under current head coach Alan Fiddler, who has taken the Patriots to the postseason 11 years in a row. The other coaches who have led PH to the playoffs were Jeff Johnson, Ed Scott, Larry Carter, Willis White and Merrill Gainer. Patrick Henry won the 1973 Group AAA championship under Gainer, shutting out 10 of 13 opponents.
Fleming’s Nick Leftwich, in his first season, is the ninth coach to take the Colonels to the postseason; following Jamar Lovelace, Bobby Martin, Rob Senseney, Keith Smith, George “Kila” Miller, Sherley Stuart, John McGregor and Don Lee.
Lee coached Fleming to the Northwest Region title in 1970, the first year the VHSL held playoffs. The Colonels lost 25-6 to James Wood. Instead of playing a championship game in Group AAA in 1970, the VHSL declared James Wood the state champion over the other three region champions based on a rating scale.
REGION 5A
No. 8 Deep Creek (5-5) at No. 1 Green Run (10-0)
No. 5 Salem-Virginia Beach (6-4) at No. 4 Tallwood (6-4)
No. 6 Bayside (5-5) at No. 3 Indian River (7-3)
No. 7 Kempsville (5-5) at No. 2 Frank Cox (8-2)
REGION 5B
No. 8 Kecoughtan (3-7) at No. 1 Maury (10-0)
No. 5 Granby (7-3) at No. 4 Nansemond River (8-2)
No. 6 Menchville (6-4) at No. 3 Warwick (9-1)
No. 7 Bethel (5-5) at No. 2 King’s Fork (10-0)
REGION 5C
No. 8 William Fleming (6-4) at No. 1 Patrick Henry-Roanoke (9-1)
No. 5 Douglas Freeman (7-3) at No. 4 Hermitage (6-4)
No. 6 L.C. Bird (5-5) at No. 3 Matoaca (8-2)
No. 7 Mills Godwin (6-4) at No. 2 Louisa County (9-1)
REGION 5D
No. 1 Stone Bridge (6-4), bye
No. 5 Massaponax (5-5) at No. 4 Lightridge (6-4)
No. 6 Independence (4-6) at No. 3 Riverbend (6-4)
No. 2 Briar Woods (7-3), bye
* * *
CLASS 6
Moving on up
Has a VHSL team ever won a state football championship in one enrollment classification, then stepped up in class and won the title in the higher division?
Four teams, including Region 6A No. 1 seed Highland Springs, have a chance to accomplish the feat in 2023. The others are Class 5 Dinwiddie, Class 4 Phoebus and Class 2 Riverheads.
Highland Springs (9-1), with a lone 23-14 loss to unbeaten Class 5 Maury, first has to get by a regional field that includes unbeaten No. 2 Thomas Dale along with No. 3 Manchester, a team the Springers edged 41-35 in Week 2.
Reigning Class 6 champion Freedom-Prince William (9-0), which set a VHSL record in 2022 with 972 total points, is in the opposite bracket from Highland Springs. Other than a 35-27 squeaker over Varina, Freedom outscored its other eight opponents 504-33. Freedom led DeMatha (Md.) 21-14 in the second quarter of a Sept. 8 game that was stopped by lightning and declared no contest.
Battlefield, Mountain View and South Lakes are the other unbeaten teams in Class 6.
REGION 6A
No. 8 Cosby (4-6) at No. 1 Highland Springs (9-1)
No. 5 Oscar Smith (7-3) at No. 4 Glen Allen (8-2)
No. 6 Landstown (5-5) at No. 3 Manchester (9-1)
No. 7 Western Branch (4-6) at No. 2 Thomas Dale (10-0)
REGION 6B
No. 8 Potomac (4-6) at No. 1 Freedom-Prince William (9-0)
No. 5 Gainesville (8-2) at No. 4 Colonial Forge (9-1)
No. 6 Patriot (6-4) at No. 3 Battlefield (10-0)
No. 7 Forest Park (6-4) at No. 2 Mountain View-Stafford (10-0)
REGION 6C
No. 8 West Potomac (5-5) at No. 1 South County (8-2)
No. 5 Fairfax (7-3) at No. 4 Thomas Edison (7-3)
No. 6 Hayfield (6-4) at No. 3 West Springfield (8-2)
No. 7 Mount Vernon (5-5) at No. 2 Lake Braddock (8-2)
REGION 6D
No. 8 Langley (5-5) at No. 1 James Madison (9-1)
No. 5 Herndon (7-3) at No. 4 McLean (8-2)
No. 6 Westfield (7-3) at No. 3 Washington-Liberty (9-1)
No. 7 Yorktown (6-4) at No. 2 South Lakes (10-0)
* * *
CLASS 4
Breaker, breaker
The VHSL Handbook covering the Rating Scale it uses to determine qualification and seeding for its playoffs has more tiebreakers than a John Isner tennis match.
Almost all of them were needed to break the deadlock at the top of the Region 4D standings between Salem and Jefferson Forest.
JF entered Week 11 with a 9-0 record before losing 35-14 to undefeated Class 3 power Liberty Christian, which had beaten Salem 21-14 in the season opener in August.
JF’s loss and Salem’s forfeit victory over Blacksburg left the Cavaliers and Spartans tied with a 29.90 average.
The first tiebreaker is a head-to-head result. Jefferson Forest did not play Salem.
The next tiebreaker is results against all common opponents. Both teams went 0-1 against Liberty Christian.
The next tiebreaker is overall won-lost record against VHSL-recognized opponents. Both teams are 9-1.
The next tiebreaker is combined Rating Scale average of each team’s 10 opponents.
Jefferson Forest played Gretna (24.50), Staunton River (18.60), Halifax County (20.50), Rustburg (25.70), Liberty-Bedford (14.80), E.C. Glass (27.90), Brookville (19.70), Amherst County (19.90), LCA (32.00) and Heritage-Lynchburg (23.00) for a combined average of 22.66.
Salem played LCA (32.00), Franklin County (24.50), William Fleming (26.50), Northside (17.00), Patrick Henry (31.30), Hidden Valley (16.50), Pulaski County (20.30), Cave Spring (18.00), Christiansburg (25.50) and Blacksburg (17.60) for a combined average of 22.92.
The scoreboard told a similarly close story the last time Salem and JF met on the field. JF won 35-33 in a first-round playoff game at Salem Stadium in 2019, the last game of Steve Magenbauer’s coaching tenure with the Spartans.
Salem holds a 3-1 series lead, all playoff games. Despite being separated by only 50 miles and having similar enrollments, Salem and Jefferson Forest have never scheduled a regular-season game against each other.
REGION 4A
No. 8 Jamestown (1-9) at No. 1 Phoebus (10-0)
No. 5 Smithfield (5-5) at No. 4 Hampton (6-4)
No. 6 Gloucester (3-7) at No. 3 Churchland (7-3)
No. 7 Manor (2-8) at No. 2 Warhill (10-0)
REGION 4B
No. 8 Hanover (6-4) at No. 1 King George (10-0)
No. 5 Eastern View (9-1) at No. 4 Dinwiddie (7-3)
No. 6 Powhatan (7-3) at No. 3 Huguenot (7-2)
No. 7 Courtland (7-3) at No. 2 Varina (8-2)
REGION 4C
No. 1 Tuscarora (10-0), bye
No. 5 Woodgrove (4-6) at No. 4 Loudoun County (6-4)
No. 6 Broad Run (3-7) at No. 3 Loudoun Valley (6-4)
No. 2 John Champe (9-1), bye
REGION 4D
No. 8 Liberty-Bealeton (5-5) at No. 1 Salem (9-1)
No. 5 John Handley (7-3) at No. 4 Millbrook (7-3)
No. 6 Sherando (5-5) at No. 3 E.C. Glass (7-3)
No. 7 George Washington (5-5) at No. 2 Jefferson Forest (9-1)
* * *
CLASS 3
Big gains at Alleghany
Five former state champions populate the Region 3A bracket.
Regions 3B, 3C and 3D each have an undefeated team.
William Byrd has won nine games two years after losing nine.
Those storylines rightfully command attention, but the real head-turner in Class 3 in 2023 might be the 9-1 record put up by Alleghany in the first season of its consolidation with Covington High School.
The Cougars haven’t just won, they’ve won big, outscoring the opposition in their nine victories 423-72. Even in a 49-22 loss to undefeated Radford on Sept. 22, Alleghany had its moments.
Alleghany is one of four teams in Region 3C with nine or more regular-season victories. Only one of the other 23 regions — 6B — in the state can make that claim.
The consolidated Cougars have a tough assignment in their opening-round game at Covington’s Boodie Albert Stadium. Rustburg comes out of a strong Seminole District where its only losses have been to No. 1 seed Liberty Christian, No. 2 Region 4D seed Jefferson Forest and No. 3 Region 4D seed E.C. Glass.
REGION 3A
No. 8 Booker T. Washington (5-5) at No. 1 Hopewell (7-3)
No. 5 Heritage-Newport News (5-5) at No. 4 Grafton (6-4)
No. 6 Colonial Heights (6-4) at No. 3 Lake Taylor (5-5)
No. 7 Tabb (5-5) at No. 2 Lafayette (8-2)
REGION 3B
No. 8 Goochland (3-7) at No. 1 Thomas Jefferson-Richmond (9-0)
No. 5 William Monroe (5-5) at No. 4 Armstrong (7-3)
No. 6 Skyline (4-6) at No. 3 Kettle Run (9-1)
No. 7 Meridian (4-6) at No. 2 Brentsville (9-1)
REGION 3C
No. 8 Fluvanna County (5-5) at No. 1 Liberty Christian (9-0)
No. 5 Rustburg (7-3) at No. 4 Alleghany (9-1)
No. 6 Monticello (8-2) at No. 3 Spotswood (9-1)
No. 7 Heritage-Lynchburg (6-4) at No. 2 Turner Ashby (9-1)
REGION 3D
No. 8 Staunton River (4-6) at No. 1 Magna Vista (10-0)
No. 5 Abingdon (6-4) at No. 4 Christiansburg (7-3)
No. 6 Bassett (5-5) at No. 3 Lord Botetourt (8-2)
No. 7 Pulaski County (7-2) at No. 2 William Byrd (9-1)
* * *
CLASS 2
Can always birdie No. 18
Riverheads moved up to Class 2 this fall after winning seven Class 1 state championships in a row.
The Gladiators have lost just two games in the last five years and have dropped a grand total of eight in the past 10 seasons.
However, one team Riverheads never has defeated is its first-round opponent Friday: Madison County.
And it’s been a long drought.
Madison is a stunning 17-0 against Riverheads, winning every game in a series that began in 1982 and ended in 1996. None was a playoff game.
Riverheads (9-1) is the No. 2 seed in Region 2B behind unbeaten Central-Woodstock, which handed the Gladiators an 8-7 setback in the 2023 season opener.
The Augusta County school has won 10 championships overall, but all of them were in the Class 1 or Division 1 ranks.
Riverheads has a 28-game postseason win streak, easily a VHSL record.
REGION 2A
No. 8 Nandua (5-5) at No. 1 Poquoson (7-3)
No. 5 Bruton (5-5) at No. 4 King William (5-5)
No. 6 Greensville County (5-4) at No. 3 Amelia (7-3)
No. 7 Southampton (5-5) at No. 2 Central-Lunenburg (8-2)
REGION 2B
No. 8 Stuarts Draft (5-5) at No. 1 Central-Woodstock (10-0)
No. 5 Fort Defiance (7-3) at No. 4 Strasburg (7-2)
No. 6 Clarke County (8-2) at No. 3 Buckingham County (9-1)
No. 7 Madison County (5-5) at No. 2 Riverheads (9-1)
REGION 2C
No. 8 James River-Buchanan (3-7) at No. 1 Radford (10-0)
No. 5 Chatham (6-4) at No. 4 Appomattox County (5-5)
No. 6 Patrick County (5-5) at No. 3 Glenvar (8-2)
No. 7 Floyd County (3-7) at No. 2 Gretna (8-2)
REGION 2D
No. 8 Virginia High (4-6) at No. 1 Union (9-1)
No. 5 Ridgeview (7-3) at No. 4 Tazewell (8-2)
No. 6 Marion (5-5) at No. 3 Gate City (7-3)
No. 7 Lee (3-7) at No. 2 Graham (9-1)
* * *
CLASS 1
Everything’s Jake
Jake Phillips knows a few things about winning football games at Bath County High School.
As a four-year starting quarterback at Bath, Phillips led the Chargers to a 59-5 record with a Division 1 championship in 2001 and a berth in the state final in 2003 before a career at William and Mary, and a stint in a professional indoor league.
After becoming a high school head coach at James River and later at Staunton, Phillips was hired at Bath County with a mission to restore a program that had fallen on hard times.
Bath, which can lay claim to being the smallest VHSL school by enrollment that has a varsity football team, won just 15 total games in the previous eight seasons before Phillips returned to his alma mater.
The Chargers finished 4-7 in 2022 with a playoff loss to Galax.
Phillips has made noise in Year 2. Bath started 9-0 for the fourth time in school history — twice during Phillips’ playing career — before a 47-19 loss to Narrows with the Pioneer District title on the line.
Bath’s nine opponents included just one — Parry McCluer — with a winning record. But when your enrollment is approximately 180 students, there should be no criticism of the schedule.
The Chargers did suffer on the VHSL Rating Scale, however, dropping from a No. 2 to a No. 4 seed in the final week. Had Galax knocked off No. 1 Grayson County on Friday, the Chargers would have fallen to No. 5 and been forced to play a first-round road game.
Instead, Bath will play at home against Galax in search of their first postseason win since 2011.
In Region 1B, all eight eligible teams made the playoffs, including 0-10 Cumberland, which has a 2-76 record in all games dating back to 2015. Also in Region 1B, William Campbell at 4-6 is the only team with a losing record that is playing a first-round game at home.
REGION 1A
No. 8 Colonial Beach (2-7) at No. 1 Essex (10-0)
No. 5 Rappahannock (5-4) at No. 4 Lancaster (6-4)
No. 6 Northampton (5-5) at No. 3 West Point (7-3)
No. 7 Westmoreland (2-8) at No. 2 Northumberland (8-2)
REGION 1B
No. 8 Cumberland (0-10) at No. 1 Sussex Central (9-1)
No. 5 Franklin (4-6) at No. 4 William Campbell (4-6)
No. 6 Surry County (3-7) at No. 3 Altavista (7-3)
No. 7 Buffalo Gap (1-9) at No. 2 Brunswick (8-2)
REGION 1C
No. 8 Giles (3-7) at No. 1 Grayson County (9-1)
No. 5 Galax (6-4) at No. 4 Bath County (9-1)
No. 6 Parry McCluer (6-4) at No. 3 George Wythe (7-3)
No. 7 Fort Chiswell (4-6) at No. 2 Narrows (8-2)
REGION ID
No. 8 Rural Retreat (5-5) at No. 1 Honaker (10-0)
No. 5 Grundy (5-5) at No. 4 Patrick Henry-Glade Spring (7-3)
No. 6 Chilhowie (5-5) at No. 3 Twin Springs (8-2)
No. 7 Eastside (6-4) at No. 2 Rye Cove (9-1)