The Virginia High School League football playoffs are back on schedule now that Region 6C has caught back up to the pack after its first two rounds were delayed because of the situation involving Hayfield High in Fairfax County.
The VHSL originally handed Hayfield a two-year football postseason ban, but a Fairfax judge granted the team a temporary injunction to compete. The VHSL postponed the first round in Region 6C until Nov. 21 and moved the semifinals to Nov. 26.
However, as more facts concerning Hayfield came to light, the school’s principal removed the team from the playoffs and Hayfield forfeited its semifinal game against Fairfax.
Forty-eight VHSL teams will be in action either Friday or Saturday in 24 region championship games.
The state semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 7 with the state championship games Dec. 14. In Classes 6, 5, 3, 2 and 1 the semifinal brackets pit Region A vs. Region B, and Region C vs. Region D. Class 4 has adjusted its bracket in 2024. The Region 4A champion plays the Region 4D champ, while the Region 4B winner plays the Region 4C winner.
Home-field advantage is determined by the higher VHSL Rating Scale average between the two teams involved. The rating for each team is in parentheses below and is not affected by postseason games.
REGION 6A
No. 2 HIGHLAND SPRINGS (9-3, 33.50) at No. 1 OSCAR SMITH (12-0, 36.60)
Friday, 7 p.m.
We’re talking VHSL royalty here in the last decade as these two programs have combined for seven state championships and seven runner-up finishes in the last 11 seasons. … Oscar Smith has two Class 6 titles and five runner-up finishes since 2013 under four different head coaches. … Chris Scott has led Chesapeake school to championships in 2020 and 2021 on the heels of runner-up finish in 2019. … Highland Springs moved up to Class 6 in 2023, falling to Freedom-Woodbridge 42-34 in state final. … Former Virginia Tech defensive back Loren Johnson coached Springers to Class 5 championships in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022 and runner-up showing in 2020. … Oscar Smith blanked Manchester 35-0 while Highland Springs nipped Glen Allen 23-20 in second round.
REGION 6B
No. 6 COLONIAL FORGE (9-3, 30.60) at No. 5 PATRIOT (9-3, 31.10)
Friday, 2 p.m.
Who says the VHSL should cut the playoffs back to four rounds from five? If that were the case, Colonial Forge and Patriot would not have qualified. … Sixth-seeded Colonial Forge scored road wins over No. 3 Stafford (45-24) and No. 2 North Stafford (17-6) to reach region final. … Fifth-seeded Patriot traveled for victories over No. 4 Gainesville (19-14) and previously unbeaten No. 1 seed Battlefield (10-7). … The Battlefield win avenged a 29-7 loss in Week 11. … Colonial Forge, located in Stafford, defeated Patriot 35-28 in September. … Patriot, located in Nokesville, opened in 2012. … Patriot trails 5-1 in the all-time series vs. Colonial Forge with the lone victory a playoff win in 2022.
REGION 6C
No. 4 FAIRFAX (9-3, 28.40) at No. 2 LAKE BRADDOCK (10-2, 31.80)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Fairfax was the recipient of Hayfield’s decision to forfeit its second-round game. … Now the Lions get a second crack at Lake Braddock after losing 35-21 to the Bruins on Sept. 27. … Fairfax has won just nine postseason games in school history, reaching a state semifinal in 2022 before falling to James Madison. … Lake Braddock is 2-1 in postseason games against Fairfax, including 39-20 victory in the 2023 region final. … Lake Braddock reached 2009 Division 6 championship, falling 35-21 to Thomas Dale. … Bruins fell to Highland Springs 35-10 last year in state semifinal. … Braddock holds 9-2 edge over Fairfax in the all-time series.
REGION 6D
No. 2 WASHINGTON-LIBERTY (12-0, 35.00) at No. 1 JAMES MADISON (12-0, 35.40)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
This is one of three VHSL region finals matching undefeated teams. … Washington-Liberty, an Arlington school formerly known as Washington-Lee, won its first 11 games by at least 10 points before last week’s 20-14 second-round victory over Langley. … James Madison is hoping the fourth time is the charm. … Warhawks from Vienna have a 48-8 record in the last four seasons with two Class 6 runner-up finishes including the 48-14 loss to Freedom-Woodbridge in 2022 and 42-17 setback against Oscar Smith in 2021. … Warhawks advanced with 44-0 win over Chantilly and 35-28 victory over Westfield and have been held under 26 points just once.
REGION 5A
No. 3 SALEM-VIRGINIA BEACH (10-2, 29.30) at No. 1 GREEN RUN (12-0, 33.20)
Friday, 7 p.m.
The 11 Virginia Beach high schools that comprise the Beach District engage in neighborhood fights every week as each school plays the other 10 during the regular season with zero nondistrict matchups. … Green Run was the bully in 2024, including a 40-18 victory over Salem-Virginia Beach. … Going beyond the boundaries has been more difficult for the Beach teams. … Only Ocean Lakes (2014) and Landstown (2004) have won a VHSL championship out of the Beach. … If winning a title on a 10-year cycle is the key, maybe this could be an omen, but with Maury sitting in Region 5B, that could be a tall order. … Green Run has never made a state final, losing two semifinals to Maury. … Salem, which opened in 1989, lost back-to-back state semifinals to L.C. Bird in 2013 and 2014.
REGION 5B
No. 2 KING’S FORK (11-1, 32.20) at No. 1 MAURY (12-0, 34.40)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Suffolk will take on Norfolk in this game as Maury brings a 27-game win streak in search of a second successive Class 5 championship season. … Since opening with 20-14 win over Upper Marlboro (Md.), Maury has outscored its VHSL competition 650-46. … Maury DE Ari Watford (Clemson) is a consensus top-10 recruit in Virginia. … Other major college Maury recruits are S Kendall Daniels (South Carolina), LB Carlton Smith (Maryland) and WR LeBron Bond (Indiana). … King’s Fork’s lone loss is to unbeaten Class 6 Oscar Smith (27-12). … Bulldogs have scored at least 32 points in all of their 11 victories. … King’s Fork reached 2021 Class 4 championship, losing 35-28 to eventual state champ Varina.
REGION 5C
L.C. BIRD (9-3, 28.30) at No. 1 WILLIAM FLEMING (11-1, 31.90)
Friday, 7 p.m.
First meeting between William Fleming and the team from Chesterfield County. … Fleming can equal single-season school record for victories set by 1997 Division 5 state runners-up. … Byrd’s losses have been to Class 6 Thomas Dale (27-16) and Manchester (16-7) and Class 4 Huguenot (41-14). … Skyhawks lost 28-0 at Matoaca last year in first round. Skyhawks avenged that with 17-16 semifinal road win last week… Colonels are in region final for third time in five seasons. … Fleming’s lone loss was to Staunton River (29-28, 2 OT) after leading 14-0 in fourth quarter. … Bird reached Division 6 final in 1991, losing 27-6 to Halifax County. … Fleming lost to Hampton 51-8 in 1997 Division 5 state final and fell to Powhatan 6-0 in 2003 Division 4 championship.
REGION 5D
No. 2 BRIAR WOODS (8-3, 29.30) at No. 1 RIVERBEND (8-3, 30.90)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Region 5D is the only one of the VHSL’s 24 regions that produced a top seed that had more than one regular-season loss. … With only nine schools in the region and six-time defending champion Stone Bridge in a down year, no great surprise. … All three of Riverbend’s losses are to Class 6 schools: Forest Park (27-20), Highland Springs (28-7) and North Stafford (40-33). … The Fredericksburg team ousted Stone Bridge 35-21 in the second round. … Briar Woods lost to unbeaten Class 4 John Champe (7-6), North Stafford (26-14) and Stone Bridge (14-12). … Briar Woods won successive Class 4 state titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and lost the Class 5 final to L.C. Bird, preventing quarterback Trace McSorley from being a four-time champion.
REGION 4A
No. 3 HAMPTON (9-3, 26.90) at No. 1 PHOEBUS (11-0, 32.40)
Saturday, noon, at Darling Stadium
These two Peninsula District powerhouses located in the city of Hampton have combined for 22 state football championships since the advent of VHSL playoffs in 1970 with Hampton winning a state-record 12. … Crabbers are credited with 17 state titles overall with the first in 1936. … Hampton leads series 32-26 but Phoebus has won nine in a row and 19 of the last 22 including 37-3 romp in Darling Stadium on Oct. 5. … Phantoms defeated Crabbers 56-3 in 2023 in second round of playoffs. … Phoebus owns 45-game win streak and has won three consecutive state titles with the first two in Class 3, followed by last year’s 21-14 victory over Salem on an 86-yard TD pass with one second remaining in the game. … Hampton has 83 total playoff victories, Phoebus 77.
REGION 4B
No. 2 VARINA (10-1, 33.44) at No. 1 DINWIDDIE (11-1, 33.80)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Richmond-area football has been strong in 2024, and this game has been on the horizon for months. … No one can say Dinwiddie hasn’t sought tough competition. … After defeating a Class 6 North Stafford team that finished 8-2, the Generals played at Class 5 powerhouse Maury, which is arguably the VHSL’s best team, losing 47-7. … Dinwiddie quarterback Harry Dalton has put up monster numbers in his career, but he could face challenge from Varina defense that blanked previously unbeaten Huguenot 26-0 in last week’s second round. … Varina dropped 37-31 overtime game to Class 5 Indian River in season opener. … Blue Devils also own 28-19 win over Region 6A finalist Highland Springs.
REGION 4C
No. 2 TUSCARORA (11-1, 29.40) at No. 1 JOHN CHAMPE (12-0, 31.80)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Grab a scorecard. Tuscarora and John Champe are two of 13 public high schools in Loudoun County that have opened since 2000, 12 of which have a football team. … While Tuscarora and John Champe are separated by 15 miles in Loudoun County, they did not play each other in regular season and have met sparingly since Champe opened in 2012. … Tuscarora opened in 2010. … Tuscarora leads series 4-1 including 24-21 second-round playoff victory in 2023. … Huskies lost 31-21 to Salem in 2023 Class 4 state semifinal. … Winner of this game will have to travel for state semifinal, at either Dinwiddie or Varina. … Tuscarora has made two state finals, losing to Highland Springs 40-27 in 2017 (Class 5) and to Lake Taylor 34-14 in 2019 (Class 4).
REGION 4D
No. 4 SALEM (10-2, 27.60) at No. 2 SHERANDO (11-1, 29.40)
Friday, 7 p.m.
There can be no rematch of the 2023 Class 4 championship game between Salem and Phoebus. … Class 4 has adjusted its state semifinal brackets this year, pitting Region D champion against the Region A winner. … Salem hits the road to Stephens City in southern Frederick County where the Spartans were blanked 7-0 by Sherando in 2013 state semifinal. … Spartans are 9-1 in road playoff games since then. … Salem is in region final for the 12th time in the last 13 years. … Spartans hold VHSL record with 87 postseason victories despite not making playoffs until 1986. … Salem has missed playoffs only in 2002 and 2003 in last 39 years. … Sherando’s lone loss is 45-20 to unbeaten Class 3 Kettle Run. … Warriors defeated rival John Handley 28-14 in Week 11. … Salem escaped Handley 31-28 in first round.
REGION 3A
No. 2 I.C. NORCOM (8-4, 24.10) at No. 1 LAFAYETTE (12-0, 26.90)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Norcom has been known for its boys basketball program, but the Portsmouth school’s football team has won at least one playoff game in seven of its past 10 trips to go with an appearance in the 1993 Class 5 state final where the Greyhounds scored a 19-0 victory over Langley. … Norcom has four losses this year but three were to teams that are 12-0 — Oscar Smith, Maury and Thomas Jefferson-Richmond — and one was 7-6 to a Class 5 Granby team that went 9-1. … Lafayette rolled to the Bay Rivers District title and has held 11 of its 12 opponents to one touchdown or less. … Williamsburg team lost 28-14 to Liberty Christian in 2023 Class 3 state final and 2019 championship 27-13 over Lord Botetourt.
REGION 3B
No. 2 KETTLE RUN (12-0, 30.00) at No. 1 THOMAS JEFFERSON-RICHMOND (12-0, 30.40)
Friday, 7 p.m., at Virginia Union University
No school located in the city of Richmond has won a state football championship since the VHSL instituted playoffs in 1970. … Thomas Jefferson is making a run at it as the old school a few blocks off Broad Street has basically sailed through 10 opponents, save a 28-14 win over then-unbeaten Armstrong in Week 10. … A rematch looked possible until Kettle Run edged Armstrong 36-34 last week in second round. … Kettle Run opened in 2008 in the Nokesville section of Fauquier County. … Cougars reached Class 4 final, losing 65-20 to Dinwiddie. … Thomas Jefferson at one time was combined with Huguenot and George Wythe high schools. … All but one of the school’s postseason games have been played since 2013.
REGION 3C
No. 2 TURNER ASHBY (12-0, 28.60) at No. 1 LIBERTY CHRISTIAN (11-0, 31.56)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Turner Ashby makes the trip to Lynchburg for the region final for second year in a row, hoping for a better result as Liberty Christian rolled to 63-14 rout on the way to the Class 3 state championship. … LCA, the only private school in the VHSL, is powered by the consensus No. 1 prospect in Virginia, 6-foot, 193-pound running back Gideon Davidson, a Clemson commit. … Davidson is ranked no lower than the No. 3 running back prospect in the country by Rivals.com, ESPN and 247Sports. … All three recruiting services rate LCA senior lineman Easton Ware, another Clemson commit, as a top-10 recruit in the state. … Turner Ashby is 0-3 against LCA with other playoff losses in 2022 (50-19) and 2019 (22-16). … Knights won Division 4 state title in 2005.
REGION 3D
No. 4 WILLIAM BYRD (10-2, 24.80) at No. 3 LORD BOTETOURT (9-3, 25.10)
Friday, 7 p.m.
William Byrd ended a six-game losing streak to Lord Botetourt by sweeping two games in 2023 including 41-14 playoff victory en route to region title. … Botetourt turned tables this fall with 21-13 home victory. … Despite having one more regular-season loss than Byrd, the Cavaliers outpointed Terriers on the VHSL Rating Scale because Byrd received scant rider points from nondistrict schedule that included Cave Spring along with winless Liberty and Hidden Valley. … Botetourt’s Jamie Harless has led the Cavaliers to 123 wins and three state runner-up finishes in 13 seasons. … Byrd improved its victory total by nine games with 12-win season in 2023. … Winner will play road game against defending Class 3 state champ Liberty Christian. … LCA defeated Byrd 49-6 in last year’s state semifinal.
REGION 2A
No. 7 KING WILLIAM (6-6, 18.90) at No. 1 POQUOSON (11-1, 27.80)
Friday, 7 p.m.
How many teams can start a season by losing their first six games and still qualify for the playoffs? Well, it helped King William that only eight teams in Region 2A won more than two regular-season games. … King William does not play a district schedule as its fellow Tidewater District members agreed to a separation, allowing the Cavaliers to schedule competitive nondistrict games. … King William’s first six opponents combined for 45 regular-season wins and included a pair of Class 4 teams. … Nine of Poquoson’s 10 opponents were Class 3 or Class 4 teams. … The Bull Islanders started 9-0 before a 14-6 to unbeaten Class 3 Lafayette in the regular-season finale. … King William is three years removed from winning the 2021 Class 2 final 48-21 over Graham.
REGION 2B
No. 4 BUCKINGHAM COUNTY (12-0, 24.80) at No. 2 STRASBURG (11-1, 26.80)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Buckingham County posted a 10-0 regular season, but it wasn’t close to earning the higher seed over a one-loss Strasburg and avoiding a 2 1/2-hour road trip for its third region final in school history. … Buckingham’s signature wins were over Appomattox County (35-13), Madison County (19-15) and Central-Lunenburg (28-7) in the regular season and Central-Woodstock (12-7) and again Madison County (27-7) in the playoffs. … Strasburg, which lost 7-6 to Clarke County, earned the distinction of ending Riverheads’ run of nine consecutive appearances in a state championship game with last week’s 35-7 second-round win. … Strasburg has reached two state finals, losing to Jonesville (21-20, OT) in 1988 and Appalachia (26-20) in 1992.
REGION 2C
No. 3 GRETNA (9-3, 21.60) at No. 1 GLENVAR (11-1, 23.40)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Gretna and Glenvar have reached region final with just one victory between the two teams over a team that finished the regular season with a winning record: Gretna’s Dogwood District win over Nelson County. … Three of Glenvar’s first four victories were against teams that did not win a game: Galax, Liberty and Hidden Valley. … Lone Glenvar loss was 34-7 to Class 3 Alleghany team that went 10-0. … Gretna has losses to Class 4 Jefferson Forest (55-18), Class 3 Alleghany (43-18) and unbeaten Dogwood champ Altavista (28-14). … Hawks edged Radford 14-7 in second round. … Glenvar defeated Radford 37-12 in Three Rivers District title showdown. … Highlanders have 11 consecutive winning seasons, seven with 10 or more victories, and 2014 state title under Kevin Clifford.
REGION 2D
No. 2 UNION (9-3, 23.40) at No. 1 GRAHAM (12-0, 26.60)
Saturday, 2 p.m., at Mitchell Stadium
Class 2 has produced a different state champion in each of the last four years, but with two titles in the last five seasons Graham is becoming a standard bearer. … The G-Men from Bluefield took state titles in 1989, 1995, 2018 and 2022. … Graham fell 22-10 to eventual state champ Radford in the 2023 semifinals. … Union has produced 13 consecutive winning seasons after opening in 2011, but the Wise County school has not yet broken through to a state final, a level once owned by the two schools that consolidated to form Union: Powell Valley and Appalachia. … Will this be low-scoring? Graham edged Union 7-6 in Big Stone Gap on Sept. 20. … Will it be high-scoring? G-Men topped Bears 33-24 last year in the region final.
REGION 1A
No. 2 ESSEX (11-1, 22.20) at No. 1 RAPPAHANNOCK (12-0, 26.00)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Of the eight region finals that are rematches of regular-season games, this one might wind up with the closest margin of victory. … Rappahannock’s 13-8 victory on Oct. 11 is Essex’s only regular-season loss under head coach Todd Jones in three years. Rappahannock has averaged 48.5 points in its other 11 games. … Essex came as close as possible to winning Class 1 championship in 2023, losing 7-6 to Galax on two safeties and a 42-yard field goal by freshman Yandel Rojas that bounced over the crossbar with 12 seconds to play. … The winner will either play at Altavista or at home against Buffalo Gap in a state semifinal. … Altavista and Rappahannock tied on the VHSL Rating Scale at 26.00, but Altavista would win a tiebreaker based each team’s 10 regular-season opponents’ average rating.
REGION 1B
No. 3 BUFFALO GAP (6-6, 17.60) at No. 1 ALTAVISTA (11-0, 26.00)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Altavista won back-to-back state titles over Essex with Mike Scharnus as head coach and future Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Juan Thornhill in the offensive backfield. … The Colonels lost to Essex 16-8 in the 2023 semifinals, but now the Campbell County school could be headed to another berth in the final four. … Buffalo Gap and Class 2 King William have the most losses of any region finalist. … The western Augusta County school is the lone Class 1 program in the Shenandoah District and did not face a Class 1 opponent until 44-6 first-round win over Franklin. … Buffalo Gap runs a single-wing offense and has upped its victory total from 2023 by five games under head coach Brad Wygant.
REGION 1C
No. 3 GRAYSON COUNTY (8-3, 19.44) at No. 1 BATH COUNTY (11-0, 23.11)
Friday, 3:30 p.m.
Who has slowed Bath County’s offense in 2024? Answer: No one. … Favorite son Jake Phillips has engineered complete turnaround in three years, taking over a program that had won just three games in the three previous seasons and producing the first unbeaten regular season since Phillips was a senior quarterback in 2003. … It hasn’t hurt that junior Wyatt Campbell transferred from Alleghany after his freshman season. … Campbell has 29 rushing TDs, five on kick returns and two more on interception returns to go with 19 TD passes. … Grayson might have the defense to do the job. … Blue Devils have limited four of their last seven opponents to a TD or less and have two victories over George Wythe. … Grayson, a Class 2 school until 2019, has never made a state semifinal, but head coach Stephen James went in 2013 with Fort Chiswell.
REGION 1D
No. 3 EASTSIDE (11-1, 22.20) at No. 1 RYE COVE (12-0, 24.60)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Gary Collier once coached Emory & Henry College to an NCAA Division III semifinal appearance. … Now the third-year head coach is trying to get Rye Cove to a state semifinal for the second time after its first 10-0 regular season. … Eagles had not won a game in two seasons when Collier took over at the small Scott County school, which also had back-to-back 0-10 seasons in 2015 and 2016. … Teams met in a Cumberland District game on Oct. 11. … Game was a one-TD margin until Rye Cove put it away in fourth quarter. … Eastside was formed from Coeburn and St. Paul in 2011 when Wise County consolidated its six high schools into three. … This year’s two playoff victories doubled the Spartans’ previous total of one postseason triumph. … Eastside fell to Rye Cove 15-6 last year in the first round.
