Good night Juvenile TROLL.
08/26/16
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C. D. Hylton vs Battlefield
Jackson vs Woodbridge
N. Stafford vs Osborn
Osborn Park vs Forest Park
Patriot vs Stafford
McLean vs Annandale
Mt. Vernon vs Washington Lee
Mt View vs Freedom
Gar-Field vs Potomac
Colonial Forge vs Brooke Point
Riverbend vs Chancellor
Massaponax vs Courtland
Briar Woods vs Tuscarora
Broad Run vs Potomac Falls08/26/16
Home_____________Away
C. D. Hylton vs Battlefield
Jackson vs Woodbridge
N. Stafford vs Osborn
Osborn Park vs Forest Park
Patriot vs Stafford
McLean vs Annandale
Mt. Vernon vs Washington Lee
Mt View vs Freedom
Gar-Field vs Potomac
Colonial Forge vs Brooke Point
Riverbend vs Chancellor
Massaponax vs Courtland
Briar Woods vs Tuscarora
Broad Run vs Potomac Falls
BEST DEFENSES-6A
1 Ocean Lakes
2 Smith
3 Battlefield
4 Braddock
5 Westfield
6 Hylton
7 Western Branch
8 Madison
9 Thomas Dale
10 Robinson
BEST DEFENSES-5A
1 L.C. Bird
2 Hampton
3 Salem
4 Hermitage
5 Highland Springs
6 PONAX
7 Bethel
8 Lee-Davis
9 Potomac Falls
10 Indian River
BEST OFFENSES -5A
1 Highland Springs
2 L.C. Bird
3 TUSKY
4 PONAX
5 Hermitage
6 Hampton
7 Mountain View
8 N Stafford
9 Atlee
10 Stone Bridge
BEST OFFENSES -6A
1 Ocean Lakes
2 SOCO
3 Braddock
4 Oscar Smith
5 Manchester
6 WePo
7 Westfield
8 C.D. Hylton
9 Western Branch
10 Forge
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2016 High School Football Preview
Story by Mark Giannotto, Dillon Mullan, Nick Eilerson, Eric Goldwein, Dan Roth
Published on August 24, 2016
Story lines | The Post's Preseason Top 20 | Previews | Games to watch | All-Met Watch
Story lines
Scaling back offenses
Three years ago, the spread offense was all the rage in Fairfax County. High school football coaches across the area were mimicking the playbooks of successful coaches such as Chip Kelly and Urban Meyer, placing the quarterback in the shotgun and multiple receivers out wide in a hurry-up attack meant to keep defenses off balance.
The spread remains prevalent heading into this season, but several local teams are dialing back a whirlwind offensive approach that can engender more confusion than execution at the high school level.
No one was more ambitious about implementing the spread than Trey Taylor in 2014. Intent on transforming a middling South Lakes football team into a fast-paced steamroller, Taylor installed a true no-huddle offense in the mold of Kelly’s famous Oregon juggernaut. Goofy picture signs relayed play calls to offensive personnel, who scurried frantically from one play to the next without pause.
The experiment didn’t work out. South Lakes finished 2-8 that season, failing to score on four occasions.
“What it was doing to us the first year was we were getting more snaps in a game, but our defense was so bad that it put the defense on the field more,” Taylor said.
Last season Taylor scrapped the signs and tweaked the hurry-up, instead making his offense snap the ball within two seconds of breaking the huddle before every play. The Seahawks’ revised spread-option attack yielded a breakout 9-3 campaign.
Mike Scott is looking to simplify a different sort of spread attack at Annandale. The Atoms try to wear teams down with a hurry-up power scheme in the mold of Gus Malzahn’s Auburn offense, but miscommunication and self-inflicted blunders made it clear that the playbook needed trimming.
In neighboring Loudoun County, Briar Woods’s experiment with the spread failed to yield consistent results during last year’s 3-8 campaign. The Falcons plan on taking their time more in 2016.
“You score quick or you go three and out quick. It makes it tough on your defense,” Briar Woods Coach Charlie Pierce said. “This year we’re going to slow it down. No rush.”
[Pass-happy offenses are trendy, but workhorse running backs still rule high school football]
Everywhere you look, the tweaking continues. Jared Van Acker planned to install a pass-happy spread in his first season as Battlefield’s coach last year, but the Bobcats ended up pounding Prince William rival Hylton, 28-0, with a familiar brand of smash-mouth football in their season opener. Lake Braddock, a pure spread team three years ago, tilted its emphasis toward the run game and will continue to do so this fall.
Powerhouses such as Battlefield, Lake Braddock, Westfield and Centreville tend to churn out the big bodies needed to pound the ball. But smaller schools like Annandale and South Lakes feel that trickier spread schemes present the only path to stay competitive.
“Those bigger schools can win the war of attrition, whereas we’re going to have wear you out,” Scott said.
— Nick Eilerson
As Loudoun grows, Richmond resurges
During a 10-year span from 2003 to 2012, the state championship game in Virginia’s highest classification was won by a team representing Northern Virginia or Hampton Roads eight times.
Since the Virginia High School League’s realignment shifted postseason competition from four regions to a two-region format before the 2013 season, only four schools have competed for a championship in 6A: Fairfax’s Centreville andWestfield and the Tidewater region’s Oscar Smith and Ocean Lakes.
While that shake-up three years ago has not changed the status quo at the top, it has disrupted the balance of power in lower classifications.
Ashburn’s Broad Run and Briar Woods combined for five straight AA Division 4 state titles from 2008 to 2012 before being re-classified and moving up to 5A. In the three seasons since, L.C. Bird and Highland Springs have won 5A titles over Loudoun schools representing the 5A North region. The Richmond-based schools were part of AAA Division 6 before moving down to 5A in 2013.
“The Loudoun schools like Broad Run and Briar Woods, we were some of the biggest 4A schools, and that put us at an advantage,” said Tuscarora Coach Mike Burnett, who coached Broad Run to the AA Division 4 title in 2008 and 2009. “Now we’re the smallest 5A schools, which is a disadvantage. If you look at the games, in Division 4 we played some state championship games that weren’t as competitive. In 5A, there’s a lot more parity between the teams.”
Loudoun schools have continued to dominate their region, however. Tuscarora reached its first state final in 2014, and Stone Bridge advanced to a county-record sixth title game in December. Loudoun County has been represented in a state final in nine straight seasons since 2007. But the opening of three new Loudoun high schools since 2012 has diluted the talent pool at some of the county’s traditional powers and appears to have shifted the balance of power to the center of the state in the VHSL’s second-largest classification.
— Dillon Mullan
Transfers of power
Perennial title contenders are built through talent pipelines flowing from youth leagues to middle schools and into the high school ranks. But this fall, as with past seasons, the D.C. area’s top teams are leaning on transfers to put them over the top.
To aid in its fight to end DeMatha and Good Counsel’s 13-year reign as Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions, St. John’s welcomes a group of promising transfers. Senior quarterback Kasim Hill, a Maryland commit, and freshman linebacker Shane Lee — who already has offers from seven schools — arrived in Northwest Washington from the Gilman School in Baltimore. Senior defensive tackle Cam Spence, another Maryland commit, joins St. John’s from the IMG Academy in Florida along with 6-foot-6, 310-pound Orlando native and Auburn commit Calvin Ashley.
Defending 4A state champion Wise added one of the area’s most imposing defenders after 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive end Isaac Ukwu transferred from Springbrook. Ukwu, who has 19 college offers, will be joined at Wise by former O’Connell linebacker Calvin Hickerson.
Damascus, the defending Maryland 3A state champion, is adding running back Elijah Atkins, a senior from Urbana, to help replace graduated All-Met Player of the Year Jake Funk. And in Loudoun County, Bradley Block had the opportunity to become Briar Woods’s all-time leading rusher but he transferred to Stone Bridge. Now Block teams up with dynamic running back Josh Breece to form one of Virginia’s most dangerous backfields.
— Eric Goldwein and Dillon Mullan
New title game sites
For some, the size of the University of Virginia’s Scott Stadium and Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium took away from the atmosphere at high school state championship games. As the state finals move to new venues this December, local schools have mixed reactions on either side of the Potomac.
After the Ravens replaced their artificial turf with natural grass, the Maryland high school football championships will move about 30 miles south to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The venue has a capacity of 34,000 compared with 71,008 seats in Baltimore.
“The stadium itself is more conducive to high school football,” Wise Coach DaLawn Parrish said. “I think it’ll be a better atmosphere in terms of that.”
The Virginia High School League’s executive committee voted to relocate the Class 6A and 5A football state finals to Hampton University’s Armstrong Stadium, which holds over 12,000 compared with Scott Stadium’s 61,500.
While the game experience will be enhanced by fewer empty seats, local schools worry that the fan experience could be diminished by the location of the stadium. Fairfax and Loudoun County teams traveled about 100 miles to Charlottesville while many of their opponents from the greater Norfolk area traveled twice as far.
Now Northern Virginia schools will have to travel 200 miles to play state championship games in Hampton Roads — the back yard of a number of the state’s perennial football powers.
“The first thing is location. That’s the problem. You’ve made it incredibly difficult for our fans to come,” Tuscarora Coach Mike Burnett said. “It’s tough to travel. You’re going to have to get on a bus for four hours while somebody else has to get on a bus for 30 minutes. I think it’s a poor choice for that reason.”
— Dillon Mullan
The Post's Preseason Top 20
Story lines | Previews | Games to watch | All-Met Watch
1. DeMatha (2015 record: 11-1; final 2015 ranking: No. 2)
The three-time defending WCAC champions lost a talented senior class, but a roster full of potential college prospects and the return of 10 starters mean the Stags shouldn’t miss a beat.
2. Wise (14-0; No. 3)
The defending Maryland 4A state champions remain the team to beat in Prince George’s County with a plethora of skill position talent back and two crucial transfers on defense.
Westfield quarterback Rehman Johnson hurdles center KenYoshino for a 1st down run in the Virginia 6A North region football championship. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
3. Westfield (14-1; No. 4)
Even without graduated do-it-all athlete Tyler Scanlon leading the way, the Bulldogs have the depth on both sides of the ball to defend their Virginia 6A state title.
4. Damascus (14-0; No. 1)
No more All-Met Player of the Year Jake Funk, but the Swarmin’ Hornets’ ground game remains a weapon with Markus Vinson and Urbana transfer Elijah Atkins in the backfield.
5. Gonzaga (11-2; No. 5)
Tailback Tyree Randolph, wide receiver Max Fisher and offensive tackle Johnny Jordan lead an experienced senior class in search of the Eagles’ first WCAC title since 2002.
6. Lake Braddock (11-2; No. 12)
As if senior tailbacks Lamont Atkins and Ibrahim Mansaray weren’t difficult enough to bring down on their own, the Bruins head into this season witha massive offensive line.
7. Good Counsel (7-5; No. 16)
The Falcons have ample talent in place on both sides of the ball to rebound from an up-and-down 2015 campaign and return to the WCAC championship game.
8. Quince Orchard (10-2; No. 13)
Quarterback Doc Bonner, running back Marvin Beander and wide receiver Fofie Bazzie make the Cougars one of the area’s most experienced and dangerous offenses.
9. St. John’s (7-4; No. 18)
A collection of highly touted transfers, most notably Maryland quarterback recruit Kasim Hill, and new Coach Joe Casamento could push the Cadets to the top of the WCAC.
10. Stone Bridge (10-5; No. 8)
The Defending 5A North region champions have been to six state title games since 2005, and running back Joshua Breece and a more stingy defense could lead them to a seventh.
11. South County (13-1; No. 6)
Still smarting from last year’s 6A North region final loss to Westfield, the Stallions have the talent and motivation to make a run at their first Virginia 6A state title.
12. Patuxent (12-2; No. 7)
The defending Maryland 2A state champions will be a threat to repeat with talented dual-threat quarterbacks Reese Crounse and Jaelen Grossback in the fold.
13. Tuscarora (13-1; No. 9)
After back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, Tuscarora enters 2016 with a new quarterback in sophomore Justin Allen but the same lofty expectations.
14. Episcopal (6-1-1; NR)
The Maroon added former Bishop Ireton tailback Perris Jones to a roster featuring defensive lineman Luiji Vilain (Michigan) and safety Jonathan Sutherland (Penn State).
15. Battlefield (9-3; NR)
The Bobcats are eyeing their first Virginia state crown since 2010 with nose guard Brailyn Franklin back and a beefy offensive line paving the way for a formidable rushing attack.
16. Sherwood (10-2; 15)
Senior running back Travis Levy is ready to lead the offense with wide receiver Marcus Simms and quarterback Shawn Bliss graduated from last year’s region finalist squad.
17. Old Mill (11-1; No. 11)
The Patriots’ dominant regular season turned sour after an early exit in the playoffs last year, but they’re out for redemption with many key contributors back in Millersville.
18. Eleanor Roosevelt (9-3; NR)
Senior Karl Mofor is among the area’s most valuable players because of his role as the Raiders’ primary runner on offense and a menacing linebacker on defense.
19. Northwest (9-4; No. 17)
Quarterback Chris Craddock steps in for Mark Pierce as the Jaguars look to win their third Maryland 4A state title in four years.
20. H.D. Woodson (8-5; NR)
The three-time defending Turkey Bowl champions could be a force this fall if junior quarterback Khalil Wright continues to improve at the clip he was able to last year.
On the bubble: Broadneck (10-3), Georgetown Prep (7-3), Howard (13-1), Hylton (9-3), Potomac (Md.) (10-3).
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