With the end of the regular season PLAYOFF Season is upon us... The 540 will be represented well and we have breakdowns for MOST of the teams that made it. Congrats to all of the teams that get to play another week and know that we will be rooting for you! Now lets get into the games.
COMMONWEALTH DISTRICT
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#7 Albemarle (8-2) at #2 Mountain View (9-1)
The Wildcats come into this one riding high after defeating Riverbend and clinching a share of the Commonwealth district title. In that game they leaned on their playmaking defense and their physical run game led of course by Syracuse bound RB Ike Daniels. On paper that combination is perfect against an Albemarle team that is known for its playmaking air attack as well as struggling against good running teams. To be clear Albemarle should not be taken lightly just because they are a 7 seed. The Patriots are coming off of their second 8-2 season in a row and Head Coach Brandon Isaiah has really built that program into a solid football team. Looking at their season the Patriots dominated in the games that they won. Outscoring their opponents in wins by an average of 48 to 8. While their opponents may not have strong records all the Patriots could do is play the team in front of them. If the Wildcats want to truly be the team that many in the area expects them to be they'll need to avoid looking ahead to future potential match-ups and focus on the task that is in front of them tonight overlooking your opponent will kill you every time. A lesson that they had to learn the hard way after being upset by their rival Colonial Forge earlier this season.
Prediction: Mountain View 34 Albemarle 14
#5 Woodgrove (7-3) at #4 Riverbend (8-2)
You simply aren't going to find that many 4 seeds in the state that are as dangerous as Riverbend. Last week before their game against Mountain View I described what it is about this Bears team that makes them such a difficult team to beat. They are a tough smart well coached football team that does the little things right. Yet for the first time since 2019 Riverbend lost to the Number 2 seed Wildcats then to make matters worse for the Bears, Patrick Henry (Roanoke) beat a team they hadn't beat in 28 years to vault themselves all the way up to the 3 seed and now the Bears will have to face Woodgrove in Round 1. Last year this Wolverines team came to Stafford and gave Mountain View quite the scare before falling 42-35 to the Wildcats. The Wolverines come into this contest at 7-3 their losses are to Forest Park (40-14) Briar Woods (34-7) and Stone Bridge (49-28). The common denominator in all the teams that beat them is an offense that likes to run the ball right at you. Which also is the exact thing that Woodgrove likes to try to do when they're on offense. Due to both teams offensive playing style, I'd say this game will go by rather quickly in the end the team that is tougher up front will be the one to prevail.
Prediction: Woodgrove 7 Riverbend 38
#7 Colonial Forge (5-5) at #2 Battlefield (10-0)
Colonial Forge comes into this playoff game as one of the biggest unknowns in their region. At times this year they've looked as good as anyone in the 540 (Stone Bridge 6 point loss, Win over Mountain View). At other points they've looked like just an average team. So which team will Battlefield face tonight? Well that's hard to say what I do know is the Eagles are going to have to be able to put the ball in the air tonight if they expect to win. This Battlefield front 7 has been dominant all year long and they are a week removed from holding an explosive Patriot offense to zero offensive Touchdowns. That isn't the best sign for an Eagles offense that has struggled to get off the ground lately. The recipe for an upset tonight will likely be similar to what is was against Mountain View. The Bobcats don't quite have the caliber of weapons that Mountain View does offensively however I wouldn't expect Battlefield to be as sloppy offensively as the Wildcats were that night. This game is what the Eagles have prepared themselves for all year long, it's why their schedule was so difficult to start the year to win games like this in any environment. However the double edged sword to that kind of scheduling is now because they are 5-5 their is no time to work out any kinks they may feel they still have in their game they're playing the defending region champs tonight and it'll take a perfect performance to pull off the upset.
Prediction: Colonial Forge 7 Battlefield 27
NORTHWESTERN DISTRICT
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#4 Heritage (4-6) at #1 Kettle Run (10-0)
A season ago the Cougars had a tremendous season going 9-1 and clinching a 1 seed. Their reward? A 8-2 Tuscarora team that came to Kettle Run and beat them convincingly by a score of 45-12. This season the football gods were a little bit kinder and the Huskies will face a 4-6 Heritage team that they already defeated in week 1 of this season. But that might as well be ages ago, the Heritage Pride are 4-2 in their last 6 and they'll be looking to upset the Undefeated Cougars. In order to do so they'll need to do something that no team has shown they have the ability to do and that's shut Abram Chumley, Jordan Tapscott and the rest of the Kettle Run offense. Kettle Run is averaging well over 40 ppg and they've done it with a mostly balanced attack. A player to watch as the quality of opponents rise to me is Sophomore RB Colton Quaker who takes a majority of the carries for the Cougars and nearly rushed for 1000 yards this season, the best part? He can catch the football too and when he does he's a threat. The staff at Kettle Run continues to get the most out of their players and they have their eyes on gold this postseason
Prediction: Heritage 14 Kettle Run 38
JEFFERSON DISTRICT
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#7 Jefferson Forest (4-6) at #2 Louisa (10-0)
Louisa has had a dominant go of things this season. No team on their schedule has actually threatened the Lions or caused much of a scare. That could be something to watch for this team as they get deeper in the playoffs and inevitably face much tougher squads. But the Lions themselves are a tough squad by now you know about the Lions dynamic freshman Hiter and Carter as well as the many seniors that are up and down this roster. But now every game counts and the Lions journey will start against Jefferson Forest
Prediction: Jefferson Forest 14 Louisa 44
BATTLEFIELD DISTRICT
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#7 Patrick Henry (Ashland) (6-4) at #2 King George (10-0)
The Foxes have the misfortune of being in what is probably the most competitive region in the state of Virginia. Which is why they will play a good Patrick Henry (Ashland) team in the first round. Try not to feel too bad for the Foxes however. Our final Number 1 team will be well prepared to take on the Patriots tonight. In the 9 games they have played the Foxes barely give up 7 points a game and they are averaging 47 points per game. This is far from a team that the Foxes can afford to overlook however, as all of PH's losses are to Playoff teams including both Highland Springs and Varina.
Prediction: Patrick Henry 14 King George 28
#5 Eastern View (8-2) at #4 Hanover (8-2)
As we stated before, this region is likely the most competitive region in the entire state. These 2 teams are both teams that in other regions could've been a 2 or 3 seed and be favorites to make noise deep into the playoffs. There is no reason at this moment to believe that the latter can not still happen. Unfortunately for the Cyclones the cards did not fall their way and they will have to travel to Mechanicsville to take on the 8-2 Hanover Hawks. For those that do not know the Hawks play in a very competitive district and play teams like Highland Springs and Varina. The Hawks actually gave the defending Class 4 Champions a solid fight before falling 21-12, similar to the fight that Eastern View showed in their 23-13 loss to King George earlier this season. To me this is probaly going to be one of the more competitive games of the night. 2 really good teams that have tangled with some of the best going head to head for a chance to take on number 1 seed Dinwiddie next week. This one could go either way no result would actually surprise me.
Prediction: Eastern View 17 Hanover 24
REMAINING PLAYOFF TEAMS
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James Monroe (2-8) at Brentsville District (9-1)
Amherst County (6-4) at Orange (8-2)
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