9. Massaponax Panthers

 The 2022 season was one to forget for the Massaponax Panthers. After several years of dominance and competing for District Championships, Massaponax finally took a dip and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017. However times are not dark in Spotsylvania. The Panthers finished the 2022 season with 2 very impressive victories, first they routed an improving Stafford team, and then they rolled Colonial Forge costing the Eagles a share of the district Championship. The main contributors to this mini-run will all return this season. Donovan Phillips (Sr.), William Wiggins (Sr.) and Nasir Burke (SO.) all return in the Massaponax offensive backfield and with another full offseason of this group in the system we expect the Panthers to look extremely lethal this season. Zach Allen was a Junior a season ago at the QB position, so we expect him to be back in the familiar role for him this season.  

Defensively the Panthers return several starters in their front 7. Edward Mills, Greg Mason and Larry Butcher are looking to lead the defense while the secondary will look to improve on a weekly basis. The schedule for the Panthers offers both familiar and new opponents for the Panthers. Independence (Ashburn), Glen Allen, and Matoaca (Chesterfield) are all new challenges for the Panthers. Which actually plays in their favor thanks to Massaponax running their Triple Option offense so well that other teams have trouble stopping. After those 4 games the Panthers will jump into district play in a year where the district has never been more open. Unlike the Stafford schools both Massaponax and Riverbend remained in Class 5 Region D which will make making the playoffs a lot easier. Massaponax has had less than stellar seasons before, however the program is not usually down to long before emerging as a contender again, we expect a bounce back from the Panthers. 

Projected Record: 7-3