Heading into Friday’s games, which marked the final week of the regular season, there was a known understanding of who was in and who was out when it came to reaching the Virginia High School League (VHSL) playoffs.
Sunday saw the official regional playoff brackets released and there is a strong representation of Fredericksburg-area schools included.
What Friday did provide was some thrilling football to help better determine seeding, highlighted by a big comeback win for Eastern View over Courtland. The win helped the Cyclones finish second in the Battlefield District in a competitive district rivalry played out in Culpeper.
“We were guaranteed a playoff game,” Cyclones head coach Brian Lowery said. “It’s always better going into it with a win.”
Of the teams who made the VHSL playoffs locally, seven of those teams won on Friday, building positive momentum going into the playoffs.
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For those teams who didn’t, it’s back to the drawing board this week. Everyone now has a clean slate to write their own stories and create their own positive momentum for a deep postseason run.
“Now is not the time to be divided,” Courtland head coach JC Hall said. “We need to come together. … There are a lot of teams turning in their equipment and going home. We’re very fortunate to be in this situation and we have to take advantage of it.”
Eagles bounced in VISAA state semifinals
Two weeks ago, Fredericksburg Christian came into its regular season finale against Blue Ridge with a chance to shock the region, go unbeaten and take the No. 1 overall seed in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division II state playoffs.
However, over its final two games, including Saturday’s state semifinal against North Cross, the Eagles were outscored, 97-6, losing 49-6 to Blue Ridge and 48-0 to the Raiders over the weekend.
That loss on Saturday brought the 2024 season to a close for FCS, but not before a nine-win campaign. It marked the Eagles’ most wins in a season since 2018, where they won a state title.
“I’m extremely proud of all the players and coaches,” Eagles head coach David DeArmas said. “… I’m most impressed with the toughness we showed this season. For nine straight weeks, we let our opponents know they were in for a four quarter battle with us.”
The Eagles lose six impact seniors for next season, five of them with offers to play at the next level, but the youth in this program currently has DeArmas excited for the future.
“We played a lot of young guys this season, who all got much needed experience,” DeArmas said. “Can’t wait to see the work they put in this off-season.”
Cavaliers miss out on playoffs
Six games into this season with a date against King George ahead of them, Caroline football was firing on all cylinders, sitting at 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the Battlefield District.
From that game against the Foxes on, the Cavaliers lost their footing and in turn, a chance to make the postseason.
The Foxes came into Caroline County and took down the Cavs, 47-2, spoiling their homecoming game. Then, two-straight one-score losses against Colonial Heights and Courtland, respectively, turned a 5-1 season into a 5-4 reality.
Friday’s 42-14 win over James Monroe helped secure a winning season at 6-4, but it was too little, too late as Caroline finished outside the cutline.
Alex Murphy
amurphy@freelancestar.com
@AlexMurphyJour on X
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