North Cross can qualify for the VIS Division III football playoffs this weekend, but it would take a combination of outcomes for the Raiders to get in position to defend their 2011 championship.

First, North Cross must win at Norfolk Christian, the team the Raiders defeated in last year’s state final. Also, Isle of Wight Academy must lose to Atlantic Shores Christian.

If both outcomes occur, then North Cross would need at least one of the following outcomes in order to pass Isle of Wight for the No. 4 spot in Division III, according to VIS officials:

Portsmouth Christian loss to Quantico OR
Kenston Forest loss to Roanoke Catholic OR
Fuqua loss to Hampton Christian OR
Alliance Christian loss to Fishburne OR
Bishop Sullivan loss to Norfolk Academy OR
Trinity Episcopal loss to Covenant

Roanoke Catholic has been eliminated from the Division IV playoff picture.

See the updated VIS points ratings here.

Inclement weather has caused the postponements Tuesday of the Blue Ridge, Seminole, Southwest, Hogoheegee and Three Rivers district volleyball tournaments.

The revised schedule for the affected districts is below:

Blue Ridge — First-round games are now set for Wednesday. The semifinals will be played Thursday at Lord Botetourt High School, but they will be played simultaneously in the school’s two gyms beginning at 5:30 p.m. The championship and consolation final will be played Thursday at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Seminole — First-round games will be Wednesday. The semifinals will be Thursday. The third-place game will be 4 p.m. Saturday at Brookville High School, followed by the championship.

Southwest — The first-round game between Richlands and Tazewell has been reset for Wednesday. If the game is played, the semifinals will be Thursday and the finals will be Saturday, all Carroll County High School.

Hogoheegee — The semifinals at Northwood High School have been moved to Wednesday. The championship game is still set for Thursday.

Three Rivers — The Three Rivers District semifinals will be played Thursday at Auburn High School. The championship game at Auburn will be at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The latest official football playoff points from the VHSL Rating Scale have been released.

The numbers are below with several highlights worth noting. Patrick Henry is No. 5 in Division 6 of the Northwest Region. Lord Botetourt is third in Region III Division 4, while William Byrd is barely holding on to sixth. Blacksburg and Bassett are battling for the final spot in Region IV Division 4. The same goes for Martinsville and Tazewell in Region IV Division 3. Fort Chiswell has moved to the No. 1 spot in the West Section of Division 2. The Division 1 West standings have a three-way tie at the top between Clintwood, Honaker and George Wythe. Bath County is holding on to the No. 16 spot in the East Section of Division.

See my earlier blog post from Saturday for a further breakdown on the impact of last weekend’s results on the regional races.

VHSL Rating Scale points
NORTHWEST REGION
Division 6
…..G…..Pts…..Avg.
Stonewall Jackson…..9…..276…..30.67
C.D. Hylton…..9…..259…..28.78
Colonial Forge…..9…..259…..28.78
Battlefield…..9…..254…..28.22
Patrick Henry…..9…..242…..26.89
Osbourn’…..10…..258…..25.80
Woodbridge…..9…..225…..25.50
Riverbend…..9…..218…..24.22
Osbourn Park…..9…..214…..23.78
Forest Park…..9…..211…..23.44
Patriot…..9…..196…..21.78
Franklin County…..10…..212…..21.20
Gar-Field…..9…..176…..19.56

Read more »

 Inclement weather has postponed games Monday in the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Seminole, Southwest and Pioneer district volleyball tournaments. Also, several games being played Monday were moved up to earlier starts.
 Below is the new schedule for the districts affected with the complete schedule: Read more »

It’s Saturday morning and the smoke has cleared from Week 10 in the Timesland high school football season. The fog and rain have set in. Good luck to North Cross fans today as they deal with elements in the Raiders’ final Old Dominion Conference game against Covenant.

Some outcomes with major implications occurred Friday night. Here are some of the teams that gained and lost the most ground in the race for playoff berths and seedings.

GAINERS

PATRICK HENRY – PH quarterback David Prince said in August he thought the Patriots would get it done this year in Rocky Mount. He was right. Patrick Henry smashed Franklin County 42-7 and the implications are huge. If PH can defeat William Fleming at home next week, the Patriots will qualify for the Northwest Region Division 6 playoffs for the first time since 2000. Moreover, Woodbridge’s loss Friday to Forest Park now gives Patrick Henry the inside track at the No. 5 spot in the region. If PH defeats Fleming next week  and Woodbridge does not beat undefeated Stonewall Jackson, the Patriots will be No. 5. That could result in a first-round road game against a team PH was scheduled to play this season before a late change was made – Battlefield. Read more »

Let’s cut to the chase. It’s time for Week 10 of the high school football season in Timesland. Here are five games Friday night that figure to have major regular-season or playoff implications:

The VHSL Rating Scale points heading into Friday’s games can be found here.

The standings heading into Friday’s games can be found here.

SALEM (8-0, 3-0) at HIDDEN VALLEY (5-3, 3-0)
Who was Hidden Valley’s head coach when the Titans began their football program in 2002? Surely you haven’t forgotten that it was Stephen Magenbauer, who moved over to Salem in 2004. Salem has won all nine games in the series, but the teams didn’t play in 2002 when Hidden Valley did not have a senior class. The only time Magenbauer stood on an opposite sideline from Salem was in 2003 when his Hidden Valley team lost 45-7 in Bogle Stadium. Salem can lock up the No. 1 seed in Region IV Division 4 with a win. Hidden Valley has already qualified along with Magna Vista, Christiansburg and Pulaski County, but the Titans have a shot at a No. 2 seed. All that can wait. First place in the River Ridge District is at stake. Read more »

Jefferson Forest athletic director Nancy Claudio said Wednesday that she will resign her position at the Bedford County school effective Nov. 16.
Claudio, who has been the AD at Jefferson Forest for the past six years, said in an email she has accepted another position in the county school system that will allow her to pursue a higher-level administrative position at a later time.
Steve Mills, who is Jefferson Forest’s girls basketball coach and head volleyball coach, will assume the AD’s duties next month on an interim basis.

Randy King reports that Lord Botetourt junior Lyndsey Hunnell tied for second in the VHSL Girls State Open golf championship that concluded today at Laurel Hill Golf Club in Lorton.
Hunnell fired a second-round 2-over-par 73 to tie for second with defending champion Abby Portyrata of Clover Hill with a 36-hole total of 3-over 147.
Shannon Brooks of James Madison had a 73 to capture the title by two strokes.
Kristin Hearp, a 14-year-old freshman from Hidden Valley, carded a 75 to tie for seventh at 153. Hearp was the third-highester finisher among golfers from Group AA schools.
By virtue of their top-eight finishes, Hunnell and Hearp were named to the VHSL’s 2012 all-state team.

North Cross will need some help to have a chance to defend its Virginia Independent Schools Division III football title.
The Raiders will have to defeat Covenant at home Saturday, then win at Norfolk Christian next week to have any shot at grabbing one of the four spots in the Division III field.
Also, North Cross almost certainly will need Isle of Wight to lose one of its last two games and Isle will be heavily favored in both against winless Alliance Christian and two-win Atlantic Shores Christian. Read more »

Who were the biggest gainers and biggest losers after the smoke cleared Friday night in Week 9 of the high school football regular season?
With regard to how Friday night’s outcomes affected the playoff scenarios, here is the scorecard:
For the official rating scale points updated by the VHSL, click here.

TOUCHDOWNS
 1. Glenvar. The Highlanders’ 48-44 win over Radford moved them up to No. 16 in the Division 2 West Section. Glenvar now has a clear path to a playoff berth if the Highlanders can sweep Auburn and Eastern Montgomery in the last two weeks.
 2. Northside. The Vikings all but locked up a playoff berth in Region III Division 3 with their overtime victory at William Byrd. Now the Vikings have their eyes on a possible No. 2 seed even though they are No. 5 currently. Read more »