George Wythe has cashed in on its Group A Division 1 state football championship at the ballot box.
The Maroons took nine spots on the first and second teams on the Division 1 all-state team picked this weekend by the Virginia High School Coaches Association.
Congrats to George Wythe’s Hardy Lester, who was named Division 1 defensive player of the year; and Wythe’s H.S. Ingo, who was named coach of the year.
Unlike Group AAA and Group AA, the Group A coaches picked two all-state teams, one for Division 2 and one for Division 1.
The Group A teams are heavily tilted toward a small core of teams. The threesome of Franklin, George Wythe and Riverheads accounted for 27 of the 62 first- and second-team positions on the Division 1 team. Franklin had players named to TWELVE different first- or second-team spots.
Sixty-six, count ‘em, 66 players were named first-team All-Group A in football.
Is that too many? You tell me.
I guess there will be six different all-state teams next year, so perhaps the point is moot.
Below are the Timesland players named to the Group AA, Division 2 and Division 1 teams. We’re still trying to unearth the All-Group AAA team.
For the Division 2 and Division 1 teams, click here.
For the Group AA team, click here.
Here are the players of the year we have so far: Group AA offense (Trace McSorley, Briar Woods), Group AA defense (Wyatt Teller, Liberty-Bealeton), Division 2 offense (Dominek Broaddus, Essex), Division 2 defense (Nathan Adams, Goochland), Division 1 offense (Travis Brown, Franklin), Division 1 defense (Hardy Lester, George Wythe).

GROUP AA
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Guard — Alex Light, Salem
Tackle — Dylan Brucki, Cave Spring
Running back — Ethan Richardson, Marion
Defense
Lineman — DeAnthony Muse, Northside
Linebacker — Eddie Bowman, Bassett
Back — Jake Kite, Hidden Valley
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Guard — Curtis Fridley, Rockbridge County
Tackle — Lucas Holder, Carroll County
Tight end — Jordan Bryant, Cave Spring
Wide receiver — Chad Fisher, Salem
Quarterback — Porter Abell, Rockbridge County
Defense
End — Demetreus Ferebee, Northside
Back — Chad Fisher, Salem

GROUP A DIVISION 2
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Center — Coleman Thomas, Fort Chiswell
Running back — Daniel Hamm, Fort Chiswell
Running back — Ian Mann, Giles
Wide receiver — Mikey Rodgers, Grayson County
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Guard — Kearsley Dillon, Giles

GROUP A DIVISION 1
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Lineman — Chase Altizer, George Wythe
Wide receiver — Ron Ford, Eastern Montgomery
Tight end — Hardy Lester, George Wythe
Utility — Troy Helton, Covington
Defense
End — Hardy Lester, George Wythe
Lineman — Chase Altizer, George Wythe
Linebacker — Justin Snavely, George Wythe
Back — Isaac Baltazar, George Wythe
Back — Jalen France, George Wythe
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Caleb Findley, Radford
Defense
Lineman — Chaz Sizemore, Galax
Wide receiver — Reid Sturgill, Chilhowie
Running back — Dominique Crockett, George Wythe
Running back — Steven Peoples, Galax
Punter — Andrew Storms, George Wythe
Return specialist — Donte Peoples, Galax

 Giles swept the individual honors on the Three Rivers District football team.
 Ian Mann was named offensive player of the year, while Garrett Lee was named defensive player of the year. Kearsley Dillon was the lineman of the year, and Giles’ Jeff Williams was voted coach of the year.
 The team is listed below:

FOOTBALL
Three Rivers District
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Quarterback – Levi Mullins, Glenvar, 5-10, 165, jr.; Utility/QB – Hunter Marshall, Radford, 5-11, 180, sr.; Running back – Ian Mann, Giles, 6-0, 175, sr.; Brett Whitlow, Giles, 5-6, 144, soph.; Dorian Harris, Floyd County, 5-11, 217, sr.; Wide receiver – Shaquille Bonds, Glenvar, 5-11, 155, sr.; Cole Worrell, Floyd County, 5-10, 171, sr.; Ron Ford, Eastern Montgomery, 5-9, 160, soph.; Tight end – Tyler Vaught, Floyd County, 6-3, 197, sr.; Lineman – Kearsley Dillon, Giles, 5-11, 240, sr.; Jared Farmer, Giles, 6-2, 245, sr.; Jason Ford, Glenvar, 6-0, 255, jr.; Brent Webster, Floyd County, 5-11, 198, sr.; Center – Miller Collins, Giles, 6-0, 204, sr.; Place-kicker – Caleb Findley, Radford, 6-0, 160, sr.; Kick returner – Jeremy Martin, Glenvar, 5-8, 150, jr.; At-large – Cody Rhodes, Giles, 6-3, 252, jr. Read more »

The schedule for the first-round of the VHSL playoffs has been set for Timesland teams. Twenty-one of the 22 Timesland games will be played on Friday. Radford will play at Clintwood at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The complete statewide schedule is below:
 
FIRST-ROUND VHSL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS
DIVISION 6
Eastern Region
Granby (9-1) at Ocean Lakes (10-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
Bayside (8-2) at Oscar Smith (9-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Grassfield (8-2) at Salem-Virginia Beach (8-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Western Branch (8-2) at Bethel (8-2), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Read more »

Here’s a nod to all you sleepy-heads who stayed up until the wee hours of the morning crunching playoff numbers.

Your dedication and interest are part of what keeps high school sports afloat.

I covered Group AAA and Group AA as far as Timesland schools last night. Here’s what we know about the Group A scenarios heading into some big games today:

DIVISION 2 WEST SECTION

Fort Chiswell will be the No. 1 seed. Wilson Memorial will be No. 2 and Dan River will be No. 3. Giles could possibly pass John Battle for the No. 4 spot, but it’s not very likely. It would require at least two huge upsets today. Graham will be the No. 6 seed. Riverheads jumped all the way from 12th up to No. 7.

Grayson County’s huge comeback win over Galax moved the Blue Devils to the No. 8 spot. Floyd County and Gretna are tied for the No. 9 spot at the moment. If unbeaten Essex wins today against Rappahannock, then Gretna would grab the No. 9 seed. In that event, Gretna would play at Grayson County, while Floyd would play at No. 7 Riverheads. James River and Union will take the next two spots. The order likely will be determined by the VHSL tiebreaker that computes the average Rating Scale score of the 10 opponents each team has played. I’ll  try to come up with that one later.

Virginia High will be the No. 13 seed. Look for a first-round rematch against Bristol rival John Battle. Stuarts Draft will be seeded No. 14. Glenvar is in, and the Highlanders will be No. 15 if Central-Wise loses today to J.I. Burton. If Central-Wise wins, Central will be No. 15 and Glenvar will be No. 16. Grundy still has a shot at the No. 16 spot if Central-Wise loses.

DIVISION 1 WEST SECTION

Honaker will get the No. 1 seed if the Tigers beat Haysi and if Richlands beats Tazewell today. If those things occur, George Wythe will be the No. 2 seed. Defending state champion Clintwood is No. 3 unless Honaker loses today.

Eastside will be seeded either No. 4 or No. 5. Haysi would move up to No. 4 with a win today over Honaker. J.I. Burton would be No. 5 with a win today and a loss by Haysi. Rural Retreat earned the No. 7 seed with its 7-3 record.

Galax, despite losing a big lead late to Grayson County on Friday, has the No. 8 spot locked up. Galax will host No. 9 Chilhowie next week. No. 10 Hurley will play at Rural Retreat. Castlewood will be No. 11 and play at the No. 6 seed. Holston is No. 12 and will play at the No. 5 seed.

The last four seeds in order are No. 13 Northwood, No. 14 Radford, No. 15 Eastern Montgomery and No. 16 Patrick Henry-Glade Spring. The school is located in Emory but that’s another story. Today’s games will determine the road trips for those four schools.

DIVISION 1 EAST SECTION

The East picture is still muddled, but it’s safe to say that unbeaten Franklin will be the No. 1 seed, Sussex Central is No. 2 and Central-Lunenburg is No. 3. Altavista will be either No. 4 or No. 5. West Point will be either No. 5 or No. 6.

There are so many games to be played today in the East that all sorts of shuffling is possible. No matter what, Parry McCluer will get a first-round game at home thanks to Friday’s shutout win over Covington. The Cougars face a road game and it’s possible the opponent could be Parry McCluer. We’ll know later today.

Bath County moved past Craig County last night into the No. 15 spot. The Chargers will travel to Sussex Central. Craig County will be No. 16 after losing five of its last six games. The Rockets will go to Franklin. How good is the East Section in Division 1? Don’t forget that last year Bath County made the long trip to Franklin and came back with an upset win over the Broncos.

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 »