Saturday’s Group A, Division 1 state semifinal football rematch between William Campbell and Franklin at Franklin Armory Field had the atmosphere of a title fight, with the Broncos taunting their guests at midfield well before the opening kickoff.
The final decision, 22-21 in Franklin’s favor, was nothing like the teams’ first state semifinal meeting at the same site four years ago, when the Broncos stampeded the Generals 34-0 with powerful fullback Donielle Babb carrying them on his back to their first state crown.

DUBLIN — Amherst’s defense was not about to let Pulaski County deny them another trip to the state championship.

Richlands knew it would have its hands full in trying to knock off undefeated Brookville in the Group AA, Division 3, semifinals at Stinger Stadium on Saturday and couldn’t afford a bad start.

In a game that featured more than 1,000 yards of total offense, the outcome of Saturday’s Group A, Division 2, semifinal was determined by a critical defensive stop.
With the defending state champion Gretna Hawks clinging to a 5-point lead in the final seconds, senior lineman D.J. Stone and junior linebacker Steven Payne dragged Essex quarterback Lyndon Garner down at the 11-yard line on fourth down with nine seconds remaining, preserving the Hawks’ dramatic 45-40 victory over the Trojans.
“We had to get to the ball as fast as we could,” Payne said. “That’s what we did.”

Scores from today’s playoff games.

Four Lynchburg-area high school football teams take the second grandest stages in the state of Virginia today, playing in the semifinals of the VHSL state playoffs.

NARUNA — Playing in 20-degree temperatures reminiscent of last year’s Division 1, Region B championship game — a season-ending 29-28 defeat at Buffalo Gap — William Campbell’s football team replaced those memories by overpowering the Bison in Friday night’s Region B final rematch, 35-7.

AMHERST — Punt returners Mario Vaughan and Chris McDaniel made back-to-back returns in the second quarter to set up two touchdowns and give Amherst all the leverage it needed to win the Region III championship 40-10 against Jefferson Forest on Friday.

GRETNA — Gretna didn’t become a perennial Group A power by playing ordinary football.

And there was nothing ordinary about Chris Thurman’s second-quarter play call. With the Hawks locked in a tie with Clarke County in the Region B, Division 2 championship game Friday night, the Hawks faced 4th-and-7 from their own 38.

Thurman didn’t even think about sending out the punt team. Never made a motion. Instead, he told quarterback Jayme Barksdale to run.

That he did, picking up 30 yards on the fourth-down play, awakening the Hawks’ offense. Gretna would later score on the drive to take the lead for good, and the Hawks spent the rest of the game running at will against the Eagles in a 51-27 victory.

Box scores from Friday’s prep football games

Stacey Houston ran around the practice field every day. Sometimes he jogged. Sometimes he sprinted. Sometimes he heard the ridicule of his teammates.

He heard nothing but praise Friday night.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound senior, about 15 pounds lighter thanks to all that running, rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns in Brookville’s 40-14 Division 3, Region III championship win over Robert E. Lee.

Check out tonight’s scores as they come in! Make sure to check back later for videos.

These are the final results.

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GRETNA — With an offense that averages more than 40 points a game, Gretna High’s football team usually doesn’t need to rely on its defense.

But that doesn’t mean the Hawks have suffered any dropoff on that side of the ball.

Gretna has four shutouts to its credit in 2008, including two in a row. The Hawks closed out the regular season with a 35-0 romp over Altavista and opened the Group A Region B Division 2 playoffs last week by whitewashing Goochland 36-0. They have also blanked Magna Vista (41-0) and Chatham (69-0).

In a perfect world, this is how high school football playoff scenarios are supposed to unfold.

A year after losing to Buffalo Gap in the Division 1, Region B championship game in Swoope, 29-28, on a last-minute two-point conversion, William Campbell gets to host the defending Group A state champions in tonight’s Region B final in Naruna.

AMHERST — Anthony Rose took over the reins of quarterback from older brother Peter with a chip on his shoulder and a bull’s eye on his back.

He immediately shouldered some lofty expectations in trying to lead Amherst’s two-time defending Group AA, Division 4, state championship football team back to postseason glory.

Capsule previews for Friday’s high school football regional championship games

Jefferson Forest’s football team rides a five-game winning streak into Friday night’s Division 4, Region III championship at Amherst.

“What’s ironic is our last loss was against Amherst,” Cavaliers coach Don Rice said of the Lancers’ 35-6 rout of JF on Oct. 10 at Lancers’ Stadium, site of Friday’s rematch.

Brookville heads into Friday’s Division 3, Region III Championship against R.E. Lee at Stinger Stadium knowing that if the Bees are to repeat as the region champions, they will need to bring down their man the first time, every time.

“We have to wrap up,” Brookville coach Jeff Woody said. “We have to tackle well because if we miss a tackle, they have the speed to take it all the way.”

Scoreboard from Friday’s high school football playoff games

The Gretna Hawks averaged more than 40 points this season on their way to a 9-1 record and the top seed in the Group A Region B Division 2 state playoffs. But on Friday night, the fourth-seeded Goochland Bulldogs were able to keep the Hawks’ potent offense under wraps — for the first half, anyway.

Could Amherst come from behind? Twice? They hadn’t been put in this position since the season-opening loss to Brookville, but the Lancers were able to put it together, come back, and then hold off a strong Blue Streak team to win the Region III semifinal game 28-21, Friday night at Stinger Stadium.

Dae’Quan Scott threw for 146 yards and a touchdown leading the air attack against the visiting Minutemen for 35-7 victory in the Region 3, Division III, semifinals.
With the score 13-7 and 10 seconds left in the second quarter, Liberty loaded the box with eight defenders, appearing to play an imaginary game of chicken with Scott

Clarke County proved it could overcome adversity in Friday night’s Region B, Division II football playoff game against Appomattox.
The Eagles overcame three turnovers and a momentum swinging score by the Raiders that cut Clarke County’s lead to 20-19 at the half, but Clarke senior Tyler Morley sealed it by intercepting Kenny Scott’s pass in the end zone with 55 seconds left to help Clarke hold off Appomattox 27-19 at Wilbur M. Feltner Stadium.
“I knew we had to step up and it was a close game,” Morley said. “I knew I had to just do it and pick up the team. ... I read (Thomas’) eyes and I knew when it was coming so I turned around and just jumped up and got it.”

William Campbell is known for its speed and on Friday night the Generals played as though they had somewhere else to be.
The Generals blitzed Riverheads, scoring the first three times they touched the ball on offense to take a 22-0 lead and cruise past the Gladiators 64-6 in the Region B, Division 1, semifinals

The Brookville Bees wasted no time shaking off any rust that might have threatened to tarnish their perfect season after a two-week layoff.
The Bees took their opening possession 74 yards against the visiting Northside Vikings before stalling out on the five-yard line and settling for a short field goal and an early 3-0 lead. Although the offense produced another 35 points, those three were all the Bees would need on a night where their defense took center stage, allowing just 85 yards in the 38-0 win.

Check out tonight’s scores as they come in! Make sure to check back later for videos.

Two-time defending Group AA, Division 4 state champion Amherst opens Region III playoff action tonight against the same Harrisonburg team it beat 47-7 in last season’s semifinal.

Like Jefferson Forest, which travels to Turner Ashby, and William Campbell, which hosts Riverheads, Brookville’s football team prepares to face a Wing-T attack tonight, for the first time since it beat Amherst 24-21 in its season opener.

Similar to that game, the Bees have had plenty of time to get ready for Northside, their 7:30 p.m. Division 3, Region III semifinal opponent at Stinger Stadium. Brookville’s last game was Oct. 24 before taking its scheduled bye week and receiving a first-round bye in the playoffs’ first round.