With the high school football regular season entering its second half, district competition is taking its hold. Some teams have already begun, while others will see their first opponents on Friday.
And for those teams, their first district games are blockbusters, battles between strong foes that already could determine the district champion. Valuable region seeding points are at stake as well.
Here are five games to watch in Week 7.
William Byrd (4-1) at Northside (4-1)
Head-to-head record: Northside leads 32-23
The Roanoke Times game of the week takes us to Northern Roanoke where the Vikings host the Terriers in their first Blue Ridge District contest of the season. Byrd has won the last three annual meetings but the last two have been by 13 and 15 points, respectively, en route to Region 3D championships. Now its faces a renewed Northside team that is better than the last two seasons.
The Vikings have jumped out to its best start since 2018. They began with blowouts wins over Pulaski County, Cave Spring and Hidden Valley, not all that surprising, but then only allowed 28 points to undefeated Glenvar and lost by just 21, and recently rebounded by beating previously unbeaten Rappahannock 18-7. Playing William Byrd will be a true test to see if they can compete in the Blue Ridge.
The Terriers still have that surprising lost to Bassett on their ledger, but they rebounded nicely last week with a 35-7 win over Radford in which they received pair of 100-yard rushers in Jamez Toler and Gray Matthews. With William Fleming and Lord Botetourt on the horizon, being able to beat Northside will be crucial in the district.
William Fleming (2-3) at Staunton River (3-2)
Head-to-head record: William Fleming leads 7-5
The Golden Eagles pulled off an absolute stunner against the Colonels in their regular season finale last year, denying their district foe an undefeated regular season. William Fleming will no doubt remember that, but the Colonels are reeling at the moment after back-to-back losses to Patrick Henry and George Washington-Danville that has them sitting with a losing record for the first time under Nick Leftwich.
Fleming has had arguably the hardest schedule in Southwest Virginia, however, also playing defending Class 4 state runner-up Varina in Week 1. It challenged GW-Danville last week, leading the Eagles and keeping it a one-possession game until a late pick-six.
Staunton River has beaten the teams it should so far. It’s lost to Jefferson Forest and Magna Vista, not surprisingly, but it only fell to Magna Vista by two possessions in a relatively low-scoring 28-13 affair. The Golden Eagles can compete with the best area teams, and had the recipe to do so against Fleming the last time they met.
George Wythe (3-3) at Grayson County (2-3)
Head-to-head record: George Wythe leads 14-5
There will still be four weeks of the regular season after this one, but this game could very well determine the Mountain Empire District champion, as it did last year.
The Blue Devils topped the Maroons 35-28 in a Nov. 1 thriller last season. They ended up 4-0 in the MED to edge the Maroons by one game for the district title. Look for the same scenario to take place this season.
Don’t let their records fool you, both of these teams have gone through gauntlets in the first half of their campaigns. Grayson County has faced Class 3 Carroll County, undefeated Floyd County and Virginia High, while George Wythe has battled Radford, Virginia High as well and West Virginia powerhouse Bluefield. This game also comes as a rematch of last year’s Region 1C semifinals that Grayson County won 18-16.
Glenvar (6-0) at James River (4-2)
Head-to-head record: Glenvar leads 27-15
The Highlanders have cleared every hurdle so far to get to 6-0 for the second straight year, and now they have a chance to get to 7-0 for the first time since 2018. But they’ll have to get through a feisty Knights squad.
Carroll County jumped on Glenvar early last week, racing out to a 12-0 lead before the Highlanders touched the ball, but Glenvar rebounded well and eventually surged ahead for a 44-19 victory. On Friday it’ll face a more explosive team in James River, which will be riding high after a thrilling 35-34 win over Martinsville in which running back Gavin Binns topped 300 yards and scored four touchdowns.
If the Knights also get up early on the Highlanders, it could spell another tough test for the defending Three Rivers District champs.
Bassett (4-2) at GW-Danville (4-1)
Head-to-head record: GW-Danville leads 13-2-1
The Bengals are red hot at the moment, having won four straight after opening losses to Franklin County and Gretna, both one-possession defeats. They upset William Byrd last month, and are coming off a 63-6 smackdown of Tunstall. David Cook has emerged as one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the area, with an ability to throw, run and score touchdowns at a high clip.
Bassett will have its work cut out for it against the Eagles, the toughest opponent they will have faced so far. Similar to the Bengals, GW-Danville is on roll with four straight wins, knocking off E.C. Glass, Lord Botetourt and William Fleming. All four of its wins have been by two possessions or less, however, so there are some chinks in the armor, especially when it comes to defense as its point differential is just plus-three. The Eagles have averaged 23.2 points against.
Additional games to watch
Auburn (4-2) at Northwood (4-1)
Fort Chiswell (0-6) at Galax (0-4)
Patrick County (2-4) at Radford (3-2)
Rustburg (0-5) at Liberty (1-4)
Graham (2-3) at Pulaski County (2-3)
Contact Matt Case at mcase@roanoke.com
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