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Copyright virginislandsdailynews

Tackle football season begins with rivalry games

The V.I. Education Department’s 2025 high school tackle football season will get underway this weekend, with a pair of games involving the territory’s two long-standing rivals.

The four-team league will have games weekly — except for open dates in early October and early November — on both St. Croix and St. Thomas, with the season ending in late November with its championship game.

Two-time and defending league champion Ivanna Eudora Kean High School’s Devil Rays opens the 2025 schedule today against their St. Thomas rival, 2018 league champion Charlotte Amalie High School’s Hawks, at the Ivanna Eudora Kean High stadium. Game time is 5:30 p.m.

The Devil Rays repeated as league champions — five years after taking the 2019 title, the last season the league played before the COVID-19 shutdown — by beating the Hawks in the 2024 title game to wrap up an undefeated season.

The next day, the two St. Croix rivals open their seasons when Central High School’s Caribs take on St. Croix Educational Complex’s Barracudas at the Educational Complex High stadium. Game time is 3 p.m.

Games will be played on Fridays and Saturdays for the next six weeks — with off weeks on Oct. 10-11, Nov. 7-8 and Nov. 15-16 — before the league’s championship game on Saturday, Nov. 22. A game site has not been determined yet.

Antilles’ JV-Middle School VB tourney begins today

St. Thomas private school Antilles School will hold its annual junior varsity-middle school volleyball tournament this weekend.

The tournament will be held today and Saturday at the school’s Mark C. Marin Center athletics facility, with games starting at 4 p.m. today and 9 a.m. Saturday. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.

The tournament will have three divisions — middle school boys, middle school girls and junior varsity girls — with the following teams:

Middle School Boys: Antilles School (two teams, Canes and Hurricanes), and Julius E. Sprauve School (St. John).

Middle School Girls: Antilles School (two teams, Canes and Hurricanes), Virgin Islands Montessori School and International Academy, Gifft Hill School (St. John) and Julius E. Sprauve School.

Junior Varsity Girls: Antilles School, Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School, Virgin Islands Montessori School and International Academy, Charlotte Amalie High School, and Good Hope Country Day School (St. Croix).

The middle school boys field will play two rounds of round-robin play, with the top two teams advancing to the championship match.

The middle school girls and junior varsity girls divisions will play one round of round-robin play, with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals.

2025 Antilles School Junior Varsity-Middle School Volleyball Tournament

At Antilles School’s Mark C. Marin Center, St. Thomas (Schedule subject to change without notice)

TODAY’S MATCHES

4 p.m.: Julius E. Sprauve School vs. Antilles Canes (middle school boys, Court 1); Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School vs. Antilles School (junior varsity girls, Court 2).

5 p.m.: Virgin Islands Montessori School and International Academy vs. Julius E. Sprauve School (middle school girls, Court 1); Virgin Islands Montessori vs. Charlotte Amalie High School (junior varsity girls, Court 2).

6 p.m.: Antilles Canes vs. Gifft Hill School (middle school girls, Court 1); Sprauve School vs. Antilles Hurricanes (middle school boys, Court 2).

7 p.m.: Good Hope Country Day vs. Ss. Peter and Paul (junior varsity girls, Court 1); Antilles School vs. Virgin Islands Montessori (junior varsity girls, Court 2).

8 p.m.: Charlotte Amalie High vs. Good Hope Country Day (junior varsity girls, Court 1); Antilles Hurricanes vs. Virgin Islands Montessori (middle school girls, Court 2).

9 p.m.: Antilles Canes vs. Antilles Hurricanes (middle school boys, Court 1); Antilles Canes vs. Antilles Hurricanes (middle school girls, Court 2).

SATURDAY’S MATCHES

9 a.m.: Virgin Islands Montessori vs. Ss. Peter and Paul (junior varsity girls, Court 1); Antilles School vs. Charlotte Amalie High (junior varsity girls, Court 2).

10 a.m.: Gifft Hill School vs. Sprauve School (middle school girls, Court 1); Antilles Canes vs. Virgin Islands Montessori (middle school girls, Court 2).

11 a.m.: Antilles Canes vs. Sprauve School (middle school boys, Court 1): Good Hope Country Day vs. Virgin Islands Montessori (junior varsity girls, Court 2).

12 p.m.: Sprauve School vs. Antilles Canes (middle school girls, Court 1); Virgin Islands Montessori vs. Gifft Hill School (middle school girls, Court 2).

1 p.m.: Antilles Hurricanes vs. Sprauve School (middle school boys, Court 1); Charlotte Amalie High vs. Ss. Peter and Paul (junior varsity girls, Court 2).

2 p.m.: Antilles Hurricanes vs. Sprauve School (middle school girls, Court 1); Antilles School vs. Good Hope Country Day (junior varsity girls, Court 2).

3 p.m.: Gifft Hill School vs. Antilles Hurricanes (middle school girls, Court 1); Antilles Hurricanes vs. Antilles Canes (middle school boys, Court 2).

4 p.m.: Junior varsity girls semifinal (fourth place vs. first place, Court 1); junior varsity girls semifinal (third place vs. second place, Court 2).

5 p.m.: Middle school girls semifinal (fourth place vs. first place, Court 1); middle school girls semifinal (third place vs. second place, Court 2).

7 p.m.: Middle school girls championship match (Court 1); middle school boys championship match (Court 2).

8 p.m.: Junior varsity girls championship match (Court 2), followed by closing ceremonies.