With the first half of the Virginia high school football season in the rearview mirror, the playoff picture is starting to take shape.
With non-district, non-class and out-of-state games under teams’ belts, and power points accumulated, they now turn their attention to district contests as they push for the postseason and vie for favorable region tournament seeds.
Beginning this season, the VHSL stopped publishing weekly region standings and instead put the responsibility of tracking power points on each region. So let’s look at each region, now entering Week 7, and where Timesland teams are currently sitting.
Region 5C
Patrick Henry, undefeated through six games for the first time since 2000, sits atop the region with 27.33 power points. A Week 1 win over Southern Alamance, North Carolina gave the the Patriots their most points, while victories over E.C. Glass, Franklin County and William Fleming were significant as well. They’re in position to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Franklin County (2-3) and William Fleming (2-3) are both on the outside looking in, sitting at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, as the top eight make the playoffs. Both could use another win to help their chances, and the Blue Ridge District foes will face off in their regular season finales Nov. 7.
Region 4D
Jefferson Forest (4-1) is No. 3 with 25 points, trailing No. 1 Sherando but just .33. Wins over Gretna and Mount Airy, North Carolina proved most valuable.
Blacksburg (2-4), which hasn’t made the playoffs since 2019, is holding onto the eighth and final postseason spot after scoring key wins over Giles and James River.
Salem (1-5), which has been to every postseason since 2004, is down at No. 13. Cave Spring, Pulaski County, Hidden Valley and Christiansburg, all Class 3 teams with losing records, remains on the Spartans’ schedule.
Region 3C
Alleghany (5-0) is not only the top team in Region 3C, but the top team in all of Class 3 with 26.40 points. The Cougars are performing well in their new district, the Shenandoah, as a win over Stuarts Draft earned them their most points.
Rockbridge County has yet to win a game and sits well outside the playoffs at No. 17.
Region 3D
The region stacked with Timesland teams features undefeated Magna Vista (5-0) at the top with 24 points. Beating Franklin County and Staunton River proved valuable.
Lord Botetourt (4-1) is behind Magna Vista at No. 2, followed by Northside (4-1) at No. 3 and William Byrd (4-1) at No. 4 to round up those in position for a first-round home playoff game. Bassett (4-2), on a four-game winning streak, is No. 5, followed by Staunton River (3-2) at No. 6, Carroll County (4-2) at No. 7 and Abingdon (3-3) at No. 8.
Cave Spring (2-4) is the first team out at No. 9 as it search for its first postseason berth since 2022, while Pulaski County (2-3) and Christiansburg (1-4) sit behind the Knights at No. 10 and No. 11.
Region 2C
No surprise here that unbeaten Glenvar (6-0), the defending region champion, is No. 1 thanks to wins over Class 3 Northside and Carroll County. Gretna (4-1) is at No. 2, followed by undefeated Floyd County at No. 3 and James River (4-2) at No. 4, the latter of which is in position to host a playoff game for the first time since 2021.
Radford (3-2) is No. 6 behind Nelson County (4-1), which Patrick County (2-4) is the first team out at No. 9.
Region 2D
The only Timesland team in this region, Marion (0-5), is winless this season and sits in the 12th and last spot.
Region 1C
In what is sure to be a competitive and unpredictable region tournament, Craig County (5-0) holds the top spot with valuable wins over Twin Springs at Montcalm, West Virginia. The Rockets have 19.20 points, followed very close behind Giles (5-1), which trails by just .20 points, bolstered by victories over Radford and Auburn.
Defending region champion Grayson County (2-3), despite having a losing record, sit at No. 3 thanks to a win over Carroll County, while Parry McCluer (4-2), Bath County (3-1) and George Wythe (3-3) follow at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6.
Auburn (4-2), after not fielding at varsity team last year, is in a playoff spot at No. 7, and Narrows (1-4) has also squeaked in at No. 8. Galax (0-4), which is winless but has stayed in contention by playing all Class 2 and Class 2 teams so far, is the first time out at No. 9, followed by Bland County (1-5), Eastern Montgomery (1-5) and Fort Chiswell (0-6).
Region 1D
Chilhowie (5-1) could see its first home playoff game since 2021 as it sits at No. 2 with 18 points, trailing No. 1 Eastside (6-0) by 2.67 points. Beating Northwood (4-1) was big.
The other Timesland team in the region, Rural Retreat (3-3), clings to a playoff spot at No. 8.
Contact Matt Case at mcase@roanoke.com
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