High school football state semifinals preview
Somberly or celebratorily, the penultimate week of the Virginia high school football season is upon us.
For some players, it will be the last time they put on a jersey, falling one win shy of a trip to the state championship game. For others, they’ll earn one more contest, a chance to reign atop their respective class and become legends among their program, school and community.
For almost all of the remaining Timesland teams, they enter Saturday’s state semifinals as underdogs, heading on the road and into hostile territory, eager to pull off, as far as seeds are concerned, major upsets.
Here’s a breakdown of the state semifinal matchups.
Class 4
Salem (12-1) at Tuscarora (12-0)
The Spartans head north to Leesburg aiming to reach their first state title game since the spring 2021 season, and carry with them a heavy load of momentum.
Salem extended its winning streak to 12 games, dominating the Region 4D championship with a 42-14 throttling of E.C. Glass. Since a Week 1 loss to Liberty Christian Academy, the Spartans have outscored opponents by an average of 46-8, and have yet to give up more than two touchdowns in a game.
The Spartans face an undefeated Huskies squad that, unlike themselves, have been in plenty of close games, including a narrow 24-21 win over John Champe for the Region 4C title. Seven of Tuscarora’s 12 games have been decided by one or two possessions, including a triple overtime victory and a 7-0 victory back in September. The Huskies are averaging just over 10 points allowed per game.
Salem and Tuscarora have met on two previous occasions, both in the state semifinals. The Huskies won 36-20 in 2019 before the Spartans bit back with a 21-14 victory in 2021 en route to capturing the state championship.
Class 3
William Byrd (12-1) at LCA (12-0)
The Terriers have put together a historic season, arguably their most successful ever, and have a chance to build on it.
Byrd claimed its first-ever region championship in a decisive 31-7 win over Magna Vista, which was Region 3D’s top seed and previously undefeated. The Terriers are riding a 10-game winning streak, having scored at least 30 points in their last five games.
The Terriers will face their toughest task yet in a Bulldogs team that dropped a season-high 63 points in their Region 3C win over Turner Ashby. Since their seven-point win over Salem in Week 1, they haven’t had a single one-possession final and are averaging over 45 points a game.
Byrd and LCA last met 28 years ago, a September 1995 contest the Terriers won 43-14 in Vinton.
Class 2 Radford (13-0) vs. Graham (12-1)
The Bobcats narrowly avoided a season-ending first loss last Friday, but showed off their ability to come through in the clutch in their first one-possession game of the season to beat rival Glenvar for the Region 2C title.
Now they turn their attention to the state semifinals, a place they haven’t been since 2018, trying to reach their first state championship game since 2009. Their opponent is a formidable, experienced G-Men team that has been to the state title game the last two years, winning it all last season. Graham’s lone loss this year came against Union in September, the same team they beat 33-24 for the Region 2D championship last week.
It’s a similar situation to the last time Radford and Graham met, which came in the 2018 Class 2 state semifinals. The G-Men won 57-13 en route to winning the championship. Radford is 2-9 all-time against Graham, last winning in a 1991 playoff game.
This game will be played at Christiansburg High School.
Class 1 Galax (9-4) at Honaker (13-0)
The lowest seed to reach the state semifinals across all six classes, the Maroon Tide will need to pull off their biggest upset yet to get back to the championship game.
Galax, the No. 5 seed in the Region 1C tournament, knocked off No. 4 Bath County, No. 1 Grayson County and No. 3 George Wythe to reach the final four, surrendering only 21 points in the process. A win Saturday would give it four title game berths over the past five seasons.
Standing in its way is a Tigers team undefeated for the first time since 2014 and looking to reach their first title game since 2012. Honaker has scored over 60 and over 70 points in a game this year, but has beaten its playoff opponents by an average of 13 points.
Galax and Honaker have squared off thrice before, all in the postseason and most recently in 2016 when the Maroon Tide clobbered the Tigers 62-14 when they were both members of the same region.
