Best of luck Springer. During last years HS/SB game I sat on your side. Your fans were great and had a lot of fun. You're blessed with a great program. I'm honestly jealous. The 2018 Woodgrove Championship was an unbelievable experience and ride. I can't imagine being in the mix every year and winning multiple titles.
State Semi-Final Highland Springs vs. Stone Bridge
- Thread starter 71ShadesofNavy
- Start date
Class 5 games are a tossup and must watches for me. I believe Freedom should beat Stone Bridge, but I would not be surprised if Stone Bridge wins. Whoever wins will probably be the favorite to win it all. Maury is physical and Green Run has the firepower, hard to pick a winner. I give the coaching edge to HSHS over Freedom, but Freedom has the wow factor this year and despite not having HSHS' championship pedigree, sometimes those special teams like Freedom just come along.
Once again I'm going to ask what team has Freedom played this year that we can use as a true measuring stick. What tough road opponent did they face this year. SB was the best team they played and that was early in the season, early in the season SB almost lost to Colonial Forge and HSHS throttled Colonial Forge. All I'm saying is we don't who would beat who until they line up against one another. HSHS definitely has more than enough athletes and physicality to beat Freedom and Freedom has not won any championships to say they can handle that kind of pressure. And I also give HSHS the edge in far a coaching goes. Don't forget HSHS lost a bunch of seniors last year, lost in state semi finals last year, and still ended rank nationally this year. Is Freedom ranked nationally or ranked number 1 in the state of VA?
Actually Massey Ratings has Freedom at #39 nationally and Highland Springs at #108. Calpreps has Freedom at #149 and Highland Springs at #231.
It's mostly message board fodder once you get out of the top 25, ie Freedom moved up 15 spots and HS dropped 12 after last week
. Take a team like Spartanburg that'll play anyone...Hughes (GA), Dutch Fork (twice), Grayson (GA), and then Byrnes, Gaffney and Dorman. Would Martinsburg be rated almost 100 spots higher with that schedule?Massey rating and Cal preps also had chambers and Martinsburg both beating Highland Springs by more than one score this year and we saw how that ended up. Both of those rating systems base their rankings off of point differential and not quality of opponent. Fact is, the only quality win freedom has the entire season is over a Stonebridge team that was missing their starting quarterback.
I like Massey. I think it's a decent model for predicting some games later in the season. I'm just saying, the way I've always looked at polls and ratings is top 25ish means you're good, those are teams that are usually solid, year in and year out, with a strong schedule. Then you have the rest of the top 100ish where there's not a lot of separation.
On Maxpreps Board, Highland Springs is ranked #56. Freedom is not listed in the top 100. They do have Freedom #1 and HS #2 in the State rankings.
@springers I was reviewing your official VHSL roster today and saw you have a coach by the name of Ralph Stovall on staff. If he is originally from Roanoke then he is a solid dude. Went to Bluefield and played basketball. Small world.
Nice writeup of the 2 teams. I really like the picks! https://virginiapreps.rivals.com/ne...w-stone-bridge-12-1-at-highland-springs-13-0-
HSHS has ZERO players that didn’t play for their middle schools or JV = That is a very untrue statement....I won't name kids or numbers but there are several...*Edit: I'm not knocking it; it's a part of today's landscape*
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Hey BN and DP, good luck tomorrow! I'm rooting for you guys as well! Go Generals!
Question.. I know it's state level so it's a little different now. But has no media outlet been given the green light to stream this? Is the VHSL really gonna block a game of this magnitude from being broadcast? I know HSHS has not done NFHS all year but I see the game listed on there for tomorrow. Any idea if there is even a working NFHS camera in the stadium?
OK Thomas I'm in a generous mood today. I'll take your advice and listen to MaxPreps. Findings below.
1 Freedom (Woodbridge) 13-0 53.3 15.1 +1 2 Highland Springs 13-0 49.3 12.1 -1 3 Dinwiddie 13-0 47.0 10.3 +1 4 Trinity Episcopal (Richmond) 11-0 46.5 14.4 -1 5 Phoebus (Hampton) 13-0 44.7 8.9 -- 6 Stone Bridge (Ashburn) 12-1 44.0 17.2 --
Freedom played the harder schedule and Highland Springs is closer to Dinwiddie than HS is to Freedom.
HSHS was ranked number 1 when the regular season ended on VHSL rankings as well as Maxpreps. Freedom moved up to number 1 after playoffs started. Freedom has played better comp in the playoffs so far because the early playoff games in class 5 are weak until they get to state semis. The 4 teams left in class 5 playoffs are better than the last 4 teams left in class 6. Maxpreps and VHSL agreed HSHS regular season schedule was stronger then Freedom based off of the end of regular season rankings. I believe Freedom has a good team but they have not played a team to match their athleticism.
The VHSL contracts with the NHFS who have exclusive TV/video broadcast rights. They should have a camera at each playoff site. Radio broadcast can be done for a $100.00 fee.
HS did do NFHS this year. @Chambers and
@Colonial Forge were on NFHS. I watched both of those games at home! They are both on Demand (NFHS)
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I meant only their home games. I watched the Chambers game. That's still one of the best games of the year.
Looks like the rain is scheduled to be gone by kick-off. It’s going to take a Herculean effort from Stone Bridge to pull this one out. I wouldn’t be shocked if HS wins this one by 2 or 3 TD’s. Both programs always represent the state very well and the coaching staffs get the very best out of their players year end and year out. Congrats to both teams on making it this far.
Patriot is no slouch, definitely better than Varina and probably better than Martinsburg.
IT'S GAME DAY! Good luck to all fhe players on both sides, Keep it clean and have a good game!
Safe travels for the Stone Bridge contingent. We are looking forward to hosting you all!
Safe travels for the Stone Bridge contingent. We are looking forward to hosting you all!
Hate to see the rivalry end this year, hopefully the coaches schedule each other in the regular season in the years to come.
Congratulations to highland springs to Coach Johnson coaches and players. I do have a bad heart but you guys got the job done.
Great comeback by SB comes up short. Congrats to the Springers on a hard fought victory. Thank you to Springer nation for the great hospitality. 19-14 Final
Congratulations to the Springers. Way to show your metal. Two RVA teams playing for titles. Let's win the Class 5 and Class 4 "Ships"!
Wow, wow, wow, what a game! You guys made it real interesting in the 4th qtr!... Great game and a great crowd! Maury vs HSHs next week.
BN you hit this nail right on the head! It was another classic battle! Final score HS 19 SB 14. Except Springers started strong (19-0), Then SB made the 4th qtr tense and interesting! Scoring 14 points, then getting the ball back after stopping HS with a little over a minute left. It was pins and needle! The crowd was louder than ever!
Congrats to HS players and coaches with the win and congrats to Stone Bridge's team, coaches, and fans on another great season. HS moves to Class 6 next year. So, it's all yours Bull Dogs! I hope we'll see you soon during the regular season! A fantastic rivalry!
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My first time there for a game. A good atmosphere with PLENTY of seating; especially on the visitors' side. So kudos to the planners that knew that having ample seating on both sides was important.
Was pulling for Stone Bridge, but no dog in the fight as I'm from the Fredericksburg area and this was the closest game to my house at around an hour and five minutes away.
Not sure what happened in the handshake line at the end, but it certainly didn't look good.
Was pulling for Stone Bridge, but no dog in the fight as I'm from the Fredericksburg area and this was the closest game to my house at around an hour and five minutes away.
Not sure what happened in the handshake line at the end, but it certainly didn't look good.
Coach J needs to keep his foot on the gas pedal and stop playing with these teams. You can't do that with well coached teams likea SB. I hope he keeps the pressure on offensively next week against Maury. He has a tendency to play Beamer like ball instead of playing Bobby Bowden type ball. Frank Beamer played not to lose and Bobby Bowden played to win. Bobby B was trying to hang 80 on the opposing team if he could, instead of trying to hang onto a lead and being conservative. He has all those talented wide receivers and yet he refuses to throw the ball when needed.
Great win by HSHS. I do wish offensively they would play faster in a no huddle. Not necessarily hurry up but having the qb run to the sideline every single play is crazy
Congratulations Springers! Awesome defense. HS was definitely the better team. On Stone Bridges last two plays there was a receiver wide open on the left side, both plays, but the QB had his mind made up. On the 4th down the receiver could have ran to the 10 yard line before being touched (almost could have stole the game).
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Richmond Times Dispatch write up and Stats on the game.
I know it’s tough losing and being only one game away from the big game, but SB is a classy program and you have a lot to be proud of.
Thanks DP. Appreciate the kind words on SB. Good luck next Saturday. Kettle Run is sneaky good, but I think you guys will have too much firepower for them. Dinwiddie has a heck of a team this year!!!