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Will Freedom repeat in 6A this year?

Will Freedom repeat in 6A this year?

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O

OnlyVA

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Nov 2, 2022
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Freedom-WB returns a lot from their explosive 2022 championship team. Will they win the state title again? Or will Highland Springs play spoiler with the move up to 6A this year? Which other teams in 6A would be most likely to challenge Freedom and Highland Springs?

Also, as we know, Freedom beefed up their schedule with Dematha and Varina. If you think they repeat, any takers that they will do so undefeated again?
 
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SPL311U

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Sep 5, 2017
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maybe not this this year... but at some point one of the NoVa schools will figure out the exceptional talent part of the equation to go with the coaching.
 
G

GoBlue2109

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Jul 26, 2022
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What does Oscar Smith vs Phoebus look like this year? They spent the last 2 years stomping each other out. Should we anticipate an even matchup this year?
 
H

HooSprings

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GoBlue2109 said:
What does Oscar Smith vs Phoebus look like this year? They spent the last 2 years stomping each other out. Should we anticipate an even matchup this year?
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Phoebus is loaded! They are one of the 3 VA teams ranked in the top 300 by HSFA. They are #299. Freedom is #293. Highland Springs is in the top 75 at #73. All 3 return an abundance of talent From their state title teams,but only Freedom is in the same division as last year.
 
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OnlyVA

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SPL311U said:
maybe not this this year... but at some point one of the NoVa schools will figure out the exceptional talent part of the equation to go with the coaching.
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It does seem like this has been a rare combination for NoVa teams over the years. To go with the coaching, I'd say 2013/14 Centreville with A.J. Turner leading the way was a good example of this, along with 2003 Westfield that had Royal, Royster, and Glennon. It has been a little while.
 
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SPL311U

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The other thing more generally about the strong 6C / 6D schools is that many of the good athletes who play football are multi-sport players (actually true of girls sports too)... that may not lead to exceptional football teams to win state championships. Since I am most familiar with James Madison, for example:
  1. A half dozen 2021 state final football players played on the Spring 2022 State championship lacrosse team (Hurley, Sullivan, etc., and had significant playing time ).

  2. The starting QB on the 2021 and 2022 state final football teams, Mac Lewis, played shortshop on the Spring 2023 state championship baseball team and will be playing Division 1 baseball at Purdue.
Would be interested on others take on the various 6C / 6D schools recently (last 5 years or so)... besides Spaulding, Rojas, Asante, Ragland, Gobaira, Morin and a few more plus a few walk-ons (but some at 1-AA schools like from James Madison -- Sam Kidd at JMU and John Hurley at UVa) I can't think of a lot of high talent football only players off the top of my head... and certainly not more than one or two on a team. A bunch of kids if they want to continue to play end up at DII or DIII schools.

May be I don't know the rest of the schools in the region that well, but that is my impression after being at games the last 8 years.
 
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MascotMemorizer

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I wish them the best, if anyone can repeat it would be Freedom. On another note, I still find it odd that we have 2 Freedom High Schools in Virginia - both are the Eagles, they both have the same school colors, and are under an hour apart in adjacent counties (Loudoun County and Prince William County)
You can keep the name and even the mascots, but change the color of one of them (go red, white, and blue) or keep the colors and mascot and change the name (Woodbridge was built first, opening in 2004 on September 11)

Freedom (South Riding)

Freedom (Woodbridge)
 
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Thomasddev_rivals

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Aug 14, 2019
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MascotMemorizer said:
I wish them the best, if anyone can repeat it would be Freedom. On another note, I still find it odd that we have 2 Freedom High Schools in Virginia - both are the Eagles, they both have the same school colors, and are under an hour apart in adjacent counties (Loudoun County and Prince William County)
You can keep the name and even the mascots, but change the color of one of them (go red, white, and blue) or keep the colors and mascot and change the name (Woodbridge was built first, opening in 2004 on September 11)

Freedom (South Riding)

Freedom (Woodbridge)
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I was wondering the same thing. I would suggest change colors and mascot of the second Freedom opened.
 
S

SBOEDog

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Dec 1, 2019
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Battle it out on the field. Winner keeps the mascot and colors. Loser has to change it up. I think we know who will be buying new uni’s.
 
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HooSprings

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SBOEDog said:
Battle it out on the field. Winner keeps the mascot and colors. Loser has to change it up. I think we know who will be buying new uni’s.
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Which sport or do you do in the cumulative of all sports in the school?
 
S

SBOEDog

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Dec 1, 2019
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If it is all sports, then it would certainly be more competitive. If it’s football only, it would be pretty one-sided.

Good luck to your Springers this year Hoo. Knock ‘em out in Class 6.
 
H

HooSprings

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SBOEDog said:
If it is all sports, then it would certainly be more competitive. If it’s football only, it would be pretty one-sided.

Good luck to your Springers this year Hoo. Knock ‘em out in Class 6.
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If we get through the first four games healthy, Springs will be dangerous come playoff time. A lot returning on offense, but a few key spots to replace on defense.
 
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jaaprime

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Dec 5, 2022
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SPL311U said:
The other thing more generally about the strong 6C / 6D schools is that many of the good athletes who play football are multi-sport players (actually true of girls sports too)... that may not lead to exceptional football teams to win state championships. Since I am most familiar with James Madison, for example:
  1. A half dozen 2021 state final football players played on the Spring 2022 State championship lacrosse team (Hurley, Sullivan, etc., and had significant playing time ).

  2. The starting QB on the 2021 and 2022 state final football teams, Mac Lewis, played shortshop on the Spring 2023 state championship baseball team and will be playing Division 1 baseball at Purdue.
Would be interested on others take on the various 6C / 6D schools recently (last 5 years or so)... besides Spaulding, Rojas, Asante, Ragland, Gobaira, Morin and a few more plus a few walk-ons (but some at 1-AA schools like from James Madison -- Sam Kidd at JMU and John Hurley at UVa) I can't of a lot of high talent football only players off the top of my head... and certainly not more than one or two on a team. A bunch of kids if they want to continue to play end up at DII or DIII schools.

May be I don't know the rest of the schools in the region that well, but that is my impression after being at games the last 8 years.
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Madison's 2023 State Lax team mirrored 2022 state champs also having half dozen. Those players are all around athletes as you say and some are heading to play football at DIII schools Ithaca, MIT and Bowdoin. And nice shoutout to Mac Lewis - kid is a rock. You want that kind of kid on your team.
 
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Springers1976

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OnlyVA said:
Freedom-WB returns a lot from their explosive 2022 championship team. Will they win the state title again? Or will Highland Springs play spoiler with the move up to 6A this year? Which other teams in 6A would be most likely to challenge Freedom and Highland Springs?

Also, as we know, Freedom beefed up their schedule with Dematha and Varina. If you think they repeat, any takers that they will do so undefeated again?
Click to expand...
Varina lost a ton to graduation. I think they will struggle against tougher competition this year. What I got out of HS/Dinwiddie/EC Glass scrimmage yesterday was that HS real nasty on both offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
 
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P

Phoebus Fan

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GoBlue2109 said:
What does Oscar Smith vs Phoebus look like this year? They spent the last 2 years stomping each other out. Should we anticipate an even matchup this year?
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Phoebus is still ahead of Smith this season but working in a new QB (probably a freshman) may keep the score a little lower. I’ll say Phoebus 35-7.


But to answer the thread’s question: no. I think Springs wins 6A and would’ve won it last year too. Trenches is the difference.
 
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fattyhawk2013

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Aug 23, 2013
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Freedom is a well coached team. They have a ton of athletes, they have experience and they are strong in the trenches, however the same can be said about Highland Springs. I do believe they will meet in the title game. I'm taking Highland Springs but Freedom could prove me wrong. I think the difference is at QB. Both have experience but I think HS QB does more for their offense and is harder to defend.
 
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BoKnowsSports

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Phoebus Fan said:
Phoebus is still ahead of Smith this season but working in a new QB (probably a freshman) may keep the score a little lower. I’ll say Phoebus 35-7.


But to answer the thread’s question: no. I think Springs wins 6A and would’ve won it last year too. Trenches is the difference.
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Is Smith that down this year? Thinking about catching them in action on Friday since they’ll be in the 804.
 
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HooSprings

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falcettik said:
Freedom 34-14
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I just saw that Dunbar is not even in the Washington Post top 20 this year. What is going on up there? If you look on maxpreps they have them number 46 in the DC metro area. Have they fallen off that bad?
 
F

falcettik

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HooSprings said:
I just saw that Dunbar is not even in the Washington Post top 20 this year. What is going on up there? If you look on maxpreps they have them number 46 in the DC metro area. Have they fallen off that bad?
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I only saw the score in the Post. Anectdotally, I think DC football has a few decent (public school-not private) teams at the top who can compete with most of the better teams in VA and MD but then the quality drops off significantly.
 
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SBOEDog

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Believe it or not there are over 30 (probably closer to 40) schools technically located within DC that have organized football. I suspect most of those are 11 man teams, but maybe a few 8 man scattered in. There is such an abundance or private, prep, charter, public, speciality schools… it really becomes challenging to try and even get your arms around it. St. John’s stands out today as the top football program within DC proper.
 
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Springers1976

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HooSprings said:
If we get through the first four games healthy, Springs will be dangerous come playoff time. A lot returning on offense, but a few key spots to replace on defense.
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What I saw at Varina HS last night, Freedom will not repeat! I don't think they have the depth to stay healthy and with teams with plenty of depth (like Highland Springs) they will struggle to keep any momentum going! They did look gassed in the 4th qtr. and in my opinion, Varina could've, probably should've beaten them last night.
 
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HooSprings

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Very sloppy game by both teams. HS got busted up late in this game,and hopefully can get well before they head to the 757 next Friday. The best QB in the state gonna have to have a big game vs Maury!
 
T

Thomasddev_rivals

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Aug 14, 2019
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General172011 said:
I picked Manchester to win Region 6A an I’m not wavering. They battled all night a lot of mistakes but barring an upset that Region game is going to be absolutely outstanding!!
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Nope, I am going to tell you how it will play out more than likely, HSHS will take 1 spot, TD may lose to Dinwiddie but will likely secure 3rd spot, Manchester will most likely secure 2nd slot, Thomas Dale will likely knock off Manchester or vice versa. Barring no injuries, HSHS will not continue to make bonehead mistakes like they did today as the season goes along. Game should not have been that close. Manchester offense looked unstoppable early in the 1st half but after those 2 tds, the defense locked down. HSHS moved the ball with ease both running and passing.
 
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HooSprings

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EPJr said:
Freedom (VA) was up 91-0 at halftime on Colgan and won the game 112-16.
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That was LAST YEAR!
 
O

otnorot

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Not a big factor in most of their games but apparently they need to work on their punt protection.
 
O

OnlyVA

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Nov 2, 2022
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Yeah, those two scores off of the punt blocks really hurt Freedom in a half where they were actually performing quite well on both sides of the ball. Tough to let a team like DeMatha score off of plays like that.
 
R

ReaperXV

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Frankly the fact that they pretty much held DeMatha scoreless thru the first half on offense is impressive enough. This game is now a battle of coaching though
 
O

OnlyVA

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Nov 2, 2022
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Agreed, especially with HSHS loss to Maury.

I don't see a drop off with Freedom. They look like they've picked up from where they left off last year on offense. Their play calling was on point and I think a good reason why they were able to put up a healthy 21 points in the (only) half against DeMatha. Coming into the season, I thought they would miss the loss of their top defensive player from a year ago to graduation, but they're in a reload not rebuild phase of their program. It doesn't look like they've missed much of a step on that side of the ball either.

As for how the Varina game went, probably a good point made on here by some to bring up their limited depth. Not sure how much conditioning may have been a factor with that game taking place early on in the season too. Add the penalties and two interception returns and it makes sense how Varina was able to get back into that one.

Also, wishful thinking here but after seeing some of the big matchups so far, Freedom V. Martinsburg is the game I would have liked to have watched. :cool:
 
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HooSprings

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OnlyVA said:
Agreed, especially with HSHS loss to Maury.

I don't see a drop off with Freedom. They look like they've picked up from where they left off last year on offense. Their play calling was on point and I think a good reason why they were able to put up a healthy 21 points in the (only) half against DeMatha. Coming into the season, I thought they would miss the loss of their top defensive player from a year ago to graduation, but they're in a reload not rebuild phase of their program. It doesn't look like they've missed much of a step on that side of the ball either.

As for how the Varina game went, probably a good point made on here by some to bring up their limited depth. Not sure how much conditioning may have been a factor with that game taking place early on in the season too. Add the penalties and two interception returns and it makes sense how Varina was able to get back into that one.

Also, wishful thinking here but after seeing some of the big matchups so far, Freedom V. Martinsburg is the game I would have liked to have watched. :cool:
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I want to see you if I got straight what you’re saying. You’re saying that freedom is the class of division six because Highland Springs got beat by clearly the best team in the state? The only team I have not seen in person is Phoebus, and I can tell you that Maury is a better football team than freedom and by two scores. There is a very good reason why high school football America national top 300 has a Maury 100 positions ahead of freedom. In that poll Dematha is ranked behind Maury and Highland Springs as well. now, Highland Springs is not playing well right now, and yet they still went 1-1 against two top 200 nationally ranked teams, and already beat a third State power in Manchester. But, Highland Springs needs to get healthy over these next few weeks.

As far as the Dematha game, the coach had said preseason that he does not have a kicker or a punter and against a good team that will come back to haunt them. The lack of depth for freedom typically shows up mid third-quarter into the fourth quarter against a good team as it did with Varina. The noticeable difference was in the trenches when the Varina defensive line started to get better penetration and forced 2 pick sixes. honestly better playcalling would’ve been a big difference in the first half of this game too. In my opinion, freedom won’t be tested the rest of the year and that’s the time to work on the depth that they will need in the playoffs this year. All three of the star teams coming out of the Richmond area are going to be excellent football teams, and one of them will face freedom in the semi finals. All three have a power five quarterback, very capable of picking a defense a part. All three will be bigger upfront than freedom. I do love the RPO that freedom runs with a very capable running back and 4 excellent wide receivers. Keep in mind those other three teams all have excellent running backs and wide receivers for those quarterbacks to throw to as well. Judging by the beating that south county took, I see whoever wins the game between freedom, and who come out of the Richmond/eastern region region should win the state championship. Also, keep in mind, Highland Springs Beat Varina last year, 36-0.

For the record, Martinsburg does not play well against teams with speed and stonebridge, was missing eight starters in that game that they are slowly starting to get back, and pushed Quince Orchard to the limit last night. Perhaps freedom should schedule Quince Orchard and not Coolidge next year.

But this year, I’m hoping for a Freedom versus Highland Springs, State semifinal, and hopefully both teams will be healthy.
 
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