Central Region Review - Region Semifinals
We were assured of at least having 4 teams playing for a region title and coming out of the semifinals we have 7. 7 teams vying for a region title, 7 teams vying for a trip to the state semifinals.
The best part? With the matchups we have we are at least assured of two.
So how did we get here?
In Region 4B we saw both away teams topple the top seeds. The irony of it is that in both cases the winning teams scored 34 points.
In Region 5C the Springers kept William Fleming from reaching another Region 5C Final. Across the state in Roanoke Hermitage secured a re-match with Highland Springs by scoring late to knockout the top ranked and previously undefeated Patrick Henry.
Region 6A saw the exit of two Dominion District teams as both Manchester & LC Bird saw their seasons end. Bird was crushed by the defending state champions in shutout fashion down in the 757. Manchester on the other hand saw their season end on a Sportscenter Top 10 highlight.
Region 2A & Region 3A saw both high seeds wins. The Wave had some trouble with Hopewell early but Petersburg survived the night. Armstrong swept TJ just as TJ swept the Wildcats last season.
Region 4B Semifinals
Varina Denies Dinwiddie, Dominates 34-0!
Falcons Soar To 4B Final Shutting Down Louisa 34-11!
Huguenot will host Varina this Saturday at 1:30 as the Falcons hope the third time is the charm versus the defending region champion.
Region 5C Semifinals
#5 Hermitage 28, #1 Patrick Henry (Roanoke) 25
Hermitage Outlasts PH Roanoke 28-25 In Region 5C Thriller!
#2 Highland Springs 37, #3 William Fleming 7
The Springers had a 17-0 after the first quarter as the Springers denied William Fleming a third straight trip to the region finals. Although William Fleming did get on the scoreboard in the second quarter, there was no doubt this night belonged to the men of Airport Drive. Anthony Barrett got the night started with a 17-yard field goal but it was Jonathan Carter who stole the show. Carter scored 2 TD’s on the ground in the first half and added another in the fourth. Carter finished with 133 yards on the ground off of 18 carries, an average of 7.3 yards per carry.
When Barrett and Carter were not putting points on the board, QB Antoine Richardson was getting it done. Richardson and Malik Bullock connected for a second quarter TD then scored in the 4th quarter on the ground.
Speaking of Richardson, he amassed the most offense on this night 148 yards through the air on 11 of 18 passes and 40 yards off of 11 carries. Anthony Barrett had 6 touchdowns in addition to his 17 yard field goal and 4 PAT’s.
Now Highland Springs will host Hermitage in a re-match of a game played just a month ago in which the Springers escaped with a 3-point win. This time the game is at the house of the Springers as opposed to Panthers.
Region 6A Semifinals
#2 Thomas Dale 27, #3 Manchester 21
It is only fitting that the Thomas Dale Knights won the game on a turnover. The 2025 season can truly be defined by the the Knights defense. At one point in the night Thomas Dale had a 21-6 lead but by halftime that lead was 21-13. The game tied at 21, that is when the Central Region went viral.
The game tied, Landen Abernathy could have been the hero of the Lancers season but instead Vicente Chavarria became the hero of the Knights. Vicente intercepted Abernathy at the 1-yard line as the Lancers attempted a Hail Mary. The Knights junior safety then proceeded to race 99 yards to seal the fate of both teams.
The play as viral and memorable as it was overshadowed the game itself. QB Wyatt Jessup threw 2 TD’s on this night with Micah Flowers the recipient of both. Flowers shined in this game with 99 yards receiving off of 7 catches. Jessup hit on 13 of 23 passes for 160 yards making Micah his go-to guy on this night.
NJ Hines rushed for 100 yards leading the ground game of Thomas Dale.
Vicente’s pick-6 was not the only one on this night as Mykell Bryant turned in a 45-yarder. Bryant was 1 among 3 different players to record 7 tackles against the Lancers. To no surprise Michael Davis led the team with 9. Javaris Thomas-Tucker who was among the 1 of 3 also had 2 sacks to match teammate Cole Leinberger‘s sacks.
It was fitting the game end with a pick six given just how good this defense played on this night despite what the score might say.
#1 Oscar Smith 50, #4 LC Bird 0
By halftime the Skyhawks season was done, down 40-0 after a big first quarter for the Tigers. The Oscar Smith defense held the Skyhawks to just 55 yards of offense as they pitched the shutout. Tyrell Allen who was sensational a week ago had the most yards of anyone on this night with just 22 yards on 11 carries.
Despite seniors Cash Curtis & Joshua Jiggetts stepping up with a combined 13 tackles, they were no match for the Tigers. It was just your classic case of two teams meeting with each on different levels.
It is a bit ironic that the Skyhawks season opened with back-to-back shutouts and their season ends with a shutout.
Region 2A Semifinals
#1 Armstrong 20, #4 Thomas Jefferson 13
Like their meeting earlier this season, this too was decided by a touchdown.
Bot teams fought hard, neither team relented. Armstrong scored early and never trailed although they were tied going into the half. In a duel of two of the better teams in not just the City of Richmond but region, the Wildcats came out on top.
The Wildcats to no surprise were better in the passing game with Anthony Hansom ringing up 142 yards & 1 TD completing 6 of 13. The Vikings platooned between Joseph Robertson, Jr., Daeron Ferguson and Quameer Waters. Combined these three had 114 yards and no score to show for.
Daeron did come through in the run game for the Vikings to beat of 145 yards and the two Viking touchdowns. Hansom was the leading rusher for the Wildcats but the lone rushing TD came from one of their defensive standouts, Ronald Jackson.
To no surprise, the Wildcats defense had the better game, 86 tackles to TJ’s 36. Devon Epps & Donzell Jones-Teal accounted for a total of 20 tackles and 3 others had 9 each. That Wildcats defense had 6 sacks with Epps accounting for two of those. Couple this with 2 forced fumbles and 4 pass disruptions and you have a defense that made it tough on the Vikings to pull off the upset.
Region 3A Semifinals
#2 Petersburg 20, #6 Hopewell 7
For the first time ever the Crimson Wave have taken two from the Blue Devils. Hopewell did not make it easy on the Wave in the first half but Petersburg would not be denied on this night. The Blue Devils got a solid night out of AJ Monroe who averaged 5.7 yards per carry on his way to 68 yards and the lone Hopewell score. That was in the first half of action.
Petersburg? They too made it happen on the ground with a hundred more yards than the Blue Devils at 221 yards. 76 yards came from QB Kemonie Peebles who accounted for a total of 124 yards between passing and rushing. Those 76 yards happened to be the most rushing yards of any Petersburg with Peebles scoring twice. Cavonta Carey scored the only other Petersburg TD.
The defense? Petersburg flexed their defensive might. The Blue Devils racked up 67 tackles led by T-Ron Richardson with 10 while Petersburg had 57. The Wave did not have the quantity of tackles but it is what they did elsewhere on defense that stood out. Xavier Scott had 10 tackles himself while brother Micah had 7. Three different Petersburg players got to the Hopewell QB with the sack. The secondary of Petersburg accounted for 2 forced fumbles, recovering one of those and picked off the Blue Devils.
Now the Blue Devils have a shot at their first region title since 1979.
| Danny Lewis | Jarred Jenkins | |
| Total | 182-28 | 175-35 |
| Playoffs | 21-0 | 17-4 |
| Region Semifinals | 8-0 | 4-4 |
| Regular Season | 161-28 | 158-31 |
Post-Game Nuggets
Hermitage has 2 wins in the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Petersburg has 2 wins in the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Huguenot has 2 wins in the playoffs for the first time since 1998.
Thomas Dale gets their first win over Manchester in the playoffs ever.
Armstrong has 2 wins in the playoffs for a second time in three seasons.
Varina has 5 shutouts in their last 12 playoff games.
Highland Springs is now 15-0 at home in the playoffs since their new stadium opened in the Fall 2021 season.