VISAA Playoff Preview North Cross vs Atlantic Shores
Atlantic Shores (6-5) at North Cross (8-2)
Friday November 7th 2:30 PM
How They Got Here
North Cross earned the top seed in the playoffs, finishing 8-2, with the only two losses coming against the top two seeds in DI. The Raiders defeated Atlantic Shores Christian in 2022 for the first of back-to-back State titles. North Cross has appeared in every State championship game since 2018.
Atlantic Shores finished 5-5 to earn the #4 seed in the VISAA DII playoffs. Atlantic Shores started the season 1-4 but won 4 of 5 to earn a playoff bid. The Seahawks lost to the other three DII playoff participants, including a 53-12 home loss against North Cross. Atlantic Shores won the State title in 2021 under Head Coach Wayne Lance, defeating North Cross.
Previous meeting
VCU baseball commit Tristan Lange threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Penn State commit Jaziel Hart on the 1st play of the game, and the Raiders cruised to a 53-12 win over Atlantic Shores. Lange threw four passing touchdowns and added two rushing touchdowns. Last year, North Cross won 35-8 at home.
Impact Players
North Cross has four Rivals star rated recruits. Rivals 3-star and recent UNC commit Jaziel Hart has played receiver and running back on offense and he will be the lead back once again. James Madison commit Jase Rhodes is a Rivals 3-star who starts at receiver and defensive back. Rivals 4-star receiver DeMarcus Brown is the Raider’s highest rated recruit and he has offers from South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, Maryland, Wake Forest, and Syracuse among others.
Atlantic Shores has a couple of recruits receiving college interest. Quarterback Micah Lance has thrown for 2347 yards and 30 touchdowns. He has over 8000 passing yards and 90+ career touchdown passes. His top recipient is senior Joshua Sibley who has 61 receptions for 758 yards and 13 touchdowns. Linebacker Bradford Johnson-Colebank has 125 tackles and senior edge Josh Long has been credited with 15 sacks.
Prediction
North Cross won the regular season contest on the road and will get this playoff game at home. Kingston Paquet did not play in the 1st game but he has set his mark as the starting quarterback during the 2nd half of the season. Atlantic Shores strength is thier passing game but trying to compete with North Cross in a track meet is not a winning formula.
North Cross 41 Atlantic Shores 7