Players to Watch in Northern Virginia this weekend

<p>While I will be covering the highly anticipated Hayfield vs West Springfield matchup tonight, there are several other clashes going down that cannot be ignored. I picked a couple of players to watch from some of the bigger games in the county. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Lake Braddock vs Colgan</strong>:</h2>   <p>Lake Braddock sure do have championship aspirations but keep in mind the Colgan Sharks are no pushover. Head Coach Reggie Scott has done a marvelous job turning around that program I would expect this contest to go the final whistle. <strong>Players to Watch</strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">I will be curious to see how [player_tooltip player_id='1230203' first='Xavier' last='Main'] holds up tonight now that he is firmly committed to Coach London and William & Mary. More on the defensive side of the ball for me, as this is where I see him playing at the next level. Should be a fun first test for Main and the Bruins defense as George Hall is one of top quarterbacks they will face all season.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/xavier_main/status/1799506331172295090 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Now is the time for [player_tooltip player_id='1282106' first='George' last='Hall III'] to make the leap and judging by his pre-season work he looks more than ready. Hall looks bigger and faster from a year ago where he nearly lead the Sharks to their first playoff appearance in school history. While he has new playmakers on offense, do not expect this to slow down Hall's progress, he is a top ten ranked quarterback for good reason.</p>   <p><a href="George Hall HUDL">George Hall HUDL</a></p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Stonebridge vs James Madison</strong></h2>   <p>A classic rivalry kicks off over in Vienna as both squads will be competing for District titles as per usual. Stonebridge will see the debut of former Washington Commander Kendric Golston replacing the legend Mickey Thompson. Sure is quite the test for Coach Golston facing a Warhawks team that has been in the state playoffs the past three seasons.<strong> <em>Players to Watch: </em></strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1297530' first='Chase' last='Geter'] is our 11th ranked prospect in the class of 2026, holding offers from several Power 5 schools including Syracuse, Virginia, Tennessee just to name a few. Geter is as good as it gets at corner for the Bulldogs, he looks like the next big prospect out of Ashburn. He will face a quarterback and offense in James Madison that has consistently been amongst the best in Virginia. A primetime matchup for Geter will only escalate recruiters in their offers.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ChaseGeter/status/1751319446172430835 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">I have talked to you at length about quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1232344' first='Cael' last='Yates'] before but heading into his final season for James Madison will be his most important. Older brother and star wideout Cord has graduated along with a host of other starters for the Warhawks. It will be on Yates to lead this team and they may not face a better defense than this one. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Yorktown vs Woodson</strong></h2>   <p>The Woodson Cavaliers debut in their new artificial turf stadium but the Yorktown Patriots do not care, they are coming into town for victory. Should be a fun matchup and I think Woodson is going to surprise people in the Patriot District this fall.<strong> Players to Watch:</strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">One of the captains for the Cavaliers is two way lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1298291' first='Bryan' last='Urrutia'], who returns after earning all district honors a season ago. Urrutia looks college bound already at 6'1 and 190 lbs. he will be one to watch all season for Woodson fans. Going against a Yorktown team that has championship aspirations, the Cavaliers will need his leadership early in this contest.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BryanUrrutia50/status/1828951908926542153 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Couldn't get enough of the kid's tape yesterday I really think he will play at the division 2 level or higher next season. Between him, [player_tooltip player_id='855053' first='Brady' last='Owens'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1407336' first='Finn' last='Luca'] the Patriots star Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1199699' first='Drew' last='Morgan'] should have plenty of options. I listed Troiano cause he seems to be a secondary option in their passing game so I could see more opportunities for him tonight. Woodson is expected to have an improved defense and sure will be focused on Owens and Luca. That should lead to more throws coming the big man's way.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Forest Park vs Mountain View</strong></h2>   <p>A fun perhaps overlooked matchup over in Stafford has two playoff teams from a year ago squaring off as Forest Park travels to face Mountain View. If you do not recall Mountain View was undefeated until Battlefield knocked them out Region B Semi-Finals ending their perfect season. The Forest Park Bruins are heavy favorites to win the Cardinal District and return what is perhaps the biggest offensive line in all of Virginia. <strong> Players to Watch:</strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Much of the attention for the Bruins goes to their power running game offense, but do not sleep on their defense. The middle linebacker Evan Weeks will show you why as he too is earning a number of Division 1 opportunities. Between him and [player_tooltip player_id='1297966' first='Antonio' last='Jones'], they will be on task to handle a Mountain View offense that averaged over 30 points per contest in 2023. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/6Eweekes/status/1795809361110970773 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Middle linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1233483' first='Nick' last='English'] is a highly graded prospect who knows he will be looked upon heavily tonight. Having to face the power run game for Forest Park with an all conference running back cannot be easy, English and his teammates must be salivating at the opportunity. This game looks like an old-school smash mouth classic, cannot wait for the highlights</p>   <p><a href="[player_tooltip player_id='1233483' first='Nick' last='English'] HUDL">[player_tooltip player_id='1233483' first='Nick' last='English'] HUDL</a></p>

While I will be covering the highly anticipated Hayfield vs West Springfield matchup tonight, there are several other clashes going down that cannot be ignored. I picked a couple of players to watch from some of the bigger games in the county.