Week 0 Game Balls Part 2

<p>It was a wild and entertaining Week 0 in Virginia High School Football, so I had to do a Part 2 of my weekly Game Balls. </p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1297914' first='Harry' last='Maltese'] carried Fairfax's offense nearly by himself in their victory over Wakefield yesterday. Rushing for four touchdowns he is a bruiser back who should be a nice combo when recent transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1304709' first='Ethan' last='Lynch'] is ready to go. A wrestling star for the Lions, Maltese was a baller last year for Coach Taylor's squad too. If yesterday's performance was any indication, he will be a major focal point of the offense.</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/HarryMaltese/status/1825734028592357876 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Top 2026 linebacker prospect [player_tooltip player_id='1297625' first='Ari' last='Reid'] was a beast in Rustburg's opening win. Making several impact plays early and often Reid nearly had a pick six to start this contest. He showed his range and coverage ability below, there is a good reason why many people believe he is a Power 5 linebacker. </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/AriiReid/status/1829906910788907510 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">The number 1 corner in 2026 class showed you why more Power 5 schools are coming after him. Rhodes had 5 tackles defensively and a whole mess of yards for North Cross on offense. It is clear he is going to be a factor on both sides of the ball. In their victory over Trinity Episcopal he showed why he can play receiver at the next level too.</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/Jase_Rhodes2026/status/1830929770323845613 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Remember when I told you back in July that South County linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1232678' first='Khamani' last='Matthews'] is all over the field? Yeah I was right, he racked up 18 tackles with a sack in the Stallions awesome defensive performance over Robinson. You can see on the tape below he was everywhere Friday afternoon over in Fairfax. Between him and Old Dominion Commit [player_tooltip player_id='1228846' first='Hunter' last='Malecki'] it is safe to say the stock is high on the Stallions defense this fall.</p>   <p><a href="[player_tooltip player_id='1232678' first='Khamani' last='Matthews'] Robinson Highlights">[player_tooltip player_id='1232678' first='Khamani' last='Matthews'] Robinson Highlights</a></p>   <p></p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Was thrilled to see Maestas reminding everyone how good he is with his 8 reception 92 yard and 1 touchdown outing. He looks 100 percent healthy again which when you combine that with the new weapons Osbourn appears to have, my stock is high on the Eagles for 2024. </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/TheKeonMaestas/status/1829986242257138165 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">While the usual suspects for Gainesville in [player_tooltip player_id='1155979' first='Colton' last='Kilmer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1230142' first='Koven' last='Smith'] had good games, newcomer receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1298203' first='Grayson' last='Eisenhower'] had quite the day. Hauling in 7 receptions for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns, he looks like a matchup nightmare with his size and speed. Now you have more to worry about than you probably needed to going against this offense if you are a defensive coordinator. </p>   <p><a href="[player_tooltip player_id='1298203' first='Grayson' last='Eisenhower'] HUDL">[player_tooltip player_id='1298203' first='Grayson' last='Eisenhower'] HUDL</a></p>     <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='853820' first='Calum' last='O'Shea'] lead the Bobcats in passing and rushing yards in their blowout win over Hylton 63-0. On this particular outing it was feet more than his arm that did most of the work as the Junior had 4 rushing touchdowns before halftime. You will not see him leading the team in rushing much more this year but against Hylton he was more than willing to show his versatility. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Patriot sure looks like they are ready to contend for the Class 6 State gold with their big win over Westfield last Friday. McCarter picked up 218 yards on the ground against the Bulldogs, looking like he hasn't missed a beat from his all conference junior season. He had 5 touchdown runs once again showing why Villanova Wildcats are rejoicing that he announced his commitment to them back in the spring. Look out for the Pioneers and the Cedar Run District, based on week 0, they appear to have four teams that are playoff worthy.</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/j_mccarter02/status/1829604515039092771 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">What is not being talked about enough for the Patriot Pioneers is the addition of receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1207878' first='Diasian' last='Noakes'] who transferred in this past spring from Unity Reed. Noakes is going to give the Pioneers a new element to their already high powered offense with his big play ability. In their impressive win over Westfield Noakes had 3 receptions for 102 yards with 1 long touchdown. Everyone already knows about the Pioneers division 1 running back and quarterback, you will soon know the name of this star in the making.</p>

It was a wild and entertaining Week 0 in Virginia High School Football, so I had to do a Part 2 of my weekly Game Balls.