Week 1 Matchups to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are less than 48 hours away from kickoff for most Virginia High School Football programs. Week 1 brings us a ton of exciting games and I will personally be in Haymarket this Thursday to watch North Stafford take on Battlefield. For a quick analysis of some of the big games in Northern Virginia please follow below:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Osbourn at Colgan</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a sneaky underrated game over in Manassas, between two teams that are expected to be playoff contenders. Osbourn is coming off a 6-4 campaign and will need this win to keep up in the top heavy Cedar Run District. Colgan seems to be trending upward as the Sharks look rejuvenated under new Head Coach Loren White. The Sharks have yet to reach the playoff milestone in their short history and in a wide open Cardinal District, is this finally the year they reach it? Interim Osbourn Eagle Head Coach Mel Morgan is having to learn on the fly, but he has plenty of talent in his locker-room. Players to watch include two our of top 2028 prospects in [player_tooltip player_id='1422269' first='Anthony' last='Jackson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1639052' first='Caleb' last='Smoot'], while Colgan returns longtime starting quarterback George Hall and the Musselman twins. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Westfield at Patriot</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both squads are coming off deep playoff runs last year and have the same expectations in 2025 as title or bust. Westfield returns all conference quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1297938' first='Ryan' last='Carlson'] along with superstar [player_tooltip player_id='1566389' first='Malachi' last='Lee']. The Bulldogs got bit by both the graduation and transfer bug but that hasn't changed the mindset of Coach Vossler's squad. Meanwhile Patriot returns perhaps the best defense in the region led by Penn State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1297598' first='Mathieu' last='Lamah']. Along with Lamah, [player_tooltip player_id='1297964' first='Jorden' last='Benjamin'] (Towson), [player_tooltip player_id='1169761' first='Chris' last='Umana'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1314751' first='Louis' last='Kenbeng Jr.'] are amongst the many of highly regarded Pioneer prospects.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Stone Bridge at Madison</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game seems bound for fireworks every year and after both teams seasons ended last fall expect more of the same in Vienna this Thursday. The Bulldogs went an uncharacteristic 4-8 in 2024 including an early playoff exit to Riverbend. Coach Golston seems to have his team trending back towards the top as he enters his second year, and he is loaded with prospects. His 2028 class alone has three players in our top 15 overall including [player_tooltip player_id='1646202' first='Keith' last='Nolen'], [player_tooltip player_id='1672675' first='Langston' last='Pridgeon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1661405' first='Kaden' last='Golston']. The Warhawks did lose their quarterback and star running back to graduation but the rebuilding word is not on Coach Counts team vocabulary. Madison will return [player_tooltip player_id='1525426' first='Luke' last='Salvosa'], [player_tooltip player_id='1548839' first='Graham' last='Gorkowski'] and Matthew Weiler just to name a few.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>North Stafford at Battlefield</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In my opinion these are the two of top three teams in Class 6 and they are set for a showdown in two short days! The Wolverines have been riding high since their deep playoff run last year and return almost all their playmakers too. [player_tooltip player_id='1311634' first='Kenaz' last='Sullivan'] has close 30 FBS offers, while [player_tooltip player_id='1298226' first='Antwan' last='Barnes'], [player_tooltip player_id='853859' first='Ricky' last='Adkins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1310494' first='Chase' last='Sullivan'] are back in the fold too. Battlefield is not ready to have their long illustrious regular season winning streak end anytime soon and with a healthy [player_tooltip player_id='853820' first='Calum' last='O'Shea'] back at quarterback that improves their chances. The Bobcats also have [player_tooltip player_id='1297952' first='Luke' last='Hatfield'] (UCONN), [player_tooltip player_id='853821' first='Brandon' last='Murray'] (Rutgers), [player_tooltip player_id='853768' first='Keaton' last='Ramey'] (Stony Brook) and [player_tooltip player_id='1535249' first='Noah' last='Glover']. This will be my first time making the trip out to Haymarket, I cannot wait to see the atmosphere and all the action on the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->