Class 6 Playoff Previews

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A look at each team set to battle for the Class 6 VHSL State Championship:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Western Branch:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Western Branch Bruins finished a respectable 6-4 and were on a bit of roll until they had to face reigning champs Oscar Smith last week. Western Branch is big and physical up front led by top 2027 prospect Q'Mari Hudson. They also have uncommitted senior [player_tooltip player_id='853845' first='Amari' last='Harmon'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297689' first='Adin' last='Watters'] and Timothy Pierce defensively who all have offers. An impressive showing come playoff time could do wonders for all of them, but you get the sense looking at this team that it may be a year away from contending. Finish above .500 with a tough schedule and not a high number of seniors, perhaps getting to the Region Quarterfinals is a start?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Battlefield:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bobcats had a few hiccups this year including having their 40 plus game regular season streak come to an end with a loss to cross town rival Patriot. While Battlefield was unable to clinch their 5th consecutive Cedar Run District title the expectations remain the same for Coach Hatfield's squad its state title or bust! [player_tooltip player_id='1683335' first='Ethan' last='Stowell'] has been the starting quarterback for nearly the entire season with [player_tooltip player_id='853820' first='Calum' last='O'Shea'] injury in week 1, Stowell has maintained a poised presence in the pocket throughout. If Stowell can hold up okay the Bobcats have plenty of weapons including [player_tooltip player_id='853768' first='Keaton' last='Ramey'] (Stony Brook), [player_tooltip player_id='2002759' first='Tyler' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1236733' first='Jayden' last='Blackstock']. Defensively led by Rutgers Commit [player_tooltip player_id='853821' first='Brandon' last='Murray'] and Power 4 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='1535249' first='Noah' last='Glover'], not many teams have had success moving the ball on them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Springfield:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a season and year it has been for the Spartans, after another thrilling win over Lake Braddock this past week, West Springfield can rejoice with the Concorde District Championship. As mentioned many times here before quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1298213' first='Scott' last='Lewis'] has taken a major leap his senior season along with [player_tooltip player_id='1735666' first='Samuel' last='Heredia'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297867' first='Anthony' last='Bello'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1664376' first='Evan' last='Shorter']. Junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1664154' first='Dillan' last='Wickham'] who transferred in this past spring is gashing defenses weekly, the all star back runs a 10.8 100 and has eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark too. Defensively is part of what started the Spartans now 7 game winning streak, Brennan Tefler is a tackling machine and linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1297738' first='Ayaan' last='Mirza'] and Micah Dargan-Coley are having great senior campaigns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Langley:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A team that gets a bit overlooked in my opinion the past two years has been the Langley Saxons. Since their heartbreaker against Yorktown back in September, Langley has ripped off 6 in a row including a statement beatdown over Washington and Liberty last Friday. The Saxons sure seem to be humming on all cylinders, in the win against the Generals they ran up and down the field on them and shut down their high potent offense. Behind underrated quarterback and offensive player of the year [player_tooltip player_id='1298294' first='Cole' last='Samburg'], looking past this group will only get you burnt. Other players to watch for this group include safety/receiver Jack Milone and running back Zand Amani</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Gar Field:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Red Wolves snuck back into the postseason thanks to their strength of schedule and wins against common opponents. Make no mistake Coach Edmunds has done tremendous work to get Gar Field back into the playoffs for the second year in a row, the addition of Hampton commit [player_tooltip player_id='853886' first='LJ' last='Richards'] has done wonders for his team. Richards as he did the past two years for Colgan performed at an all region, and Gar Field had Warren "Quack" Freeman break out into the next big star in the PWC. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='853095' first='Troy' last='Hamlin'] remains uncommitted and with a good outing against top seeded Colonial Forge on the horizon, he will need to be flawless. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->