West Springfield vs. North Stafford: 5 to watch on offense

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the two semifinal matchups in the VHSL Class state semifinals will feature West Springfield and North Stafford.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Get to know five offensive stars from West Springfield vs. North Stafford—see who could make the difference in this matchup!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1298213' first='Scott' last='Lewis'] | Quarterback | West Springfield | 2026 | 6-3 | 200</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lewis completed 3-of-5 passes for 22 yards and rushed 17 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns in his team's 28-14 win over Lake Braddock. For the season, he's completed 144-of-226 passes for 2,114 yards, 27 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. Lewis has also carried the football 117 times for 519 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and eight touchdowns. Last week, he had a nice 21-yard touchdown run, where he saw something in the defence he knew he could exploit. Before the play, Lewis motioned out the running back (who took a man with him), saw it was zero coverage, took the snap, broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, and ran it in for a touchdown. Just a small example of his high football IQ.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664154' first='Dillan' last='Wickham'] | Running Back | West Springfield | 2027 | 6-1 | 185</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wickham was a workhorse last week against Lake Braddock. He carried the football 28 times for 235 yards (7.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns in the win. During this season, Wickham has carried the football 201 times for 1,579 yards (7.9 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns. He has eight games of 100-plus yards to his credit this season. On one of his touchdown runs (82 yards), he avoids a tackler in the backfield after getting the handoff, avoids another leg tackle as he goes to turn the left corner, gets a nice block from a wide receiver, and races down the sideline for the remaining 65 yards for a touchdown. Nice show of balance, vision, and speed by Wickham on that play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1474206' first='Jevon' last='Austin'] | Wide Receiver | West Springfield | 2027 | 5-9 | 165</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Austin didn't see too many targets last week, but he's caught 58 passes for 858 yards (14.8 yards per carry) and 15 touchdowns this season. He's a slot receiver that can also line up on the outside. Austin does a nice job of adjusting his routes and finding the holes against zone defense. Solid red-zone target who can beat man-coverage consistently. Definitely a go-to guy for his team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1310494' first='Chase' last='Sullivan'] | Quarterback | North Stafford | 2026 | 6-5 | 180</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sullivan is one of the more mechanically sound quarterbacks I've watched on film. He has a quick release, and I love the touch I see on his deep passes, hitting his receivers in full stride. Sullivan shows the ability to climb the pocket and still keep his eyes downfield to spot the open target. Not sure how much he actually runs, but in the clips that I watched, Sullivan is definitely a threat to make big plays with his legs when needed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1642065' first='Alon' last='Lester'] | Running Back | North Stafford | 2026 | 5-9 | 195 </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lester carried the football 19 times for 206 yards and two touchdowns in his team's playoff win last week. His 40-yard touchdown run is one of the more patient touchdown runs I've watched all season. Lester takes the handoff, presses the line of scrimmage, waits for the guard to finish pulling from right to left to get in front of him and provide a block at the second level, and then breaks a tackle to get past the line. After that,  he beats additional second and third-level defenders around the corner and sprints the remaining 25-plus yards for the touchdown. Lester's 70-yard touchdown run was even more impressive. This time, he takes the handoff, cuts to the outside, goes inside the block of his wide receiver, disregards a tackle attempt at the second level, and races the remaining 45-plus yards untouched down the sideline. Big-time players make big plays in big games</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->