High school football: Week 2 features a loaded schedule across the region
The opening weekend of the 2026 high school football season was marked by few cliffhangers, many blowouts, and some head-turning performances. The stage is now set for what should be a blockbuster Week 2.
While Varina, Benedictine, Highland Springs, Hermitage, Thomas Dale, Manchester, Armstrong and Petersburg all rolled over opponents, Mechanicsville’s defense preserved a 14-7 win over Deep Run, Douglas Freeman survived a back-and-forth battle with Atlee 37-35 thanks to a missed field goal, and Trinity Episcopal lost an overtime heartbreaker to Roanoke Catholic.
The Week 1 scoreboard and new Super 12 high school football poll are all available here. Check the end of this column or this link for the week two schedule and the week one flag football slate for this Tuesday!
Week 1 standouts
Jahkee Cotman, Armstrong: 12 of 14, 210 yards, two touchdowns, six carries, 36 yards, two touchdowns in win over RHSA.
Kemonie Peebles, Petersburg: 15 of 22, 195 yards, three touchdowns in 34-6 win at Henrico.
Julian Gambrel, Douglas Freeman: 22 carries, 194 yards, one touchdown.
Brysen Lewis, L.C. Bird: 10 of 12, 173 yards, touchdown in 32-8 win over previously ranked Midlothian.
Dior Barnes, Manchester: 10 carries, 110 yards, two touchdowns; 40-yard receiving score.
Lawrence Hewlett, Prince George: 21 carries, 177 yards, two touchdowns, 20 receiving yards.
Griffin Willis, Deep Run: 10 tackles, three for loss, two forced fumbles in loss to Mechanicsville.
Unsung heroes
John Kelly III, Dinwiddie: After an 80-yard touchdown drive by Colonial Heights, cutting the Generals’ lead to 15-12 near the end of the third quarter Friday night, the Colonials launched a high, short kickoff. Kelly leaped into the air to catch the ball, absorbing a huge hit to keep the possession with Dinwiddie. Three plays later, Trevion Mills raced 39 yards to begin a 21-0 run, pulling away from the Colonials 36-12.
Noor Elhouda Lamrhari, Hermitage: Unsung no more, the female kicker for the Panthers went five for five in her football debut in a 35-7 win at Matoaca.
EYE OPENER: L.C. Bird – Though ranked 10th to begin the season, there were many questioning how good the Skyhawks might be. A stingy defense and a shockingly (by Skyhawk standards) balanced offense blew Midlothian off the field in a 32-8 win Thursday.
Now, let’s get to an amazing slate of games this week:
Game of the week
#1 Varina (1-0) at Maury (0-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
The defending Class 4 state champions get tested by an ornery defending Class 5 champ. The Commodores’ 14-game winning streak ended at the hands of Mallard Creek of North Carolina. The Blue Devils, on the other hand, destroyed perennial playoff participant William Fleming 54-0. This is the first of back-to-back trips to the 757, as Varina goes to defending Class 6 winners Oscar Smith on September 11th.
Games we're watching
#2 Huguenot (0-0) at #4 Highland Springs (1-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: What an intriguing battle! In their first game since 2009, there are two advantages for the Springers: home field and having played a game. But Huguenot has been salivating to return to play after their comeback effort against Varina fell short in last year’s Class 4, Region B championship. The Springers will have to slow down the connection of Charles Scott, Jr. to Iveon Lewis, two players destined for the SEC when their Falcon days are complete. Dashaun Chisem looked good in his debut as Highland Springs’ signal caller, and we think he’s salivating at the chance to go toe-to-toe with Scott.
#9 L.C. Bird (1-0) at #5 Thomas Dale (1-0), Thursday, 7 p.m.: Suddenly, the 55th Battle of Chester is more interesting, thanks to the impressive Skyhawk performance against Midlothian. The Knights shut out Cosby 28-0 and now prepare to defend their seven-game winning streak in this storied series, six of which were decided by multiple scores.
#12 Thomas Jefferson (1-0) at #10 Armstrong (1-0), Thursday, 7 p.m.: A year ago, this game was marred by a storm, nightfall, and a move to the following Tuesday before the Wildcats prevailed on Grace Street. In November, Armstrong eliminated the Vikings from the Class 2, Region A tournament. Both teams won handily in Week 1, as expected, Thomas Jefferson over I.C. Norcom, and Armstrong over RHSA.
Glen Allen (1-0) at #8 Manchester (1-0): Graduation losses? No problem. The Lancers rolled 36-0 at Monacan. A new head coach in May? No sweat. Jacob Hodges’ Jaguars won a 48-36 shootout at Prince George to begin 2026 behind quarterback Luke Perini. Everyone knows Jacory Moore-Carr now after a breakout debut for the Lancers. Read about their week one win here.
Under the radar
Mechanicsville (1-0) at Goochland (1-0), Thursday, 7 p.m.: Both the Mustangs and Bulldogs are looking to snap playoff droughts this season. Mechanicsville overcame several offense mistakes thanks to defensive prowess in a seven-point win over Deep Run, while Goochland bested Nottoway 29-18. The Mustangs’ region (4B) is significantly tougher than Goochland’s (3B), so if the Mustangs want to legitimately be in their region’s playoff race, they need to win. The margin for error there is razor thin.
Beyond the headlines
–We saw two teams in person who, in defeat, impressed and showed definite improvement from last season. Atlee saw a game-winning 37-yard field goal try push just wide right as time expired in their 37-35 loss to Douglas Freeman, while Colonial Heights slugged it out for three quarters before falling at Dinwiddie. Both teams have running backs who could have thousand-yard seasons in the Raiders’ Kaden Wright and the Colonials’ Bryce Loy.
–Gerard Johnson (L.C. Bird) and Jacob Hodges (Glen Allen) weren’t the only head coaches to win their debuts. Quinn Tobias, who was promoted from coordinator to head coach at Meadowbrook, hit the ground running as the Monarchs thrashed Clover Hill 49-9, while Bryan Jennings’ James River debut saw the Rapids shut down Greensville County 40-0.
–Kudos to Dakota Reeves, the new head coach at John Marshall, and the Justices administration on their commitment to building a home-field advantage at home. Though they lost their game with Menchville Saturday, the school was alive with fans and activities. Remember, last winter, the varsity program was temporarily put on hiatus, but football is back and Reeves was hired to lead the program. We believe it’s a great call.
They said it
“My heart bleeds for Lance. You talk about a kid who wants to be in that situation. He saw the kid, he banged it. It was just a little wide right. I told him football doesn’t define who you are. He was very emotional, and I told him I’m glad that you are.” –Atlee head coach Matt Gray on kicker Lance Heizer.
“This was the first game I’ve ever coached in my life that my dad wasn’t here on earth, so it was a little bittersweet for me. He’s usually the person I get on the phone with after games, sometimes even at halftime or before the game.” –Highland Springs head coach Loren Johnson speaking to Jack Fitzpatrick of ESPN Richmond following their win at Hopewell. Johnson’s father, Lee, passed away last Christmas Eve.
Our final play
The quote we teased last week concerning the current state of high school football, and high school sports as a whole, comes from a coach answering our query to name the biggest lesson learned in the offseason. New Kent’s Scott Girolmo provided the following:
“The public vision of the purpose of high school football is changing dramatically in a way that is hostile to the mission and vision of the Virginia High School League.
“Societal and cultural dysfunction has infected our arena, and forced a shift to promote high school football solely as a self-aggrandizing vehicle for clout-mining and financial advancement. It has never been more important than now in the sport's history to reorient the focus on fostering character development, unity-building in the locker room and teaching the critical life-lessons that will make our young people the next great generation of leaders.
“I have learned painfully that our program needs to be vigilant in the way we combat the influence of social media, media, the snake that is comparison, and help these athletes find the greatness inside of them by taking those small, daily, difficult steps towards self-improvement.
“We are fighting a losing battle with our youth as a whole, we cannot overcome what is an insurmountable loss of the value of family units, community building and school loyalty. However, the fight for their hearts and minds and spirits to help them become the best that they are capable of becoming is among the worthiest endeavors left in society. That is worth every swing of the sword.”
To this we say: amen.
Week 2 schedule
GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL:
WEEK ONE (TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1):
Huguenot at Thomas Jefferson, 6pm
Armstrong at John Marshall, 6pm
Open High vs. Community, 6pm, TB Smith Community Center
RHSA vs. Franklin Military, 7:30pm, TB Smith Community Center
WEEK TWO:
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3:
Powhatan vs. RHSA, 6pm, Midtown Green
THE BATTLE OF CHESTER: L.C. Bird at Thomas Dale, 7pm
Henrico at Hermitage, 7pm
Glen Allen at Manchester, 7pm
Thomas Jefferson at Armstrong, 7pm
Deep Run at Atlee, 7pm
Hanover at Monacan, 7pm
Patrick Henry at Mills Godwin, 7pm
J.R. Tucker at Prince George, 7pm
Mechanicsville at Goochland, 7pm
Midlothian at Douglas Freeman, 7pm
James River at Cosby, 7pm
Hopewell at Mecklenburg, 7pm
Kecoughtan at Meadowbrook, 7pm
Colonial Heights at Caroline, 7pm
King William at Westmoreland, 7pm
Rappahannock at West Point, 7pm
Lancaster at Surry, 7pm
Eastern View at Culpeper, 7pm
Charlottesville at James Monroe, 7pm
Albemarle at William Fleming, 7pm
First Colonial at Landstown, 6:30pm
Bruton at Tabb, 7pm
Briar Woods at Brentsville District, 7pm
Skyline at Manassas Park, 7pm
Meridian at Kettle Run, 7pm
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4:
Trinity Episcopal at Benedictine, 3pm
Potomac School at Collegiate, 4:30pm
Christ Church Episcopal (SC) at St. Christopher's, 6pm
Varina at Maury, 7pm
Huguenot at Highland Springs, 7pm
Granby at Dinwiddie, 7pm
Petersburg at I.C. Norcom, 7pm
Louisa at Courtland, 7pm
Poquoson at New Kent, 7pm
Franklin at Amelia, 7pm
Essex at Brunswick, 7pm
Northumberland at Middlesex, 7pm
King & Queen Central at Colonial Beach, 7pm
Lakeland at Sussex Central, 7pm
Arcadia at Randolph-Henry, 7pm
Greensville at Nottoway, 7pm
William Campbell at Cumberland, 7pm
William Monroe at Central-Lunenburg, 7pm
Albemarle at William Fleming, 7pm
Orange at King George, 7pm
Massaponax at Spotsylvania, 7pm
Madison County at Western Albemarle, 7pm
Salem at Franklin County, 7pm
Windsor at Prince Edward, 7pm
Fluvanna at Buckingham, 7pm
E.C. Glass at PH-Roanoke, 7pm
Lake Taylor at Hampton, 7pm
Menchville at Southampton, 7pm
Washington (MD) at Northampton, 7pm
Warwick at Oscar Smith, 7pm
Booker T. Washington at Heritage-NN, 7pm
York at Grafton, 7pm
Grassfield at Woodside, 7pm
