High school football: Trinity Episcopal makes statement in Week 3 victory
One of the better decisions from the Virginia High School League in recent years was to begin awarding power points when a public school faced a private school. More public-versus-private games have dotted the schedule, perhaps none bigger in its magnitude than this past Friday night’s clash at Hermitage.
The Panthers welcomed Trinity Episcopal and held a second-half advantage. But after the Titans scored a touchdown to take the lead, they took a huge gamble, successfully executing an onside kick as part of a 20-12 victory for a second statement made after besting archrival Benedictine a week earlier.
Other Week 3 headlines include complete dissatisfaction for Varina and Oscar Smith, as the two defending state champions waited more than 90 minutes to play, saw the Blue Devils lead 7-0 at intermission, only to see the Tigers tie the game just before mother nature intervened. Again. For good.
The tie game, called near the midway mark of the third quarter, is the first for Varina in more than 40 years. But for both teams, it ends the hope for something teams don’t discuss, but, honestly, would love to pair with a state title: a 15-0 record.
Highland Springs pulled away at Dinwiddie after the Generals lost their quarterback to injury, while Douglas Freeman finally bested Hanover and Armstrong and Thomas Jefferson steamrolled opponents. Check out the full Week 3 scoreboard here and the latest Super 12 Poll here.
Standout performances
Luke Perini, Glen Allen: A career night for the senior, who completed 21 of 26 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns as the Jaguars improved to 2-1 with a 33-7 triumph over Patrick Henry.
Gibson Gross, Midlothian: A proficient 8 of 10 for 164 yards and four passing scores, plus 77 rushing yards with two touchdowns in a 49-13 win at Powhatan.
Julian Gambrel, Douglas Freeman: Churning out 172 of the Mavericks’ 339 rushing yards, Gambrel scored twice, including a 26-yard backbreaker late in the fourth to send Douglas Freeman past Hanover 36-27.
Dashaun Chisem, Highland Springs: After a frustrating Week 2 performance versus Huguenot, Chisem responded with six total touchdowns, including four through the air, and 294 total yards in the Springers’ victory at Dinwiddie.
Unsung heroes
Mechanicsville’s defense: How about a safety, four sacks, two interceptions and holding J.R. Tucker to less than 100 yards of offense as the Mustangs move to 3-0, 23-7 victors over the Tigers.
Armstrong’s offensive line: The Wildcats’ big men blew open holes for 305 rushing yards in less than three quarters as Armstrong shut out John Marshall in a storm-shortened contest to stay unbeaten.
Game of the week
Prince George (1-1) at Douglas Freeman (2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: We know this choice raises eyebrows, but hear us out. The Royals and Mavericks are playoff contenders in Class 5, Region C. Thus, it’s a huge opportunity for the winner to earn a signature win in their postseason quest. Prince George has scored 98 points in two games, while Douglas Freeman has topped 35 points in both of its wins. Add in two of the area's best rushing attacks, and this has the makings of a classic whose result will echo into November.
Other games we’re watching
#7 Hermitage (2-1) at #1 Varina (2-0-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Unless calamity strikes, both of these teams will play in the postseason. Mindset will be everything in this one, with Hermitage trying to shake off its loss to Trinity Episcopal, and Varina flat-out mad it wasn’t given the chance to pull the double down east against the defending state titlists.
#3 Thomas Dale (2-0) at Glen Allen (2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Jaguars QB Luke Perini must match wits with the Dark Zone defense of the Knights, coming off a bye after surrendering just six points in their first two games. The teams have split two previous meetings, with Glen Allen winning 28-3 in 2024 and Thomas Dale 14-8 last season.
#11 Thomas Jefferson (2-0) at Hopewell (1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: The Blue Devils celebrate homecoming, two weeks removed from a good road win versus Mecklenburg. They’re already behind the curve with rivals Petersburg and Colonial Heights in Class 3, Region A. The Vikings are trying to keep steady with rival Armstrong until they play the second half of their game on Oct. 5. With Poquoson being upset this week, could a 10-0 record earn the top seed in Class 2, Region A?
Game under the radar
Monacan (0-2) at James River (2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: The Chiefs restart practice Monday after nearly a week without a head coach, unbeknownst to most fans until late last week (more below). The Rapids come off a tough loss to Manchester, needing to stack victories in the highly competitive Class 5, Region C.
Beyond the numbers
–New Chief At Monacan: After having to postpone a home game last Friday against L.C. Bird, Monacan activities director Wyatt Hicks told us the following:
“Defensive Coordinator Dylan Culpen will serve as interim head coach as the program moves forward with its season. Our focus remains on supporting our student-athletes and providing them with a positive, safe and competitive experience.”
There’s no word on why Justin Akers is no longer at the helm in Smoketree.
–History in Hanover? Tomato Bowl 68 is on tap in Ashland on Friday night as 0-3 Patrick Henry welcomes 3-0 Mechanicsville. The Mustangs never have beaten the Patriots in their current incarnation. You’ll recall the school formerly was named Lee-Davis from 1958 to 2020. Patrick Henry last lost the Tomato Bowl in 2017, holding a nine-game winning streak in the series and a 36-30-1 all-time record. With Camden Metzger playing well at quarterback for Mechanicsville and the defense pouring pressure on opponents, will the trophy finally return to Route 360?
–If Hanover’s quarterback-receiver tandem of Joel Nicholson and Kayden Hughes can continue their torrid start, we could see history made. Through two games, Nicholson has 482 passing yards and nine touchdowns, with Hughes accounting for 343 of those yards and seven scores. The Hawks’ duo, however, would give back some stats to be 2-0 rather than 1-1 as they travel to 2-1 Mills Godwin on Friday.
–The highlights of Saturday’s girls flag football jamboree at Huguenot High School included the first win in program history for Highland Springs, which defeating Richmond Community 30-24. The Falcons bested Petersburg 28-8, Cristo Rey won 21-6 over Franklin Military, and John Marshall handled Varina 30-6.
Tuesday night’s slate includes Thomas Jefferson hosting Richmond High School for the Arts, Huguenot traveling to Armstrong and Franklin Military going to John Marshall.
They said it
“I just told the team we need to score and put the game away instead of playing to run the clock. (On the) next play, the line did their assignments, and we scored. The offense feels very confident heading into Prince George.” – Douglas Freeman running back Julian Gambrel revealing the conversation in the huddle before his late touchdown run on the play sealed a Mavericks win
“When we came in here, we weren’t thinking public school-private school. We were thinking this is the next team, and we’re going to win.” – Trinity Episcopal quarterback Deke Skogen to our Weldon Bradshaw after the Titans’ victory at Hermitage
“But look, this is what I do, this is what we do, so I’m standing on that. Everybody wants to talk about public, private, this, that … St. Chris went and beat Huguenot last year. We beat Glen Allen. Benedictine beat Matoaca. Now we have this, we have Glen Allen later this year. People need to know the type of bump and the type of game we play around here. I’m standing on that right now. If that sounds a little bit out there, I’ll stand on it.” – Trinity Episcopal coach Sam Mickens to the on-field media scrum after the Titans upended Hermitage, giving credit to the Panthers for scheduling the game while proudly defending the honor of his program and private school football
Our final play(s)
A few thoughts after a busy week …
–There was another game postponed last week, for a reason that has become all too common. The showdown between Class 1 Essex and Class 2 King William, which we previewed in our Game Under The Radar, was called off after a threat to Essex County Public Schools forced early dismissal in the county Friday.
While threats to schools are nothing new (the 1970’s had phoned-in bomb threats galore), it’s different in the digital age. Columbine changed everything in 1999. Now add Instagram, TikTok and the like, and all it takes is one social media post to send fear into a community. We wish we had a solution that would put it all behind us. The teams have rescheduled the game for Oct. 2. Let’s hope it comes to fruition.
–We know there’s been a lot of frustration in the first three weeks of the 2026 campaign with regards to the weather. But we’ve been down this road before. Hurricane Isabel wiped out an entire week of games in 2003. Then there was the insane season of 2018.
Hurricane Florence affected games up to as early as Wednesday in the second week in September. Then, a month later, Tropical Storm Michael rolled through Central Virginia on a Thursday night, leaving many schools without power. One of the only games played was a classic between Petersburg and Thomas Dale, won by the Knights at home 28-24.
How did that year conclude? On a bone-chilling, frigid Saturday in Hampton, Highland Springs and Manchester won state championships. Those were two of the best teams, we would argue, in Richmond high school football history.
Lightning delays are considered by some a nuisance. But they’re so critical to public safety and worth a trek to your car and back. More stormy weather is possible this Friday, so pack your patience into your clear bag.
–In Southwest Florida, an 0-3 start prompted a high school to make a head coaching change. Coastal Breeze News reported Lely High School dismissed Dan Nieboer after the team lost its first three contests by a combined score of 166-0. But there’s much more to the story.
Lely’s principal announced in a communique to parents that the change was made “after careful consideration.” Nieboer essentially had lost the program after introducing what the article labeled a “strict disciplinarian approach,” including penalties for profanity and dress-code violations. Many players, and even some coaches, literally, left the field.
It wasn’t merely about the scoreboard. We’re hopeful that area coaches don’t have to fear for their jobs after a tough on-field start. The moral of this story is the delicate balance coaching staffs constantly seek between feeding the love of the game by creating a positive environment and using necessary discipline that ensures fairness, open competition and, at the end of the day, the successful molding of teenage boys into young men.
For that is the ultimate goal of this sport we love so much, specifically at the high school level.
robwitham
