The final weekend of the regular season for high school football was an eventful one, to say the least. Several area teams clinched last-minute playoff berths, while others improved their seeding for the regional tournament, which begins this Friday night.
• William Byrd, once 2-5 on the season and going nowhere, captured the No. 6 seed in the Group AA Region III Division 4 playoffs by winning their final three games, including a 22-21 thriller against Alleghany. The Terriers will travel to Turner Ashby on Friday evening to take on the Knights.
• William Fleming clinched a spot in the Northwest Region Division 5 playoffs after defeating G.W. Danville on Saturday. Despite their 7-3 overall record, the Colonels will be the No. 5 seed, and will have to hit the road to face Brooke Point Friday night at 7:30pm.
• Northside celebrated their Blue Ridge District title last Friday evening by learning that they will be the No. 2 seed in the Region III Division 3 playoffs, which comes with a first-round bye. The Vikings (8-2) closed out the regular season in style with a 51-26 thrashing of Staunton River, which also earned a spot in the playoffs.
• Cave Spring and Hidden Valley both earned first-round byes in their respective divisions. Despite the Knights’ 28-21 loss to the Titans last week, Cave Spring (8-2) will be the No. 1 seed in the Region IV Division III tournament, while Hidden Valley (7-3) clinched the No. 2 seed in the Region IV Division 4 playoffs, behind Salem, setting up a potential rematch with the undefeated Spartans (10-0), who finished their regular season by defeating Pulaski County, 36-20.
By Matt Reeve [email protected]