High school football region championship preview: Radford, Glenvar meet again for 2C title

It’s championship week for region tournaments in Virginia high school football, and several Timesland teams will be playing for titles.

Eight area squads remain in the hunt for postseason glory across five classes. The schools will compete not only to grab some hardware, but also to earn a spot among the final four teams in their respective classes and contend for a state title.

Here’s a breakdown of the region championship matchups.

Region 5C

No. 8 William Fleming (8-4) at No. 3 Matoaca (9-3)

Arguably the Cinderella story of the postseason in Virginia, the Colonels backed up their upset win over top-seeded Patrick Henry in the first round with another shocking victory over No. 5 Douglas Freeman last week. But instead of gaining an early advantage and then holding off a comeback bid, they did the opposite, overcoming a first-half shutout and 10-point fourth-quarter deficit with some late-game heroics, winning in overtime.

Now Fleming, under first-year head coach Nick Leftwich, finds itself one win away from the region title and the chance to earn three straight playoff victories for the first time in 20 years. It reached the Class 5 state semifinals in the abbreviated spring 2021 season.

The Colonels have never played the Warriors, a team that outscored its first two postseason opponents 64-0 and picked up back-to-back 45-0 wins in the regular season last month. Matoaca hasn’t won three playoff games in a season since 1993.

Region 4D

No. 3 E.C. Glass (9-3) at No. 1 Salem (11-1)

A rematch of last year’s 4D championship, where the Hilltoppers ended the Spartans’ run of three straight trips to the state semifinals. This year the seeds are flipped, however, with the Spartans serving as the hosts.

Salem has outscored its first two postseason opponents 97-7, pitching a shutout over Handley last week. The Spartans have run their winning streak to 11 games. E.C. Glass avenged a 23-0 regular-season loss to E.C. Glass with a 27-20 victory over the Cavaliers last week,and has beaten its first two postseason opponents by a combined 15 points.

Salem is 2-6-1 against E.C. Glass since 1980. The schools’ rivalry dates back decades before that when Salem was Andrew Lewis.

Region 3D

No. 2 William Byrd (11-1) at No. 1 Magna Vista (12-0)

An enticing battle between two teams in the midst of debatably the best seasons in the history of their programs.

The Warriors are 12-0 for the first time and have the advantage of hosting. Magna Vista is aiming for its first region championship since 2015, a year in which it won the second of back-to-back state titles. The Warriors were challenged last week by Christiansburg in just their second game decided by one possession, but pulled out a 27-20 victory over the Blue Demons, the team responsible for Byrd’s lone loss this season.

The Terriers haven’t lost since that game, however, a 14-10 affair back in early September, and have rattled off nine straight wins. They handled their first two postseason opponents with 40-point offensive outpourings, earning the first 11-win season in program history and first back-to-back playoff victory.

It’s the first postseason meeting between Magna Vista and Byrd. The Warriors lead the series all-time, 3-2, dating back to 2013, but the Terriers have taken the last two contests, most recently in 2021.

Region 2C

No. 3 Glenvar (10-2) at No. 1 Radford (12-0)

This year’s annual regular season meeting between the Three Rivers District foes was far less dramatic than the previous four, all of which were decided by one possession. In September the Bobcats raced out to a 29-0 first-half lead en route to a 36-3 win.

But for a historically close rivalry (Radford leads 15-13 all-time), squaring off in the postseason for the first time could very well produce another classic between the squads.

Radford continued its undefeated run last week by getting over a big hump in the form of Appomattox County, a team that twice before has eliminated the Bobcats from the playoffs, including last year. The Bobcats, who last won a region title in 2018, have racked up 113 points in their first two playoff games.

Glenvar is still alive by the skin of its teeth after stopping No. 3 Gretna a foot short of the goal line as time expired for a 38-34 victory. The Highlanders have been in this position, one win away from the region title, the previous two seasons but lost both times to Appomattox County in one-possession games.

Region 1C

No. 5 Galax (8-4) No. 3 George Wythe (9-3)

This year’s unpredictable 1C tournament can be defined by the championship matchup, which features neither the No. 1 nor No. 2 seed and is a Mountain Empire District rematch between two teams whose rivalry dates back more than a century.

Saturday afternoon at Pendleton Field will be the setting for this one. The Maroons are playing host as they look to grab back-to-back region titles and get to the Class 1 state championship game for the second straight year. They’ve put up strong offensive numbers in their first two playoff games, tallying 45 and 35 points, routing No. 7 Fort Chiswell last week.

The Maroon Tide missed out on a seventh straight region championship last year with a close loss to Grayson County. They avenged that loss this year by knocking off the Blue Devils, the No. 1 seed, with a 14-0 shutout for their second straight upset win.

George Wythe won the regular season meeting 34-19 back on Sept. 29. Galax is 5-0 all-time in the playoffs against GW, with all of their postseason meetings coming in the last 10 years.

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