According to the latest release from Old Dominion Athletics, the Monarchs now have ten opponents on next year’s schedule. For a team transitioning to Division I FBS Football, it’s quite an impressive slate. As the schedule fills, it gets harder to find opponents to fill open dates. Still, the Monarchs are well on their way to bridging the gap between this year and 2015, when ODU will have completely transitioned into Conference USA.
There’s still time to vote for this week’s Freedom Ford Player of the Week on recruit757. Throughout the regular season, fans have been able to select the Freedom Ford Player of the Week for the region from the nominees provided. Go to recruit757 on Facebook now to register your vote. The poll question is pinned to the top of the page.
When you look at the rosters of both the Franklin Broncos and Alta Vista Colonels, the first thing you notice is an abundance of youth at key positions. One would have thought, without researching either team, that this game could be a low scoring defensive battle. With a little history you’d find that the Colonels came in at 10-2 with one close battle against Chatham (in addition to their two losses) while the Broncos have beaten all opponents this season by two touchdowns or more (except Rappahannock in September).
Ocean Lakes captured its first Eastern Region Championship, beating Oscar Smith 14 -10 at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex Friday night. A defensive battle was won when the Dolphins were able to turn an Oscar Smith fumble into the winning score on a 2-yard sneak by Churchie Harold with 3:30 left in the game.
Coming into the game, the pairing of 12-0 Lake Taylor vs. 12-0 Phoebus was a heavyweight title bout. The Titans rolled through their competition all season, but needed to prove themselves to get out of the region. As four-peat State Champions, the Phantoms came into the game as the team Lake Taylor would measure themselves against. The Titans came out swinging.
The most an anticipated match-up of the season is finally here as Ocean Lakes faces off against Oscar Smith at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex tonight. Both teams have been on a hot streak, the Dolphins are at 12-0 and the Tigers have won 11 in a row, setting up tonight’s winner take all for the Division 6 Eastern Region Championship.
Every recent game between these two has been a battle of wills. There’s a history between Lake Taylor and Phoebus, and it’s full of struggle. End of November games are typically grueling, high stakes affairs, and this one will be no different. On Friday night, Harbor Park becomes the Thunderdome.
We can break down the Division 6 Final, previewing it for you from top to bottom, looking at Ocean Lakes and Oscar Smith in many ways while trying to predict a winner. We don’t typically take it upon ourselves to make bold predictions. After all, we want to build both teams up and see what happens once the two teams hit the field. In this case…
2012 was an exciting year in the Eastern District. Lake Taylor managed to stay on top with a 10-0 record, but Granby experienced a resurgence, as did Maury. Norcom recovered well after losing a great contingent of senior talent. The All-District teams are well represented with talent from all of the programs in the district, including a few surprises.
The TCIS All-Conference team is loaded with players from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and there’s a good reason for that. The Saints made a run all the way to the Division II Final this year. Norfolk Academy bounced back in a big way, Greenbrier Christian was strong again, and Bishop Sullivan almost had a return to the playoffs despite a coaching change and a turnover in player personnel.