BY ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@yahoo.com

COURTLAND—Undefeated Southampton Academy will host Word of God Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, for the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 8-Man state championship.

The Raiders in the final seconds of the game on Oct. 12 defeated Word of God 40-34, ending the Ram’s 35-game winning streak. Southampton is 11-0 and Word of God, state champs for the past three years, is 10-1.

“I think the game is going to be a lot like last time we played them,” said SA Coach Dale Marks. “It’s going to be a case of two evenly matched teams. It’s going to be a tough game for us.”

In their first meeting, the game was tied 34-34 with 16 seconds left when the Raiders took over the ball on their own 26-yard line. SA moved the ball 74 yards in two plays. Junior receiver Paul Parker caught a 46-yard pass from junior Tonee Hill followed by sophomore quarterback Matt Rose completing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Hill with 3 seconds left in the game.

The Raiders have outscored their opponents 658-328 this season, while the Rams have outscored their opponents 536-198.

“Whoever wins the turnover battle, gets the least amount of penalties, or gets the right breaks at the right time will win this one,” Marks said.

Parker is questionable after suffering an elbow injury during the Nov. 2, 64-36 win over Cary Christian.

“He has had his arm in a sling the first few days this week,” Marks said. “He will certainly not be full speed if he plays at all.”

Franklin High School

The undefeated Broncos, 10-0, will host Craig County High School, 3-6, at 7 p.m. Friday for the first round of the Virginia High School League Group A Division 1 Eastern region playoffs.

“We are looking forward to the game,” said Franklin Head Coach Darren Parker. “We have had great practices all this week. As always we are looking forward to executing in all three phases of the game.”

The Broncos come into tonight’s game as the only undefeated team in Division 1 and have home field advantage during the playoffs.

“The best thing is that we are home,” Parker said. “We get to play in front of our home fans; they always have our backs.”

Parker admits the key is to stay humble and for his team to do a great job in school as well as on the football field.

WINDSOR HIGH SCHOOL

The Dukes will travel to Goochland High School at 7 p.m. Friday for the first round of the VHSL Group A Division 2 Eastern region playoffs.

“We have a great group of young men that are working hard,” said WHS Head Coach Chuck Parrish. “We are looking for great execution and great effort on Friday night.”

The Dukes come into the game as No. 15 seed of the playoffs with a 3-7 overall record, while the Bulldogs come in as the No. 2 seed with an 8-2 overall record.

“Our kids are excited about being in the playoffs and representing our school and our district in the playoffs,” Parrish said.

ISLE OF WIGHT ACADEMY

The No. 4 Chargers, 7-2, will have to travel to Lynchburg to face the No. 1 Virginia Episcopal School Bishops, 7-2, for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 10, for the semi-final round of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division III State championship playoffs.

“The deck is stacked against us, but our guys are looking forward to the challenge of facing a team that has been ranked No. 1 or 2 all season,” said IWA Head Coach Dale Chapman.

The Chargers have outscored their opponents 338-157 this season, while the Bishops have outscored their opponents 247-196.

“We have our work cut out for us. VES is a well coached team,” Chapman said.

He has had his team working on things to throw VES off balance.

The Chargers clinched a playoff birth on Nov. 2 when they defeated the Atlantic Shores Christian Seahawks 48-16.

“At the beginning of the season we did not know where we were going to be as a team, but the guys worked hard all season and as a result we were able to get a playoff birth,” Chapman said. “The guys are excited to play in the playoffs.”