Spring Preview: Virginia Boys Southeastern District

<strong>6A East Grassfield Grizzlies</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Saw their bid for a state tournament bid fall short after major wins over Beach Rivals Landstown and Kellam in the region tournament. Went 11-2-0 with their only losses to rival Great Bridge and Cosby (region final). Coach Bradley Killenbeck will need to replace two senior captains, center midfielder Ethan Smoak and outside back Landon Nye who led the team in 2021. Leading the attack for the Grizzlies will be center forward Jack Kaupas (9 G) and senior captain midfielder Ryan Taing (7 G). Killenbeck is looking forward for All-Tidewater selection junior captain Wyatt Fontaine to anchor the defense with fellow senior captain Sterling Smith stepping up in the central midfield with support from midfielder senior Heinrich Von Schlichting. "We had a very exciting 2021 season, we learned a lot about ourselves, and we want to continue to move our program forward," Killenbeck said. "Our goal is to continue to build and improve every training session, learn every match, perform, and compete well in district play to successfully qualify for region playoffs." In what has come to be expected from the Grizzly program, they have the top non-district schedule and matches with Kellam, Cox, Ocean Lakes, and First Colonial await. <strong>5B Nansemond River Warriors</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Suffered its first losing season (5-6-0) in recent memory and lost in the region quarterfinals for the second straight season. The program is switching to Region 5B from 5A this season. Coach Dustin Tordoff will look to replace four key members from 2021. Returning defenders Zander Zimmerman and Jason Cooney look to anchor the back line in front of a young keeper. Center attacking midfielder Ayden Chance (10 G) and center defensive midfielder Justin Henderson will be relied upon to control the middle for an overall young squad. Tordoff is looking for a top 6 finish in Region 5B in order to make it to postseason play. <strong>5A Hickory Hawks</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Failed to make the state tournament (qualified in 2018 and 2019) after falling to Gloucester in the region quarterfinals. The lone regular season loss was to rival Great Bridge and Hickory finished 6-2-2. Key losses from last season are all out of the midfield, Ethan Clark, Caleb Stickles, and Carl Hocking all graduated but with 16 returning players, Coach Mike Gyori should find suitable replacements. Returners include keepers RJ Mackey and Grant Schendler, backs Elijah Platz and Brad Seery (VMI), forwards [player_tooltip player_id="33018" first="Gavin" last="Page"] (James Madison), and Gabriel Woods, and finally midfielder Michael Orlando. Like every season Hickory plays one of the toughest non-district schedules in the area. Matches against Princess Anne, Maury, York, First Colonial, Kempsville, and Cox should have them playing at a high level before district play begins. "We have 16 players from last year’s team," Gyori said. "We added three new faces that I hope can contribute at some point this season. We lost some pieces to graduation in our midfield but have very capable players who are going to help us minimize those losses. We have two senior keepers who are both excellent and will battle each other for minutes. If we can stay healthy, we will compete with the top teams in 5A." <strong>5A Indian River Braves</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Compiled a record of 3-4-1 in a shortened season and missed out on the regional tournament. First-year coach Jay Albritton will look to returning starters Diego Alvarez, Jacob Neff, and Alessandro Pena to lead his young and inexperienced squad. Newcomers include freshman keeper Sam Rhoad and two young midfielders, Alan Powell and Rylan Williams. The Braves, as expected will be a gritty group that will look to gain some tough district results and give the leaders tough games. An extremely tough non-district schedule includes Kempsville, Class 2 State Champion Nandua, Granby, and Landstown. <strong>4A Great Bridge Wildcats</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Went 9-3-0 and won a region quarterfinal game against Warwick before falling to Menchville in the region semifinals. The Wildcats graduated 13 players (plus one transfer) from a senior-heavy team including Pit Eitz, Robbie Snyder, Thomas Allen, Caleb Breidert, and Trae Owen. Five returning starters in center midfielder Anthony Panayiotou, center mid/forward Cameron Todd, center mid/forward Keegin Jessee, defender Arnold Ratkauskas, and defender Kyle Griesi will lead the way this season. Add in a mix of youth and upperclassmen and coach Scott Wright said, "They won’t have thoughts of a rebuild." Key non-district matches include Kempsville, Grafton, and Class 2 State Champion Nandua. <strong>4A Deep Creek Hornets</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Finished 3-6-0 and failed to qualify for the very competitive Region 5A tournament. This year sees the Hornets drop from region 5A to 4A where they should qualify for postseason play. Key losses from last season include Chris Anderson, Calen Post, and Dustin Post but have plenty of talent returning. The midfield will be occupied by Tim Johnke, Moana Gibson, and Nathan Paysse. The backs also have three returning starters in Matt Wright, Aidan Schaar, and Bowen Dellinger. Up top, Mark Hendrick is the lone returning player. Coach Eric Dellinger has a pair of freshmen, K Dylan Ausley and D Dylan Burrill, that will start and make an impact immediately. Dellinger's squad took a big hit in losing senior keeper Dylan Holbach (VMI commit) to a preseason injury. "This group has played together now for a couple years and we expect to compete in each match," Dellinger said. "We have size and speed, and a good work rate. If we play for each other we might surprise some people this year. We tend to win the games we are supposed to win and come close in a few while always playing teams tough. I would like to see us get a signature win or two this season, finish in the top half of the district, and advance into post-season play." <strong>6A East Western Branch Bruins</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> A very respectful record of 7-3-1 but were eliminated in the region quarterfinals for the third straight season. Looking to build on their best season since 2016, the Bruins could be honorary members of the Beach District this year with six of their non-district games coming against First Colonial, Lansdstown, Tallwood, Salem, Kellam, and Ocean Lakes. <strong>6A East Oscar Smith Tigers</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Finished 4-6-0 and failed to qualify for postseason play. The Tigers will need positive results in out-of-district games against Churchland, Granby, Manor, Tallwood, Bayside, and Landstown if they want to have postseason aspirations. <strong>4A Kings Fork Bulldogs</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Did not qualify for the region tournament after a 1-9-0 season. <strong>3A Lakeland Cavaliers</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Went 1-10-0.