Virginia Boys Spring Preview: Peninsula and Bay Rivers Districts
Six Peninsula and Bay Rivers district teams will kick off the start off the season on March 13th by participating in the Keepers Cup Memorial Tournament in Williamsburg in honor of Conner Gweedo and Luke Messick. Please visit Luke Messick…
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Continue ReadingSix Peninsula and Bay Rivers district teams will kick off the start off the season on March 13th by participating in the Keepers Cup Memorial Tournament in Williamsburg in honor of Conner Gweedo and Luke Messick. Please visit Luke Messick Futbol Charities, Inc. (lukemessickfc.com) and Conner Gweedo Memorial Foundation for more information. Teams playing in the tourney are Menchville, Kecoughtan, Warwick, Tabb, Grafton, and Lafayette.
Peninsula District:
5B Kecoughtan Warriors
2022 Recap: The Warriors had a historic run finishing 13-5-2 and earned a berth in the VHSL class 5 state tournament where they beat Hickory in the quarterfinals before falling in semifinals to Riverside.
Coach Scott Canaday returns all 11 starters from last year’s squad and will look to make another deep post season run. “Our goal this year is to make it to the state final,” he said. The Warriors are loaded with talent including senior striker Joe Summerfield, senior CDM Colin Skwirut, junior midfielder Tre’ Barrett (2nd team all-state), senior defender Bobby Stephens, and senior striker Ubong Ekop. Christopher Newport University commitments and 2022 first team class 5 all-state first team selectees Joe Summerfield and Colin Skwirut have high expectations of winning a state championship for Kecoughtan.
Key non-district matches: Tabb, Lafayette, Grafton, and Cox.
5B Menchville Monarchs
2022 Recap: Finished the season 14-2-1 and made a return to the state tournament for the first time since 2018 but were eliminated in quarterfinals by eventual class 5 champion Cox in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss.
New head coach John Tracey inherits a team that is deep and has plenty of experience. The attack will be led by Randolf-Macon College commits forward Davian Jackson and midfielder Damien Jackson, while Bridgewater College commit Alex Dierkens (2nd team all-state) will anchor the defense from his center back position. The Monarchs did lose midfielders Josh Candella (1st team all-state), Owen Gates, keeper Teddy Rogar, and defender Drew Walls to graduation, so there are some holes to fill. Class 5 2nd team all-state selections sophomore forward Christian Robertson and junior midfielder Tristian Klompenhouwer will look for even bigger roles this season.
Key non-district matches: Grafton, Tabb, and Lafayette.
4A Warwick Raiders
2022 Recap: Had a very respectable season at 10-5-1 and a berth in the regional tournament where they fell to state semifinalist Great Bridge 4-2.
Team captain and all-region selection senior CDM Ja Marhe Wills will lead a young team for Coach Michael Norton and will look for a third straight trip to the regional tournament. Other key players include leading scorer sophomore forward Abdul Mokhtar, senior center back Hagen Hines, and junior keeper Ethan Chenoweth.
Key non-district matches: Lafayette, Grafton, Tabb, and Smithfield
5B Woodside Wolverines
2022 Recap: Finished with their most successful season in recent memory at 10-5-2 and made the regional tournament before bowing out to Gloucester in the quarterfinals.
The Wolverines look to make it three winning seasons in a row in 2023 and make a return to postseason play.
Key non-district matches: Nansemond River, Norview, and Granby
5B Gloucester Dukes
2022 Recap: Ended the season with 10-6-0 record and lost to Menchville in the region semifinals.
Coach Craig Raines always puts a solid squad on the pitch and will look for the Dukes to have their 5th consecutive winning season.
Key non-district matches: Poquoson, Norview, and York.
Bay Rivers District:
4A Warhill Lions
2022 Recap: Lost in the region quarterfinals to Jamestown but still finished with their best record in years at 10-7-0
Coach Justin Cook looks to get his team over the hump and make a run in the regional tournament and has scheduled a demanding non-district schedule to test his team early in the season. First team all-region senior striker Arvin Picardo will lead the attack along with 2nd team all-region senior midfielder Cameron Bowman and junior winger Josh Markle. The midfield is solid starting in the back with 2nd team all-region CDM senior Connor Boquist, junior center midfielder Hayden Bright, and up and coming sophomore midfielder Christian Menker. On the defensive end junior Luke Gray, sophomore Jayden Caldero, and newcomer senior Justin Ashley should form a formidable back line.
Key non-district matches: First Colonial, Cox, and Great Bridge
4A Smithfield Packers
2022 Recap: The 2021 VHSL Class 4 state champions came up short in their bid for back-to-back titles after losing in the state semifinals in overtime to eventual state champion Western Albemarle. The Packers finished 15-4-1 and more impressively have compiled 60 wins in the last four seasons including three trips to states.
Coach Jason Henderson has put together arguably the toughest non-district schedule in the Bay Rivers district to challenge and prepare his squad for postseason play. After graduating 10 seniors, “We don’t have the depth that we have had in past years, but our starting lineup will be quality and just as good or even better than last year,” he said. First team all-state and regional player of the year senior Onesime Muepu will lead the attack along with senior Luke Skinner (2nd team all-region) and senior Tamir Melvin (2nd team all-region). Also in the attack are senior Josh Vincent (Virginia Wesleyan University) and a player to watch is junior Andy Muepu who has shown tremendous improvement from a year ago. First team all-state senior defender Jalen Marble will anchor the defense along with Manny Castel and senior Patrick Leslie.
Key non-district matches: Ocean Lakes, Grassfield, Landstown, and Great Bridge.
4A Jamestown Eagles
2022 Recap: Posted an impressive 12-4-1 record but ended the season for the second consecutive year with a loss in the region semifinals.
Coach Phil Geyer has put together a challenging schedule for the Eagles “So right away we should get a good test of where we are as a team,” he said. Jamestown’s roster has three returning first team all-region selections, senior captain CDM Peyton Smith, 2022 leading scorer sophomore forward Max Cooper (20 G/12 A), and senior captain Hunter House. Also representing the captain’s armband that will be relied upon are seniors Will Sneed and Nathan Stutt. With a total of 15 seniors and a good group of players moving up from junior varsity, Jamestown has a deep roster with plenty of experience all over the pitch.
Key non-district matches: Kellam, Western Albemarle, and First Colonial.
4A Grafton Clippers
2022 Recap: Finished the year 11-5-1 after starting out 8-0-1 and were at the top of the 757 rankings at the midseason mark. The Clippers lost to Smithfield in the region semifinals and came up a game short of reaching the state tournament for the third time in four seasons.
The Clippers graduated 15 seniors and will look to reload in 2023 led by first team all-region senior midfielder Caleb Lewis (Christopher Newport University).
Key non-district matches: Menchville, Warwick, and Kecoughtan.
3A Lafayette Rams
2022 Recap: A trip to the state tournament ended in disappointment with a loss to class 3 finalist Meridian in the quarterfinals but the Rams finished with consecutive 10-win seasons at 10-5-0.
After fielding a young team in 2022 Coach Bobby O’Brien has an excellent core of returning players led by first team all-state junior Atticus Kamara, first team all-region senior Danel Zilla, and sophomore Ever Salamanca. Also returning are 2nd team all-region juniors Clarke Canova, Eli Johnson, Kai Moore, and Michael Gallgher.
Key non-district matches: Kecoughtan, Menchville, and Landstown.
3A Tabb Tigers
2022 Recap: After losing in the semifinal round of the state tournament the past two seasons, Tabb completed a miraculous 19-1-0 season with a win over Meridian in the final and finished as the VHSL class 3 State Champions.
Coach Scott Kuhnle’s team graduated seven key seniors including class 3 Player of the Year Andrew Fiocca, Logan Stombaugh (1st team all-state), Jackson Shiflett (1st team all-state), and Garrett Aunapu (2nd team all-state). “We are looking to develop and grow as a team as we progress through our schedule and our expectations are to be ready by the end of the regular season to make a good run in post-season play,” he said. Even with the losses there are plenty of high-quality players returning, Peninsula Sports Player of the Year and 1st team all-state senior midfielder Michael Hackworth (Christopher Newport University) and 1st team all-state senior winger Austin Robertson. Additionally, senior captains Noah Martin and Jacob Kimball will lead the defense alongside senior Ty Hefner. Newcomers Coa Hucks, Kaidan Lowery, and Carson Ashe look to take on roles left by graduating seniors. Senior Ty Hefner will look to connect with Hackworth and Robertson in the attacking end.
Key non-district matches: Kecoughtan, Menchville, and Warwick.
2A Bruton Panthers
2022 Recap: Advanced to the class 2 state tournament where they fell to eventual champion Glenvar in the quarterfinals. Their nine wins were the most since 2016.
Coach Luke Taylor has a strong returning core and has high expectations for Bruton in 2023. “We hope to get more positive results within the district this year, and advance further in the class 2 playoffs,” he said. The back line returns three senior starters in defenders Khalil Johnson (2nd team all-state), Hayden Offenbacher (2nd team all-region), and Jackson Pattisall (2nd team all-region) and they should provide a clean box in front of junior keeper Emmet Robinson (2nd team all-state). Other key returning players include senior forward Drake Perrin (1st team all-region), junior forward Mark Wilson (1st team all-region), and sophomore midfielder Aidyn Smith (2nd team all-region).
Key non-district matches: Tallwood, Mecklenburg County, and Thomas Jefferson.
2A Poquoson Islanders
2022 Recap: Finished a disappointing 4-12-0 and were eliminated in the region quarterfinals.
Senior midfielder Robert Brown will look to put the Islanders back in contention in region 2A where they made it to the region final in 2021 after a state tournament berth in 2019.
Key non-district matches: Great Bridge, Gloucester, and Nandua.