Aldie, Va. — A cool late-summer night, a crosstown rivalry, and six lead changes were just about as much as the nearly 5,000 fans could ask for as the John Champe High School Knights made the less than two mile trip down Braddock Road for their first ever varsity football match up with rival Lightridge High School. The Lightning struck first, but the Knights proved victorious as John Champe overcame some offensive woes and got a 32-yard field goal off the foot of senior kicker Omar Ebadi with 64 seconds to play to outlast Lightridge, 24-22, on August 31 in…

Leesburg, Va. — On just the second day of school, the Tuscarora High School football team was set to host rival Heritage High School under the Friday Night Lights in Leesburg with kickoff slated for 7pm. But Mother Nature had some other plans as the Tuscarora administration pushed the start time back to 7:30pm because of excessive heat. Then during the delay, Mother Nature once again showed up with a torrential thunderstorm that pushed back the start time further, closer to 8pm. Despite the delays and despite the environment of a week one crosstown rivalry showdown, the Huskies persevered and…

Leesburg, Va. — For the Woodgrove High School softball program, playing in a state championship game has become second nature. In the eleven seasons since the school opened, the Wolverines had appeared in eight state championship games, winning it all five times. But 2023 was different. None of the girls on this Woodgrove team had ever played in a state championship game. Their 2020 season was cut short before it even started due to COVID. In 2021, the Wolverines fell in a region semifinal. Then in 2022, Woodgrove lost to Hickory in a VHSL Class 5 State semifinal. So when…

Leesburg, Va. — Every time Nansemond River took the lead, the Independence High School baseball team had a near immediate response. Never trailing for more than a half inning, the Tigers showed their resiliency, overcoming first- and fifth-inning deficits, before rallying in the eighth to trump the Warriors, 6-3, in a VHSL Class 5 State semifinal on June 9 in Leesburg. “We have not played from behind a lot this year; in most of our games, we’ve scored first and kept leads. But we always talk about being able to take a punch,” Independence head coach Joe McDonald said. “This…

Leesburg, Va. — When you throw strikes, play solid defense, and execute the small details on offense, you’re priming yourself to have success. That’s just what the Heritage High School baseball team did when they issued just two free 90s, played clean defense, and got some clutch at-bats in the third and sixth innings in their 6-3 win over rival Loudoun County High School on May 17 in Leesburg. The win capped off a 12-2 Dulles District schedule for Heritage, earning the Pride their first regular season title in program history. “I can’t really put it into words, I’m just…

Ashburn, Va. — Coming off a 3-0 win over previously unbeaten Independence, the Riverside High School boys soccer team was looking to turn their 5-game winning streak into six when they traveled to Ashburn to battle rival Stone Bridge in a Potomac District clash. Having already beaten the Bulldogs, 2-1, in their first matchup of the season on April 13, the Rams got right to business in the rematch, taking the lead in the 22nd minute, adding to it in the 28th minute, and putting the game out of reach in the 55th minute, before eventually blanking the Bulldogs, 5-0,…