Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Division 5 Football Playoff Standings After Week 5

1) Hanover-----26.2
2) John Marshall-----24.2
3) Midlothian-----23.2
4) Hopewell-----22.6
5) Lee-Davis------22.4
6) Atlee and Glen Allen (tie)-----22.0
8) Dinwiddie-----21.0

A few notes:

Hanover certainly controls their destiny, and with really only two tough games in their last five (at Varina, at Lee-Davis), 8-2 would probably clinch top seed, while 7-3 would probably mean playoffs, but no certainty on seeding.

Both Atlee and Lee-Davis have work to do. Lee-Davis suddenly realizes a win over Glen Allen is a necessity Friday night on the road to keep the momentum up for playoff hopes, with the Jaguars just four-tenths of a point behind them in the race.  Glen Allen's VHSL schedule is only nine games, as the loss to Fredericksburg Christian, a private school, doesn't count.

Neither will Midlothian's game on October 19th against Benedictine. An upset over L.C. Bird at home this week would not only help them in gaining a top two playoff seed, it would suddenly catapult them into Dominion District title talk.  But, first things first, they have to knock off the Skyhawk juggernaut.

John Marshall has to face #1 Hermitage in the Willie Lanier Classic at Hovey Field on the campus of Virginia Union Friday night.  If they fall, as expected, then expect the gap in points between #2 and #6 to tighten rather significantly.  This would probably put JM into a position where, to assure a playoff berth, they'd better win out (all road games against Deep Run, Freeman, Tucker, and Thomas Jefferson).  Last year, they finished 7-3 and missed the playoffs.  They certainly don't want that to happen two years in a row.

Finally, expect Dinwiddie's rise in the point standings to begin this week, even though they have to face an embarrassed Thomas Dale on the road. The Generals should win this game, BUT, the Knights are ultra-talented, very disappointed in their 2-3 record thus far, and, if they can light the fuse, they could take their frustrations out on Dinwiddie, severely damaging the playoff hopes of the team thought to be, in September, the biggest threat to Hanover's hope to repeat as Division 5 Regional Champions.

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