The Virginia High School Football playoffs are down to their 6 championship games next weekend. I had the opportunity to shoot a couple of games last Saturday. These were region finals, or in other words, state semi-final games.

Thomas Dale vs. Oscar Smith

The first game I shot was the Group 6A South Region final between Thomas Dale Knights (9-4) of Chester and the Oscar Smith Tigers (12-0) of Chesapeake. Thomas Dale had defeated Woodbridge 26-0, C.D. Hylton 17-14 and Cosby  13-7 to reach the 6A region final. Oscar Smith had defeated Kellam 48-13, Grassfield 20-19, and the defending 6A state champs and nationally ranked Ocean Lakes 29-19 the previous week.

Thomas Dale opened the scoring with a field goal in the first quarter.

Defenses dominated the first quarter.

Oscar Smith had two passes for touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-3 lead into halftime.

Oscar Smith added another touchdown in the second half and won 21-3 to capture the Class 6A South Region championship. They will now play Westfield (13-1) for the Class 6A state championship next Saturday at the University of Virginia.

Courtland vs. Lake Taylor

The other game I caught, although for only about one quarter, was the Group 4A South Region final between the defending 4A state champion Lake Taylor Titans (13-0) of Norfolk and the Courtland Cougars (11-2).

Courtland reached the 4A region final by defeating King George 42-0, Eastern View 48-20, and Lafayette 27-6. Lake Taylor defeated Denbigh 55-14, King’s Fork 52-39 and Hanover 37-22.

Lake Taylor jumped out to a huge halftime lead and Courtland was never able to overcome it as Lake Taylor won 47-33. They now face Salem (13-0) next Saturday in a rematch of their 4A state championship game last year.