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2023 football schedules: Maury takes on state champs Highland Springs, Dinwiddie in back-to-back weeks

jami frankenberry, the virginian-pilot
·2 min read

Maury will play defending state champions during back-to-back weeks, and a handful of Hampton Roads public school teams will clash with private schools for the first time, according to the Virginia High School League’s master schedules for the 2023 football season.

Maury gets an early-season rematch of last year’s Class 5 state championship game against Highland Springs, and a week later takes on Dinwiddie, the defending Class 4 state champ.

The Commodores fell 33-19 to Highland Springs in last year’s Class 5 title game. The teams will meet again at Powhatan Field in Norfolk on Sept. 8, although they won’t meet in the playoffs: Highland Springs, a perennial state power in Class 5, moves to Class 6 for the 2023-24 school year.

Highland Springs hosts Norcom on Sept. 15, while Maury visits Dinwiddie on Sept. 15.

Also noteworthy on the VHSL’s master schedule:

  • Phoebus and Oscar Smith will play a regular-season game for the third consecutive season after splitting matchups the previous two years. The Phantoms visit Oscar Smith Sept. 1. Oscar Smith’s other non-district matchup is a season opener against Hermitage.

  • Several teams have added private schools to their schedules: Lafayette and Lake Taylor both have scheduled games against St. Christopher’s School of Richmond, and Western Branch hosts Benedictine, also of Richmond.

  • Lake Taylor opens the season with three consecutive non-district games: Camden (New Jersey) on Aug. 25, Hopewell (Sept. 8) and St. Christopher’s (Sept. 15).

  • In Virginia Beach, all 11 Beach District teams will play their usual 10-game district regular season.

  • New Princess Anne coach Phillip Sims, a former star quarterback at Oscar Smith, makes his debut with the Cavaliers on Aug. 25 at Cox — coached by first-year coach Tyler Noe, a former Falcons assistant.

  • Legendary coach Tommy Reamon returns to the sidelines after a two-year hiatus as he attempts to revive a Denbigh program that was among the worst in Hampton Roads a year ago. The Patriots open Aug. 25 against Granby at Powhatan Field in Norfolk.

  • One of Hampton Roads’ most spirited rivalries — York vs. Tabb — turns 50 this season. The teams play Sept. 15 at Bailey Field.

  • If anyone can threaten two-time state champion Phoebus’ dominance in the Peninsula District this season, it’s Warwick, a Class 4 state semifinalist last year led by rising star Messiah Delhomme. They play Oct. 27 at Todd Stadium.

Staff writers Larry Rubama and Marty O’Brien contributed to this story.