757Teamz Previews & Picks | Big first week match-up between No. 9 Princess Anne at No. 6 Salem

The first week of the high school football will feature a Top 10 showdown when No. 9 Princess Anne travels to No. 6 Salem in the season opener for both teams.

The SunDevils are the defending district champions.

Salem coach Shawn Wilson prides himself on defense. And this season’s team will once again be a force led by LB Zemarion Harrell and DE Isaiah Henderson. Offensively, the SunDevils will be led by QB Saquan Miles, who is 13-1 as a starter.

Princess Anne went 8-3 in 2019 in James Yeager’s first season.

This season, the Cavaliers expect to challenge for the district title and “win every game.”

“That’s our goal, and anything less than that we will be disappointed,” he said.

This will be the debut for Princess Anne quarterback Ryan High, who moved to Hampton Roads from Spotswood High (near Harrisonburg), where he led his team to the Class 3 Region C championship game and was named first-team All-Valley District.

He has plenty of weapons, including skilled players Tychaun Chapman, Mike Newell and Zaakir Brown.

The Cavaliers, who haven’t beaten Salem since 2004, will be led defensively by Hunter Sherman, Jayden Truesdale,

Miguel Rijo and James Smith.

Larry: Princess Anne 26-23. Marty: Salem 20-14.

Here’s a look at the rest of this week’s high school football games, along with predictions from staff writers Larry Rubama and Marty O’Brien.

Friday

All games at 7 p.m. at the home school unless noted.

No. 2 Maury (0-0) at Booker T. Washington (0-0)

Buzz: The Commodores are the defending Class 5 state champions and Eastern District champions. They will be led offensively by QB Eric “EJ” Gibson, who threw for 3,562 yards and 40 touchdowns last season. They also have RB Demonte Dunlap, a transfer from Norcom, and Da’Jon Evans. Defensively, the Commodores – led by LB Demetrius Johnson and DL Savion Moore – must find a way to contain Bookers star running back Rodney Hammond. The Pitt signee rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.

Larry: Maury 37-20. Marty: Maury 42-14.

No. 5 Ocean Lakes (0-0) at Kellam (0-0)

Buzz: This is a home game for Ocean Lakes but was moved to Kellam because of poor field conditions. The Dolphins, who won the district title in 2018, are led by QB Josh Brown and RB Carlton Winston. The Knights are led by LB Kemari Copeland. The last time the Dolphins lost to the Knights was 2009.

Larry: Ocean Lakes 41-14. Marty: Ocean Lakes 38-7

No. 14 Churchland (0-0) vs. Norview (0-0)

Time: 7:15 p.m.

Site: Powhatan Field

Buzz: Last season, the Truckers won their first playoff game in program history as they advanced to the Class 4 Region A final. Coach Dontrelle Leonard wants to build off that success. They are led by QB Brandyn Hillman and WRs Na’shawn Bunch and Kaleb Gallop. The Pilots are excited to begin a new era under first-year coach Ian Rapanick.

Larry: Churchland 20-13. Marty: Churchland 27-13.

Landstown (0-0) at Tallwood (0-0)

Buzz: The Eagles are led by QB Dwight McMasters and RB Christian Parham. They also have a strong line led by Denzel Lowry, Isaiah Montgomery and Iosefa Tanoai. The Lions are led by running back Gunner White, who has rushed for nearly 2,000 career yards.

Larry: Landstown 34-27. Marty: Landstown 14-6.

Bayside (0-0) at First Colonial (0-0)

Buzz: The Marlins are led by QB Tajon Reese and WR Devin Jones. Defensively, they have LBs Justice Merritt and Aiden Pick, and lineman Thurland White. Patriots coach Carlos Martinez is looking forward to seeing what his team can do this season as he has a good mixture of experienced and young talent.

Larry: Bayside 20-6. Marty: Bayside 28-0.

Cox (0-0) at Kempsville (0-0)

Buzz: The Falcons return plenty of talent and experience, including QB Dylan Hauser and Slot Dominic Wilson. The defensive line should be tough with George Balance and Brendan Wallace. The Chiefs ended a 63-game losing streak last season, but they return a very young team with fewer than 10 seniors.

Larry: Cox 41-0. Marty: Cox 45-0

Grafton (0-0) vs. York (0-0)

Site: Bailey Field

Buzz: York graduated 23 seniors, but coach Doug Pereira said, “We’re not looking to rebuild, we’re reloading.” They are led by WR/LB Kase Butler, who is a three-year starter. They also have Rashad Stepney and Oliver Schlosser in the backfield. The Falcons ended an on-field losing streak of 19 under Errold Cobbins, who begins his second season.

Larry: York 27-6. Marty: York 28-10.

New Kent (0-0) at Jamestown (0-0)

Buzz: John McCauley begins his first season at New Kent but has spent most of his nine seasons in the program as the junior varsity coach. The Trojans face Jamestown, which begins its first season under Thad Wheeler.

Larry: New Kent 14-7. Marty: New Kent 28-12.

Hickory (0-1) at Western Branch (0-1)

Time: 6:15 p.m.

Buzz: Both teams are coming off losses. The Bruins lost to Great Bridge 3-0 in the season opener in the first game under new coach Rashad Cooke. The Hawks try to bounce back from a 64-0 loss to Oscar Smith.

Larry: Western Branch 13-6. Marty: Western Branch 24-7

Saturday

Wilson (0-0) vs. Norcom (0-0)

Time: 10:30 a.m.

Site: Powhatan Stadium

Buzz: The Greyhounds begin their first season under Korrey Davis, who replaced Robert Jackson, who is the school’s athletic director. Last season they made the Class 3 Region A semifinals. They have high hopes this season with QB Shyheim Cannon and two-way players WR/LB Tyriq Jenkins and WR/DB JaRon Ratliff.

Larry: Norcom 27-13. Marty: Norcom 35-0.

No. 1 Oscar Smith (1-0) vs. Great Bridge (1-0)

Time: 1 p.m.

Site: at Colon L. Hall Stadium

Buzz: The top-ranked Tigers are playing for the second time this week. On Tuesday, Kevon King scored four touchdowns, and Ethan Vasko ran for two and passed for another as the Tigers rolled to a 64-0 victory over Hickory. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-0 win over Western Branch in the season opener.

Larry: Oscar Smith 55-0. Marty: Oscar Smith 60-6.

No. 12 Deep Creek (1-0) at No. 8 Indian River (0-0)

Time: 1 p.m.

Buzz: This is a big Southeastern District showdown between two of the top teams in Hampton Roads. The Hornets are playing for the second time this week. They beat Grassfield 14-6 on Monday as they held the Grizzlies to just 87 total yards. They will try to ruin the opener for freshman quarterback Tyler Allison, who makes his first high school start for the Braves.

Larry: Deep Creek 27-26. Marty: Indian River 21-13.

No. 10 Lafayette vs. Tabb

Time: 1 p.m.

Site: Bailey Field

Buzz: Lafayette comes in as the team to beat in the Bay Rivers. They are led by Virginia signee and TE/LB Mike Green and QB Luke Hanson. Matt Lawson enters his 17th and final season for the Tigers.

Larry: Lafayette 33-12. Marty: Lafayette 38-13.

No. 3 Lake Taylor (0-0) vs. Granby (0-0)

Time: 3:30 p.m.

Site: Powhatan Stadium

Buzz: The Titans, the defending Class 4 state champions, are led by QB/DB Jeff Foster, WR/DB Pierre Royster and WR/LB Darious Speight. They will miss two-time All-Tidewater Player of the Year Malik Newton, who graduated early to begin his collegiate career at Pittsburgh. But they have RB/LB Tarrion Washington-Jacoubs ready to step in. Lake Taylor coach Hank Sawyer goes against his good friend, Larry Archie. He originally stepped down as coach, but returned eight months later. He led the Comets to a 2-8 record in his only season at Granby. The Comets snapped a 17-game losing streak and won back-to-back games for the first time since 2017.

Larry: Lake Taylor 47-0. Marty: Lake Taylor 52-6