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With 2017 officially in the books and 2018 upon us, PBR VA/DC will look ahead to the upcoming spring and the 2018 season in our Spring Forward series. In this series, we will focus primarily on players and teams that we have seen in 2017 and are looking forward to seeing again in 2018, these posts will not have anything to with prospect rankings.

At the high school level, rivalries carry extra meaning and add intensity to games. Defeating a rival earns bragging rights until the next matchup, and the intensity of these games lead to moments that players, coaches, and spectators will remember for years. Every team has a rival or two that are their most meaningful games, games that all involved are building and planning for weeks and months in advance. We want to highlight a few rivalry games that we are looking forward to this year and why.

Some of these matchups are not traditional rivalries, but are games that could grow into them this year and in the coming years as talent and coaches shift, new schools open up, and more VHSL realignment forces changes in Districts.

Patriot vs Battlefield
These matchups have always featured a ton talent on both sides of the field and has propelled the winner onto a State Tournament run each of the last two years. This year's matchups will be even more intriguing as each team will again feature one of the top two-way talents in their respective classes in Battlefield 2019 Zach Agnos (East Carolina) and Patriot 2020 Riley Eikhoff (Virginia). While those two are the marquee talents on the field, these two teams also feature eight more committed players between them, as they are both likely to be among the last schools standing in 6a.

Centreville vs Oakton vs James Madison
The Warhawks and the Cougars have always played a non-district rivalry game featuring outstanding chili dogs in the Vienna Inn Classic, but with Madison's move into the Concorde District we now get the added weight of District play and double the meetings in this rivalry. Throw in the addition of former Oakton Coach Scott Rowland to the Centreville dugout plus the return of top prospect Cristian Sanchez (Virginia) and the Concorde District as a whole is going to be fun to watch this spring. Sanchez pairs with fellow senior John Farley (Eastern Kentucky) to give Centreville a dangerous 1-2 punch on the mound. Madison has always been a good team and will feature arguably the best pure hitter in Northern Virginia in senior Kyle Novak (James Madison) in the middle of the lineup and fellow senior Jake Nielsen (Brigham Young) as their returning ace. Oakton won the 6A North Region in dramatic fashion in 2017 as Eric Lingebach hit a walk-off home run in extra innings, and while the Cougars lost some key pieces to graduation in pitchers Toma Shigaki-Than (Duke), Owen Lamon (Georgetown), and catcher Ryan Davis (Georgetown), the rest of a deep lineup will be back around Lingebach along with 2019 LHP Seth Richards, who showed the ability to dominate as a sophomore in 2017.

Lake Braddock vs W.T. Woodson
Braddock has had some great games against West Springfield, who are their traditional rivals, in recent years and that should continue in 2018 as the Spartans will again have a very good team, but the Bruins' showdowns with Woodson could be the games to see in 2018. Woodson has senior Hunter Hoopes (UNC Asheville), who has continued to develop and has shown the ability to work in the upper 80s on the mound with an electric arm and more in the tank. Bruin junior Lyle Miller-Green (Virginia Tech) is one of the top prospects in Virginia and could match that velocity in what could be a fun matchup of big arms.

Paul VI Catholic vs St. John's College
While the Panthers have suffered a bit by losing two key transfers, they still will have plenty of talent on the field in 2018 in seniors Connor Baine (George Mason), Thomas Russell (Navy), and Jack Weeks (Georgetown) as well as highly-ranked junior Cortland Lawson (Tennessee). St. John's has had an epic run the last few years, but the Cadets will be young in 2018 outside of seniors Zach Tsakounis (William & Mary), and Jacob Steinberg, who is coming back from injury. Youth has never been an impediment to St. John's success in recent years as they tend to reload quickly, and 2019 SS Ian Remalia is a youngster who could be major factor for the Cadets.

Woodgrove vs Loudoun Valley
The Battle for Purcellville will feature a lot of talent on both sides in 2018 highlighted by a pair of highly-ranked junior righthanders. Loudoun Valley's Michael Grupe has shown himself to be legitimate two-way prospect with a fastball that can reach the upper 80s. Woodgrove's RHP Nick Lockhart (Virginia Tech) is one of the top prospects in the class nationally and is a big projectable arm that has also shown upper 80s velocity. Throw in the chance to see Woodgrove 2018 SS Justin Hanvey (Radford) and this game will have some extra juice in 2018.

Briar Woods vs Freedom (South Riding)
While these two might not be geographic rivals, this will be fun matchup in Potomac District play this year. The defending 5a State Champions lost some pieces to graduation including OF Michael Ludowig (Wake Forest), but the Falcons will be strong again in 2018 with senior LHP Wilson Ayers (Navy) back on the mound after pitching like an ace down the stretch in 2017. His battery mate will also be back in senior C George Rosales (Farleigh Dickinson). Freedom moves up to 5a after being in 4a in 2017 and advancing to the West Region tournament, where a young Eagle team upset Bassett in the first round before being eliminated. Freedom brings the bulk of that team back with the addition by transfer of two-way talent IF/RHP Will Schroeder (North Carolina) to join a senior class that already had three committed seniors, including C Jack Fitzgerald (George Mason).

Riverside vs Dominion
The Rams will be playing only their third varsity season in the spring and their first at 4a, but Riverside reached the 3a State Championship game in 2017 and brings back the bulk of their roster for this spring and also include a major addition in senior OF Tyler Casagrande (Arizona) via transfer. Dominion did not advance to the 4a West Region tournament in 2017, but Titans junior LHP Dylan Weber has the stuff to challenge the deep Rams' lineup and should make this an entertaining matchup.

 

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