Chargers Look For Revenge Against Undefeated Cyclones

Varsity Football : Playoff Preview Chancellor (3) vs. Eastern View (2)

The last two times these teams faced each other, the Chancellor Chargers have not seen much go their way. Last year in their playoff opener, the Eastern View Cyclones took advantage of a badly injured Chargers squad that was limping into the playoffs. Then in a rematch this year on Week 3 of the regular season, the Cyclones came back from down 18 at the half to beat a red-hot Chargers team.

When the Chargers head back to Culpeper again, they will look to change the tide. Eastern View leads the overall all-time series 5 - 4 since the two teams started playing each other in 2009, but Chancellor has outscored them 282-225 in those games. These two teams play very different teams, as the only common opponent they had in the regular season was the Spotsylvania Knights, who both teams beat fairly well.

Chancellor’s season has had multiple marquee moments, as recently as slaughtering the Powhatan Indians 59 - 13 and as far back as upsetting Massaponax in September 50 - 47. Eastern View, on the other had, has benefitted from a weaker schedule, but still has some impressive wins against Brentsville, Orange County, and probably biggest of all Chancellor.

Also worth noting, there will be 18 active players in this match-up who were given Conference 19 First Team honors this year. There are only 33 players given this honor, and these two teams account for over half of them in a Conference with 7 teams.

So, how does Chancellor dismantle a team that has been giving them troubles recently? Well, coming into this game the Chargers are healthier than usual with all their key weapons active including Senior Jason Brown (who missed the playoff game in 2015 with a broken ankle) and Senior Yetur Matos (who missed the regular season game earlier this year). They will also look to build off of Junior Lovell Armstead’s incredible performance against Powhatan the previous week, while incorporating Senior C.J. Washington back into the team’s high powered offense. Lastly, Senior E.J. Jenkins is bound to continue his incredible season with more receptions after recording 95 receiving yards against Powhatan.

What about Eastern View? It’s hard to find things for a team that is 11 - 0 on the year and is a program that has come a long way since its foundation in 2008. But even the undefeated have things to work on, like improving first-half play. This year a majority of points for the Cyclones has come late in games which is especially dangerous for opponents. The defense this year for the Cyclones has been just short of incredible. Also the Cyclones offensive line will face a huge test going against maybe the best defensive line they’ve seen all year. To be successful, they’ll need to keep their quarterback clean and keep providing lanes for their running game.

This Friday night at Eastern View, expect a brutal defensive battle against two teams that are having break-out years. The defensive and offensive lines are key for both teams, and whichever team sees the better performance may likely decide the outcome of the game. The winner of this game will play the winner of Monacan (5 Seed) vs. Dinwiddie (1 Seed). If Monacan wins, one of these teams will also bring football back to their home for the last time of the season.