The three-time defending champion Madison Warhawks opened this season's 6D North Region football tournament with a first-round blowout home victory.
Top seed Madison (10-1) routed the No. 8 seed Langley Saxons, 42-6, the night of Nov. 10 in the high-school game. Langley finished the season 5-6.
For Madison, the victory was its ninth straight in region playoff games over four seasons. All nine wins have been at home. Overall, Madison has qualified for the region playoffs for the ninth year in a row.
The Warhawks took control early against Langley, leading 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and 28-6 at halftime.
The offense was led by quarterback Cael Yates. He was 10 of 17 passing for 231 yards and threw three touchdown passes of 23 and 43 yards to Darren Knicely and 51 to Cord Yates. Cord Yates caught four passes for 112 yards and Darren Knicely three for 97. Liden Krush, Dominic Knicely, Zach Monticelli and Anthony Roman each had one catch.
Dominic Knicely ran for 113 yards and two TDs and he returned a punt 58 yards for another score. Cole DeSimone ran for 20 yards and Krush for 17.
Danika Pfleghardt kicked six extra points.
On defense for Madison, Jack Ambruzs, Luke Salvosa, Henry Maiden, Quincy Dewispelaere, Oscar Espanol, Caleb Smith, Charlie Backman and Darren Knicely were leading tacklers.
Langley was held to 158 total yards and four first downs. Cole Samburg was 6 of 13 passing for 110 yards and he ran for 34, including a three-yard scoring run. Jackson Popovich ran for 20 yards. Vincent Shen caught three passes for 62 and Chris Bergloff two for 45.
The playoff berth was the second straight for Langley.
The Warhawks will play at home again when they host the Herndon Hornets (8-3) in a semifinal contest, Friday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
* In another first-round region playoff game Nov. 10, the McLean Highlanders, 8-3, lost to visiting Herndon, 28-21. The winning season and playoff berths were McLean's first in years.
The Highlanders won only one game last season.
McLean led 7-0, trailed 14-7 at halftime, the contest was tied at 21 afer three periods, then Herndon scored the winning touchdown with 8:06 left to play.
The Highlanders' final possession ended at midfield on an incomplete fourth-down pass.
McLean quarterback Ethan Ball threw three touchdown passes, of 79 yards to Kaelan Ferris, 12 to Aidan Reid and five to Sebastian Carmenates. Nathan Bender kicked three extra points.
* In the four-team Division I private school state football playoffs in Virginia, the No. 3 seed Flint Hill Huskies (7-3) lost to host, second seed and defending champion Trinity Episcopal, 30-28, on a walk-off 38-yard field goal on Nov. 11 in Richmond.
The loss ended Flint Hill's season and six-game winning streak.
"That was a tough one," Flint Hill coach Kirk Peterson said. "That kid made a great kick in a big situation."
Flint Hill rallied from 21-7 and 27-14 deficits to take a 28-27 lead with with 5:07 left in the game on a seven-yard touchdown run by Josh Clarke, followed by Caleb West's extra point.
"We started slow on defense, then held them to only those last three points in the second half," Peterson said. "Our game plan was good and we thought we were going to win. The guys left it all out there on the field."
With a freshman quarterback taking over late in the game for the injured starter, Trinity Episcopal moved into field-goal position. The winning three-pointer was made by a freshman kicker.
Flint Hill's other three touchdowns were scored on two passes from West to Vic McNeal and another from West to Clarke. West kicked four extra points and punted, as well. Andrew King was the team's leading rusher.
On defense for Flint Hill, Julian Amankwah had a late-game sack and Clarke had an interception.
The return to the state playoffs was the first for Flint Hill since winning consecutive Division I titles with undefeated records in 2017 and 2018.
The Huskies entered this season's state playoffs as the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference champion for the first time since the 2019 campaign.
"We were two points short. Our motto next year in those situations will to be farther ahead at the end of games so two points don't matter in a situation like that," Peterson said.
Flint Hill made a strong push to earn a playoff berth. When the first Division I state-wide ratings were released on Sept. 27, the Huskies had a 2-2 record and were not among the top six. By the last rating, Flint Hill had climbed to No. 2, but then was seeded third for the four-team playoffs.
PLAYOFF NOTE: The last time Langley and McLean each qualified for the region playoffs in the same season was in 2011. Each lost in the first round that year, with Langley finishing with a 5-6 overall record and McLean 6-5.
