As we enter the final week of the regular season, district races are at full tilt across the region. The Langley boys and Oakton girls are the only teams that have clinched their district regular season title, and the West Springfield girls have clinched a share of the Patriot District. The five other districts are up for grabs with two games remaining. Before we get to that, let’s take a look at the standings.
Boys:
Concorde District
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Patriot District
Team Overall District T.C. Williams 15-5 10-2 Lake Braddock 11-8 9-3 Annandale 13-6 8-4 South County 12-7 7-5 Woodson 12-8 7-5 West Potomac 11-8 5-7 West Springfield 3-14 2-10 Lee 1-16 0-12National District
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Liberty District
Team Overall District Langley 13-6 11-0 McLean 12-6 8-4 Fairfax 11-9 8-4 South Lakes 10-9 8-4 Jefferson 10-8 6-5 Stone Bridge 4-16 3-9 Madison 4-14 2-9 Marshall 3-16 0-11Girls:
Concorde District
Team Overall District Oakton 19-1 8-0 Robinson 14-5 5-3 Centreville 13-6 5-3 Westfield 9-8 4-4 Chantilly 7-12 1-7 Herndon 3-14 1-7Patriot District
National District
Team Overall District Edison 17-2 12-1 Mount Vernon 16-4 11-2 Yorktown 15-6 11-2 Hayfield 9-11 7-6 Washington-Lee 7-10 5-7 Falls Church 4-15 3-10 Wakefield 5-13 2-11 Stuart 0-20 0-13Liberty District
Team Overall District Stone Bridge 18-2 10-2 Fairfax 15-5 10-2 Madison 12-7 8-4 McLean 10-9 7-5 South Lakes 8-12 5-6 Marshall 7-13 4-8 Langley 3-17 3-10 Jefferson 2-17 1-11Down the stretch they come
On the boys’ side of the Northern Region, Herndon’s lead over Chantilly in the Concorde District sits at a game. T.C. Williams holds the same margin over Lake Braddock in the Patriot. Edison also leads the National District by a game, but the Eagles have two teams nipping at their heels in Mount Vernon and Yorktown. Only Langley, at 11-0 in the Liberty District, has earned themselves another patch for the banner.
While not quite as jam packed, the girls’ side has plenty of intrigue for the final week. Oakton locked up another Concorde District regular-season title, and West Springfield has a two-game lead over South County with two to play. The National District is identical to their male counterparts; Edison holds a one-game advantage over both Mount Vernon and Yorktown. In the Liberty District, Stone Bridge and Fairfax are tied at the top after the Rebels ended the Bulldogs’ 11-game winning streak last week.
Who has the edge to win the regular season crown and earn the top line in the district tournaments? Let’s break them down, one-by-one.
Concorde Boys
Herndon remaining games: @ Robinson, vs. Chantilly
Chantilly remaining games: vs. Westfield, @ Herndon
In a perfect world (for the impartial observer, of course), both these teams would win Tuesday to set up a rematch with the district title on the line. That won’t be easy, especially for Chantilly, as they face a Westfield team that gave them all they could handle in a 55-52 Charger win last month.
Herndon handled Robinson when the teams met in January, coincidentally on the same date Chantilly squeaked past Westfield. There’s very little stopping Herndon’s Austin Hamilton these days, as he looks like a lock for the inaugural Patch Northern Region Player of the Year.
If both teams win on Tuesday, Herndon would clinch a share of the district title, but it would no doubt be sweeter to take it outright. The district champion also gets to avoid Westfield in the second round of the tournament, and would likely face a fading Robinson team.
The Hornets have a one-game edge and a win over Chantilly to boot. The pick here is Herndon.
Patriot Boys T.C. Williams remaining games: @ Lee, vs. West Potomac
Lake Braddock remaining games: vs. South County, @ Annandale
T.C. Williams will almost certainly earn at least a share of the district title on Tuesday, as the Lee Lancers are no match for the powerful Titans. Lake Braddock’s hopes for a partial regular-season title hinge on West Potomac, assuming they can win two tough games against the Stallions and Atoms. More likely, Lake Braddock will be playing for playoff positioning in what will be a crucial final week for everyone in the Patriot District. We’ll look into it further in Friday’s version of the Northern Region Report, but the 4-5 matchup in the Patriot District is an elimination game for the regional tournament, so finishing in the top three is paramount for all the teams with a shot (behind TCW and Lake Braddock, Annandale, South County and Woodson can all finish in one of the first three spots).
Lake Braddock won their previous meetings with South County and Annandale, but Annandale has turned it on of late in the district. If the Bruins can win one of those, they’ll avoid the 4-5 matchup.
Look for T.C. to win the district championship with Lake Braddock earning the consolation prize of a two-seed in the district tournament.
National Boys
Edison remaining game: vs. Yorktown
Mount Vernon remaining game: vs. Falls Church
Yorktown remaining game: @ Edison
The outcome of the district hinges on the Yorktown-Edison game Friday. If Edison wins, they win the district. If Yorktown wins, we’re looking at a very serious possibility of a three-way tie atop the standings.
In their previous matchup, Edison embarrassed Yorktown, holding the Patriots to 28 points on their home floor and keeping star Jack Earley in check. It’s safe to say Yorktown won’t duplicate that performance, but Jerome Diggs, Matt Murphy and company will be ready to defend their home floor with a regular-season district title on the line.
Falls Church has sprung a few upsets this year, but the Majors took care of them in Falls Church last month. With the way Jesse Konadu is playing right now, it’s hard to imagine Mount Vernon not holding up their end of the bargain. The question remains, what happens at Edison?
The Eagles are playing their best ball of the season, winners of 11 of their last 12 games. They’ll make it 12 of 13 on Friday, with a district title as the prize.
Liberty Girls
Stone Bridge remaining games: vs. McLean, @ Marshall
Fairfax remaining games: @ South Lakes, @ McLean
They may not be playing for the championship themselves, but the pesky McLean Highlanders will have a lot to say about which team walks away with the regular-season district title. McLean beat Fairfax on the road earlier this season, and lost their previous matchup to Stone Bridge 45-42, so it’s clear they can play with the best teams in the district. Neither Stone Bridge nor Fairfax is likely to lose its other remaining game, so how these teams perform against McLean is of the utmost importance.
If the teams end the season tied atop the Liberty District, they will share the title as they also split their two regular season games. We’d like to predict a shakeup, but these teams are too good to let a district title slip away at this point in the season. The prediction is that both the Bulldogs and Rebels go 2-0 this week, earning an equal share of the Liberty District championship.
National Girls
Edison remaining game: @ Yorktown
Mount Vernon remaining game: @ Falls Church
Yorktown remaining game: vs. Edison
Just as on the boys’ side, the Edison girls hold a one-game lead over Mount Vernon and Yorktown heading to the final game of the season. No disrespect to the Falls Church Jaguars, but they likely won’t be much of a challenge for Mount Vernon, as the Majors dispatched of them by an 87-17 score in January.
Edison and Yorktown met on January 18, with Edison pulling out a 69-54 win. The Eagles are as hot as any team in the region, boys or girls, having won their last 12 games. Behind guards Ruth Sherrill and Krystyna Watts, the Eagles are one of the highest scoring teams in the region. They’ll make it a clean sweep for Edison in the National District with a win over Yorktown on Friday.
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