No. 15 Cox took control of a Beach District regular-season finale Friday night with 17 unanswered points and held on to defeat No. 9 Kempsville 31-28 at the Falcons’ stadium.
Cox (8-2) and coach Daryl Cherry’s Kempsville team (7-3) are headed to the Class 5 Region A playoffs.
Cox coach Tyler Noe said, “It was a team effort. We knew it was going to be a great game with Coach Cherry. This game has come down to the wire the last four years we’ve played, and it’s always been for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. These kids worked their tail off every day; I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Tyre Jefferies ran for 108 yards on 19 carries, and he scored Cox’s final touchdown. That capped a surge that turned a six-point deficit into a 31-20 lead.
The game went back and forth all night. A 58-yard touchdown run by Robert Hughes Jr., who had 110 yards on 15 carries, and Josh Hawley’s 14-yard TD pass to James Releford put the Chiefs ahead 20-14.
But Cox’s Brycen Widhalm kicked a 42-yard field goal before Braden Herron connected with Rex Miller for a 4-yard score and a 24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Kempsville went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 14, and the Cox defense stopped Tayshaun Johnson short. Two carries later, Jefferies’ 12-yard run put the Falcons ahead 31-20.
Tayshaun Johnson of Kempsville is stopped by Cox on a fourth and one during the fourth quarter at Cox High School in Virginia Beach, Va., on Nov. 7, 2025. Cox won 31-28. (Peter Casey / For The Virginian-Pilot)
Taejon Cason, who started and split time at quarterback with Hawley, then led Kempsville on an eight-play, 80-yard drive, throwing a 9-yard TD pass to Releford and completing a two-point pass to bring Kempsville to 31-28.
The Falcons received the kickoff with about 2 1/2 minutes left and ran out the clock via Jiwan Mack’s clinching 4-yard run on third-and-2.
In a game with plenty of offense, Cox’s Jacob Palmerton made key defensive contributions by twice intercepting Hawley.
— Reported by Charlie Baumgardner
Oscar Smith dominates after odd start
No. 2 Oscar Smith started the night with a little trickery and it didn’t work.
Thankfully for the Tigers, everything else did as Oscar Smith rolled to 56-7 victory over Western Branch in a Southeastern DIstrict game at Oscar Smith.
On the second play of the game, quarterback Lonnie Andrews flipped the ball to Travis Johnson in the backfield. Johnson, rolling right, fired the ball 45 yards downfield toward Tre’Shun Bradley. But the pass was picked off by the Bruins’ Sage Greene-Sessoms.
Western Branch (6-4), in the midst of a four-game winning streak, turned the turnover into points when Greene-Sessoms caught a 41-yard touchdown strike from Timothy Pierce for a quick 7-0 lead.
“We thought we’d catch them early on with a trick play, and obviously Travis catches the ball better than he throws it,” Oscar Smith coach Chris Scott said. “We turned it over early, but he made up for it with some big plays.”
From that point, the remainder of the first half was filled with Oscar Smith dominance.
The Tigers (9-1) took the kickoff and put together a seven-play, 80-yard drive capped by a touchdown pass from Andrews to Charles McGlown to tie the game.
Oscar Smith got a four-and-out and took over at the 50-yard line. After a short run play, Andrews hit Johnson on a 34-yard reception. The play set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Kaden Walker.
Western Branch tried moving the ball, but after taking the ball from the Bruins’ 14 to their 34, the drive stalled. The Bruins punted, and Quali Price returned the ball 70 yards for a touchdown. Oscar Smith led 21-7 in the second quarter.
Oscar Smith’s defense continued hassling the Bruins, forcing another pun. This one was shanked, going 13 yards and setting Oscar Smith up at the Bruins’ 47. The Tigers capitalized quickly as Andrews hit Johnson on a 47-yard touchdown strike.
Western Branch stalled again, but this time, the punt was blocked, putting Oscar Smith at the 14-yard line. After a penalty, Bradley ran 19 yards for a touchdown.
With time running out in the first half, Western Branch started moving the ball and got to the Oscar Smith 26 before being stopped on downs. The Tigers took over and quickly moved to the 50-yard line. Andrews then found Johnson behind the Bruins’ defense, and Oscar Smith led 42-7 at halftime.
Jamari Custis and Breon Gibson both scored second-half touchdowns to round out the scoring for the Tigers.
Scott said the key for Oscar Smith was the Tigers locking in on both sides of the ball.
“They understand the importance of being 1-0, and we’ve been preaching that from the beginning of the year. And here at the end of the year, it’s the most important aspect of our game, that we take each and every rep as if we’re 1-0 through the rest of the playoffs,” Scott said.
Oscar Smith will have a first-round bye in the Class 6 Region A playoffs. Western Branch earned a Class 6 Region A playoff spot.
— Reported by Greg Giesen
Atlantic Shores, Nansemond-Suffolk fall in VISAA semifinals
Both Hampton Roads teams that qualified for the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division II semifinals lost Friday night.
Atlantic Shores, seeded fourth, traveled to Roanoke and took top-seeded North Cross to the wire before losing 35-29.
Meanwhile, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy lost 26-0 to visiting St. Anne’s-Belfield (9-1).
NSA (7-4) beat STAB 27-22 in Charlottesville last week to close the regular season and gain home-field advantage as the second seed, but the tables turned toward the third seed in the playoff matchup. STAB scored 13 second-quarter points to move ahead 13-0 and never let NSA’s offense get untracked in the clash of Saints.
Other games
Woodside 20, Heritage 14: The Wolverines (4-6) solidified the No. 7 seed in the Class 5 Region B playoffs with a win over the Hurricanes (1-9) in a Peninsula District game at Todd Stadium as quarterback Terris Bowman accounted for three touchdowns.
Bowman threw 45 yards for a score to Jason Brandt, then 35 yards to James Campbell, as the Wolverines led 12-0 in the second quarter. Rayshawn Pierce-Malone notched the first of two long touchdown runs for Heritage to close the gap to 12-7 at halftime.
Bowman ran for a 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter to make it 20-7 before Pierce-Malone broke for a long score for Heritage. Woodside will travel to play Maury or King’s Fork in the quarterfinals.
Warhill 48, Gloucester 12: The Lions (8-2) finished the regular season with a fifth consecutive Bay Rivers District win, but it proved to be costly. Starting quarterback Carson Strickland, who had played well since winning the job early in the season, was lost for the playoffs after suffering multiple foot fractures.
Devon Price, a wide receiver who started seven games at QB for the Lions a year ago, came on in place of Strickland and threw for one touchdown pass and ran for another. Branden Terns was the star for the Lions, rushing for more than 160 yards and three touchdowns.
While the Dukes finished their first Bay Rivers season 0-10, the Lions will be the No. 3 seed in the Class 4 Region A playoffs. They will host No. 6 Smithfield (6-4), which beat the Lions 32-29 in their regular-season meeting.
“Our goal was to go 5-0 the second half of the season and we did,” Warhill coach Jerome Rhodes said. “We’re excited about going 8-2, because we’re young and we know it could’ve gone either way. Now we’ll get ready and see how we do in the playoffs.”
Bruton 41, York 14: The Panthers (3-7) finished their first full Bay Rivers District schedule in six years on a high note with a surprisingly one-sided win over the Falcons (3-7). Rodney Versher led the way with three short touchdown runs.
Versher’s first, from 5 yards, tied the game at 7 after York quarterback Anthony Custis opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD run. Panthers quarterback Devin Stinson struck next with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Khalon Murrell — who also had two interceptions — to make it 14-7.
Touchdown runs of 1 yard each by Stinson (two TD runs) and Versher put the Panthers in control. While York moves on next week to the Class 3 Region A playoffs as the No. 7 seed, Bruton looks ahead after finishing with two wins in its final three district games this season despite missing the Class 2 Region A playoffs.
“We showed a lot of growth,” Bruton coach Barrington Morrison said. “We had a lot of young guys, and adjusting to being back in the Bay Rivers (full-time) took time, but we only have five seniors, so almost everybody is back.”
New Kent 40, Jamestown 0: The Trojans (7-3) reached the seven-win mark for the first time in 22 years with a Bay Rivers win over the Eagles (2-8), sparked by a dominant defensive performance. Ben Christian ran for multiple touchdowns for the Trojans, but otherwise the defense stole the spotlight.
Defensive ends Jaron Collins and Jackson Foreman spent the night harassing Jamestown quarterback Ben Hanchett. Defensive backs Owen Payne (two) and Ryan Tolley (one) had interceptions.
Tolley returned a fumble for a touchdown, while linebackers Chase Wiles and Andrew Fallon, senior captains, stifled the Jamestown rushing attack. The Trojans earned the No. 3 seed in the Class 3 Region A playoffs and will host No. 6 Hopewell in the quarterfinals.
“Chris Lark, our defensive coordinator, has done an outstanding job of getting our guys in the right position,” New Kent coach Scott Girolmo said. “I’m thrilled with the way they played with energy and ran to the football.”
Friday’s scores
757Teamz Top 15
#1 Maury 64, Granby 0
#2 Oscar Smith 56, Western Branch 7
#3 Green Run 56, Ocean Lakes 14
#5 King’s Fork 27, #8 Nansemond River 8
#7 Indian River 41, Hickory 16
#15 Cox 31, #9 Kempsville 28
#11 Phoebus 67, Menchville 7
#12 Lake Taylor 49, Norview 14
#13 Poquoson 42, Smithfield 0
#14 Warhill 48, Gloucester 12
Bay Rivers District
Bruton 41, York 14
Warhill 48, Gloucester 12
New Kent 40, Jamestown 0
Beach District
Bayside 43, Tallwood 0
Landstown 17, Kellam 10
Salem 49, Princess Anne 0
Eastern District
Norcom 40, Booker T. Washington 20
Churchland 26, Manor 14
Peninsula District
Woodside 20, Heritage 14
Southeastern District
Deep Creek 31, Grassfield 27
Great Bridge 48, Lakeland 6
VISAA Division II semifinals
No. 1 seed North Cross 35, No. 4 Atlantic Shores Christian 29
No. 3 St. Anne’s-Belfield 26, No. 2 Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 0
