The Duke’s Playoff Preview: Strasburg vs Poquoson

12/5/25, Poquoson, VA- Strasburg heads back to the Tidewater to take on Poquoson for the VHSL State Semifinal Saturday at 2 pm with coverage of the Dave’s Diversified Services Game of the Week starting at 1:15 pm for an extended edition of the Tana Hoffman Pregame Show on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

This game is a rematch of last year’s State Semifinal which saw Strasburg hold on for a 14-13 win.

The Rams took a 14-7 lead into halftime after Takhi Coates’ 2nd first half touchdown and interception.

Then held off a late Poquoson surge thanks to a Brady Knight tipped pass into the arms of Hunter Williams.

While both teams have a few personnel changes like the graduation of Takhi Coates for Strasburg and Quarterback Eli Tyndall for Poquoson, the nucleus and identity of these teams remains unchanged.

Both the Region 2A and 2B champions build their teams along the trenches and pride themselves on dominating the line of scrimmage.

Strasburg returns every starter from last year’s State Runner-Up offensive line.

Three of the five earned All Region Selections earlier this week (1st Team: Jacob Britton and Gage Gutierrez, 2nd Team: Jacob Stickley).

Along the defensive front, the Rams boast the Region 2B Defensive Player of the Year and game-wrecker Hutson Conrad.

Gutierrez and Britton joined Conrad to make up 75% of the 1st Team All Region selections for the position.

Poquoson echoes those accolades and may have a checkmate with OL/DL 4-star prospect Carter Jones.

Jones (6’6″ 285 lbs) is considered one of the top OL in Virginia and has offers from powerhouse programs like Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, and 32 others.

He most recently took an in-person visit to Texas and left with an offer.

Joining Jones along the jumbo o-line are center Preston Bundy (6’3″ 290 lbs) and RT Gavin Coffman (6’3″ 285 lbs) and two smaller guards in Brayden Agnese and Grayson Powell.

The guards smaller size is by design as their speed makes a huge impact on pulling plays which are prevalent in the Flexbone offense.

What Agnese lacks in D-1 size, he makes up for with his play and outshined Jones for Regional Defensive Player tallying 18 tackles for loss and 4 sacks in regular season play.

Austin Conley is also a force for the Bull Islander defense and earned 1st Team All Region All-Purpose and Linebacker.

Like Strasburg, Poquoson relies on many two-way players, and Conley delivers home-run plays for the offense as well.

In the Regional Semifinal, he led the way with 154 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 9 carries.

Cody Little does the hard-nosed running between the tackles (like Strasburg’s Linkyn Bosworth) and went over 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns this year.

While Little and Conley are a talented duo, Strasburg will once again have the best running back on the field in Quincy Williams.

Williams has been lethal behind the Rams line and can turn any run into a big play with his vision, strength, and acceleration.

He should be rested after he played less than two quarters against Stuarts Draft yet still totaled 200 yards and three touchdowns on just five carries.

For Strasburg to win this game on the road in a hostile environment, they will need to play clean football and leave no doubt.

As we saw last year, the Rams can not put the game into the hands of the chain gang, an official, or play looking for calls that may never come.

Coach Lamb and Co. will have to do it on their own.

In previous Duke’s Previews, I haven’t needed to mention QB Brayden Hough, but the senior may need to do more in this game than he’s ever been asked to do in his playing career.

Teams have seen success passing against the Bull Islanders including Armstrong in the Regional Championship game.

Armstrong’s QB Anthony Hasom passed for over 300 yards and two touchdowns to lead Poquoson until a late 4th quarter touchdown provided the game winning score.

Strasburg won’t abandon its identity and start airing it out every play, but the Rams may take a few more shots to Harper Sherman or Williams out of the backfield.

If the Rams can execute a few play action passes, eliminate turnovers while forcing one (or more), and maintain composure when plays go the other way, they will be playing in Salem next week.

Strasburg goes down to Poquoson and knocks off the Bull Islanders in a defensive slugfest, 13-7.

Check out the Sports Dogs Podcast for more on the State Semifinal matchup and a look back at the Regional Championship games for Strasburg and Skyline.

The Duke’s Preview: Strasburg vs Poquoson ft. Coach Lamb

Strasburg (12-1) travels to Poquoson (12-1) for the VHSL Class 2 State Semifinal in Saturday’s High School Football Game of the Week on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com, and The River 95.3 app with pregame coverage starting at 1:30 pm for the 2 pm kick-off.

Strasburg has plowed through playoff competition winning each round by a combined score of 133-20 and claimed their first Regional Championship since 2001.

The Rams are coming off a dominating 54-7 win over a Buckingham team that actually had more total All-Region selections (12) than Strasburg (9).

Strasburg’s full-team approach has paid off throughout the playoff run and left opponents searching for answers.

Last week vs Buckingham, Strasburg opened up the playbook early with a touchdown passs from Brayden Hough to Brady Knight and then showed a wrinkle to their typical T-formation by sending one of the three running backs out as an H-back on the end of the formation to throw off Buckingham’s alignment.

Offensively, Strasburg was led by Region 2B Offensive Player of the Year Takhi Coates with two rushing touchdowns including a back-breaking 60+ yard run in the second quarter.

Coates also impacted the game defensively with two interceptions and a kick off return for a touchdown as the opposition attempted to avoid All-Region returner Riley Walker.

Strasburg’s defense dominated throughout and only allowed a touchdown once reserves entered the game in the fourth quarter.

The Rams defense forced Buckingham out of their personality after the first three possessions totaled just three yards and took the Knights out of their typical Wing-T formation into a shotgun style/wildcat look with their running backs taking direct snaps.

Strasburg’s defense will continue their battle against Wing-T formations this Saturday with Poquoson.

While Poquoson is a bit more comfortable putting the ball in the air thanks to experienced QB Eli Tyndall (VMI baseball commit), but will look to ground and pound with five different ball carriers who all eclipsed 350 yards this season.

It’s easy for anyone to run behind the Bull Islander offensive line which is anchored by 6’6″ 280 left tackle Carter Jones.

Jones was an All Region selection on both sides of the line of scrimmage and just came back from a visit to Clemson for their game against South Carolina.

The sophomore sensation has already received a four star rating from some recruiting databases and holds FBS offers from ODU, Liberty, and Delaware.

Another Poquoson offensive lineman who will play on Saturday’s in the future is Grady Insley, who will head to Shenandoah University next year.

Defensively, Jones helps open up space for two players who live behind the line of scrimmage, Austin Conley and Nathaniel Quinroz.

Conley, the Regional 2A Defensive Player of the Year, leads his team with 16.5 TFL to go with 8 sacks while Quinroz leads the Islanders with 10.5 sacks and another 15.5 TFL.

As all good playoff games do, this game will come down to who can win at the line of scrimmage, a strength for both teams, and minimize mistakes.

Both defenses have shown the ability to force turnovers in the playoffs but one thing that will benefit Strasburg is the playoff level competition they have seen all season long.

The Bull Run District has left the Rams battle tested after facing seven playoff teams in the regular season compared to just three winning teams in that time frame for Poquoson.

While both teams appear to be playing their best ball of the season, Strasburg’s ceiling appears to be higher thanks to a more balanced, battle-tested roster that does not let their opponent linger around.

Strasburg will keep their foot on the gas from kick-off till 0:00s on the clock and continue their hunt for the first state title in school history, 35-22.

To listen to my interview with Strasburg Head Coach Tripp Lamb, click here.

For a recap of last week’s Strasburg and Sherando Regional Championships and both state semifinals with the latest Sports Dogs Podcast.