8/28/26 Strasburg, VA– Skyline makes the short trip to Strasburg for the first High School Football Game of the Week brought to you by the Hike Kidz Foundation c/o Brickhouse Bar and Grill with coverage starting at 6:30 for the Tana Hoffman Pregame Show then the 7 pm kick-off on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

Strasburg ended a program long State Championship drought last season and will now look to prove this is the start of a dynasty, not the book after a Cinderella story.

The Rams return Class 2 Offensive Player of the Year RB Quincy Williams (2,000+ yards, 27 Touchdowns) and 2x All State selection Gage Gutierrez along the offensive line but will look to replace some key players including QB Brayden Hough, RBs Brady Knight and Linkyn Bosworth, and other key pieces along the offensive line.

OT Cooper Miller filled in during the playoff run due to injury and played will during crucial games for the Rams while many other younger players like Brady Knight’s brother Tyler Knight were able to get varsity playing time thanks to lopsided scores down the stretch.

TEs Carson Duckworth and Alexander Mudd love to block and will provide senior leadership on the ends of the OL.

The defensive side of the ball contains more question marks as the Rams will graduate four Class 2 All State Defensive selections including Brady Knight, Nathaniel Turner, Jacob Britton, and Defensive Player of the Year Hutson Conrad.

Quincy Williams will make impact plays on the defense as well and provides good versatility thanks to his speed and physicality.

James Trainor and Pablo Mora Hernandez will be looked to on the backend after strong junior campaigns and playoff runs.

Skyline is still searching for the school’s first football State Title but did claim the program’s first Region Runner-Up after falling short to Kettle Run in last year’s playoffs.

The Hawks also bring back an All-State level running back in Zayden Burks.

Burks led  Virginia with an astounding 2,897 yards and 28 touchdowns and could realistically surpass those numbers this season.

If Burks can reach that total this year, he would have the second most career rushing yards in VHSL history and he is just 1,236 yards away from 6,000 career yards and ranking in the top 27 in state history.

Skyline returns a strong offensive line including four seniors Tytus Drake, Ryan Held, Adrian Schmitz, and Christian Boone who take pride in opening lanes for their RB and protecting first year starter QB Brentley Grindle.

Grindle’s raw talent, athleticism, and performance as JV QB last year made the decision easy for the Hawks coaching staff and the sophomore has impressed his teammates with his play and leadership in 7-on-7 tournaments and training camp.

Grindle has already formed a good connection with Jr TE Brady Lupton (6’4″ 230 lb) and WRs Caydin Jenkins and Lane Kenney.

Defensively, the Hawks will have many of those OL playing both ways with Lupton and Drake ready to wreak havoc again along the defensive line.

Skyline will need to figure out life without All State LB Andre Ford and the Hawks other leading tackler, Marques Lockhart-Wright (TE at Virginia University of Lynchburg).

With that duo now graduated, Burks could enter the rarified air of 100-plus tackles to go with 2,000-plus rushing yards this season.

Skyline’s defensive backfield of Kenney, Jenkins, and Isiah Grady should be a strong unit again this season.

Now to the matchups, Skyline’s new LB unit without Ford and Lockhart-Wright will be tested in Game 1 against Strasburg’s unique T-Formation.

The Hawks have started the last few season against the Rams so it is not an entirely new concept, but it is still difficult to prepare for, especially at the game speed of the Rams.

Skyline’s new QB Brently Grindle will also get to experience a Varsity defense for the first time and it as a Rams unit that allowed just 12.5 ppg last season.

The Hawks rebuttal to these perceived disadvantages can be pretty simple… we have a hulk… or Zayden Burks.

Burks has game breaking potential every time he touches the ball, even when he is a defenses #1 priority.

Skyline would have an advantage in the defensive backfield against a new starter at QB for Strasburg but the Rams would be completely fine without passing the entire game which would negate that potential edge.

Both team’s offensive and defensive lines should dominate all year long and I would say that category is a push in this matchup.

With two teams who enter the season with high expectations, it may truly come down to who can minimize mistakes and based on the youth at key positions for the Hawks, that could be an issue.

Look for the Rams to come out with some extra energy early as it will be their first time back on Glenn Proctor Field since hoisting the State Title, but this is a motivated Skyline team that would take pride in raining on the Rams return to their homefield.

This game will come down to the final possession, but based on recent history of the Rams undefeated record on the field vs the Hawks since COVID and the momentum from the hometown crowd behind them, it will be tough to unseat the champions in Week 1.

Williams and Burks put on a show with ZB2K slightly outgaining QW1 in yardage, but with the Rams taking the edge on the scoreboard, Strasburg 28-Skyline 22.

For a preview of all the Week 1 matchups, check out the latest Sports Dogs Podcast HERE.