Strasburg will travel to Salem Stadium for the VHSL Class 2 State Championship on Saturday at 5 pm to take on the Graham G-Men in the final High School Football Game of the Week for the 2024 season with coverage starting at 4:30 pm on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com and The River 95.3 app.

Strasburg steamrolled through the first three rounds of the playoffs until meeting Poquoson in the State Semifinals.

Last week’s game came down to the slimmest of margins and resulted in a 14-13 Strasburg win.

In a contest that was extremely even in most statistical categories, Strasburg held a +3 advantage in turnover margin and all three of those came in crucial moments.

The Rams defense rallied inside their own 10 yard line to force a turnover in the game’s opening possession, and then later in the first half with the game tied 7-7, Takhi Coates came up with one of the most athletic interceptions you will see after breaking on the throw and laying our for the catch.

Takhi capped off the following drive with his second touchdown of the day.

The second half was a true chess match between Poquoson Head Coach Elliot Duty and Strasburg’s Tripp Lamb with neither defense budging until Poquoson QB and VMI baseball commit Eli Tyndall scored a rushing touchdown.

Tyndall’s touchdown was one of many questionable calls that went against Strasburg as the runner appeared short of the goal line.

While men lie, women lie, and numbers may lie… The ball doesn’t.

That led to a missed Poquoson PAT thanks to some great pressure from Strasburg’s kick-block unit, and the score sat at 14-13 Rams.

Strasburg’s defense played lights out with the slimmest of leads in the 4th quarter and Zach Britton tallied two massive sacks.

On Poquoson’s final drive of the game, a phantom first-down called after the ball was placed short of the sticks gave Poquoson a new set of downs.

In another moment of instant karma, Strasburg forced an interception on the following play after Brady Knight deflected a pass that was caught by Hunter Williams.

Strasburg secured a first down and advanced to the State Championship game for the first time since 1995.

Graham advanced to the State Championship game after another thrilling matchup, a 28-24 win over Glenvar.

Glenvar caught fire through the air thanks to their 6’5″ QB who threw three first half touchdowns, but then Graham’s defense adjusted and did not allow a touchdown in the second half.

Graham scored the game winning touchdown late in the 4th quarter to secure their 8th state championship appearance in school history.

The G-Men are led by a massive offensive and defensive line with talented skill players

Graham does not have the top-end D-1 talent like they have had in previous years, but still have plenty of players who will play at the next level.

Ty’Drez Clements (Virginia Tech) dominated the backfield against Central two years ago, but they now rely on a more balanced offensive approach including quarterback Dalton Roberts, running back Gabe Lilly, wide receivers Chris Edwards and Blake Graham.

Lilly has been the most used weapon in the offense this season with averaging roughly 8 yards per carry for 1,323 yards and 17 touchdowns.

He is also featured in a Wildcat role as Graham approaches the redzone and threw for a touchdown pass against Glenvar.

Chris Edwards is the reigning offensive District Player of the Year while Blake Graham has shown big play potential this season with four of his ten catches this playoff run going for touchdowns as well as kick return for touchdown against Glenvar.

Defensively, you will hear a lot of those same names with their most dynamic athletes playing both ways, but manning the middle of the defensive line is last year’s defensive District Player of the Year Omarri Hill.

“Big O” earned that nickname with all 6′ 275 pounds of him, but the most impressive part is how quickly he moves at his size.

Hill led Graham in these playoffs with 10 tackles for loss and 3 sacks in four games.

He can be a true a game-wrecker and against Lebanon in Week 8, Hill tallied 6 sacks in a single game.

Graham’s entire defense showcases size and speed at all three levels including 6’2″ 225lb linebacker leading tackler Yubrenal Isabelle.

Hill along with the many other seniors on this team have already tasted a championship in the win over Central, and are looking to cap their high school season with one more.

Strasburg will look to do something they have never done before after making four appearances under legendary coach Glenn Proctor.

This game will be a defensive battle as both teams will lean on their strengths which will amplify field position and turnover margin once again.

If Strasburg can win in those categories and time of possession, the Rams can hoist the hardware for the first time in school history.

Graham will overlook these boys from the Valley and by the time they adjust, it will be too late.

Rams win, 20-14, and arrive home to Strasburg with a hero’s welcome Saturday night!

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

To hear the Sports Dogs discuss last week’s Strasburg and Sherando State Semifinals and the State Championship game, click here.