TODAY'S PLAYOFF GAMES

November 20, 2009 12:36 am

NORTHWEST REGION, DIVISION 5OSBOURN (8-3) AT NORTH STAFFORD (7-3) How they got here: Osbourn, from the Cedar Run District, routed GW-Danville, 56-15, on Saturday at Liberty High School. North Stafford, the region's No. 2 seed, had a bye last Friday. They last played Nov. 6, falling at home to Riverbend, 31-27. Common ground: Osbourn lost to Brooke Point, 21-13, and North Stafford lost to the Black-Hawks, 28-9. Both teams swept Mountain View, with Osbourn winning, 35-31, and North Stafford winning, 44-19. Statistically speaking: Quarterback Thomas Keith and running back Vidal Greene are the players to watch when the Eagles have the ball. Greene is averaging 7.1 yards per carry with 17 touchdowns. Keith leads the team in rushing, with 909 yards on 130 carries. Of note: This is the first time North Stafford and Osbourn have ever met on the football field. The Wolverines are 4-6 all-time in the postseason. Their last playoff trip was in 2004, when they advanced to the Division 5 state championship game.

BROOKE POINT (7-4) AT MASSAPONAX (8-2) How they got here: Massaponax, the Northwest Region's top seed, had a first-round bye. The Black-Hawks led William Fleming 17-7 at the half, trailed 28-24 after three quarters, and then rallied for 20 fourth-quarter points to earn a 44-35 first-round win last Saturday at Liberty High School. Common ground: This Commonwealth District rivals each played the district's six other teams, with Massaponax losing to North Stafford (23-13) and Colonial Forge (28-27). Brooke Point fell to Riverbend (34-29) and Colonial Forge (54-22). In their regular-season matchup, Massaponax led 54-0 at the half and rolled to a 54-7 victory. Statistically speaking: Undoubtedly, the Black-Hawks are familiar with Massaponax running back Najee Harris. He burned Brooke Point for 194 rushing yards on just seven carries in their regular-season game. Harris had touchdown runs of 45, 43 and 46 yards in the Panthers' lopsided victory. Of note: Last week's win was Brooke Point's first playoff victory (since the school opened in 1994) without former Black-Hawk great Daniel Davis in the backfield. The running back led Brooke Point to two playoff victories in 1996, but the Hawks were 0-7 in the postseason since.

REGION A, DIVISION 2WASHINGTON & LEE (8-2) AT KING WILLIAM (8-2) How they got here: King William went 4-0 to win the Tidewater District title, beating West Point, 22-18, in the second-to-last week of the season to clinch a playoff spot. Washington & Lee's district title hopes died in its loss at Essex, but tje Eag;es ended the season with a win against Colonial Beach to clinch the region's No. 3 seed. Common ground: King William opened its season with a 46-13 loss to Essex, while Washington & Lee fell to the Trojans, 42-14, earlier this month. They both routed Mathews (50-0 for W&L; 47-3 for King William). They also played a regular-season game on Oct. 9, with King William prevailing, 28-14. Statistically speaking: This isn't the King William team you remember, back when its single-wing offense would put up big rushing numbers and grind opponents to dust. The Cavaliers run the spread now, with quarterback Lewis Redman completing 56 percent of his passes for 1,386 yards. Their leading rusher (Lamont Ward) has just 468 yards on 50 carries.

--Compiled by Justin Rice