View the latest 10 Strong Poll

PUBLISHED: Nov. 19, 2018

While the high school football season still has three weeks remaining, this is our final 10 Strong Poll of the season.

Since taking the top spot in Week 3, Blacksburg never relinquished the 10 Strong crown this season.

The Bruins continue their quest for a state title after beating Pulaski County 28-21.

After their blowout win against Abingdon Saturday night, Lord Botetourt jumped up two spots in our poll.

Just behind the Cavaliers are the Hilltoppers of E.C. Glass. Glass also had a dominating win this past weekend against Jefferson Forest.

Despite being No. 2 last week and shutting out Brookville this past weekend, Heritage dropped two spots in this week's poll. The Pioneers only trail Lord Botetourt by four points, showing how close it was between our voters to separate these three teams.

Rounding out the top five is Northside, coming off a 51-7 win against Tunstall.

The state champion Roanoke Catholic Celtics finish the year at No. 6. They had no problem claiming another state title Friday night, beating Fuqua, 61-8.

Coming off a big win against Glenvar, Appomattox County jumped two positions to be No. 7.

Radford finishes the year at No. 8, beating Gretna, 20-7, on Saturday to advance to the region finals.

Two of our final three teams (we have a tie for the 10-spot) are making their first 10 Strong appearance of the year.

At No. 9, it's Galax. The Maroon Tide finished the regular season at 8-2 and after beating George Wythe 42-14, now host Narrows in the region 1C final.

Speaking of Narrows, they finish the season tied with Liberty for the final spot in our 10 Strong Poll.

Narrows last appeared in the 10 Strong Poll after Week 3, being ranked 10th.

The Green Wave advanced after handily beating Parry McCluer, 56-28.

Last, we have Liberty, who's advanced through two rounds of the 3C playoffs by beating the 2-seed and 3-seed on the road. On Friday, Liberty beat Western Albemarle, 35-14.

Just because this is our final poll doesn't mean our high school football coverage is over.

We will keep you up to date until we have our state champions!

Thanks for another great year of the 10 Strong Poll!

PUBLISHED: Nov. 12, 2018

Four wins to go. If any of these teams (sans Roanoke Catholic) win four more games, they are state champions!

After 12 weeks of high school football, it shouldn't surprise anyone who's followed the 10 Strong Poll this year that Blacksburg remains atop our list.

The Bruins dominated Liberty Christian Academy in the first round, 43-6.

In fact, the top four teams from last week's 10 Strong Poll remain unchanged.

Following Blacksburg are Heritage, Lord Botetourt and E.C. Glass.

All three teams face tough opponents in Round 2.

Both Heritage and E.C. Glass will be playing their opponents for the second time this year.

Heritage beat Brookville, 28-7 on Oct. 5, while E.C. Glass nearly doubled Jefferson Forest's scoring effort on Oct. 12, 63-34, handing the Cavaliers their first loss of the season.

Lord Botetourt will host Abingdon in the second round.

Jumping up to fifth in our poll this week is Northside, coming off their 56-15 win against Cave Spring. The Vikings will take on a Tunstall team that's been up and down this season.

Remaining at 6 is Roanoke Catholic. The Celtics dismantled Portsmouth Christian, 50-6, and are looking to win another state title this Friday as Fuqua comes to town. In case you forgot, Roanoke Catholic beat Fuqua 52-8 on Oct. 5.

Dropping to 7th is Radford. Now before you get started that Radford dropped two spots despite advancing, it's important to note that only two points separate Northside and Radford, showing just how close our voters feel these teams ranked 5, 6 and 7 are. The Bobcats shut out Fort Chiswell last Thursday and now host Gretna, a game Radford only won 7-6 on Sept. 12. 

In 8th, it's Glenvar, who took down Buckingham County, 41-0, on Friday night. The Highlanders now take on the 10 Strong Poll's 9th ranked team, Appomattox County.

The Raiders advanced after beating Giles 35-6.

Rounding out our 10 is Pulaski County. The Cougars beat G.W. Danville in the first round, 17-14, to now travel to Blacksburg this Friday.

As a heads up, next week will be our season's final 10 Strong Poll.

PUBLISHED: Oct. 30, 2018

Hard to believe we're down to just one week of the regular season.

For the eighth-straight week, Blacksburg remains our No. 1 team. The Bruins are coming off of a Week 10 bye.

One flip we have this week is Glenvar and Heritage. While on the bye week, Glenvar dropped one spot to No. 3.

While Heritage's 54-28 win against Amherst County powered the Pioneers to the highest rank they've been in since they held the 2-spot in Week 1.

Other than that, this week's poll is extremely similar to what we had in Week 9.

The only remaining difference is William Byrd dropping out after their 34-16 loss Monday night to Lord Botetourt.

Taking their place at No. 9 is Appomattox County. The now 7-1 Raiders were last in the 10 Strong Poll in Week 2, before losing to Heritage the following week.

PUBLISHED: Oct. 22, 2018

Two losses among ranked teams caused lots of shifting in this week's poll. Only two of 10 spots remain unchanged after Week 9's high school football action.

Continuing their perfect season, Blacksburg beat Hidden Valley, 26-7, and remains at No. 1.

With last week's No. 2 Northside losing to Lord Botetourt, 24-20, the Vikings dropped down to No. 7 this week.

Glenvar, also still pursuing a perfect season, beat Giles, 38-6, moved up one spot and now sits at No. 2.

You may notice that last week's No. 4, G.W. Danville, isn't in this week's poll. That's because in a match-up of Eagles, Franklin County prevailed on Friday night, knocking G.W. Danville out of this week's poll.

Heritage, who sat at No. 5 last week, jumped up two spots with their 44-22- win over Rustburg.

Lord Botetourt made a 5-spot spot with their big win against Northside, moving them into the 4-spot.

E.C. Glass, whose only loss is to Heritage, moved up one spot and after the Hilltoppers' 46-15 win against Liberty, now sit at No. 5.

Roanoke Catholic beat crosstown rival North Cross 42-22 Friday night and now sits at No. 6.

No. 8, entering the poll for the fist time this season is Radford. The 7-1 Bobcats beat James River 31-13 on Friday night.

At No. 9, we have William Byrd, who beat Staunton River, 42-0. This week, the Terriers take on No. 4 Lord Botetourt.

Rounding out the poll we have Pulaski County, who's coming off a Week 9 bye.  

PUBLISHED: Oct. 16, 2018

After 2018's second weather-adjusted week, the latest 10 Strong Poll had a top-3 team from last week bumped out of the poll entirely.

That would be Jefferson Forest, as the Cavaliers lost their undefeated season to E.C. Glass, 63-34.

While that removed JF from the poll, it gave the Hilltoppers the largest leap, going from No. 9 up to No. 6.

The top two remain unchanged as Blacksburg won against Pulaski County, 21-14, and Northside beat Staunton River, 48-7.

The next three schools all received a one-spot bump thanks to Jefferson Forest's loss.

They are Glenvar (winning 42-0 over Floyd County), G.W. Danville (scheduled to play Magna Vista Tuesday night) and Heritage (winning 47-3 over Liberty Christian).

With the Hilltoppers at 6, despite having their game canceled Roanoke Catholic moved up one spot and is now at No. 7.

William Byrd's 38-14 win against William Fleming gave the Terriers a two-spot bump to move up to No. 8.

Back in the 10 Strong Poll for the first time since Week 4, it's Lord Botetourt, coming off a 17-3 win against Bluefield, West Virginia.

Despite the loss to Blacksburg, Pulaski County tumbled down from No. 7 and remains in the 10 Strong Poll at No. 10.

PUBLISHED: Oct. 8, 2018

Things are seeming to solidify in the 10 Strong Poll as no teams exited or entered this week.

The only change we had was two separate flip-flops as all 9 teams that were active in Week 7 won their games.

But don't worry, Week 8 features two matchups between ranked teams, meaning things will certainly shake up in next week's poll.

Atop again remains Blacksburg for the fifth-straight week. The Bruins are coming off their 29-0 win against Cave Spring.

Behind them is Northside as the Vikings handily defeated Galax, 57-21.

Almost stunned by winless Amherst County, Jefferson Forest rallied back to beat the Lancers, 66-43, and retain the third spot in the 10 Strong Poll.

At No. 4, Glenvar remains perfect on the year, rolling past Alleghany this week, 49-7.

No. 5 is where G.W. Danville sits after winning in our Game of the Week against Tunstall, 37-7.

This poll's first switch comes at No. 6 where Heritage jumped over Pulaski County. The Pioneers won 28-7 over Brookville while the Cougars, who now sit at No. 7, beat Christiansburg 42-28.

Our poll's second flip had Roanoke Catholic hop E.C. Glass, the Celtics routed Fuqua 52-8, while the Hilltoppers kept things close early with Rustburg, but went on to win 37-14.

Rounding out the poll is William Byrd. The Terriers had a Week 7 bye.

PUBLISHED: Oct. 1, 2018

Blacksburg remains in the top spot for the fourth straight week, although their unanimous No. 1 status has been revoked.

The Bruins' 28-7 win against Patrick Henry wasn't convincing enough for one voter, who felt Northside was more deserving of the top spot.

Speaking of them, the Vikings still sit at No. 2 after a powerful 57-21 win over Galax.

Moving down the poll, still perfect at 5-0, Jefferson Forest registers at No. 3 this week after a 77-48 win over Liberty Christian.

From No. 4 on, we have some changes in this week's 10 Strong Poll.

Glenvar handed James River the Knight's first loss in 2018 and was rewarded with a one-spot bump in this week's poll.

Also benefiting from the James River loss was G.W. Danville who shutout Patrick County, 59-0, and now sits at No. 5.

Pulaski County tied for the biggest in-poll jump this week, moving up from No.9 to No. 6 with their 49-21 win against Hidden Valley.

Heritage, with the Saturday night win against Liberty, 23-20, also shifted up three spots and now holds the No. 7 spot.

E.C. Glass ended Brookville's perfect season, 35-0, and returned to the 10 Strong Poll after a one-week absence.

Despite a 59-16 win, Roanoke Catholic dropped from No. 8 to No. 9 in this week's poll.

Also back in this week's poll is William Byrd, who, like E.C. Glass, is back in the 10 Strong Poll after a one-week absence.

PUBLISHED: Sept. 24, 2018

For the first time this year, the voters unanimously selected a No. 1 team.

With the 24-21 win against Salem, in Salem, Blacksburg received all six number-one votes this week.

Behind them, Northside remains at No. 2, outlasting Lord Botetourt, 27-24.

Coming out on top in the high-scoring affair in Bedford County, Jefferson Forest moved up one spot and now sits at No. 3 after beating Liberty, 57-34.

With their second shutout of the season, Brookville jumped up two spots to No. 4. The Bees have only allowed 10 points in four games this season.

Making their first appearance in the 2018 10 Strong Poll, the 5-0 Glenvar Highlanders debut at No. 5. Glenvar finished last year's poll tied for 6th and made it as high as No. 3.

A dominating win against Martinsville gave the G.W. Danville Eagles a 4-spot jump to take the 6-spot in this week's poll.

Two teams on a bye, James River remained at No. 7, while Roanoke Catholic moved up one spot to No. 8.

Having churned out four-straight wins, Pulaski County debuted in the 10 Strong Poll this week at No. 9.

Finally, it's the 2018 Jug Bowl-champion Heritage Pioneers who reenter the 10 Strong Poll at No. 10.

PUBLISHED: Sept. 17, 2018

While then-Hurricane Florence forced nearly all our games to leave Friday night, that didn't get in the way of high school football from happening.

Blacksburg's dominating win over Richlands kept the Bruins in the top spot this week.

Jumping up one spot behind them sits Northside, coming off a big 35-27 win against Salem.

Also moving up one spot from Week 3 is William Byrd with a win in our Game of the Week against Martinsville.

Having a bye week didn't help Jefferson Forest, who slid down two sports into a tie for fourth place with E.C. Glass, who also had a Week 4 bye.

Brookville stayed steady in the 6-spot with a 35-7 win against Harrisonburg, while James River jumped up two spots to No. 7 as the Knights improved to 4-0.

Rejoining the 10 Strong Poll after a two-week absence is Lord Botetourt, who is coming off a 66-6 win against Rockbridge County.

In a tie for ninth are Roanoke Catholic and G.W. Danville. Both teams didn't play in Week 4

PUBLISHED: Sept. 10, 2018

We've made it through three weeks and a new team is No. 1.

Blacksburg claims the crown this week after Salem lost in Dinwiddie, 27-20.

The Bruins also claimed 5 of 6 No. 1 votes in this week's 10 Strong Poll.

Salem drops down into a tie for seventh with Roanoke Catholic as the Celtics jumped two spots with their 43-0 win over Eastern Montgomery.

Jumping three spots, Jefferson Forest now sits at No. 2 after a big win over G.W. Danville, 27-21.

The remaining teams in the top 5 all jumped three spots this week: Northside, William Byrd and E.C. Glass.

Wondering who received that sixth No. 1 vote? That belongs to the Hilltoppers in this week's poll.

Looking to the other spots, at No. 6 it's Brookville, making a 4-spot jump with the 61-3 win over Waynesboro.

No. 9 and 10 are both new entries into the 10 Strong Poll this season and both 3-0.

James River and Narrows round out this week's poll at 9 and 10.

PUBLISHED: Sept. 3, 2018

Two weeks in the books and Salem retains the top spot.

While the Spartans remain at number one, that's one of only two spots that didn't change compared to last week's poll.

After a big loss to Northside, Heritage dropped from having 71 points in Week 1's poll to only 3 in this week's.

Replacing the Pioneers at No. 2 is Blacksburg with a 45-35 win over Lord Botetourt.

Not only did that win move the Bruins up three spots, it also gave them two No. 1 votes.

Appomattox County remained steady at No. 3.

With the loss, Lord Botetourt also dropped out of the poll, being replaced in the 4-spot by G.W. Danville, as the Eagles few up from being No. 6.

At No. 5, it's Jefferson Forest with the win in our Game of the Week over Magna Vista. The Cavaliers had the highest rise of any team in Week 1's poll, shifting up 5 spots.

The first new entry into the second 10 Strong Poll of the season is Northside. With the Vikings' dismantling of Heritage, they claimed the 6-spot.

Right below them is another new entry with 2-0 William Byrd. The Terriers handily beat Hidden Valley Friday night, 45-21.

Despite winning, E.C. Glass did drop from No. 7 to No. 8 and Roanoke Catholic also dropped from No. 8 to No. 9.

Rounding out the 10 Strong Poll this week it's Brookville. The Bees had a Week 1 bye, but shut out Patrick Henry 52-0 to claim the 10 spot.