Football Game Preview: Rock Ridge Phoenix vs. Loudoun Valley Vikings + How To Watch

Rock Ridge hasn't had much luck against Loudoun Valley recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Phoenix will be playing in front of their home fans against the Vikings at 7:00 p.m.

Rock Ridge is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Tuscarora on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Phoenix came up short against the Huskies, falling 31-7. While losing is never fun, the Phoenix can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia football rankings (they are ranked 297th, while the Huskies are ranked 98th).

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Loudoun Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They took their matchup on Friday with ease, bagging a 50-6 victory over Broad Run. The Vikings might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 35 points or more this season.

Loudoun Valley's win came from a few key players Rock Ridge will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Zach Detweiler, who threw for 179 yards and one touchdown while completing 84.2% of his passes, and also rushed for 40 yards and one score. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in passer rating (129.1). Ethan Lafollette was another key player, gaining 124 total yards and two touchdowns.

Loudoun Valley pushed their record up to 6-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 4.3 points on average over those games. As for Rock Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.

Rock Ridge was dealt a bruising 52-21 defeat at the hands of Loudoun Valley in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Detweiler, who rushed for 40 yards and one TD, and also threw for 122 yards and one touchdown. Now that the Phoenix know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.