The Fairfax Lions will head out to take on the West Springfield Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Friday, Fairfax was able to grind out a solid victory over Alexandria City, taking the game 14-7. The win continues a trend for the Lions in their matchups with the Titans: they've now won four in a row.
Fairfax didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Kaden Turner.
Meanwhile, West Springfield got the win against Yorktown last Friday by a conclusive 31-7. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Spartans just coasted through the last quarter.
Fairfax better keep an eye on Dillan Wickham. He was instrumental in West Springfield's win, rushing for 207 yards and three scores while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Wickham is now averaging an impressive 117.7 rushing yards per game.
West Springfield didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Yorktown to a completion percentage of just 50%. The Spartans have been improving in that area: they had allowed a completion percentage of 0.63 earlier this season, but they've only allowed one of 0.63 in their last three games.
West Springfield's record is now 5-2. As for Fairfax, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Fairfax has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 162.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like West Springfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 176.3 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Fairfax couldn't quite get it done against West Springfield in their previous meeting back in November of 2024 as they fell 34-25. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Spartans' Scott Lewis, who threw for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 72.2% of his passes, and also punched in one TD on the ground. Now that the Lions know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
