High school football in Northern Virginia is set for kickoff later this month.
Arlington’s Bishop O’Connell Knights, Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots open their 10-game regular-season campaigns, which include a bye week for each, on Aug. 27 and 28.
O’Connell and Washington-Liberty will meet in their season openers Friday, Aug. 28 at 4 p.m., when the private-school Knights host the Generals in a non-league showdown.
The teams also met in their 2025 season openers, with Washington-Liberty winning.
Details of the upcoming season:
Washington-Liberty Generals: The Aug. 28 game will be one of three against Arlington teams for W-L during the 2026 season. The Generals play at Wakefield on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. and host Yorktown on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. Both are Liberty District contests.
The rest of W-L’s district games are home against the McLean Highlanders on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m., home versus the Marshall Statesmen on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m., at the Herndon Hornets on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., and a regular-season final at the Langley Saxons on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m..
In other non-district action, Washington-Liberty plays at the Edison Eagles on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m., home against the Westfield Bulldogs on Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. and home versus the Centreville Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.
The Generals’ bye week comes after their eighth game against Herndon.
Langley, Marshall, Yorktown, Centreville and Westfield were playoff teams last season, so W-L’s schedule will be difficult again.
Washington-Liberty finished with a 7-4 overall record last season and earned a 6D North Region playoff berth, losing in the first round to Westfield. The Generals lost their final three games last season, all against playoff teams.
Yorktown Patriots: Defending Liberty District champion Yorktown opens its season Friday, Aug. 28 at home at 7 p.m. against the South Lakes Seahawks in non-district play.
Yorktown finished 7-4 overall last season and 6-0 in the district under first-year head coach Alec Hicks. The Patriots earned a region playoff berth, losing in the opening round to South Lakes, which also defeated Yorktown in its season opener.
Yorktown was 2-0 against Arlington rivals Wakefield and W-L last season.
This coming fall, Yorktown plays Wakefield at home on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. and at W-L on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.
Yorktown’s other district games are at Langley on Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m., home against McLean on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m., home versus Marshall on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. and at Herndon on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
In other non-district games, Yorktown hosts Ballou from D.C. at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3, is home versus Centreville on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. and at West Springfield on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.
South Lakes, Langley, Marshall, Centreville, Washington-Liberty and West Springfield were all playoff teams last season.
Yorktown plays 10 straight weekends this season, then has its bye week.
Wakefield Warriors: Wakefield opens the season under new head coach Brian Slay with a home non-district game against the Falls Church Jaguars on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
The Warriors will be trying to break a six-game losing streak. Wakefield finished 3-7 last season and 0-6 in the Liberty District.
This season, Wakefield’s first four games are non-district contests. The Warriors play at Rock Ridge on Friday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m., host Lewis on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m., then play at Justice at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18. After that, Wakefield’s next six games are district contests, including a Friday, Oct. 2 home contest versus Washington-Liberty at 7 p.m.
In order, next for Wakefield is a Friday, Oct. 9 home game vs. Langley at 7 p.m. It then plays Friday, Oct. 16 at Yorktown at 7 p.m.; then Friday, Oct. 23 at Marshall at 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 30 against Herndon at home at 7 p.m.; and Friday, Nov. 6 at McLean at 7 p.m.
Wakefield’s bye week follows the game against Justice.
Bishop O’Connell Knights: O’Connell finished 2-9 last season but head coach Todd Sabatino is optimistic the Knights can significantly improve their record in 2026.
“We have some very good new players this season,” Sabatino told ARLnow.
Helping the prospects of a winning season, the team’s three final regular-season games are at home.
O’Connell plays a 10-game schedule with its opener against Washington-Liberty on Aug. 28. The Knights’ Washington Catholic Athletic Conference schedule begins Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11 a.m. on the road against the Bishop Ireton Cardinals.
The remainder of their conference schedule has the Knights playing at St. Mary’s Ryken on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., home against the Carroll Lions on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m., and home against the St. Paul VI Catholic Panthers on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 12:30 p.m.
In other non-conference contests, O’Connell plays at John Paul the Great on Friday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m., hosts Washington High from West Virginia at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, hosts Northern Virginia Home School on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m., travels to Potomac School on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. and hosts St. John’s Catholic Prep on Saturday, Oct. 24 at noon.
