A like-father-like-son story with an Arlington connection transpired this fall in two press boxes during football season in Northern Virginia.
At Yorktown High School in Arlington, with his enthusiastic yet professional and calm demeanor, Chris Williams worked his 23rd season as the Friday-night announcer of home varsity games for the Patriots.
The 19 combined victories amassed this fall by the four varsity high-school football teams in Arlington were three fewer than during the 2024 campaign.
The drop-off can be attributed to the Washington-Liberty Generals having five fewer wins than a year ago, when the team achieved a single-season program best 12 victories.
For a fifth season, the Bishop O’Connell Knights girls field-hockey team continued to find success under the leadership of Megan Sullivan.
This fall, the high school squad won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament for the first time, nipping top seed St. John’s, 1-0, in the championship match.
The 2025 high-school football season began and ended in a similar fashion for the Yorktown Patriots — with bookend losses to the South Lakes Seahawks.
Playing at home, Yorktown fell to South Lakes, 24-17, Friday evening (Nov. 14) in a first-round game of the 6D North Region tournament playoffs.
The Washington-Liberty Generals were productive enough on offense to win their first-round playoff game of the 6D North Region football tournament.
Defense, though, was another matter — and became the reason W-L lost the Friday night (Nov. 14) high-school contest to the host Westfield Bulldogs, 56-28.
As the team’s nickname indicates, the Arlington Admirals were in command of local youth football action this fall.
In addition to the team of middle schoolers’ undefeated 9-0 record, the Admirals won the Varsity Central Division playoff championship of the Northern Virginia Youth Football League.
Bursting on the high-school cross-country scene by winning her first race as an unknown sophomore runner in early September, Molly Hardwick continues to prove she is no fluke.
The Yorktown High School harrier capped the 2025 campaign with probably her biggest accomplishment and against the toughest competition Saturday (Nov. 8) — a runner-up finish in the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 girls state championship meet.
A cross-country season that began strong and seldom faltered finished with the Bishop O’Connell Knights boys cross-country team winning the Division I private-school state championship for the first time since 2000.
Improving from fifth place in last year’s meet, the Knights brought home the title Nov. 6 on the 5,000-meter Panorama Farms course near Charlottesville. O’Connell finished ahead of second place and defending state champion Potomac School.
Although they didn’t win, the Wakefield Warriors ended their high-school football season on a high note of sorts.
By rallying late in a 35-32 home loss to the McLean Highlanders in Liberty District action Nov. 7, the Warriors scored the most points in a contest during their seven-game losing streak.
With a lopsided loss in their final regular-season football game Friday night (Nov. 7), the Washington-Liberty Generals finished third in the Liberty District standings.
The host Generals (7-3, 4-2) were blown out by the Langley Saxons, 42-7, in the high-school contest.
The Bishop O’Connell Knights bounced back from a major defeat in regional action to win the four-team Northern Virginia Independent Schools State Invitational girls soccer tournament.
With a 2-0 home victory over the third-seed St. Paul VI Catholic Panthers in the Thursday (Oct. 6) title game, the top-seeded Knights (14-2-1) won the crown for the second straight year and fourth time in five seasons.
There were many open questions about the Yorktown Patriots prior to the start of the high-school football season.
That’s common any time a program undergoes a big head-coaching change, especially when the former team leader steps down after 40 years at the helm, winning hundreds of games and multiple championships.
