First as an assistant then as a head coach, Brian Slay has been impactful in helping high-school football teams throughout Northern Virginia improve and enjoy success in recent seasons.
He hopes to continue that trend as the new head coach of the Wakefield Warriors football squad in Arlington.
Three accomplished members of the Yorktown High School football program will be celebrated at an awards banquet this weekend.
Current Yorktown head coach Alec Hicks will be honored as the Liberty District’s 2025 Coach of the Year during the relaunched Northern Virginia Football Hall of Fame. In addition, Yorktown senior Bobby Shea will be recognized as the Liberty District’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders are home on the couch this weekend, but that’s no reason to spurn the pomp and circumstance of arguably the biggest sporting event of the year: Super Bowl LX.
Whether you’re a fan of football or just good food, there’s no lack of things to do around Arlington and Falls Church to celebrate Sunday’s big game. Here’s a look at some of the festivities going on.
Grant Wilson’s decision to transfer to the Indiana Hoosiers for the 2025 college football season turned out to be the right call.
The 2020 Yorktown High School graduate was a red-shirt senior and third-string quarterback on the undefeated (16-0) and season-long Cinderella-story national champion Hoosiers.
An Arlington man is headed to Super Bowl LX with his hearing dog this weekend after being named the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Fan of the Year.”
The team chose Hayden Shock, a 33-year-old employee of the General Services Administration, as its top fan last fall. Shock, who has followed his Air Force father’s fandom since he was around six years old, will be joined at this weekend’s Super Bowl by his dad, as well as Abby, his service dog.
For a season-long performance worthy of comeback-player-of-the-year honors, Arlington’s Mason Cunningham was chosen as the 2025 Offensive Player of the Year in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
The Yorktown High School graduate and senior football standout for the Division III Hampden-Sydney College Tigers received the award, in addition to being chosen first-team all-conference, as a result of impressive statistics in 10 games as a wide receiver.
While Clarence Martin very much enjoyed both of his jobs at Wakefield High School, he recently made the decision to concentrate on just one of them.
Martin has stepped down as the head varsity football coach for the Warriors after three seasons in charge.
Grant Siebert didn’t realize at the time that learning to play center in youth flag football would pave the way for significant achievements as a high-school senior.
The Washington-Liberty Generals’ captain recently was chosen to the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 first-team on offense as the lone center. He is the first W-L offensive lineman chosen first-team all-state at any position in Josh Shapiro’s 19 seasons as the Generals’ head coach.
Having first learned to play the precision football position of a long snapper, Brady Owens found himself developing into a talented tight end.
Owens honed those skills into becoming a standout player during his four-year high-school career playing for Arlington’s Yorktown Patriots.
A total of 17 players from Arlington’s three public high-school varsity football teams were chosen all-region for their performances during the 2025 season.
The two players chosen 6D North Region first-team on defense were seniors, who coincidentally wore uniform number 99. One was middle linebacker Sean Perry of the Wakefield Warriors and the other was lineman Bobby Shea of the Liberty District champion Yorktown Patriots.
The starting quarterbacks at Arlington’s four high-school football teams have received all-league honors, rewarding their strong performances during the 2025 fall season.
Three of those players passed for more than 2,000 yards, the other for nearly 1,000. None were starters for any of the Arlington teams in 2024, yet they made a big impact in their initial season.
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.
