They haven’t won any of the games, but Bishop O’Connell’s high-school football schedule the last three seasons has included the addition of a trio of nearby opponents.
The Knights have played the Flint Hill Huskies and Potomac School Panthers for the first time ever in private-school contests, and resumed an all-Arlington rivalry with the public-school Washington-Liberty Generals.
The McLean area has seen enough of the Yorktown Patriots this season.
In games the past three Friday nights, Yorktown has defeated a trio of Liberty District public-school rivals from that area. In order, the Patriots downed the Langley Saxons and McLean Highlanders, then on Oct. 3 routed the host Marshall Statesmen — located on the McLean/Falls Church border — 42-14.
Crowds were big and boisterous and marching bands played loudly in anticipation of the first all-Arlington public high-school football showdown this season — and the action on the field did not disappoint.
In a close game throughout, the Washington-Liberty Generals first rallied then held off the Wakefield Warriors to win 14-10 in a Liberty District battle.
There may be no trophy awarded to the winner of the unofficial Arlington County high-school football championship, contested each year between the jurisdiction’s three public-school teams.
But the Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots compete hard for bragging rights each fall.
An atypical, and unplanned, winning formula has evolved for the Yorktown Patriots in the team’s past two football games.
Yorktown (3-2, 2-0) has won despite being outgained in total yards, but has countered with a takeaway and bend-but-don’t-break defense that sets up points for an offense that is running error-free.
The Washington-Liberty Generals saw their 18-game regular-season football winning streak tripped up in a 34-28 road loss to the Centreville Wildcats Friday night (Sept. 26).
Despite gaining 515 yards to Centreville’s 390, W-L couldn’t overcome errors and failed to convert on a late-in-the-game touchdown drive in the high-school game.
For two seasons now, the Bishop O’Connell Knights have won little during the early portion of their high-school football campaigns.
Through four contests this fall, the private-school squad owns a 1-3 mark, losing to the Washington Patriots (2-2) of Charles Town, W.Va., by a 29-14 score in its most recent contest, played the night of Sept. 19 in non-conference action.
A football season of resurgence continued for the Wakefield Warriors with their most recent victory during the early portion of the 2025 high-school campaign.
The host Warriors defeated the Justice Wolves, 33-12, the night of Sept. 19 to improve to 3-1 with a third straight win.
History was not on the side of the Washington-Liberty Generals in taking on the Westfield Bulldogs when the two undefeated high-school football teams met Friday night (Sept. 19).
Westfield (3-1) had never lost to W-L — nor had the games been close — in the eight times the non-district opponents played.
The fourth game of the regular season became the biggest and most important so far for the Yorktown Patriots, as a home victory earned the high-school football team a share of first place in the Liberty District.
Yorktown (2-2, 1-0) held on to nip the Langley Saxons, 21-20, the night of Sept. 19. Yorktown, Langley (2-2, 1-1) and the defending champion and undefeated Washington-Liberty Generals (4-0, 1-0) are the favorites to contend for the 2025 league crown.
The potential existed for the Wakefield Warriors to blow out the host Lewis Lancers in their most recent game of the high-school football season.
That didn’t occur. Instead, the Warriors won, 34-20, in a much closer result in the Sept. 12 non-district clash.
All finally was well for the Bishop O’Connell Knights, and the result was the team’s first victory of the football season.
In the third week of the high-school campaign, host O’Connell (1-2) defeated the winless St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes Saints, 38-12, the afternoon of Sept. 13 in non-conference private-school action.
