CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR)- The Southeastern District is a gauntlet. Each and every season the league seems to send four to five teams to the postseason and puts them among their respective region's best, with a handful of teams displaying state championship trophies.
"One through 10 in the Southeastern District, I feel like it's the best district in the state of Virginia, flat out," said Nansemond River head coach Alonzo Ricks.
His counterpart at Western Branch, Rashad Cook, agrees. He competed in the district as a player and has seen the strength of the league for quite some time.
"Just week in and week out, you can't look at the record," Cook noted. "You've got to look at the roster, you've got to look at the coaches."
Ricks and Cook both hope to lead their teams to the district title this season, but that road runs through each other. The Warriors and Bruins will clash in Chesapeake this Friday night in our Friday Night Redzone 757 Showdown. Nansemond River is out to a 2-0 start, Western Branch 3-0, with both squads winning their games by comfortable margins thus far.
"We've been expecting that since the start, since January," said Bruins' junior defensive lineman Q'Mari Hudson. "When we came back into the weight room, we knew we were going to be a good team. We kept preaching it, state champs every day."
"We can go out there and dominate, but we have to play at our own pace," Warriors' senior offensive lineman Julian Pinon pointed out. "We're looking to win it all."
Now the two district rivals put their best up against each other. Quarterback David Ortell paces a Western Branch offense that has scored 35, 63 and 30 points, respectively, in each of their games. Nansemond River counters with senior and Syracuse commit Tyrell Grant, who has led the unit to 111 points in just two games. Both defenses have been brick walls in the early going, allowing an average of just a touchdown per contest.
"They've got a solid quarterback," Cook said of Friday's opponent. "Ty Grant's a phenomenal athlete, he's going on to Syracuse, they have a consistency with their O-line play and D-line play and for us, we just can't lose to ourselves."
"They run the ball pretty well," Ricks pointed out about the Bruins. "Their quarterback is exceptional, defensively they fly around, their aggressive and we have to prepare and be hungry back."
That hunger will span throughout both sidelines. Nansemond River brings a two-game winning streak in the series into Friday's match-up, while Western Branch is taking aim at continuing its best start since the Bruins' 2022 Region 6A championship season. Of course, staying unbeaten in 2025 is the top priority for both squads.
"You only get one a week," Ricks noted. "To try to make that sour taste not be in your mouth and that stale taste, we want to make sure we definitey have the win for this week and be victorious."
"It would mean a lot," said Hudson. "That would mean we'd have a lot of people off our back, we'll be the eyes of the city and everything. Nobody would be doubting us anymore. I just can't wait to do it."
Nansemond River and Western Branch kick off at 7 p.m. Friday night on the Bruins' home field.
