FINAL 2018-2019 NOVA NINETEEN
1. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (27-3)–IAC Champions, regular season and tournament. Now, VISAA Champions for the first time since 1990 after defeating O’Connell and Episcopal for the fifth time. SSSA was an overwhelming, fun team to watch this year.
2. Paul VI (27-9)–The upset loss to Episcopal in the VISAA semis doesn’t tarnish a magnificent year. Despite season-ending injuries to Roach and Harris, the Panthers still managed to tie for the WCAC regular season crown. Glenn Farello really deserved WCAC COY.
3. Flint Hill (26-4)–Also upset by Episcopal in the VISAA quarters, Flint Hill still had a great year. MAC regular season and tournament champs, the Huskies’ size and skill were matched by almost no one they played in 2018-2019.
4. O’Connell (20-13)–Disappointing loss to SSSA in the VISAA semis. Disappointing couple of losses to PVI in the regular season as well. Still, the Knights beat Gonzaga, St. John’s and DeMatha this season, which shows you how good they were when they were rolling.
5. Lake Braddock (25-4)–Couldn’t get it done in the Class 6 title game, as Michael Christmas and Landstown proved too strong. Shouldn’t tarnish an amazing season with district and regional titles and four victories over powerful South County.
6. Episcopal (21-10)–Guard play makes you dangerous in the postseason. The Maroon had great guards, very evident in their VISAA Tourney victories over Flint Hill and Paul VI. Jack Fitzpatrick and the brothers Johnson are tough to stop–seems like one or two of them is rolling at all times.
7. South County (20-8)–Lake Braddock accounted for half of South County’s losses this year. That doesn’t diminish a great season in which the Stallions were a legitimate state title contender even minus Quentin Millora-Brown. Should be good next year too.
8. Potomac Falls (27-2)–Man, Freedom really turned out to be fly in the Panthers’ ointment. Still a lot to be proud of at Potomac Falls. An undefeated regular season and a regional title still will be remembered for years.
9. Patriot (23-3)–South County with its depth and defense finally stopped the Pioneers, who nevertheless won region 6D and advanced into the state tourney for the first time ever. Really impressive how fast Sherman Rivers turned this program into one of the area’s most dangerous.
10. West Potomac (21-4)–No shame losing to South County, but it was a disappointing end to a season with state title hopes. Still, the Gunston District champs beat a lot of good teams and filled up the highlight reel on a weekly basis.
11. Osbourn (20-6)–When the Eagles were healthy they were rarely defeated this season. Not as deep as some other teams, Osbourn controlled pace and almost always played good defense. Beat Centreville on the road at regionals before falling to South Lakes on the road by a single point.
12. Potomac School (16-13)–Inconsistent year summed up by the season-ending losses to Sidwell Friends and Trinity Episcopal, two very good teams the Panthers beat earlier in the year. TPS beat a lot of solid teams this season, nevertheless.
13. John Paul the Great (16-10)–Clearly got better and better as the year went on with a championship in the Mount Vernon Tournament seemingly a major confidence-builder. Coretez Lewis was a great addition to an already solid core as the Wolves navigated a difficult schedule with composure.
14. Freedom-South Riding (18-12)–Talk about a team that peaked at the right time. Fifth place finisher in the deep Potomac District, the Eagles beat Potomac Falls and then secured impressive wins at regionals and at states to keep their season alive. Fell in the Class 5 state title game but the Eagles’ 2018-2019 run will not soon be forgotten.
15. Fairfax (18-8)–Six of the Rebels’ eight losses were to #5 Lake Braddock or #7 South County. Brutal. Core pieces mostly all back next year, however, so expect some Rebel retribution next season.
16. South Lakes (19-9)–Another good season in the books for the Seahawks, who got really nice regional tourney wins over Battlefield and Osbourn before falling to Patriot and to Lake Braddock at states. We’ll definitely miss seeing Cam Savage play local in 2019-2020.
17. Marshall (21-7)–The Statesmen advanced to the regional semis before falling to Patriot. They also won the National District Tournament. Daniel Deaver was perhaps NOVA’s most dominant player along the way.
18. Wakefield (18-8)–An up-and-down year for the Warriors concluded with a loss to #6 Potomac Falls at regionals. Wakefield had talent but lacked the depth to repeat last year’s State Tournament Final appearance. A talented senior class will be missed.
19. Centreville (18-6)–Another regular season Concorde title for Kevin Harris. Yeah, only five teams in that district, but the last place one (Westfield) secured a regional tournament win on the road. That should tell you something. The amazing Bryce Douglas will be missed though there’s young talent back next year.
Don’t forget–Potomac (19-8), Loudoun Valley (17-9), Riverside (21-7), Hayfield (13-9), T.C. Williams (13-12), Christ Chapel (21-11)