2026 VHSL Class 6 Football Playoff Preview

Thomas Dale and Oscar Smith split the model leads in 6A and both get the opening round off. In Region 6D, the two highest Elo ratings are separated by less than a quarter of a point.

Power ratings, Elo and records come from the Beyond the Standings Week 11 rankings. The ranks below are recalculated among each region’s playoff teams. Pairings follow the published opening-round schedule.

Highest-rated teams outside the bracket

Centreville (5-5) ranked 14th in Class 6 power and 17th in Elo, placing fifth and sixth, respectively, in Region 6D. Lake Braddock (3-7) ranked seventh in both measures in Region 6C, and Patriot (5-5) was eighth in Elo and ninth in power in Region 6B.

Region 6A

Thomas Dale and Oscar Smith take the byes and split the top spots, with Thomas Dale first in power and Oscar Smith first in Elo. Manchester ranks third in both and opens against Cosby.

First round

First-round byes. No. 1 Thomas Dale and No. 2 Oscar Smith.

No. 6 Cosby vs. No. 3 Manchester

No. 5 Landstown vs. No. 4 L.C. Bird

Region 6B

Colonial Forge tops both models. The largest split among the top seeds belongs to Woodbridge, which ranks fifth in power and second in Elo after allowing 67 points in ten games.

Seed differences of two or more places. No. 4 Woodbridge (power #5, Elo #2), No. 5 Gar-Field (power #7, Elo #5), No. 6 Stafford (power #4, Elo #7), No. 8 Independence (power #8, Elo #6).

First round

No. 8 Independence vs. No. 1 Colonial Forge

No. 7 Gainesville vs. No. 2 Brooke Point

No. 6 Stafford vs. No. 3 Battlefield

No. 5 Gar-Field vs. No. 4 Woodbridge

Region 6C

South County tops power and West Springfield tops Elo. No. 3 Mount Vernon ranks third in Elo and fifth in power, while No. 4 West Potomac sits third in power and seventh in Elo.

Seed differences of two or more places. No. 4 West Potomac (power #3, Elo #7), No. 3 Mount Vernon (power #5, Elo #3), No. 8 Falls Church (power #8, Elo #6).

First round

No. 8 Falls Church vs. No. 1 South County

No. 7 James Robinson vs. No. 2 West Springfield

No. 6 Hayfield vs. No. 3 Mount Vernon

No. 5 Alexandria City vs. No. 4 West Potomac

Region 6D

Oakton leads regional power. Langley and James Madison sit atop Elo, separated by just 0.215 Elo points.

No. 2 Langley ranks fifth in power and first in Elo among the qualifiers. No. 5 James Madison and No. 7 Westfield both rank higher than their seeds in both models.

Seed differences of two or more places. No. 2 Langley (power #5, Elo #1), No. 4 Yorktown (power #6, Elo #7), No. 5 James Madison (power #3, Elo #2), No. 7 Westfield (power #4, Elo #5), No. 1 Oakton (power #1, Elo #3).

First round

No. 8 George C. Marshall vs. No. 1 Oakton

No. 7 Westfield vs. No. 2 Langley

No. 6 Washington-Liberty vs. No. 3 South Lakes

No. 5 James Madison vs. No. 4 Yorktown