The undefeated, top seed and host Madison Warhawks (13-0) rallied to down the second-seed and previously undefeated Washington-Liberty Generals, 48-21, Saturday (Nov. 30) in the 6D North Region football final in Vienna.
It is the team’s fifth straight region crown, all won at home, and sets the squad up to host the Lake Braddock Bruins Dec. 7 in the first round of the four-team state finals.
The Warhawks’ five straight region crowns tie the Westfield Bulldogs for the most won consecutively in the history of 6D and Northern Region competition. Westfield won five in a row from 2015 to 2019.
“A streak like this is a testament to our players. Each team doesn’t want to be the one that has this end,” Madison coach Justin Counts said.
The Generals (12-1) compete in the Liberty District, having won this season’s league crown. Madison defeated teams from its own Concorde District in the previous four region-championship games — Chantilly (2020), Centreville (2021 and 2022) and Westfield (2023).
In this season’s region final, the Warhawks took a 7-0 first-quarter lead, fell behind 14-7 and trailed 14-13 at halftime. Madison started strong and took control in the second half, outscoring the Generals, 28-0, in the third quarter.
“Washington-Liberty played well and did what we expected,” Counts said. “They have good players. They made it tough for us on the first half. We made some adjustments on defense at halftime and our players responded well in the second half.”
As he has all season, senior runningback Dominic Knicely was that standout on offense and special teams for Madison. He scored touchdowns on a 55-yard pass from quarterback Cael Yates, an eight-yard run and a 70-yard punt return. He also caught a two-point-conversion pass.
For the game, Knicely rushed for 77 yards, caught three passes for 64 more, and had 88 yards in punt returns.
Yates was 7 of 12 passing for 91 yards with touchdown tosses to Knicely and one for 7 yards to Anthony Voinis. The quarterback also rushed for 29 yards, including an 11-yard scoring run.
“In the first half, [Washington-Liberty] played well on defense,” Yates said. “We picked it up in the second half and got more physical.”
Madison gained 348 total yards. Fullback Jack Ricciardiello ran for 82, including a 32-yard scoring run, and fellow fullback Matthew Weiler gained 57 yards on the ground.
Ricciardiello missed much of the season with an injury, but has been a big contributor in the playoffs. He also had one catch in the region final.
“He is running strong for us right now,” Yates said.
Tackling leaders for Madison on defense were Henry Maiden, Graham Gorkowski, Joe Gore, Luke Salvosa, Jack Ambruzs and Caden Green with a sack. Julian Hopewell booted four extra points for Madison.
The Generals were hurt by three turnovers, one an interception by Henry Maiden that was returned 37 yards for a touchdown. Maiden had two interceptions in the game and Anthony Lim-Nunez recovered a W-L fumble.
Madison was 3-0 in the region tournament. The Warhawks now advance to the Virginia High School League Class 6 four-team state tourney. They host a semifinal game on Saturday (Dec. 7) at 2 p.m. against the 6C North Region champion Lake Braddock Bruins (11-2).
The Bruins will bring a 10-game winning streak into the state semifinal. Madison defeated host Lake Braddock, 36-15, in the second game of the regular season.
NOTES: Madison’s 13 single-season wins tie for the most in school history … Over the past five seasons, the Warhawks have won 14 straight region-tournament playoff games, all coming on the team’s home field.
