Five Takeaways from the Season

Adam Ayalew

March 15, 2022 @ 11:20 AM

<p>The 2021-2022 High School Season is in the books! Here are five takeaways from the campaign.</p> <h5>A Year of Parity</h5> <p>Not much separated the top teams in the area this season. Credit to the likes of McNamara, Sidwell, and Wilson for elevating their play against the toughest competition.</p> <h5>Hayfield Perseveres</h5> <p>Hayfield came into the season with high expectations based on their results the prior year. They’re out of conference schedule was packed with challenges, including a trip to Bishop Ireton in the season opener, playing Landstown in the 757, and John Marshall in the 804. The Hawks passed all those tests with flying colors before knocking off a tough South Lakes squad on their way to winning the state title with a perfect 32-0 record. </p> <h5>Seniors Still on the Board</h5> <p>We are still feeling the impacts of the pandemic on recruiting. <a href="https://twitter.com/MarcusHelton/status/1503389204612534272?s=20&t=orkIRX3fVfzUplDPMgN2NQ">Less than 60 seniors</a> have committed to a college or university as of today. </p> <h5>Younger Classes Show Promise</h5> <p>The 2024 class is the crown jewel of this area. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1127305" first="Bryson" last="Tucker"]</strong> is close to becoming a household name in the DMV, with guys like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1259620" first="Darren" last="Harris"]</strong> snipping at his heels. The depth of this class is remarkable. <strong>Martin Somerville</strong>, for example, is a sophomore at McNamara who played close to 30 minutes a game by the season’s end. 2025 is no joke either. Largo’s<strong> Cam Ward</strong> is a must-see prospect in the public school sector. <strong>Daniel</strong> <strong>Bumpass</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1370494" first="David" last="Bumpass"]</strong> just helped lead Friendship Tech to the PCSAA Championship.</p> <h5>2023’s Discovered</h5> <p>One of the best things about the season being back in full swing was getting out and evaluating new prospects. We learned quite a bit about 2023, perhaps most than any other class. Two years ago before the pandemic, these prospects were high school freshmen. The return of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="957026" first="Malik" last="Mack"]</strong> did not disappoint either. </p>