We've now reached the point where we have just three weeks left in the Eastern Region Group AAA regular season.

Some observations after Friday's action

* Jami Frankenberry, no doubt, will have more on Ocean Lakes' victory over Tallwood in Larry Rubama's high school football blog, but I will say this about that one: we now have 7-0 Ocean Lakes playing at 7-0 Green Run this coming Friday -- after seeing Ocean Lakes play Kellam a week ago, I would have picked Ocean Lakes to defeat Green Run. Now, I'm not so sure after watching the Dolphins again. Tallwood's defense was tough, but Ocean Lakes' offense played pretty uninspired football against the Lions. On the other hand, Green Run turned the ball over four times and was penalized 10 times in its victory over Kempsville on Friday. This coming Friday's Green Run-Ocean Lakes game is clearly a toss-up. Either team could win it. Better put, maybe, is to say that either team could lose it. Look for it to come down to a fourth-quarter turnover or mistake.

*   Oscar Smith smoked King's Fork. What else is new? Oscar Smith is smoking every team it plays. Don't look for the scorchings to stop until the Tigers face the Division 6 Northern Region champion -- likely Westfield or Oakton -- in the state semifinals. That game will be played at the Northern Region champion's home field. So don't look for the Tigers to slow down between now and then. This Oscar Smith team clearly is on a mission, and opponents between now and that state semifinal are mere practice fodder. Nansemond River, Deep Creek and Lakeland are the final three regular-season victims, then at least the Tigers will be playing Eastern Region Division 6 playoff teams for three weeks.

 * Deep Creek slowed down Indian River's offense. Still, the Braves are rolling toward the Divison 5 playoffs, having won four in a row.

* Kellam (6-2) almost stumbled again, this time against a feisty Salem squad. But the Knights pulled it out with a last-minute touchdown. Kellam now gets to take this coming weekend off before finishing its regular season against Tallwood and Green Run. A victory in either game will lock up a Division 6 playoff spot for the Knights.

* Cox made a move toward snaring a Divsion 6 playoff berth by dumping Landstown. If the Falcons (5-3) can top both Princess Anne and Bayside in their last two regular-season games, they'll be in the playoffs. Who would have predicted that in the preseason?

* Lakeland is officially the Suffolk city champion after thrashing Nansemond River. The Cavaliers already own a victory over King's Fork. However, among the three Suffolk Group AAA teams, only King's Fork has a realistic chance of making the Division 5 playoffs. Nansemond River (1-6), of course, is way out of the picture. Lakeland (3-4) has Deep Creek, Indian River and Oscar Smith left on the schedule. The Cavaliers likely will finish 5-5. King's Fork (3-4), though, has Hickory, Great Bridge and Grassfield left. If the Bulldogs can run the table in those three games, they'll likely make the playoffs with a 6-4 record. King's Fork also owns a victory over Norview, which is now 5-2, and that will be a big boost to the Bulldogs' power rating..

* Norcom got back on track in the Division 5 playoff race by shutting out Granby. The Greyhounds are now 5-2. They still have Lake Taylor, Wilson and Booker T. Washington on their schedule. Knocking off the Titans is probably out of the question, but victories over the other two should put Norcom firmly in the playoffs.

* Norview also put itself firmly in the Division 5 playoff race and pretty much knocked Churchland out of it. The Pilots are now 5-2 with games left against Granby, Maury and Lake Taylor. Getting to 7-2 with victories over Granby and Maury should lock up a playoff spot for Norview. The Norview-Maury game will be pivotal for the playoff chances of both the Pilots and the Commodores.

* Lastly, what in the world happened to Great Bridge? The Wildcats were thrashed by their spawn -- Grassfield. Not only that, Grassfield now is very much in the Division 5 playoff hunt. Meanwhile, the Wildcats are on extremely shaky ground. Grassfield is 5-2, with Indian River, Western Branch and King's Fork left on the schedule. To seal a playoff spot, the Grizzlies need to upset either Indian River or Western Branch, plus defeat King's Fork. Even with only a victory over King's Fork, if a 6-4 team makes the eight-feam field, Grassfield's power rating likely will be better than any 6-4 Eastern District team. So if a 6-4 team sneaks in, Grassfield could be the one. As for Great Bridge (4-3), the Wildcats still have Western Branch, King's Fork and Nansemond River on their schedule. A sweep of those three will put Great Bridge in the Division 5 playoffs. Going 2-1 in those final three games will make Great Bridge one of those potential 6-4, power-ratings bubble teams. And if both Great Bridge and Grassfield both finish 6-4, with one spot left in the playoff field, look for the spawn to win that power ratings battle.  

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