The 2026 Virginia high school football season is just around the corner, and the Virginia High School League has already released its official schedule for all 311 member schools, along with some “Week 0” games that were moved up a few days for programs that received special scheduling exceptions. For most of the state, the regular season officially begins on Friday, August 28.
A quick note before we continue: Since most of the season hasn’t started yet, this article focuses on actual, confirmed schedule and standings information, rather than results that aren’t yet available. Once the games begin, this page will be updated weekly with the actual results.
Defending Champions in Every Category
Virginia crowns a state champion in six categories, and last season’s winners return as the teams to beat: Oscar Smith in Class 6, Maury in Class 5, Varina in Class 4, Lake Taylor in Class 3, Strasburg in Class 2, and Rappahannock in Class 1. Oscar Smith enters the year with an especially strong team, featuring the return of a quarterback committed to Virginia and an athlete committed to James Madison, following their resounding 44-0 victory over North Stafford in last year’s Class 6 championship game.
Varina is no slouch either. The program boasts the return of several Division I recruits, including a linebacker committed to Clemson and a cornerback committed to Virginia, and their regular-season matchup against Oscar Smith on September 11 is already shaping up to be one of the most important games of the year across the state.
A Schedule Packed with Star Matchups
The Virginia 2026 schedule features many games worth marking in advance. Several elite programs include interstate matchups against Maryland and Washington, D.C.-area rivals in their non-conference schedules, and some opening-day rematches are highly anticipated: Lord Botetourt and Rye Cove, the 2025 Class I runner-up, face off for the second consecutive year at Emory & Henry University, with Lord Botetourt having won last year’s opening game 49-12.
Where to Find Team Schedules and Standings
The complete VHSL schedule is available directly from the league, broken down by standings and region. Notably, the league no longer publishes weekly standings or top-20 state rankings; outlets such as VaPreps Scoreboard, On3, and MaxPreps now handle that, along with the regional seeding systems each area uses for playoff seeding.
Tracking Results Once the Season Begins
In Virginia, once the season is in full swing, more than 80 games are typically played statewide on a single Friday night in the fall. As the playoffs approach in November, the number of games among the state’s top 25 teams increases. We will closely follow the results as the season progresses.
Check our Scores page for weekly Virginia results once the season kicks off, and our Rankings page for where the state’s top teams stack up as 2026 unfolds.