VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- Mark Hall has plenty of experience with Green Run. He played his high school football for the Stallions and coached at his alma mater after college.
Now he's looking to guide his Salem squad to an upset of his former program. The two square off Friday night in the Region 5A championship game on the Stallions' home field.
"I've got a lot of respect for Brandon Williams, I love that school, too, I'm a graduate of the school, Brandon gave me an opportunity to coach there right out of college," Hall noted. "It means a lot just to be able to play against a team where we formed something over there and now we get to play against them in the regional championship and bring another regional championship here."
Green Run enters on a 49-game winning streak against Beach District opponents, including playoff contests. The Stallions and Salem squared off during the regular season, with Green Run pulling away for a 40-18 victory. The Sun Devils, however, are embracing a second chance where the stakes are even higher.
"We're starving," junior linebacker Markus McCoy said. "We're going to go in there with the right mindset, we're going to get our guys right and we're just going to do what we do."
"We do know we are a different team," added Hall. "Just knowing that we are excited to play them again in the regional championship and it means a lot more. The first game did mean a lot, but this one means even more because if you lose you go home and if you win you advance."
Salem (10-2) rolled past Deep Creek, 42-3, in the Region 5A semifinals to roll into the title game. Green Run (12-0) held off Indian River, 22-19, in double overtime, avenging last year's loss to the Braves in the region title game and putting themselves in position to take back the 5A crown.
Sports
High school football region finals set
The table is set for a thriller for the Region 5A title. The Sun Devils were the last district squad to top Green Run back on March 12, 2021, and they have their sights set on claiming their first region crown since 2019.
"It means a lot for our kids," Hall pointed out. "They've been working really hard and they've been putting a lot of extra work in and they're really, really focused, so we're a different team than we were when we played them the first time so they're ready and we'll be prepared."
"It would mean a lot to this program, a lot to the school," added McCoy. "We would make history and everybody wants to make history, right?"
Salem and Green Run kick off Friday night at 7:00 PM. The winner will face either Maury or King's Fork in the Class 5 state semifinals next Saturday.
