Loudoun County, Va. — As high school basketball gets underway in Loudoun County, a few local teams have already started to stand out among the crowd. In a two-district county, we wanted a way to put things into perspective. Enter: the LoCo Top 5.
Of course, if you’re into hard numbers the full Potomac District and Dulles District standings are available here.
[adrotate banner=”16″]1. Loudoun Valley (8-0, 17-1)
Winners of their last eleven, the Vikings continue to cruise through their conference counterparts by large margins. And Loudoun Valley proved that it can still compete with tough out-of-district competition when Jordan Miller propelled the Vikings to a victory in Virginia Beach over a formidable Phoebus Phantoms team on January 27. However, Freedom is making its case to become the No. 1 team in Loudoun, so Miller and company need to stay sharp.
2. Freedom (10-0, 15-2)
The Eagles have a legitimate case to be the No. 1 team in Loudoun County. After picking up a quality win against the Centreville Wildcats on January 13, the Eagles handled an improved Tuscarora team on the road on January 19. Freedom then went on to pick up one of its most important victories of the season in a 72-58 road win against Potomac Falls on January 26. Unfortunately, we won’t see the Eagles and the Vikings match up this season; however, don’t be surprised if the Eagles take over the top spot before the season ends.
3. Stone Bridge (8-2, 12-6)
Senior guard Ben Kling has the Bulldogs in the second spot in the Potomac District standings. Ever since their nine-point win against 6A powerhouse Battlefield High School on January 18, the Bulldogs have been rolling on all cylinders and have won three straight important Potomac District matchups against Rock Ridge, Tuscarora and Briar Woods. The Bulldogs finally look to be living up to their potential and could challenge Freedom for the Potomac District title in February.
4. Potomac Falls (6-4, 12-5)
The Panthers have depth and can score from anywhere on the court, but need to put it all together if they want to make a run at the Potomac District title. Potomac Falls was hurt by its upset loss to Tuscarora on January 16, allowing Stone Bridge to take their spot as the second place team in the Potomac District. On January 26, the Panthers were unable to avenge their critical loss against Freedom at the beginning of the month, as they fell to the Eagles by a score of 72-58. The Panthers still have a chance to move up in the standings, but they will need to take down Stone Bridge on January 29 in order to do so.
5. Broad Run (5-5, 6-11)
Broad Run’s hot streak at the beginning of January has certainly slowed down a bit after suffering several key losses in the district. Losses against Stone Bridge and Briar Woods show that the Spartans have not quite turned the corner, but there is still a ton of potential in this team. The Spartans tested Freedom at home on January 12, as the Eagles barely scraped by with a three-point win. If the Spartans can go toe-to-toe with Freedom, they have the potential to beat just about any team in the Potomac District on any given night.
