The Salem High football team will continue its revenge tour this Friday when the Dinwiddie Generals come to town for a 7 p.m. game at Salem Stadium. A large crowd is expected as two of the top Class 4 teams in the state go head to head.
Salem lost to Dinwiddie on the road last year, 42-0, but that seems like ancient history at this point. The Spartans were 0-3 at this juncture last year and had just lost their quarterback to a broken collarbone. This season, they’re 3-0 and have outscored the same three opponents, 145-46.
“Billy Mills (Dinwiddie head coach) is a class act and a great coach,” said Salem coach Don Holter. “We’re excited to play them. Both schools are consistently in the top four in the state and you’re going to see two hungry football teams.”
The Generals are 2-1. They opened with wins over Colonial Heights, 36-12, and Granby, 43-0, before losing to Class 5 power Highland Springs at home last Friday, 35-21.
“They’re a real good football team,” said Holter. “They have good size with athletic linemen, but so do we.”
Salem has played Dinwiddie four times in the previous 49 years of Spartan football. In 2016 Salem beat the Generals, 31-27, in the Class 4 state championship game at William & Mary.
They played in the regular season the next two years with Dinwiddie winning both times, 25-20 in Salem in 2017 and 27-20 at Dinwiddie in ’18. They didn’t play again until last year.
The Spartans will be looking to avenge a 2025 loss for the fourth straight week this Friday. Last week, at Salem Stadium, they got one back against William Fleming with a 45-12 win in a game that was probably closer than the score indicates.
Fleming scored first in this game. A 71-yard pass play gave the Colonels
the ball on the Salem 9 and the Colonels punched it in with 17 seconds left in the first quarter. The extra point failed but Fleming led 6-0 after one period of play.
On Salem’s first drive of the second period the Spartans were stopped on fourth and one at their own 45. However, the defense stiffened and Nick Baxley returned a punt to the Fleming one yard line, where Jordan McCadden punched it in with 7:50 remaining in the half. Liam Munoz kicked the point and Salem had their first lead at 7-6.
It was a lead they would not relinquish. The Spartans made it 14-6 on their next possession, capped off by a three yard run by McCadden with 2:04 on the clock. DaVon Jones made a leaping interception to deny the Colonels any chance of retaliation and the Spartans led 14-6 at the half.
Salem got the ball first to open the second half and took six minutes off the clock with a drive to pay dirt. McCadden did the honors again with a 14 yard run and Munoz’s kick made it 21-6.
Fleming didn’t go easily. A 57-yard run set up a six-yard TD pass as the Colonels cut the lead to 21-12, with Salem stopping a two-point conversion try.
McCadden’s 51-yard run, along with a late hit, got Salem moving on the next possession. It ended with a 25-yard field goal by Munoz with seven seconds left in the quarter and Salem led 24-12 heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter was all Salem. McCadden added two more touchdowns, one on a 13-yard run and another on a one-yard run after Jones’ second pick deep in Colonel territory. Baxley put some icing on the cake with a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown, making the final score 45-12.
McCadden finished with 210 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 25 attempts. Tanner Overstreet was six for 12 passing for 50 yards, with four going to Jaidyn Rudisell for 36 yards. Jayden Wood had 12 tackles to lead the defense, 10 of which were solos. Michael Crawley and McCadden had sacks.
“I thought we played with focus, effort and discipline in all three phases of the game,” said Holter. “We got after them.”
