Fourteen jumping jacks. That’s how many the Liberty Minutemen football team will do in practice. The number is 14 because that is how long coach Chris Watts wants this season to be. A 14-game season for the Minutemen would mean a first-round bye in the playoffs and a run to the state championship game. The playoff picture may still be uncertain, but with a 43-23 home win against Heritage on Friday, the Minutemen locked up that first-round bye and assured themselves of at least two more weeks of practice and sets of 14 jumping jacks.

Appomattox at Dan River

FOREST — Early in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Seminole District finale at Sabre Stadium, Brookville’s Deshon Foxx took a pitch from quarterback Kendall Becraft, just like he had three times before. He had turned one into his second first-half touchdown, slanting inside the left pylon on fourth-and-goal from Jefferson Forest’s 2. But this time, with the game tied at 20 and the Bees facing third-and-8 at JF’s 28, Foxx rolled to his right and unleashed a 30-yard spiral that hit Alec Thompson in stride in the right side of the end zone for the winning touchdown in a 27-20 triumph.

Roanoke Catholic at North Cross

Playoff picture clears up. Salem clinches home field, Hidden Valley with a big come back win, Liberty likely to get bye, Blue Demons win battle of the 'Burgs, missing refs postpone GW Danville vs. Fleming

Heritage at Liberty

Brookville at Jefferson Forest

Amherst Co. at Rustburg

Brookville at Jefferson Forest and G-Dub at Fleming top the list of games this week. Staunton River still has a chance to get into the playoffs if they can win against Northside. Check back for scores and highlights. Don’t forget to make sure we’ve got your team’s score. You can call 540-981-9126.

At the start of this season, Appomattox second-year coach Ben Martin anticipated there would be five legitimate contenders in the seven-team Dogwood District race. Two obvious candidates were Gretna and William Campbell, which have won the last nine district titles, capturing six state championships in the past seven seasons. The rest included the Raiders, who last won a district title more than 10 years ago, Altavista which last made the regional playoffs nearly 20 years ago, and Dan River.

Preview capsules of Friday night’s football games involving area teams