The History of the Southeast Classic: Huguenot vs Highland Springs
- Huguenot Football
- 3 days ago
- 9 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
RICHMOND, Va. – When Huguenot and Highland Springs meet on Friday, Sept. 4, another chapter will be added to a matchup that has been part of Richmond-area high school football history for more than three decades.
The Southeast Classic officially began in 1994, when the Falcons and Springers renewed a series that had not been played since 1975. The schools had met before, but the 1994 game marked the first time the matchup carried the Southeast Classic name.
What followed was an annual early-season showcase featuring ranked teams, future college stars, dramatic finishes and two programs that were rarely interested in easing into a new season.
The Classic was played every year from 1994 through 2004 before taking a two-year break. It returned from 2007 through 2010, although those later meetings moved away from the traditional first-Friday-of-September date.
Then the series disappeared from the schedule.
Until now.
In 2026, Charles Scott Sr. will lead Huguenot into Victor W. Kreiter Stadium against Loren Johnson and Highland Springs as the Southeast Classic returns for the first time in nearly 16 years.
For Huguenot, it will be the regular-season opener. Highland Springs will enter having already played its first game of the season one week earlier.
But the history surrounding the matchup reaches much further back than either team’s 2026 schedule.
1994: The Southeast Classic Is Born
The first Southeast Classic arrived with immediate significance.
Huguenot entered the 1994 season ranked No. 5 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch Area Poll, while Highland Springs was ranked No. 2. It was the first meeting between the schools in 19 years and the season opener for both programs.
Highland Springs jumped ahead 12-0 in the first five minutes before Huguenot responded.
The Falcons eventually took a 21-18 advantage into halftime and held on for a 34-32 victory.
Quarterback Abraham Washington, making his first varsity start, threw four touchdown passes. Corey Cotman rushed for 91 yards and scored twice.
For longtime Huguenot head coach Richard McFee, the significance of the victory went beyond the scoreboard.
“This is the greatest victory in the history of the school,” McFee told the Richmond Times-Dispatch afterward.
It was a fitting beginning for a game designed to be more than an ordinary non-district matchup.
By the following year, McFee explained the thinking behind creating the Classic.
“When we decided to play, we wanted to make it special,” he said.
Trophies and plaques became part of the event, and what began as a renewal of an old series quickly developed its own identity.
1995: Highland Springs Responds
The second Southeast Classic went the other way.
Highland Springs defeated Huguenot 23-8, using a defense that held the Falcons to 62 rushing yards and forced six turnovers.
By then, the importance of the matchup was already evident in the way both programs discussed it.
Highland Springs coach Randy Stokes said before the game, “This game already has playoff implications.”
The Classic did not determine district standings, but the message reflected what both programs believed the matchup could reveal about them early in the season.
McFee even acknowledged the possibility that the two teams could eventually see each other again in the postseason.
“We know this could be the first of two meetings this year,” he said.
The Southeast Classic had quickly become an early measuring stick.
1996: Terrell Arrives on the Stage
The 1996 Southeast Classic produced one of the most memorable individual performances in the early history of the series.
Huguenot defeated Highland Springs 34-7 on the field, and David Terrell delivered what became his coming-out performance.
With much of Highland Springs’ attention focused on standout Bruce Branch, Terrell caught five passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught a two-point conversion and recorded an interception on defense.
McFee made the depth of Huguenot’s talent clear afterward.
“We are not just a Bruce Branch football team,” he said.
Terrell’s performance offered an early glimpse of what was ahead.
The 1996 Classic, however, also produced one of the strangest entries in the series record.
Huguenot later learned that an academically ineligible transfer had participated in one play. The Falcons were forced to forfeit the victory.
So the history of the game carries an important distinction: Huguenot won 34-7 on the field, but Highland Springs received the official victory by forfeit.
1997: Terrell Delivers Again
By 1997, Terrell was no longer an emerging player.
He was a senior, a returning first-team All-State selection and one of the most highly recruited prospects in the country.
And once again, the Southeast Classic became his stage.
Terrell caught six passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns as Huguenot defeated Highland Springs 32-27.
The Falcons led 20-6 at halftime before Highland Springs rallied to take a 27-20 lead.
Huguenot answered.
Quarterback Jamil Anderson connected with Terrell on a 57-yard touchdown, and later found him again for the go-ahead score.
McFee’s confidence in his senior receiver was unmistakable.
“We say in practice we’re never out of the game, because we know they can’t stop David,” he said.
McFee followed with another memorable assessment.
“Virginia may have gotten Ronald Curry, but David’s the best player in the state.”
For Terrell, the Southeast Classic had now provided both a breakout performance and one of the signature games of his senior season.
1998: Setting the Stage for the Season
The fifth Southeast Classic again featured two of the Richmond area’s top teams.
Huguenot entered ranked No. 2, with Highland Springs at No. 9.
The Falcons won 32-6.
Senior quarterback Jamil Anderson contributed on both sides of the football, including a 63-yard fumble return for a touchdown, while Huguenot’s defense limited Highland Springs to just 15 yards in the second half.
Afterward, Anderson explained how Huguenot viewed the Classic within the larger season.
“We anticipated that we’d start like this,” Anderson said. “We wanted to come to Highland Springs in the first game of the season and play very well and set the stage for the rest of the season.”
That statement captured much of what the Southeast Classic represented during its original run.
It was an opportunity to find out immediately what kind of team you had.
1999: Adjustments Make the Difference
The 1999 Classic began as a defensive struggle.
Huguenot managed only 61 yards and one first down in the first half. Highland Springs had just 58 yards and two first downs.
The Falcons adjusted after halftime.
Huguenot scored three unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter and eventually won 28-15.
Desmond Lewis connected with Franklin Hill for an 88-yard touchdown, while James Brockenbrough and Duron Ferguson helped Huguenot take control during the second half.
The victory continued a stretch in which the Falcons had controlled much of the Classic’s early history on the field.
2000: Ferguson Takes Over
The 2000 Southeast Classic belonged to Duron Ferguson and Huguenot’s rushing attack.
The Falcons entered ranked No. 5 and rushed for 289 yards in a 38-14 victory.
Ferguson carried just 12 times but finished with 186 yards and three touchdowns, scoring on runs of 37, 22 and 75 yards. Chris Darnell added 100 rushing yards and another touchdown.
Ferguson had already played an important role in the 1999 victory. One year later, he delivered one of the biggest rushing performances in Southeast Classic history.
2001: The Series Begins to Shift
After Huguenot controlled much of the 1990s portion of the series on the field, Highland Springs began to change the momentum in 2001.
The Springers defeated Huguenot 36-20 in front of what the Times-Dispatch described as a packed house.
Highland Springs running back Keith Meredith rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Before the matchup, McFee made clear that regardless of recent results, the Falcons never viewed Highland Springs lightly.
“They have to be mentally into this to play Highland Springs,” he said. “We’ve never taken them lightly.”
For Highland Springs, the victory represented an important breakthrough.
“The kids are on cloud nine,” Springers coach Scott Burton said afterward.
It would become the beginning of a long stretch of success for Highland Springs in the rivalry.
2002: Highland Springs Builds Momentum
The Springers followed their 2001 victory with a 28-0 win in 2002.
Huguenot entered ranked No. 4 in the Times-Dispatch Prep Poll, while Highland Springs was No. 8.
The game was scoreless after one quarter before turnovers began to change the night. Huguenot committed six of them.
McFee was direct afterward.
“We have a good football team, but they outplayed us every step of the game,” he said. “Anytime you turn the ball over six times, you are going to get beat.”
Highland Springs had now won consecutive Southeast Classics.
2003: Macho Harris Takes Center Stage
The 10th Southeast Classic featured another player who would become one of the area’s most recognizable football names.
Highland Springs junior Victor “Macho” Harris rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns and returned a punt 77 yards for another score as the No. 1 Springers defeated No. 5 Huguenot 46-18.
Huguenot still produced several explosive plays.
Raymond Loney returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown. Kevin Bailey rushed for 85 yards and scored, while freshman Adrian Brown added a 57-yard touchdown run.
McFee remained respectful of the opponent while standing behind his own program.
“They have a good football team, but we do, too.”
Highland Springs had now won three straight in the Classic.
2004: The Original Annual Run Ends
The 2004 meeting became the final Southeast Classic before the series took its first break.
Highland Springs entered ranked No. 4. Huguenot was No. 7.
Huguenot could not have started much better.
Ke’Mon Bailey returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.
Quarterback Omar Kizzie later connected with Sean Smalls for a 41-yard touchdown and found Kevin Cousins for another score.
The Falcons built a 21-13 lead late in the first half.
Highland Springs scored with six seconds remaining before halftime and converted a two-point attempt to tie the game at 21.
The Springers then took control in the third quarter and eventually won 40-27.
Victor Harris rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
McFee later described the adjustments both teams made at halftime.
“I thought we made the proper adjustments on defense at halftime, but when we came back, they had made the opposite adjustment and they capitalized.”
That game closed an uninterrupted 11-year run from 1994 through 2004.
On the field over those 11 meetings, Huguenot won six and Highland Springs won five. Officially, because of the 1996 forfeit, Highland Springs held a 6-5 advantage.
2007-10: The Classic Returns in a Different Place on the Calendar
Huguenot and Highland Springs did not meet in 2005 or 2006.
The Southeast Classic returned in 2007, but no longer occupied the traditional first-Friday-of-September slot that had defined much of the original series.
The teams met four more times from 2007 through 2010, with Highland Springs winning each game.
2007 — Highland Springs 39, Huguenot 0
2008 — Highland Springs 46, Huguenot 0
2009 — Highland Springs 27, Huguenot 6
2010 — Highland Springs 17, Huguenot 8
Those four meetings reflected how dramatically the balance of the series had changed.
Huguenot had controlled much of the Classic’s early on-field history. By the late 2000s, Highland Springs had firmly taken command.
After the 2010 meeting, the Southeast Classic disappeared from the schedule again.
This time, the break lasted nearly 16 years.
2026: The Classic Returns
On Friday, Sept. 4, Huguenot and Highland Springs will finally meet again.
The setting will be familiar.
Victor W. Kreiter Stadium.
The date will be familiar too.
The first Friday of September.
For Huguenot, the matchup will open the 2026 regular season. Highland Springs will enter the Classic having already played its season opener.
More than three decades after Richard McFee helped establish the Southeast Classic, a new generation will carry the matchup forward.
Charles Scott Sr. will lead Huguenot.
Loren Johnson will lead Highland Springs.
Neither coach was responsible for the history that came before them, but both programs inherit it.
The first Southeast Classic featured Abraham Washington leading Huguenot past a No. 2-ranked Highland Springs team in a two-point thriller.
David Terrell used the matchup as an early stage on his path toward becoming an All-American, Michigan standout and top-10 NFL Draft pick.
Jamil Anderson, Duron Ferguson, Ke’Mon Bailey, Omar Kizzie and others added their own chapters for Huguenot.
Highland Springs eventually answered with stars of its own and turned an early Huguenot advantage into a long stretch of Springers success.
And then there was a 16-year wait.
On Sept. 4, none of those previous results will decide what happens at Victor W. Kreiter Stadium.
But they explain why the game has a name.
For the first time since 2010, the Southeast Classic is back.
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