Rivalries and Purcellville have always been synonymous with Woodgrove and Loudoun Valley, the two resident high schools in Western Loudoun. Woodgrove, built to relieve the excess crowding at Loudoun Valley in 2010, was immediately pitched against Valley by nature of its creation in a multi-sport, crosstown rivalry.
In recent years, however, due to redistricting, changes in population, and coaching, many students at Woodgrove have begun to view Loudoun County as a rival equivalent to Loudoun Valley. Bryan Miller, a sophomore varsity football and baseball player, described what makes the County rivalry important to him. He said, “Not only are we competitive in more sports, but the games mean a lot more because of playoffs and district standings, so it has more of an impact on the outcome of the season.”
Virginia High School League, or VHSL, realignment has also played a decisive role in the effect of playing Loudoun County. Every few years, VHSL officials redistrict schools within each predetermined region of Virginia in order to ensure that schools in the same division all have relatively similar student population sizes. In the last realignment, Woodgrove was placed into the Catoctin District with Loudoun County. Concurrently, Loudoun Valley was placed in the Dulles District that makes up the other half of VHSL Region 4C. The current realignment plan is set to continue through the 2026/2027 school year, virtually ensuring competition with Loudoun County in deciding seeding for playoffs and district championships.
This redistricting, paired with the competitiveness of Wolverine Athletics, has curated a blossoming rivalry with the Loudoun County Captains. Woodgrove and County have had many close scoring or impactful games already in Woodgrove’s short spell back in VHSL Division 4 athletics, most notably Woodgrove football’s crushing loss in playoffs last fall, Wolverine Baseball’s 2-0 win for a regular season district championship last spring, Wrestling prevailing over the Captains to place first in states, and Wolverine Volleyball falling just short in a 3-2 loss last October.
Simultaneously, Woodgrove athletics have had favorable results against the Vikings of Loudoun Valley in recent contests over the past few years. Football has won the “Battle for Pville” 13 years in a row, Wolverine Varsity Softball has never lost to Valley, and Volleyball has won the majority of their contests since 2019. This success has led some students to view the Captains as a better competitor, with one student-athlete even saying, “What rivalry with Valley?”
Other students disagree, however. Upperclassmen that were at the Woodgrove Valley Football game witnessed one of the closest games in our history. “Last year, we won against Valley. It was an extremely close game. I think it was the closest in history. We came through on a two point conversion to win. The crowd went crazy and it was awesome,” said senior Griffin Smith. “I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like that before.” Then, that winter, Purcellville sports fans were treated to yet another close game, this time to dictate which men’s and women’s basketball teams would advance to the regional championship and states and which team would have their season ended. “It was one of the most intense games we’ve had. It didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to, but the game was incredible,” said Dane Marsh, senior basketball player.
Regardless of which rivalry you may favor, Woodgrove’s realignment has provided Wolverine Athletics with a new and strong competitor, while still retaining the cross-town rival that sits at the foundation of Purcellville sports. In a few years, future realignment may shake up the current format and redistrict Woodgrove and Loudoun County yet again, separating them by either population or region. However, our storied rivalry with Loudoun Valley seems like it will last as long as the doors of our schools remain open.