California has its powerhouse programs. Texas has its Friday night lights. Florida has its football factories. But in Springfield, Virginia, The St. James Performance Academy is building something that could force the entire country to reconsider where the nation’s best high school football is played.
BY TIFFANIY GARDNER | SET MAGAZINE
When the conversation turns to the best high school football in America, certain states almost automatically dominate the discussion.
California. Texas. Florida. Georgia.
These are the places where football is more than a sport. It is culture. It is tradition. It is a proving ground where five-star recruits become household names long before they ever step onto a college campus.
Virginia rarely leads that conversation.
But perhaps it should.
Because tucked away in Springfield, Virginia, a relatively young football program is doing something that established programs spend decades trying to accomplish: making the rest of the country pay attention.
The St. James Performance Academy isn’t waiting for permission to enter the national conversation. It is scheduling the programs already in it.
And more importantly, it is competing with them.
Just five games into its 2026 season, St. James has established a 4–1 record, outscoring its opponents 277–64. Its first four victories weren’t particularly close. The Strivers opened with a 66–0 win over Lehi in Utah, followed by a 54–14 victory over New Jersey’s Paramus Catholic. They then dismantled Mount Zion Prep 65–0 before defeating Missouri’s Cardinal Ritter College Prep 50–6.
Four victories. Four different statements.
Then came IMG Academy.
And suddenly, what had been an impressive start to the season became something considerably more interesting.
TWO POINTS AWAY FROM SHOCKING THE COUNTRY
On October 3, St. James traveled to Bradenton, Florida, to face one of the most recognizable names in high school athletics: IMG Academy.
IMG represents the kind of national football infrastructure that other programs aspire to build. Its reputation, recruiting reach and ability to attract elite athletes have made it one of the country’s premier destinations for high school football talent.
For St. James, this was an opportunity to measure its program against an established national powerhouse.
The Strivers didn’t simply show up.
They scored 42 points.
IMG scored 44.
A two-point loss on the scoreboard. A considerably bigger statement about the direction of the program.
There are no moral victories in competitive football, particularly for a team with national aspirations. But there are performances that change the way a program is perceived.
This was one of them.
St. James went into IMG’s backyard and demonstrated that it possessed enough offensive firepower to challenge a team that had been overwhelming much of its competition.
For perspective, IMG had defeated Legacy School of Sport Sciences 56–7 just one week earlier. St. James made the Ascenders work for every bit of their 44–42 victory.
The difference between being considered an emerging program and a legitimate national contender can sometimes be as small as a single possession.
St. James is discovering just how narrow that margin can be.
And the most intriguing part?
This program is still in its infancy.
BUILDING A POWERHOUSE FROM THE GROUND UP
What makes the St. James story so compelling isn’t simply the winning.
It’s how quickly the winning has come.
The Performance Academy opened in 2024, with its inaugural football season arriving in 2025. Under head coach Darryl Overton, the Strivers finished that first campaign 8–1, defeating established programs including Good Counsel, the Hun School and the First Academy.
A 43–7 victory over Good Counsel was particularly significant. It wasn’t merely a win against a recognizable opponent; it was the kind of dominant performance that made an entire region reconsider what it knew about a first-year program.
And now, in year two of varsity football, St. James is testing itself against the national elite.
That progression is not accidental.
It begins with the man leading the program.
DARRYL OVERTON: WINNING ISN’T NEW TO HIM
Before arriving at St. James, Overton had already built one of the most impressive coaching résumés in Virginia high school football.
At Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Overton guided his teams to back-to-back undefeated Virginia Class 6 state championship seasons in 2022 and 2023.
His résumé at the time of his St. James appointment included a 103–14 record across 10 seasons as a head coach, two Virginia Class 6 state championships, six district championships and three regional championships.
He earned five District Coach of the Year awards, three Region Coach of the Year awards, two Washington Post All-Met Coach of the Year honors and two Virginia State Coach of the Year honors. His accomplishments also included the 2023 Prince William County Human Rights Commission Award.
Those aren’t the credentials of a coach hoping to figure out how to win.
They are the credentials of someone who has repeatedly demonstrated that he knows how to build winning programs.
Overton’s coaching journey included Freedom and Hayfield, where he developed a reputation for building high-powered teams and preparing athletes for the next level. His previous tenure at Hayfield also drew scrutiny over recruiting and transfer-related concerns, an episode that became part of the public discussion surrounding his departure.
But what makes his latest assignment particularly intriguing is the opportunity to build something from its foundation.
At St. James, he is not inheriting decades of championship tradition.
He is creating it.
The program combines high-level football instruction with access to an established sports performance environment. For players, the attraction is not simply the opportunity to win games. It is the opportunity to train, develop, compete against national opponents and prepare for college football within a program designed around athletic advancement.
Overton has also spoken publicly about the importance of player development, with The St. James reporting that he has helped produce more than 30 Division I football players during his coaching career.
That experience matters when a program is trying to compete for talent against established national brands.
CORTEZ WHITING AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING THE RIGHT ROSTER
Winning football programs are rarely built by one person.
Behind the head coach is an entire staff responsible for identifying talent, developing players, establishing standards and making sure the program has the personnel to compete.
One of the names on the St. James coaching staff is Cortez Whiting.
Whiting brings a background in Virginia high school football, including head-coaching experience at Osbourn High School. His presence represents an important part of the infrastructure surrounding Overton: coaches with knowledge of the regional football landscape and experience working with developing athletes.
In an environment where top high school programs are competing nationally for recognition and college exposure, roster construction becomes just as important as game preparation.
It isn’t enough to find athletes who look impressive in individual drills. A program must find players whose abilities complement one another, whose personalities fit the culture and whose development can continue against increasingly difficult competition.
That is particularly important at an academy like St. James, where the schedule leaves little room to hide weaknesses.
Playing IMG Academy one week and St. Frances Academy the next means every position group is going to be tested.
Every mismatch will be exposed.
Every coaching decision matters.
And the depth of the roster becomes just as important as the talent of its stars.
For St. James, the challenge is no longer simply attracting attention.
It is assembling a roster capable of sustaining that attention through an entire national schedule.
THE OFFENSE: SPEED, VERSATILITY AND AN EXPLOSIVE IDENTITY
There is one statistic that captures just how dangerous St. James has become offensively.
Through five games, the Strivers are averaging more than 55 points per contest.
That isn’t simply productive football. It is an extraordinary scoring pace.
The 42-point performance against IMG was particularly revealing because it demonstrated that the offense could generate points against a considerably more demanding opponent.
Speed is central to the identity St. James is establishing.
But speed in modern football is about more than who can run the fastest 40-yard dash.
It is about how quickly an offense can force a defense into difficult decisions.
The threat of a vertical passing attack can stretch safeties away from the line of scrimmage. Dynamic receivers can turn short completions into explosive gains. Versatile running backs can create matchup problems for linebackers, while mobile quarterbacks can change the mathematics of the running game.
For an offense with St. James’s scoring potential, that combination creates an intriguing challenge for defensive coordinators.
Defenses must be disciplined enough to protect against explosive plays without becoming so conservative that they surrender opportunities underneath.
And that is where versatility becomes so valuable.
An offense that can attack multiple areas of the field forces opponents to defend every blade of grass.
The Strivers’ production suggests that their opponents are struggling to find answers.
THE QUARTERBACK: COMMANDING THE NATIONAL STAGE
Quarterback play becomes especially important when a program begins facing opponents like IMG.
Against national competition, windows become smaller, defensive backs recover faster and mistakes that might go unpunished against lesser opponents can become game-changing turnovers.
Scoring 42 points against IMG suggests that St. James was capable of generating significant offensive production under those conditions.
The challenge now is consistency.
Can the quarterback continue to manage pressure, deliver the ball accurately and lead scoring drives when opponents are specifically preparing to eliminate the team’s biggest strengths?
Those are the questions that separate promising high school quarterbacks from nationally recognized prospects.
The St. James quarterback will have another opportunity to answer them Saturday against St. Frances.
KAZU, NO. 3, AND THE DEFENSIVE STANDARD
While the offense has been producing headline-grabbing numbers, St. James is also working to establish a defensive identity built around athleticism, physicality and the ability to compete against elite skill-position players.
Among the athletes to watch is defensive back Kazu, No. 3, identified as a four-star prospect.
For a defensive back playing against nationally recognized competition, the responsibility extends far beyond covering a receiver.
Elite defensive backs must understand route combinations, recognize offensive formations, communicate coverage adjustments and remain disciplined when quarterbacks attempt to manipulate their positioning.
They must also be physical enough to contribute against the run.
That combination of athleticism and football intelligence is increasingly important as offenses become more versatile.
The opportunity for Kazu and the St. James secondary is significant.
Games against IMG and St. Frances offer the kind of national exposure that cannot be replicated through individual workouts or recruiting camps.
They provide a chance to demonstrate those abilities against some of the country’s most talented athletes.
A DEFENSE THAT CAN CHANGE THE GAME
The offensive numbers may attract the attention, but St. James’s defense deserves its own recognition.
Before traveling to IMG, the Strivers had allowed just 20 points across their first four games.
Two of those opponents failed to score at all.
Lehi was shut out 66–0.
Mount Zion Prep was shut out 65–0.
Paramus Catholic managed 14 points, while Cardinal Ritter scored six.
The IMG game exposed the next challenge for the defense. Allowing 44 points demonstrated that the Strivers still have work to do when facing offenses capable of matching their own explosiveness.
That is part of the process of becoming a national championship-caliber program.
Dominating overmatched opponents is one thing.
Controlling a game against a team with elite quarterback play, experienced offensive linemen and multiple explosive receivers is another.
Against St. Frances, defensive discipline could become the deciding factor.
Can St. James generate pressure without sacrificing coverage?
Can its defensive backs win isolated matchups?
Can the front seven prevent explosive rushing plays and force predictable passing situations?
Most importantly, can the Strivers get off the field on third down and create extra possessions for their offense?
Those answers may ultimately determine how far this program can go.
FROM VIRGINIA TO UTAH: TAKING THE PROGRAM NATIONAL
There is another reason St. James deserves attention.
The Strivers are not limiting themselves to the traditional boundaries of Virginia high school football.
They are traveling.
They are pursuing challenging opponents.
And they are putting themselves in environments where the standard of competition is national rather than regional.
Their season began in Utah at the Salt Lake City Classic, part of the broader national showcase landscape that attracts elite programs and recruiting attention.
The trip represented more than a cross-country football game.
It reflected a deliberate approach to building a national identity.
Programs such as California’s Mater Dei and Florida’s IMG Academy have become recognizable brands partly because their schedules and performances consistently place them against nationally relevant opponents.
St. James is attempting to enter that same conversation.
The Strivers traveled to Utah and won 66–0.
They went to New Jersey and won 54–14.
They traveled to Florida and came within two points of IMG.
The pattern is difficult to ignore.
St. James is taking its football outside Virginia and proving that it belongs on the field.
SATURDAY AGAINST ST. FRANCES: THE GAME THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING
If the IMG game demonstrated that St. James can compete with the nation’s best, Saturday’s matchup with St. Frances Academy offers an opportunity to prove that it can beat them.
And this one carries additional significance.
St. Frances is not an unfamiliar opponent.
In November 2025, the Panthers handed St. James its only loss of its inaugural season, shutting out the Strivers 35–0.
It was a difficult ending to an otherwise remarkable first year.
Now St. James has an opportunity to demonstrate just how much has changed.
St. Frances enters Saturday undefeated at 5–0.
The Panthers have scored 216 points while allowing only 48, including three consecutive shutouts against Bryant, Hewlett Sports Academy and Legacy School of Sport Sciences.
They are accustomed to winning against nationally relevant opponents.
This matchup is not simply about revenge.
It is about progression.
Last season, St. James was a new program trying to establish itself.
This season, the Strivers have already challenged IMG on the road and shown that their offense can score against elite competition.
Now they face a St. Frances team that held them scoreless in their previous meeting.
That makes Saturday one of the most compelling tests of the young program’s development.
The questions are clear.
Can St. James’s explosive offense solve a defense that has been nearly impenetrable in recent weeks?
Can its own defense slow a St. Frances offense that has scored at least 38 points in every game this season?
And can Overton’s team finish the kind of close, high-stakes contest that slipped away in Florida?
A victory would do more than improve St. James’s record to 5–1.
It would give the Strivers a signature win over an undefeated national powerhouse.
It would demonstrate meaningful improvement from last year’s 35-point defeat.
And it would strengthen the argument that Virginia is home to one of the most exciting emerging programs in American high school football.
IS VIRGINIA THE NEW HOME OF ELITE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL?
It would be premature to declare that Virginia has overtaken California, Texas or Florida as the center of high school football.
Those states have decades of championship history, extraordinary depth and nationally established programs.
But the rise of St. James raises a different and perhaps more interesting question.
What happens when a young program refuses to accept the traditional hierarchy?
What happens when a coaching staff with championship experience is given the opportunity to develop a program specifically designed to compete nationally?
And what happens when talented athletes begin to recognize that they do not necessarily have to travel to California, Texas or Florida to play against the best?
St. James is beginning to offer an answer.
The Strivers have won 12 of their first 14 games across two varsity seasons.
They have defeated established opponents, traveled across the country and pushed IMG Academy to the final margin of two points.
They have built an offense capable of scoring at an extraordinary pace and a defense that, against most of its early-season opponents, has been overwhelmingly effective.
And they have done it under a head coach who understands what championship football requires.
The program is still developing.
There are areas that need improvement.
There are games that must be won before the Strivers can legitimately claim a place among the nation’s absolute best.
But the foundation is already there.
And perhaps the most important thing St. James has accomplished is changing the conversation.
Because when people talk about elite high school football, they are accustomed to mentioning Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, IMG Academy, Duncanville and St. Frances.
The St. James Performance Academy wants to become another name that belongs in that sentence.
Saturday offers the opportunity to make that argument considerably stronger.
So, is the best high school football in America being played in Virginia?
That debate is far from settled.
But if St. James continues on its current trajectory, the rest of the country may soon have no choice but to include Virginia in the conversation.
And for a program that only began playing varsity football in 2025, that might be the most remarkable achievement of all.
The St. James isn’t just trying to win football games.
It’s trying to change the geography of high school football greatness.