Norfolk, Va. (WTKR) - On Thursday night, Oscar Smith's pursuit of back-to-back state championship titles got off to a good start.

In the first round of the playoffs in Zone 6A, Ethan Vasko passed 9 touchdowns and rushed for extra points, leading Oscar Smith to a 77-7 victory over Cosby. Vasko's 10 touchdowns set a new state record, 9 of which passed the ball to tie the VHSL high water mark. The Tigers have a 9-1 record this season and will face the winners of Thomas Dyer and James River in the second round next week.

The western branch needed a comeback effort, but survived and advanced, defeating Franklin County 35-27. The Bruins led 14-13 at halftime, but found themselves 13 points behind in the second half. This is their first playoff victory since 2013. The West Detachment will face Manchester or Ocean Lake next week.

Zone 5B sees Mencheville defeat Novie with a score of 12-6. It was a halftime score, and the monarch's defense was able to keep the pilot out of the end zone in the last two frames. This marks the second playoff victory in Menchville's history, the first since 1993. The Monarchs will face top seed Morrie next week.

During the 42-0 defeat of Smithfield, King's Fork looked like the number one seed in the 4A zone. The Bulldogs took a 15-0 lead at the halftime and had two quick touchdowns at the beginning of the third quarter.

After the Hornets' dramatic victory over Churchland on Thursday night, the Kings Fork will face Deep Creek next week. After the truck drivers narrowed the lead to 35-34 with a touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game, they chose to make a two-point conversion in an attempt to win the game. That attempt was unsuccessful, which allowed Deep Creek to persevere.

Zone 3A saw the top seed Phoebus defeated Tabb 46-0.

For the latest information on the scores and schedules of our regional high school football playoff teams, please check our playoff center page.