The Warriors had six seniors sign to play college football on National Signing Day Wednesday and have eight total playing at the next level next year.

Nansemond River High School’s football team had a very successful year on the field, and the players will be looking to continue that at the college level.

Harlen St. Louis, Camron Stitmon and Javon Burks will join each other at Virginia State University. Quincy Gregg will play at the University of Virginia College at Wise, and D.J. Jackson will play at Shenandoah University. Defensive lineman standout Pheldarius Payne has signed with Lackawanna College, which is a junior college. Payne was an all-region defensive lineman.

Jackson was an all-district player for the Warriors this season and is looking forward to the opportunity to grow as a student and as a player.

“They made it feel like home,” Jackson said. “They cared more about my education and life after college than they did football.”

Burks was a big part of the line on both sides of the ball. At VSU, he believes he can bring competitiveness and hard work to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions.

“The coaches at VSU are great,” Burks said. “They really made me feel wanted there. I’m close to home, so my mom will be able to come watch me play. I’m glad that I am going to have teammates there. It will give me some familiar faces as I have known them for a while, so we all have good relationships with each other.”

Along with the athletes who signed on National Signing Day, Gerard Stringer and Evan Lomax have already signed but are a part of the Warriors senior class that will be going on to play football at the next level.

All of the seniors had a common thing to say about playing for Nansemond River this season — that they enjoyed being able to play alongside one another and that they are happy that their fellow teammates will be able to go on and get free educations.

“This all means a lot,” Jackson said. “We can go to school and play the sport for free. A lot of us can’t afford to go to college, so for us to have that opportunity means a lot.”

Nansemond River finished the season with a 9-5 record. They won the Class 5 Region A championship and advanced all the way to the Class 5 state semifinal. They were undoubtedly one of the most accomplished teams in the school’s history. As a result of their success, they had 11 players named All-Region and six players named All-State.