The Vikings repeat as VHSL Class 3 state champions.

Auburn boys and LCA girls will also head to Richmond to play for the state championship.

Auburn boys and LCA girls will also head to Richmond to play for the state championship.

Join Brooke Leonard and Eric Johnson as they sit down with the man, the myth and the legend: Northside head boys basketball coach Bill Pope.

Vikings erase an 11 point second half deficit for the 78-64 victory.

The Red Devils were gritty down the stretch in defeating the hosts 66-62

Vikings led by 17 but had to withstand a fierce Blue Devils comeback.

It’s not often after a state semifinal loss, redemption almost immediately follows.

In a Region 3D matchup, #1 Cave Spring beat #8 William Byrd 64-43. On the other side of the bracket, #2 Northside beat #7 Christiansburg 85-43.

Roanoke, Va. – The " let them play” movement in Southwest Virginia reached Roanoke County on Tuesday. But Botetourt is back, and now Roanoke County joins them. Roanoke County voted 4 to 1 this afternoon to return to play, within the county only. Both coach and his team are equally excited about getting back on track to a competitive season. we like to compete,” Pope says.

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. - A local high school basketball coach is getting a historic honor, but the community needs help to make it happen. History teacher Bill Pope is the head basketball coach at Northside High School in Roanoke County. A few weeks ago, 2,000 community members signed a petition to name school gymnasium after Pope, which was approved by the school board. Now, they are raising money to put up new signs that will read "Bill Pope Gymnasium." "He has made a difference and had an impact on so many lives and it's because of his character.

ROANOKE, Va. – Another honor for longtime Northside head boys basketball coach Bill Pope. The Roanoke County school board voted Thursday night to name Northside's gym after the veteran coach who has won more than 500 games in a 33-year coaching career, including the school's first boys basketball state championship this season. The county policy is to not honor an individual in this way until they are no longer a part of the school system for one year. The policy was not changed, but an exception was made for coach Pope.

ROANOKE, Va. – For the second time in three years the Vikings of Northside will play for the VHSL Class 3 title. And after surviving another VHSL gauntlet, Coach Bill Pope says his team is used to the "go big or go home" mentality. You know that we have to come out and play or it ends, that's how it works, so. The 27-1 Vikings will face Phoebus Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Northside is led by 6-7 James Madision signee Julien Wooden, who scored 36 points in the Vikings' state semifinal win over Cave Spring.