Fairfax County added weapons screening and a countywide bag policy at varsity football games this year. If you bring the tote bag you carried to every game last season, you will be sent back to your car.
The season opens Friday, August 28. Herndon hosts Tuscarora, Westfield hosts Patriot, and Chantilly hosts McLean, all at 7:00. South Lakes travels to Yorktown and Oakton goes to Edison. This guide covers what has changed, how tickets work now, and what to expect at each of the five stadiums that serve Reston and Herndon families.
The bag policy is the thing that will trip people up
FCPS standardized what spectators can carry into varsity football games. The approved list is short.
- A clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bag no larger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches
- A small clutch no larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches
- Medical bags and diaper bags, subject to inspection
Everything else stays in the car. FCPS specifically names backpacks, purses, fanny packs, tote bags, outside food and beverage, and sporting equipment. Anything else that reads as a safety concern is also out.
The screening uses the security equipment the schools already have. Plan for it the way you would plan for airport security on a short flight: leave a few extra minutes, carry less, and put your phone somewhere you can reach it.
One more rule that catches families off guard
Middle school students and younger must be accompanied by a responsible adult who stays with them for the whole event. Dropping a group of seventh graders at the gate and picking them up at 9:30 is no longer an option.
For a lot of Reston and Herndon families, this is the change that reshapes the evening. A middle schooler who used to meet friends at the game now needs a parent in the stands, which turns a drop-off into a night out.
Tickets run through Etix, and the prices are the same everywhere we checked
Fairfax County high schools sell athletic tickets through Etix. Each school has its own venue page carrying every home event across every sport, and the county keeps a single index page listing all of them, which is the link worth bookmarking if your family follows more than one school.
Pricing is all-in, meaning the number on the screen already includes fees and taxes. We checked two schools and two different sports and found the same numbers both times: $7 for an adult and $5 for a student. Chantilly football against McLean on August 28 and South Lakes volleyball against Marshall on August 31 both priced that way.
Buy before you leave the house. Some schools still take cash at the gate for some events, and at least one county school has posted QR codes at the gate for last-minute phone purchases, but the policy varies by school and by sport. Advance purchase is the only approach that works everywhere.
One caution. Not every game is on sale in advance, even when it is listed. Some events carry a Buy Tickets link and others show only More info, which means the sale has not opened. On the night before the season started, Chantilly’s opener against McLean was buyable while the Herndon and Westfield openers were not. Check your specific game rather than assuming, and if there is no buy link, plan to sort it out at the gate.
The five stadiums
South Lakes High School, 11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston. The Seahawks play in the heart of South Reston near Lake Thoreau. Parking fills from the main lot outward on big nights. South Lakes opens on the road and hosts its first home game Thursday, September 3 against Robinson. We cover the program in detail in our South Lakes athletics guide.
Herndon High School, 700 Bennett Street, Herndon. The Hornets host the county’s first game of the season on Friday, August 28 against Tuscarora at 7:00. Bennett Street sits close to the center of town, which makes this the most walkable of the five for anyone living in the Town of Herndon.
Oakton High School, 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna. The Cougars open on the road at Edison and host Falls Church on Thursday, September 3. Oakton is the closest of the Concorde schools to the Vienna side of the service area.
Westfield High School, 4700 Stonecroft Boulevard, Chantilly. The Bulldogs host Patriot on August 28. Westfield serves the Floris, Coates, and McNair parts of Herndon, which means a Herndon family in those neighborhoods drives southwest on Route 28 rather than to Bennett Street.
Chantilly High School, 4201 Stringfellow Road, Chantilly. The Chargers host McLean on August 28 at 7:00, and Chantilly is the assigned school for the Oak Hill part of Herndon. Tickets for the opener were on sale in advance, which was not true at every school.
Skyview is not on the list, and that is expected
Skyview High School opened in Herndon this month with ninth and tenth graders, and it is not a VHSL member school for 2026-27. It does not appear on the county’s Etix index because it has no home events to sell. Skyview students play for their base school this year, with FCPS providing afternoon transportation to get them there.
The food rule has a second effect
Outside food and beverage is on the prohibited list, which means the concession stand is the only option once you are through the gate. That is worth knowing before you arrive hungry at 7:00 with nothing but a clutch.
It also matters more than it sounds. At South Lakes, concession revenue and booster memberships fund facility improvements, uniforms, equipment, student scholarships, and coaches training. The other four schools run the same model. Buying a hot dog at a high school game is closer to a donation than a transaction, and the money stays in the building.
Dates worth putting on the calendar
Opening night is Friday, August 28, with three home games in the service area. Thursday, September 3 brings four: South Lakes hosts Robinson, Herndon hosts Langley, Oakton hosts Falls Church, and Chantilly hosts West Springfield.
The one we would circle is Friday, October 2, when Herndon plays at South Lakes. It is the only football meeting of the two schools all season. Different districts keep them apart the rest of the year, which makes the one night they do meet the biggest regular season crowd either school draws.
The regular season ends Friday, November 6, with playoff brackets following.
If your student is the one playing
Before a student can try out for anything, FCPS requires the VHSL Athletic Participation, Parent Consent, and Evaluation Form submitted to the principal, a physical showing the student fit for competition dated no more than 14 calendar months before, online registration including the state-mandated concussion education program, and proof of medical and accident insurance.
The 14-month window is the detail that catches families. A physical from the summer before last will not clear a student in August, even though it feels recent. Families moving into Fairfax County mid-year run into this most often, because Virginia uses its own form and its own timing, and paperwork that satisfied a school in another state does not carry over.
Tryout dates move by season. At South Lakes, fall tryouts began August 3, winter tryouts begin November 9, and spring tryouts begin February 22. The other four schools run on a similar calendar, and each posts its own dates.
What to do on a Friday
Buy your tickets in the afternoon. Put your phone, keys, and a card in a clutch or a clear bag inside the county’s dimensions. Leave the tote, the backpack, and the thermos in the car. If you have a middle schooler going, go with them. Get there early enough to absorb the screening line, and expect the main lot to be full at the schools hosting rivalry games.
We are building individual guides to each school’s athletics program, starting with South Lakes. If you are moving into the area and trying to work out which stadium your address sends you to, the FCPS School Locator is the only source that answers it for a specific street address.
