The final week of the high school regular season saw the coronation of all district champions, the distribution of playoff matchups, and the successful season finale for six undefeated Northern Virginia teams.
Only one previously unbeaten team lost over the weekend, and that was a guaranteed fate, as Stone Bridge and Broad Run, both 9-0, clashed with the Bulldogs grinding out a 21-13 win.
In other games, Colonial Forge, Westfield, Eastern View, Freedom-Woodbridge and Flint Hill all easily dispatched their opponents to finish 10-0, or in the case of the Huskies, 9-0. Only Colonial Forge had an opponent within 30 points, as would be expected against a strong North Stafford squad.
Freedom’s A.J. Felton may have qualified for the outstanding performance of the weekend, accounting for six touchdowns – four by air, and two on the ground. Yet for a few teams with playoff aspirations, this weekend was all about getting more players into the game and allowing the game-changers to take a few reps off. That is, the teams that had already punched their playoff ticket and did not have to worry about bumping up a seed or two.
This week’s recap will take a look at each perfect team, and also the highlights from other key matchups.
Stone Bridge 21, Broad Run 13
This game had the earmarks of a classic, but Stone Bridge was a slight favorite, especially after the Spartans almost dropped a game in Week 10 to 1-8 Briar Woods before sneaking away with a 16-14 win.
On Friday night, the Bulldogs offense was focused on 215-pound running back Nick Mell. Mell scored all three of the Bulldogs’ touchdowns, and rushed for 182 yards on 31 carries, many of which came on a final time-eating drive, replete with 13 straight running plays, that the Bulldogs used to run out the game’s final nine minutes. In all, the Bulldogs ground out 261 yards.
The drive came after Kesean Dyson recovered a Stone Bridge fumble deep in their territory and returned it five yards for a touchdown, putting the Spartans within eight points.
Stone Bridge will host Lee (4-6) next weekend, while Broad Run will clash with Wakefield (3-7), both in Region C.
Freedom-Woodbridge 64, Colgan 34
Meanwhile in Woodbridge, the Eagles (10-0) secured the Cardinal District title and a perfect regular season with an offensive show led by its star quarterback A.J. Felton.
Felton completed 15 of 21 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns to lead his team to a pedestrian win over a Colgan Sharks team that showed a lot of offensive firepower in its initial year as a varsity team. He also rushed for 105 yards with two TD’s.
Tyquan Brown added 115 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, while Zack Person had two touchdown receptions and Jeremy Ford (5 catches, 111 yards) added another.
Freedom will host South County next weekend in a Class 5, Region C matchup. Colgan finished its inaugural season at 3-7.
Colonial Forge 34, North Stafford 14
Colonial Forge will be one of the few teams in Virginia to enjoy a bye week in Round 1 of the playoffs, which commence next weekend. North Stafford, a team that topped the Eagles in the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star pre-season poll, was expected to provide more of a challenge, but Colonial Forge used a pair of first quarter pick-six interceptions by Ian Ector and Johnnie Walker to build a quick 14-0 lead which it never relinquished.
The Eagles had nine different rushers, but Ernesto Bowen gained 153 of his team’s 305 to pace Colonial Forge (10-0). Ethan Garwood passed for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Jadon Redding booted field goals of 41 and 31 yards.
Devyn Ford paced the Wolverines (7-3) with 81 yards rushing and a short touchdown.
Flint Hill 38, Maret 7
The Huskies clinched the MAC title and an undefeated (9-0) regular season with an easy win over their D.C. private school rival.
Jordan Houston rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns for the Huskies. Miles Thompson completed 11 of 14 passes for 224 yards for a touchdown and also ran for a score. Mark Lewis added a rushing and receiving touchdown for Tom Verbanic’s team, which clinched the #1 seed for the upcoming VISAA Division I playoffs where they will host the Potomac School (6-3) in the opening round next Saturday at 1 pm.
Eastern View 56, King George 0
D’Ago Hunter scored three different ways to lead the Culpeper school to an easy win over the Foxes, clinching its own undefeated season at (10-0).
Hunter returned a kickoff 85 yards for his first score, ran for a two-yard touchdown and caught a 45-yard scoring pass from quarterback Matt Lowey, to earn the third scoring trifecta of his prep career.
Trey Holmes rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns, and Zack Thomas caught two scoring passes.
In spite of their perfect record and 54 point-per-game offense, the Cyclones earned only a #4 seeding in next week’s Class 4, Region B playoffs as Dinwiddie, Monacan and Louisa also finished with 10-0 records, and edged Eastern View in power points.
Westfield 46, Chantilly 7
Eugene Asante ran for 197 yards and two touchdowns, and Noah Kim tossed for 200 yards and a pair of scores as the Bulldogs finished the regular season 10-0 with the #1 seed in 6A Region D.
Taylor Morin added three catches for 114 yards with a touchdown, as the Dogs tallied 535 yards against a Charger team that finished the season winless.
Westfield will host #8 Battlefield in Round 1 next weekend.
Centreville 31, Madison 7
Keenan Anunay caught a touchdown pass and returned an interception for a touchdown as Centreville overwhelmed the Warhawks on Friday.
The Wildcats gained only 280 yards, but 47 came on a touchdown run by Jordan Wright, wo totaled 87 on six carries. Presley Egbers stuck to his short, accurate passing game and completed 12 of 16 passes for 133 yards.
Centreville finished the season at 8-2 while Madison is 7-3. The teams will meet again in Centreville for Round 1 of the playoffs next weekend.
Patriot 14, Battlefield 7
Ike Onwuka gained 134 yards rushing and Chris Sonnenberg threw for 138 yards and a touchdown as Patriot won in a defensive battle to clinch the Cedar Run championship.
Both teams will be on the road next weekend. Patriot (8-2) will travel to Falls Church to face Marshall in a #4 - #5 game, while Battlefield (7-3), as the #8 seed will be in Chantilly to face top-ranked Westfield.
Other weekend scores
Briar Woods 37, Rock Ridge 20
Bullis 57, St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes 13
Champe 51, Freedom-South Riding 16
Colonial Forge 34, North Stafford 14
Dominion 55, Park View 6
Fairfax 15, W.T. Woodson 14
Hayfield 42, Oakton 31
Hylton 49, Forest Park 18
John Paul the Great 23, Bishop Ireton 15
Lake Braddock 28, South County 21
Landon 27, Episcopal 26
Langley 34, McLean 10
Lee 33, Edison 21
Loudoun County 10, Heritage 7
Marshall 29, Wakefield 14
O’Connell 30, Paul VI 0
Osbourn Park 28, Osbourn 14
Potomac School 41, Sidwell Friends 12
Robinson 49, West Springfield 21
South Lakes 42, Herndon 6
Stuart 21, Falls Church 14
T.C. Williams 40, Annandale 7
Tuscarora 21, Potomac Falls 0
West Potomac 34, Mt. Vernon 20
Woodbridge 35, Gar-Field 0
Woodgrove 35, Loudoun Valley 28
Yorktown 55, Washington-Lee 28
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