Stone Bridge Advances to Virginia Class 5 Football Semis

For three months, Broad Run had been the dominant football team of Loudoun County. With an 11-1 record, even the only blemish on their record was a 2-0 forfeit loss to Potomac Falls – a game they won 31-0 before realizing that they had mistakenly played an ineligible athlete. They reported the error on their own cognizance, but still were forced to give up the win.

Two weeks ago, their status as favorites appeared sealed as the Spartans beat Stone Bridge 26-20 in the annual “Battle of the Burn.” Even as the rematch against the Bulldogs loomed yesterday at the Region 5C championship, the Spartans had an undefeated record in games played, a previous win against their opponent, and home field advantage, as they took the field on Friday afternoon.

That’s why yesterday 35-6 loss to the Bulldogs was most surprising. The Spartans missed the chance to capitalize on a couple of early opportunities, which included a fumble recovery in Spartan territory, and later a first play, 54-yard run by Tim Baldwin that brought the ball from their 20 to the Spartan 26.

The fumble recovery could have given Broad Run immediate momentum. On the game’s second play, the Bulldogs Jared Cole was headed up the middle with a handoff when he was drilled and coughed up the ball. The Spartans recovered at the SB 42, but couldn’t convert a first down, and the drive stalled when Baldwin was stuffed on his third straight run, on fourth and three.

The stop on Baldwin turned the momentum to the visitors and, after a holding penalty forced the Bulldogs to start with first-and-23, Mason Tatum immediately found sophomore wideout Tai Felton for a 19-yard completion. A seven-yarder to Felton gave Stone Bridge a first down, and three plays later, Tatum caught Felton for a third time, this one on a fly route, and the speedy receiver dashed into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown.

Felton finished the day with seven catches for 116 yards. Looking ahead to next week’s state semifinal matchup against North Stafford (11-2), who defeated Massaponax 46-21, Felton said, “I believe that if we are able to execute and keep the same energy like we did yesterday, we will be able to compete and advance to the state championship.”

On the next play, Baldwin fumbled, and it was Cole who recovered the fumble at the Spartan 21, setting up Nick Mell’s one-yard surge through the middle for a touchdown, giving the Bulldogs a 14-0 cushion. They wouldn’t need to score again.

Mell credited the team’s preparation for their solid performance. “Practice went great this week and we knew it’s win or go home, so we came ready to play Broad Run,” said the senior back, adding, “When we were up two touchdowns and kept stopping their offense’s momentum I knew we would win if we just kept scoring.”

A Taye Davis interception on Broad Run’s next possession gave the Dogs a chance to put away their opponent for good, but the SB drive netted only 16 yards and the Bulldogs pooch punted on fourth-and-13.

Baldwin (24 carries, 92 yards) responded with his 54-yard dash, but was later stuffed on fourth-and-one at the Broad Run 17, as the defense thwarted a potential score.

Broad Run did get on the scoreboard on their next possession as Mitch Griffis (10-18, 129 yds, TD, 2 INT) connected with Jake Busser 31 yards down the left sideline and Busser juked around a defender at the 2 and placed the ball down two yards inside of the goal line plane for the Spartans’ first, and only touchdown.

After a missed Stone Bridge field goal, the Spartans had one last opportunity to score just before halftime, driving 71 yards on seven plays. A pair of passes from Griffis to Luke Lindenfeldar were the key plays, especially the second, from the Bulldog 45, which featured Lindenfeldar catching a short pass, stiff-arming a defender and rambling for 36 yards before being driven out of bounds.

However, with time running out and second-and–goal from the 9, Griffis scrambled to find a receiver, but opted to make a run for the goal-line, falling just short as he was stopped by a pair of Stone Bridge linebackers at the 3. With no timeouts remaining, the Spartans could only watch as the clock ran out, completing a play the Bulldog coach Mickey Thompson called the game’s most important.

In the second half, the dominant ground game of Stone Bridge took over as Cole (nine carries, 125 yards) ran for a pair of touchdowns, from 31 and 45 yards, and Mell’s short TD in the final quarter delivered the exclamatory blow.

For Thompson, who recently led the program to its 200^th program win (in just 16 years), the state semifinals are not a new experience as the Bulldogs have won 12 region titles. However, their luck in the final four is not stellar – Thompson has won a single state title, while dropping seven championships, including a pair to Highland Springs, in 2015 and 2016. The Retrievers, who blasted Henrico 40-6 yesterday, have won the last three Class 5 championships, and will be the favorites heading into the final four.

Stone Bridge (12-1) 7, 7, 14, 7 – 35

Broad Run (11-2)     0, 6, 0, 0 – 6

First quarter

SB – Tai Felton 45 pass from Mason Tatum (Hayden Baron kick)

Second quarter

SB – Nick Mell 1 run (Baron kick)

BR – Jake Busser 31 pass from Mitch Griffis (kick failed)

Third quarter

SB – Jared Cole 31 run (Baron kick)

SB – Cole 45 run (Baron kick)

Fourth quarter

SB – Mell 4 run (Baron kick)

Lake Braddock's Thomas Showalter -- Tallest Runner (6'11") in VHSL CC State Champ History?

One of the potential records broken at last weekend’s VHSL state cross-country championships involved perennial powerhouse  Lake Braddock High, but had nothing to do with a stopwatch.

And though the record in question may not have dealt with time, it was plainly obvious for any spectator, hardcore or casual.

All one had to do was look up. Among the seven Bruins making up the boys’ state team contingent may have been the tallest competitor in VHSL state cross-country meet history.

At 6-foot-11, Thomas Showalter towers over his teammates and competitors. Although some may presume that the Bruin senior is only involved with a sport that entails dribbling an orange ball, Showalter has become a student of long distance running.

His interest started in middle school.

“I began to have an interest in distance running because I liked the feeling of satisfaction (from) completing a long run, and was looking to try a new sport,” said the senior, who has competed in cross-country and outdoor track since freshman year. 

Showalter’s mind might have focused on distance running, but as expected, his very tall, lanky frame was not equipped with the proper running form of a harrier.

Asked about problems with his runner’s form in the early years, Lake Braddock’s Director of Cross-Country and Track Mike Mangan could only pause and shake his head before answering. “Yeah, he was a mess.”

It’s not an assessment that Showalter disagrees with.

“It is harder for a taller runner to develop the mechanics for running. This has been the issue that has most impacted my improvement as a runner. I look back at pictures from my freshman and sophomore years and laugh, because my form was atrocious. I would slouch over as I ran because I lacked the core strength necessary to stay upright over the course of a race.”

Fortunately, help was on the way. “My junior season was where I started making major improvements. Coach (Ass’t. XC coach, Jason) Switzer would always emphasize the importance of staying efficient, and I stopped heel striking.”

There were other alterations to be made.

“(Switzer) also helped me to increase my stride rate. Additionally, I made huge improvements through weight training, which gave me the strength to engage my core, and to fix a lot of the issues that I had experienced with my mechanics previously. As a result, I was able to shave two minutes off of my (5K) time between sophomore and junior seasons.” In fact, Showalter dropped from 20:29 to 18:33.

This fall, Showalter improved his time by another 16 seconds while serving as the number #7 runner for the Bruins. Last Saturday, he placed 89th in 18:22 to help Lake Braddock to a tenth-place finish in the Class 6 race.

The fact that Showalter could compete at a full performance level was notable in itself, as he suffered through a tibial stress fracture last year, which cost him the opportunity to run both indoor and outdoor track. “Sometimes the sport can be brutal in this sense, and it is very unfortunate when someone who seems to be finally putting things together misses weeks or months of running, only to struggle to get back to where (he was) before the injury.”

But indoor track has now started and the Bruin looks for new challenges. His best 800-meter time to date has been 2:12.51, and that was run before his cross-country time had dropped under 20 minutes. “I have always been an 800-meter runner, although I wouldn’t mind trying the mile this season. I am curious to see what I can do,” said Showalter.

And since Showalter is 6-foot-11, it is likely that many in attendance for his 1600-meter debut will get to see what he can do, since he’ll be hard to miss.

Aulenbach Wins Class 3 State Title! (As seen on Milestat.com)

Heading into the Class 3 Virginia cross-country championships, several names on the girls' side of the lineup surfaced in pre-meet projections as potential winners.

And while Tabb's Kasandra Aulenbach found her name in the mix of hopefuls, it was usually toward the bottom of field favorites. She understood.

"I didn't run States last year," said the Tiger, who had nevertheless built up an outstanding running resume that includes a 5:17 mile and best of 18:28 over 5-kilometers.

Still, the Yorktown harrier was aware of her status.

"There was a hidden element of surprise," said Aulenbach, with a sly grin.

Some of the surprise was self-absorbed. "I wasn't really expecting to win, and knew I would have to take (the pace) it out.

After cruising through the first mile "in about 5:44," she had another moment of awareness. "I was feeling good." Bolstered by her swift early pace and a realization that victory was a possibility, Aulenbach kept her swift pace, which carried the runner all the way through the finish line in first place with a 12-second win in 18:41, 12 seconds faster than second-place Emma Rogers of Hidden Valley. Jessica Cantrell of Broadway High was third in 19:02.

Aulenbach's win buoyed the Tigers, led by Coach Emily Honeycutt, to a fifth-place team finish.

Hidden Valley won the girls' championship as Elle Anderson (fourth -19:09), Sophia Pineda (seventh - 19:20), Ainsley Lester (12th - 19:35) and Chloe Rogers (18th - 19:51) all broke 20 minutes and joined Rogers on the winners' platform at Great Meadow.

Aulenbach credits a solid cross-training program, as well as a sensible workout ethic for her consistency.

"I am really conscious about it," said the senior, who will be racing at the Foot Locker Southeast Regional meet in two weeks before embarking on her indoor and outdoor campaigns. "I try not to do too many track workouts, and take off days when I feel the need to. Resting is important."

In the boys race, Western Albemarle pulled off a Herculean (or Loudoun Valley type) effort, as Joe Hawkes garnered the individual title with a time of 15:39, followed closely by teammates Jack Eliason (second - 15:44), Cyrus Rody-Ramazani (third - 16:03), and sophomore Joseph Taylor (fourth - 16:11). Will Bonner added a 13th place finish in 16:29 to pace the Warriors to a team-low 23 points.

"We wanted to work together, and have the young guys run in a pack. It worked out well," said Hawkes, who was interviewed with Eliason by Nolan Jez of Milestat after the race.

Sophomore Conner Amberg of Spotswood rounded out the top five finishers with a clocking of 16:12