Northern Virginia HS Football Recap - Week 2

The story of Week 2 was the weather as many games, particularly in Loudoun County, were cut short or completed on Saturday, although Rock Ridge and Heritage will finish their contest on Monday morning with Heritage leading 27-7.

The strain on the players and coaches will remain to be seen next weekend. But here is an itinerary posted by Mount Vernon coach Monty Fritts who followed up a 19-hour work day on Friday with four hours of rest before returning to Langley High to finish off a 28-21 win over the Saxons.

“730-330 normal work, 330-430 pregame meal, 430-530 drive to Langley, 530-700 pregame prep, 700-900 1st 3 quarters, 900-1030, lightning delay, 1030-1130, drive to MV, 1130- 200am, do team laundry, 200-230am drive home, 630-700am drive back to MV.”

Speaking of Mount Vernon, they are off to another fast start.

Mount Vernon 28, Langley 21

Junior Fonnae Webb, a transfer from D.C.’s McKinley Tech, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Majors bumped their record to 2-0 in McLean.

Kofi Kwarteng was the recipient of both touchdown passes, and Jordyn Reid, who rushed for 140 yards and caught a pair of passes for 84 more in the Majors 56-7 opener win against Edison, also ran for a score.

Lake Braddock 50, West Potomac 28

The Bruins built a 15-0 first quarter lead as Ben Dizon ran for a 43-yard TD, while Billy Edwards hit Joe Weidinger with a 32-yard scoring toss.

Edwards found Weidinger for another TD pass, this one for 56 yards, but the Wolverines drew to with two points at 22-20 as Nigel Okunubi rushed for two short touchdowns and followed with a 90-yard sprint for six points

Dizon followed with a 95-yard touchdown on the ensuing kickoff return and Edwards threw his third TD, to Quentin James, as Lake Braddock (1-1) nudged its lead to 36-21 at halftime. Early in the third quarter, lightning struck, and the game was completed on Saturday.

Westfield 24, South County 12

Westfield upped its winning streak to 26 games with a two-part victory over the Stallions.

Noah Kim, fresh off a five-touchdown performance against Lake Braddock, added three more, all to Bizzet Woodley. The first Kim-to-Woodley score, a seven-yarder gave the Bulldogs a 10-6 lead, which held until halftime and served as the score when the game was called for the evening with 6:25 left in the third quarter.

But the duo resumed business on Saturday morning, with Woodley grabbing a 12-yard score, followed by a 37-yarder off a flea flicker as Westfield pulled away in the third quarter.

Centreville 14, John Champe 0

Centreville’s Nate Goldammer picked off a John Champe pass and rambled 81 yards for the game deciding score as the Wildcats won its second game in a shutout.

Jordan Wright opened the scoring with a four-yard run in the second quarter. Wright also caught three passes for 37 yards.

Potomac Falls 34, Dominion 13

Potomac Falls became the first 5A Potomac District team to reach 2-0 as they completed their Friday night game on Saturday morning and won by three touchdowns,

The Panthers benefited from a 13-point run in the final quarter to pull away with the win.

Steve Zegbe led Dominion with 101 yards rushing and a touchdown on 13 carries. A.J. Darr also scored on a rush for the Titans.

Broad Run 23, Tuscarora 7

Luke Lindenfeldar scored on a 57-yard catch and run touchdown reception from Mitch Griffis to propel the Spartans to a win over last year’s 5A state champion game participants.

Lindenfeldar grabbed Griffis’ pass and outsprinted the Husky defense down the left sideline to boost Broad Run to an early 10-7 first quarter lead. As the game continued on Saturday, the Spartans score on two more Griffis TD passes, one for 70 yards to provide the final margin of victory.

Massaponax 27, Woodgrove 6

In a game that was called after one half, the Panthers dominated the lines and rushed for 231 yards and three touchdowns as Massaponax raised its record to 2-0.

Taking advantage of an offensive line led by stalwarts Jonathan Beaver and Teagan McDonald, Massaponax blasted holes in the Woodgrove line while averaging almost nine yards per carry. Elijah Christopher, Jacob Romero and quarterback Evan Schickel all ran for touchdowns, and Schickel opened the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Luke Morley.

North Stafford 55, Briar Woods 14

Justin Rutkowski threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to give Briar Woods an early 7-0 lead; however, North Stafford stormed back to decimate the Falcons 55-14.

Jamir Boyd threw for three first-half touchdowns as the Wolverines built a 21-14 halftime lead before the game was postponed due to lightning. On Saturday, Joe Mangano’s team finished business with all five touchdowns scored on the day.

St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes 51, Paul VI 14

The Saints avenged a 14-6 defeat to Paul VI last year with a crushing blow in their season opener, beating the Panthers 51-14.

SS/SA will receive a strict road test next weekend when they challenge another Saints team, this one from St. Christopher’s, in Richmond.

Bishop Ireton 28, St. Albans 10

The Cardinals, 0-10 in 2017, quickly rebounded with a convincing opening day win over the Bulldogs in D.C.

With the win, Ireton gave coach Chip Armstrong a win in his first game back as the Cards’ head coach, a program he led to a 22-10-1 record from 1991 to 1993.

Ireton will open its home season next Saturday against St. James of Hagerstown, MD.

Other scores

Battlefield 26, Colgan 6

Bishop Ireton 28, St. Albans 10

Brentsville 14, Fauquier 7

Brooke Point 30, King George 3

Colonial Forge 45, Albemarle 7 (CF: Z. Kindel 3 TD recs.)

Courtland 28, Liberty 17

Eastern View 66, Turner Ashby 14

Forest Park 31, Osbourn Park 6

Fredericksburg Christian 53, Fuqua 6

Freedom 34, Stonewall Jackson 19 (F: T. Brown 222 rushing yards)

Hayfield 35, Edison 0

Herndon 17, Lee 12

James Monroe 45, Charlottesville 20

Justice 28, James Wood 21

Kettle Run 33, Warren County 7

Loudoun County 49, Millbrook 28

Louisa 45, Chancellor 20

Madison 41, Fairfax 7

Manchester 75, Riverbend 0

Marshall 31, McLean 7

Mountain View 43, Patriot 35

Orange 30, Culpeper Co. 28

Patrick Henry-Ashland 51, Caroline 6

Riverside 19, Freedom-South Riding 0

Robinson 40, Chantilly 13

Sherando 42, Jefferson (WV) 6

South Lakes 28, Falls Church 0

Spotsylvania 21, Fluvanna 14

Stafford 41, Potomac 35

Stone Bridge 42, Loudoun Valley 6

T.C. Williams 34, Gar-Field 13

Wakefield 33, Washington-Lee 20

West Springfield 37, Oakton 0

Wilson (DC) 37, Yorktown 29

Woodbridge 61, Osbourn 0

W.T. Woodson 39, Annandale 2

Northern Virginia HS Football Recap - Week 1

With the heat and humidity of August dragging many of us down, it was great to see the first signs of fall signified in the re-ignition of Friday Night Lights throughout Virginia and nationwide.

In Northern Virginia, a slightly truncated slate of games were played, many by teams wishing to enjoy a week off later in the season. Regardless of the abbreviated schedule, there were several key matchups, including the season opener for three-time defending 6A champion Westfield, who brought a 24-game winning streak to the table against the Bruins of Lake Braddock.

The region’s top player, Devyn Ford, was one of the first to suit up, on Thursday night, as his Wolverines hosted Osbourn.

Other big timers kicked off this weekend, including Hylton, South Lakes, and 6A state semifinalist Colonial Forge. Starting this week (kind of) was Justice High School, formerly known as J.E.B. Stuart, which also marked the debut of the Wolves’ new coach Greg Weisbecker.

North Stafford 56, Osbourn 0 (Thurs. 8/23)

The season officially kicked off Thursday with a trio of games. Devyn Ford got an unexpected amount of rest, but scored two touchdowns, one on the ground, and the other on a 69-yard pass from Jamir Boyd as the Wolverines rolled to an easy win.

In all, Boyd threw for five touchdowns, while completing 12 of 14 passes for 219 yards. Holt Egan had two second quarter scores by reception, while Javon Swinton and Manny Pellot caught balls for touchdowns.

Tevin White led all rushers with 92 yards on 16 carries and two TD’s.

Westfield 42, Lake Braddock 21

The Bulldogs began their 6A state title defense with a 35-point run in the middle two quarters to run away from a strong Bruin team on opening night.

Quarterback Noah Kim showed that he has continued to progress. Kim completed 11 of 15 passes for 155 yards and five touchdowns, two each to Bizzet Woodley (5-92) and Taylor Morin (3-58). Sean Goodman also scored on a nine-yard reception.

Eugene Asante, who is now up to six offers, rushed for 149 yards, and was happy to have started the season well against a quality opponent.

“I just wanted to be able to showcase my talents and kind of had a boulder on my shoulder, going against (U.VA commit) Josh Ahern,” Asante told recruitNoVA.com on Saturday.

Isaiah Daniel (10 carries, 74 yards) finished the scoring with an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Robinson 28, Hylton 7

The Rams relied on a balanced offensive attack and scored a touchdown in each quarter to down the Bulldogs in Woodbridge.

In all, Robinson rushed for 373 yards and four touchdowns, led by several long runs from junior Tanner Laplante.

Woodson 14, South Lakes 7

In a reversal of last year’s 42-7 loss, the Cavaliers upended South Lakes 14-7 in Reston.

The Seahawks scored first and held on to a 7-0 halftime lead. But the Cavs scored in the third quarter to tie the game and then delivered the winning touchdown in the final quarter to wrap up the season-opening win.

Colonial Forge 51, Patriot 35

Ernesto Bowen ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns and Zack Kindel caught two passes for scores as John Brown’s head coaching debut was a success as the Eagles outdistanced Patriot 51-35.

The game featured the strength of Forge’s running attack against the power of Patriot’s passing game. The Eagles, led by Bowen, rushed for 230 yards, while Madden Lowe displayed pinpoint accuracy with a short passing game, completing 11 of 17 for 77 yards and the eight and nine-yards scores to Kindel. On defense, the Eagles held the Patriots to 23 yards on 24 carries, although Chris Sonnenberg was spectacular at quarterback, completing 25 of 28 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns.

Broad Run 31, Potomac Falls 0

Tim Baldwin ran for a pair of first-half touchdowns as the Spartans stomped the Panthers in Sterling.

Justice 47, Annandale 26

The Wolves won their first game as the newly renamed Justice High School, rushing for 350 yards, as they built a 32-6 lead and coasted in Falls Church.

Elijah Jeffries (three carries, 79 yards) took an inside handoff and dashed 62-yard for a first half score. Devin Matthews rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns and Drake Latham added an 18-yard rushing score in the second half.

Marco Cesarotto was efficient at quarterback (five of eight for 62 yards), throwing a 40-yard score to Matthews and adding a 10-yard rushing touchdown, as Weisbecker won his coaching debut for Justice.

T. Roosevelt 43, Falls Church 20

Two third-quarter touchdowns helped the visiting D.C. school pull away from the Jaguars.

Roosevelt built a tenuous 21-13 halftime lead, but pulled away in the early second half. Falls Church was held to 114 yards and feature back Dakwandre Marshall gained 56 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown.

Conley Ku completed seven of 17 passes for 120 yards with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Noah Strother.

Trinity Episcopal 46, O’Connell 41

O’Connell had victory snatched from its grasp as a 99-yard drive by the Titans, followed by a late interception gave Trinity Episcopal the season-opening win in Arlington.

The lead changed hands several times throughout the game, as Jahmal Banks kept the Knights in the game, scoring on a 22-yard reception, 91-yard kickoff return, and 75-yard interception return. Banks finished the game with seven catches for 123 yards.

Aidan McGowan (14 of 23, 205 yards) threw his other touchdown for 35 yards to Ryan Barrett. The Knights were less successful with their running game, but were boosted by short touchdown runs by Kai Bowers and Rodney Jackson.

However, the Titans compiled over 520 yards of offense, including the game-winning drive, which started at their 1-yard line.

Other scores

Battlefield 44, Oakton 0

Brooke Point 27, Potomac 6

Centreville 44, Stonewall Jackson 7

Colgan 14, Forest Park 12

Colonial Beach 14, Spotsylvania 7

Dominion 25, Clarke Co. 14

Fairfax 27, McLean 0

Freedom 35, Life Christian 6

Friendship Collegiate 20, John Champe 7

Hayfield 28, Chantilly 23

Heritage 54, Freedom-South Riding 14

Liberty 29, Brentsville 8

Loudoun Co. 35, Fauquier 12

Louisa Co. 35, Courtland 0

Massaponax 47, Chancellor 0

Madison 42, Marshall 12

Martinsburg (WV) 62, Loudoun Valley 12

Mountain View 48, Albemarle 0

No. VA Homeschool 32, Jefferson 25

Riverside 30, Rock Ridge 10

South Co. 40, Langley 7

Stafford 30, James Monroe 13

T.C. Williams 65, Osbourn Park 32

Tuscarora 35, King George 7

West Potomac 24, Briar Woods 14

West Springfield 56, Lee 40

Woodgrove 56, Armstrong 14

Road Racing is Back on Jamestown Island with Democracy Dash 10K

Road racing is back on Jamestown Island, reliving a tradition that dates back to the 17th century, and its race promoters couldn't be happier.

In fact, two road races are on tap for this Saturday, with the inaugural Democracy Dash 10K taking place on Jamestown Island at 7:15 am, and the 10th Annual Smart Smiles 5K starting 45 minutes later at the Mariners Museum in Newport News.

The Democracy Dash will serve as the final leg of the newly installed Historic Triangle Triple Crown, joining the Yorktown 10K and Williamsburg’s Duke of Gloucester (DOG) Street Challenge 5K run, which are both held two weeks apart in April.

Most importantly, the Democracy Dash will renew a tradition started in 1691, when then-Virginia Governor Francis Nicholson held foot races, along with other sporting competitions, on Jamestown Island. Nicholson’s competitions marked the first recorded organized and official sporting events in the English New World. With a 327-year legacy to protect, it is noteworthy that there will now be races in all three cities of the Historic Triangle.

Runners may enter online at ww.RunSignUp.com. More information may be found at the Colonial Road Runners website at www.colonialroadrunners.org, and the Dash will also be part of the CRR Grand Prix series for 2018, which includes 23 races.

Michael Bennett, director of the Victory at Yorktown 10K and Democracy Dash committee member said, “We are so proud to live in an area with the rich history of three major locations, and to be able to host a series that will increase the visibility for those who live locally, and from other states.” Added CRR president Rick Platt, “I have been waiting many years for a running race on the beautiful tour roads of Jamestown Island.”

The Smart Smiles race doesn’t carry as much historical weight, but still serves a noble purpose, as its proceeds will be used to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula. Co-race sponsor Smart Smiles at the Dentist provides dental care for Boys and Girls Club members who may not otherwise have access to such opportunities.

The race also provides young cross-country runners the chance for a pre-season tune-up, evidenced by last year’s winner, Clint Gault, who won as a Poquoson High senior, in 16:41.

Whetstine Wins Six Swimming Golds at State Age-Groups

Clayton Whetstine of the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins posted a Michael Phelps-like performance last weekend, capturing six gold medals, a silver and a bronze at the Virginia Age Group Championships, held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center, outside of Blacksburg.

Whetstine’s performance was noteworthy in that it showed off his versatility in distances and strokes. The 14-year-old, a rising ninth-grader at Norfolk Academy, won in three different disciplines, with victories in the 100 (1:00.02) and 200-meter (2:13.16) backstroke, the 200 (2:14.57) and 400-meter (4:47.36) individual medley, and the 200 (2:00.73) and 400-meter (4:16.62) freestyle. The individual medley swims were impressive with Whetstine winning the 200 by almost 4.94 seconds.

Whetstine also placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:35.38) and third in the 1500-meter freestyle (17:25.62).

Other local swimmers earned top-two finishes. Daniel Parsons of the Southeastern Virginia (SEVA) Seahawks placed second in the 13-14-year-old 50 (24.96) and 100-meter freestyle (55.29), as well as the 100 butterfly (1:00.34). Jack Graham of the Williamsburg Aquatic Club also earned three runner-up finishes, in the 200 (2:16.55) and 400-meter freestyle (4:48.86) and the 200 individual medley (2:33.40).

The Dolphins’ relay team of Kyleigh Tankard, Isabel Marstellar, Brooke-Lynn Clark and Ann Ellington earned two second place finishes, in the 400 medley relay (4:34.95) and 800 freestyle relay (8:51.29).

Carl Stauffer of Williamsburg Aquatics won second in the 10-and-under 50-meter breaststroke (41.86), and teammate Mary Gregory was second in the 11-12 200-meter breaststroke (2:55.62).

Sean Thomas of 757 Swim placed second in the 11-12 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:12.21. CGBD’s Bernard Kim was second in the 10-and-under 100-meter breaststroke in 1:28.90.