With fall weather just around the corner, the high school football season has crossed the midway point for the regular season, and the separation of elite, average and “work in progress” teams are starting to fall into place.
Just like the previous week, this weekend saw quite a few defenses pitching shutouts. Brentsville (12-0 over George Mason), Briar Woods (50-0 win against Loudoun’s Freedom), Centreville (47-0 whitewash of West Potomac), Colonial Forge (17-0 over a tough Brooke Point squad), Massaponax (19-0 stonewalling of Riverbend), and Lake Braddock (65-0 thumping of Oakton), all kept their opponents off the scoreboard.
There has been no change in the top position among public and private school teams in Northern Virginia, and this week, we start with Westfield and Flint Hill, who both kept their winning streaks intact. In fact, Westfield was the seventh defensive unit to hold their foe to zero points.
Westfield 28, Patriot 0
Quarterback Noah Kim ran for two first-half touchdowns to buoy the Bulldogs to their 29th straight victory, the longest in Virginia.
Kim also threw for 216 yards and a score, a 14-yarder to receiver Bizzet Woodley. Taylor Morin hauled in five passes for 132 yards, and Eugene Asante scored the other touchdown on a 12-yard run.
Westfield raised its record to 5-0 while Patriot fell to 2-3.
Flint Hill 34, Trinity Episcopal 13
Despite having quarterback Miles Thompson and star runner Jordan Houston on the bench for good parts of the second half, the Huskies rolled to their 15th straight win.
Thompson threw for a pair of touchdowns, to Trey Rucker and Justice Ellison, and also ran for a 35-yards score before sitting out the second half with a sore shoulder. O’Kelly McWilliams took over behind center and threw another TD pass to Rucker. Houston finished with 136 yards on the ground before succumbing to leg cramps.
Freedom 47, Hylton 13
Tyquan Brown rushed for 338 yards and five touchdowns to lead the eagles to a rare win over their rivals from Hylton.
Brown produced all of his damage on 29 carries in just less than three quarters before retreating to the sideline with the win well at hand. Amidst the damage, brown became just the fourth Prince William County running back to tally over 5,000 yards. With 5,219 to his credit, brown might not pass all time leader De’Antwan Williams of Woodbridge, who tops the list at 6,607. However, he should pass Hylton’s recent standout Ricky Slade (5,540) in the coming weeks.
Backup runner Julian Edwards added 115 yards for the Eagles, who gained 551 yards on the evening.
The win was a taste of revenge for Freedom, who was knocked out by Hylton 45-28 in the second round of last year’s playoffs. Slade, who has scored three touchdowns for Penn State as a true freshman, rushed for 326 yards and 4 TD’s in that game.
North Stafford 52, Stafford 27
The Wolverines rambled for 593 yards of total offense, covering almost the same amount by ground and air to stymie their county rival in Stafford.
North Stafford quarterback Jamir Boyd provided most of the carnage with 16 of 23 passing for 303 yards, while scrambling for another 134 on the ground. Penn State commit Devyn Ford ran for three touchdowns and 145 yards. However, the Wolverines need a strong fourth quarter to pull away from the stingy Indians who trailed 38-27 as the fourth quarter began.
Colonial Forge 17, Brooke Point 0
The Fredericksburg area’s top team held Brooke Point to just 83 yards while winning its sixth straight of 2018.
Ernesto Bowen (13 carries for 76 yards) clinched the game with a 24-yard rushing touchdown which pushed the Eagles’ lead from 10-0 early in the final quarter.
The Eagles face a big showdown next week against Massaponax (4-0), who also won by shutout, beating Riverbend 19-0.
Riverside 27, Dominion 7
Isaiah Bryant and sophomore James Brewer both ran for over 100 yards as the Rams, in just their fourth year as a school, stunned the Titans by twenty.
At 5-1, Brian day’s team is guaranteed at least a .500 regular season record for the first time ever, which is a far cry from their 0-10 inaugural season in 2015.
Vince Speroni caught a 22-yard TD pass from Trevor Jackson for Riverside.
Marshall 19, Justice 16
The Statesmen knocked the Wolves from the ranks of the undefeated with an exciting double overtime victory in Falls Church.
Ethan Chang’s second field goal of the game proved to be the difference for Marshall, who raised their record to 3-2. Thomas burke added a 65-yard scoring pass from Patrick Margiotta, while Andrew Margiotta added a two-yard rushing TD.
Colin Nininger of Marshall led all rushers with 97 yards, and the Statesman defense held Justice (4-1) to just 192 yards.
Hayfield 34, Robinson 27
For the first time in 20 years, the Hawks defeated Robinson, and it took a comeback effort coupled with a game-winning touchdown in the game’s final seconds.
With 13 ticks left on the clock, Hawk QB Chase Soper found Rajuon Pringle in double coverage. Earlier in the game, Pringle caught a 59-yard touchdown from Soper, who threw for four scores, with Scott Woods and Tim Drummond-Higgins also on the receiving end of TD passes.
Hayfield defensive back Patrick Zhang closed out Robinson’s final effort with a late-game interception. Now 4-1, the hawks have a huge showdown on Friday when they travel across Route 1 to take on the undefeated (5-0) Majors of Mt. Vernon.
Annandale 42, Washington-Lee 28
Baron Davis ran for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Atoms to their first win of 2018 over a General team in search of their own first victory.
Devin Gill threw two touchdown passes – to Danny Saulsberry (30 yards) and Alexander Bellom (22 yards), while on defense, Aymen Elhag scored on a 48-yard interception return. Gill also ran for a two-yard score.
Other scores
Brentsville 12, George Mason 0
Briar Woods 50, Freedom (LC) 0
Centreville 47, West Potomac 0
Colgan 37, Osbourn Park 13
Courtland 38, Chancellor 21
Eastern View 63, Spotsylvania 21
Edison 26, Wakefield 6
Episcopal 34, Collegiate 17
Falls Church 41, Herndon 25
Fredericksburg Christian 51, Norfolk Christian 6
Heritage 35, Loudoun Valley 6
James Monroe 21, King George 7
Lake Braddock 65, Oakton 0
Lee 41, Jefferson 12
Madison 27, South County 7
Massaponax 19, Riverbend 0
Paul VI 49, St. Albans 6
Potomac 21, Gar-Field 20
St. Christopher’s 35, O’Connell 0
St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes 34, Bishop Ireton 6
Stone Bridge 42, Potomac Falls 7
Tuscarora 35, Rock Ridge 7
West Springfield 48, McLean 14
Woodbridge 65, Stonewall Jackson 7
Yorktown 21, Chantilly 13