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

Northern Virginia HS Football Recap - Week 7

Continuing to follow behind what has happened this season. As seen on recruitNOVA.com

The seventh week of Northern Virginia football came just after the release of the first VHSL ratings which gave fans an early look at the playoff contenders and pretenders. While many of the top slots were filled with the usual suspects, there were some surprises as W.T. Woodson (6C) and Mountain View (5D) led their respective divisions. Woodson will hold its spot after an 18-7 win over Class 6 South County, but Mountain View, and second seeded Massaponax, may drop after a heartbreaking 17-16 loss to Brooke Point for the View and Ponax’s 35-0 shutout by Colonial Forge.

Meanwhile, in Lower Alexandria…

Hayfield 34, Mt. Vernon 18

Chase Soper threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth, as the Hawks opened up an early lead and held off the previously undefeated Majors 34-18.

For the second year in a row, it was the Hawks who tripped up a 5-0 start for Mt. Vernon. Ironically, the Majors controlled the momentum in the first quarter, but could only muster a 36-yard field goal from Sam Renzi. A Jayden Lenore interception snuffed another Major drive, while Marquez Perdue recovered a Mount Vernon fumble to end another. After Perdue’s recovery, Soper snuck into the end zone from the 3 to open up a 7-3 lead.

Just before halftime, Soper found Scott Woods on a screen and the sophomore sprinted 85 yards for the Hawks’ second TD, as Hayfield took a 14-3 lead into intermission. Woods would catch a slant pass for another 75-yard score early in the third quarter to clinch the game for Hayfield, who now match Mt. Vernon’s 5-1 record.

Tim Drummond-Wiggins caught the other two Soper touchdown passes.

Westfield 17, Madison 15

The Bulldogs won their state-leading 30^th game in a row, but fended off a spirited challenge from The Warhawks before escaping with a two-point victory.

Bizzet Woodley caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Noah Kim and Isaiah Daniel (17 carries, 81 yards) ran for a six-yard score as Westfield built up a 14-7 halftime lead. Riley Nugent’s 33-yard field goal in the third quarter bumped the lead to ten, but a fourth quarter TD by Madison, followed by a two-point conversion kept the Hawks within striking distance late in the game.

Brandon Walker led Madison (5-2) with 121 rushing yards, while John Finney caught five passes for 113 yards.

Marshall 18, Annandale 15

Andrew Margiotta caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from brother Patrick, as the Statesmen solidified their playoff hopes with a narrow win over the Atoms.

Ethan Chang’s 25=yard field goal in the third quarter proved to be the winning points for Marshall (4-2). Colin Nininger led the Statesmen with 99 rushing yards, while Patrick Margiotta scored the other TD on a run. For Annandale (1-5), Baron Davis had 96 yards on 14 carries, while Davis and Devin Gill ran for scores.

Centreville 56, Oakton 0

The Wildcats raced to a 49-0halftime lead and remained unbeaten with a convincing win against the Cougars.

Anthony Ramos ran for two first quarter touchdowns, while Kalin Jean added a 40-yard rushing score and 19-yard pick six for Centreville (7-0). Jabar Anunay, Malcolm Lott and Jaquan Price also ran for scores.

On defense, Carey Dickinson also returned an interception 40 yards for a score.

Eastern View 42, Chancellor 7

Matt Lowry threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Cyclones won their 33^rd straight regular season game.

Lowry accounted for 308 yards, with 143 on the ground while passing for 165, completing nine of 14 passes. Blake Leake caught two of the three passing TD’s and Noah Proctor scored on a 35-yard reception in the first quarter. Keyshawn Butler also scored on a 42-yard punt return for Eastern View (7-0). Trey Holmes (12 carries, 71 yards) opened the scoring with a 10-yard rush in the first quarter.

Colonial Forge 35, Massaponax 0

In a battle of Fredericksburg area heavyweights, Ernesto Bowen ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a surprisingly easy win over Massaponax.

The Panthers, who entered the game averaging 307 rushing yards per game, were held to 143 by a stout Forge defense. Madden Lowe connected on 11 of 13 passes for 128 yards and two scores – a 21-yarder to Zack Kindel and 18-yarder to Joshua Jackson. Max Kauthen added a 15-yard run for a score in the second half as the Eagles extended their record to 7-0, while Ponax (6-1) suffered its first defeat.

Brooke Point 17, Mountain View 16

Brooke Point overcame a 16-3 halftime deficit to stun the Class 5D top-ranked Mountain View squad by a point.

Sophomore quarterback Charles Mutter, relieving an injured Noah Sanders, scored the game-winning touchdown on a seven-yard run in the final quarter. The Wildcats had one more chance to score and made it to the Brooke Point 15 to set up a potential game-winning field goal, but lost nine yards on the next play to fall out of three-point range.

The Black-Hawks’ Christian Thompson rushed for 97 yards on 20 carries and blocked two punts on special teams. Ronald Robinson (12 caries, 73 yards) added a 38-yard scoring run for the game’s first score. Brooke Point is now 4-2 while Mountain View fell to 5-1.

Freedom 58, Forest Park 19 (Powell throws 6 TD’s)

Quest Powell threw for six touchdowns on 20 of 26 passing to lead Freedom to a whitewash over their Woodbridge rival.

Powell threw for 367 yards, and three of his TD passes were caught by Umari Hatcher (5 catches, 97 yards). Tyquan Brown, a week after rushing for 324 yards, added 113 on Friday with two touchdowns among his 19 carries.

Cortez Jackson led the Freedom defense with 17 tackles, while Jason Hawkins and TJ Mountain intercepted passes. Josh Fuga added a pair of sacks for the Eagles, who raised their record to 5-1.

Yorktown 42, McLean 14

Grant Wilson threw for 275 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Patriots to victory over the Highlanders.

Wilson completed 13 of 18 passes and Max Patterson (4 receptions, 99 yards) caught three scores, from 40, 27 and 19 yards. In all, Yorktown gained 513 yards and did not commit a turnover. Jakore Harmon had a 70-yard TD catch with Jack McCool grabbing the other scoring pass. Will Cantwell added a 13-yard rushing score and the Pats evened their record at 3-3.

Woodgrove 43, Riverside 7

KJ Lewis rushed for three touchdowns as the Wolverines stormed to a convincing win over their upstart opponent.

Lewis ran for 186 yards for Woodgrove (3-2) and quarterback Graham Walker ran and threw for a touchdown, a 34-yard score to Ben Castellano. Freshman Price Williams gained 81 yards and a touchdown on just five carries. The Rams, who clinched their first .500 season ever last week, fell to 5-2.

Other scores

Battlefield 38, Osbourn 6

Brentsville 14, Warren County 6

Broad Run 40, Booker T. Washington 3

Centreville 56, Oakton 0 x

Champe 21, Potomac Falls 0

Courtland 27, King George 14

Culpeper 35, Skyline 21

Episcopal 21, St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes 5

Falls Church 46, Lee 34

Flint Hill 42, Sidwell Friends 0

Herndon 27, Washington-Lee 19

Hylton 34, Colgan 20

John Paul the Great 48, Jefferson 6

Justice 27, Edison 3

Lake Braddock 38, Robinson 0

Marshall 18, Annandale 15

Osbourn Park 14, Gar-Field 12

Patriot 29, Stonewall Jackson 19

Paul VI 56, Bishop Ireton 28

Potomac School 37, St. James 36

Rappahannock 14, Fishburne Military 6

Rock Ridge 44, Freedom – S. Riding 14

St. Mary’s Ryken 42, O’Connell 7

South Lakes 34, Langley 28

Spotsylvania 51, Caroline 12

Stone Bridge 49, Briar Woods 6

Stafford 14, Riverbend 7

Strasburg 35, George Mason 7

T.C. Williams 35, West Potomac 13

W.T. Woodson 18, South County 7

Wakefield 34, National Collegiate 28

West Springfield 26, Fairfax 21

Woodbridge 55, Potomac 25

Northern Virginia HS Football Recap - Week 6

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 29^th 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 15^th 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

Northern Virginia HS Football Recap -- Week 5

Still playing a little catchup, but here are some highlights from a couple of weeks ago.

Even though we are more than two months past Independence Day, Week 5 was one of offensive fireworks under the Friday Night lights.

The aptly named Freedom team led the charge, blowing up for 75 points in a win over Osbourn. Westfield, in its 28^th straight win, cranked out 62 in its game over West Springfield. Potomac School tallied 56 in its blowout win over St. Albans, and the Mount Vernon Majors, off to a 5-0 start for the second year in a row, ripped through the Wakefield defense for 49 points.

Yet, there was a lot of defensive prowess on display last Friday. Woodbridge, known for its ability to keep opponents out of the end zone, pitched a shutout in its 41-0 win over Forest Park. NOVA’s top two private school teams, Flint Hill and Episcopal, also shut out their opponents in forty-plus point victories. The Huskies thrashed Collegiate of Richmond 42-0 in a replay of last year’s VISAA Division I championship, while the Maroon blasted Maret (DC) 40-0.

There were others. Broad Run (41-0 over Rock Ridge), Colonial Forge (35-0 vs. Riverbend), Colonial Beach (53-0 over Mathews), Hylton (15-0 win against Gar-Field), Edison (35-0 vs. Jefferson), Lake Braddock (36-0 over Yorktown), and Loudoun County (28-0 vs. Riverside) also gave their opposition’s kickers a night off.

Langley, O’Connell, Potomac and Falls Church earned their first wins of the year, while Justice (formerly J.E.B. Stuart) is now 4-0 after a 35-14 throttling of McLean.

But first, Stone Bridge reached its 200^th team win under Mickey Thompson on Friday.

Stone Bridge 42, Champe 7

Zakias Moore ran for three touchdowns, and Payton Hunter ran interceptions back for 87 and 47-yard scores as the Bulldogs reached a notable milestone on Friday night.

After a 3-7 inaugural season, Stone Bridge has averaged a stellar 11.7 wins for the past 16 seasons helping the Ashburn school reach the milestone in just 18 seasons. For Thompson, it was career win #274, putting him second among active Virginia coaches (Hampton’s Mike Smith leads with 484 over 47 years).

Moore finished with 79 yards on seven carries as Stone Bridge (4-0) ground out 305 rushing yards.

Westfield 62, West Springfield 21

Noah Kim completed 11 of 14 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns, all to Taylor Morin, as the Bulldogs raced to a 41-7 halftime lead and disposed of the Spartans in Springfield.

Morin finished the night with eight receptions for 267 yards. Two of the touchdowns went for over sixty yards, and both occurred in the second quarters as Morin, the Penn commit, grabbed midrange passes and outraced the West Springfield defense to the end zone.

Defensively, the Bulldog line, anchored by Joe Clancy and Eugene Asante, kept the Spartans ace quarterback Peter Muskett off balance and out of the pocket throughout the night.

Mount Vernon 49, Wakefield 7

Fonnae Webb threw for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Majors matched last season’s 5-0 start with a runaway road win over the Warriors.

For the season, Webb has thrown for over 600 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. However, the transfer from McKinley Tech has run for 665 yards (14.8 yds. per carry) and 11 touchdowns.

Kofi Kwarteng caught three passes for 71 yards and a TD. Kwarteng now has an eye-popping 31.4 reception average on 18 catches with eight scores. Jordyn Reid ran for a TD and caught a 29-yard pass for another.

Massaponax 44, North Stafford 7

Evan Schickel completed only two passes, but did enough damage in the first half to propel Massaponax to an easier-than-expected win over the Wolverines.

Schickel’s first pass was a seam throw to Zach Rock who rambled the length of the field for an 80-yard score. He also found Jacob Romero for a 23-yard touchdown as the Panthers (5-0) jumped to a 23-7 halftime margin. Schickel also ran 17 times for 91 yards before intermission.

Rock later scored again on a 29-yard run early in the second half, while Jonathan Kim booted a 43-yard field goal.

North Stafford’s only TD came on an 80-yard run by Devyn Ford, but the Panthers held the Penn State commit to under 100 yards (12 for 97).

Loudoun County 28, Riverside 0

In a battle of unbeatens, Loudoun County used its stout defense to cruise to a decisive win at home.

Nick Barts threw for four touchdowns and 191 yards as Joseph Groves (10-151) and Derek McCandless both caught two TD passes. Groves also blocked a second half field goal attempt to save the shutout.

Colonial Forge 35, Riverbend 0

Josh Sarratt and Zack Kindel caught touchdowns from Madden Lowe and the Eagles remained unbeaten as their defense held the Bears to 68 total yards.

Lowe finished the game 12 of 18 for 188 yards, and scored on a three-yard run late in the game. Sarratt finished with four catches for 97 yards, and Oliejah Louissaint added a 14-yard rushing TD for Forge (5-0).

Flint Hill 42, Collegiate 0

Miles Thompson got the Husky aerial game going early, completing a 71-yard touchdown to Justice Ellison followed by a 92-yarder to Trey Rucker, to help Flint Hill extend its win streak to 14 with a blowout over Collegiate.

Thompson finished the day with eight of nine completions for 213 yards and two touchdowns, both to Rucker who finished with four receptions for 125 yards.

Jordan Houston carried for 130 yards and two long touchdowns, as the huskies scored all of their points in the first half and enjoyed a running clock for the second.

Potomac School 56, St. Albans 14

Potomac School kept its VISAA playoff hopes intact, ousting non-conference opponent St. Albans by 42.

Anglin Brown opened the scoring with an eight-yard run. Axel Gyllenhoff caught a 35-yard touchdown reception from J.T. Tyson and the hosts ran out to a 28-0 halftime lead. Brandon Potts added an 85-yard kickoff return for another score for Potomac, which is now 3-1.

Edison 35, Jefferson 0

Jacob Parker completed 10 of 11 passes, including a 33-yard touchdown to John Logan as the Eagles ran through Jefferson.

Nate Hester opened the scoring with an eight-yard rush in the opening while Bryant Jenkins and Gillani Hunter combined for a pair of short rushing touchdowns in the second quarter. Carlos Titus’ 25-yard pick-six sealed the win for Edison (2-2).