Heritage High School | Archive | October, 2006

By: Dan Sousa

Leesburg (Oct. 29, 2006) – A lot of people believe that Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne invented the forward pass in football, but St. Louis University quarterback Bradbury Robinson is actually credited with throwing the first attempt to teammate Jack Schneider on Sept. 6, 1906. For the record, it was an incompletion.

Either way, there is no denying that the pass is an exciting and important part of football, but you don’t have to throw the ball if you don’t want to, and that is what Dominion High School did Saturday as the Titans took 52 snaps from center and ran the ball 52 times for 173 hard-fought yards in a 14-7 Group AA Dulles District victory over Heritage.

Titan head coach Mike Dougherty said after the game that in his 12 years of coaching he has never been involved in a game where his team didn’t pass at least one time. A series of events conspired to inspire the Titans turf-only attack: first they lost starting senior quarter Craig Carlson to a broken leg suffered in last week’s loss to Park View; they played Saturday’s game in blustery conditions that made passing (and kicking for that matter) almost impossible for half the game; and finally the Titans went ahead on the first of two Edris Amin’s touchdown runs early in the game and then were able to stay in the lead behind a dominating defense that held the Pride to minus-9 yards rushing thanks to a number of bruising sacks, four alone by Brandon MacLean, on Heritage quarterback Kyle Nelson.

“Our game plan going in was to control the ball and win the first down battle,” said Dougherty. “The win today was a credit to our defense. We probably had 10 sacks today.”

The win marked a watershed moment for the Dominion program and not just because the game was played Saturday afternoon on a field that went “squish, squish” every step the players took a step, thanks to the soaking rain Friday night that postponed some contest until Monday.

It evened the Titans record at 4-4 on the season, the first time the four-year-old school has reached four victories, and it left Dominion 2-1 in district and with hopes of sneaking into the Region II Division 3 playoff picture. Heritage, meanwhile, suffered its third straight Dulles defeat and the Pride fell to 3-5 on the year just a season after going 7-3 and 4-1 to share the district title with Park View. Saturday was the first time Dominion had beaten Heritage, which opened one year prior to the Sterling school, in football.

“I sound like a broken record, but we keep shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Heritage coach Wes Driskill after his team fell on a windy and cold Homecoming day.

Driskill’s team, playing without defensive leader and second-leading receiver, middle linebacker/tight end Zak Burkhard who suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week’s loss to Broad Run and two-way starting lineman Jimmy Watson, continued a disturbing trend of turning the ball over on their opening possession.

After forcing Dominion to punt into the wind — blowing hard enough that at times it seemed as if the SpongeBob SquarePants moon bounce beyond the southern end zone might come unmoored and going bouncing down the football field– Heritage took over near midfield but on the second play, Dominion junior linebacker Marcus Waller, who had an outstanding afternoon, blitzed Nelson from the right side and stripped the ball loose and made the recovery himself.

That fumble was the Pride’s turnover on their opening possession for a third consecutive week and the fifth time in eight games. Dominion took immediate advantage as junior Britton Miller, stepping in for Carlson, executed a beautiful option ball fake on the first snap from the Pride 40. As the Heritage defense went after the dive back, Miller scooted around the right end and was off into the secondary. He wasn’t dragged down until he got to the Heritage 9 for a 31-yard gain and would be Dominion’s biggest gaining play the remainder of the game by some 21 yards.

“I was ready to play,” said Miller after the game. “I was waiting for my chance all year.”

Miller had a great first game, especially considering it was his first ever varsity start and he hadn’t taken a varsity snap until the second half of last week’s game. Miller carried the ball 23 times yesterday for a game-high 90 yards. Previously the starting strong safety for the Titans, Miller displayed tenacity and toughness needed to run an option attack.

“He knows the offense and he was just waiting for his opportunity,” said Dougherty. “He has a good ball fake and he sees the field well.”

What Miller mostly saw was 11 Heritage defenders inside the box, daring the Titans to put the ball in the air but with Amin plunging over the right side on 4th-and-goal from the 1 to put Dominion up 6-0, Dougherty wasn’t about to risk any passing unless needed.

Heritage moved the ball with the wind to the Titan 22 when things went awry. First Nelson was sacked by, who else, Waller and MacLean, and then an halfback option pass from Sean McCoy to Bobby Edmonds was nullified by a holding penalty and finally Nelson fumbled an exchange on 3rd-and-4 from the 16 to forced Heritage to settle for a field goal attempt. James Mallon never got a chance to put foot to ball as a high snap forced Nelson to scramble and he was brought down short of the first down.

In the second quarter, Heritage had to play into the wind and that helped Dominion pin the Pride back on their 16 after a good punt by Tommy Kowalick and a Pride holding penalty wiped out  a Edmonds return to the 35. On first down, Heritage attempted a reverse to Edmonds and the Titans weren’t fooled as they brought down the speedy receiver for an eight-yard loss. On the next play the ball popped loose and Dominion junior defensive back Sean Johnson gobbled up the fumble to give the Titans the ball at the Pride 7 with less than three minutes to go in the half.

The Pride defense tried to hold as they stopped Amin for a five-yard loss on 1st-and-goal but Nelson’s keeper on 2nd-and-goal resulted in another costly Heritage penalty, this time a face mask call, and that gave the Titans 2nd-and-goal at the 6. Dougherty called upon Dominion’s “heavy” offensive set which brought in fullback Charles Ward and the 6-foot-4, 250-pound MacLean to line up in front of the 5-9, 175 Amin. The Titans went off tackle twice for three yards a snap and that was good enough to make it 12-0 with 1:28 remaining in the half.

Dominion lined up to kick the extra point but unveiled a trick play that Dougherty said they had been working on for two years but had never used. The holder flipped the ball back to the kicker Kowalick, who was then supposed to pass into the end zone, but he kept it instead and in an acrobatic move that might have scored big points in a gymnastics meet, Kowalick went airborne at the 2 and managed to stretch the ball over the end zone pylon as he was being knocked out of bounds by the Heritage defense.

Driskill said after the game that it was evident all the hard work that the Dominion players had been putting in the weight room over the past year.

“They are pretty physical up front,” said Driskill.

The second-half was an exchange of punts to start — both teams punted on their first two possessions — before Heritage got great field position because of the wind. Dominion, punting from its own end zone, couldn’t get the ball to travel against the wind and Edmonds, fumbling away the punt before recovering it himself, gave the Pride the ball on the Titans 13.

In perhaps a defining moment of the contest, the Titans held as they stopped McCoy for four yards on  a first down sweep and then an incompletion brought up 3rd-and-6 from the 9. Nelson hit Tibbs in the flat but Dominion junior Todd Lancaster made a touchdown-saving open field tackle to force fourth down. Nelson tried to hit Curtis Rustin in the corner of the end zone but the ball was out of his reach and the Titans took over on downs.

Heritage, trailing 14-0 and facing the wind in the fourth quarter before an increasingly dispirited Homecoming crowd, did not give up and Driskill had words of praise for his dejected players after the game.

“The biggest thing I’m most proud of is that we fought in the second half,” said Driskill. “We just put ourselves in a bad position with the turnovers.”

The Titans, facing turnovers problems themselves earlier this season, got generous in the final minutes and a fumble recovered by Pride linebacker Russell East with 8:53 to go gave Heritage the ball on the Titan 48. Despite the wind, Nelson went to the air and he completed a 14-yard gain to Tibbs and then found Edmonds running down the left sidelines for a 37-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-7 with 7:44 to play.

“I thought Kyle did a good job of throwing against the wind,” said Driskill.

Dominion took over at their own 42 after an onsides kick didn’t work and Lancaster, Amin and Miller picked up yardage and the Titans drove inside the Pride 30. A holding penalty, however, followed by the unthinkable, another fumble, this one recovered by Pride defensive lineman Mike Massey gave Heritage and its Homecoming crowd something to cheer about.

With 3:54 remaining, Nelson rolled right out of the pocket and hit Edmonds for a 20-yard gain to the Titan 42. Waller was the backfield again, however, on the next down to sack Nelson for a nine-yard loss. Two more incompletions left it 4th-and-14 and MacLean fittingly ended Heritage’s comeback hopes with his fourth sack of the day.

Dominion then ran out the clock for the victory.

After the game, as the wind picked up even more velocity, Miller clutched the “game ball” in his hands and a smile on his face. While he said he missed playing defense, he felt like Dominion’s run in the second half of this season might be the start of something special for next year.

“We are going to be up there next year,” said Miller.

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Broad Run rolls in the rain Friday with five rushing touchdowns vs. County

 By Dan Sousa

Loudoun Prep Sports Editor

Ashburn (Oct. 28, 2006) – Ladies and gentleman, due to inclement
weather conditions, we regret to inform you that Air Ashburn is
grounded … “Air Abel” and “Air Austin” however will be departing for
an end zone near you … please buckle up your chinstraps, as it could
be a bumpy ride.

While that wasn’t an actual announcement made at Friday’s game at
Broad Run High School it could have summed up the turn of events as the
area’s most potent passing attack channeled Woody Hayes for the second
straight week. Only it wasn’t three yards and a cloud of dust but more
like three yards and a clump of mud Friday as the Spartans rushed for
260 yards and five touchdowns behind Clayton Abel and Zach Austin in a
33-14 rainy victory over winless Loudoun County.

Broad Run improves to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in district under
first-year coach Michael Burnett and the Spartans, while long shots to
make the playoffs, have a legitimate chance to grab a share of the
district title if they can win their final two games against Dominion
and Park View. Broad Run was 1-9 last year after back-to-back 6-4
campaigns.

Loudoun County (0-3, 0-8) continues to build towards a brighter
future with plenty of playing time for youngsters such as freshman
Chase Williams and Mike Howard, and sophomores such as Joe Bushrod,
Jose VeraTedula, Andrew Walczak and Troy Krepich. Senior John Jameson
continue to make the best of his final campaign with a touchdown run
Friday and junior quarterback Kelly Reimers also scored, but the
Raiders committed four turnovers in the wet conditions and they
couldn’t stop Abel, who went for 195 yards on 20 attempts including a
59-yard run, and Austin, who picked up 75 yards on eight carries
including three touchdowns.

“Obviously the weather took away a big chunk of our offense, but we
were afraid that tomorrow the field would have been worse,” said
Burnett.

Spartan junior quarterback Cole Shain was just 5 of 9 for 33 yards
and senior sensation Adrian Mines had two catches for 23 yards.

“It is not what we do generally,” said Burnett.

The Broad Run binge behind the blockers started in the second half
last week against Heritage when they put the ball in the air only one
time while dominating the clock behind the bruising running style of
Abel and Austin. You don’t really need a Spirograph to draw up the
running routes of the senior duo as they picked up
yardage Etch-a-Sketch style and for six quarters they have kept the
chains moving. In fact, Broad Run had three rushing touchdowns in the
first six games and now has seven in just the last six quarters of
action. A large dose of credit must go to the Spartan offensive line
which was inexperienced coming into the season and has matured into a
top-notch group.

The Spartans took advantage of a Raider fumble to start their first
scoring drive Friday from the County 39. Austin’s plunge from 1 made it
7-0. Another Raider turnover led to another short scoring drive and
Shain’s quarterback keeper from the 3 to put Broad Run ahead 14-0 in
the first.

County drove to the Spartan 41 before turning the ball over on downs
and one play later Abel put the game fairly out of reach by breaking
loose for a 59-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

The Raiders showed some spark by scoring just before half on Reimer’s 10-yard run to make it 21-7.

On the third play of the second half, Austin busted through the
right side and kept on chugging, all the way for a 45-yard touchdown
jaunt.

A Broad Run turnover deep in their own territory led to the Raiders
second touchdown, a Jameson 1-yard run. Trailing 27-14, County
threatened to pull within one score with a drive to the Broad Run 17
but the Spartan defense held and Broad Run finished the scoring with a
line drive that was highlighted by a 62-yard Abel run and culminated in
Austin’s third touchdown of the night.

“It means a lot to get to 4-4 for our kids. It means we have a shot at being district champions if we win out,” said Burnett.

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By: Dan Sousa

Ashburn (Oct. 23, 2006) – Broad Run High School football coach Michael Burnett decided at halftime Saturday that his Spartans would try to run at Heritage in the second half and keep at it until the Pride stopped them. And the Spartans ran and ran and ran and ran … they ran all the way to a 31-13 Homecoming victory over the Pride.

The victory left Burnett’s team 1-1 in the AA Dulles District and 3-4 overall in his first season. Last year the Spartans were 1-9 overall. Heritage, district co-champs in 2005, fell to 0-2 and 3-4.

Taking advantage of a weakened Heritage defense, which lost middle linebacker Zak Burkhard to an injured knee in the second quarter and several other nicked-up starters, Broad Run unveiled a power running game behind seniors Clayton Abel and Zach Austin and a dominanting offensive line. Despite the Spartans reputation coming into the game for its passing attack – Broad Run did air it out 20 times in the first half – Broad Run ran 33 out of 34 offensive plays in the second half in a display of punishing ball control.

“Other players have to step up. We have got enough seniors out here,” said Heritage coach Wes Driskill when addressing the loss of Burkhard. “We got out played in some ways and in the first half we let them stay in the game.”

Heritage, which lead 13-3 in the contest and 13-11 at the half, botched a reverse on the kickoff return to start the second half and the Pride were pinned back at their own 5 and never recovered the field position. In fact,  the ball never got into Broad Run territory after halftime as the Spartans took advantage of a series of short punts and interceptions to start drives at the Heritage 47, 26 and 48. All three of those drives – 11 plays, nine plays and 13 plays – chewed up the clock and resulted in Broad Run touchdowns.

“They got real emotional at halftime. We got after them at halftime too,” said Burnett.

Broad Run was able to move the ball in the second half despite the loss of left tackle Fred Galzerano who had to leave for the hospital with asthma issues. Burnett said Matt Sedlmeyer stepped in and did a good job.

The Pride offense, meanwhile, wilted as Heritage did not pick up a first down inthe second half and the Spartans fired-up defense, led by linebacker Dustin Locascio,  limited the Pride to just seven total yards in the second half on 10 plays.

Abel rolled ahead for 105 yards on 27 carries and Austin picked up 38 yards on 11 attempts. Sophomore Chris Jessop, who replaced starter Cole Shain on the final series of the first half, was an efficient 3 of 4 for 42 yards and touchdown passes to Ryan Diveny and Adrian Mines. Shain went 7 of 16 for 60 yards and broke the 1,000-yard passing mark for the season.

Heritage did get 98 yards rushing on nine attempts from Sean McCoy but all that came in the first half and 51 yards of that came on a first quarter run that set up Kyle Nelson’s 5-yard touchdown run that gave Heritage the 7-0 lead with 8:13 to play in the first.

In a glimpse of what was to become, Broad Run marched 56 yards on 14 plays after the Pride score but the Spartans failed to score when Shain’s 4th-and-7 pass to Abel came up a yard short. Earlier the Spartans had intercepted Nelson on the first play of the game, when Sam Saidi got the pick, but Broad Run couldn’t take advantage when a 2nd-and-3 Shain to Mines quick screen pass attempt resulted in a backward pass and fumble that was recoved, but cost the Spartans 12 yards.

Broad Run held Heritage on the next possession and took over with a short field — getting the ball at the Pride 31. The Heritage defense stiffened and the Spartans settled for Joe Tabatabaian’s 29-yard field goal to make it 7-3 Heritage with 10:33 to go before half.

Heritage again had a drive fizzle and another short punt resulted in Broad Run taking over at the Pride 32. The Spartans moved inside the 20 before four pass plays resulted in one yard and the ball turned back over to the Pride. At that point in the game, Broad Run had been inside the Heritage 30 four times with three points to show for it.

The Pride put together what would be their last drive of the game, moving the ball 82 yards in 10 plays. Chris McCalla who has been out for a good part of the season with an injury had several nice runs during the drive and Nelson hit back-to-back passes for 41 yards. McCalla scored from five yards out with just 37.3 seconds left in the half to put Heritage up 13-3 after the Pride went for and failed on a two-point conversion.

Heritage’s squib kick after the touchdown went right to linebacker Jake Muth on the front line and he almost broke through for a touchdown but he was corralled at the Pride 44.

Jessop was inserted into the lineup and on his first pass he hit tight end Bryce Phillips for a simple 7-yard play that was turned into a 22-yard gain after a 15-yard Heritage personal foul penatly. Jessop then took the ball himself down to the Pride 8 on a 14-yard gain. With just 14 seconds left, Jessop, with great protection from his offensive line, threaded the ball to Diveny in the back of the end zone. Abel ran in the two-point conversion to make it 13-11.

“We have two quarterbacks that can play. Cole leads the district in passing but that alone is not enough of a reason to keep a talented kid on the bench,” said Burnett.

Abel ran the first four Broad Run plays of the second half. Jessop was sacked for a six-yard loss only to have the Pride jump offsides and then it was Abel again, taking it for four more straight carries. On 3rd-and-1 from the 5, Jessop kept it and brought it inside the 1 where Abel then did the honors for the go-ahead touchdown.

Just two plays later, Chase Bartalone intercepted the ball and the Spartan offense was back at work. It was between the tackles, smash-mouth football as Abel and Then Austin help move the ball to the 12. Everthing was going Broad Run’s way at this point, even a botched pitch to Abel bounced right back into the back’s hands and he turned the potential disaster into a 1-yard gain.

On the next play, the first play of the fourth quarter, Jessop found Mines on the fade route for an 11-yard touchdown. Tabatabaian’s point after made it 24-13 to the delight of the Broad Run Homecoming crowd.

The Spartans defense was so far into the backfield at this point, that Heritage had no time to think about throwing and even three running plays resulted in a loss of nine yards.

There was still 8:17 left in the contest but the Spartans were in no mood to share the football and Broad Run ate up all but 37 seconds of the remainder of the game on a 13-play march highlighed by a Mines’ reverse on 3rd-and-7. On 4th-and-goal from the 3, Austin, at 6-foot, 22o-pounds, tougther to bring down than a canon ball, blasted his way into the end zone for the final score.

“Abel and Austin are real phyiscal kids. They like to run over people,” said Burnett.

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By: Dan Sousa

(Oct. 17, 2006) – Heritage High School is now three games away from a perfect 14-0 Group AA Dulles District volleyball season after defeating Park View 25-8, 25-13, 25-21 Monday night.

Gaby Galvan and Alana Rudkovsky each had 12 points in the win. Rudkovsky’s total included six aces. Rachel Young had seven kills, two blocks and six digs. Lauren Bulka and Kelly McFarland combined for 15 points and Katherine Buttery had 15 assists.

Galvan also had five digs on the night.

The Pride have remaining district tilts against Briar Woods, Potomac Falls and Loudoun County. 

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Cross country sponsored by potomac river running 

By: Dan Sousa

Charlottesville (Oct. 16, 2006) – Stone Bridge High School cross country runner Gidey Teferra continued his excellent season as he took third at the Albemarle Invitational Saturday with a 16.18.20 on the 5K Panorama Farms course.

The Heritage boys and girls teams each got Top 10 finishes with the Pride boys sixth and the girls fifth. The 37-team field was loaded with Region II foes and the Heritage teams got some mixed signals – while the boys sixth was an excellent finish, four of the five teams ahead of them will likely be at the Region II meet; the girls were fifth but finished ahead of the other Region II teams.

One of the teams just ahead of the Heritage girls was Stone Bridge in fourth. The Bulldogs continue to show their depth with Stephanie Paradis (20:25.84) and Casey Henderson (20.29.38) leading the way in 23rd and 25th place overall. Stone Bridge also got scoring from Cara Fossum (21:14.39), Monica DuPree (21:25.80) and Emily King (21:28.00). Heritage was led by Hannah McLaughlin (21:55.54) and Jayde James (21:06.63), in 30th and 37th overall. The Pride also got scoring from Bini Kronenberg (21:17.49), Ellyn Moulton (21:30.33) and Kellly Geyer (21:35.37).

The Heritage boys were led by the 1-2 punch of Nick McLaughlin (16:59.48) and Jesse Saldana (17:08.19), finishing 23rd and 25th overall. Supporting them were Jeff Waters (17:31.32), Dominick Kroupa (17:42.61), John Donohoe (17:51.34) and Jake Flanagan (17:53.91).

Mike Pandish of Stone Bridge came in 26th at 17:09.74. The Bulldog boys were 12th overall with Ryan McPoland at 17:48.87. Cory Fuller had the highest Broad Run finish at 17:31.61. The Spartans were 30th overall in the boys race and 26th in the girls event.

Team Scores

Boys

1, Fork Union 81; 2, Western Albemarle 111; 3, Sherando 129; 4, Louisa County 194; 5, Handley 205; 6, Heritage 220; 7, E.C. Glass 229; 8, Albemarle 324; 9, Millbrook 345; 10, Colonial Forge 349; 11, James Wood 358; 12, Stone Bridge 368; 13, Douglas Freeman 368; 14, Maggie Walker 393; 15, Covenant School 435; 16, Woodbridge 463; 17, Fort Defiance 479; 18, Harrisonburg 516; 19, Turner Ashby 524; 20, Fauquier 532; 21, Miller School 563; 22, Mountain View 609; 23, Osbourn 565; 24, North Stafford 660; 25, Fluvanna 690; 26, Charlottesville 747; 27, Warren County 768; 28, Brooke Point 769; 29, Buffalo Gap 775; 30, Broad Run 778; 31, Broadway 778; 32, Nelson County 779; 33, Stuarts Draft 812; 34, Gar-Field 814; 35, Norfolk Christian 834; 36, Monticello 879; 37, St. Anne’s Belfield 1062.

Girls

1, Douglas Freeman 83; 2, Maggie Walker 134; 3, Colonial Forge 147; 4, Stone Bridge 192; 5, Heritage 226; 6, Monticello 232; 7, James Wood 245; 8, Brooke Point 254; 9, Milbrook 272; 10, Albemarle 312; 11, Broadway 407; 12, Warren County 417; 13, Fort Defiance 422; 14, Western Albemarle 424; 15, Harrisonburg 434; 16, North Stafford 450; 17, E.C. Glass 453; 18, Handley 478; 19, Sherando 498; 20, Louisa County 527; 21, Fauquier 518; 22, Covenant School 557; 23, Turner Ashby 560; 24, Mountain View 628; 25, Woodbridge 629; 26, Broad Run 648; 27, Buffalo Gap 660; 28, Norfolk Christian 664; 29, Charlottesville 701; 30, Fluvanna 706; 31, Osbourn 820; 32, Stuarts Draft 884; 33, St. Anne’s Belfield 917.

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 By: Dan Sousa

Sterling (Oct. 14, 2006) – It took the Park View High School defense one play Friday night to establish the tone for its match-up with Group AA Dulles District co-champion Heritage as the hard-hitting Patriots forced the first of five turnovers.

The Patriots defeated the Pride 20-12 last season, but had to settle for a co-championship when both teams finished 4-1 in district play. If Friday’s game is any indication, Park View is not about share anything this season as the Patriots, behind a defense that limited Heritage to 77 total yards, defeated the Pride 37-14 before an appreciative homecoming crowd.

Out to prove once again that they are the top team in the Dulles, the Patriot defense swarmed Heritage quarterback Kyle Nelson on the first snap from scrimmage Friday, forcing a fumble, and setting up a quick C.J. Leizear to Amechi Anyaugo 24-yard touchdown pass.

Heritage then failed to cover a short kickoff and Patriot senior Nathan White hustled down and recovered the live ball on the Pride 28.

“The ball took a bounce in our direction. They were a little shell-shocked,” said Hill.

The stunned Heritage defense was back on the field and on the first play Park View coach Andy Hill pulled out something from deep in his playbook. Freshman wide receiver Kenny Griffin, who had not carried the ball this season, took a snap in the backfield while Leizear faked a handoff to Park View’s feared running back Deric Dudinski. As Dudinski carried out the deception to the right, Griffin, after hesitating with the ball for a count, took off around the left end and the 5-foot-4, 122-pounder scooted 21 yards before the Pride figured out the play. On the next play, Leizear with time to spare in the pocket, found 6-foot-4 sophomore Kenny Smith lurking near the back of the end zone and the 7-yard touchdown pass made it 14-0.

At this point the Pride had had the ball for 11 seconds and trailed by two scores.

“We started off real hot,” said Hill.

A quick three-and-out by the Pride offense and the game threatened to become a real blowout. The Pride defense, however, recovered nicely with Bryan McCarthy intercepting a long Leizear pass at the Heritage 4. Over the next 25 minutes, the Pride kept the Patriots out of the end zone, controlling the elusive Dudinski to just 82 yards on 18 carries, well below his 195-yard per game average coming in.

“They had some zone-type blitzing schemes that worked. There were linebackers in my backfield and defensive tackles down field making tackles,” said Hill.

Heritage even threatened to tie the game as the Pride marched 63 yards in the second quarter on a 10-play drive that was capped by Darius Tibbs’ circus catch on 4th-and-goal from the 4 with 2:19 to play in the half. Nelson had kept the drive alive with a key 16-yard scramble on 3rd-and-11 and a 3rd-and-6 incompletion later in the drive was salvaged by a Patriot illegal contact penalty.

Despite that disastrous opening, the Pride threatened to tie the game when a Dudinski punt went off the side of his foot and traveled only two yards before landing amid the Patriot cheerleaders. The Pride took over at the Patriot 27 with 49 seconds left in the half.

Nelson hit running back Sean McCoy for a 15-yard game to move the ball to the 8 but the Patriot defense came up big, sacking Nelson on the next play for an 8-yard loss. On the night, the Patriots harassed Nelson every time he dropped back, stopping him behind the line of scrimmage eight times in the game. Nelson’s sacks left him minus-30 yards on the night in 17 carries and the Pride offense as a whole had minus-24 yards rushing on 23 attempts.

Out of timeouts, the Pride had to spike the ball after the sack to stop the clock. That brought up fourth down and the Pride sent the field goal unit out only to get hit with a delay of game penalty before snapping the ball. Pushed back, James Mallon’s 38-yard attempt was no good and Heritage had lost its chance for some halftime momentum.

In the second half the Patriot offense moved the ball efficiently on the opening series but stalled at the Pride 17 and Clayton Parker’s 35-yard field goal attempt was no good. Neither team could generate offense on the next two series so the Patriot defense took things into their own hands. On 1st-and-10 from their own 31, McCoy was hit by Park View linebacker Chris Davies in the backfield and the ball popped loose. Park View’s 6-foot-1, 287-pound defensive tackle Corbin Barnes scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 26 yards for his second career touchdown. Parker’s extra point made it 21-7 Park View with 3:47 to play in the third.

“I was like: ‘Is this really happening’,” said Barnes about his touchdown return.

White, around the ball all night, intercepted Nelson two plays later but Park View gave it back to Heritage when Pride defensive back Bobby Edmonds intercepted Leizear around the Pride 10. Edmonds is one of the fastest players in the Dulles District and he raced along his own sidelines, threatening to go 90 yards for the score … only a determined Dudinski sprinted after Edmonds and dragged him down from behind at the Patriot 32.

The 58-yard return set up Heritage for a short drive and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Nelson (11 of 19, 101 yards) hit Edmonds in stride as he raced down the left sidelines for a 31-yard touchdown. Mallon’s extra point left Heritage just a score behind.

The Patriot defense had taken the game into their own hands most of the night and it would be no different on the ensuing kickoff as 6-foot-3, 280-pound Thomas Mulabah, fielded the Pride squib kick at his 36 and instead of just falling on the ball, Mulabah starting plowing straight ahead and the first couple of Heritage defenders that got in his way felt the full brunt of his size as he moved forward and wasn’t stopped until he reached the Pride 40.

“He can run pretty hard,” said Hill of Mulabah.

Heritage held Dudinski to three yards total the next two carries but on 3rd-and-7, the Pride defense was keyed on Dudinski, and Anyaugo got the call instead. He went 14 yards for the first down at the Pride 24. Heritage stiffened on defense and Hill sent Parker out for his second field goal try of the night — a 34-yarder that was good to give the Patriots a cushion at 24-14 with just under eight minutes to play. It was the first field goal made since Hill took over as coach last season.

Any hopes of a Pride comeback were dashed by the relentless Patriot defense as they sacked Nelson on back-to-back plays and then intercepted the ball on third-and-29. Park View finished off the job when Anyaugo hit a wide open Danny Foley on a 19-yard option pass on the very next play.

Park View’s best drive of the night, a 73-yard march in the closing minutes closed out the scoring as Dudinski, who had a 41-yard touchdown called back on the drive, scored from seven yards out with 1:52 to play. Dudinski would have easily broken the 100-yard mark in the game except for that penalty and an earlier penalty in the first half which wiped out a nice run.

Leizear finished the night 13 of 18 for 128 yards and he got just about everybody involved as he hit seven different receivers.

“This game was huge. It gives us a little bit of breathing room,” said Hill.

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 By: Dan Sousa

(Oct. 11, 2006) – Heritage continued to roll through its Group AA Dulles District schedule with a sweep Tuesday night of third-place Broad Run, 25-19, 25-12, 25-14.

The Pride improved to 9-0 in district and 14-2 overall, while Broad Run fell to 7-3 and 10-4. Heritage sweeps the season series against Broad Run.

Gaby Glavan led Heritage on Tuesday with 10 kills and seven service points. Rachel Young had a big night in the middle with nine kills, three solo blocks and five block assists. Also for Heritage, Katherine Buttery had four service points and 25 assists, and Lauren Bulka contributed 11 digs. Ashley Scott added six kills and Alana Rudkovsky had five kills. Kelly McFarland had a good service night with 12 points to go with four kills.

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Cross country sponsored by potomac River running

By: Dan Sousa

The Plains (Oct. 8, 2006) – For the second straight week the Heritage boys  and Stone Bridge girls proved themselves against an elite field – and this time against the elements – as the Pride boys took sixth and Bulldog girls finished ninth in stormy conditions at the Octoberfest Invitational at Great Meadows Saturday.

Stone Bridge’s Gidey Teferra had the best finish 12th in the boys A race with a 17:38.80 time. Dominion’s Becky Misanin took 33rd on the girls side with a 21:08.90. Times for all runners in the six races held – A, B  and C events in boys and girls – were slowed by a steady downpour on the course that sent two creeks overflowing and left long stretches of the course a muddy track of muck and mire.

The Pride boys, led by Nick McLaughlin’s 25th finish at 18:05.00, scored 327 to finish behind Quince Orchard (142), Thomas Jefferson (161), Mountain View (212), Forest Park (272) and Osbourn Park (321). The balanced Pride unit scored times from Jesse Saldana (18:2302), Dominick Kroupa (18:37.77), Jeff Water (18:51.30) and John Donohue (19:28.13).

The Bulldog girls were led by Stephanie Paradis (21:36.66), Cara Fossum (21:39.10), Casey Henderson (21:46.83), Monica DuPree (22:00.33) and Emily King (22:09.41).

The Stone Bridge boys finished 25th in the A race and Dominion, with Brian Gould 39th  took 32nd at 18:17.47, took 32nd in the 49-team race.

The Stone Bridge girls were the only local team with a full squad in the A race but the Loudoun team made the most of their opportunity in the B race as Heritage (3rd), Loudoun Valley (4th), Loudoun County (6th) and Park View (9th) all finished in the top 10. Heritage’s Hannah McLaughlin posted a 21:28.97 to finish seventh and County’s Julie Strange was 10th at 21:39.72, Park View’s Kelly White took 12th at 21:44.69 and Valley’s Colleen Kramer was 18th at 21:57.31.

In the boys b race it as Loudoun County, led by Andrew Budiansky’s seventh and Matt Joseph’s 10th place finish, that finished fourth. Valley was 12th, Park View 16th and Dominion 28th.

In the girls c race, Briar Woods, led by Holly Dominguez who was third at 22:40.80, finished second, just ahead of Heritage. Stone Bridge was 10th and Dominion 13th.

In the boys c race, Heritage was sixth, Briar Woods ninth, Loudoun County 11th, Stone Bridge 19th and Park View 21st.

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By: Dan Sousa

Ashburn (Oct. 8, 2006) – Briar Woods High School wasn’t about to let a little weather spoil its first-ever varsity homecoming Friday night as the Falcons stuck to their game time while others postponed until Monday. The weather actually turned out to cooperate as it was a bit miserable but not as dire as predicted. The same can’t be said for the Heritage Pride, which did not cooperate at all, as they put a damper on the festivities with a 16-0 non-district win over Briar Woods.

The Pride scored while most fans were still trying to dry off their seats as Sean McCoy took an option pitch from quarterback Kyle Nelson on the second play from scrimmage and the senior running back utilized a great seal block from tight end Zak Burkhard to turn the corner and he was untouched the rest of the way as he out-sprinted the Falcon secondary for a 72-yard score.

The Falcon faithful had to have their hearts in their throats given that Park View’s Deric Dudinski rushed for 406 yards and six touchdowns the week before, but Briar Woods held firm the rest of the evening, giving up yardage to the Pride but no more offensive touchdowns.

Heritage utilized a roughing the punter penalty in the second quarter to turn a stalled drive into a 35-yard James Mallon field goal. And that is where the game stood until Burkhard put the finishing touches on things by picking off an Alex Munro pass in the fourth quarter and returning it 14 yards for a touchdown. Munro, who didn’t complete a pass in the first half but did throw for 104 yards in the second half, was pressured all night by Burkhard and the tenacious Pride defense.

“Our offensive line had a hard time handling their defensive pressure,”  said Briar Woods coach Charlie Pierce. “That No. 44 is a heck of a linebacker.”

No. 44 is Burkhard and he finished the night with two interceptions, a sack, two quarterback hurries, six solo tackles and eight assists.

“Burkhard is a coach’s dream,” said Heritage coach Wes Driskill. “He gives you everything he’s got. He’s a leader on the field. If you looked in the dictionary under football player, you would probably see a picture of him.”

The combination of the Pride pressure, the good secondary work of Bryan McCarthy, who had an interception in the first half and a touchdown-saving tackle in the second half, and the elements — it was tough to throw in those quarters when the teams were facing the open end of the field and a whipping wind — kept the Falcons passing attack under wraps. Briar Woods receiver Tim King came into the game averaging three catches and nearly 60 yards a game but he was shut out. Devin Barber did have a big night with 80 yards receiving on four catches.

Just as Heritage kept King in check, the Falcons were able to prevent any big plays from Heritage’s Bobby Edmonds. The Pride speed burner came into the game averaging four catches and 85 yards per game but he was limited to just one catch for four yards and an 18-yard run Friday.

“That is a good team over there. As I said earlier when we were 4-0, there was a daunting task ahead of us,” said Pierce. “I’m proud we came back. They were district co-champs and we kept them at bay somewhat.”

Heritage, still playing without running back Chris McCalla, who has been out with a injury the past several weeks but is expected back when the Pride faces Park View next week, unveiled a new look in their option attack and it worked better than the running scheme had been working earlier this year.

“This was our best performance this year running the ball. We had a lot of good reads. A lot of good runs,” said Driskill. “We had miscues here and there that stopped drives but we took a good step tonight.”

McCoy finished with 121 yards rushing on 12 carries and the Pride had nearly200 yards rushing, though their official totals were cut down by a half dozen Falcon sacks on Nelson for  34 lost yards.

Heritage threatened to blow the game open early as the Pride drove inside the Falcon 10 the second time they got the ball. A botched hand-off and a blocking in the back call, however, moved the Pride back and Mallon missed on a 32-yard field goal attempt against the wind.

Briar Woods fought a losing field position battle in the first half, as the Falcons spent most of their possession inside their own 30 and it took a Heritage fumble at midfield with 3:56 to go in the half for the Falcons to finally cross over into Pride territory.

On 2nd-and-8 from the Pride 45, however it was Burkhard again putting a halt to things, this time, throwing Sean Leach for a 4-yard loss on a sweep attempt. Leach managed just 18 yards on 11 attempts  and Briar Woods as a team was held to 29 yards rushing on 30 attempts.

Another sweep got the four yards back. On 4th-and-8, Pierce had his team try  a bit of trickery as they did the muddle huddle instead of punt formation but the Pride defense was prepared and they held Munro to two yards on the play.

Briar Woods almost got right back in the game to start the second half as Munro connected with Barber on the first play of the third quarter. Barber grabbed the ball 15 yards downfield, made a move to avoid a tackle and was headed for six until McCarthy raced from across the field to drag the Falcon down. The 37-yard play put Briar Woods on the Pride 41 but back-to-back motion penalties let the air out of any momentum. Both teams were flagged nine times each in the game.

On 3rd-and-15 from the Heritage 46, Munro tired to make something happen but McCarthy picked off the pass and he returned the ball 45 yards but that was wiped out by a Pride penalty on the return.

The Falcon defense dug in and held the Pride to three-and-out and Heritage, forced to punt against the wind, gave the Falcons good field position at their own 43.

Briar Woods put its best drive of the night together, going 38 yards on 10 plays. Leach picked up three yards off right tackle on 4th-and-2 to keep things going and Munro hit Barber for 15 yards on 3rd-and-11. That play moved the ball to the Pride 32 and on the next play, Munro found tight end Chris Wade for 10 more yards. Two plays later, however, Briar Woods fumbled the ball away with McCoy coming up with the ball.

Heritage wasn’t able to mount anything offensively in the second half but that didn’t matter as the fourth quarter started, the Pride used the wind as a weapon as punter Chris Rossie sent a punt 48 yards to put the Falcons back on their 13.

Pride defensive coach Jason “Choppy” Burke instructed Burkhard, who had spent most of his night leaning into a gap so he could plunge into the backfield upon the snap, to go ahead and play back off the snap as Munro was now in a shotgun formation. Burke’s position was spot on as two plays later, Munro tried to find a receiver over the middle and Burkhard stepped in front, snagged the pass and easily went into the end zone untouched for the score.

Briar Woods (4-2) will play the Potomac School this coming Thursday, in a game moved up a day from the original schedule while Heritage (3-2) most travel to Sterling to take on Park View in a match-up of the two teams that shared the Dulles District title last year.

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By: Dan Sousa

(Oct. 6, 2006) – Heritage recovered nicely from its tense five-game loss to Loudoun Valley Tuesday with a 25-15, 25-18, 25-8 Group AA Dulles District sweep over Dominion on Thursday.

The Pride improved to 8-0 in district and 12-2 overall with both loss to Valley. The Titans fell to 2-7 and 5-10.

Heather McFarland paced the Pride with 18 service points and Catherine Buttery had another fine night setting, with 26 assists. Also for Heritage, Rachel Young had nine kills and two blocks and Alana Redkovsky registered eight kills. Defensively for Heritage, Lena Bushrod had seven digs.

Dominion was paced by sophomore Lauren Wong who had a big night at the net with 10 solo blocks. Also for the Titans, junior Allyson Reed had four kills and an ace.

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