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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2010
HOOPS, FOOTBALL: Check out our high school sportsWeb site for coverage of area basketball and Virginia state football finals.
TRACY A. WOODWARD/THE WASHINGTON POST
BriarWoods’ Justin Baker (52) gives the referee a little bit of help with signaling the touchdown by Michael Brownlee (35). The Falcons won their first state championship after going 4-6 last season.
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
Battlefield junior AndrewSmith, left, beatsHermitage's Shamel White to score his first-quarter touchdown as theNo. 5 Bobcats notch their third postseason win over an undefeated team this season.
Breakthrough victories VIRGINIAAADIVISION4FINAL BY MATT BROOKS
lynchburg, va. — From the opening drive of Saturday’s Vir- ginia AA Division 4 final, Harri- sonburgmadeitabundantlyclear how it planned to attack Briar Woods. Behind a massive offen- sive line weighing a combined 1,375 pounds, the Blue Streaks ran right at the Falcons’ much smaller defensive line and built a 14-point lead in a one-minute stretch in the first quarter. But after absorbing Harrison-
Brownlee’s four TD runs lead Falcons 41 21
BRIAR WOODS H’BURG
back for a 76-yard touchdown reception from freshman quar- terback TraceMcSorley and then lateinthesecondquarter,Brown- leebrokeoffa37-yardscoringrun to knot the score at the half. “In the first half, they hit us
burg’s opening shot, it was the physical running of 5-foot-7, 190- pound running back Michael Brownlee and a relentless de- fense that wore Harrisonburg down and propelled BriarWoods to its first state championship with a 41-21 victory at Liberty University’sWilliams Stadium. The Blue Streaks (13-1) built
theirearlyleadbehindtwotouch- down runs by Michael Holmes who found plenty of roomto run behind 6-foot-5, 320-pound Landon Turner (committed to North Carolina) and 6-foot-3, 320-pound Shannon Pouncey. The Falcons (13-2) responded with junior wide receiver Alex Carter fending off a defensive
hard, theyhitusfast,”saidBrown- lee,who rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 car- ries. “Theonlywaytoreact tothat is to try to get big plays andmove theballdownthe
field.As soonas we caught up, we took that mo- mentumand ran awaywith it.” After the break, the Falcons
turned to theirwrecking ball tail- backandBrownlee—whomissed the first seven games of the sea- son after fracturing his leg on his first touch of the year — shoul- dered the offensive load. After Holmes’s third score gave Harri- sonburg a brief 21-20 lead through three quarters, J.T. Lo- gan scored a short touchdown andBrownleetookcareof therest —ripping off touchdown runs of 56 and 34 yards in the final 10 minutes to salt away thewin. The Falcons’ defense stepped
VIRGINIAAAADIVISION5FINAL
Phoebus’s 2nd-half surge downs Stone Bridge Phantoms end
break. The Phantoms answered on
Bulldogs’ season for third straight year
BY PAUL TENORIO
charlottesville — For a mo- ment on Saturday afternoon, it appeared as though top-ranked StoneBridgehad takencontrol of a game that seemed to be slip- ping away justminutes before. Two touchdowns in a five-sec-
ond span and a 21-yard field goal had flipped a 13-point deficit into a four-point advantage in the second quarter of the Virginia AAA Division 5 championship at Scott Stadium. The Bulldogs were less than a minute away from going into halftime against Phoebus with both the lead and momentum. Theywould have neither at the
their next offensive play — a 66-yard touchdown pass to Romon Deloatch — and carried that energy into the second half, downing Stone Bridge, 36-17, to capture a third consecutive state championship. It was the third straight year
the Phantoms ended Stone Bridge’s season and the second straight in the state final. Phoe- bus is 71-2 with four state titles over the past five seasons, and haswon a state-record 45 consec- utive games. “It’s a little frustrating,” said
Stone Bridge running back Mar- cus Harris, who rushed for 119 yards on 30 carries. “We had a great season starting off, coming into this game 14-0. It’s just frustrating three years in a row losing to the same team. But also it’s a great teamwe faced and we knowthey’re tough to be beaten.” Trailing 13-0 in the second
quarter, Stone Bridge (14-1) got back into the game after a touch- down pass toDanChrost and two pooched kickoffs that the Bull- dogs recovered. The first led to a touchdown catch by Spenser Rositano, the second to a 21-yard field goal. But the game turned for good
on just a few plays, each a costly mistake by Stone Bridge. Giving up the long strike to
Deloatch before the half was the first. “That touchdown definitely sucked some momentum out of us,” senior quarterback Brian Rody said. But critical errors in the third
quarter put Phoebus (15-0) firm- ly in control. After forcing a punt early in
the third, a holding penaltymade Stone Bridge’s task of getting back in the game even more difficult. On second and 20 from their own nine-yard line, the Bulldogs called a quick pass. Phoebus had it covered and
PHOEBUS 36 17
sackedRody in the end zone for a safety tomake it 22-17. Five plays later, Phantoms
running back Tyree Lee (189 yards on 28 carries) broke free on the right side for a 43-yard touch- down run tomake it 29-17. “They just took the game away
from us,” Bulldogs CoachMickey Thompson said. Stone Bridge started to drive
in the fourth quarter, but on first and 10 fromthe Phoebus 30-yard line, Phantoms cornerback Bre- on Key picked off a pass and returned it 86 yards for a touch- down to seal the outcome. “Nobody else has to play Phoe-
bus every year, we do,” said Thompson, whose team has only four losses — three of which came against the Phantoms — over the past three seasons.
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
Stone Bridge’sKyleGouveia, left, and Spenser Rositano embrace after falling to Phoebus in the title game for a second straight year.
“Some other people win titles on different levels or whatever, but nobody has to play Phoebus. . . . We got beat today;we got beat by a better team. But these [Stone Bridge] guys, to get here every single year and come back every single year and win every game
you’re supposed to win, year-in and year-out, it’s a phenomenal group of players.”
tenoriop@washpost.com
6
ON
ALLMETSPORTS.COM Check out a photo gallery and
video fromthis game. VIRGINIAAAADIVISION6FINAL
up in the second half, allowing only 102 total yards after the break. Briar Woods out-gained the Blue Streaks, 455-264, on the night despite 157 rushing yards fromHolmes. “They were definitely huge,”
said 240-pound junior lineman JustinBaker (12tackles),whowas matched up with Turner. “Our defense bent in that first half, but we didn’t break.We got stronger andinthe secondhalf itwas clear thatwewore themout.” The victory extended Ash-
burn’sdominance inDivision4— rival Broad Run claimed the past two state titles. For Briar Woods Coach Charlie Pierce, lifting the trophy for the first time carried an added significance. In 2000, his first seasonasaheadcoach(at Park View) ended with a state final defeat. On Saturday, he got another shot and the Falcons came away victorious. “It’s really sweet for the whole
community — it’s a community championship,” Pierce said.With a grin, he added, “And I guess I’m happy formyself, too.”
matt.brooks@
wpost.com
6
ONALLMETSPORTS.COM Check out a photo gallery from
the Virginia AADivision 4 final. BY PRESTONWILLIAMS
charlottesville — Headed into the Virginia AAA Division 6 final, Battlefield sophomore RyanSwingledidnothavetolook far to find a fellow quarterback who had led his team to a state title as a 10th-grader. CoachMark Cox lifted Annan-
Battlefield rides team effort to first title 26 7
BATTLEFIELD HERMITAGE
with, seniorDevonGreene, threw for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory, theBobcats’ thirdthispostseason over anunbeatenteam. Swingle connectedwith junior
dale to a state crown as a sopho- more in 1978, and Swingle did much the same Saturday against Hermitage at Scott Stadium. He threw two first-half touchdown passes for the No. 5 Bobcats in a typical total-team 26-7 win over Hermitage that brought home the program’s first crown in its sixth varsity season. “He talked to the whole team
about”what it’s like towina state title,Swinglesaid. “I tookit inand said I can be just like Coach. He did it every day thisweek.He just said it’s the greatest feeling, and I hope you guys canfeel it, too.” In five playoff games, Swingle,
who spent a chunk of the season on the Bobcats’ junior varsity, completed 33 of 41 passes for 595 yards andeight touchdownswith only two interceptions. He was 6 for 9 in the championship. The quarterback he shares snaps
AndrewSmithfora30-yardscore in the first quarter and with se- nior Jason Hoepker on a 38-yard over-the-shoulder snaginthesec- ond period, both on plays down themiddleof thefield,anareathe Bobcats targeted. Hoepker had only two catches all season. “Swingle?” Battlefield senior
linemanZavier Stringfellowsaid. “He’s likealittlePeytonManning. He’s going to do big things.” On its first possession of the
second half, Richmond-area schoolHermitage (13-1) drove 80 yards, all on the ground, with senior Brendon Riddick keeping it on nine of 11 plays, including from six yards out for a touch- downthatmade it 14-7. Greene gave Battlefield a 20-7
leadwith a 10-yard pass to senior TurnerMeeks early in the fourth quarter. Senior linebacker Chris Wendle intercepted a passwith 7
minutes 11 seconds left, and se- nior Bobo Beathard returned an interception 35 yards for a score with 2:37 remaining. The Bobcats (13-2) leaned a bit
less than usual on senior inside runner Nagee Jackson, giving se- nior outside threats Terrell Tap- scott and Cedric Agyeman a few more touches, and their defense sacked Hermitage quarterbacks nine times while allowing only one sack of their own. Riddick finishedwith 115 yards on 33 car- ries. “They asked during the week
what it was like when I won as a sophomore,” Cox said. “I told themI really don’t remember be- cause itwas such a blur, but I did tell them it was something that they’re going to cherish and if they have the opportunity to get to this point they sure as heck don’twant tomess it up. “Can’t take it away fromthem.
They’ll always have it. There are nobettermoments inhighschool than doing that, and I’m glad these guys could do that.”
williamsp@washpost.com
6
ONALLMETSPORTS.COM Check out a video and photo
gallery fromBattlefield’s first state football title.
STONE BRIDGE
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