Monday, 6 October 2008 00:41 by
Dave If you look at this week’s high school football schedule, no individual game may jump out as being particularly interesting. League leader Broad Run has a bye; the Potomac Falls-Park View game has always been a good neighborhood battle in Sterling, and the Briar Woods at Loudoun County matches two teams with good records. But neither game is earth-shattering.
If you look closer, however, there is one very interesting contest on the docket.
Up the road at Stone Bridge, they will be playing Langley. On the surface, the game shouldn’t be a big deal. Stone Bridge waxed the Saxons last year 42-14 at Langley. This year, Langley is 3-3, and has lost its last two, while Stone Bridge once again is lapping the field, boasting a 6-0 record and scoring over 53 points per game. It should be another rout.
Ah, but let me take you back to the spring. A motion to realign the teams in certain districts had been made to the VHSL’s Redistricting and Realignment Committee, and it involved moving three teams to the Northwest Region’s Cedar Run District. One was Loudoun Valley, which was already in the Cedar Run; the second was Heritage, as their enrollment had made them a Group AAA school, so they were asked to join the Cedar Run. The third school, much to their surprise, was Stone Bridge.
The Bulldogs shouldn’t have been involved with this, as they were just minding their own business when all this arose. You’ll never convince me the motion was not a political move by other Northern Region schools who wanted to rid themselves of this brand new school in Ashburn that had the nerve to not only win immediately when it joined the Liberty District in football a few years ago, but win big. Last year, they routed everyone in football while winning a state title. They’re doing much the same this year.
When the motion was finally heard, Stone Bridge was allowed to stay in the Liberty, while Loudoun Valley and Heritage were told to make the Cedar Run their home. Several Stone Bridge officials told me that it wouldn’t have happened without the strong support of the principals of the Liberty District, and that any idea that there were schools in the Liberty that were out to get Stone Bridge just wasn’t true.
OK, I thought. The idea was defeated, so maybe I was wrong. But in late April, Loudoun Valley and Heritage appealed the decision to be moved to the Cedar Run to the VHSL’s Executive Committee. Before the hearing could occur, however, another Liberty District school – Langley – appealed the decision to let Stone Bridge stay where they were.
Why on earth, I thought, would Langley do this? The district principals had just voted unanimously a month earlier to let Stone Bridge stay. Now only one school was changing its mind? All I can say is, if you were wondering who was initiating the talk to kick Stone Bridge out of the Northern Region, the appeal by Langley would have to be a pretty big clue.
As it turned out, all the appeals were denied, Heritage will be in the Cedar Run next year, and Stone Bridge will be staying right where it is. I have heard some buzz that there are still folks in the Northern Region that would like to get rid of the Bulldogs, but I’ve been assured by officials at Stone Bridge that this is absolutely, positively false. So all this, it would appear, is behind Stone Bridge,
While resolved, however, I doubt it’s forgotten. Remember that scene in “Remember The Titans” where the T.C. Williams coach tells one of his players “Leave no doubt”?
Look closely Friday night. You may see that scene again.
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Friday, 26 September 2008 20:33 by
Dave
Dulles District Standings
Tonight's Games
Briar Woods 7, Dominion 0
Broad Run 21, Heritage 13
Park View 41, Freedom 13
Potomac Falls 47, Loudoun County 14
Stone Bridge 51, South Lakes 6
Fauquier 28, Loudoun Valley 0
Next Week's Games
Potomac Falls at Park View 7:30 PM
Briar Woods at Loudoun County 7:30 PM
Heritage at Freedom 7:30 PM
Dominion at Broad Run 1:30 PM (Saturday)
Langley at Stone Bridge 7:30 PM
Loudoun Valley at Stonewall Jackson 7:30 PM
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Thursday, 25 September 2008 21:21 by
Dave Believe it or not, I was once in a conversation with someone who asked about the “act” Paul Draisey and I put on during the broadcast of a football game where our lives tend to revolve around food.
Ma’am…that’s no act.
If you need further proof, I present the road trip Paul and I are in the midst of to the Tidewater area. He had an insurance conference to attend in Virginia Beach; my hometown is in Norfolk, and we’re not doing football games these days. So I gladly volunteered to go along, knowing I’d find plenty to do for a few days along the ocean.
The drive should be about 3 and a half hours from Ashburn. With Draisey, it takes longer, but for a specific reason. He carves the trip – any trip – into 90-minute portions. In between those segments…is a meal.
The first leg of the trip ended near Fredricksburg. The initial reason was to get gas for the car. But apparently his vehicle also required a quarter-pound hot dog with all the trimmings, and a large Mountain Dew. After another 90 minutes on I-95, 264, and 64 going south, we stopped in Williamsburg.
Pierce’s Barbecue was the place.
I’m not going to say Paul is a regular there, but he was able to recite the entire menu from memory 20 minutes before we even arrived in the parking lot. He spoke of the “JC Special” the way one talks about an old flame, and when we took our seats to eat, he knew the names of all of the people whose pictures were on the wall. He even knew what stores locally carry the Pierce brand of barbecue sauce.
Now when Draisey reads this, he will point out sharply that he was not eating alone. That, for the record is true. But only the most inhospitable of guests would allow a friend to eat alone. I simply said “make it two” every time Draisey ordered something. It was my way of being polite. We got back into the car, and 90 minutes later I was at my mother’s house in Norfolk, and he was at his hotel at Virginia Beach, so there’s no telling what was consumed next. But we’re heading back Saturday.
I’m guessing if we leave by noon, we should be home by….8 p.m.
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Friday, 19 September 2008 21:46 by
Dave
Dulles District Standings
Friday's Games
Stone Bridge 64, Loudoun Valley 13
Briar Woods 57, Hedgesville 3
Broad Run 53, Brentsville 13
King George 36, Freedom 21
Saturday's Game
Tuscarora 39, Dominion 14
Thursday's Game
Loudoun County at Park View 7:30 PM
Friday's Games
Freedom at Dominion 7:30 PM
Briar Woods at Broad Run 7:30 PM
Heritage at Potomac Falls 7:30 PM
McLean at Stone Bridge 7:30 PM
Osbourn Park at Loudoun Valley 7:30 PM
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Monday, 15 September 2008 19:44 by
Dave
I supposed I deserved it.
But Monday afternoon, I’m minding my own business, listening in on a conference call with some folks in Dallas. An email pops up from my good friend Paul Draisey. “You seen Loudounextra.com today?”
“No.”
“You may want to look at it.”
I call up the front page, and there, for some strange reason, is my name, being called out for heckling Washington Post sportswriter Paul Tenorio. Apparently my innocent comment of last week – “the games ended Friday night and you STILL can’t get things together by Monday morning?” – may have been misinterpreted as heckling. I was merely showing concern for a Northwestern graduate who could have been so overwhelmed by his alma mater’s 3-0 start in college football, that time was beginning to have no meaning. (Oddly enough, Paul’s editor shouldn’t have this problem: Stanford has lost back-to-back games to Arizona State and TCU)
Tenorio, it should be pointed out, worked marathon hours this weekend, covering high school games on Friday and Saturday, then did the Redskins game Sunday. You can see his feature on Reggie Bush on page E14 if you get the print edition. So he hasn’t had a day off in quite a while.
Because of this tremendous burden, I want to help. Paul’s Monday morning quarterback feature doesn’t have its own logo, and it’s not fair to expect him to have something up before noon on Monday if they’re going to work him all weekend. As a result, I’ve designed a logo that I think addresses these situations, and should dissuade any readers from thinking about future heckling. It’s right under the headline above.
Don’t thank me Paul. It was the very least I could do.
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Friday, 12 September 2008 20:35 by
Dave Most thought the first big game of the Dulles District would occur on September 26th, and the results of tonight’s games haven’t changed that.
But few would have thought that the game would involve Heritage and Potomac Falls. Both teams won tonight to advance to 3-0, and both have next week off before facing each other on Sept. 26.
Also playing that night will be Broad Run and Briar Woods – that’s SUPPOSED to be the big game – and both play non-district games next week. If both win, they also will be 3-0 by Sept. 26, the first night of district play.
But enough about the Ashburn teams (oh yeah, Stone Bridge also won 63-0). Let’s get back to Potomac Falls, where the only people who thought in preseason that the Panthers had a chance to win the Dulles District were friends and family of team members. And many of those were only being polite.
Offense has been the big surprise for Potomac Falls, as in three games, they’ve lit up the scoreboard for 138 points. To put that in perspective, the Panthers only scored 26 more (164 total) for the entire year last season, so Potomac Falls has turned into “The Greatest Show On Turf.”
The Panthers opened some eyes when they edged a very good Martinsburg team 39-30 in the first week of the season. More eyes opened after a 68-0 drubbing of Hedgesville, but tonight’s win over Jefferson County has put them over the top. This was the same Jefferson team that upset Park View last week in overtime, and Jefferson was never in the game against the Panthers.
Heritage has been no slouch either, as the Pride has rolled to three straight non-league wins. But last year at this time, Heritage was still 2-1. Potomac Falls at this time last year was 0-3.
Tonight’s action continues a great showing by the district against outside competition. The league is 14-6 in non-district games, with Dominion and Park View combining for a 1-4 mark. That means the district’s top six – Heritage, Potomac Falls, Broad Run, Briar Woods, Loudoun County (yes, Loudoun County) and Freedom (yes, Freedom) are a combined 13-2. And there’s still one more week of non-district games.
The games are for keeps in two weeks. Should be quite a ride.
Dulles District Standings
Friday's Games
Stone Bridge 63, Marshall 0
Briar Woods 28, Manassas Park 0
Potomac Falls 31, Jefferson County (W.Va.) 14
Heritage 30, Brentsville 7
Loudoun County 23, James Wood 20
Milbrook 38, Dominion 0
Woodbridge 48, Loudoun Valley 0
Saturday's Game
Park View 17, Handley 14
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Saturday, 6 September 2008 23:40 by
Dave
Why yes, it did rain a bunch in Ashburn Farm Saturday. Thanks for asking.
I have not seen official estimates, but I’ve been through storms where 6 or 7 inches of rain fell in a short period of time, and this was every bit of it. I had made sure all my gutters were clean the day before, and checked on the sump pump and French drains I have that prevent the buildup of water (I’m at the bottom of a cul de sac) about every hour to make sure something didn’t clog. I lived through a tropical storm in North Carolina once, didn’t check, and found that a couple of leaves can block things enough to flood part of your house.
When the rain finally stopped around 4, I did a walk around the property, and everything looked fine. My backyard backs up to a bike path, and generally, there’s a creek about 40 feet away from it. I walked back to see how high it had come up, and while it was closer to the bike path, there was never any danger of it crossing.
But as I turned to my left, I saw the above picture. I now have waterfront property (or at least my neighbor does). Since that’s usually worth more, I’m sure Loudoun County has already raised my neighborhood’s assessment and tax bill for next year. A couple of hours later, you could open the window and it still sounded like we were at the beach, as the waters were moving through that area at a pretty good clip.
So if you normally use the bike path that runs behind the softball field at Windmill Park and goes through the tunnel under Ashburn Farm Parkway, you may want to bring a canoe. Somewhere down the path (where the water looks really deep), the path takes a right turn and goes across a wooden bridge that’s usually only a few feet over the creek. Be interesting to see if it’s still there.
Hopefully, the water will go down soon. And usually after an area floods, you get another bonus: snakes.
Should be a fun Sunday.
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Friday, 5 September 2008 16:24 by
Dave It has been a long week for Park View Coach Andy Hill.
It started with his team having to play on Monday night after a weather postponement last week. The Patriots had little time to bounce back from the 34-6 loss to Herndon, playing again Friday night against Jefferson County (WV). Despite the short week, Park View battled back from an early deficit and led 36-22 going into the final four minutes.
Jefferson rallied, scoring a touchdown and two-point conversion to make it 36-30. Things still looked good for Park View, as they took the ensuing kickoff, ran a few plays before making a first down, and had the ball with 1:40 to go while Jefferson had no timeouts left. Three running plays, and the Patriots should have been able to run out the clock.
On the first play, however, Park View fumbled, and Jefferson quickly went down the field to score the tying touchdown. Needing only an extra point to win, a driving rain made a kick improbable. Jefferson instead elected to throw to the corner of the end zone and missed, setting the stage for overtime.
In the OT, Park View went first and couldn’t get the ball in the end zone. Jefferson did not waste the opportunity, scoring on two running plays to win 42-36. The game took over 3 hours to play, with much of it in rainy conditions.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Hill’s parents live near Annapolis and are big fans of Navy. While Park View and Jefferson were playing, ESPN televised Navy and Ball State. The Midshipmen lost 35-23. Considering how things have gone this week, I sure hope Hill isn’t a Redskins fan…
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
While district play in the Dulles District doesn’t start for another two weeks, a couple of trends are emerging; one is that this will not be a two-team race like last year, where Broad Run and Park View went into the final week of the season undefeated; the other is that if you can’t score a lot of points, you need not apply for the district race.
Three teams are currently 2-0 on the young season, and all three – Broad Run, Heritage and Potomac Falls – all scored more than 54 points Friday night. Potomac Falls, which garnered absolutely no respect in preseason predictions by area media pundits, laid 68 points on Hedgesville (WV) in a 68-0 rout. Combined with their surprise 39-30 win over Martinsburg last week, the Panthers are within a win of their victory total last season, and they’re averaging 53.5 points per game.
Heritage, which many see as the biggest challenger to Broad Run for the district title, made it 2-0 with a 56-28 win over North Hagerstown. Broad Run, which beat Ballou last year 40-0, beat the D.C. team by the exact same margin for the second year in a row, winning 54-14. The two teams have the same opponent in their next game, which should give some indicator of each club’s strength. Heritage plays Brentsville next Friday, while Broad Run has the weekend off. The following week, Heritage has an open date while the Spartans take on Brentsville.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Finally, what can you say about Stone Bridge? They routed West Springfield last week, and in the highly touted rematch of their only loss last season, whipped Robinson 49-7 in Ashburn. They can move the ball at will, have a tough defense, and quarterback Patrick Thompson doesn’t seem to be bothered by the hand injury that was supposed to keep him off the field for six weeks.
The only concern I’d have if I were a Bulldog fan is that all of this sure seems to be coming too easy too early. Two years ago, many were whispering that the 2006 Stone Bridge team might have been the best the school had ever had as they rolled through every regular-season game with ease. But when they did get hit by injury and adversity in a playoff game with Edison, they struggled and lost.
The early loss to Robinson last year undoubtedly helped that team keep its focus throughout a long season. I’m sure coach Mickey Thompson wouldn’t mind seeing a close game or two some time during the season to help his team to the same this year.
Dulles District Standings
Friday's Games
Stone Bridge 49, Robinson 7
Broad Run 54, Ballou (D.C.) 14
Potomac Falls 68, Hedgesville (W.Va.) 0
Heritage 56, North Hagerstown 28
Freedom 22, Brentsville 14
Handley 49, Loudoun County 21
Forest Park 16, Loudoun Valley 0
Jefferson County (W.Va.) 42, Park View 36 OT
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Thursday, 4 September 2008 23:50 by
Dave I don’t ask for much from a football team. I don’t expect the teams I pull for to win every game, or win a title every season. All I want is for the team to be competitive enough that starting the fourth quarter of every game, there is a chance – no matter how remote – that the game is winnable.
Which brings us to the Washington Redskins.
There was not a single play last night in which any sane person would have thought the Redskins had a chance to win. The Giants took the opening kickoff , easily cruised for a touchdown, and despite only scoring 16 points, were never threatened. It was the most lopsided 16-7 game you will ever see.
My worst fears about Jason Campbell were confirmed. He played horribly against Carolina in the next to last exhibition game. He played even worse in the last exhibition game against Jacksonville. It annoyed the heck out of me that when interviewed on the sidelines, he didn’t seem upset at all. “We’ve already put it behind us,” he said at halftime of the Jacksonville game.
Well Jason, your play Thursday night also needs to be put behind you. Then you need to wipe and flush. Wash your hands too.
Campbell doesn’t seem to get it. Four straight times on third down, he completed passes, only to come up short of a first down. Sonny Jurgensen asked him about this in post-game interviews, and Campbell just cliché’d it off, saying the team had to work hard and trust each other more. Hey Jason, how about picking out the receiver who is past the first-down stakes instead of staring down the easiest check-down receiver who is open so you can get a completion?
Campbell rarely threw deep, and he only completed one pass to Chris Cooley, the inspirational tight end who made things happen last year. More often than not, the offense was a series of handoffs to Clinton Portis, making you think that not even head coach Jim Zorn has confidence in Campbell to throw the ball down the field.
Zorn, in his first regular-season game as a head coach, just looks like he’s in over his head. He seems frustrated on the sidelines, his play calling is ultra-conservative, and he manages the clock the same way Ralph Friedgen manages his weight. So deliberate and plodding was the offense in the fourth quarter, you’d have thought the Redskins were leading instead of down by two scores. They showed a sense of urgency usually displayed only by those working in the fields of government or cable television repair.
Keep in mind, when we last saw our heroes, they had just lost a playoff game. They had an incredibly tough defense, led by an experienced and well-respected assistant head coach in Gregg Williams, and an offense that struggled until Campbell got hurt. Then it got a lot better.
In the offseason, the Redskins "braintrust" made huge changes necessitated by Joe Gibbs' retiring. Somehow, they decided not to promote Williams to head coach and fired him. They named Greg Blatche to the head defensive position before Williams had even been fired, thinking the defense wouldn’t miss a beat. By naming Zorn head coach, the Redskins thought he would bring new innovative offensive ways to the franchise. On paper, it sounded good.
On grass, it looked awful. Last night, New York moved at will in the first half. The defense did better in the second half, but I’m not sure if it was the defense playing better, or New York doing stupid things like refusing to keep the ball on the ground.
The offense, however, never got going. It made the Gibbs days look like the greatest show on turf. If last night's game is any indication, the Redskins need to install a beeping sound on their website, because this franchise is going backward. The odds of the team making a second straight trip to the playoffs are good only if they buy tickets and sit in the stands.
It was bad. Someone needs to get mad. Someone needs to take charge. Someone needs to start making plays at quarterback. Someone needs to lead.
If not, soon we’ll all be putting this team behind us.
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Tuesday, 2 September 2008 00:10 by
Dave Today’s the day.
Back to the grind. Back to normal life. Back to football every weekend, something other than reruns and reality shows on television every night, and a schedule where the kids don’t sleep until noon.
As a parent, there is great comfort in the return of a regular routine. If you’re a kid, judging from the grumpy teenager in my house this morning, life pretty much sucks. I guess when they get home today, after firing up their laptops, turning on their ipods, texting friends on their cell phones and watching a little high definition TV, they’ll tell us all just how bad they have it. I’ll try to be sympathetic.
This is also the day everyone is back at the office. No one’s on vacation, so now you can hear from multiple people just how bad your alma mater looked while losing this weekend. If you’re from Virginia, you need to brace yourself for people from that state right below us. UNC and Duke are both 1-0, while Virginia Tech and Virginia are 0-1. The state that gave us John Edwards and Jesse Helms usually only brags during football season about next year, so they’ll be quite a pain today.
If they get too obnoxious, point out that at least in Virginia, we know how to read a flight plan. North Carolina made plans for someone to parachute out of a plane and land at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill with the game ball for the UNC-McNeese State game Saturday. Someone did jump out of a plane, and they landed at a football field – but it was Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham. As they were getting ready to start the Duke-James Madison game, startled officials thought maybe it was the beginning of another Chick-Fil-A commercial until noticing there weren’t cows under the parachutes wearing signs that said “Eat Mor Chikin”.
If you moved here during the spring and you commute to work in Tysons Corner or beyond, today is the day you realize why your neighbors seemed to be snickering every time you said “the traffic doesn’t seem to be that bad.” When folks are on vacation, it never does. But today that 25-minute commute on the Greenway and Toll Road will be 45 minutes. If it rains, or the sun is low coming over the horizon, make it an hour. If there’s a wreck, pack a lunch. Welcome to Loudoun County.
Today’s the day you’ll realize the leaves will soon be turning, those ambitious chores you hoped to do during the summer likely won’t be completed, and that you’ve probably waited too late to put down more mulch around the landscaping. Might as well wait until spring. Just like you said last year.
But today is also the day you’re free from the self-imposed obligation of losing a few pounds to look good in a swim suit. There probably won’t be any more days at the pool, only a limited few more days of barbecuing on the deck, and only a few weeks more before baggy sweatshirts are acceptable weekend attire. Bratwurst anyone?
Finally, today’s the day that starts what are the fastest four months of the year. Halloween is only 59 days away. Thanksgiving is 27 days after that. Christmas is only another four weeks later, which means we’ll soon be seeing Christmas decorations at the mall…..in about 59 days.
Today’s the day. And kids, don’t despair. Take solace in the fact there are only 290 more days…until the end of the school year.
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