By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager, Washington D.C. Metro Area

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Stuart (3-2, 2-0) at Washington-Lee (2-3, 1-1)
Last Week: Stuart won vs. Wakefield, 47-13; Washington-Lee won at Jefferson, 7-0
Playoff Position (SOS): Stuart (Div 5) 9th; Washington-Lee (Div 5) 10th

This is a meeting between your top two bubble teams in Division 5 and given the winless out-of-district records of Mount Vernon and Wakefield, the loser of this game will take a devastating PowerPoint hit.

Mathematically, a loss would hurt Stuart more. That's not only because the Generals' out-of-conference opponents are 7-9 compared to 6-10 for the Raiders, but because its loss to single-A George Mason gives it one-third the base points it would earn with a loss to any AAA team.

The Raiders, though, are doing all they can to make that statistic irrelevant in their 50th-anniversary season.

They beat Mount Vernon for the first time since 1999 two weeks ago and snapped a three-game losing streak to Wakefield in emphatic fashion last week.

Stuart is currently in a three-way tie for first in the National District with Edison and Hayfield.

Washington-Lee, meanwhile, ground out a 7-0 road win against winless Jefferson last week, paced by a 66-yard, first-quarter touchdown run by junior Anthony Taylor and conceded-safety-turned-75-yard-game-sealing run by senior David Roddy as time expired.

The X-factor in this game is Stuart senior quarterback Jason Friday, who has began to look like the all-district-caliber signal-caller second-year coach Roy Ferri touted in the preseason.

In the last two weeks, he's 13-for-27 through the air for 214 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.

Raider senior Chris Ventura and the Generals' Taylor will get their yards, especially in the red zone, but Stuart's quarterback may be the deciding factor.

If Washington-Lee is to get back to .500, its defense will have to match the opportunism of Stuart.

The Raiders forced as many first-half turnovers against the Warriors as it allowed first downs. That includes a 58-yard fumble return for a score by senior Carl Wilson.

Keep an eye on General senior linebacker Rock Battle and junior bantam Moussa Diallo to apply for that position.

Washington-Lee has won seven of the last eight games in this series.

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com