Westfield Brings Division 6 Title Back to Northern Region

By Phil Murphy
DigitalSports.com

It had been well over an hour since the clock hit zero.

Westfield's state championship trophy had long since been delivered to head coach Tom Verbanic. The Bulldogs' massive contingent of dedicated fans, who made the two-and-a half-hour trek to Charlottesville, had all filed out of Scott Stadium. Even the majority of members of local and national media who had saturated the press box had packed up their computers and hit the long road home.

But for a small group of Westfield seniors, one last walk across the painted lines of a football field was necessary for their high school careers to feel complete.

Senior quarterback Mike Glennon (14-for-23, 152 yards, one touchdown) was the first to jog out of the visiting team tunnel, dressed in a polo shirt and jeans, carrying a black Westfield gym bag. Wide receiver David Kruchko (3 catches, 30 yards, one touchdown), Glennon's good friend and favored target, was only a step behind. He pumped up an imaginary audience, and then surveyed the field upon which his emotional roller coaster of a career had commenced on its highest note.

Safety Tucker Karl, center Kevin Stewart, corner Kareem Ebanks and a half dozen other Bulldogs also trickled into the south end zone, absorbing the private, collective celebration -- after months in the spotlight -- in one of the cathedrals of college football.

Most joined Kruchko in inciting the non-existent fans, while others simply basked in the glory of what they had just accomplished.

Westfield (15-0) defeated Woodbridge (9-5), 42-14, in a game that wasn't nearly as close at the first-half score would suggest. The Bulldogs, trailing 6-0 with :33 seconds to go before halftime, dominated the final 25 minutes of play, capping the first 15-0 season in the 94-year history of the Virginia High School League with a championship.

"The VHSL has been associated since 1913, so [doing that] for the first time in a while is a big honor," Kruchko said.

The post-game celebration evolved into cell phone pictures of the field — and of each other. Taking pictures then turned into attempts by many Bulldogs to touch the goalpost — a task none accomplished with the same ease the 6-feet, 6-inch Glennon. The clan then trotted out to midfield to try their luck at hand-stands — Kruchko and Karl were the prime performers of this activity.

The wide array of skills was appropriate for a team with such notable balance.

Six different Bulldog players scored their six touchdowns in Saturday's win. No individual back dominated rushing attempts as senior tailback Brian Kennedy's 11 carries were bested only by fellow senior Steve Tabot's 14. Glennon's 14 completions were even scattered amongst six wide receivers, with senior Johnny Pickett leading the way with a game-high five catches for 76 yards.

"I wanted to come out here and do this for my teammates," Glennon said. "Right now, I'm the only one going to college for football, so for a lot of them this could be the last time they play."

A seven-point margin tripled in just :11 seconds midway through the fourth quarter when Tabot's five-yard touchdown run was followed by an interception returned for a touchdown by senior linebacker Kyle Goffredo on the second play of the Vikings' response.

With the result suddenly settled and the starters sidelined, defensive linemen embraced defensive backs, trainers hugged halfbacks and coaches congratulated kickers. The family that is Westfield football collectively achieved the goal established the moment last season commenced, disappointingly, with a 26-21 upset loss at home to Chantilly in the Northern Region Championship.

"The whole thing since then has been: Don't forget how it felt," Verbanic said. "People kept telling our kids, 'You had a great year. Forget about that.' We felt, if we got here, we needed to remember exactly what it felt like because we did not want to have that feeling again."

Tears streamed down the faces of the elated — and deserved — champions. Several players collected tufts of turf to commemorate the victory, while others made snow angels in the green grass by the hill connecting the north entrance to the field. Others simply stood in disbelief.

And when Scott Stadium security prevented the fans in attendance from joining in the on-field celebration, the players took the celebration to the fans. First, team members gave the line of Bulldog faithful in the first row running high-fives as the individual awards were being handed out. Then senior tight end Ross Lavin and Stewart upped the ante when they scaled the seven-foot brick barrier into Westfield's student section. Gradually — and more civilly — nearly every Bulldog player followed suit by way of stairs to greet their personal fan club of friends and family.

"On the O-line, we always work together," senior guard Greg Bush said. "When defense is going, we're huddled together, building that team unity. We always chant about how we are family and it really shows because when we get down, we are a family. It really shows. When everything goes down, we pick each other up. Through the good times we encourage each other and through the bad times we help each other out."

Glennon was among the first to enter the stands. His older brother, Virginia Tech redshirt-junior quarterback Sean Glennon, was in attendance. Sean Glennon led Westfield to its only other state championship in 2003.

"I know he wanted me to win," Mike Glennon said. "But at the same time, there is a little bit of a rivalry going on between he and I. Going into the game I was like 200 yards short of his career passing yards ... we're competitive. I went 15-0 and he went 14-0."

Glennon isn't the only Westfield player with family ties. Eight other players on the current roster have brothers who played on that storied 2003 championship team.

"A lot of the players have brothers that were on that team," Mike Glennon said. "Seeing that in the eighth grade, we wanted to win a state championship just like they did. We knew we had potential and we worked hard for four years.

"That hard work finally paid off."

** Photo by professional photographer Sue Spencer