Football: Stone Bridge 42, Woodson 14

 
By Dan Sousa
LoudounPrepSports.com Senior Content Editor

Ashburn (Nov. 1, 2008) – There have been a lot of different players wear the Stone Bridge High School football uniform the past four seasons. All shapes and sizes and from all walks of life … but after Stone Bridge’s 42-14 win over W.T. Woodson Friday night they all share a common trait: a perfect record against AAA Liberty District opponents.

In a match-up of 6-0 district teams on the final night of the regular-season, the Division 6 Cavaliers could not end the Division 5 Bulldogs incredible streak. SB is now 28-0 in the Liberty District since moving up from AA in 2005. Since the Bulldogs had won back-to-back Dulles District titles before exiting, Stone Bridge’s overall district title streak is six straight years and counting. The Bulldogs have not lost a district contest since Oct. 30, 2002 — when some of the current varsity members were in fourth grade.

Stone Bridge (7-0, 10-0) will start its state title defense with a likely match-up against district foe Thomas Jefferson, a team the Bulldogs beat 70-7 last week. Woodson appears headed for a meeting with West Springfield in the Northern Region D6 quarterfinals.

It was no secret that SB would mostly keep it on the ground Friday with starting quarterback Patrick Thompson on the sidelines with an ankle injury. The injury woes for SB didn’t improve during Friday’s hard-hitting contest as the Bulldogs lost two starters on defense, linebacker Travis Hannam went out early with an ankle injury and was on crutches after the game and defensive lineman Jimmy Bradford had to leave after his shoulder dislocated on a tackle attempt just before halftime.

“To lose two starters on defense. That’s a huge deal,” said Stone Bridge coach Mickey Thompson.

Despite the injuries, there was good news as Patrick Thompson’s twin brother, Zach Thompson, was back in the line-up after being sidelined with a knee injury. Thompson was part of a stingy defense that didn’t allow Woodson inside the Bulldog 44 until Tom Brewster picked off a pass and returned it 48 yards to the SB 22 with a little over a minute to go in the half. At the time it was 28-0 Stone Bridge as Daniel Allen and Michael Prince had led a ground attack that had scored on all four possessions in the first half.

In all, SB rolled up 414 yards rushing with Allen gaining 183 on 17 carries and Prince earning 72 on seven attempts.

“Our offensive line did a tremendous job,” said Thompson.

On Stone Bridge’s first possession, the Bulldogs handed the ball to 270-poun lineman Brian Slay who rambled 19 yards on a 3rd-and-3 from the SB 41. On the next play a pass interference call moved the  ball to the Woodson 25. Allen got four straight calls and Marcus Harris carried once before the Bulldogs opted to go for it on 4th-and-goal from the 15, rather than attempt a 32-yard field goal. Prince got the call on the misdirection and he looked to be stopped at the 10, before avoding a tackler and then pushed out of bounds at the 5, only to tumble around a defender and propel himself across the goal line for the impressive score.

Stone Bridge showed another way to score on the next drive … well, it wasn’t much of a drive … more like a sprint as on the first play, Allen broke into open space and out-raced the Woodson defense for a 58-yard score.

Woodson managed its first two first downs on their next possession, the first of which came courtesy of what appeared to be a designed fake fumble play. Either that or Woodson had rare back-to-back bobbles on quarterback exchanges. The first time, Woodson QB Connor Reilly fell on a loose ball. The next play, Reilly again appeared to have lost the handle, only to sprint though the SB front line for 25 yards. A Reilly to Max Waizenegger pass moved the chains again but three straight incompletions forced another punt.

SB then went 82 yards on 11 plays. The first 10 were all runs with Allen gaining three on 4th-and-2 from SB’s own 43. Prince rambled 20 to take the ball to the Woodson 20 and on the next play, Johnny Bladel, SB’s top possession receiver, starting for Thompson at QB, found Prince in the end zone for a 20-yard score and a 21-0 lead with 7:34 still left in the first half.

Colin Dempsey took a pitchout and went 14 yards to give Woodson a first down on their next drive at their own 46 but facing 4th-and-1 from the Bulldog 44, Woodson tried to run the ball and James Johnson was buried in a wave of SB defenders who pushed into the Cavs backfield for a two-yard loss.

The Bulldogs really started rolling, picking up huge chunks of yardage, moving the chains on three straight plays with Prince going 14 and 13, sandwhiched around a Bladel 15-yard keeper. Harris gained 11 to the 1 and then did the honors himself for a 28-0 lead with 3:06 left in the half.

Woodson had to punt again after a bad shotgun snap led to a 21-yard loss on 3rd-and-8 from the 29 but on the next play, Bladel was picked off and Brewster returned it to the Red Zone. Reilly had back-to-back completions to Dempsey but a sack by Slay and friends and an incompletion left Woodson on the SB 11 with just 4.3 seconds left in the half. Reilly found Dempsey yet again open over the middle, Dempsey gathered the ball in at about the 3 and worked his way into the end zone to make it 28-7 at the half.

Any thoughts of a Woodson comeback were squelched when SB went 62 yards in just five running plays to start the second half with Allen going 30 yards for the score.

Woodson again had to punt and SB capped the evening with a 97-yard march that last nine minutes, taking up 15 plays with back-up quarterback Kyle Gouveia hitting Nick Sheehan for a 9-yard TD.

The Cavs made a late drive against the SB second defense, going 92 yards on 10 plays with Reilly taking it in from the 2 to make the final score 42-14.

Friday, October 31, 2008 – Stone Bridge vs. W.T. Woodson

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