No. 2 Game of 2008
In 2007, Edison lost to Chantilly at home, 21-14, in Week 10. In 2008, it was the Eagles’ turn to spoil the Charger Senior Night.
Edison (9-0) was seeking the first unbeaten regular season in school history, but Chantilly (7-2) needed a win to keep its hopes of earning the second seed in Division 6 alive.
The Chargers led, 17-7, through three quarters and appeared to have the game in-hand. But Eagle senior Stephon Robertson (4.53 40-yard dash), broke off a 35-yard touchdown run early in fourth quarter to cut the margin to three points.
Edison held the Chantilly rushing attack — led by senior Torrian Pace (211 yards, two touchdowns) — without points on its ensuing drive and regained possession, much like the 2007 season finale.
However, in 2007, Eagle quarterback Ben Barber captained a final-minute drive that the Chargers stymied in the red zone.
This year, Ben’s little brother, junior Levi Barber, took the reigns and put Edison in scoring position at the Chantilly 11-yard line, staring at a 4th-and-5 with :17 seconds left.
Levi Barber took the snap, made a three-step drop and tossed a pass towards the Eagle sideline, five yards deep into the end zone.
Junior wide receiver Christian Washington leaped, caught the pass while falling out-of-bounds — with help from Charger defensive back Michael Fries — but maintained possession and tapped his right foot just before his upper-half slammed to the ground.
Washington’s touchdown reception with :10 showing on the scoreboard lifted Edison to the 21-17 win and its first 10-0 regular season in its history, clinching the top seed for the Division 5 playoffs.
Both the Eagles and Chargers reached their respective Northern Region championships, Edison for the fifth-straight season.
**CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE TOP 10 COUNTDOWN**
By Angela Watts
Assistant General Manager, Washington D.C.
**
Click the links above the video to the left find a photo gallery filled
with images from Chantilly’s Senior Night festivities as well as video
interviews with Edison standouts Levi Barber, Stephon Robertson and
Christian Washington and dozens more video highlights from the Eagles’
dramatic, last-second victory.
In an instant — with one magnificently executed play — No. 3 Edison made history Friday night at No. 4 Chantilly.
Facing a 4th-and-5 from the Chargers’ 11-yard line with :17 seconds remaining, Eagle junior Levi Barber calmly walked into the shotgun formation, motioned for the snap from senior center Mehdi Charfi and took a three-step drop as he looked to pass.
While Barber worked behind center, junior Christian Washington,
who was one of two wide receivers lined up to the left of the
formation, burst off the line at the snap of the ball. Washington made
one quick stutter step to the inside and then cut left toward the front
corner of the end zone.
“I was like, ‘Levi, just throw it up there regardless. I’m coming down with it,'” Washington said.
The ball left Barber’s hands just before Washington turned, and he
eyed it all the way in. No more than two steps from the sideline
Washington jumped — with Chantilly senior defensive back Michael Fries
applying air-tight behind him — and made the remarkable, diving grab.
His feet landed in-bounds just before his upper body hit and slid out
of the end zone with :10 showing on the clock.
Touchdown Edison. And, with it, the first 10-0 regular-season in school history.
“Man it was a great feeling, one of the best feelings I’ve ever had
in my life,” Barber said. “Just to know that you have teammates that
you can count on. Just to know that you have teammates that will go up
and get the ball just like that … you’ve just got to throw it up and
they’ll go get it. It feels great.”
Added longtime Edison Coach Vaughn Lewis:
“Christian is just a great athlete. He does that in practice every day.
He just goes up in the air and catches the football. We have a lot of
confidence in him. It was fourth down and we had to score to win, and
he’s the one we went to. He made an amazing catch and Levi made a great
throw.”
Christian Washington’s older brother, senior Corey Washington, was the first to meet his brother in celebration. But soon after junior wide receiver Jerrell Haywood leapt into Christian’s arms, and the hugs and high-fives hardly slowed at all.
There
was one quick break in the Eagles’ merriment when the Chargers lined up
on offense for one last-second attempt in the game’s final seconds,
but the ball was tipped by senior linebacker Kyle Spencer and then intercepted by senior standout linebacker Stephon Robertson, sealing the victory and igniting the jubilation all over again.
“It
feels great,” said Robertson, who also led the Eagles with 55 yards
rushing and a touchdown on 10 carries. “We wanted to get over this and
go into the playoffs strong at 10-0 … and we made history, the first
team at Edison to do that. So this was a really big win for us. We’re
really happy.”
With the win Edison secures the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Northern
Region, Division 5 playoffs — which means a potential championship
match-up with defending Virginia AAA Division 5 state champion — and
also unbeaten — Stone Bridge would be played on the Eagles’ home
field. Edison has had to travel to Stone Bridge for each of the past
three division title games.
“It’s just been an amazing season because the second game of the
year against West Springfield we had to come back in the final minute
and win right at the end, and this game is the only other close game
we’ve had, and we came back right at the end to win it, too,” said
Lewis, 107-51 in 14 seasons at Edison. “It just shows a lot of
character for our players. I’m real proud.
“One of our goals this year was to try and make it back to the
regional finals for the fifth year in a row. But another goal was
earning the right to play at home. If we get lucky and we get back
there, it sure will be nice to have the regional final at Edison.”
Chantilly, despite the loss, secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming
Northern Region, Division 6 playoffs and will host sixth-seeded
Annandale in the opening round.
The Chargers (7-3 overall) were led by senior tailback Torrian Pace,
who pounded out 211 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 32 carries, an
average of 6.6 yards per touch. Pace scored on a 29-yard run in the
second quarter to knot the score at 7 and again on a 5-yard run in the
third quarter to give the Chargers a 17-7 lead.
But Edison, which had opened the scoring with a 2-yard run by junior Angus Harper,
rallied with two fourth-quarter scores, including a 35-yard run by
Robertson with 9:46 to play and the touchdown pass from Barber to
Washington as time waned.
“Obviously, we’ve already qualified for the playoffs so the focus is
on that, but it’s disappointing for the seniors to lose their Senior
Night game and to lose in the last 10 seconds,” Chantilly Coach Michael Lalli said.
“But we played real well and we made a lot of good plays. They are a
very good team. I mean, they’re 10-0 for a reason. We made some plays
and they made some plays.
“They just made the last play … and they won.”
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
No. 3 Edison 7 0 0 13 — 20
No. 4 Chantilly 0 10 7 0 — 17
Scoring Summary
1Q — ED — Harper 2 run (Charfi kick)
2Q — CH — Pace 29 run (Abott kick)
2Q — CH — Puschell 29 field goal
3Q — CH — Pace 5 run (Abott kick)
4Q — ED — Robertson 35 run (kick blocked)
4Q — ED — Ch. Washington 11 pass from Barber (Charfi kick)
Individual Leaders
Rushing
ED — Robertson 10 carries, 55 yards, TD; Harper 9 carries, 35 yards, TD; Barber 8 carries, 35 yards; CH — Pace 32 carries, 211 yards, 2 TDs; Mcgrath 14 carries, 43 yards.
Passing
ED — Barber 9-of-18 passing, 116 yards, TD; CH — Strittmatter 1-of-5 passing, 15 yards, 2 INT.
Receiving
ED —
Co. Washington 6 recpetions, 73 yards; Robertson 1 reception, 19
yards; Moran 1 reception, 13 yards; Ch. Washington 1 reception, 11
yards, TD; CH — Ryan 1 reception, 15 yards.
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