Football: W.T. Woodson 35, South County 0

By Phil Murphy

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

**Highlights and photos found by links on top-left**

The Cavaliers are officially okay with their offseason move to the Patriot District.

And they have a banner to prove it.

Woodson clinched a share of the district championship with its 35-0 home win over South County Friday.

The Stallions entered with the top-ranked scoring defense in Division 6.

“It’s been a lot of fun. We expected a lot coming back with all of our seniors,” said Cavalier senior quarterback Connor Reilly, who threw for a score and ran for two more. “We came out tonight and proved that we are the best in the district.”

Added fourth-year coach Trey Taylor: “It was a tough road. We had a lot of close games and a lot of tough opponents.”

The road — at least to the end zone — was a little shorter Friday.

The first four Woodson scoring drives began in South County territory, including three in the first 12 minutes, 4 seconds.

Before the one-minute mark of the second quarter, the Cavaliers scored 14 points off turnovers and held the Stallions to 0-for-4 passing, 43 total yards of offense and three first downs.

Woodson also turned a second-half interception by senior Colin Dempsey into points.

“We knew that how we’ll start the game is how we’ll be able to keep up the pace,” senior defensive lineman Patrick Bulger said. “We knew that if we came out fired-up, we’d be able to maintain that throughout the game.”

Added Taylor, 26-15 all-time: “[South County] has a great defense. Those turnovers were a pivotal part of what we were able to do.

“That’s one thing we harp on as an offense, not turning the ball over and giving people short fields. That definitely helped us tonight.”

The Stallions’ loss does not affect their first-round playoff opponent, only where the game will be played. Had it won Friday, South County could not have overtaken Lake Braddock as the No. 3 seed in Division 6.

But it forces them to face Westfield on the road November 13. All-time, the Bulldogs are 6-1 in first-round playoff games.

Woodson, meanwhile, clinched the top spot in Division 6. Should the Cavaliers continue to advance, they would not play away from Pat Cunningham Stadium until the state semifinal.

Though no player would look that beyond Oakton (5-5), its first-round opponent, Woodson’s coach admitted there is an advantage to familiar surroundings, especially in a season that brought a handful of new venues.

“I think the kids play well here. I think the kids like playing here,” said Taylor, whose Cavaliers hold an eight-game home winning streak. “We’ve got great fans. We’ve great a facility, so it is nice, especially being new in the Patriot this year, every school we went to was pretty much a new adventure.

“Being able to settle down here is good for us.”

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

Box Score 1 2 3 4 — F

South County 0 0 0 0 — 0
W.T. Woodson 14 14 7 0 — 35

Scoring Plays
1Q — WT — Johnson 7 run (Willard kick) — 6:18
1Q — WT — Stokes 6 run (Willard kick) — 3:24
2Q — WT — Reilly 1 run (Willard kick) — 11:56
2Q — WT — Stokes 8 from Reilly (Willard kick) — 1:09
3Q — WT — Reilly 3 run (Willard kick) — 4:27

Passing
SC – Andrews – 6-for-18, 74 yards, INT; Beal – 3-for-5, 23 yards.
WT – Reilly – 7-for-13, 96 yards, TD.

Rushing

SC – Jordan – 10 car, 58 yards; Simmons – 7 car, 31 yards; Rector – 1 car, 3 yards; A. Thomas – 1
car, 3 yards; Meyers – 1 car, -2 yards; Andrews – 3 car, -12 yards; Beal – 3 car, -16 yards.
WT – Reilly – 12 car, 85 yards, 2 TD; Stokes – 13 car, 65 yards, TD; Thomas – 4 car, 30 yards; Fridley – 2 car, 8 yards; Johnson – 6 car, 8 yards, TD; Breslin – 1 car, 4 yards; Dash – 1 car, 3 yards; Ngampa – 2 car, 2 yards; B. Hogan – 1 car, 2 yards.

Receiving

SC – Iyebote – 7
rec, 74 yards; Vane – 2 rec, 23 yards.
WT – J. Hogan – 1 rec, 26 yards; Stokes – 2 rec, 25 yards, TD; Dempsey – 1 rec, 20
yards; Le – 1 rec, 19 yards; Breslin – 1 rec, 6 yards; Johnson – 1 rec, 0 yards.
Times Targeted

SC – Iyebote – 11; Stein – 4; Vane – 3; Newell – 2; Simmons – 2; Jordan – 1.
WT – Breslin – 3; Dempsey – 3; Stokes – 3; J. Hogan – 2; Le – 1; Johnson – 1.
Leading Tacklers

SC – Carabali – 7; Jorgensen – 4; Lohdi – 4.
WT – Hancock – 7; Johnson – 5; Bulger – 4; Dempsey – 4; Herberg – 4; J. Hogan – 4; Ngampa – 4.
Total Yards

SC – 162.
WT – 295.
Time of Possession (First Half)

SC – 22:31 (9:42).
WT – 25:29 (14:18).
First Downs (Total; Run-Pass-Penalty)

SC – 10: 4-5-1.
WT – 16; 10-5-1.

**Click here to see other Northern Region games in Week 10!**