Football: Stone Bridge Out Plays Phoebus but Phantoms Turn Big Plays into D5 State Title

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor


Charlottesville (Dec. 12, 2009) – The Stone Bridge High School football team, behind the record-breaking running of junior Marcus Harris and a stingy defense that didn't allow any scoring drives, out-played Phoebus Saturday in the VHSL Division 5 state title game at the University of Virginia’s Scott Stadium but the Bulldogs didn’t come out on top as the Phantoms turned an interception, a 99-yard kickoff return and a safety into a 15-10 victory.



For Phoebus (15-0) it was a 30th straight win and a second straight state title and third in four years with the Phantoms last loss coming to Stone Bridge in the 2007 state semifinals. Last year Phoebus knocked off Stone Bridge, 38-8, in the state semifinals. Stone Bridge was making its third state title appearance in five years, having lost to Hampton, 15-8, in 2005, and beaten Potomac, 38-0, in 2007.

“This one bothers me worse than probably any loss I’ve ever encountered,” said a solemn Stone Bridge head coach Mickey Thompson after the game.

For Stone Bridge (13-2) it was a frustrating end to a dream season as the Bulldogs controlled the clock (30:03 of possession to 17:57) and out-gained Phoebus, 221-87, behind Harris, who carried the ball a playoff record 47 times for 191 yards. The previous mark was 35 rushing attempts.

“This one is especially hard,” said Thompson. “Last year they out-played us. The year before that, we out-played them. This year … in all the years I’ve been coaching, I haven’t had too many times when our team really out-played somebody and lost.”

Phoebus turned three big plays into 15 points: Dontrell Jones returned an interception 65 yards while Stone Bridge appeared to be driving for a score on the first possession of the game to set up a 4-yard Colby Goodwyn score; the Phantoms sacked Stone Bridge quarterback Brain Rody in the end zone for a safety in the second quarter; and Goodwyn returned the second half opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

“It was just a couple of big plays that put us in a hole and you take those plays away and I think that everything we wanted and everything we expected was there,” said Thompson.

Stone Bridge responded to Goodwyn's big return with a 60-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard Harris run to cut the Phoebus lead to 15-10 midway through the third quarter. Like most of the afternoon, the drive was all about Harris as he carried the ball seven straight times and 10 times total on the 12-play march.

“I told him before the game that he was going to get 50 (carries) and we came pretty close,” said Thompson.

Looking to neutralize the Phantom’s team speed and control the clock, Stone Bridge adjusted their single wing offense coming into the game, adding a second blocking back in front of Harris and they eliminated most of their misdirection plays and just relied on direct snaps to Harris, and then the strength and determination of the offensive line and blocking backs to move the pile forward. And it worked.

“You get in a championship game and you look at what is the thing that makes you go and “who are you?”,” said Thompson. “Well we are a team based on Marcus Harris carrying the football.”

It appeared that Harris and SB might had a title-winning drive in them as they moved the ball across midfield in the fourth quarter. Facing 2nd-and-4 from the Phantom 48 with about eight minutes left, the Bulldogs, however, could only move the ball two yards on three rushing attempts and turned the ball over on downs with 6:19 left.

“It is very frustrating. We played real hard and I feel like we deserved to win but the best team didn’t win this game,” said Harris.

Even after turning the ball over at midfield, the Bulldog defense was up to the task, forcing a 3-and-out and they got the ball back to the offense at the SB 17 with 4:42 left.

“Everyone stepped up. All the seniors stepped up,” said junior linebacker Kyle Gouveia who had a big afternoon with an interception and a fumble recovery.

Stone Bridge’s only pass completion of the afternoon, a 20-yard Rody to Spenser Rositano play, gave the Bulldogs some hope and moved the ball to the 34, but on 3rd-and-12 Phoebus clinched the victory with an interception.

“I thought we just played lights out defense all day. We just couldn’t put enough points on the board,” said Thompson.

The game started with Stone Bridge proving they could move the ball with Harris running it seven straight times to move it to the Phoebus 29 but on 3rd-and-7, Rody went to make a jump pass to the left and couldn’t spot a receiver. After scrambling back to his right, he threw into double coverage and the ball was picked off by Jones, who raced to the SB 10, with only Harris preventing the touchdown return.

Two plays later, Goodwyn scooted in for the 7-0 lead.

Phoebus special teams set up the next score as the Phantoms elected to “quick kick” – kick the ball out of their regular offensive formation -- early in the second quarter on 3rd-and-33 from their own 44. Quarterback Paul Morant’s kick rolled all the way to the SB 3. Two plays later, Rody dropped back and was swarmed by the Phantom defense. He was hit as he tried to get rid of the ball and it went out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

Leading 9-0, Phoebus got the ball right back on the free kick after the safety and had great field position at the SB 40. Gouveia, however, stepped up and turned the game around, picking off a Morant pass. Gouveia returned the ball 52 yards, all the way to the Phantom 6 but an illegal block on the return moved the ball back to the SB 43.

While the penalty took away Stone Bridge’s short field try for a touchdown, the turnover did lead to an Abdul Shaban 32-yard field goal to make it 9-3 at the half.

Then Goodwyn shocked the Stone Bridge fans that made the trek with his speedy return to start the second half. Fielding the ball at his own 2 and stepping back to within inches of the goal line, the senior raced almost untouched the length of the field to make it 15-3 Phoebus.

For the Stone Bridge senior class, maligned a bit coming into the year, it was little solace that they had come so close to a state title, especially just a year after graduating 20 of 22 starters.

“Everybody said we were going to have a down year this year but obviously that didn’t happen,” said Bulldog senior Connor Calderwood. “We are overachievers apparently but that’s a lie. We are not overachievers. (Being here is) just what we were supposed to do.”