Football: Tuscarora Opens with Big Win Over Woodgrove

(Aug. 31, 2010) - Earlier in the week, Tuscarora High School football coach Mike Burnett said he wouldn't know how his young team would react under the lights on Friday night as the yet-to-open school was set to host the area's other new school, Woodgrove, in a contest that was obviously historic for both programs.

Burnett got his answer before the lights even kicked in as his Huskies marched efficiently down the field on a 72-yard scoring drive to open the game and with touchdowns on three of their first four possessions, Tuscarora was well on its way to a 33-21 victory. (follow jump for full story and box score)

Woodgrove, down 27-0 midway through the third quarter, fought to the end and gave the Wolverine fans who made the trip in from Purcellville something to cheer about with three scores.

The night, however, belonged to the home team which celebrated with a huge tailgate party before the game and then unveiled the new football team coached by Burnett, who left Broad Run after capturing back-to-back Division 4 state titles with the Spartans.

Tuscarora showed a well-developed running game with junior Christian Molina running for 109 yards on 15 carries including two touchdowns. It was Molina who established the tone with six carries for 28 yards on the first drive of the night.

Junior Edwin Mends, who played his freshman year at Briar Woods where he made some starts and then last year at Flint Hill, showed off his versatility at quarterback, running for 80 yards and passing for 117.

6-foot-1 junior Alden Carpenter gave Mends a nice target and he had a smooth 29-yard touchdown catch and run. Adding depth for the Huskies, sophomore Adrien Stinger scored on an 18-yard run the first time he touched the ball and finished with 55 yards.

Tuscarora junior Chris Holoman was not only a key component on offense at fullback, blocking, rushing and catching the ball, but he had the most exciting play of the night from his linebacker spot on defense, scooping up a Woodgrove fumble and sprinting 73 yards for Tuscarora's final score of the night.

The Wolverines made three turnovers in the contest, two in the first half which were both answered by Tuscarora scores. The first turnover changed the momentum of the game as Woodgrove, trailing 6-0, had the ball 1st-and-10 on the Huskies 23. An ill-advised pitch on the option that almost resulted in a fumble lost seven yards and then on 3rd-and-17, Woodgrove quarterback junior Tyler Workman had a receive open in the end zone but the ball was deflected by a leaping John Johnson and Molina grabbed the interception and returned it 25 yards.

On 3rd-and-10, Mends broke contain on the left side and rambled 43 yards to set up Tuscarora's next score. Then three plays later, Woodgrove turned it over on a fumble and Mends hit Carpenter for 35 yards followed by a 12-yard Molina score to make it 20-0 with 7:10 left in the second.

Tuscarora essentially put the game away in the third quarter by holding Woodgrove on its first possession and then moving the ball 81 yards in just five plays with Molina going 21 yards and then Stinger 28 yards to start the drive. Carpenter's TD catch made it 27-0.

Woodgrove junior Matthew Reed, who finished the night with 101 yards on 14 carries, put the Wolverines on his shoulders and led them to the school's first ever touchdown. Reed's 33-yard run started the scoring drive and sophomore Atem Ntantang finished it with runs of 17 and 4.

After Holoman's "scoop and score" made it 33-7, Workman, who threw for 158 yards, made a nice use of open space in the middle of Tuscarora's secondary and helped the Wolverines to late touchdowns -- one scored by Workman on a 5-yard keeper and the other by Reed on a 16-yard run.

For Burnett and the other Spartan assistant coaches who came to the new school with him, it was the 31st regular season game they had coached to victory in a row as they left Broad Run on a 30-game regular-season win streak and an overall 28-game winning streak.