Football: Briar Woods Wraps Up District Title, Marches into Playoffs Behind Brownlee's Record-Setting Night

(Nov. 6, 2010) - On the heels of a 4-6 season the Briar Woods High School football team and veteran coach Charlie Pierce came into 2010 with high expectations but when senior running back Michael Brownlee broke his leg on the very first carry of season, leaving the offense in the hands of freshman quarterback Trace McSorley, it was probably hard for Pierce to envision Friday night's postgame scene at Dominion High School.

McSorley rallied his team to victory in that first game in August and blossomed into one of the top quarterback in the area with a great offensive line and a trio of talented receivers. On Friday, McSorley ran for a TD and threw a key touchdown pass to Scott Rolin just before halftime to break a 13-13 tie.

The real story, however, was the complete return of Brownlee, finally healthy, who had seen limited action the previous two weeks but was back in a big way Friday, rushing for a school record and two touchdowns as the Falcons scored 41 unanswered points to beat Dominion, 54-13, and finish the school's first ever Dulles District title season with a 6-0 league mark.

And for Pierce, partially soaked from the traditional "Gatorade shower", it was an emotional postgame as he accepted hugs from his family and posed for pictures with his son Zach, a two-way starter on the offensive line and linebacker, for the Falcons.

"It's a proud moment ... I don't want this season to end," said Pierce. (Read more about Pierce and his son Zach in this excellent Loudoun Times-Mirror feature.)

And the Falcons season won't end as they host on Friday the school's first ever playoff game and as a likely No. 2 seed, Briar Woods could be home two straight weeks. The playoff Falcons will be a team that can run and pass.

"We wanted to get Brownlee going tonight," said Pierce. "We had to run the ball to keep the ball out of Reaves' hands."

Reaves -- Dominion senior Deandre Reaves, scored twice in the first half, on the opening kickoff to start Senior Night and then on a 60-yard run but Briar Woods was too deep for Dominion. Reaves, however, continues his storied prep career as the Titans have qualified for the playoffs for the first time in school history.

Briar Woods 54, Dominion 13

Score by quarter 1   2   3  4  Total
Briar Woods       6 14 27  7 -- 54
Dominion             7  6    0 0 -- 13

Scoring summary Qtr Time Scoring play BW D
Dominion 1 11:47 #10 Reeves 82 yd kick return (#9 Josh Jiminez kick) 0 7
Briar Woods 1 9:42 #2 Alex Carter 3 yd run 6 7
Briar Woods 2 9:55 #7 Trace McSorley 4 yd run (#6 David Clements kick) 13 7
Dominion 2 6:27 #10 Reeves 60 yd run 13 13
Briar Woods 2 0:14 #7 Trace McSorley 6 yd pass to #5 Scott Rolin (#6 David Clements kick) 20 13
Briar Woods 3 11:44 #2 Alex Carter 98 yd kick return 26 13
Briar Woods 3 8:42 #25 Michael Brownlee 6 yd run (#25 Michael Brownlee run) 34 13
Briar Woods 3 4:10 #25 Michael Brownlee 18 yd run (#6 David Clements kick) 41 13
Briar Woods 3 0:38 #7 Trace McSorley 21 yd run 47 13
Briar Woods 4 8:55 #10 Mark Leith 30 yd run (#6 David Clements kick) 54 13

Team stats Briar Woods Dominion
First downs 20             6
Rushing yardage 391           70
Pass completions - attempts 5-8        5-12
Passing yardage 46          38
Pass touchdowns - interceptions 1-0       0-1
Total plays 55         38
Total offense 437           108
Fumbles - lost 3-1          1-1
Penalties - yards 10-85        3-25
Defensive sacks - yards lost 2-14           0-0
Time of possession 26:49              21:11
3rd down efficiency 5 for 8            4 for 11
4th down efficiency 0 for 1            0 for 0
Punts - average 1-45.0                5-31.0

Briar Woods
Rushing
#25 Michael Brownlee 26-238
#7 Trace McSorley 5-40
#5 Scott Rolin 2-38
#10 Mark Leith 2-31
#32 JT Logan 3-16
#1 Ryan Bumbray 2-14
#18 Blake Ratliff 1-9
#24 Cory Colder 3-8
#2 Alex Carter 1-3
Total: 47-391

Dominion
Name Att Yds Avg Lng TD
#10 Reeves 6-65
#24 Dashaun Wesley 6-16
#28 Garrett Robinson 2-7
#3 Trey Baxter 4-3
#31 Eric Carlson 2-2
#21 Sammy Coleman 2-(-8)
#19 Austin Green 4-(-15)
Total: 26-70

Passing
Name Cmp Att Yds TD Int
#7 Trace McSorley 5-8 46 1 0

Passing
Name Cmp Att Yds TD Int
#3 Trey Baxter 4-6 24 0 1
#19 Austin Green 1-6 14 0 0
Total: 5-12 38 0 1

Receiving
#5 Scott Rolin 3-37
#4 Cameron Serigne 1-11
#25 Michael Brownlee 1-(-2)
Total: 5-46

Receiving
Name Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
#21 Sammy Coleman 2-6
#28 Garrett Robinson 1-14
#25 Matt Valenzuela 1-11
#10 Reeves 1-7
Total: 5-38