Football: Park View Shows Its Resolve with Playoff Road Victory Over Third-Seed Millbrook

By David Selig
Special to VivaLoudoun

Winchester (Nov. 13, 2010) - In the week leading up to Friday night's Region II Division 3 quarterfinal at Millbrook, Park View football coach Ferris Eways warned his players not to put too much credence into the Patriots' victory over the Pioneers in early September.

After storming out to a 21-0 lead by the 6:50 mark of the first quarter Friday, the Patriots had to be even more careful not to get overconfident.

But it was when third-seeded Millbrook rallied to tie the game 21-21 late in the second quarter that No. 6 Park View truly showed its resolve.

Junior quarterback Alec Dombkowski led the Patriots on a 10-play scoring drive, capped by his third touchdown of the night 29 seconds before halftime, and Park View went on to win 33-28, setting up a semifinal at No. 2 Warren County next week.


"That was just staying poised, keeping our composure, and playing football," Eways said. "That's all that was."

Dombkowski finished 17 of 33 for 232 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. It was his second stellar effort against Millbrook (6-5) this season, after he threw for 241 yards and three scores when the Patriots (5-6) beat the Pioneers 45-28 Sept. 3 in Sterling.

Also like that game, the Patriots made the most of uncharacteristic Millbrook mistakes, which began from the opening kickoff.

After Millbrook won the toss and elected to receive, the Patriots lofted a kick into open space near the right sideline, and Salman Gill rushed down to recover it at Millbrook’s 25-yard line.

Tailback Roger Smith covered that distance in two runs to put Park View on the board with just 21 seconds elapsed off the clock.

Millbrook fullback Drew Braithwaite lost his first fumble of the season on the next possession, which led to a 35-yard touchdown pass from Alec Dombkowski to Ricardo Paquette on a reverse flea flicker.

Adrian DeNeal then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Dombkowski made the Pioneers pay again, hitting Paquette for a six-yard touchdown.

Millbrook finishes its season with 10 turnovers -- half of which came in the two games against Park View.

"We certainly didn't start the way we wanted to," Pioneers coach Reed Prosser said. "I thought we were ready to play, it's just that we did things that are uncharacteristic of what we normally do. ...

"We've played really well all year, and for some reason we just didn't match up well with Park View."

The Pioneers showed why they were co-champions of the Northwestern District, though, rallying back behind senior tailback Jordan Hartman.

The Northwestern District Offensive Player of the Year sparked the comeback with an 83-yard touchdown run with 2:33 left in the first.

Millbrook cut its deficit to 21-14 when quarterback Curtis Daily (6 of 16 for 127 yards and 2 TDs) hit Boomer Kaczmarzewski on a nine-yard strike with 3:49 left in the second quarter.

Then, after a Smith fumble, Hartman pulled the teams even with 3:17 remaining in the half with 40-yard run up the gut of a Park View defense that was admittedly overaggressive.

“What we were doing is sending pressure, and when we sent the pressure, we would miss the tackle,” Eways said. “And then [Hartman] just broke, and he’s a heck of an athlete.”

Hartman finished with 21 rushes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, plus a 74-yard touchdown reception with 4:26 remaining in the game.

That final score might have had more consequence if not for the gutty drive by Dombkowski in the final three minutes of the first half.

Dombkowski completed five passes on that march, which was extended by a seven-yard first down run by Ryan Plowman on a fake punt.

Dombkowski capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Gill with just 29 seconds on the clock.

Dombkowski had a total of eight sacks or negative runs, but his passing performance was too tough to handle for a Millbrook team accustomed to playing in the more run-oriented Northwestern District.

“He throws a beautiful ball,” Eways said of the second-team All-Dulles District selection. “I think he’s the best quarterback in our district. He handles himself well. He’ll throw a pick, but he’ll just bounce right back and keep just leading the team. ... He did a fantastic job, and I’m very proud of his play.”

Ryan McCarter was the biggest beneficiary of Dombkowski's throws, hauling in seven passes for 90 yards.

Smith finished with 83 yards rushing, and the Park View defense also responded when the game shifted from a shootout to a defensive struggle in the second half.

Aside from their scoring plays, the Pioneers were limited to just three first downs.

Following a scoreless third quarter, Park View made one more key stop to all but seal the victory.

A Paquette punt pinned Millbrook at its own 4 with 8:47 left in the game, and the Pioneers were then flagged for an illegal formation and a false start, backing the ball up to the 1.

On 3rd-and-12 from there, Daily was sacked for a safety, extending Park View’s lead to 30-21.

With the ensuing field position, the Patriots tacked on a 30-yard Wilfredo Avila field goal, giving themselves enough cushion to withstand Hartman's long touchdown reception.

Aside from the safety, the key to Park View's defense in the second half was actually reducing the pressure at the line of scrimmage.

"We stopped pressuring, because every time we were pressuring, they were gashing us," Eways said.

The irony is that the pressure was only rising for the Patriots after they blew the 21-point lead.

But the way Park View responded suggests that the Patriots might just be a dangerous team as the postseason continues.

"Whenever you get to the playoffs, it's a brand new season," Eways said. "You've got to take it one game at a time. You can't look past anybody, obviously. And we've got to head out to Warren County next week and see what we can do over there."

BOX SCORE
Region II, Division 3 playoffs

Patriots 33, Pioneers 28

                        PV       MB
First downs       12         3
Rushes-yards 39-100    32-171
Passing Yards   232       127
Passing           17-33-2   6-16-0
Punts-Avg.        8-33.1    7-42.6
Fumbles-Lost      2-1       3-2
Penalties-Yards 11-85     8-58

Park View   21   7  0 5 — 33
Millbrook      7 14  0 7 — 28

First Quarter
PV — Smith 5 run (Avila kick), 11:39
PV — Paquette 35 pass from Dombkowski (Avila kick), 8:35
PV — Paquette 6 pass from Dombkowski (Avila kick), 6:50
M — Hartman 83 run (Davis kick) 2:33

Second Quarter
M — Kaczmarzewski 9 pass from Daily (Davis kick), 3:49
M — Hartman 40 run (Davis kick), 3:17
PV — Gill 8 pass from Dombkowski (Avila kick), 0:29

Fourth Quarter
PV — safety, 7:28
PV — Avila 30 field goal, 5:41
M — Hartman 74 pass from Daily (Davis kick), 4:26

Rushing
Park View: Smith 20-83, Holland 4-43, Plowman 1-7, Paquette 1-0, Dombkowski 3-(-33). Totals 39-100.
Millbrook: Hartman 21-165, Braithwaite 4-9, Daily 7-(-3). Totals 32-171.

Passing
Park View: Dombkowski 17-33 3 TD, 2 INT, 232 yards.
Millbrook: Daily 6-16 2 TD, 0 INT 127 yards.

Receiving
Park View: McCarter 7-90, Gill 4-51, Paquette 2-41, Holland 1-35, Smith 1-9, Apple 1-6, Absher 1-0.
Millbrook: Hartman 1-74, Sharp 1-19, Braithwaite 1-15, Kaczmarzewski 2-16, Barnett 1-3.