Football: Stone Bridge Blanks Robinson, 3-0, on Lambourne FG with 37.1 Seconds Left after 13 Straight Carries by RB Trivieri Set Up Game-Winning Kick

Stone Bridge Senior Stephen Trivieri had quite a varsity debut


Stone Bridge junior Jonathan Allen showed why he is one of the top players in the state


By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor

Fairfax (Sept. 2, 2011) -  Oh Canada! Senior Stephen Trivieri, a travel ice hockey player who transferred to the Stone Bridge High School football program recently from Canada, made his Bulldog varsity debut Friday night with 8:35 left in a scoreless game at Robinson. 13 hard-nosed consecutive carries later by Trivieri and the Bulldogs were able to win the game, 3-0, on a Ben Lambourne 17-yard field goal with 37.1 seconds left.

Watching most of the night from the sidelines, Trivieri finally had his number called and behind the blocking of defensive bulldozer Jonathan Allen he plowed ahead for three yards from Stone Bridge's own 34. He then carried the ball again. And Again. And Again. And Again. And Again.

No tricks here as the Bulldogs, unable to generate much offense in their single wing running attack or spread passing attack under new quarterback Ryan Burns, went to a jumbo set that isn't even installed yet this season so basically the Bulldogs just lined up and ran the same play ... over ... and over .... and over ...


Fans of Stone Bridge football will remember this tactic used to knock Phoebus out of the state semifinals in 2007 as the Bulldogs handed the ball to Jeron Gouveia over and over late in the game behind the blocking of defensive lineman Zach Thompson and Brian Slay. The Bulldogs went on to win the Division 5 state title.

Last year, Stone Bridge used the might makes right ploy to put away Osbourn in the state semifinals with Marcus Harris running behind Allen and towering Rob Burns.

While Trivieri doesn't have the size of Gouveia or appear to have the elusiveness of Harris, his insertion into the defensive struggle brought the right attitude.

He wasn't going to go down on the first hit and even though Robinson had to know the play ... by the 8th time it was run or 9th time ... they couldn't stop it as Allen -- trading off with another defensive standout Aaron Palmer -- and Cameron Reynolds were burrowing a path for Trivieri behind the up front blocking of Jake Kuzbel, Mike Hickey, Hunter Pack, Gabe Stewardson, Sean McCoy and Matt Crowder.

This was no smoke-and-mirror effort. No cheat codes involved. This was just punishing, straight ahead, in your face football.

Finally on his 10th straight carry something broke ... and it was the Rams defense as Trivieri scrambled into the secondary and went 32 yards before being hauled own just inside the 5. Three more plays and the ball was at the 1 and Bulldog coach Mickey Thompson called on his veteran kicker, senior Lambourne, to drill home the chip shot.

Both teams struggled offensively in the game as Robinson had only 78 total yards with Allen registering four sacks to put him ahead of his record-breaking pace of 20 sacks his sophomore season. The Stone Bridge defense looked a little confused to start the game but a quick time out and a stern talking to by defensive coordinator Mike Skinner -- as well as some adjustments to their scheme -- put things in order.

Robinson barely made it across midfield most of the evening and didn't penetrate the Red Zone at all -- with one drive stalling at the Bulldog 23 and resulting in a blocked field goal attempt from 40 yards.

Before the game-winning drive, Stone Bridge's best offensive effort came late in the first half and was spurred by a 58-yard pass play from Burns to Kuzbel. The drive ended, however, in the closing seconds of the half with an interception in the end zone.

Burns, a junior, finished 7 of 20 for 102 yards in his starting QB debut after generating a lot of buzz at offseason camps that has resulted in several college offers already. His numbers could have been doubled what they were if not for some dropped balls by SB receivers.

Promising sophomore back James Manning got the start in the backfield and had trouble finding running room as he finished with 31 yards on 13 carries. Trivieri had 59 total yards on the game-winnning drive to lead SB rushers. Stone Bridge's offense was also plagued by several fumbled direct snaps.

Robinson did not help itself with 70 yards on seven penalties including several 15-yard personal foul calls.

The shutout by Stone Bridge continued a defensive trend for the Bulldogs who have four shutouts in their last 11 regular-season victories and are allowing opponents just an average of five points per game during that stretch.

The three points for the Bulldogs was Stone Bridge's lowest scoring output since a 14-3 loss to Harrisonburg in the 2004 Region II title game. Stone Bridge, a team that rarely punts over the years, punted five times in the game.

Stone Bridge 3, Robinson 0
Stone Bridge 0 0 0 3 - 3
Robinson 0 0 0 0 - 0

Rushing
Stone Bridge: Stephen Trivieri 13-59, James Manning 13-31, Ryan Burns 8-14, Rassaun Goldring 3-12, Cameron Reynolds 3-12. Totals 40-128.
Robinson: Joe Meier 9-44, Tyrek Worrell 8-24, Joe Wilson 1-15, Avyn Johnson 13-(-12). Totals 31-71.

Passing
Stone Bridge: Ryan Burns 7-20-1 102 yards
Robinson: Avyn Johnson 4-9-0 7 yards.

Receiving
Stone Bridge: Jake Kuzbel 2-64, Stan Johnson 3-28, Rassaun Goldring 2-10.
Robinson: Thomas Creed 1-6, Joe Meier 1-3, Tyrek Worrell 1-(-2).