Football: Carter Sets the Tempo as Briar Woods Shuts Down Tuscarora, 38-0

Alex Carter after Briar Woods Win Last Week


Kevin Owens: Part of Falcons Big Line Effort


(Oct. 6, 2011) - The Briar Woods High School football season has been a bit like the opening kickoff in last Friday's Dulles District showdown with Tuscarora.

Things were bottled up a bit at first, as senior Alex Carter was stacked up near the Huskies sidelines by a wave of defenders, but then Carter shifted direction, picked up a huge block from Joe Rizzardi and the rest was all perfection as Carter sprinted down the Falcons sidelines to a 92-yard score that set the tempo for a 38-0 Briar Woods shutout.

For Briar Woods (4-0 in district, 4-1 overall, their season was bottled up a bit with a 14-0 loss to Broad Run to start the year, but since then the Falcons have been sprinting ahead of the competition, out-scoring opponents by a whopping 190-9 in four straight wins for the defending VHSL Division 4 state champions.

The Briar Woods defense has not only been lights out during the four-game winning streak, allowing just one touchdown in the last 17 quarters, but the Falcons have out-scored opponents on special teams and defense alone, 32-9. In addition's to Carter's return, his second kickoff brought back to the house in as many weeks, the Falcons picked up an interception return for a score by Mike Barta.

Briar Woods coach Charlie Pierce


The Falcons offense has gotten on track as well with the running game picking up behind Cory Colder, who had 66 yards on 18 attempts Friday including a 2-yard score in the second quarter. Carter also scored on a 13-yard run in the second half, and sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley found favorite target, Cam Serigne on a 15-yard score just before the half that made it 21-0.

Tuscarora (2-1, 4-1) came in as Loudoun's only unbeaten team but the second-year program never could get its offense going against the Briar Woods defense. In fact the Huskies didn't advance the ball beyond their own 43 in the first half.

The Huskies did get into the Red Zone finally to start the third quarter but Carter deflected a pass that was picked off by Brandon Brown to stop the threat. That would be the Huskies only trip across midfield on the evening.

Tuscarora coach Mike Burnett


Down, 7-0, Tuscarora's defense, led by Cameron Molina dug its heels in the first quarter but a Briar Woods punt return to the Tuscarora 26 at the end of the first quarter, set up a short TD drive. After back-to-back McSorley to Serigne connections, Colder bulldozed in from the 2 and steady kicker David Clements made it 14-0 with 9:57 left in the first half.


It appeared that might be the halftime score as well but Tuscarora coach Mike Burnett rolled the dice on 4th-and-7 from his own 34 with 2:20 left in the half, opting for a fake punt that didn't work. Taking over at the Huskies 35, Briar Woods was facing 3rd-and-3 at the 15 when McSorley hit Serigne down the left sidelines and the WR broke a tackle and just got the ball across the goal line to make it 21-0 with 59 seconds until halftime.

After Brown's interception stopped Tuscarora's best drive of the night, Briar Woods went 64 yards on seven plays to increase the lead to 28-0 with 7:23 left in the third. Big plays on the drive included a McSorely 11-yard pass to Darryll Gadsden on 3rd-and-6 and a 15-yard penalty on Tuscarora that moved the ball down into the Red Zone. Carter, from his wingback spot, took a handoff from the 13, got around the corner and sped into the end zone.

Barta's interception return of 25 yards on the second play of the fourth quarter made it 35-0 and the Briar Woods fans, all in pink in Breast Cancer Awareness, could celebrate as the running clock rule was now in affect with Briar Woods up by 35.

Another Tuscarora turnover, this time a fumble, gave Briar Woods the ball at the Huskies 29 midway through the final quarter and the Falcons finished off the scoring with Clements connecting from 21 yards with 1:50 left.

Box Score