Football: Briar Woods Survives Loudoun County Challenge

By Carl Lukat
Special to VivaLoudoun
Times-Mirror Staff Writer

Ashburn (Nov. 19, 2011) - On an otherwise gloomy Friday evening for Loudoun football teams, Briar Woods High School continued its quest for a repeat Region II Division 4 championship with a 29-19 home victory over a determined Loudoun County squad in the region semifinals Nov. 18 in Ashburn.
victory.

The defending Virginia High School League Division 4 state champion Falcons led by just a point at halftime and clung to a 15-13 lead after three quarters before scoring consecutive touchdowns during the first six minutes of the fourth quarter to finally gain some breathing room.

"Hats off to Loudoun County," Briar Woods coach Charlie Pierce said. "They played their butts off. They played a great game and they had a great game plan. It's good for us to go through these things and still be able to respond in a positive way."

Top seeded Briar Woods (11-1) will host No. 2 seed Powhatan - a 35-0 winner over Louisa County in the semifinals - Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. in the region championship. The Falcons are the last local football team still alive this postseason after Broad Run, Stone Bridge and Tuscarora each fell in the semifinal round of their respective region playoffs Friday.

"They are a physical team and they've had great success over the last three, four, five years," Pierce said of Powhatan. "So it's going to be a great challenge for us."

The Falcons have grown accustomed to being challenged in recent weeks, especially in the first half of games. Briar Woods was tied 7-7 at half with County in the regular-season finale Nov. 4 before scoring 28 unanswered points in the second half. In their Nov. 11 playoff opener against Park View, the Falcons scored 21 straight points in the third quarter to turn a 21-14 halftime lead into a 49-21 victory.

Pierce feels the biggest difference between this season and last year are expectations.

"Last year nobody expected much because we were 4-6 the year before. The chips started falling into place," Pierce said. "Now, we are getting everybody's best shot and it's more expected. And our players know it's more expected and they practice like it's more expected. I'm just happy that we are able to play through these tight games."

The Falcons scored first Friday against the Raiders thanks to their special teams and defense. After Briar Woods' offense stalled on the first possession of the game, a 45-yard punt by senior David Clements left County (9-3) in poor starting field position at its own 11-yard line.

On the Raiders' first play, Falcons junior linebacker Matt Rolin sacked Raider junior quarterback Jake Lokey in the end zone for a safety to give Briar Woods a 2-0 lead. Rolin finished with two sacks in the win. Senior linebacker Mark Leith and senior lineman Justin Baker also had two sacks each.

"We have a strong defensive line which opens space for the linebackers to get through and create pressure," Rolin said.  

A 26-yard return by senior Alex Carter on the ensuing kick set the Falcons up at the Raider 43-yard line. Briar Woods was once again limited to one first down and elected to play for field position and punted on fourth-and-seven from the 29. The decision to punt appeared to pay dividends as Clements again delivered, this time pinning County at the 1-yard line.

Undaunted, the Raiders made the most of the situation. After senior A.J. Smith gained a yard on first down, senior Antonio Rutherford found an opening around the left side of the line and broke loose along the Raider sideline for a 98-yard touchdown run. Sophomore Caleb Hilgartner tacked on the extra point as County took its first and only lead of the game at 7-2 midway through the first quarter.

Briar Woods' offense produced its first scoring drive on its fifth series of the game. Junior Cory Colder rushed for 39 yards on three carries, capping it off with a 4-yard touchdown run. Carter added a 15-yard run and caught a 13-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley to aid the drive. The Falcons failed on a two-point conversion attempt and led 8-7 with 5:05 left in the half.

The Falcons held the Raiders to just two first downs for the remainder of the first half following Rutherford's touchdown run. County was limited to one first down - a nice 18-yard scramble by Lokey on third-and-11 - on the first drive of the second half and had to punt from near midfield.

Briar Woods took over at the 28 and drove 72 yards on nine plays to extend its lead.
Carter - a Stanford commit - was instrumental on the drive, rushing for 40 yards and even completing a 24-yard pass to Rolin. McSorley finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown run and Clements' extra point made it 15-7 with 4:07 left in the third quarter.

The Raiders went three-and-out on their next series but were able to regain possession after recovering a Falcon fumble on the ensuing punt. County took over at the Briar Woods' 15 and proceeded to lose two yards on the next two plays before Lokey connected with junior Brad Szoka in the right corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown completion. The Raiders were unable to capitalize on a potential game-tying two-point conversion and trailed 15-13 late in the third.

"They are a well coached team." Pierce said of the Raiders and their head coach Todd Hill. "They played hard and they made some plays when it counted. We knew it was going to be a dog fight."

The Falcons answered right back on the next possession. Junior Cam Serigne was able to stay with a McSorley pass that was deflected for a 37-yard reception on third-and-11 early in the drive. Five plays later, Briar Woods lined up to go for it on fourth-and-one from the Raider 4-yard line when County was flagged for offsides. The penalty drew the ire of the Raider sideline and their fans, while giving the Falcons first-and-goal from the 2.

Colder leaped into the end zone from 2-yards out on the next play and Clements' extra point extended the lead beyond one possession at 22-13 with 10:05 remaining in the game.

County drove to the Briar Woods' 30 on the next series but the scoring threat ended when a group of Falcon defenders - led by Baker - sacked Lokey on fourth down.

The Raiders held the Falcons to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and took over at their own 24 with 6:50 left in regulation. On the very next play, Briar Woods senior Jamal Hill intercepted a Lokey pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown to extend the Falcons lead to 29-13.

County continued to battle and scored the game's final points when Lokey connected with Szoka on an 88-yard touchdown completion to trim the deficit to 29-19. But the Falcons were able to pick up a first down on the following possession and took a couple of knees to run the clock out on the region semifinal victory.
Briar Woods 29, Loudoun County 19
First Quarter
BW: Safety (Rolin sack in end zone) 9:23
LC: Rutherford 98 run (Hilgartner kick) 5:39

Second Quarter
BW: Colder 4 run (pass failed) 5:05

Third Quarter
BW: McSorley 1 run (Clements kick) 4:07
LC: Szoka 17 pass from Lokey (pass failed) 1:33

Fourth Quarter
BW: Colder 2 run (Clements kick) 10:05
BW: Hill 34 interception return (Clements kick) 6:38
LC: Szoka 88 pass from Lokey (run failed) 2:53


Offensive Stats

Rushing
LC: A. Rutherford 15-126, Smith 3-9, Lokey 12-7. Total 30-142.
BW: Colder 18-86, Carter 9-67, Leith 2-10, Larco 3-6, Cashman 3-3, McSorley
3-(-11). Total 38-161.

Passing
LC: Lokey 8-17-1 152 yards.
BW: McSorley 8-17-0 91 yards, Carter 1-1-0 24 yards, Leith 0-1-0.

Receiving
LC: Szoka 2-105, Messina 2-20, A. Rutherford 2-20, M. Rutherford 2-7.
BW: Serigne 1-37, Rolin 1-25, Carter 3-23, Logan 2-12, Ramos 1-16, Gadsden 1-2.

Read more of Carl Lukat (who once threw for 400 yards passing in a high school game AND conducted the band at halftime!) ... in the Loudoun Times-Mirror weekly in print and daily online.