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By Andy States
Ashburn (Nov. 13, 2011) - Walking to the locker room at the half of Friday night’s Region II Division 4 football quarterfinal game against the Park View Patriots, there likely wasn’t a single member of the Briar Woods Falcons that felt good about what had transpired through the game’s first 24 minutes.
“"You would have thought we were down 35 at halftime,"” Briar Woods coach Charlie Pierce said.
The Falcons, in fact, were ahead. But after Ryan McCarter’s second touchdown reception from Alec Dombkowski, the Patriots cut Briar Woods’ lead to just seven points. With that, the Falcons had already surrendered as many points as they had given up in an entire game all season and Park View was receiving the kickoff to open the second half.
It didn’t take long for the defending AA Division 4 state champion Falcons to reassert themselves in the second half. Briar Woods scored two touchdowns 27 seconds apart early in the third quarter and proceeded to roll to a 49-21 victory. The Falcons will host Loudoun County in the region semifinals.
“"We’'re always a third-quarter team,"” said Briar Woods junior Cory Colder, “and we proved it again tonight.”
Briar Woods (10-1) scored 21 points in the third to essentially put Park View (4-7) away. The Falcons drove 87 yards on four plays on their first possession of the half, with Cam Serigne capping the drive with a 36-yard touchdown reception from Trace McSorley.
Alex Carter’'s interception and return on Park View’s ensuing possession left the Falcons at the Park View 5-yard line, where Colder needed one play to rush to pay dirt and increase the hosts’ lead to 35-14. Serigne caught a four-yard touchdown pass to conclude the next Briar Woods possession and effectively turn what had been a close game into a rout.
“First half was a little bit rough. We have high expectations of ourselves. The score being only 21-14, we felt like that wasn’t good enough,” said Carter, who intercepted two passes and scored the game’s first touchdown on a 45-yard first-quarter scamper. “Second half, we made some adjustments and came out and played our game.”
“"At halftime, I talked to the guys and said we have certain expectations. We talked about those expectations at halftime. We came out, especially on the offensive side, and moved the ball. We made some big plays on defense, got some picks, and that really set the tone,"” added Pierce. "“After halftime, we just looked ourselves in the mirror, so to speak, and said, ‘Hey, let’s just play our game.’”"
Park View’s offensive success came exclusively through the air, as Dombkowski passed for more than 300 yards. McCarter hauled in nine receptions for 156 yards to lead all receivers, and also scored both of the Patriots’ first-half touchdowns. Dante Absher caught a five-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to cap Park View’s scoring.
Briar Woods’ multi-dimensional attack racked up close to 500 yards of total offense. Colder led all rushers with 130 yards and scored three touchdowns. Carter rushed for 64 yards and a score, while also catching three passes. JT Logan added 48 yards rushing, including a 32-yard touchdown run in the first half. McSorley completed 15 of 23 passes for 185 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“"Everybody contributed well,"” Colder said. “"Offensive line picked it up. Running game got better, passing game stayed going, and the defense played great."”
Though Briar Woods surrendered a season-high 21 points, the Falcons have still allowed just 68 through 11 games and have reeled off 10 straight wins since a season-opening 14-0 loss to Broad Run.
Briar Woods will play Loudoun County (9-2) for the second time in three weeks Nov. 18 in the region semifinals. The Falcons scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to turn a halftime tie into a 35-7 victory in the first meeting Nov. 4.
“"Just keep playing our game,"” Carter said of what the team needs to do in pursuit of earning a second straight state championship. "“The only team that can beat us is ourselves. If we do what we have to do I don’t think anybody can stop us."”
“"We just have to continue to get better and work hard in practice,"” Pierce said. “"We have Loudoun County again, so that’s going to be a battle.”"
Briar Woods 49, Park View 21
First Quarter
BW: Carter 45 run (Clements kick) 10:38
BW: Colder 3 run (Clements kick) 4:27
Second Quarter
PV: McCarter 30 pass from Dombkowski (Avila kick) 10:10
BW: Logan 32 run (Clements kick) 6:13
PV: McCarter 14 pass from Dombkowski (Avila kick) 2:09
Third Quarter
BW: Serigne 36 pass from McSorley (Clements kick) 9:32
BW: Colder 5 run (Clements kick) 9:05
BW: Serigne 4 pass from McSorley (Clements kick) 3:22
PV: Absher 5 pass from Dombkowski (Avila kick) 0:32
Fourth Quarter
BW: Colder 6 run (Clements kick) 10:31
Offensive Stats
Rushing - PV: Brooks 7-18; BW: Colder 24-130, Carter 4-64, Logan 2-48.
Passing - PV: Dombkowski 26-46-3 305 yards; BW: McSorley 15-23-0 185 yards.
Receiving - PV: McCarter 9-156, McManus 8-51, Absher 7-
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