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Special to Viva Loudoun
(Dec. 7, 2012) - If the Briar Woods High School team is to capture a third consecutive VHSL Division 4 football state championship they will have to do it in front of the biggest crowd they have ever played in front of as they face a Heritage High School team Saturday at 4:30 p.m. that is located just three miles from Liberty University’s Williams Stadium.
To say the least, the crowd will be overwhelmingly pro-Pioneer. The weather forecast for the Saturday Dec. 8 contest is for a high of 64 degrees, perfect weather for Brambleton football fans to take a leisurely drive to Lynchburg and at try to quieten the "home team" fan contingent.
The Falcons bring a 14-0 record and a state best 28-game winning streak to the game versus 12-1 and five game winning streak for the Heritage Pioneers. Don’t however, make much of that discrepancy. The Pioneers’ only loss this season was a very close decision to undefeated Brookville, a team that will be playing for the Division 3 championship in game No. 1 of Saturday's doubleheader.
The Falcons have dominated throughout the 2012 playoffs scoring 152 points while allowing only 36.
Nobody expects them to lay those kind of numbers on Heritage. The Pioneers have a balanced offense averaging 32 points per game. They gained 2,312 yards in the air and 2,080 via the rush.
In one more game the Falcons gained 2,499 by air and 3,219 on the ground. The difference in the two offenses may be in depth.
Heritage quarterback Jevontae Parrish is the key to both the air and ground attack. He completed 136 of his 237 passing attempts for 2,292 yards and 27 touchdowns against nine interceptions.
He is more than matched by Trace McSorley of the Falcons. McSorley completed 160 of his 239 passing attempts for 2,420 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions. McSorley has also been very productive running the ball with 670 yards and seven touchdowns on 87 carries.
Parrish, on the other hand, carries virtually the entire running load for his team having gained 1,454 yards on 261 carries with 17 touchdowns. The Falcon’s top rusher is running back Cory Colder who on 229 carries gained 1,168 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Heritage has two main receivers: WR Ishantil Rosser nabbed 46 passes and WR Demonte Elliot caught 32. They averaged 17 and 16 yards per reception respectively. The Falcons feature three receivers. TE Cam Serigne had 52 catches averaging 17 yards per reception. WR Devin Ramos’ 34 receptions averaged 18 yards per catch while WR Brandon Polk averaged 14 yards per catch with 32 receptions.
The Falcons’ defense has one clear focus: Parrish is the man to stop. The Pioneers won’t have the luxury of being able to key on any one Falcon. But if that seems to favor Briar Woods, you may want to reconsider. Every team Heritage faced this year keyed on Parrish and only one of them, the Brookville Bees were able to leave the field with a victory, 19-17.
Heritage’s advantage will come in the advantage a huge home crowd brings to a football team. But if any team in Virginia can handle a big, hostile crowd it would be the Falcons. They have the kind of confidence that only two straight state championships can provide.
The matchup looks like an even one. Both teams figure to put points on the scoreboard. We might see a shootout in which the last team to handle the ball wins. But if either team can come up with a defensive alignment that puts their opponent off their offensive game, they will be the team carting championship hardware back to their school.
Falcon fans hope that the title trophy has to travel farther than three miles.
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AYFL is the main sponsor of Viva Loudoun's state title football coverage!
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Dr. Ann Hebda is a sponsor of Viva Loudoun's state title football coverage!
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