You Pick'em: Tim Lieb and Ryan Price Win! This Week's Games: LC at Sherando, SB at W. Springfield

Three weeks into our 2009 You Pick'Em football campaign and Tim Lieb and Ryan Price are on a mission: Catch the Oracle ... aka Jason Treon.

Treon -- the Tiger Woods of  You Pick'Em previously -- has yet to find the winner's green this season and Lieb and Price, with wins on Friday, now have six wins all time. That is good enough to move the duo into a tie for third most with Ryan Rogers and Chris Tully, trailing only John Koren (10) and Treon (13).

Hold on a second, there is a knock at my front door ... whoa ... it's Kanye West and he is claiming that Treon is still the best, better than the rest ... wow, I had to push him back out the door ... poor guy ... he just won't let it go.

Sorry about that, where was I ... oh yes, You Pick'em ... pick the winner's and final scores for this week's two games and possibly Kanye West will interrupt your awards ceremony too!

This week:
Loudoun County at Sherando
Stone Bridge at West Springfield

Broad Run's Reategui to Play Soccer at Johns Hopkins

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor

Ashburn (Sept. 16, 2009) - Broad Run High School senior Danny Reategui will play soccer next year at Johns Hopkin University.

The prestigious Baltimore school plays in the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference. Last season under first-year coach Craig Appleby, Johns Hopkins went 13-5-5 and made the NCAA Sweet 16. Reategui helped Broad Run last season to a Dulles District title and a Region II runner-up and trip to the AA state semifinals where BR fell to local rival Potomac Falls.

Volleyball Round-up: Loudoun County, Potomac Falls Open Dulles District Play with Wins; Heritage Takes Broad Run in Five

Loudoun County swept Briar Woods and Potomac Falls swept Park View in Dulles District volleyball action Tuesday night.

In non-district action, Heritage rallied to defeat Broad Run in five games, 25-20, 13-25, 22-22, 25-19, 15-12, and Loudoun Valley beat Fauquier in four.

We will post the results here as they roll in ... please email results to dan.sousa[at]verizon.net.

Breaking News! Broad Run Girls Lacrosse Coach Jen Melhuish Resigns

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor

Ashburn (Sept. 15, 2009) - Broad Run High School girls lacrosse coach Jen Melhuish confirmed this evening that she has resigned from the Spartan program after four incredibly successful seasons highlighted by three consecutive trips to the VHSL state tournament.

Melhuish -- undefeated against Dulles District foes in her four-year reign -- is stepping down to have more time to watch her daughter Kate Sistare play at Virginia Tech where she has made the team as a freshmen walkon. She also wants time to watch her son, Jack Sistare, play for the Spartans boys lacrosse program where he is a sophomore this season.

"Coach Melhuish Did a remarkable job in building our program up to where it is, she will be missed," said Broad Run athletic director Jack Kirby.

Thursday's Football Schedule

This week's football games are on Thursday in advance of Rosh Hashanah which starts at sundown on Friday.

Dulles District
Freedom @ Kettle Run, 7:30
The Skinny: Break up the Eagles! 2-0 start under new coach Mick Mullins!
Loudoun County @ Sherando, 7
The Skinny: Raiders look for 3-0 start
Martinsburg (WV) @ Briar Woods, 7:30
The Skinny: Briar Woods faces tough task after 0-3 start
Potomac Falls @ Liberty, 7:30
The Skinny: PF: "Give Me Liberty!"
Wilson (DC) @ Broad Run, 7
The Skinny: We aren't sure about Wilson out of D.C. except to say, it isn't named after Mr. Wilson from Denace the Menace or Wilson the volleyball from Castaway
byes: Dominion, Park View

Liberty District
Stone Bridge @ West Springfield, 7:30
The Skinny: We thought that "tweet" from Friday showing Stone Bridge trailing Heritage heading into the 4th quarter was a Trick or Twitter.

Cedar Run
Heritage @ Colonial Forge, 7
The Skinny: We vote Heritage the best 0-2 team in the Western Hemisphere
Loudoun Valley @ Brooke Point, 7:30
The Skinny: If every Loudoun Valley student drove to the game ... then the convoy would stretch from Brooke Point to Purcellville ... honest ... we looked it up on Google Maps!

Football Scores - Sept. 11 and Sept. 12 Weekend

Dulles District

Broad Run 40, Jefferson (WV) 7
Dominion 28, Wakefield 24
Freedom 12, Brenstville 5
Handley 17, Briar Woods 14

Loudoun County 42, Warren County 7
Park View 28, Liberty 25
Potomac Falls 13, Kettle Run 7

Liberty District
Chantilly 42, Langley 20
Herndon 28, McLean 21
J.E.B. Stuart 34, Marshall 14

Madison 21, Yorktown 3
South Lakes 20 TJ 0

Stone Bridge 25, Heritage 14

Cedar Run

Battlefield 14, Osbourn Park 0
Loudoun Valley 22, Forest Park 15
Osbourn 35, Mountain View 31
Stone Bridge 25, Heritage 14

Stonewall  Jackson 7, Hylton 3

College Corner! Sistare Makes Virginia Tech Lacrosse Team + Moody Makes UVa Blue + More News From Loudoun Athletes in College!

We are going to try a weekly feature (every Wednesday!) called College Corner and it will feature the good news about Loudoun athletes in college and if you have something for us, please send it along via email, phone call or smoke signal.

Nothing Hokie About This Lax News: First up is some exciting news as Broad Run High School grad Kate Sistare ('09) has made the Virginia Tech 2010 women's lacrosse team as a walk-on. This news comes via her mother -- and Spartan coach! -- Jen Melhuish:


"Hey Dan,  Great news.  Kate went through the walk on tryouts at Virginia Tech and just was notified that she has made the 2010 Virginia Tech Women's Lacrosse Team!  We are beside excited!  Lots of hours spent working out this summer has paid off!   Go Hokies!!!!"

Sistare was the Dulles District Player of the Year in the spring and helped the Spartans to a fourth straight Dulles District title. In fact, in Sistare's four years playing for her mother at Broad Run, the Spartans did not lose a single contest to a district opponent.

Stone Bridge Handles Herndon in Volleyball

The Stone Bridge High School volleyball team handled Herndon in straight sets on Tuesday, 25-20, 25-10, 26-24. 

Leading the Bulldogs:  

Christine Beckham 11 kills, 7 digs, 6 pts, 2 aces 

Amanda Miller 36 assists, 6 digs, 3 blocks 

Lindsay Gill 21 digs, 9 pts 

Alex Heyn 7 kills, 2 blocks 

Alexis Chism  5 kills, 2 blocks 

Ryan Ackermann 10 kills, 10 pts, 7 digs 

Amy Christensen  8 digs, 8 pts

Do you have a volleyball result for VivaLoudoun.com? Email it to us (dan.sousa[at}verizon.net}

Rain Can't Stop the Smiles at NFL Flag Football Friendship Game with China

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor

Ashburn (Sept. 9, 2009) - If you judge a game by smiles then the NFL Flag Football "friendship game" played with players from China and the local NOVA Youth Flag Football league was the Super Bowl of success.


The game, played on Labor Day at the fields located at Virginia Academy Community Church, was filmed as part of the NFL Blitz television show and will be aired in an upcoming episode.

A group of Chinese students (OK -- they were actually musicians from China on an Amazing Race-like trip ... read Elizabeth Puglise's excellent report in the Loudoun Indepedent!) visiting NFL training camps over the summer were given a crash training course on the basics of flag football and then mixed between two teams made up of NOVA Youth Flag Football athletes and an exhibition game was played in what turned out to be a light rain at times.

NOVA Youth Flag Football League President Steve D'Argenio -- an accomplished poker player who has cashed at professional events including the 2007 World Series of Poker! -- help organize a fun event that included smiles all around -- from the visiting players from China who really got into the spirit of the game and from the local kids.

You Pick'Em: First They Trash Talk, Then They Win! Jane Baker and Ryder Sousa Win Week Two

In the second week of our You Pick'Em Contest we had Jane Baker -- super Stone Bridge fan -- and Ryder Sousa -- age 9 and VivaLoudoun editor Dan Sousa's son -- trading a little trash talk on the VivaLoudoun.com Facebook fan page.

Oh, and then they both went and won with Baker picking Stone Bridge 24-17 to beat Westfield, just off by four points, enough to edge Tim Lieb (24-21) and Jason "The Oracle" Treon (17-14).

Ryder -- entering fourth grade at Sanders Corner this year -- picked Broad Run by only 28-17 ... and most other people had Broad Run scoring more and Heritage less. Dave Scarangella of www.dullesdistrict.com finished runner-up with a 35-13 pick. Walter McCowat was third at 35-17.

This is Ryder' second win all-time (the last time he won ... Baker also won ... go figure!) and he boasted this weekend that he would catch Treon for the all-time lead before he enters middle school.

"Heck, I'll also take his lunch money as well!," said a cocky Sousa.

(Full disclosure: I may have made that last part up but do you have to tell the truth in blogs? I better check with my new lawyer Sue M. Big)

Baker -- famous in our household for her "Shoot It" chants during one much-too-fun freshmen basketball season -- has now won five times all-time.

So ... Will you let a kid that still thinks Pokemon are real ... win two weeks in a row!?! Come on football fans, give us your best picks for the following games of the week. You can leave the final score and winner in the comments line or just email Ryder's dad at dan.sousa[at]verizon.net


Stone Bridge at Heritage
Park View at Liberty


13 - Jason Treon

10 - John Koren

6 - Ryan Rogers, Chris Tully

5 - Jane Baker, Greg Dawson, Tim Lieb, Ryan Price

3 - Jamie Eberly, Walter McCowat, Chuck McDaniel, 

2 - Kathy Athey, Sam Plank, Ryder Sousa

1 - Steven Balik, Leon Barber, Andrew Berdhal, Zirkle Blakey, Joe Conroy, Larry Hall, Hayden Hawes, Jeff Hawes, Marco Mastrangelo, Patrick McNanley, Phil Murphy, Trevor Scales

Photos: Football - Westfield vs. Stone Bridge

Click here for the photo gallery!

Photos: Golf - Briar Woods vs. Loudoun County

Click here to go to the photo gallery to view 100+ photos from the Raiders dual meet win over the Falcons on Thursday at Raspberry Falls in Leesburg.

Stone Bridge Opens with Milestone Victory over Westfield as Blocked Field Goal with 58.3 Seconds Left Preserves 21-18 Win

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor

Ashburn (Sept. 5, 2009) - Scan the Stone Bridge High School glossy football program and you see two players -- juniors Kyle Gouveia and Spenser Rositano -- listed with the unusual designation of ATH because if you listed all the positions that these two could play, you would run out of room on the page.

Simply put Gouveia and Rositano are ATH or Athletes with a capital "A" and they proved it Friday night in Stone Bridge's thrilling 21-18 victory at home over Division 6 powerhouse Westfield before a packed stadium.

Gouveia and Rositano each scored first half rushing 3-yard touchdowns, Gouveia had an interception and then the pair hooked up on a 66-yard trick play in the third quarter -- Gouveia caught a lateral from junior quarterback Brian Rody and then heaved it across and down the field to a wide open Rositano for a touchdown -- which gave Stone Bridge the winning margin. Finally, in the fourth quarter, Gouveia keyed a time-consuming 14-play march that gave the Bulldog defense a much-needed rest and then Rositano blocked a 23-yard, game-tying field goal attempt with 58.3 seconds left.

"I got lucky. I just thank the Lord for it," said a humble Rositano after the game about his game-changing performance. "I originally wasn't going to blitz but the tight end sat and I saw a hole so I ran up and jumped as high as I could go and luckily I got a piece of the ball."

Junior running back Marcus Harris might want to have his program designation changed to workhorse as the 6-foot, 175-pounder carried the ball a bone-crunching 27 times for 91 yards in the win.

"That was the most hyped game we have every played in," said Harris with a weary smile after the contest.

Harris also had an electrifying kickoff return -- which appeared to go 87 yards for a score but it was ruled he stepped out of bounds at the Westfield 31 -- after Westfield had scored on the first play of the game, on their own trick play, a double pass which went from quarterback Danny Fenyak to Mack Spees to a wide open Gary Turner.

"It was kind of my fault on that first ball," said Rositano who blamed himself for not getting over to cover the 69-yard Westfield score, but Rositano and Gouveia turned the tables after Westfield went up, 18-14, with 5:03 left in the third quarter on Kendall Anderson's strong 42-yard touchdown run.

Rositano said the game-winning play was put into the playbook just this week at practice.

"I came in like I was going to block and then Kyle threw a perfect ball," said Rositano.

The Stone Bridge defense allowed just the one second-half touchdown, despite Westfield having great field position after the break with the Division 6 Bulldogs staring drives at the Stone Bridge 35, 42, 41 and 43.

"This was a huge victory, we played with a lot of heart tonight," said Gouveia, one of the few starters returning from the 2008 team which went 13-1.

Even though this was just an opener and a non-district contest, Stone Bridge coach Mickey Thompson wasn't downplaying the significance of beating one of the top programs in the state and one of the largest schools with nearly 3,000 students.

"This could go a long way for us," said Thompson. "There were a lot of alumni back that didn't think we could win ... I like seeing the surprise on their faces."

A victory over a larger Division 6 school is nothing new for Stone Bridge which has taken on and defeated Robinson and Oakton as well over the years.

"We have beaten the big three," said Thompson.

It appeared that Stone Bridge might be in for a long evening with Westfield's 69-yard scoring trickery on the first play of the night but James Johnson was credited with blocking the extra point -- the first of three failed conversions for Westfield --  and then Harris was off to the races to set up the first Stone Bridge score, a 9-play, 31-yard drive capped by Rositano from the 3 on third-and-goal.

Sure-footed Stone Bridge senior Abdul Shaban made the first of three point after kicks and they turned out to be important in the 3-point game.

Both teams traded 3-and-out but Westfield found itself in good field position, on the Stone Bridge 40 after harry Van Trees smothered Rositano while he attempted a pooch punt that deflected and went just 10 yards. Stone Bridge had punting woes on the night with three short punt formation efforts resulting in just 35 total yards. The Bulldogs also had seven penalties for 50 yards in the contest.

Gouveia halted the Westfield drive at the 23 as he dived and scooped up a deflection for an interception. Stone Bridge then went on a monster 17-play scoring drive that ate more than half of the first half, a total of 8:20 off the clock.

Key plays on the drive included a 13-yard pass from Rody to Ryan Lowdermilk, a 6-yard Harris run on 4th-and-1 from the Westfield 41, and a 19-yard pass play from Rody to Harris on 3rd-and-17. Faced with 4th-and-1 from the 3, Gouveia got the call and he picked up the first down and more, rumbling into the end zone to make it 14-6 Stone Bridge with 5:40 left in the first half.

Westfield responded with a 66-yard, 11-play drive that was boosted by a pass interference call. On 3rd-and-2 from the 3, Mitch Castleberry made a nice catch with out-stretched arms in the end zone with 25.5 seconds left in the first half. A two-point pass play failed to make it 14-12 at the half, Stone Bridge.

The third quarter was mostly defensive with the visitors picking off a Rody pass at midfield. That Bo Hartman interception led to Anderson's run up the left sidelines. Another 2-point pass attempt failed and it was 18-14 Westfield with 5:03 left in the third quarter.

On the very next play from scrimmage, Gouveia and Rositano executed their trick play to put Stone Bridge back ahead.

The Stone Bridge defense locked down Westfield on the next drive but Westfield got the ball back on the SB 41 after the SB couldn't move the ball. A Turner reception put Westfield in long field goal range but a 45-yard attempt was just short.

With more than 10 minutes left in the game, Stone Bridge, inserting Gouveia in as the running quarterback for Rody, went on a 14-play, run only drive that moved the ball 38 yards and ate up seven minutes.

Westfield finally held on 4th-and-10 from their own 42 with 3:33 left and Fenyak, along with running back Dylan Doty, moved the ball quickly down the field. A pass to Castleberry brought the ball down to the Stone Bridge 7 with 1:11 to go.

Fenyak spiked the ball to stop the clock as Westfield was out of time outs and then Fenyak tried on back-to-back plays to hit Turner on a fade route in the corner of the end zone but Stone Bridge corner Andre Best had the coverage.

Westfield then attempted the game-tying 23-yard field goal with just under a minute to go. The kick was a low line drive and Rositano, rushing up but behind the line of scrimmage was able to get a hand on it.

"This is a great victory but we can do a heck of a lot better," Thompson told his players as they gathered after the postgame handshake.

WF 6 6 6 0 - 18

SB 7 7 7 0 - 21

1: WF - Turner 69 pass from Spees (kick blocked) 11:41
1: SB - Rositano 3 run (Shaban kick) 7:11
2: SB - Gouveia 3 run (Shaban kick) 5:40
2: WF - Castleberry 3 pass from Fenyak (pass failed) 0:25.5
3: WF - Anderson 42 run (pass failed) 5:03
3: SB - Rositano 66 pass from Gouveia (Shaban kick) 4:40

Unofficial Stats

Rushing
Stone Bridge: Harris 27-91, Gouveia 7-35, Rositano 5-31, Rody 4-14, Girdy 3-2. Totals 46-173.

Westfield: Anderson 5-50, Doty 6-49, Ferington 3-9, Monticue 3-7, Fenyak 3-(-12). Totals 20-103

Passing
Stone Bridge: Rody 6-12-1 66, Gouveia 1-1-0 66. Totals 7-13-1 132.

Westfield: Fenyak 14-25-1 113, Spees 1-1-0 69. Totals 15-26-1 182.

Receiving

Stone Bridge: Rositano 1-66, Harris 3-38, Lowdermilk 1-11, White 1-8, Gouveia 1-7.

Westfield: Turner 6-119, Scoville 6-39, Castleberry 2-24, Anderson 1-0. 

Friday Night Football Scores

Sept. 4

Park View (1-1) 31, Millbrook (1-1) 6

Martinsburg (W.Va.) (1-0) 41, Potomac Falls (1-1) 16

Ballou (D.C.) (2-0) 47, Dominion (0-2) 9

Stone Bridge (1-0) 21, Westfield (0-1) 18

Liberty (1-0) 17, Briar Woods (0-2) 6

Broad Run (2-0) 23, Heritage (0-1) 14

Freedom (1-0) 21, Warren County (1-1) 14

Woodbridge (1-0) 27, Loudoun Valley (1-1) 13

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Never Know Who You Will Meet at Meet the Teacher Day

So I'm walking into my son's classroom this morning at Sanders Corner Elementary School in Ashburn for "Meet the Teacher" day and the first kid I see sitting at a tiny desk is this 6-foot-plus big kid wearing a brightly colored "Wake Forest" t-shirt ...

Wait a minute, that is either one big fourth grader or that is Stone Bridge High School football coach Mickey Thompson ... and sure enough, it was Thompson along with wife Kathy as their daughter Amy who is in my son Ryder's class this year.

Those of you that read my Ramblin Man blogs before know that Amy has been on some of my basketball teams and she is an incredible athlete ... like her three brothers!

Speaking of her brothers, Mickey said that Zach will redshirt this season at Wake Forest (twin brother Patrick will join Zach at Wake Forest in January). It was a late redshirt decision by the coaching staff as Thompson was doing very well in the preseason but in the end he will have a year to work and learn the system and then be a freshman next season. Wake Forest usually likes to redshirt all of its freshmen.

In the first preseason scrimmage last month, another Bulldog freshman, linebacker Mike Olson, was signaled out by the coach for a good play  and former SB, redshirt sophomore Devon Brown scored a touchdown.

I asked Mickey about tonight's game against Westfield and he gave me a tongue-in-cheek answer about how his team didn't have much of a chance ... Dave Scarangella of DullesDistrict.com said that when he hears Coach Thompson say that ... it means a 40-point Stone Bridge win!

But the truth is ... tonight's game is a big unknown for both teams. Stone Bridge is replacing its most talented senior class ever and is unveiling a senior class that has struggled more than any other football class in Stone Bridge's decade since opening. Westfield also puts out a team of unknowns as they graduated a lot of seniors.

Westfield had a lot of close games so the back-ups are unproven while Stone Bridge was up big almost every game at halftime last year which gives SB the edge as the juniors and seniors, who didn't start, saw a lot of playing time.

Stone Bridge bonus: I hear Stone Bridge is unveiling a new student in the Bulldog mascot costume tonight ... I will keep his or her identity secret ... for the right price. Check them out tonight and tell them that VivaLoudoun is onto them!

Eagles Online Tonight Live!
How about this note from new Freedom AD Matt Oblas:

The Freedom Athletic Department is excited to announce that the varsity football game vs. Warren County this Friday will be broadcast live on the radio.  The broadcast is made possible by the generosity of the Loudoun County High School Athletic Booster Club, Jeremy Huber, and the Loudoun County Athletic Department.  Freedom would like to thank Jeremy Huber for broadcasting the game free of charge.  This is a tremendous display of sponsorship and kindness.  Please tune in Friday night at 7:25pm at http://lchsabc.org and click on "Live Audio Feed" at the top.  We're thankful for the great relationship that Freedom has with Loudoun County High School.  Go Eagles!  and Go Raiders (but not on October 30:)  !)

Of course, those that have followed my coverage know that Jeremy Huber and I go back and once upon a time hosted a cable access show on Comcast. Let me know if you listen to this game and give me the scoop on how it sounded. It is great to hear that Jeremy is back on the local "airwaves" ... especially with WAGE-AM now dark.

Volleyball Round-up: Defending State Champion Loudoun County Picks Right Up Where They Left Off

The volleyball season is gearing up and two-time AA defending state champion Loudoun County picked right up where they left off last season with a win in the Surebet Invitational this week, including a victory over AAA power Stone Bridge.

Earlier in the week, Stone Bridge had swept Loudoun Valley at home. The Vikes made it to the AAA state quarterfinals last season but suffered a blow in Monday's match when senior setter Nicole Bennett went out with a twisted ankle.

This week's round-up (if your school's result is not listed, please contact us at dan.sousa[at]verizon.net.


Raiders Another Surebet

The Raiders travelled to Sherando High School for the Surebet Invitational on Wednesday Sept. 2 to open their 2009 season. For the fourth consecutive time and each year since it began, the 2007-2008 AA defending champions defeated a strong field on their way to winning the tournament.  

The Raiders starting things off by defeating Kettle Run (AA Evergreen District) 3-1 (25-8, 16-25, 25-13, 25-13).  Key contributors included Colleen Bowlds (25 assists, 12 service points), Juliane Hanna (15 kills, 7 aces, 15 service points, 6 digs), Sammy Dormio (10 kills, 4 aces, 14 service points, 4 digs, 3 blocks), Molly Baldwin (8 kills, 6 blocks), Kathleen Horvath (9 digs), Robin Marsala (7 assists, 4 points), and Gabby Serafin (4 digs).

The Raiders continued their momentum by defeating host Sherando (AA Northwestern District) 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-19).  The well-balanced attack was led by Erin Dancy (5 kills, 10 service points, 3 digs).  Other key players included Allie Cain (5 kills), Baldwin (3 kills, 4 blocks), Hanna (5 kills, 8 digs, 8 service points), Bowlds (11 assists, 7 service points), Marsala (13 assists, 9 digs), and Hannah Arnold (12 digs, 8 points, 3 aces).  

Loudoun County closed the night with a hard fought 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-21, 25-23) over AAA power Stone Bridge.  The Raiders were led by Emily Vandegrift (11 kills, 5 blocks), Hanna (14 kills, 8 digs), Dormio (6 kills, 8 digs, 10 points), Dancy (6 kills, 4 points), Horvath (13 digs, 7 points), Arnold, Marsala (23 assists, 8 digs), and Bowlds (14 assists).  

Loudoun County begins their season 3-0 and hosts a tournament next Saturday against Flint Hill, Robinson, and James Wood High Schools with matches at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Flint Hill has picked up the services of junior transfer Tori Janowski, who was the Dulles District co-Player of the Year last season as a sophomore at Potomac Falls.


Stone Bridge played well in the tournament, defeating Sherando and Kettle Run before losing to Loudoun County. The Bulldogs took Sherando in five games, 25-10, 16-25, 24-26, 25-13, 15-10 and swept Kettle Run, 25-11, 25-14, 25-6.

Leading the Bulldogs (3 match totals):
Christine Beckham 37 kills, 16 pts, 2 aces, 17 digs
Amanda Miller 97 assists, 28 pts, 5 aces, 24 digs
Lindsay Gill 62 digs, 21 pts, 2 aces
Alex Heyn 16 kills, 6 blocks
Alexis Chism  13 kills, 5 blocks
Ryan Ackermann 27 kills, 42 pts, 10 aces, 22 digs
Amy Christensen  16 kills, 29 digs, 13 pts, 3 aces

In the 25-20, 25-19, 25-19 win over Loudoun Valley, the Bulldogs stats were:
Christine Beckham 14 kills, 8 digs, 4 pts
Amanda Miller 28 assists, 4 blocks
Lindsay Gill 22 digs, 5 pts, 4 aces
Alex Heyn 6 kills, 2 blocks
Alexis Chism  7 pts, 4 kills
Ryan Ackermann 6 pts, 5 kills
Amy Christensen  16 pts, 9 digs

Stone Bridge swept the freshmen and junior varsity matches as well that night, which may be a first for the Bulldogs against the Vikings.

The injury to Bennett was a turning point early in the match.

"They were totally thrown off their gameplan. You had to see an injury happen like that," said Stone Bridge coach Jill Raschiatore.

Loudoun Valley coach Laird Johnson agreed.

"It was like a slap in the face," said Johnson. "It took us a game and half to adjust. I thought they hung in there pretty well."

Morgan Clark led LV with 11 kills and Brittany Brown had 11 assists. Lindsey Phipps had nine solo blocks and Kristen Martin had eight digs.



Freedom: The Eagles opened the 2009 Dulles District season with a sweep over Dominion.

Freshmen:  2-0;  25-23, 25-14
JV:  2-0; 25-20, 25-17
Varsity:  3-0; 25-15, 26-24, 25-15

Loudoun Valley Senior Morgan Clark Will Play Division I Volleyball at Bucknell

We update our college choice chart with Loudoun Valley High School senior volleyball player Morgan Clark.

This talented Vike is headed to NCAA Division I Bucknell and last year she helped LV to the state quarterfinals while earning all-district, all-region and all-state honors.

And a bonus, Clark has written for us in the past and helped with our Viking coverage. We can honestly say that she is a good all-around kid and we wish her the best of luck in college and beyond!


VivaLoudoun Class of 2010 College Choice Chart
Check out where the Loudoun athletes will be playing in college next year!
Are we missing somebody? Want us to cover your college signing? Email us at dan.sousa[at]verizon.net.

Athlete	High School	Sport	Level	College
Megan Beckwith	Heritage	Volleyball	D1	Colorado
Anna Blessing	Broad Run	Softball	D1	Binghamton
Calle Brown	Loudoun County	Soccer	D1	Virginia
Morgan Clark	Loudoun Valley	Volleyball	D1	Bucknell
Amber Cook	Loudoun Valley	Soccer	D1	Old Dominion
Chris Daddio	Loudoun Valley	Lacrosse	D1	Syracuse
Lindsay Gill	Stone Bridge	Volleyball	D1	Coastal Carolina
Julianne Hanna	Loudoun County	Volleyball	D1	New Mexico
Derek Maltz	Stone Bridge	Lacrosse	D1	Syracuse
Ashley Manning	Loudoun Valley	Soccer	D1	Virginia Tech
T.J. Peeler	Broad Run	Football	D1	Pittsburgh
Elisa Scudder	Broad Run	Volleyball	D1	Dartmouth
Conner Shanosky	Potomac Falls	Soccer	D1	Virginia Tech
Jennifer Skogerboe	Stone Bridge	Soccer	D1	Connecticut
Garret Swankowski	Loudoun Valley	Lacrosse	D1	Virginia
Chase Williams	Loudoun County	Football	D1	Virginia Tech

Some Stats from Our Chart
Total Athletes: 16
Schools: Loudoun Valey (5), Broad Run (3), Loudoun County (3), Stone Bridge (3), Heritage (1), Potomac Falls (1).
Sports: Soccer (5), Volleyball (5), Lacrosse (3), Football (2), Softball (1).
Colleges: Virginia Tech (3), Syracuse (2), Virginia (2), 9 with one athlete

Photos: Volleyball - Loudoun Valley at Stone Bridge

Click here to see the photo gallery

Football Results, Schedule

Aug. 28

Potomac Falls 42, Jefferson County (W.Va.) 0

Millbrook 21, Briar Woods 14

Broad Run 40, Fauquier 6

Sherando 24,at Park View 21

Loudoun Valley 41, Dominion 0

Loudoun County 38, Musselman (W.Va.) 0

Sept. 4

Park View (0-1) at Millbrook (1-0), 7

Potomac Falls (1-0) at Martinsburg (W.Va.) (0-0), 7

Ballou (D.C.) (1-0) at Dominion (0-1), 7:30

Westfield (0-0) at Stone Bridge (0-0), 7:30

Briar Woods (0-1) at Liberty (0-0), 7:30

Heritage (0-0) at Broad Run (1-0), 7:30

Warren County (1-0) at Freedom (0-0), 7:30

Loudoun Valley (1-0) at Woodbridge (0-0), 7:30

Watching Raiders Wrap up a Dulles District Golf Title is Best Medicine for Laycock

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor

Leesburg (Sept. 4, 2009) - Loudoun County High School golf coach John Laycock -- recovering from his second heart attack in a three-month span -- isn't cleared by his doctor to go back to work yet but that didn't stop the veteran coach from watching his Raiders wrap up their first ever AA Dulles District regular season title Thursday at Raspberry Falls.

"Between my doctor and my wife, they keep good clamps on me but it was a thrill to be out here today and see the players and parents," said Laycock after Loudoun County (4-0 in district) defeated two-time defending district regular-season champion Briar Woods (4-1), 150-158 in a nine-hole match on a beautiful evening.

The Dulles District regular season champion is determined by the two mini tournaments in August -- both won by Loudoun County -- and by the dual meet season with each of the three weighted equally. Freedom (3-1) finished runner-up to the Raiders in both events and needed to finish at least two spots ahead of the Raiders in the dual meet standings, which now appears almost impossible.

"This win today puts us back in regionals and that's a good feeling," said Laycock.

Loudoun County came on strong last season, capturing both the Dulles District tournament and Region II tournament titles. The Raiders, however, have never won a Dulles District regular-season title and by claiming the 2009 crown, LC becomes the fifth different school to win the title since 2004.

Andrew Brenneman, with three birdies on his scorecard, led the Raiders with a 35 followed by Brantley Kushner (38), Kevin Cook (38) and Sam Early (39). Brenneman had been struggling with the putter but he got them to drop on Thursday.

"I have been hitting the ball well and I finally made some putts today," said Brenneman.

Laycock hadn't been to a full Raider match since suffering a heart attack on Aug. 18, but he surprised the team by showing up to the very end of last week's victory over Park View.

"We were kind of shocked to see him," said Brenneman. "It is good to have Coach Laycock out here again. We have been missing him."

Former Loudoun County golf coach John Brown has been standing in for Laycock and was at the match Thursday, urging Laycock to hurry home and rest up. Laycock suffered his first heart attack in mid-May while awaiting a kidney and pancreas transplant in Cleveland. The bad news was that he didn't get the needed transplants but the good news is that he had the heart attack in one of the top hospitals for heart surgery in the nation.

Laycock is hoping to get the O.K. to get back to work when he visits the doctor on Sept. 22, that is just one day prior to the Dulles District tournament. Despite wrapping up the district title Thursday, Laycock wants his team to stay sharp as in four of the past seasons, the regular season champion has not gone on to win the district tournament.

"We really need to keep our edge," said Laycock.

The Raiders have a key match against Freedom on Sept. 10 and then a nice non-district tri-meet on Sept. 15 with AAA powerhouse Loudoun Valley and AA foe Briar Woods. The Falcons -- with two regular season and two district tournament titles in the past three seasons -- are looking for a little revenge on the Raiders.

"On any given day we can catch them," said Briar Woods coach Bob Vitti. "We had our chances today but had just a few errant shots."

Adam Ochs led Briar Woods with a 36 followed by Jon Howard (39), Nathan Burcak (41) and Nick Vazzana (42).

Past Dulles District Champions
Regular Season - District Tournament
2009: Loudoun County - ???
2008: Briar Woods - Loudoun County
2007: Briar Woods - Briar Woods
2006: Potomac Falls - Briar Woods
2005: Heritage - Loudoun County
2004 - Loudoun Valley - Heritage
2003 - Loudoun Valley - Loudoun Valley
2002 - Potomac Falls - Potomac Falls
2001 - Potomac Falls - Potomac Falls

You Pick'Em Week Two: Walter McCowat and Ryan Rogers are the Big Winners in Week One

Well, it took awhile to post the results from Week One in You Pick'Em so there isn't much time to get in your votes for Week Two ... the Big Winners for Week One were Walter McCowat -- big-time Dominion Titan booster and the original LPS Super Fan and now VivaLoudoun Super Fan! -- and Ryan Rogers, Briar Woods High School wrestling coach.

More on their wins later but first, time to pick tonight's big games ... here is how you play. Simply pick the winner and final score from these two games:

Westfield vs. Stone Bridge
Broad Run vs. Heritage


Now, back to our winners ... McCowat had Loudoun Valley winning 21-7 which was off by 27 points total in the 41-0 game but most pickers had the Titans with at least two scores and McCowat was able to squeeze out a one-point victory over Rogers and the other "Ryan" ... Heritage baseball/Freedom golf coach Ryan Price, and a two point win over Greg Dawson.

Rogers was the clear winner in the other game with a 31-21 pick of Sherando, off by just seven points. Tim Lieb and Dawson were back, 12 points off. With the win, Rogers ties Potomac Falls assistant athletic director Chris Tully for third all-time with six total wins. McCowat has won three times overall.

The Oracle (aka Jason Treon) had a tough opening week and we understand that he has sent his crystal ball out for a detailing.

Leave your picks in the comments section for the world to see or email me (dan.sousa[at]verizon.net). Good luck!

For those keeping score at home, the All-Time Winners Chart looks like this:

13 - Jason Treon

10 - John Koren

6 - Ryan Rogers, Chris Tully

5 - Greg Dawson, Tim Lieb, Ryan Price

4- Jane Baker

3 - Jamie Eberly, Walter McCowat, Chuck McDaniel, 

2 - Kathy Athey, Sam Plank

1 - Steven Balik, Leon Barber, Andrew Berdhal, Zirkle Blakey, Joe Conroy, Larry Hall, Hayden Hawes, Jeff Hawes, Marco Mastrangelo, Patrick McNanley, Phil Murphy, Trevor Scales, Ryder Sousa

Photos: Potomac Falls vs. Jefferson WV

Follow this link to view more photos. More will be posted at this site later tonight!

It took Four Days but Panthers Secure Season-Opening Victory

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor

Sterling - Potomac Falls High School football coach Scott Woodlief thought his team was ready to play its season opener last Friday. After it was postponed to Saturday, he thought his team was really ready to play. Then the game was delayed deep into the first half with PF ahead 14-0 against Jefferson, W.V.

Would the Panthers be ready to finish the game off on Monday night?

"How do you get a team up for the same team, three different days?," wondered Woodlief.

No worries for Woodlief as his young team -- just 10 seniors after graduating a group of 20 last year that took the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time in school history -- took care of business on a glorious late summer evening, pounding the visitors for a decisive 42-0 non-district win.

Some new starters for PF made a great first impression with sophomore running back Tyler Caldwell stepping in for the graduated Michael Baker and scoring twice.

"There were a lot of jitters, the first time coming out here," said Caldwell who had to wait four days total to finish his first varsity start. "Waiting to finish this game off was exciting but also stressful because you had to get ready every day, but it was worth it."

Junior Zach Hobby started at quarterback, replacing 3-year starter and coaches son, Greg Woodlief. Hobby ran the ball well out of some option sets and showed an ability to get the ball into the hands of senior playmaker Tarrell Owens, who had a 18-yard touchdown catch, a 48-yard reception and a 92-yard punt return for a score called back by a penalty that didn't really affect the return.

"He's a safety valve, every quarterback would love to have him," said Hobby.

Owens, however, didn't outscore fellow senior, lineman Mason Mehalic, who recovered a fumble for a score early in the contest on Saturday night and then picked up a fumble in the fourth quarter and rumbled 30 yards for a touchdown.

PF had scored Saturday on Mehalic's fumble recover and a Caldwell rushing score. On Monday they took over with 4:48 to go in the first half and the ball on the Panther 40. PF went right to work with Hobby breaking off an 8-yard run followed by Caldwell for a first down at midfield.

Hobby hit junior Eric Davis for seven yards and then kept the ball for five after a 5-yard penalty against PF. Hobby completed an 18-yard pass to Owens to move the ball to the 25 and Caldwell, a tough runner to bring down despite being listed at 5-foot-5, 143-pounds in the program, went for seven yards.

Hobby then put the ball up for Ownes on the fade route in the corner of the end zone and the athletic 6-foot-2 receiver went up and caught the ball for the score to make it 21-0.

In the second half, Hobby's 27-yard keeper on the option set up a Caldwell score from the 1. At one point in the game, Hobby and Caldwell were so deceptive on the option that the officials blew a play dead with Caldwell gang-tackled at the line of scrimmage ... only Hobby had the ball and was turning the corner near the PF bench when the whistles blew.

Mehalic's return made it 35-0 and the PF second offensive unit got into the act with back-up quarterback sophomore Kyle Bulger hitting senior Harrison Kee for a 15-yard score with less than a minute left in the contest.

Potomac Falls 42, Jefferson WV 0
Jefferson 0 0   0  0   - 0
PF          7 14 7 14 - 42
PF - Mehalic fumble recovery
PF - Caldwell run
PF - Owens 18 pass from Hobby
PF - Caldwell 1 run
PF - Mehalic 30 fumble return
PF - Kee 15 pass from Bulger

Stone Bridge Sweeps Loudoun Valley in Volleyball

Stone Bridge swept Loudoun Valley Monday night in volleyball, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19.

Video from PF's 42-0 Win over Jefferson WV

Sophomore Tyler Caldwell scores his second TD in his varsity debut as Potomac Falls blanks Jefferson WV, 42-0, in a game that was started Saturday and finished Monday after a weather postponement.