Cross Country: Loudoun Valley Girls Qualify for AAA State Meet with Third Place NW Region Finish

(Nov. 6, 2009) - The Loudoun Valley High School girls, with five freshmen and sophomores scoring points, qualified for the AAA state cross country meet with a third place finish Thursday at the Northwest Region meet at Panorama Farms.

The Vikes were paced by sophomore Audrey Houghton who took 7th with a 19:20.3. Also scoring for LC: freshman Alex Juzbasich 20th (20:10.8), sophomore Michelle Crowley 34th (20:52.3), freshman Kendall French 39th (20:58.9) and freshman Jackie Scott 50th (21:20.4).

The Osbourn Park girls won the meet with Colonial Forge runner-up. Also qualifying for the state meet this Saturday in The Plains was fourth place Mountain View.

The LV boys took 7th with senior Joel Martinez placing 25th with a 17:26.2. The Heritage boys were 12th with junior Matthew Holton 37th (17:36.7). Mountain View won the boys race followed by Albemarle, Stafford and Colonial Forge.

The Heritage girls were 12th with junior Jordan Gold taking 57th with a 21:42.1.

Cross Country: Northern Region Meet - SB Girls Place 12th

(Nov. 6, 2009) - The Oakton High School boys and Lake Braddock girls captured team titles at Thursday's AAA Northern Region cross country meet at Burke Lake.

The Stone Bridge girls took 12th with Caroline Snell running a 19:47 to place 63rd. On the boys side, Nick Driskill for the Bulldogs ran a 16:24 to finish 43rd.

Christopher Foley of Chantilly edged Andrew McMullen of Oakton at the tape for the boys title as they both clocked 14:59. Lake Braddock, West Potomac and Centreville all move onto the boys AAA state meet along with Oakton. Powerhouse TJ misses States for the first time in a decade.

On the girls side, Paige Kvaretunas of West Springfield won with a 17:36. Her Spartans advance along with champ Lake Braddock, West Potomac and TJ. The state meet is a week from Saturday in The Plains.

Volleyball: Region II Bracket

Region II Volleyball Bracket
Quarterfinals - Nov. 10
No. 8 Fauquier at No. 1 Western Albemarle
No. 5 Broad Run at No. 4 Sherando
No. 6 Fluvanna at No. 3 Kettle Run
No. 7 Millbrook at No. 2 Loudoun County

Semifinals at higher seed - Nov. 12
Finals at higher seed - Nov. 14

Volleyball: Spartans Clinch Region II Bid and Set-up Broad Run-Loudoun County Part IV

Leesburg (Nov. 6, 2009) - Freedom and Briar Woods for the first time both advanced to the AA Dulles District volleyball semifinals but the 5-year-old schools could not stop the inevitable ... a fourth showdown this season between Loudoun County and Broad Run.

Loudoun County (20-2) defeated Freedom (11-11) in the first Dulles District semifinals Thursday at Loudoun County High School to end the Eagles best-ever season, 25-12, 25-18, 25-13. In the second semifinal, Broad Run (16-6) earned a Region II bid with a sweep over Briar Woods (13-8), 25-13, 25-20, 25-20.

Broad Run defeated LC in Leesburg earlier in the season but the Raiders beat the Spartans twice in three days a week ago to earn a share of the district title and the top seed in the tournament. The fourth meeting -- the district finals -- is set for 7 p.m. at Loudoun County.

Regional match-ups are set with Loudoun County hosting Millbrook next Tuesday and Broad Run travelling to Sherando.

Loudoun County def. Freedom
The Raiders ruined Freedom's hopes of the Regional playoffs with a 3-0 sweep Thursday night.

Loudoun County was led by: Juliane Hanna (9 kills, 7 digs, 3 aces, 5 points), Molly Baldwin (4 kills, 3 blocks), Jenna Strange (4 kills, 3 blocks), Danielle Cullen (3 kills), Rachel Arigo (3 kills, 1 ace), Robin Marsala (3 kills, 11 assists, 5 points, 4 digs), Colleen Bowlds (14 assists, 4 points, 2 aces, 2 digs), Gabby Serafin (11 digs, 4 points, 1 ace), Kathleen Horvath (16 points, 7 digs, 4 aces), Hannah Arnold (8 points, 6 digs, 2 aces), Erin Dancy (2 kills), Sammy Dormio (4 digs, 2 points, 2 assists).

Volleyball: Northern Region Bracket

The Northern Region volleyball pairings have been released and four of the region's top five teams according to the Northern Region Volleyball Coaches Association ended up on the same side of the bracket meaning that between No. 1 Chantilly, No. 2 Stone Bridge, No. 4 South County and No. 5 Herndon, only one will advance to the regional title game and qualify for the state tournament.

Northern Region Volleyball Bracket
First Round - Nov. 9
Oakton (Concorde #4) at Hayfield (National #1)
West Springfield (Patirot #3) at Langley (Liberty #2)
Madison (Liberyt #3) at Woodson (Patriot #2)
Edison (National #4) at Robinson (Concorde #1)
Fairfax (Liberty #4) at South County (Patriot #1)
Washington-Lee (National #3) at Chantilly (Concorde #2)
Herndon (Concorde #3) at Yorktown (National #2)
Lake Braddock (Patriot #4) at Stone Bridge (Liberty #1)

Quarterfinals at higher seed - Nov. 10
Semifinals at Centreville - Nov. 12
Finals at Centreville - Nov. 14

Volleyball: Northwest Region Tournament Brackets

AAA Northwest Region Volleyball Tournament

Quarterfinals - Tues. Nov. 10

Heritage (Cedar Run #2) at Albemarle (Commonwealth #1)

Osbourn Park (Cardinal #2) at Patrick Henry-Roanoke (Western Valley #1)

Colonial Forge (Commonwealth #2) at Loudoun Valley (Cedar Run #1)

Franklin County (Western Valley #2) at Forest Park (Cardinal #1)

Semifinals - Thurs. Nov. 12

Finals - Sat. Nov. 14

Volleyball: Heritage Turns the Table on Loudoun Valley and Sweeps Vikes to Win Cedar Run Tournament

Purcellville (Nov. 6, 2009) - The Heritage High School volleyball team was swept earlier in the season at home by Loudoun Valley but the Pride turned the tables on the Vikes Thursday and swept Valley in the finals of the AAA Cedar Run District tournament, 25-19, 25-20, 25-21.

For Loudoun Valley (17-5) the loss snapped a 15-match winning streak. Heritage improves to 15-7 and both teams advance to next week's Northwest Region tournament. Heritage travels to Albemarle.

For the Pride Thursday:
Bernett-17 kills, 4 blocks 8 digs
Beckwith-24 digs, 6 points, 1 ace
Montanez-5 points, 2 aces
Le Maitre-6 kills, 4 points, 1 block
Thompson-6 kills, 3 blocks
Yokoyama-19 points, 2 aces, 26 assists
Young-5 kills, 2 blocks

Volleyball: Stone Bridge Rallies to Win Liberty District Tournament Title but Bulldogs Lose Setter Miller

Ashburn (Nov. 6, 2009) - The Stone Bridge High School volleyball team rallied Thursday to capture the AAA Liberty District tournament title with a 23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-14 win over Langley, but the Bulldogs lost setter Amanda Miller with a broken leg suffered in the third game.

Carl Lukat of the Loudoun Times-Mirror reports that Miller has a broken fibula.

It was the 15th straight win for the Bulldogs who improved to 21-2 on the season and will host a Northern Region first round match against Lake Braddock on Monday at 7 p.m.

Amanda Miller, Amy Christensen, and Christine Beckham were named to the all-tournament team.

Leading the Bulldogs Thursday:
Christine Beckham 17 kills, 18 pts, 4 aces, 14 digs
Amanda Miller 24 assists, 3 kills, 4 pts, 1 ace, 2 blocks
Lindsay Gill 25 digs, 4 pts
Alex Heyn 3 kills, 4 blocks
Alexis Chism 3 kills, 6 pts, 1 ace, 2 blocks
Ryan Ackermann 10 kills, 4 blocks
Amy Christensen 4 kills,12 pts, 1 ace, 10 digs
Vanessa Paige 11 assists, 5 digs

You Pick'Em: Price Was Right Again! And Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree as Little Sousa Wins

You Pick'emVille (Nov. 6, 2009) - Freedom High School golf coach/Heritage High School baseball coach/You Pick'Em Pro Ryan Price has won yet again to move into third place all-time on our Winner's List.

Price with eight victories now only trails John Koren (where have you been John?) with 10 and Jason (aka The Oracle) Treon with 14. We think Treon has had his crystal ball at the dry cleaners this season.

Price picked Park View 35-7 over Dominion and the final was 31-0.

In our other game, it was VivaLoudoun.com editor Dan Sousa's son Ryder ... all of nine years old but the kid runs his own fantasy football leagues, spends Sunday's watching NFL Red Zone and watches Sportscenter more than he watches SpongeBob ... winning for a fourth time! Ryder had Valley winning 28-13 and most people had the Pride scoring a lot more points with the final 35-0!

At this rate, young Ryder will be knocking on the top spots before he hits high school! Come on' adults ... time to man up!

This week's game: Dominion at Briar Woods (on the Falcons website, it list their home games as being played at the Falcon's Lair ... doesn't that sound like a TV show from the 80s ... previously on Falcon's Lair ... MaryJo revealed a big secret!) This game has playoff implications as the Titans need a win to guarantee a D3 spot and the Falcons have outside hopes of squeaking into the D4 picture (they need Fauquier and Louisa lose as well).

Simply send us your final score for the game ... email it to dan.sousa[at]verizon.net.
or
Leave it as a comment for the world to see on this post
or
Leave it on our Fan Page on Facebook
or 
Twitter it to us!

Fine print: Employee of VivaLoudoun, if there were any employees, would be eligible to play. Friends and family are eligible to play. New York Yankees players are not eligible to play ... they win too much. Soccer moms are encouraged to play. As are NASCAR dads and World Series of Poker grandmothers. Hey, this print is really, really small ... not sure if anybody can read it!

All-time You Pick'Em Winner's List
14 - Jason Treon (aka The Oracle)
10 - John Koren
8 - Ryan Price
7 - Tim Lieb, Chris Tully
6 - Jane Baker, Ryan Rogers
5 - Greg Dawson
4 - Walter McCowat, Ryder Sousa
3 - Jamie Eberly, Chuck McDaniel, Sam Plank
2 - Kathy Athey
1 - Steven Balik, Leon Barber, Andrew Berdhal, Zirkle Blakey, Joe Conroy, Larry Hall, Hayden Hawes, Jeff Hawes, Carl Lukat, Marco Mastrangelo, Patrick McNanley, Phil Murphy, Trevor Scales, Dave Scarangella

Attention Photographers! Your Photos Wanted!

VivaLoudoun is looking for photographers to put up their quality shots on our SmugMug account ... reach our audience where more than 160,000 photos have already been viewed since Nov. 1.

If you are a parent that wants to share your shots of your favorite team ... we would love them. If you are a professional or semi-pro shooter and want to sell your high-quality shots via our site ... we will market your photos here on our site with widgets and slide shows and best of all, you earn 90 percent of the profit on each sale!

Email VivaLoudoun editor Dan Sousa at dan.sousa[at]verizon.net today to get set up and start sharing your photos!

Football: Peeler Suspension Lifted

Well ... aren't going to say "we told you so" but our first thought over the weekend was that the "T.J. Peeler will be suspended for Broad Run's semifinal football game in three weeks" was basically a non-story as it was likely to be overturned on appeal and now the Washington Post's Paul Tenorio is reporting as such ... read the article here! Now ... onto the actual football!

Volleyball: Dulles Semifinals and Cedar Run, Liberty Finals Highlight the Schedule

(Nov. 5, 2009) - There are two district tournament titles on the line tonight and three teams have their season on the line in volleyball action.

In the AA Dulles District, upstart Freedom takes on top seed Loudoun County at 6 p.m. as the Eagles (11-10) advance to the semifinals for the first time in school history. If  the Raiders (19-2) prevail then the second semifinal between Broad Run (15-6) and Briar Woods (13-7) will be played with a Region II tournament bid on the line for the winner with the loser ending its season.

"The Eagles won their first ever district tournament match by maintaining constant pressure on the opponents," reported Freedom coach Dave Tsuda. "Tonight every Eagle player made valuable and timely contributions to tonight's performance via an exceptional defense of digs and blocks, consistent serves, accurate passing, or best ever show of spikes and down-the-line shots."

In the AAA Cedar Run District it is the third meeting of the year between volleyball rivals Heritage and Loudoun Valley with the Pride (14-7) travelling to Purcellville for a 7 p.m. title match. The regular-season champion Vikes (17-4) swept the two-game series thus far. Both teams advance to the Northwest Region tournament next week but only one will earn a banner tonight.

In the AAA Liberty District host Stone Bride (20-2) will play for the district title at 7 p.m. tonight against Langley. A win would earn the Bulldogs a top seed in next week's Northern Region tournament. Both teams advance regardless of tonight's outcome.

On the Sidelines (or Sleeping) with Dan Sousa: Post No. 300! Single Parenting and Websites Don't Mix

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa
A personal blog by VivaLoudoun editor Dan Sousa ... who rambles on, so you have been warned

So I guess the "Sleeping" with Dan Sousa in the title of the blog is going to drive the wrong type of traffic to VivaLoudoun! There is a reason for it ...

You see, this week my wife (known in our household as She Who Actually Earns Paycheck) Sharon is on a business trip to Brazil this week ... a city I have never heard of ... Curitiba. (I know what you are saying, Gov. Sanford took a "drive on the Argentinian coast" and my wife goes on a "business trip to Curitiba" but she sent me a text the other morning saying she had been travelling for nine hours and had yet to reach her destination.

Dan, excuse me ... but you were attempting to explain the "Sleeping with Dan Sousa" title and now you are talking about your wife being out of town ... should we send social services over to your house to rescue your two boys?


Whew, thank goodness for that voice in my  head (it always come out in bold and in italics in print!) so to get to the point (rambling ... rambling) I'm doing the "Single Parent" thing this week with a big help from my 17-year-old who is super mature and big help.

With volleyball playoffs, I've been wanting to do a lot of work at night after returning from contests but my 9-year-old and the World Series on TV is a tough combo to beat. First, my son is a big, big sports fan (shocker, huh?) and he begs to "fall asleep" to the World Series ... in my bed of course as he does not have a TV in his room.

At age 46, however, gone are the days that I can "lie down for a second" after 9 p.m. ... I might as well take laughing gas because I can go from counting Yankee runners crossing the plate to counting sheep in a heartbeat ... soon, I'm waking up at 2 a.m. and my bed is overran with not only my 9-year-old sacked out but now two kittens (they are a year old at least ... not sure when you become a cat ... there isn't like a ceremony or anything) are curled up in bed as well. The website will have to wait until morning!

Post No. 300: Yahoo! This blog is post No. 300 and we didn't start VivaLoudoun until mid-August and didn't really get the ball rolling into September ... a lot of people still don't know about us so spread the word ... we are betting that we have had more coverage of all prep sports, not just football, than any other Loudoun-based media outlet this fall ... and it will only get better as more coaches and parents and players find out about us!

Post and Peeler: Here I complained last week that I didn't really think that the T.J. Peeler "thing" warranted a lead story in the Post preps section (considering how anemic their Loudoun coverage has been since their Loudoun online section folded its tent ... I would view it differently if they had solid coverage out her but when they ignore a dozen good stories to focus on one controversial story ... well ...) and then they go and put the story on A1 ... wow, move over Afghanistan ... take a backseat health care reform ... we got "chest-bumping" to talk about.

(Not that it wasn't a good story by Paul Tenorio and we must say we surely miss his top-notch coverage out here and find the swimming thing not a good use of his writing and reporting talents but love that he got part of the Redskins gig. Talk about your future sports journalist rock star ... we think we will see Paul on ESPN before he hits 30).

Overall, however, as the Post used to say in its advertisements ... "I don't get it."

Coverage Ahead: Photos Wanted! We can't be everywhere at once so if you "cover" a game with your camera (no likely better than mine) and want to share your photos with VivaLoudoun and even sell them via our SmugMug site ... just email us. We are offering all photographers access to our photo site and between now and the end of the year, any photos you sell ... you can keep 100 percent of the profit!

Our plan this week is to cover the Dulles District volleyball doubleheader at Loudoun County Thursday night as well as chat with the Raider linebackers on a feature story for football. Look for that on Friday. Then on Friday we are headed to Stone Bridge to see if the Bulldogs can wrap up a 9-1 season and yet another outright Liberty District title! On Saturday it is the Dulles District volleyball finals at Loudoun County ... perhaps a LC vs. BR Part IV?!?

Of course all of this is subject to blackout ... er, Dan Sousa falling asleep before making an event!

Video: Heritage Senior Megan Beckwith Postmatch after Pride's Win Over Battlefield Tuesday in Cedar Run Semifinals

Cross Country: Potomac Falls Boys, LC's Curtin Win Region II Titles; PF, LC Girls Qualify for States

Charlottesville (Nov. 4, 2009) - The Region II cross country meet has been a reason for heartache over the years for Dulles District teams but it was mostly smiles Tuesday at Panorama Farms as area runners made their marks including a second straight team title for Potomac Falls and an individual title for Loudoun County High School junior Tommy Curtin with a 16:08.12 run.

In addition, both the Potomac Falls and Loudoun County girls qualified for states with a 3-4 finish and Raider senior Julie Strange (19:03.81) finished second with PF's Christina Lee (19:41.81) and Natalie Wright (19:42.18) placing 5-6. Individually, Freedom's Thorpe Lichtenberg qualified for the AA state meet with an 8th place finish at 16:53.31.

The Panther boys had never won a regional cross country title until last year but now they have back-to-back titles thanks to a pack performance with three runners breaking 17:00 -- Alvaro Morales (16:58.51) in 10th, Nicholas Morgensen (16:59.60) in 12th and Juan Campos (16:59.93) in 13th.

Potomac Falls won the meet with 69 points, easily ahead of runner-up Skyline (93). Brentsville (122) and Monticello (152) also qualified for the state meet. Loudoun County was 7th with Dominion 10th and Freedom 12th.

On the girls side, Brentsville won with 64 points, edging out Western Albemarle at 71. Potomac Falls scored 88 for third and LC was fourth at 96. Raider Becca Hinch  helped the cause with a 20:07.23 run to take 13th.

The Briar Woods girls took 6th and Dominion was 14th. The AA state meet will take place Sat. Nov. 14 in The Plains.

Volleyball: Tuesday Night Playoff Scoreboard

Prep Volleyball Tuesday Night Playoff Scoreboard
AAA Cedar Run Tournament
Semifinals
Heritage def. Battlefield, 3-1 (26-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19)
Loudoun Valley def. Osbourn, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-19)

AAA Liberty District Tournament
Semifinals
Stone Bridge def. South Lakes, 3-0 (25-14, 25-5, 25-23)
Langley def. Madison, 3-0

AA Dulles District Tournament
Quarterfinals
Broad Run def. Park View, 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-10)
Briar Woods def. Dominion, 3-0
Freedom def. Potomac Falls, 3-1 (25-16, 25-10, 20-25, 25-20)
Loudoun County - bye

Dan Sousa, VivaLoudoun editor and jump server, was at the Stone Bridge-South Lakes and Heritage-Battlefield matches so check back for more details!

Cross Country: Houghton Leads Viking Girls to Cedar Run District Win

(Nov. 3, 2009) - Audrey Houghton ran a 20:28.17 last week to take first place and lead the Loudoun Valley High School girls cross country team to the championship at the Cedar Run District meet.

Alex Juzbasich (20:42.74) finished third in the five-team meet and Kendall French (21:04.24) was fourth for the Vikes. Jordan Gold of Heritage was sixth at 21:12.41.

The Valley boys took second with Ben Walker running a 17:44 for third overall. Heritage's Matthew Hilton took fifth with a 17:53.45 and Viking Evan McCarthy was seventh at 18:00.16.

Heritage was third in both the girls and boys races.

Volleyball: Stone Bridge Sweeps South Lakes in Liberty Quarterfinal

Ashburn (Nov. 2, 2009) - The Stone Bridge High School volleyball team swept South Lakes Monday night, 25-19, 25-19, 25-6 in a Liberty District quarterfinal match-up.

The Bulldogs will host a semifinal Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. against Fairfax, a winner in four games Monday over TJ, with a second semifinal to follow between Langley and Madison.

Stone Bridge started slowly Monday but was rolling by the third game. Stats for the Bulldogs:
Christine Beckham 8 kills, 7 pts, 4 aces
Amanda Miller 32 assists, 17 pts, 7 aces
Lindsay Gill 8 digs, 2 pts
Alex Heyn 6 kills, 3 blocks
Alexis Chism 4 kills, 4 pts
Ryan Ackermann 10 kills, 4 pts
Amy Christensen 6 kills, 9 pts

Stone Bridge Junior Amy Christensen Postmatch Interview

Volleyball: Complete All-District Honors for Entire Northern Region!

Northern Region 2009 All-District Honors

Volleyball: Super Tuesday! Seven Playoff Matches Tonight Across Loudoun

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor
On election day here in Virginia it is only fitting that we talk about "Super Tuesday" as tonight high school volleyball fans have a full ballot of playoff matches to choose from, seven total across six sites!

In AAA action, Stone Bridge High School hosts a Liberty District semifinal doubleheader starting at 5:30 with the top-seeded Bulldogs taking on Fairfax followed by Langley vs. Madison. In the AAA Cedar Run semifinal action, Heritage hosts Battlefield and Loudoun Valley hosts Osbourn, both at 7 p.m. Assuming the top-seeded Vikes win in Purcellville then the showdown in Leesburg between the Pride and Bobcats will be for a Northwest Region bid.

In AA play, there are three quarterfinals Tuesday: No. 2 Broad Run hosts Park View, No. 3 Briar Woods hosts Dominion and No. 4 Freedom hosts Potomac Falls. For the Eagles, the match in South Riding tonight with the Panthers is the school's first ever home volleyball playoff match.

The only Loudoun volleyball team not in action tonight is the Dulles District's top seed, Loudoun County. (read the jump to see how they earned that bye!)

Volleyball: Northern Region Brackets for Concorde, Liberty, National and Patriot Districts

Updated brackets for all four districts in the Northern Region!
Click the link for brackets from all four Northern Region volleyball tournaments ...

Volleyball: All-Dulles District Team Selected

2009 All-Dulles District Volleyball

1st Team (Alphabetical):
Kim Bell - Briar Woods
Mallory Brickerd - Broad Run
Juliane Hanna - Loudoun County
Robin Marsala - Loudoun County
Carolyn Pearce - Broad Run
Elisa Scudder - Broad Run
Alexa Campbell - Potomac Falls - Libero

2nd Team (Alphabetical):
Molly Baldwin - Loudoun County
Nicole Fauteux - Potomac Falls
Chelsea Kaser - Briar Woods
Kaitlyn LaMantia - Freedom
Emily Sears - Broad Run
Jenna Strange - Loudoun County
Emily Vandegrift - Loudoun County
Lizzie Dean - Broad Run - Libero

Player of the Year:
Juliane Hanna - Loudoun County

Coaches of the Year:
Diane Breinig - Briar Woods
Jarod Brown - Loudoun County
Ellen Roberts - Broad Run

Girls Basketball: Freedom Moves College Signing Day for Buchanan and Escorza to Nov. 13

Freedom has moved its college signing day for basketball players Kesley Buchanan and Jessica Escorza to Nov. 13. Here is more on the signings:

The Freedom Athletic family would like to congratulate senior basketball players Kelsey Buchanan and Jessica Escorza for their NCAA Division I basketball scholarships.

Buchanan has committed to the University of Delaware and Escorza has committed to Wofford University. Both players will enroll at their respective schools in the fall of 2010.

These two athletes become the second and third female basketball players to receive a NCAA Division I full scholarship in the history of the Freedom girls basketball program.

This is the first time in Freedom Athletic History that multiple athletes have committed to a NCAA Division I scholarship on the same team at the same grade level.

To honor this historic achievement the Freedom girls basketball team will be hosting a signing day on Friday, November 13th at Freedom High school in the back of the library at 4:15pm. Refreshments will be available after the signing ceremony.

All are encouraged to attend this event as we celebrate the achievements of these two young ladies. If there are any questions please contact Jason Eldredge at jeldredg@loudoun.k12.va.us

Football: Patriots Defense Tames the Wildcat, Titans in 31-0 Dulles District Shutout

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor

Sterling (Oct. 31, 2009) - Park View High School junior linebacker Eric Palma figured the Dominion gameplan on the Friday before Halloween was going to be frighteningly simple: "We knew they were going to try and run all over us."

Who could blame the Titans for trying that tactic, especially after Dominion junior Deandre Reaves had slashed South Lakes the week before in a Wildcat-like offense -- where Reaves took direct snaps and ran with the ball -- for 221 yards and four touchdowns.

And on the flip side, Park View the week before had been scratched by the Briar Woods version of the Wildcat with Michael Brownlee swerving his way to 161 yards and two scores in the Falcons 24-10 win over Park View.

“After Briar Woods we knew they were going to come in with the Wildcat. The defense stepped up big time tonight,” said Palma who had an interception to help set up one of two second half scores generated by the Patriot defense is a 31-0 shutout over the Titans.

Football: VHSL Ratings - Northwest Region

Northwest Region Division 6
Battlefield	33.1
Woodbridge	31.1
Colonial Forge	31.0
Osbourn Park	27.8
Franklin County	27.0
Riverbend	26.8
Loudoun Valley	25.7
Gar-Field	24.8
Hylton	22.7
Stonewall Jackson	21.1
Forest Park	18.4
P. Henry-Roanoke	17.9
Northwest Region Division 5
Massaponax	27.4
North Stafford	27.4
Brooke Point	26.0
Osbourn	25.9
George Washington	24.9
William Fleming	23.6
Mountain View	22.3
Heritage	21.9
Stafford	20.0
Potomac	19.1
Halifax County	17.2
Freedom	17.0
Albemarle	16.2