Photo Gallery: Cross Country - Judges Classic by Nick Lutkins

(Sept. 14, 2011) - The Judges Classic cross country meet on Saturday was so big that we had two photographers at the meet with Nick Lutkins turning in this super gallery of shots ... click on an photo to view all the action!

Volleyball: Tuesday Night Scoreboard

VivaLoudoun Tuesday Night Volleyball Scoreboard
Dulles District
Briar Woods def. Loudoun Valley, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 27-25)
Heritage def. Potomac Falls, 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 27-25, 25-20)
Loudoun County def. Park View, 3-0 (25-7, 25-9, 25-6)
Tuscarora def. Dominion, 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11)

Non-District
Broad Run def. Robinson, 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-15)
Stone Bridge def. Herndon, 3-0 (25-5, 25-14, 25-5)

Photo Gallery: Football - Freedom vs. Gar-Field by Jeff Scudder

(Sept. 13, 2011) - Not only was Jeff Scudder at three football games over the weekend but the great photographer was rocking a Viva Loudoun t-shirt at each game! Check out his photos from Monday's football game in South Riding between Freedom and Gar-Field by clicking any photo.

Volleyball: Heritage Sweeps Through Loudoun Valley Tournament Including Wins Over Stone Bridge, Freedom

(Sept. 13, 2011) - Heritage High School swept past the competition at the Loudoun Valley High School 8-team tournament Saturday with a perfect 4-0 day, including wins over AAA powers Stone Bridge, Freedom and Deep Run as well as a victory over private power Flint Hill.

The Pride (8-1 on the season) did not drop a set on the day, winning 12 straight with victories over Stone Bridge (25-22, 25-14, 15-11), Freedom (25-14, 25-21, 15-11), Deep Run (25-18, 25-8, 15-5) and Flint Hill (25-18, 25-8, 15-5).

The tournament format was three sets for each match with the third set to 15 regardless of the outcome of the first two sets.

Stone Bridge (6-1), which hadn't lost a set on the young season coming into the event, finished 3-1 on the day with wins over host Loudoun Valley (25-23, 25-17, 15-7) and Prince William premier programs Forest Park (25-16, 25-14, 15-9) and Osbourn Park (15-17, 25-14, 7-15).

Freedom also went 3-1 in the tournament with the Eagles only loss to Heritage. Freedom (6-3) defeated Osbourn Park (25-2, 25-17, 15-9), Forest Park (23-25, 25-21, 15-7) and Loudoun Valley (26-24, 25-22, 15-17).

Host Valley defeated Flint Hill in straight sets, 3-0, and also played Deep Run (story will be updated when results arrive).

Football: You Pick'Em Week 3 Results: Upsets Means Nobody is Perfect but a Dozen Pickers Finish Week 7-1

(Sept. 13, 2011) - Ahhh  the upsets of Week 3. Not many of you had Potomac Falls winning at Woodgrove AND Stone Bridge falling in a regular season contest for the first time since the forward pass. So out of 106 fans playing this week, nobody went 8-0 but a dozen players were a respectable 7-1.

And going to the tiebreaker, Almost Heaven from Charles Town was the winner ... well Almost Heaven1 as we have not one but two fans ... both from Charles Town and both with the Almost Heaven moniker!

Almost Heaven had Loudoun County winning 35-14 which was close to the 32-19 final. Just one point back in the tiebreaker were: The Flamingo Kid from Ashburn; Cocky Bobcat from Ashburn; The Spartan from Ashburn: and Playballmb from Leesburg. Just two points back was TBurke1 of Leesburg.

And also finishing 7-1 on the week: Ace of Purcellville; Elite '95 of Ashburn; JungleJane of Ashburn; Spartans#1 of Ashburn; SteveD of Ashburn; and WeaselVT of Brambleton.

Our LoCo Experts also couldn't find perfection as only Sean Farrell of the Ashburn Patcha nd Matt Fetters of Verizon FiOS1 went 7-1. On the year, there is a 3-way tie in the media race betwen Matt Brooks of the Washington Post, Andy Hayes of Gameday Magazine and Carl Lukat of the Loudoun Times-Mirror.

For the fans season-long money race, we have a clear No. 1 right now with The Spartan of Ashburn a cool 22-2 after three weeks. Sitting one game back are BallCoach 9 of Leesburg, Big Daddy of Leesburg and Burke1 of Leesburg. A total of 161 fans have played the contest so far.

You Pick'Em is sponsored by Gayle King of Century 21 Redwood Realty

You Pick'Em is sponsored by Gayle King of Century 21 Redwood Realty

Photo Gallery: Football - Stone Bridge vs. Chantilly by Jeff Scudder

(Sept. 12, 2011) - Jeff Scudder did double duty on Saturday, hustling over to Westfield to shoot the Stone Bridge vs. Chantilly football game after he started out the day shooting the Broad Run win over Woodbridge at Tuscarora! Check out his photos by clicking any photo or follow this link.

Football: Heritage Breaks .500 Mark for First Time Since 2008 with 42-24 Win at Dominion

Sterling (Sept. 12, 2011) - The Heritage High School football team opened the Dulles District season Saturday night with a convincing, 42-14, win at Dominion to put the Pride over .500 for the first time since 2008.

"We keep talking to the team about momentum. We want to keep things flowing in the right direction," said Heritage head coach Steve Williams after his team improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in district.

The Pride were a combined 3-17 the previous two seasons playing in the AAA Cedar Run District, but move down to the AA Dulles District season with a lower enrollment after the opening of Tuscarora High School a year ago. They will look to keep the momentum going this Friday when they host Potomac Falls, a team that is also 1-0 in district after a surprise, 28-13, win Friday at Woodgrove.

Dominion (0-1, 0-2) has it work cut out as the Titans host defending Division 4 champion Briar Woods Friday with the Falcons coming off a 53-3 win over Park View Saturday.

Football: New Attitude Raiders Run Past Valley in Renewal of Rivalry

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor

Leesburg (Sept. 10, 2011) - The Loudoun County High School football, disappointed at not making the playoffs in 2010, started with a new attitude last November and the nine months of hard work has paid off in a 2-0 start as the Raiders ran past Loudoun Valley Friday, 32-19, in a Dulles District opener moved to Tuscarora High School's turf field because of wet conditions at County.

The game was played before a large crowd, especially on the Raiders side as they filled the home stands to watch the renewal of Loudoun's oldest rivalry between the area's two oldest high schools with Loudoun County opening in 1954 and Loudoun Valley in 1962. The two teams hadn't played since 2006 when then AAA Valley, with a larger student enrollment, crushed AA County, 42-0. The opening of Woodgrove High School in Purcellville last year as reduced Valley's enrollment to numbers below County and allowed the Vikes to return to the AA Dulles District.

"This started back in November last year and it has been nine months of hard work in the weight room and speed training. We told them you either have to buy into this or not buy into it but we need 100 percent from you," said Loudoun County coach Todd Hill. "They have put so much time into it and this team has an attitude that I have not since since I have been here."

Photo Gallery: Football - Broad Run vs. Woodbridge by Jeff Scudder

(Sept. 11, 2011) - Photographer Jeff Scudder has covered the Broad Run High School football team two weeks in a row and has yet to see the opponents score on the Spartans. Check out his full photo gallery of the game by clicking on any photo.

Photo Gallery: Cross Country - Judges Classic by Scott Shepherd

(Sept. 11, 2011) - The sun was finally shining and super photographer Scott Shepherd was at the Judges Classic cross country meet. Scott came back with almost 600 photos so tell your friends and click on any photo to view the full gallery.

Football: Saturday/Friday Night Scoreboard

Friday Sept. 9, 2011
Dulles District
Loudoun County 32, Loudoun Valley 19
Potomac Falls 28, Woodgrove 13

Saturday Sept. 10, 2011
Briar Woods 53, Park View 3
Heritage 42, Dominion 14

Non-District
Saturday's Games
Broad Run 32, Woodbridge 0
Chantilly 22, Stone Bridge 14
Tuscarora 52, Brentsville 8

Monday's Game
Gar-Field at Freedom, 4:30 p.m.

Other Scores of Interest
Cedar Run District - non-district
Battlefield 40, Osbourn Park 8
Osbourn 54, Forest Park 7
Hylton 42, Stonewall Jackson 14

Liberty District
Langley 28, TJ 12
Non-District
Fairfax 45, Washington-Lee 32
Madison 24, Woodson 0
Mount Vernon 33, Marshall 0

Region II
Kettle Run 21, Eastern View 13
Liberty 34, Western Albemarle 3
Louisa County 32, Courtland 13
Monticello 40, George Wythe-Richmond 32
Musselman WV 23, James Wood 20
Powhatan 30, Midlothian 21
Sherando 55, Washington WV 33
Millbrook 27, Jefferson WV 6

Northwest Region
Brooke Point 49, Riverbend 7
Colonial Forge 42, Albemarle 0
Franklin County 14, Salem 13
George Washington 35, Amherst County 14
North Stafford 36, Mountain View 33
Orange 34, Culpeper 31
Patrick Henry-Roanoke 31, Pulaski 7

Northern Region
Centreville 49, West Potomac 10
Hayfield 16, Stuart 12

Football: Potomac Falls Stuns Woodgrove for First Win of Season

(Sept. 10, 2011) - The Potomac Falls High School football team, which was shut out the first two weeks of the season, exploded for 21 points in the first half Friday night and went on to pick up their first win of the season, a 28-13 Dulles District win at Woodgrove.

Panther junior quarterback Michael Fischetti connected with senior Kyle Bulger on three big passing plays on Potomac Falls' first two possessions of the game -- one a 15-yard touchdown and the other two, 35-yard and 44-yard hook-ups, to set up the first of three touchdown dives by sophomore Jacob Rugen.

That early 14-0 advantage was stretched to 21-0 midway through the second quarter when an errant Woodgrove punt snap gave the Panthers the ball on the Wolverine 10. Fishchetti, who finished the night 13 of 22 for 185 yards, found Bulger (6-115 yards) yet again, this time down to the 1 where Rugen (15 carries for 58 yards) did the honors.

Woodgrove had two lost fumbles in the game and the Panthers took advantage of another short field with a 40-yard drive in the third quarter that resulted in Rugen's third TD and an overwhelming 28-0 Panther advantage.

The Wolverines, behind running back junior Atem Ntantang (21 rushes for 101 yards) fought back in the fourth quarter with two scores -- one a 23 run by Ntantang and the other a 1-yard run by junior Benjamin Coil but Potomac Falls held on to wrap up the win and improve to 1-0 in district and 1-2 overall. Woodgrove, which had matched its win total for its first season with an 2-0 start, fell to 0-1, 2-1.

Potomac Falls is at Heritage next Friday and Woodgrove travels to Park View.

Woodgrove controlled the clock in the game, holding the ball for more than 33 of the contest's 48 minutes. The Wolverines, with Tyler Workman gaining 76 yards on 16 carries, rushed for 209 yards on 35 attempts but managed just 69 yards passing. Potomac Falls threw for 185 yards with just 55 yards rushing.

The Panthers great start came on defense first as they forced Woodgrove to 3-and-out and then Potomac Falls drove 65 yards, converting a big 4th-and-short along the way for the first TD. The next Panthers possession took them 80 yards to the end zone.

Full box score on AllMets.com

Football: Continued Rain Forces Postponements to Friday Night Lights

(Sept. 9, 2011) - What amounts to a week of rain has forced postponements to Friday's high school football schedule in Loudoun. Here is what we know as of 11:30 a.m. Friday (please check back for updates):

Dulles District
Park View at Briar Woods: Moved to Tuscarora High School Sat. at 6 p.m.
Heritage at Dominion: Moved to Sat. Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.
Loudoun Valley at Loudoun County: Moved to Tuscarora High School for tonight at 7 p.m.
Woodgrove at Potomac Falls: Moved to Woodgrove for tonight at 7 p.m.

Non-District
Tuscarora at Brentsville: Moved to Sat. Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
Stone Bridge at Chantilly: Moved to Westfield High School, 3 p.m. Sat. Sept. 10
Woodbridge at Broad Run: Moved to Tuscarora High School, 1 p.m. Sat. Sept. 10
Gar-Field at Freedom: Moved to Mon. Sept. 12, 4:30 p.m.

Football: Video Highlights from Broad Run's 14-0 Win Over Briar Woods Last Week

(Sept. 9, 2011) - So there might not be a full schedule of Friday Night Football but you can still get your share of highlights with this 8+ minute video produced by Spartan fan JennyB20147 and put up on YouTube.com. Enjoy!

Volleyball: Loudoun County's Jenica Matthias Reaches Milestone Victory No. 200 in Raiders Sweep Over Tuscarora; Briar Woods, Heritage Also Sweep

200 Wins!

Leesburg (Sept. 9, 2011) - Loudoun County High School honored head girls volleyball coach Jenica Matthias after Thursday's 25-9, 25-19, 25-13 sweep over Tuscarora for reaching her 200th career victory in just her 10th season.

Matthias, who has led the Raiders to four consecutive AA state titles and five straight state finals, was presented with an encased volleyball after the match by Loudoun County principal Bill Oblas.

Postmatch interview with Raider coach Jenica Matthias


The Raiders (4-0 in Dulles District, 5-0 overall) needed the win to keep pace with Briar Woods (4-0, 4-3) in the district race as the Falcons swept Park View (0-4, 0-7) on Thursday, 25-11, 25-19, 25-7.

Heritage (4-2, 4-1) remained one loss back of the leaders with a sweep over Woodgrove (1-4, 4-4), 25-17, 25-17, 25-19. The Loudoun Valley at Potomac Falls match was postponed due to leaks in the Panthers two gym's.

Loudoun County Sweeps Tuscarora

Loudoun County honored Head Coach Jenica Matthias Thursday night with her 200th career win in just her 10th season. Loudoun County overpowered Tuscarora 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-13) to improve to 5-0 (4-0) on the season and extend their match winning streak to 30 matches. The Raiders were led by Jenna Strange (10 kills, 5 digs, 2 points, 1 ace), Katrina Kirby (8 kills, 12 points, 4 digs, 2 aces), Quinn O'Connell (7 kills, 10 points, 4 digs, 2 aces), Maggie Phillips (4 kills, 3 points, 2 blocks), Taylor Huewe (4 kills, 1 block), Nicole Orndorff (4 kills, 2 digs, 1 block), Jane Feddersen (2 kills, 1 dig), Jordan Leiter (21 assists, 11 points, 9 digs, 3 aces), Megan Fox (7 assists), Mandy Powers (6 assists, 1 point, 1 ace, 1 dig), Gabby Serafin (11 digs), Kelsey Slack (3 digs, 3 points), Kelsey Anderson (1 dig).

In the JV match the Raiders swept the Huskies 2-0 (25-18, 25-16), while the Freshmen match was cancelled because of rain leaking in the gym. The Lady Raiders return to action Tuesday as they travel to Park View. Come out to Sterling and support the Raiders at 6:00 (for Freshmen and JV) and 7:00 (for Varsity).

Heritage Sweeps Woodgrove
The Pride swept past the Wolverines in Dulles District play Thursday.

The Pride Stats:
Sydney Busa- 2 pts, 1 ace, 11 kills, 16 digs
Kelsi Faley-4 digs
Madeline Fowler- 8 points, 1 ace, 9 kills, 11 digs
Kelsey Hrebenach- 9 points, 1 ace, 5 kills, 4 blocks, 2 digs
Christina Kamis- 5 points, 2 aces, 9 kills, 14 digs
Rebecca Schneider-4 points, 1 kill, 4 digs
Stephanie Yokoyama- 11 points, 3 aces, 30 assists, 8 digs

Volleyball: Indoors Rainout! Potomac Falls Cancels Loudoun Valley Matches Due to Leaks in Gym

(Sept. 8, 2011) - Potomac Falls High just announced that this evening's girls volleyball matches with Loudoun Valley are postponed due to leaks in both gyms. There are also reports that roadways in Eastern Loudoun are under threat of flooding so please be careful driving tonight.

Volleyball: Loudoun Valley to Host Big Tournament Saturday - 8 Teams and 16 Matches

(Sept. 8, 2011) - If you like girls high school volleyball then Loudoun Valley is the spot on Saturday as the Vikings host an all-day tournament that features eight teams -- four of them from Loudoun -- and 16 matches in two gyms.

Valley, Heritage, Freedom and Stone Bridge are the local teams. Deep Run, Flint Hill, Osbourn Park and Forest Park join the field. For the complete schedule, check out our friends at the Loudoun Times-Mirror! Leave 'em a note and tell them the "Fox" sent ya!

Photo Gallery: Volleyball - Loudoun County vs. Freedom by Richard Kirby

(Sept. 8, 2011) - Richard Kirby shot the Loudoun County High School vs. Freedom girls volleyball match earlier this week. Click on any photo to see the full gallery!

News: VHSL Executive Committee Agenda Includes Heritage and Loudoun Valley Appeal to Move Down from Division 4 to Division 3

(Sept. 8, 2011) - The Virginia High School League will hold its first executive committee meeting of the year on Sept. 20 in Charlottesville and among the agenda items is an appeal by Heritage and Loudoun Valley high schools to be classified as Division 3 instead of Division 4 for this school year.

The move down in classification could significantly impact both the football and basketball playoff odds of both schools. Classifications were set up in the spring when both Heritage and Loudoun Valley still had very large senior classes comprised of students that did not make the move to new schools, Woodgrove in Purcellville and Tuscarora in Leesburg. Complete agenda for the meeting!

Currently for AA, football and basketball are the only sports that divide the playoffs between Division 3 and Division 4 -- crowning two state champions in the the AA classification.

Football: Games Moved to Turf Fields Friday - Potomac Falls at Woodgrove now; Valley vs.County Shifts to Tuscarora

(Sept. 8, 2011) - If only Loudoun County had more than two turf fields at their 12 public high schools then this week's drenched fields wouldn't be such a headache. Taking advantage of the turf, two games have shifted Friday with Potomac Falls moving its home game with Woodgrove to the Purcellville's turf field and the Loudoun Valley at Loudoun County game is now scheduled for Tuscarora High School's turf field. Both kickoffs are at 7 p.m.

Football: Too Much Rain! Park View- Briar Woods Freshman and JV Games Rescheduled for Oct. 27

(Sept. 7, 2011) - The Park View vs. Briar Woods freshman and JV football games, which had been rescheduled already for Thursday, are now postponed until Oct. 27 due to wet playing conditions.

Soccer: Dominion Grad Lauryn Hutchinson Earns Spot on Trinidad and Tobago Women's National Team

(Sept. 7, 2011) - Dominion High School Class of 2008 grad Lauryn Hutchinson, who currently plays at Virginia Commonwealth University, has made the Women's National Soccer Team for Trinidad and Tobago.

Hutchinson has been named to the squad's roster in advance of the Pan American Games.

"This opportunity is a life-changing experience for me and I look forward to growing not only as a player, but as a person," Hutchinson told the VCU athletic department in a release. Hutchinson, a forward, played in 33 games in her first two collegiate seasons and made 12 starts for the Rams.

Hutchinson's father, Nigel, is a Trinidad and Tobago native. She will travel to Trinidad and Tobago in late September to train for the 2011 Pan American Games, which run from Oct 14-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Read more from the VCU athletic department website!

Volleyball: Loudoun County Debuts at No. 1, Stone Bridge No. 3 and Heritage No. 10 in AllMet.com Top 10

(Sept. 7, 2011) - Loudoun County, the 4-time defending Virginia High School League state champions, have debuted at No. 1 in the Washington Post's Top 10 poll released on AllMet.com. Stone Bridge, AAA state runner-up last season, is No. 3 and Heritage, which just moved down to AA and the Dulles District, is No. 10.

Check out the full Top 10!

Soccer: Briar Woods Senior Samantha Russell to Play at James Madison Next Year

(Sept. 7, 2011) - Briar Woods High School senior central defender and one of the Falcons captains, Samantha Russell, will play next year at NCAA Division I James Madison University.

Russell is part of a "college choice" trend as Briar Woods now has six athletes from the Class of 2012 verbally committed, more than any other high school in Loudoun, and of the 41 athletes on our charts, 17 of them are slated to play soccer in college, more than any other sport.

Volleyball: The Skinny for Sept. 1 and Sept. 6 Games

(Sept. 7, 2011) - 4-time defending state champion Loudoun County High School has opened 2011 with four straight wins including victories in the last week over teams that advanced to the state quarterfinals last year, Heritage and Freedom.

The Raiders are in a tie with Briar Woods, both at 3-0, for the Dulles District lead. Heritage is the only team to take a set off of the Raiders this season.

Stone Bridge, AAA state runner-up last year, has opened 3-0, with wins over Briar Woods and Freedom. The Bulldogs and Raiders will settle the question of Loudoun's top team on Sept. 26 when they meet in a big non-district match in Leesburg.