The Return of "You Pick-Em" VivaLoudoun Style

We can't let the prep football season start without the return of our fun little (sure, sometimes it is just family and Jason Treon playing!) You Pick'Em Contest.

Here is how you play ... send us the final score (dan.sousa@verizon.net) of the following two Games of the Week:

• Dominion at Loudoun Valley (Battle of the second-year coaches!)
• Sherando at Park View (Patriots Open Division 3 campaign!)

It is that simple, tell us the winner and loser and the final score ... easy, squeezy, lemon, peazy. Just put You Pick'Em in the subject headline of the email or if you are really brave, drop your You Pick'em picks into the comments section of this blog entry (We take any and all entries with the exception of bricks through out world headquarters front window in Ashburn ... though if you attach your picks to a flaming Beanie Baby toy and toss it on our lawn ... well, that would be funny).

Prizes? Hmmmm ... we used to have the Chick-fil-A Prize Van but it has been up on blocks with a busted chicken finger for some time. We will dig up some prizes for the winners (if you are a business and want to donate some prizes ... ping us) ... rest assured ... but the biggest prize is ever-lasting world wide fame (honest!).

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

13 - Jason Treon

10 - John Koren

6 - Chris Tully

5 - Greg Dawson, Tim Lieb, Ryan Price, Ryan Rogers

4- Jane Baker

3 - Jamie Eberly, Chuck McDaniel

2 - Kathy Athey, Walter McCowat, 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

A Brief History of You Pick'Em (May NOT be Factual)

You Pick'Em actually dates back to 1632 in Manchester, England (called them Ye'Olde Pick'Em).

Later in the colonies, Benjamin Franklin was a You Pick'Em Player and was actually struck by lightning while playing in 1772.

Pop Warner introduced You Pick'Em to football in 1892 and Jim Thorpe had to return his Gold Medals from the Olympics when it was discovered that he had received cash payments while on a hot You Pick'em streak in 1912.

In the 1950s You Pick'Em fell out of favor after it was caught up in the Cold War scare (Joe McCarthy said: "anybody can Pick em? Haruuump, sounds like Socialism!").

In the 1970s, You Pick'Em busted back into the national spotlight when Joe Namath not only called the Jets famous upset in the Super Bowl but did it so he could win the You PickEm Contest.

You Pick'Em then was dormant for some time until it was discovered by Dan Sousa in a government vault in 1989 (right next to that chest Indiana Jones had brought back from the Raiders of the Lost Ark).

You Pick'Em survived a steroids scare several years ago (a certain monkey looked like a gorilla, if you know what I mean) and is now rated by the Parker Brothers as the third most wholesome family game behind Monopoly and charades.

**I might have mixed up some of these facts ... but you get the point!

2009 Football Schedule for Loudoun

Aug. 28

Jefferson County (W.Va.) at Potomac Falls, 7:30

Millbrook at Briar Woods, 7:30

Broad Run at Fauquier, 7:30

Sherando at Park View, 7:30

Dominion at Loudoun Valley, 7:30

Musselman (W.Va.) at Loudoun County, 7:30

Sept. 4

Park View at Millbrook, 7

Potomac Falls at Martinsburg (W.Va.), 7

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

Westfield at Stone Bridge, 7:30

Briar Woods at Liberty, 7:30

Heritage at Broad Run, 7:30

Warren County at Freedom, 7:30

Loudoun Valley at Woodbridge, 7:30

Sept. 11

Stone Bridge at Heritage, 7:30

Forest Park at Loudoun Valley, 7:30

Loudoun County at Warren County, 7:30

Brentsville at Freedom, 7:30

Broad Run at Jefferson (W.Va.), 7:30

Park View at Liberty, 7:30

Kettle Run at Potomac Falls, 7:30

Dominion at Wakefield, 7:30

Sept. 12

Briar Woods at Handley, 1:30

Sept. 17

Heritage at Colonial Forge, 7

Loudoun County at Sherando, 7

Wilson (D.C.) at Broad Run, 7

Potomac Falls at Liberty, 7:30

Martinsburg (W.Va.) at Briar Woods, 7:30

Freedom at Kettle Run, 7:30

Loudoun Valley at Brooke Point, 7:30

Stone Bridge at West Springfield, 7:30

Sept. 25

Jefferson at Stone Bridge, 7:30

Park View at Broad Run, 7:30

Freedom at Briar Woods, 7:30

Potomac Falls at Dominion, 7:30

Heritage at Loudoun Valley, 7:30

Liberty at Loudoun County, 7:30

Oct. 2

Marshall at Stone Bridge, 7:30

Briar Woods at Broad Run, 7:30

Loudoun County at Park View, 7:30

Dominion at Freedom, 7:30

Osbourn at Heritage, 7:30

Oct. 9

Stonewall Jackson at Heritage, 7:30

Loudoun Valley at Osbourn, 7:30

Park View at Potomac Falls, 7:30

Loudoun County at Briar Woods, 7:30

Broad Run at Dominion, 7:30

Freedom at George Mason, 7:30

Stone Bridge at Fairfax, 7:30

Oct. 16

Dominion at Loudoun County, 7:30

Briar Woods at Potomac Falls, 7:30

Broad Run at Freedom, 7:30

Martinsburg (W.Va.) at Park View, 7:30

Heritage at Hylton, 7:30

Madison at Stone Bridge, 7:30

Oct. 17

Stonewall Jackson at Loudoun Valley, 1:30

Oct. 23

Battlefield at Heritage, 7:30

Potomac Falls at Freedom, 7:30

Briar Woods at Park View, 7:30

Herndon at Loudoun Valley, 7:30

Stone Bridge at Langley, 7:30

South Lakes at Dominion, 7:30

Oct. 24

Loudoun County at Broad Run, 1:30

Oct. 30

Loudoun Valley at Heritage, 7:30

Broad Run at Potomac Falls, 7:30

Park View at Dominion, 7:30

Freedom at Loudoun County, 7:30

Stone Bridge at McLean, 7:30

Nov. 6

South Lakes at Stone Bridge, 7:30

Potomac Falls at Loudoun County, 7:30

Dominion at Briar Woods, 7:30

Freedom at Park View, 7:30

Heritage at Osbourn, 7:30

Battlefield at Loudoun Valley, 7:30

Broad Run's Scudder to Play D1 Volleyball at Dartmouth

Broad Run High School senior volleyball captain Elisa Scudder will be Ivy League-bound next year as she has agreed an offer to play for the NCAA Division I program at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

How great is that? Scudder gets to keep on spiking and gets an Ivy League education to boot ... hard to beat that!

We also hear that Broad Run looked good in its preseason tune-ups with always good Loudoun Valley and McLean, both AAA teams. Last night they held a scrimmage with AAA power Westfield. Now that is a good way to get a AA program in playing shape. Spartans are looking to return to the Region II playoffs after missing out last year.

VivaLoudoun will be covering volleyball (it is one of our favorite sports!) this fall so send us all your results, scores, photos and notes! We will take it all. And keep on giving us the good college news ... we love to hear about the success of local athletes! You can email us at::dan.sousa@verizon.net.

Freedom Golf Sets School Mark but Falcons Cool Off Eagles

The Freedom Eagles have been burning up the links this month and are giving Dulles District leader Loudoun County a run for their money.

The Eagles just missed by a stroke catching LC in the second district mini tournament, giving the Raiders a clear advantage towards a regular-season district title. Freedom needs to win the dual meet season and hope that LC falters into a finish of third or lower.

So far, Freedom has posted a school record score of 153 -- led by a trio of 38's! -- in a 18-stroke win over Broad Run last week at South Riding Golf Club. Freedom's title hopes, however, suffered a blow Monday when rival Briar Woods, with Jon Howard shooting a 35, got the best of them in dual match.

The Eagles would have had to duplicate that school record 153 to catch the Falcons so lets not count out Briar Woods come this postseason. It should be a great Dulles District tournament in September.

Here is the scoring from the BR-Freedom match:

For Freedom 153

Tyler Blake 38

Alex Choi 38

Chelsea Kim 38

Jason Scrivo 39

For Broad Run 171

Meadows 37

Pittman 44

Visco 44

Capretti 46

Freedom 161, Briar Woods 153

For Freedom:

Alex Choi 36

Tyler Blake 39

Chris Kennedy 43

Chelsea Kim 43

For Briar Woods:

Howard 35

Ochs 37

Burcak 40

Vazzana 41

Heritage's McCarthy Earns Iron Lion Award

Well ... I am still on my tour of Hampton Inns across the South ... enjoying Clemson University today. At Clemson they had 15,000 fans show up Sunday for Fan Appreciation Day to meet and greet the football team. Yes, it is time for football and the high school season in Loudoun kicks off this week. Let's get ready with this news from Heritage High school.

The Pride football staff established a competition two years ago that would honor the hard work that the football players put in during the off-season. The competition is called the 'IRON LION' and it is an annual award that is presented in August every year.

The award is determined by a series of events including off-season attendance, agility performance(40 yard dash, broad jump, vertical jump) and core lifts (bench, squat, power clean and deadlift). The competition occurred the last week of summer workouts, August 3 – 7, 2009.

This culminated in the best off-season in Heritage Football history. Many of the records were broken in all events this year.

The Heritage staff is proud to announce that the third annual "Iron Lion" recipient is senior David McCarthy.

According to the Pride staff: "David has had a work ethic that is unmatched in the weight room and speed training. He has been a player who the coaches have to kick out of the weight room since he was an incoming 9th grader because he would stay for hours and hours. He finished 2nd two years ago behind his brother, Brian McCarthy and 2nd again last year to Ross Madison. David was determined not to let that happen again as he broke many individual records this off-season. The Heritage staff could not be any prouder to have David as the 3rd annual Iron Lion winner. David received the trophy during a presentation on picture day and will have his picture and his name added to the ‘Iron Lion’ plaque in the weight room.

David finished in first or second place in every event and scored a record 77 pts this year. David and first runner-up Josh Labuhn were the first individuals to join the 1600 lb club. These two have pushed each other the past four years. The coaching staff could not ask for two harder working student/athletes."

Also to note…David is 5th in his class with a 4.28 gpa.

David McCarthy’s Individual Results:

Bench – 295 lbs. 40 time - 4.50 sec.

Squat – 565 lbs. Broad Jump – 9’ 5"

Clean - 300 lbs. Vert Jump - 32"

Deadlift – 505 lbs. Attendance - 96%

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Actually, On the Road! College Visits 2009

Hey sports fans ... I'm the road today and for the next week as my oldest (Cooper ... he loves it when I mention him in my blog ... ha!) is looking at colleges.

Keep sending results and other news my way as I will be posting from the road (VivaLoudoun never sleeps ... that may be our motto). You can email me at::dan.sousa@verizon.net).

Rolled into Raleigh, N.C. this afternoon ... looking at NC State tomorrow ... wonder if we will run into Stone Bridge grad Brian Slay and just down the road at Wake Forest a host of former Bulldogs are playing football (Zach Thompson, Mike Olson, Y'Lou Brown, and Patrick Thompson will join them soon).

Friday night we head back to Virginia Beach for a soccer tournament (Loudoun Revolution U19 team) and then it is back south to Clemson for a look.

The whole father-son bonding thing got off to a rough start this week. I splurged on a real camera for VivaLoudoun (a new Canon Rebel SLR) and went to Saturday's football scrimmage at Park View, shooting some 600 photos and videos of PV, Loudoun Valley and Freedom.

Before I could download the photos onto my computer, Coop was playing around with the camera. Several button touches later he had figured out how to format my 8GB card and in the process ... photos and videos went bye-bye.

I think he might have been getting me back as earlier in the day he got a very complimentary letter (OK it was a misguided form letter) about entering the Northern Virginia Miss Teen Something or Other pageant ... Heck, I told him, he should take the letter and try to enter ... just him and a 1,000 girls ... think of the "what I did on summer vacation" story potential! ... Think of the VivaLoudoun blog potential! He didn't think that was funny. Miss Northern Virginia Teens are safe ...

Losing the photos ... that wasn't funny but in the end ... you gotta laugh ... it is better than crying.

More from "On the Road" as the trip continues ...

Loudoun Valley Third at Chantilly Charger Challenge

The Loudoun Valley High School golf team tied for third place in the Chantilly Charger Challenge played at Virginia Oaks Golf Club on Tuesday August 18.

The tournament featured 12 AAA schools from the Northern Virginia area. Scores for the field of 72 competitors soared in the 95 degree heat on the difficult course layout that resulted in six hour rounds for some of the participants.

Westfield (305) won the tournament with a strong performance by medalist Tim Ritter’s three under par 69. Tournament host Chantilly came up two strokes short with a 307.

The Vikings were led by senior Zack Bosse (77) and junior Scott Davidson (79). Brandon Deleonardis carded an 81 while Brian Hickey and Tanner Welsh had 83.

The Vikings and Madison High School each had team scores of 320 followed by Robinson (321), South County (340), Langly (343), Fairfax (350), McLean (351), Herndon (358), Falls Church (364) and Woodson (369).

Another School Record for Vikes: On Aug. 10 the Vikes set a new school record for the second time in a week with a team score of three over par for an 18-hole match. The Vikings score of 291 bested Heritage’s 312 and Potomac Falls’ 323 and broke the old record, set at last week’s Curly Licklider Invitational, by two strokes.

The Vikings were led by Bosse and Welsh, each posting scores of two under par 70 on their home course, the Loudoun Golf and Country Club. For Bosse and Welsh, their scores were a personal best in tournament competition.

Deleonardis shot a two over par 74 and three remaining Vikings each posted five over par 77. These golfers included Davidson, Hickey and Colin Wallace.

Heritage was led by John Conley (74), Ryan Douglas (76), and Paige Pomerene and Kevin Axt with 81 for a total of 312.

Potomac Falls had a very strong showing from Christian Fortier with a 1 over par score of 73. Sean Raven posted 82, Scott Trump had 83 and Brett Johnson had 85 for a team total of 323.

Loudoun Valley and Heritage are both in the AAA Cedar Run District while Potomac Falls is a returning member to the Dulles District.

Vikes Beat Battlefield: The Vikes defeated Battlefield High School in an 18-hole match on Aug.17 at the Piedmont Golf Club, the site of this year’s AAA Northwest Region Tournament.

The Vikings were led by Davidson who shot a score of one under par 71 and was the low medalist player for the match. Another junior, Welsh, came in a very close second with a score of even par 72. Deleonardis had a 79 and Hickey carded an 82 to round out the scoring for Loudoun Valley.

Battlefield posted scores of 75 from PJ Leonard, 78 from Blake Forst, 80 from Brent Richbourg, and 81 from Brendan Pastor.

Videos from Tuesday's Cheers Open Golf!

I caught up with the individual winner Scott Trump of Potomac Falls and with Jarod Brown of Loudoun County who is helping his father, John Brown, fill in for ill Loudoun County varsity golf coach John Laycock. Brown is the assistant volleyball coach with his sister Jenica Brown in charge. Jenica will be going on maternity leave at the end of Sept. with the birth of her first child and Jarod will step in and lead the team.

I contacted Loudoun County Athletic Director Ken Wright and he said Laycock is expected to get out of the hospital tomorrow. Laycock, who missed part of last season with an infection after a routine operation, surprised me earlier this month with news that he had suffered a heart attack in the spring. We wish him a speedy recovery from his current illness and hope to see him back on the links soon!

Golf: Loudoun County Edges Freedom at Cheers Sports Open Golf

Sterling - Loudoun County High School maintained its hold on first place in the Dulles District regular-season golf race with a one-stroke victory over Freedom Tuesday at the Cheers Sports Open at Algonkian.

The Raiders shot a 313 to the Eagles 314 to take the title with Sam Early posting an 80 in the last pairing to put LC into first by the stroke.

The tournament -- which included all seven Dulles District teams plus Heritage, Stone Bridge and a "B" team from Loudoun Valley -- served as the second Dulles mini-tournament. LC with wins in both mini tournaments is two-thirds of the way to the regular season title with a first or second in the dual meet schedule enough to clinch things for the Raiders.

Scott Trump of Potomac Falls won the tournament with a 73 -- two shots better than three players. See below for scores.

Heritage finished just five strokes back in third.

News and Notes from the Tournament: The Raiders were coached by the father-son combo of John and Jarod Brown as head coach John Laycock has taken ill again. Laycock missed part of the 2008 season with John Brown, former LC coach, stepping in and helping guide the team. We wish Laycock a speedy recovery! ... Jarod Brown will be stepping in as a head coach in volleyball as his sister, Raider head volleyball coach Jenica Brown is expecting her first child at the end of September. Jenica and Jarod have led LC to back-to-back state titles. The Raiders assistant coach Shannon Nicholson is already out on maternity leave so John Brown has stepped in to help out with the JV program ... truly a family affair at County ... Heritage's third place finish was impressive since the Pride were missing Katie Labgold, who normally scores in the top four, as she was out to have foot surgery ... From the category of "I Did Not Know That!": Broad Run assistant athletic directory Ryan Young coached new Freedom baseball coach Jason Treon at Potomac Falls as well as Freedom golf and Heritage baseball coach Ryan Price ... Finally speaking of Price, he and the Eagle golf team were sitting in a hot parking lot, along with the Briar Woods team, waiting for a late bus to show up after the tournament. With cutbacks, teams are doubling up and for the season-opening tournament, Freedom had to ride with two other teams to Front Royal, adding an almost extra two hours for the Eagles as they were first on and last off ... of course, if the school district wants to charge players $100 to participate this year in athletics, they may want to have a bus waiting after events! I think some Freeom and Briar Woods parents might want to ask for a partial refund if this becomes routine!

Scores from Cheers Sports Open at Algonkian

Loudoun County-313

Kushner 75 Tie 2nd place

Tommasone 78

Brenneman 80

Early 80

Freedom-314

Alex Choi 76 5th place

Jason Scrivo 79

Chris Kennedy 79

Tyler Blake 80

Heritage- 318

Douglas 75 Tie 2nd place

Connelly 75 Tie 2nd place

Pomerene 77- 6th place

Boyer 91

Potomac Falls- 320

Trump 73- 1st place

Fortier 78

Raven 84

Johnson 85

Briar Woods- 334

Ochs 81

Howard 82

Burcak 85

Vazzana 86

Stone Bridge- 339

Ashley 82

Vazquez 85

Coakley 86

Ward 86

Loudoun Valley- 341

Kaseman 78

Parker 83

Price 86

Shayka 94

Dominion- 345

Shote 82

Farmer 87

Cook 88

Backers 88

Broad Run- 346

Pittman 85

Visco 86

Cartee 87

Meadows 88

Park View- 348

Ryan 82

Flees 83

Leckemby 89

Himmelberger 94

Viva Loudoun on Facebook

Loudoun County Public Schools on H1N1 (aka Swine Flu)

Today's message from the Loudoun County Public Schools on the H1N1 virus (yes, that which used to be called the Swine Flu ... please no calls or letters from the Pork Industry ... though sausage links are encouraged)

Click here!

Broad Run's Blessing to Become Binghamton Bearcat!

It's never too early to get the college signing news on Viva Loudoun! And what better way to start than with a Broad Run High School softball player as OF/Pitcher Anna Blessing has accepted an offer to play NCAA Division I softball at Binghamton.

Blessing has helped the Spartans to -- count'em! -- three straight AA state titles! I can't wait to cover her senior season. I have to also say that her dad Rich has been a big supporter of our coverage of prep sports in Loudoun. You can see Rich keeping score behind home plate at each Spartan game ... no Blessing in disguise ... is he ... (Sorry, couldn't resist!).

Binghamton plays in the America East Conference and has a new young coach in Michelle Burrell (Maryland grad) who just took over in June. The school also has a new softball complex on the way. Binghamton is located in Vestal, N.Y. and has an enrollment of 14,435. Here is a link to their softball site!

Do you have a college signing you want VivaLoudoun to cover or news to report.

Ex-Loudoun Extra?

Well I've been hearing the drumbeat all summer that the Loudoun Extra section was going to be pulled at some point but I figured the coverage would simply migrate over to their website but in a surprise announcement today ... the Loudoun Extra website is going to be rolled into that big mess of a website ... the washingtonpost.com ...

Click here for he announcement!

Not sure how much the print edition keeps hitting my driveway (or gutter on rainy days ... thanks!) but it has shrunk in recent weeks and unless I'm missing something, there hasn't been any sports coverage in the Extra print edition all summer. Not surprising as the Loudoun sports editor Ed Guzman (one of the good guys!) was moved off his post earlier this summer and the sports writer out here, Paul Tenorio, has been shifted to Redskins coverage and I'm-too-Darn-Thin-and-in-Shape-but-Let's-Do-Something-Like-the-Biggest-Loser-To-Push-Our-Take-Over-the-World-Swim-Coverage (I made that up but you get the point ... the swim thing where Tenorio is brave enough to post his body fat as well as weight ...

Speaking of Tenorio ... a good friend from all the hours spent on the sidelines out here ... I heard from him the other day that he had been offered a fulltime gig with the Post (his current contract was up). That is a smart move for the WashPost as Tenorio is a rising star and recently the Post has had a tendency to let young talent slip out the door to other papers and mediums (see ESPN nightly!). Good luck Paul and keep us little Loudoun people in mind.

I'm guessing we will still have Matt Brooks out covering Loudoun sports for the Post.com but I wonder if he will stay Loudoun focused?

So ... more than ever all the shake-up in local sports makes my resolve to get VivaLoudoun off the ground even greater ... stay tuned!

Freedom Names Baseball, Wrestling Coaches

News from Freedom Athletic Director Matt Oblas today as the Eagles have a new wrestling coach and a new baseball coach. Here is the release from Oblas:

"The Freedom Athletic Department is excited to announce two new head varsity coaches.

Kent Nagy will serve as the head varsity wrestling coach. Kent was previously a JV head wrestling coach at Freedom and had previously worked as the head varsity wrestling coach at Robert E. Lee HS in Staunton. Kent is also the head freshmen football coach at Freedom.

Jason Treon will serve as the head varsity baseball coach. Jason was previously a JV head baseball coach at Stone Bridge HS and also works currently on the Stone Bridge football staff. Jason played baseball at Potomac Falls HS and at Tusculum College in Tennessee. "

Nagy takes over for Pat McNanley ... a great supporter of our coverage over the years and a wonderful varsity wrestling coach before taking the assistant AD gig under Oblas this summer ... and Treon is familiar to fans across the county as a player and coach ... and predictor!

I just saw Treon on Friday and many fans who have been following my coverage of high school sports in Loudoun may know Treon by his other name "The Oracle".

Treon has been one of the top pickers in our You Pick'Em football contest and he wanted to know the big question: with VivaLoudoun would we still hold You Pick'Em contest ... (of course if he REALLY was the Oracle, he would have known the answer but we will cut him some slack as it is football preseason where he is coaching on the Stone Bridge staff ... the Rolls Royce of prep football coaching staffs) ... of course! You Pick'em will enter its 43rd season in two weeks (give or take 40 years) ... so stay tuned ... as a reminder, here is the all-time leaderboard ... We hope that John Koren aka The Crystal Ball finds our new website ... With Chris Tully at six alltime wins we need a nickname for him ... we are working on the Panther Prophet or the Seer of Sterling ... What do you think Tully? Read past you Pick'Em enteries at the old LPS site here!

You Pick'Em All-Time Leaderboard (updated Dec. 3, 2008 ... honest!)

13 - Jason Treon

10 - John Koren

6 - Chris Tully

5 - Greg Dawson, Tim Lieb, Ryan Price, Ryan Rogers

4- Jane Baker

3 - Jamie Eberly, Chuck McDaniel

2 - Kathy Athey, Walter McCowat, 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

Golf: Raiders Get Right to Work in Dulles Golf

It didn't take Loudoun County long to live up to its preseason billing as the prep golf team to beat in the Dulles District as the defending district and Region II champs shot a blistering 292 to win the first district mini-tournament Tuesday by a whopping 28 strokes over runner-up Freedom.

The tournament county one-third towards the regular-season district title. Next week's Cheers Sports Open counts another third.

1. Loudoun County 292
2. Freedom 320
3. Briar Woods 328
4. Potomac Falls 331
5. Dominion 341
6. Broad Run 348
7. Park View 362

Top 5 Golfers (individual):
1. Brantley Kushner, LCHS, 70
2. Sam Early, LCHS, 73
3. Matt Tomassone, LCHS, 74
4-5. Tyler Blake, FHS and Michael Linville, LCHS 75

Team-by-Team Results

Loudoun County-292
Kushner 70- 1st Place
Early 73- 2nd Place
Tommasone 74- 3rd Place
Linville 75- Tie 4th Place

Freedom-320
Blake 75- Tie 4th Place
Choi 78
McQuitty 84
Scrivo 83

Briar Woods-328
Howard 79
Vazzana 81
Burcak 84
Ochs 84

Potomac Falls-331
Fortier 82
Raven 82
Johnson 83
Lasik 84

Dominion 341
Shote 79
Boudreau 86
Stillwell 87
Farmer 89

Broad Run-348
Pittman 81
Clarke 84
Cartee 91
Meadows 92

Park View-362
Wilton 84
Flees 89
Leckemby 93
Ryan 96

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Thanks for the Well Wishes and Time for Some Work

It has been only 48 hours since my departure from LPS and I've been overwhelmed with well wishes and kind notes with my phone ringing and my inbox flooded (I apologize for not replying to everyone but I'm working through the avalanche!).

What can I say ... I find it all a bit humbling. Usually you have to stumble on the Appalachian Trail or get hit by a rogue wave (the latter happened to me one time in Ocean City and claimed the life of my eyeglasses ... why I was wearing eyeglasses in the surf is clearly a lack of judgement!) to have such comments directed towards you. Thanks from the bottom of my tattered yellow legal pad!

In particular I have to thank the local media for several nice columns. Dave Scarangella of DullesDistrict.com wrote a nice piece and I encourage you to check out his website for some entertaining reads daily; as did the dynamic duo at the Washington Post Loudoun Extra (OK it was Matt Brooks as Paul Tenorio hasn't come up lately long enough for air from the bottom of the pool or the rarefied air of Redskins Park!) made a nice blog entry in their Extra Points feature; and finally my long lost East Coast twin, Carl Lukat of the Loudoun Times-Mirror not only blogged about the change but Carl was kind (?!?) enough to include some memorable photos ... viewer beware: nobody said sports writing was a pretty business!

Dave, Matt, Carl ... Thanks!

Now I joked in the last post for Carl to call me for work and hey ... he called as I'm going to be doing the football previews for Stone Bridge and Freedom (can we find two schools with such completely different traditions but both have great story lines this coming season). So it is back to work after that mini-stay-cation. (My hard-working big-time executive wife likes to call any time I spend at home and not working ... a staycation)

Hmmmm ... so, I blog about calling me and it works. I could say: Washington Post ... call me.

Or ... Jennifer Aniston ... call me ... that was a joke ... don't want my wife to give me a permanent staycation from home.

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Welcome to My New Website!

It has been some week for the LPS Monkey!

On Monday DigitalSports.com, the parent company of LoudounPrepSports.com, was bought out by Vantage Learning. (Read the press release here!).

It appeared that I might be staying with LPS for another high school sports year (our fifth!) but I wasn't able to come to terms with the new owners and thus this morning was my last as "editor" of LoudounPrepSports.com.

Wow. That sounds weird after all the days and nights of coverage but it was a great ride and I truly enjoyed every minute of it (Time out Dan: Every minute? OK, thunderstorms, frostbite and insect bites not withstanding.)

I wish the new owners well and hopefully LoudounPrepSports.com lives long and prospers (sorry to go all Star Trek on ya) ... may the LPS Monkey be old enough that he can't peel his own bananas anymore!

So ... what is next for the Old Sportswriter? Well, I love covering Loudoun high school sports so I will be doing as much as that as possible for other outlets (Carl Lukat, sports of Loudoun Times-Mirror: Call Me!) and I'll use this website and my "On the Sideline" blog as an outlet for those "Rambling" thoughts of mine.

And I want to do more than just sports this time around ... sports are great but other educational activites and news are interesting as well plus other issues that are near and dear to the hearts of those I have gotten to know.

Stay tuned!

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VivaLoudoun.com
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Phone: 703.509.8826
Fax: 703. 724.1321

Email us: info@vivaloudoun.com

VivaLoudoun.com Staff Contact

Editor
Dan Sousa
Phone: 703.509.8826
email: dan.sousa@vivaloudoun.com

Want to shoot photos for VivaLoudoun.com? Email us today!

Internship program: We offer internship experience for young writers and photographers - contact us at interns@vivaloudoun.com

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About VivaLoudoun

About VivaLoudoun.com
VivaLoudoun.com is a Loudoun-based online media site that covers sports, news and views from Loudoun County, Virginia -- one of the fastest growing and richest counties in the United States.

We focus on the varsity athletics of the 10 (soon to be 12!) high schools in Loudoun County: Briar Woods, Broad Run, Dominion, Freedom (South Riding), Heritage, Loudoun County, Loudoun Valley, Park View, Potomac Falls and Stone Bridge.

We cover all sports including football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, cross country, golf, competitive cheer, wrestling, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, tennis, soccer, swim and track and field.

Our coverage includes game stories, photo galleries, videos, features, columns, scores, statistics, schedules, standings, online polls and more!

In addition to the varsity athletics we keep up with the latest news in youth sports as well as the latest news from the Loudoun County Public Schools as well as covering some of the other great extracurricular activities in the schools such as band, drama and chorus.

VivaLoudoun.com was started in August 2009 by former LoudounPrepSports.com owner and editor Dan Sousa. Dan has been covering high school and youth sports in Loudoun since 2005 and has been a resident of Loudoun since 1995.

The new website was designed with the help of Sharon Malone.

Photography on the website is featured by Dan Sousa, Jeff Scudder and Craig Sterbutzel. Photos are available for purchase via our SmugMug site.

You can keep up with us on our Facebook Fan Page or follow VivaLoudoun on Twitter!

APEX Gymnastics