Briar Woods Starts Season With Win

After Loss Last Season in Hedgesville, Falcons Get 28-13 Win

By Levi Chronister, Emmy Crawford, Cara McCoy, Tim Richardson

Saturday, August 25, 2007

HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. -- Immediately following the postgame handshake Friday evening at Mumaw Stadium, the Briar Woods High School football team ran off the field and straight to the locker room, forgoing the usual team meeting.

Actions speak louder than words, after all, and the Falcons already had said plenty in a season-opening 28-13 victory over the Eagles, avenging last year's "embarrassing" 34-7 loss to Hedgesville back on Nov. 3, 2006.

"Our goal this week was to come down the field, take the field and get the heck off the field," BWHS head coach Charlie Pierce said. "We wanted to take the field and leave. Last year was embarrassing, and I said 'Get off the field' (after the game) and this year we were taking the field. I felt that we did. We took the field."

The Falcons (1-0) took the game with a balanced attack, beating the Eagles' secondary for completion after completion in the first half and wearing down their defensive line with a solid rushing attack in the second.

Senior quarterback Alex Munro was 11-of-18 passing for 133 yards and a touchdown in the first half, leading Briar Woods to an 8-7 halftime advantage. He completed his first six passes, including five straight on the game's opening drive, which ended with a 20-yard scoring toss to senior receiver Tim King.

"The offensive line did a good job, the wide receivers ran good routes and it was just like we practiced," Munro said. "They've been scouting us for a couple weeks now and they know what we do. But coming out throwing the ball is a bit different so it might have caught them off guard."

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Briar Woods Defeats Hedgesville

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The Briar Woods High School Falcons gather in a huddle Friday evening just prior to taking on the Hedgesville High School Eagles. The Falcons traveled nearly 75 miles to play their their first regular-season game of the school year against the West Virginia opponents. (Adam Hemphill)

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The Hedgesville Eagles, led by senior quarterback Taylor Hockman, make their way onto the field Friday evening to battle the Briar Woods Falcons. The game began just after the scheduled time of 7 p.m. (Adam Hemphill)

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Briar Woods running back Matt Eisenman evades the grasp of Hedgesville running back Tyler McCain while preparing to collide with running back Bryan McIntyre. Eisenman completed 7 carries for 19 yards against the Eagles' defense. (Adam Hemphill)

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Briar Woods quarterback Alex Munro winds up for a 20-yard pass that resulted in wide receiver Tim King scoring the first touchdown of the game. Munro threw for 199 yards in 25 passes, 16 of which were completed. (Adam Hemphill)

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Hedgesville quarterback Taylor Hockman looks for a hole Friday evening as his Eagles took on the Briar Wood Falcons. Hockman garnered 8 completions after throwing for 87 yards in 17 passes. (Adam Hemphill)

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An official stands on the field Friday evening during a break in play between the Hedgesville Eagles and the Briar Wood Falcons. (Adam Hemphill)

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Hedgesville kicker Parker Griffin practices on the sidelines Friday evening as the Eagles hosted the Briar Woods Falcons at Mumaw Stadium. (Adam Hemphill)

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Mumaw Stadium in Hedgesville, W.Va. is seen Friday evening during a lull in play between the Hedgesville Eagles and the Briar Woods Falcons. (This photograph was made by combining three separate exposures to create a single image with dynamic range higher than that normally possible with a digital camera.) (Adam Hemphill)

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The Briar Woods Falcons perform warm-up exercises Friday evening following the half-time show at Mumaw Stadium in Hedgesville, W.Va. (Adam Hemphill)

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Hedgesville running back Ben Adams initiates a tackle of Briar Woods wide receiver Tim King during the third quarter of the teams' Friday evening match-up. Despite the efforts of Adams and his teammates, King completed two of the Falcons' four touchdowns. (Adam Hemphill)

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Hedgesville's defensive line squares up with the offense of Briar Woods as the Eagles hosted the Falcons for their first regular-season game of the school year. (Adam Hemphill)

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Eagles running back Jordan Reed is tackled by Falcons defensemen in the fourth quarter as Briar Woods secured their victory against Hedgesville. Though the Eagles trailed in the first half by just one point, the Falcons' offense increased its advantage to 15 in the second half. (Adam Hemphill)

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Briar Woods running back Billy McDonald is off and running for a fourth-quarter touchdown last season against Hedgesville. McDonald is one of the key returning players for the Falcons. (Adam Hemphill)

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Members of the Briar Woods Falcons and the Hedgesville Eagles line up Friday evening to congratulate one another following their game at Mumaw Stadium in Hedgesville, W.Va. The Falcons prevailed over the Eagles with a 28-13 score in the first regular-season game of the school year. (Adam Hemphill)

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Munro and King teamed up for another touchdown early in the third quarter for a 15-7 lead, but Hedgesville answered four plays later with a 48-yard touchdown strike of its own from Taylor Hockman to Jordan Burnett.

A failed two-point conversion attempt left the Falcons up 15-13, and they turned to their running game and a stifling defense to stay in front.

Senior Devin Barber scored on a seven-yard run less than a minute after Burnett's touchdown, and 5-foot-10, 245-pound sophomore running back Billy McDonald finished the scoring with a 39-yard run off the left side of the line with 3:17 left to go after Briar Woods had forced three straight Hedgesville punts.

McDonald finished with 97 yards on 11 carries, with all but one rush and two yards coming in the second half as the Falcons tried to hold on to their lead.

"Our conditioning and our power game with our line and big fullback eventually wore them down," Pierce said. "That was the turning point in the fourth quarter -- our conditioning and being able to keep pounding up inside until the big boy went for a touchdown."

The Falcons held the Eagles to three first downs and 93 yards after halftime. Hedgesville managed just 197 total yards all game.

"The other thing we kept preaching to the kids about this year was that there will be a time and place where on defense we have to stop the run and control the ball with the run," Pierce said. "And I think that's what happened in the second half."

Munro finished with 199 passing yards and two touchdowns, completed 16 of 25 passes and rushed five times for 17 yards. King caught seven passes for 100 yards, and Matt Eisenman gained 19 yards on seven rushes and a caught a 35-yard reception. Barber had three carries for 10 yards and two catches for 20 yards, and had two near interceptions called back -- one because of a penalty and one for coming down out of bounds. Max Rassman added two sacks, one in each half.

Pierce’s team made it clear from the first drive it had come to take the field. The 81-yard opening drive culminated in Munro’s 20-yard pass to receiver Tim King into Hedgesville’s end zone for a touchdown.

After the initial burst of speed, however, the passing game started to waver. The final drive of the half saw Munro throw three incomplete passes in a row -- the last of which was nearly intercepted by the Eagles.

“Going into halftime I was kind of upset with myself,” Munro said. “I tried to slow the game down and remember what my coach taught me, going back to basic rules.”

From Ashburn to Hedgesville

Although the Hedgesville bleachers drew a predictably larger crowd than the visiting team, a number of Briar Woods fans made the trek from Ashburn to show their support.

"I think they're going to play well. They're looking really strong. They've had two good scrimmages and we're off to a good start," Tracy Mahoney said after getting nachos at halftime.

Her son Bryan, a junior, plays safety for the Falcons. The family moved to Ashburn two years ago from Texas, and “he's been playing since he was 7," she added.

David Ashton, 20, attends Colgate University in upstate New York, but couldn’t pass up the chance to see his little brother in action. Jake Ashton starts as outside linebacker for the Falcons.

His family came in from Northern Virginia to see friends battle it out on opposite sides of the field. While Jake Ashton was playing for Briar Woods, his step-mom’s nephew was taking the field for Hedgesville.

“It’s fun. They’re actually both good friends,” he said. “It wasn’t anything personal.”

Briar Woods hasn’t had time to rack up much of a history -- the school opened in 2005 -- but fans said they’re excited for what the future holds. Ashburn resident Joseph Arsenault, who has been active with the Briar Woods booster club, was in the stands to show support for his friends' and neighbors' children on the team.

"I think it'll be an interesting season for them," he said. "They are a much more experienced team now with a lot of seniors. It should make for some interesting competition."

Senior Falcon cheerleader Meena Khot said the early win can only mean good things to come this season. She stood on the visitor side of the field throughout the evening, standing in front of the Briar Woods fans and cheering on the team.

"I love pumping up the fans," she said. "I think we're going to do really well (this season). We have a really good record of 9-1 and 6-4 and I think our team is only improving."

For the most part, the weather did its part to cooperate. The temperature was 85 degrees at kickoff – although the heat index made it feel more like the middle 90s.

‘Each Game Is Another Step’

Briar Woods suffered through some of the usual first-game blunders, such as dropped passes, missed tackles and four fumbles, but they still ran off the field with a win.

"We still had a couple minor mistakes there, a couple big plays, and some questionable things," Pierce said, "but overall I can't be more happy to come down here after last year, losing 34-7 against this team.”

The Falcons face Millbrook next Friday in another game away from home, and Pierce said the Falcons will be ready for the challenge.

"We feel that they're going to be a physical team. They're going to be bigger than we saw tonight. They've got a couple stud inside linebackers, and they have a really good passing game,” he said. “It's a different type of offense than we saw tonight, so we've got to be able to be prepared for that.”

Pierce said he hopes the win is a sign of good things to come.

"I think this is the first win of hopefully a very good season for us. And that's how we've got to look at it. It's the first win. It's got to be like a stair-step effect,” Pierce said. “Each week, each practice, each game is another step to continue to get better and improve our program.”

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks