Trick Play Keeps Patriot Win Streak Alive

By Tim Richardson

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Park View’s undefeated season was on the line with two minutes left Friday against rival Potomac Falls.

Down by a point after the Panthers recovered a blocked punt in the end zone, coach Andy Hill dug into the playbook and pulled out a trick play. On Wednesday, the Patriots drew up a variation on a bounce pass play that they attempted on their first offensive play against Freedom on Oct. 5.

That play resulted in a fumble. On Friday, the results were much better.

Park View gained 25 yards on the trick play, setting up a 44-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Leizear to Ryan Pick with 1 minute 32 seconds left to give the Patriots a 21-14 victory.

“We talked about doing that early on, but we didn’t -- we saved it -- but we’ve got to go 70 yards and there’s two minutes left and we weren’t going to be able to take a deep shot,” said Hill of the play, which the team practiced four times leading up to the game.

Added Leizear: “It was just another trick that Coach Hill had in the bag. It worked.”

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Park View vs. Potomac Falls

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The Park View Patriots line up before Friday night's game against the Potomac Falls Panthers. (Kyle Hansen)

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Park View's No. 52 Will Ward and No. 56 Thomas Mulabah block for No. 9 Eric Johnson during the first quarter. (Kyle Hansen)

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Potomac Falls quarterback Gregory Woodlief carries the ball during the first quarter of Friday night's game against Park View. (Kyle Hansen)

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Potomac Falls head coach Scott Woodlief talks to his players during a first quarter timeout. (Kyle Hansen)

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Potomac Falls' No. 21 Michael Fahey leads the pack during the first quarter of Friday's game. (Kyle Hansen)

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Members of the Potomac Falls marching band pose before beginning their performance at Friday night's football game. (Kyle Hansen)

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Trumpet players in the Potomac Falls marching band walk across the field during halftime of Friday night's game. (Kyle Hansen)

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Members of the Potomac Falls marching band perform during the Friday night game against Park View. (Kyle Hansen)

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The Potomac Falls panther mascot joins cheerleaders during Friday's football game against cross-town rival Park View. (Kyle Hansen)

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Potomac Falls' No. 21 Michael Baker tries to get past Park View's Eric Johnson during the third quarter. (Kyle Hansen)

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Visitors from Park View cheer on their team during the Patriot's Friday night win over cross-town rival Potomac Falls. (Kyle Hansen)

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Park View quarterback C.J. Leizear runs with the ball during Friday night's game against Potomac Falls. (Kyle Hansen)

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Park View quarterback C.J. Leizear takes advantage of an opening to run the ball during the fourth quarter in Friday's win over Potomac Falls. (Kyle Hansen)

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Potomac Falls head coach Scott Woodlief gets on his hands and knees to see if the ball was far enough for a first down. It was. (Kyle Hansen)

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Potomac Falls' No. 31 Chris Pelto ran 35 yards for a touchdown during the fourth quarter. (Kyle Hansen)

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Park View No. 5 Josh Jones carries the ball during his team's Friday night win over Potomac Falls. (Kyle Hansen)

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Leizear’s game-winning pass to Pick also worked.

“That wasn’t the designed route, but I kept going deep and he saw me, thankfully, and made a beautiful throw,” said Pick, who had three catches for 87 yards. “That’s just me and him hooking up.”

Park View's Josh Jones intercepted a pass at the end of the game to seal the victory, but the first three-plus quarters were a defensive struggle.

Park View (6-0, 3-0 AA Dulles) held a 6-0 lead thanks to Leizear’s 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver David Foley with 1:08 to go in the first half. Leizear completed 15 of 29 passes for 290 yards.

The final four touchdowns in the game came in the last half of the fourth quarter.

Foley, who had four catches for 62 yards, got his second touchdown reception of the night with 7:43 to go in the fourth on an 11-yard pass. That score put the Patriots up 13-0, but the Panthers (2-4, 1-2) answered when quarterback Greg Woodlief (16 for 29 for 189 yards) threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Pelto.

Pelto finished with seven catches for 121 yards.

Coach Scott Woodlief said his team played well, although it couldn’t hold on to the lead.

“I honestly believe tonight we played four quarters of football. We came up on the short end of the stick,” he said. “All of these losses like this are really hard, especially when it comes from a school right around the corner. A big rivalry for us.”

Potomac Falls will next take on Freedom (0-6, 0-3). Woodlief said he hopes the team will improve after Friday’s loss.

“This is going to be a hard one for us to overcome,” he said. “To come so close but don’t win the football game – we’ll build on this and that’s all you can ask.”

Park View will take on Briar Woods (5-1, 2-1) at home next Friday.

“I’m real proud of our guys for fighting back, but if we play like that next week we won’t win,” Hill said. “They’ll come out to play and we can’t start flat.”

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks