Truth be told, the only guys that stopped Briar Woods in the first half were the guys in stripes.

Short of venturing out into hostile territory like West Virginia (where they seem to make no bones about home cooking) this was one of the worst officiated games I have ever watched.

I would suggest that anyone that doubts me watch the Comcast telecast tomorrow evening at 7pm on Channel 2.

Seven holding calls? Are you kidding me? The Falcons were running right thru Park View only to be flagged time after time.

I've seen games where the refs tend to get a bit flag happy, but never so one sided.

And frankly, the non calls were just about as frustrating.

We haven't had seven holding calls on us all season and they call seven in the first half? And then for some reason we don't have anymore for the rest of the game?

I have no doubt that the officiating kept Park View in the game.

A fumble recovered on the one by the Falcons was mysteriously determined by the zebras as an incomplete pass. Just watch the telecast -Ray Charles could have made the right call on that play.

The game should have been at least 14-0 if not 21-0 at halftime in favor of Briar Woods. And the second half would have unfolded much differently.

Without a question losing John Meghamez at center hurt. Up to that point Mullabah was a non factor in the game.

And - yes - losing Billy McDonald hurt as well as he was running thru Park View like a hot knife thru butter.

Sour grapes? Absolutely not. Angry at the zebras? You betcha I am.

Without a doubt we made some mistakes in the second half - and injuries to two key players certainly hurt our ability to execute. But that said - if Briar Woods is up by two or three touchdowns at the half, that second half is played much differently.

You get the opportunity to pound the ball - eat the clock - and limit the number of possessions by the Patriots.

Posted by brklynanne (anonymous) on October 20, 2007 at 8:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Park View was flagged for nearly 200 yards in penelties two weeks ago against Freedom, had 4 or five or more turnovers in several other games this year. Good teams don't make excuses. They find a way to overcome the adversity and win any way. Park View has had to do it all year long. Maybe Briar Woods will find a way to do it next year. Briar Woods has a good team and a good coach. Don't cheapen what they've accomplish with your rant against the refs or a bunch of what if's and would've, could've should'ves. Stop whinning and get ready for Heritage.

Posted by duncanrobn (anonymous) on October 20, 2007 at 9:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Did you attend the game today? What is your honest opinion of the first half officiating?

You seem to understand football - and you know that a holding call is a drive killer. We had more holding penalties called on us today than we had all season combined.

Were we so overmatched by the Park View DL that we had to hold to compete? The answer to that is no.

In general, if a particular ref has a jones for holding, you tend to see it get thrown both ways. That just didn't happen.

And was that because Park View doesn't hold? I think we both know the answer to that. To a greater or lesser degree, holding occurs on every play.

You are absolutely correct in good teams learning to overcome adversity, but let me ask you this. Do you think you could overcome 200 yards of penalties against a quality opponent?

I very rarely rant about an officiating crew. Every crew makes the occasional bad call - but they tend to even themselves out during the course of a football game.

I'm of the opinion that an officiating crew should manage a football game and not steer the outcome of the game. That's what I feel I witnessed during the first half today. I grant you it's hard to be objective sometimes, but I know what I watched.

I'm not accusing anyone of bias - because where would the bias come from? It was a Loudoun County crew I'm sure. Honestly, I can't wrap my head around why a game could be called so one sided for an entire half.

It was frustrating to watch. I would much rather have the outcome decided by the play of the boys than by the men with the yellow hankies.

We made too many mistakes in the second half to be sure - and combined with the injuries -we just couldn't overcome them. But I think the dye was set in the first half and the second half would have been strategically played much differently if Park View had to play from two or three touchdowns down.

If you see it as whining, that's your opinion.

We can just agree to disagree.

Posted by brklynanne (anonymous) on October 20, 2007 at 10:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by stltrkn55 (anonymous) on October 21, 2007 at 8:45 a.m.

First of all I suggest we refrain from referring to one group as "trash" and let's keep this discussion to football.

A few points worth considering.

It seemed to me that most of the holding calls were runs to Thomas Mulabah's side of the line. Could it be that holding was necessary in order to control him?

As to why holding wasn't called on both sides all I can say is that we (and I'm from PVHS of course) were doing squat in the running game so not only weren't we holding but we weren't blocking.

Let's not spoil this game. Both teams are quality programs and very well coached. Stuff happens and you do hate to see/think that referees control a game but I also have to think that they are experienced and call what they see. Some see a certain technique in blocking and call it a hold. We had a holding call on a screen play called on our wide receiver who I've seen make that block (technique) all season without a call and yesterday they called it. Again certain techniques are viewed differently.

As far as "watching the film" - unless you have camera angles from the end zone it's nearly impossible to see the internal line holding calls so that won't be much help.

As I said, both programs are an example of how to build quality football programs and I wouldn't be surprised if BW won the Region II District 3 title and perhaps beyond.

These are 16-18 year old kids - let's keep the discussions positive and let's build up our kids not tear them down or discredit the game.

Posted by philliesfanatic (anonymous) on October 21, 2007 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm with you 100% - and my comments had nothing to do with the kids. Kids are kids -and these kids have been playing with or against each other since they've been 10 years old in the Sterling and Ashburn Youth Leagues.

All of these kids work very hard during the week - both mentally and physically - to prepare for their opponent. They all deserve an even playing field.

This game is about them - not us - and not for the referees to get so involved that they make too big an impact on the outcome.

When it is boiled down, and my frustration subsides, my position is that I want to see the games won or lost by the kids on the field.

Not by the guys in the stripes.

And this is not a condemnation of referees as most of the crews have done a great job this season.

As long as they hustle and get in the best positions they can to make good judgement calls, then I have no issues with them. Even if they blow a call.

For example, a badly blown call probably cost us the Broad Run game. But the ref was in the right position, got right on top of it, and made the call to the best of his ability. Sure it's frustrating when that one call has such an impact on the final score, but you shake your head and move on.

By and large, we've had good crews that work hard and made good decisions this season and I appreciate their efforts. It's a difficult job under the best of circumstances.

And that is precisely the reason why I was so frustrated with yesterday's crew.

Posted by brklynanne (anonymous) on October 21, 2007 at 12:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It is what it is. Good or bad calls by the referees - this is high school football. There are no red flags and coaches' challenges during the games. What could have been, should have been, etc. - never decides a game. It's how the whole team pulls together and finishes a game. Bad calls, injured players etc., the weather - yes, these can all be factors. The game is still played out by the players on the field and the plays the coaches/players call and execute successfully.

As another Park View parent wrote - we too have questioned calls by referees in many games this year. Not to worry - our young men were still able to rally as a UNIFIED team and pull off the wins. Penalties or no penalties - you were up against a quality opponent. And yes, I do hear lots of "sour grapes" in your comments, brklynanne.

Posted by Rtw530 (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 12:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)