Heritage Uses Its Defense to Put Up Points

By Paul Tenorio

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Facing a must-win game at home to stay alive in the Virginia AA Division 4 playoff race, the Heritage defense knew it would be the key to the team’s success last night against Briar Woods.

The Pride defense came through, scoring two defensive touchdowns in the first half, before Heritage held on for a 28-21 victory on senior night, keeping its playoff hopes alive.

“Our seniors have worked really hard to get to this point right here,” Heritage Coach Wes Driskill said. “A lot of seniors came up big tonight in their last home game. A lot of them have done a lot of work in the offseason, so I’m really glad to see them get rewarded for that.”

Up 14-7 with just under 11 minutes left in the first half, the Pride defense started its big night.

Senior Michael Massey burst through Briar Woods’s line on second and 10 and stripped quarterback Alex Munro of the ball. The ball never touched the ground as Massey spun and sprinted 40 yards into the end zone to put Heritage up by two touchdowns.

“I got my hand in, the ball was perfectly in my hand and I just ripped it out,” Massey said. “I knew he wasn’t down and I just took off.”

The defense didn’t take long to extend the Heritage (6-2, 4-1 AA Dulles) lead. This time it was junior Russell East intercepting Munro’s screen pass that sailed high and returning it 55 yards down the right sideline.

“We definitely shut them down,” Massey said. “We blitzed off the end, pressured Alex Munro and were able to force bad passes and get turnovers.”

Heritage jumped to an early advantage on Massey’s 32-yard touchdown pass from senior Kyle Nelson early in the first quarter. On the play, Nelson rolled right and lofted a pass down the right sideline to a wide-open Massey, who trotted into the end zone.

The Pride made it 14-0 on another Nelson pass before Briar Woods pulled to within 14-7 on Munro’s 63-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Gray.

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Heritage Defeats Briar Woods

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Heritage's Ross Madison and Russell East (hidden) force a fumble by Briar Woods' JT Bailey with 5:16 left in the 4th quarter. Heritage's Nick Cadwell recovered. (Joel Richardson)

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Heritage's Darius Tibbs beat Briar Woods' Devin Barber for a touchdown in the corner of the endzone in the first quarter. Heritage went on to beat Briar Woods, 28-21. (Joel Richardson)

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Heritage's Michael Massey is all alone as he catches a touchdown pass in the first quarter. Heritage went on to win the game, 28-21. (Joel Richardson)

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The Falcons’ offensive attack usually features playmakers at nearly every position, including Munro and wide receiver Tim King, who make up one of the top passing duos in the area.

But King was unable to play in the game until late in the fourth quarter because of a shoulder injury.

Briar Woods (5-3, 2-3) made a run at the end of the game, with J.T. Bailey’s two-yard touchdown run with just under eight minutes left making it 28-21. The Falcons got the ball back with a little more than three minutes remaining and drove to midfield but the Pride’s T.J. McPhaul intercepted Munro’s fourth-down pass to secure the victory.

Injury Bug Bites: Briar Woods was also without injured running back Billy McDonald, who is often used in short-yardage situations. McDonald was injured last week against Park View, and Briar Woods Coach Charlie Pierce said he most likely will not be available for another week.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks