Loudoun Football 2008: Park View

Patriots Have Holes to Fill on Offense and Defense

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Ask anyone from Park View or Broad Run about their lasting memory from the 2007 Dulles District football season and you'll likely get the same answer: Patriots running back Eric Johnston's 44-yard touchdown pass to quarterback C.J. Leizear to knock the Spartans out of the Region II playoffs.

Broad Run defeated Park View one week prior to take the district title, but Johnston's hook-up with Leizear in the waning moments of their first-round playoff rematch quickly supplanted that memory.

Now the Patriots are once again looking to replace fading memories with new ones as they try to build on last season's 10-2 mark and return to the regional playoffs. After a plethora of losses on both sides of the ball – including Johnston, all-time passing leader Leizear and Region II defensive player of the year Thomas Mulabah – fourth-year coach Andy Hill is left with only three returning starters on either side of the ball and plenty of questions.

"We lose kids every year who are very good football players, and you would hope that would happen," Hill said. "You'd hope that they graduate and go to college and play college football or just go do their thing. And then you have to rebuild."

Fortunately for Hill, he's no stranger to reloading a roster following the graduation of top players. A year ago he was forced to replace the school's all-time leading rusher Deric Dudinski – a catalyst for the team's 2006 undefeated run through the Dulles District for a league title – and several other key contributors.

The difference this time around is that the Patriots must replace eight starters on both sides of the ball. To fill many of those voids, they will be banking on the emergence of several young players to step in and contribute right away.

Nowhere will the youth movement be more prevalent than in the linebacking corps where three sophomores will rotate through the inside linebacker position. Nick Braddock, Garret Dalton and Eric Palma all dressed for varsity games as freshmen, but will face a stiff challenge in holding down the middle of the defense.

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Park View Defeats Broad Run

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Park View players get fired up before the game against Broad Run. Park View won, 16-12. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Broad Run's No. 5 Tommy Meier is stopped by Park View's No. 9 Eric Johnston and No. 16 Clayton Parker with 9:57 left in the first quarter. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Park View's No. 9 Eric Johnston is finally stopped by Broad Run's No. 32 Kenny McAdow in the fourth quarter with 9:05 left on the clock. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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With 3:26 left in the first quarter, Park View's No. 9 Eric Johnston breaks a tackle by Broad Run's No. 32 Kenny McAdow. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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With 7:06 left in the first quarter, Park View's No. 5 Josh Jones breaks through tackles by Broad Run's No. 51 Matt Escano and No. 5 Tommy Meier. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Broad Run's No. 22 Joey Quigg almost makes it to the Patriot 10-yard line before being pulled down by Park View's No. 10 C.J. Leizear with 4.2 seconds left in the second quarter. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Park View's No. 10 C.J. Leizear looks to pass in the second quarter with 5:20 on the clock. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Park View's No. 10 C.J. Leizear fakes a handoff and runs the ball himself in the third quarter with 11:02 remaining. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Park View's No. 9 Eric Johnston makes a big run in the second quarter with 10:47 remaining. He makes it to Broad Run's 35-yard line. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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"They're the best at the position on our team," Hill said. "It's not as though we've sold out to get the younger kids playing time. They're a group that we're excited about, and that's why I'd like to continue to build the offensive line. I don't want Eric to go both ways all the time. But you can tell the type of kid he is. At this school, with our tradition and the kind of toughness we're known for, to have a 10th grader go both ways is pretty impressive."

The 5-foot-9, 209-pound Palma, who will also spend time on the offensive line, will not let his inexperience prevent him from getting into the fray, Hill said.

"If a fight broke out in the school, between the entire student body, he'd be the last one standing," he said. "He's a good kid, he's just that tough."

With fresh faces filling the center of the defense, the defensive backfield – one of the few experienced units on the team – will be relied upon to provide vocal leadership on and off the field. Senior safety Marcus Freeman, and senior corners Brandon Absher and Josh Jones all return from last season’s starting unit and along with junior corner Nathan Santana comprise the Patriots’ strongest group.

"Since we're a young team and our defensive backs were all starters last year, we've got to step up and help the linebackers and the D-line," Absher said. "We're the leaders back there so we've been guiding them through practice and helping them learn the way we play since we've got that experience."

Absher, who replaces Johnston as the starting running back, is one of several Patriots expected to go both ways this fall. Jones and Freeman will play receiver while junior linemen Robert Hayes, Tuan Tran and seniors Kevin Welch and Bobby Cockerille will see time on both sides of the ball. Depth could also be a key early on with so many new players in the lineup, although Hill said he has several impressive freshmen – who could see game action by midseason. He plans to keep five freshmen up at the junior varsity level.

"The strength of our team is our seniors, but we've got a very good undercurrent of 10th and 11th graders," Hill said. "I think we're really on the cusp of being able to have that type of program where we're just reloading and reloading. But this is that transition year. I think we're talented enough in that in-between year to still have an outstanding season, if we take one or two and if we get that collective identity and that unity that Park View has had. We're just not quite there yet."

How close the Patriots come to replicating their success from a year ago depends heavily on the play of their new quarterback, junior Brandon Lee. After splitting time under center and at tight end and linebacker on the junior varsity last season, the 6-foot-1, 191-pounder will take the reins of an offense that put up 28.5 points per game in 2007, looking to replace a quarterback who eclipsed 20 touchdown passes and threw for nearly 3,000 yards.

"Can I replace C.J. with one kid?" Hill said. "I don't know, but I think I've got a pretty good quarterback in Brandon Lee. He's kind of rough. He's not going to come out and be refined and checking at the line. But I've seen him grow these last two weeks and I think he’s going to be a solid player for us. His athleticism kind of compliments the other kids on the field."

The weapons are in place for Lee, provided he gets enough protection in the pocket to find them. Junior Tommy Sedeski returns as a starting wide receiver after putting up six 100-yard receiving games last season. He'll be joined by junior Drew Mason and Jones in the slot. Junior soccer standout K.C. Onyeador will also take the pitch wearing a new set of boots for the first time, providing speed and depth at wide receiver while also providing an instant boost to the kicking game.

"I think our offensive line is going to dictate play for us this season, along with our wide receivers," Freeman said. "With Drew, Josh and Tommy, we've got people who can make plays. If we can just get them the ball, we’ll be able to do some great things on offense."

Over the last two seasons, Park View has a 19-4 record with one Dulles District title and two regional playoff appearances. And while measuring up to that recent standard will be difficult for Hill’s young Patriots, he has no intention of writing off the 2008 campaign.

"We've got enough kids around the field that if you play us fundamental and you tackle well, you'll probably beat us," Hill said. "If you don't, we might be struggling for seven or eight plays or a couple series and all of a sudden we throw a hitch or we run a sweep, and these guys are all kids who can turn four yards and a missed tackle into 45 yards and touchdown."

With speed and athleticism on their side, the biggest hurdle for the Patriots will be getting their young players big game experience and developing a team identity. If they can accomplish that during the early stages of the season, their regular-season finale with Broad Run could be yet another epic battle.

"If we're rolling by the time week get there, then I think we can be competitive and make that a really great week 10 game," Hill said. "If we played them week four, that would be a very, very bad thing for me. That's being honest, because we've got to grow into ourselves."

Notes: Not only were the Patriots hit hard by losses on the field this off-season, they also sustained key losses on the sideline – most notably former offensive line coach Danny McGrath. The former Virginia Tech center recently took over as the new head coach at Loudoun Valley, leaving a vacancy in Hill’s staff. "I love Danny and I'm really happy he got the job – for him," Hill said. "For us, in a selfish way, it really left a big gap." But the Patriots found a replacement in another former Hokie. Dwight Vick – a cousin of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick – played at Virginia Tech and will take over as the offensive line coach.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks