A Last Look Back at Stone Bridge

By Paul Tenorio

Thursday, December 4, 2008

As the final whistle sounded on No. 8 Stone Bridge's season, the silence on the Bulldogs' bench was a stark contrast to the roar of the home crowd across the field.

A team that had lost just once in two seasons entering the Virginia AAA Division 5 state semifinals was dominated in Hampton, losing 38-8 to Phoebus. And after the team lined up to shake hands, the reality of the end of a season and a high school football career for many Stone Bridge seniors began to set in.

Senior linebacker Travis Hannam squatted, holding himself up with his helmet and staring at the ground. Tears rolled down the face of quarterback Patrick Thompson. And the players hesitated as they tried to figure out where to go for the postgame speech after a loss, something they had not had to do since falling to Robinson early in the 2007 season.

But even in the minutes immediately following the defeat, the accomplishments of this Stone Bridge senior class were not lost on the players or coaches.

Over the past four years, the Bulldogs (13-1) had captured three Northern Region championships and a state title and had not lost a single district game. And players said the bonds they formed on the team surpassed even those on-field accomplishments.

"I love these guys to death," Wake Forest-bound senior linebacker Mike Olson said. "And how many kids get to come out here and play a game like this? We're so fortunate and so special. We've got the greatest coaching staff in the world."

Throughout the 2008 campaign, Stone Bridge continued to prove it had become one of the elite programs in the state, dominating its competition with a high-powered offense and stifling defense.

For much of the year, the Bulldogs led the Washington area in scoring using a mix of Coach Mickey Thompson's signature single-wing offense and a spread attack. And defensively, Stone Bridge's starters, led by four Division I-bound athletes, dominated opponents.

So as the game quickly unraveled Saturday, Mickey Thompson said he was overwhelmed by the idea that things were ending so suddenly.

"These are kids that grew up with my kids, that I've known for a long time," Thompson said. "So it's heartbreaking to see that they're done. And I wasn't ready for it to be done. I really thought that we would win today. It was just, all of a sudden it was coming to a crashing end, and in a very bitter way, too."

Afterward, the team stayed in the locker room for more than 10 minutes before coming out to the team buses for the drive back to Ashburn.

As Virginia Tech-bound defensive tackle David Wang prepared to board, he stopped to reflect on his time with the Bulldogs and the impact the experience would have as he prepared to begin his college career.

"This will be the best team I ever play on," Wang said, speaking just above a whisper. "No matter where I go, how far I go in life, I'll never forget this high school football team. I'll never forget it, ever."

Tagged: football, high school sports, Stone Bridge High School

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