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Stone Bridge Wins Liberty District

No. 2 Bulldogs Complete 10-0 Season

By Paul Tenorio

Saturday, November 1, 2008

With its starting quarterback out for several weeks, No. 2 Stone Bridge had hoped to use its arsenal of offensive weapons against W.T. Woodson on Friday night to close out the regular season with a win and a fourth consecutive Virginia AAA Liberty District title, and to head into the regional playoffs relatively healthy.

The Bulldogs managed the first part, leaning on running back Daniel Allen and senior playmaker Michael Prince to spark a 42-14 win. But Stone Bridge was unable to escape the game without suffering more injuries, this time losing two senior defensive leaders in linebacker Travis Hannam (ankle sprain) and defensive lineman Jimmy Bradford (shoulder).

Hannam, who was hurt on the first play, was on crutches after the game and said he would have X-rays to determine the extent of the injury. Stone Bridge Coach Mickey Thompson said that Bradford's shoulder popped out and the senior would miss "certainly a week or two, minimum."

"Two starters on defense, that's a big deal, that's a huge deal," Thompson said. "Especially as good as we are on defense. But there are a lot of guys that'll step up, and they'll just hold the fort."

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Stone Bridge Knocks Off Woodson

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Stone Bridge quarterback John Bladel finds running room before being tackled by W.T. Woodson's Tom Brewster during the second quarter Friday night. (Ricky Carioti)

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Stone Bridge's Nate Ingersoll, right, breaks up a pass intended for W.T. Woodson's Kirk Lewis during the first quarter. (Ricky Carioti)

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W.T. Woodson's James Johnson is stopped in the backfield by Stone Bridge's Jimmy Bradford (55) during the first quarter. (Ricky Carioti)

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W.T. Woodson quarterback Connor Reilly gets the ball off over Stone Bridge's David Wang for a pass in the second quarter on Friday night. (Ricky Carioti)

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Stone Bridge quarterback John Bladel throws a five-yard touchdown pass against W.T. Woodson in the second quarter (Ricky Carioti)

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Stone Bridge's Michael Prince hauls in a five-yard touchdown pass in front of W.T. Woodson's Eugene Kim during the second quarter on Friday night. (Ricky Carioti)

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Stone Bridge's Daniel Allen breaks a tackle by W.T. Woodson's Eugene Kim for a 58-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. (Ricky Carioti)

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Stone Bridge's Daniel Allen, left, breaks a tackle by W.T. Woodson's Max Waizenegger (85) for a 58-yard touchdown run in the first quarter on Friday night. (Ricky Carioti)

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Stone Bridge's Michael Prince breaks the tackle of W.T. Woodson's Colin Dempsey and runs for a 15-yard touchdown in the first quarter on Friday night. (Ricky Carioti)

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Besides the two injuries, there were not many negatives for Stone Bridge (10-0, 7-0). Even without star quarterback Patrick Thompson behind center, the Bulldogs moved the ball efficiently on offense.

The offensive line overwhelmed Woodson (7-3, 6-1) in the trenches. Senior John Bladel and sophomore Kyle Gouveia each threw a touchdown pass, and Allen was tremendous in the backfield, rushing for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

Allen shouldered the bulk of the responsibility and turned in an impressive performance. On a 58-yard run in the first quarter, the senior showcased his vision and speed, bouncing to the outside on a run and outracing everyone down the sideline. In the third quarter, Allen used his power to easily shed tacklers on a 30-yard touchdown run.

"Coach just gave me the opportunity to play more and get the ball more and gave me the opportunity to do stuff, and I thought it was good," Allen said.

Prince continued to shine, scoring twice - a 15-yard touchdown run to open the scoring and a 20-yard grab from Bladel in the second quarter - giving him 18 touchdowns on the year. And sophomore Marcus Harris and senior Nick Sheehan also got into the end zone for Stone Bridge.

Bladel said that having so many weapons is "great, because when you get them the ball, they can do anything, make moves, get down and score touchdowns. But it all starts with the offensive line getting blocks for them to spring them."

Woodson was unable to do much offensively early on, with the Stone Bridge front seven stifling the option tosses and inside runs, and the Cavaliers at one point had eight consecutive incompletions.

The Cavaliers got on the board on the final play of the half after an interception gave them possession at the Stone Bridge 22-yard line, and they added another score late, but the Stone Bridge defense controlled much of the game even without the two injured starters.

"Coaches put together a great scheme tonight," linebacker Mike Olson said. "We just worked really hard and watched film from last year. It's all about staying home, not committing too much to the outside, committing too much to the inside. And if everyone does their job, then we get it done."

Stone Bridge has won 28 consecutive Liberty District games and six straight district championships since 2003, when the Bulldogs won the AA Dulles District.

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