Away and Home, Potomac Falls Wins

Lights Go Out at Dominion, Forcing Completion of Game at PFHS

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Potomac Falls completed a 9-1 season Friday with a 48-10 victory over Sterling rival Dominion. Panthers quarterback Gregory Woodlief threw four touchdown passes and Michael Baker rushed for 192 yards.

But the game itself was anything but typical.

The lights went out with 1:44 left in the third quarter at Dominion High School and the Panthers leading, 27-10. The referees and athletic directors deliberated for about 20 minutes before deciding to move the game to Potomac Falls. The teams were bussed over and then went through stretches and warmups again since there was such a long delay.

They finally resumed play around 11 p.m. -- after a delay of more than an hour -- and the Panthers tacked on three more touchdowns in front of a sparse crowd.

"That was probably the weirdest game I've ever played," Baker said. "The lights went off and we were a little shocked and then we kind of cooled down on the sideline, just trying to figure out what was going to happen. But we came back to our house and showed our stuff."

Added Potomac Falls Coach Scott Woodlief: "This is the weirdest game I've ever played. I thought the weirdest game I'd ever played was my first year here when we played Washington-Lee and they had about five people there - it was a really really eerie feeling. You could see how quiet is was here tonight and that was a weird feeling. To ask kids to go over there to play and then have a shortage and then come back here to finish up, I think our kids got another spark and they came over here and really turned it on. Weird game."

But he was quick to put this game, and the regular season, behind him.

"Like I told [the team], you can take nine wins and throw them in the trash because we're going to start over tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.," Woodlief said. "We're going to watch tape, we're going to make ourselves better and Monday morning we're starting summer practice again because we're starting a new season."

Stone Bridge 58, Jefferson 7

Stone Bridge scored nine points before its offense even got on the field Friday night, as the Bulldogs rolled over Thomas Jefferson High School 58-7 in the first round of the Northern Region playoffs.

The game was a rematch of the meeting between the teams two weeks ago, which Stone Bridge won easily, 70-7. Coach Mickey Thompson was dissatisfied with his team’s performance in the second game. "It's hard, because you've already beaten the team," he said. "We really played poorly today, especially on offense."

Undefeated Stone Bridge, the defending state champions, forced a safety on Jefferson’s first possession. Dare Ewetusa returned the Colonials’ kickoff 60 yards for a touchdown, and the Bulldogs led 9-0 less than two minutes into the game.

Quarterback John Bladel, stepping in for the injured Patrick Thompson, led the Bulldogs on a 72-yard drive, finishing it off with a 39-yard touchdown pass to receiver Michael Prince. Running back Daniel Allen added a 38-yard rushing touchdown late in the first quarter, and Stone Bridge led 23-0.

The Bulldogs had a rocky second quarter. They failed to convert on a fourth down on their own 8-yard line after two big penalties, and Bladel threw an interception on a later possession. The defense came up big both times, however, responding with two interceptions of their own, and the offense was able to score on a 12-yard pass from Bladel to tight end Zach Thompson.

Coach Thompson said the decision to go for it on fourth and long was to teach the offense responsibility. "It was like a message to our team that hey, this is not acceptable where we're at now. We gotta get this first down; if we don't get it, this is your fault," Thompson said.

Jefferson seemed desperate in the second half to try to make something happen, but their plans backfired. Two onside kick attempts failed. The second one, in the final minute of the game, gave Stone Bridge its last touchdown.

The Bulldogs scored their eight touchdowns with eight different players counting Bladel's passes. Running back Marcus Harris was the only other player to score two touchdowns, and kicker Abdul Shaban had the third most points of any player with his eight extra point kicks.

Bladel said it felt good to step into the quarterback role and throw some touchdowns, but he looks forward to having Thompson back next week to lead the team. Thompson is ready to get into the game, too. "I don't like sitting on the sidelines," he said. "I just wish I could be out there."

Briar Woods 61, Freedom 23

Ray Taliaferro went over 200 yards rushing for the second time in three games to lead Briar Woods to a 61-23 victory over Freedom.

The Eagles (1-9, 0-7) stayed with the Falcons (8-2, 5-2) in the first half, taking a 23-21 halftime lead before Briar Woods scored 40 unanswered points in the second half. Taliaferro, who finished with 204 rushing yards, scored two touchdowns in the second half. The senior set a school record with 217 yards rushing against Heritage on Oct. 24 and has scored eight of his 12 touchdowns this season in the last three games.

Also, Loudoun Valley completed its first season under Danny McGrath with a 42-0 loss to host Battlefield.

Special correspondent Nathan Curby contributed to this report

Tagged: Briar Woods High School, Dominion High School, Freedom High School , high school sports, Loudoun Valley High School, Potomac Falls High School, Stone Bridge High School, Thomas Jefferson High School

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