Stone Bridge Falls in State Semifinals

Bulldogs' Repeat Dreams Snuffed Out by Phantoms

By Paul Tenorio

Saturday, November 29, 2008

HAMPTON — As Phoebus linebacker LoVante' Battle celebrated his interception return for a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter of Saturday's Virginia AAA Division 5 semifinal, Stone Bridge senior running back Daniel Allen walked back toward the sideline, mouth agape, his disbelief showing as he stared blankly upward.

Bulldogs Coach Mickey Thompson watched, arms tightly crossed, as his team lined up for the kickoff following the Phantoms' extra point and glanced over at the scoreboard, which read the eventual final score: Phoebus 38, Stone Bridge 8.

The score line was stunning considering the top-ranked Bulldogs (13-1) were averaging a Washington area-best 49.2 points entering the game, with a defense that had held opponents to less than eight points per game.

But Saturday afternoon at Darling Stadium, the defending state champions were overwhelmed by a speedy, athletic, big-play Phantoms defense and simply could not recover from several early mistakes.

"There's not a lot you can take from it other than we were definitely outplayed," Thompson said. "That was a really good football team. I have a lot of faith in us, and they always say, 'They were better that day.' I think they were better that day and they may be better. I don't know. We didn't play well, but wow, they played pretty doggone well."

The game started with a Stone Bridge fumble on its first offensive snap that was returned for a touchdown by Phoebus's Demetrius Ward, and the scoring ended with Battle's interception return. Stone Bridge turned over the ball six times, including on three of its first four drives.

The Bulldogs only score came in the third quarter when senior quarterback Patrick Thompson found senior tight end Nick Sheehan from six yards out; a two-point conversion pulled them within 24-8.

But after forcing a Phoebus punt, Phantoms defensive back Colby Goodwyn picked off a pass on the next play. Phoebus (14-0) scored minutes later to effectively seal the outcome.

Sheehan's touchdown helped Stone Bridge avoid being shut out for the first time since Oct. 19, 2001 - a span of 96 games.

For Phoebus, which had a 20-game winning streak snapped last year against Stone Bridge in the semifinals in Ashburn, the win also provided some revenge and ended Stone Bridge's 26-game winning streak.

"Their coach said they kicked our butts up front last year, and I made the kids look at that in the weight room all year," Phoebus Coach Bill Dee said. "So it was huge. ... Everybody said they were the best team to come out of the Northern Region. Isn't that what was stated in the newspaper? Didn't some people say that? So I guess we feel real fortunate to beat them."

Notes: Phoebus will face Dinwiddie at noon Saturday in the Virginia AAA Div. 5 championship game at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium. ... The eight points scored was Stone Bridge's lowest point total since the 2005 Virginia AAA Division 5 championship against Hampton, when the Bulldogs lost, 15-8.

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

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