Briar Woods Wins by a Foot

Clements' Field Goal Proves to Be the Difference

By Paul Tenorio

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Freshman David Clements had spent most of his life playing youth soccer before going to a Briar Woods camp this summer to play organized football for the first time.

Clements figured he'd try out as a linebacker or running back, but when Falcons special teams coach Jared Develli asked for anyone interested in kicking to step forward, Clements figured he'd give it a try.

"I went out with them, and [Develli] said that I could be kicking varsity," Clements said. "I didn't believe him at first. I was in total shock. And then he told me to come out to varsity two-a-days, and I came out, and they gave me a spot on the team."

Clements won the starting job, and Friday night against Loudoun County the freshman stepped into the biggest spotlight of his career.

With Briar Woods facing fourth-and-4 from the Loudoun County 16-yard line, Clements was called on to hit a 33-yard field goal - the longest he had attempted this season.

Clements nailed the field goal to give the Falcons a 10-point lead late in the third quarter, and the kick would end up being the game-winner in Briar Woods' 17-14 win over the Raiders in Leesburg, making the freshman who had never stepped onto a football field before this year the unexpected hero of the night.

"I was [nervous] a little bit," Clements said. "But I just mainly stayed focused. . . . Once I hit it, I just knew it was going to go in."

Clements's kick was the culmination of a standout night for Develli's special teams unit.

With the score tied at seven and just 1:28 remaining in the half, Briar Woods linebacker Jake Ashton broke through the line to block a Raiders punt, and senior J.T. Bailey recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Falcons a 14-7 lead at the break.

It was the second score of the night for Bailey, who also rushed for a two-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Develli, who kicked at Virginia Tech from 2004-07, joked that the night was a success because he avoided running sprints after Ashton's punt block fulfilled a guarantee made this week in practice.

"It would have been 20 [sprints] I believe," Develli said. "I was pretty excited [when the punt was blocked], I'm not going to lie. I was pretty excited."

The block gave Briar Woods (5-1, 2-1 Virginia AA Dulles) momentum at the break, and Clements's kick provided a cushion the Falcons ended up needing.

Loudoun County (3-3, 1-2) pulled to within 17-14 just before the end of the third quarter, when Joe Bushrod hit Michael Ayoub on a 46-yard pass down the left sideline. And after Bushrod picked off a pass in the end zone, the Raiders drove deep into Briar Woods territory. But facing fourth-and-17, Bushrod scrambled under pressure, and his pass was picked off on the four-yard line to end the threat.

Loudoun County got the ball back again with 1:47 left in the game on the Briar Woods 40-yard line. But on second down, another pass looking for the end zone was intercepted, and the Falcons ran out the clock to get the win.

For the Falcons, who lost to Broad Run on Sept. 26 and squeaked by Dominion 7-0 on Oct. 3, the victory on the road was a crucial one.

"I knew it was going to be a dogfight tonight," Briar Woods Coach Charlie Pierce said. "It was a quality win for us, and like I told the boys down there ... I'm proud of them."

Tagged: Briar Woods High School, football, high school sports, Loudoun County High School

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