Heritage Wins Big Over Freedom

Weekend Football Roundup: Heritage, Stone Bridge Win Easily

by Stephen F. Ball

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Coming off of consecutive losses to two of the Virginia AA Dulles District’s toughest teams, Heritage came into Friday’s game against Freedom looking for a win any way they could get it. Five Ross Madison touchdowns later the Pride came away with a victory, 64-21.

Madison ran roughshod over an Eagles defense, rushing for 139 yards on 18 carries. Heading into the game, Heritage Coach Wes Driskill worried that after two games in which his team played well yet lost, The Pride would be vulnerable to a lackluster performance.

"We've been through two tough weeks and that takes a lot out of you," Driskill said after the game. "When you go through games like that, you're kind of due for a letdown, but our guys were smart enough not to let that happen."

The Pride (4-2, 1-2) began their scoring onslaught midway through the first quarter when Madison broke through would-be tacklers and scored on a one-yard run. After the Eagles' ensuing drive stalled to end the first quarter, Heritage quarterback Zach Gordon opened the second quarter with a play-action bootleg around the left side of the line only to find the end zone 54 yards later, putting The Pride up 14-0.

After another Madison touchdown and two-point conversion put the Pride up 22-0, the Eagles began a seven play, 79-yard drive that included a fake punt and several long Luke Bratton passes to score their first touchdown pulling the Eagles (1-5, 0-3) within two touchdowns, 22-7.

It was the closest they would get.

TJ McPhaul scored on the ensuing kickoff, running it back 90 yards for the score. On the Eagles' next play from scrimmage, Pride linebacker Russell East stepped in front of a Bratton pass and returned it 44-yards for a touchdown, putting the Pride up, 36-7. The Eagles scored just before halftime on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Bratton.

The third quarter was all Ross Madison. Not only did he score three touchdowns in the quarter, Madison also intercepted a pass, leaving the Pride in great position to extend their lead.

"I love defense, it's just a time you can take out whatever anger you have from the play before," Madison said. "I'm just glad the coaches let me play both ways."

In a game like Friday's though, Madison had little to be angry about. And after being pulled from the game with many of the other starters to start the fourth quarter Madison could be heard cheering on his younger teammates from the sideline.

"Ross Madison deserves everything he gets," Driskill said on his way to the locker room. "He is a complete football player. But he's also a quality individual as well."

Stone Bridge Cruises to 38-0 Home Victory Over Langley

Some teams are so good that they don't have to get the details right. For Stone Bridge Coach Mickey Thompson, that's not good enough.

Stone Bridge beat Langley 38-0 in what Thompson said was "the worst game we've played." The team struggled with details like extra points, only making two successful attempts after their six touchdowns. Thompson cited mental mistakes as the biggest problem of the night, saying that perhaps homecoming had something to do with it.

Senior Daniel Allen thought the homecoming hype distracted the players. Allen had a big night on both sides of the ball, rushing for 185 yards and four touchdowns, and making a big interception on defense.

The team played with a swagger, as if the players knew that they didn't have to be perfect to dominate. The offense got stuck with several fourth-and-long situations only to convert them with big plays that looked effortless. On one fourth and nine, quarterback Patrick Thompson stood calmly in the pocket and threw a 30-yard completion to receiver Michael Prince.

Thompson had a solid night, completing 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. He looked comfortable standing in the pocket and throwing on the run.

The defense only allowed Langley into the red zone once, and that was with only a minute left to go in the game. Zack Miller ended that threat with an interception in the end zone to effectively end the game.

But even though the Bulldogs dominated Langley, which Coach Thompson called "a very good football team in a lot of spots," Thompson said it's hard to focus on the positive aspects because the team did not play up to its potential.

Thompson was frustrated with mental mistakes; substitution errors were problematic and the team was penalized 15 times.

"It was a great test for us," Thompson said. "I thought we would rise to the occasion."

When you're already at the top, it's hard to climb higher. But Thompson is still looking up.

Stonewall Jackson Beats Loudoun Valley, 27-13

Damien Thigpen had 31 carries for 206 yards and four touchdowns to lead Stonewall Jackson to a 27-13 victory over visiting Loudoun Valley on Friday in a AAA Cedar Run matchup of winless teams.

Thigpen, who has a football scholarship to Tennessee, had missed the Raiders' first five games due to injury. But on Friday, he made an immediate impact as Stonewall Jackson overcame a 13-6 halftime deficit. He had touchdown runs of eight, eight and three yards in the second half.

Special correspondent Nathan Curby contributed to this report.

Tagged: football, Freedom High School , Heritage High School, high school sports, Langley High School , Loudoun Valley High School, Stone Bridge High School

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