Briar Woods Knocks Off Park View

Pierce Beats Former Team for the First Time

By Paul Tenorio

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Every day at practice this year, Briar Woods Coach Charlie Pierce has sported the old red shoes, spray-painted orange - a reminder of his past at Park View, where Pierce coached the Patriots for five seasons before leaving to start the Falcons program in 2005.

So as the final seconds ticked off the clock in Briar Woods' 14-6 victory over Park View on Friday night in Ashburn, the Briar Woods players were well aware of how special the win was for their coach. And as the offense ran its final plays, Pierce was doused with Gatorade to celebrate, among many things, his first win over his former school.

"It feels good," Pierce said. "I have a lot of respect for those guys and that program. It started way before me with Mickey [Thompson] and Ed Scott before him, so it's a program that's going to continue to be good. And to finally get a win against them, it really feels good."

The win signified another step in the growth of a Briar Woods program that made the playoffs with a 7-3 record last season but that lost to Park View in a tight game during the regular season. It also marked a win on homecoming, something the seniors savored and gushed about in postgame speeches to their teammates.

The win didn't come easily, though, as Park View was stifling against the run, especially in the first half, holding Briar Woods running back Ray Taliaferro to 23 yards on 13 carries at the break.

But with a slim 7-6 lead at the break, Briar Woods came out on its first drive of the third quarter and moved 63 yards on seven plays, capped off with Taliaferro's four-yard touchdown run, extending the lead to 14-6.

"They would always pinch inside, and we have a good inside running game, so in the second half we adjusted and started running outside more," said senior fullback Billy McDonald, who scored the Falcons first touchdown. "Instead of one lead blocker, we started sending two outside, and then our running back would just make cuts from there. We just had to adjust at halftime."

Briar Woods took the lead in the first quarter on a solid drive led by quarterback Austin Frattali.

Following several Taliaferro runs, the junior quarterback connected on passes of 12 and 23 yards on third and eight and second and 13 to keep the drive moving. Then, on third and 12, Frattali dropped back to pass, saw no one open and scrambled for 28 yards to set up McDonald's touchdown run from four yards out.

Park View answered right back behind the arm of its junior quarterback.

Brandon Lee hit an 11-yard pass on a fake punt on fourth down early in the drive and then connected on two consecutive passes late - the first a 39-yard pass to Josh Jones on third and 15, and then a 20-yard strike to Tommy Sedeski for a touchdown, pulling the Patriots to within 7-6 after a missed extra point.

But Briar Woods' defense buckled down, and Park View was unable to move the ball effectively the rest of the game. The Patriots had a chance to tie after taking possession with 2:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Briar Woods ended the four-play drive with an interception to seal another signature win in the program's history.

"I think it's going to set the tone for next year and the years to come," senior linebacker Jake Ashton said. "We have a big senior class this year, and to finally beat them after four year is huge."

Tagged: Briar Woods High School, football, high school sports, Park View High School

Your Thoughts...

Are you happy that the school year is over?