Signing Day for Stone Bridge
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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
One by one, Stone Bridge Coach Mickey Thompson introduced the seniors sitting across the front row of a crowd of several hundred on Wednesday evening for a National Signing Day ceremony in the cafeteria at the Ashburn high school.
And one by one, the 11 players took their turn at a table and, flanked by their family members, signed letters of intent to play football at the next level, and then slid on the cap of their college destinations.
The event was a hallmark moment for a program that has had unprecedented success in Loudoun County since the school opened in 2000. A success displayed by the large number of students headed to play at the next level.
"I've been coaching for 27 years, I've never even heard of something like this," Thompson said at the close of the signing. "It'll never happen again. I said years ago, maybe a year or two ago that this was a really special class. It far exceeds that. These are guys who are great people also. Who carry themselves around school very well, they're respected, the teachers respect them. It's just a great class and a class that we should always remember."
Photo Gallery
Stone Bridge's Signing Day
Stone Bridge football coach Mickey Thompson emceed Wednesday's signing day ceremony at Stone Bridge High School as 11 varsity players inked deals to play collegiate football. (Matt Brooks)
Offensive lineman Trevor Springman - a first team all-Northern Region selection - proudly displays his new school colors, the green and gold of William & Mary. (Matt Brooks)
First-team all-Northern Region defensive end Brian Slay shows off his new hat after signing for North Carolina State University. (Matt Brooks)
Offensive lineman Dexter Strong signs his name on the dotted line for William & Mary. (Matt Brooks)
Liberty District Offensive Player of the Year Patrick Thompson celebrates with his family after signing for Wake Forest University. (Matt Brooks)
First Team All-Met linebacker Mike Olson signs for Wake Forest University. (Matt Brooks)
First team all Liberty District running back Daniel Allen signs for James Madison University. (Matt Brooks)
First team all Liberty District wide receiver Nick Sheehan tries on his new Virginia Tech cap. (Matt Brooks)
First team all Liberty District selection Nate Ingersoll is headed to Glennville State College. (Matt Brooks)
First team all Northern Region defensive tackle David Wang will join his older brother, Ed, at Virginia Tech next year. (Matt Brooks)
Stone Bridge's recruits sport the hats of their respective schools during Wednesday's signing ceremony. (Matt Brooks)
First team All-Met tight end/defensive end Zach Thompson signs on the dotted line to join his twin brother, Patrick, and teammate Mike Olson at Wake Forest University. (Matt Brooks)
All 11 Stone Bridge signees join coach Mickey Thompson for a photo op following Wednesday's signing ceremony. (Matt Brooks)
Wake Forest signee Zach Thompson gets a piece of cake from one of the 11 sheet cakes personalized for each Stone Bridge recruit. (Matt Brooks)
But the signing event was also about the individual accomplishments of each player.
In all, five players signed scholarship offers to BCS conference schools – Mike Olson, Zach Thompson, Patrick Thompson (Wake Forest), David Wang (Virginia Tech) and Brian Slay (N.C. State).
Four others also received scholarships to play at the next level: Daniel Allen (James Madison), Trevor Springman (William & Mary), Matt Custer (Albany) and Nate Ingersoll (Glenville State). And two others – Nick Sheehan (Virginia Tech) and Dexter Strong (William & Mary) – accepted preferred walk-on offers.
"It's so surreal right now," Olson said. "All of us playing together since we were little, this is what we've always wanted. And I can't even believe we are so fortunate to get a chance to play. … It's cool seeing all your friends and family come out here."
Stone Bridge won its second consecutive Northern Region title in 2008 but fell in the Virginia AAA Division 5 playoffs to Phoebus as they looked to defend their 2007 state title. Many of the signees played a major role in both of those seasons.
And as Mickey Thompson introduced each player, he paused to reflect on the accomplishments and contributions of each to the program.
They day also had a strong personal connection for the veteran coach, as his two sons signed on to play in Winston-Salem.
As he closed the night, however, Thompson addressed the 11 players, stressing the importance of the family atmosphere at Stone Bridge and reminded them they would always have a home with the Bulldogs.
It was a family sentiment many of the seniors reinforced afterward.
"All these kids are like brothers to me," Wang said. "And it's just a great thing to have everybody here and sharing the moment."
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Comments:
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Congrats Stone Bridge. Eleven players signing to go on and play serious football is something not many have ever heard of. Well done coaching staff.
Posted by Riot (anonymous) on February 4, 2009 at 10:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Congrats to the 9 division 1A & 1AA scholarship players. Well Done!!
"I've been coaching 27 years, and I've never heard of anything like this," Thompson said.
Perhaps Coach Hyperbole should read the papers once in awhile: "For the 17th time in 18 years, DeMatha will send at least 10 players to college on football scholarships. The following players committed Wednesday morning:
Tom Chroniger, Towson University
Calvin McDowney, New Mexico
Emmanuel McPhearson, New Mexico
Ikechi Nnawuba, North Carolina Central
Pete DeSouza, Maryland
Jeremiah Mathis, Virginia
Raheem Cardwell, Prairie View A&M
Aaron Conaway, Villanova
Patrick Goulden, VMI
Michael Milburn, Delaware
PS They had over 60 players currently on DI rosters this year alone.
Posted by Verisimilitude (anonymous) on February 5, 2009 at 11:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
DeMatha has an outstanding program but I don't think you can compare the accomplishment with that of a public high school.
As a private all boys school with a long history of athletic success, DeMatha has the ability to attract and recruit some of the best players in the area without geographic constraints. It also provides financial aid to those worthwhile student athletes who could not otherwise afford to attend.
Stone Bridge, as a public school, draws students that live within a couple of miles of the school and has two other public high schools within 4 miles of its location. If you compare the Stone Bridge signings to other public high schools in the DC Metropolitan area, I think you will see that this is a very unusual event.
Another way to look at it would be to determine where the DeMatha players would have attended public high school and see just how spread out that talent might have been.
In this case, perhaps the Stone Bridge signings really do live up to the hype.
Posted by cfs364 (anonymous) on February 7, 2009 at 2:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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