Ashburn Football Preview: Thursday Night Lights?

In observance of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, area high school football games will be played a day early this week, with heading to Langley in McLean for the Ashburn Patch Game of the Week, and playing at Woodgrove.  has a bye this week. A preview of tonight’s matchups:

Game of the Week: Stone Bridge at Langley, 7:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs (4-1, 2-0 district) look to maintain a share of the Liberty District lead this week as they hit the road to take on the Langley Saxons. The game could have been for a share of the district lead if the Saxons (3-2, 2-1) hadn't missed a golden opportunity last week against Madison. With just nine seconds left in regulation and the score tied, the Saxons’ Brian Ochoa lined up for the game winning 18-yard field goal. But the kick hit the left upright, the game went to overtime, and Madison claimed the 13-7 win.

Langley relies heavily on the legs of workhorse running back Philip Mun. Mun leads the district with 591 rushing yards this season, and has at least 25 rushing attempts in four of Langley's games this season. At quarterback the Saxons rely on sophomore Nick Casso, who was forced into action after starting quarterback Austin Vasiliadis was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Casso has proved to be more than a capable back up, completing 24 of 40 passes with four touchdowns over two games.

The Bulldogs enter the game after a blowout 43-21 win over Jefferson, which showcased the continued emergence of running back Stephen Trivieri, who has now rushed for more than 120 yards and three touchdowns in back-to-back games. Trivieri and the entire Bulldog offense will have their work cut out for them tonight as they take on a Saxon defense giving up just over eleven points per game. 

The teams share two similar opponents this season, and captured similar results: each beat TJ and lost to Chantilly. But a look behind the scores indicates the Bulldogs should have the advantage tonight. While Jefferson's leading rusher Patrick O'Connor rushed for nearly 100 yards against Langley, he mustered just 16 yards against Stone Bridge. And even though Langley scored first against Chantilly, the Chargers ran away with the game in the second half en route to the 24-8 win. Stone Bridge actually led Chantilly in the fourth quarter before being undone by turnovers, including a game-deciding interception return for a touchdown, leading to a 22-14 loss.

Prediction: Stone Bridge is too big and too athletic for the Saxons, and should dominate the game in the trenches, helping to pave the way for another 100-yard game for Trivieri. Stone Bridge 28 Langley 10.

Briar Woods heads to Woodgrove
To say that the Briar Woods Falcons (4-1, 4-0) are on a roll might be the mother of all understatements. The Falcons have beaten their last four opponents by a combined score of 190-9. This streak includes last week's dominating 38-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Tuscarora Huskies. The Falcons shutdown the Huskies leading rusher Cameron Molina, holding him to just 30 yards on 14 carries.

Briar Woods will hope for similar success against Woodgrove's speedy Atem Ntantang tonight. Ntantang has rushed for more than 100 yards in three games this season, including a huge 221-yard outburst against Dominion two weeks ago.

Prediction: Briar Woods might just be the most athletically talented AA team in the state. The team has shown the ability to score on offense, defense and special teams on a routine basis, and this season's defense might be better than last year's state championship unit. This game feels like it could be a classic "let down" game for the Falcons, with a big game against high-scoring Heritage looming next week, but even a letdown won't lead to a loss against Woodgrove. Briar Woods 34 Woodgrove 6.