Briar Woods Pulls Away From Park View, Advances in Playoffs

Some people say there is no such thing as a moral victory. However, few would argue that the Park View Patriots didn't come away with at least that much Friday night in Brambleton. After losing to Briar Woods 53-3 in the second game of the season, the Patriots scored more points than any team this season against the usually dominant Briar Woods defense. But in the end, Park View could not keep up with Briar Woods’ overall talent and depth  – or their blond "playoff" Mohawks – as Alex Carter and Trace McSorley outdueled Patriot quarterback Alec Dombkowski to help the Falcons come away with the 49-21 win.

The Patriots brief flirtation with an epic upset was led almost single-handedly led by Dombkowski. The lanky gunslinger gave the Falcon defense fits all evening and kept Park View in the game for the first half.

The Falcons sprinted to a 14-0 first quarter lead on a 45-yard run by Alex Carter and 4-yard plunge by Cory Colder before Dombkowski came to life. After losing 20 yards on a sack by Cam Serigne, the Park View quarterback completed a 46-yard pass on third-and-35 to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, the he tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ryan McCarter. The score highlighted Dombkowski's ability to elude the pass rush and deliver deep, accurate passes.

"[Dombkowski] is really good, we couldn't really keep containment on him too much and he was getting out on us a little bit," said Carter. "As defensive backs, we have to learn to stay on our man, even when he's rolling out on us."

Halfway through the second quarter, J.T. Logan pushed the Falcon lead back to 14 points with a shifty 32-yard touchdown run. But Dombkowski answered quickly, leading a six-play, 67-yard scoring drive to bring the Patriots to within seven points once again. On the drive, Dombkowski found McCarter for gains of 29 yards and 13 yards, with the latter resulting in the Patriot score. McCarter led all receivers in the game with nine receptions for 154 yards and two scores.

Even though the Patriots were hanging close at 21-14, signs that they might have trouble keeping pace with the Falcons began to show in the second half. Despite giving up some yards and points, the Falcon defense kept the Patriots completely one-dimensional, limiting Park View to -5 yards rushing while allowing 185 yards passing in the half.

Just like last week against Loudoun County, Briar Woods relied on a few defensive adjustments and an offensive explosion in the third quarter to pull away from the Patriots.

Leading the charge offensively were McSorley and Serigne on tight end duty, a fitting duo to lead the charge considering the blond Mohawks. Serigne turned a short out route from McSorley into a 36-yard scoring scamper for the first score of the third quarter, and later caught a diving 4-yard pass for another touchdown to effectively put the game out of reach at 42-14. McSorley finished the game going 16 of 23 for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and Serigne hauled in five of those passes for 63 yards and the two scores.

"Last year, we just wanted to do something for the playoffs, so we got Mohawks. This year, we're doing the same thing, except we're getting blond Mohawks," said Carter, whose lack of any Mohawk was a conspicuous contrast to many of his teammates’ dos, which could best be described as a mother's nightmare.

"It's coming next week, don't worry," assured Carter of his pending blo-mo [Note: I think I just made up blo-mo to describe blond Mohawks, which might be the greatest accomplishment of my life].

But the Falcons' defense proved to be the force that really captured the momentum for the team in the third quarter. Almost immediately after Serigne's first touchdown, Carter snagged his second interception of the game and returned it 34 yards to setup Cory Colder's 5-yard scoring run. The key adjustment for Briar Woods was a switch to man-to-man defense that allowed the athletic Falcon secondary to blanket the Patriots’ receivers. Although Dombkowski ended the night with 309 yards passing and three touchdowns, the Falcon defense intercepted him three times to limit his damage.

 "At halftime we were down,” Carter explained. “We have such high expectations for ourselves, with the score being 21-14, we felt like that wasn't good enough. We just had to come out and do the best we could and we played our game."

Colder once again paced the Falcon rushing attack, gaining 123 yards and three scores to give the Falcons the offensive balance that Park View could not muster.

The Falcons will next face Loudoun County at home after the Raiders shut down Heritage to come away with a 42-14 opening round win. Stay tuned to Ashburn Patch for complete Briar Woods playoff and blo-mo coverage.