Can Stone Bridge Football Return to the State Finals?

Last week Ashburn Patch previewed the 2011 Broad Run football team and predicted a strong season for the Spartans, despite their move up to AAA competition. The Spartans did not disappoint, as they thumped Park View 51-7 in the first game of the season. 

This week, the Stone Bridge Bulldogs and the Briar Woods Falcons start their seasons and look to return to their respective state championship games. Last year, the Bulldogs fell to nationally ranked Phoebus in the state title game, while the Falcons rode a 10-game winning streak all the way to their first championship.

This season promises to be a study in contrasts for the two teams. The Falcons return numerous talented starters and face a favorable schedule, while the Bulldogs tackle a very tough schedule and must replace eighteen of twenty-two starters from last year's team.

Stone Bridge travels to Fairfax County power Robinson Thursday night and will see if new players can step into the void left by last year's very succesful graduating class.

In football circles, the term "rebuilding" is usually viewed as a dirty word, equivalent to a four letter profanity and little more. "We don't rebuild, we reload," is the common response to anyone who dares to suggest that a team is involved in such a process.

Yet there are times when the expression is simply a fact, such as when a team has only one returning starter on offense and three on defense. That's the situation facing this year's Stone Bridge Bulldogs. After making the school's third trip to the AAA Division 5 state title game in four seasons – including a state championship victory in 2007 – Stone Bridge now faces the daunting task of replacing a core of graduating players who came to epitomize Bulldog football during the past several years. 

Gone is Marcus Harris, who gained more than 4,000 rushing yards the past two seasons. Gone is jack of all trades Spenser Rositano, who has taken his versatile game to play safety at Boston College. And gone are a host of other Bulldog stalwarts such as Rob Burns, Kyle Gouveia, Calvin Hollenhurst and Brian Rody, all of whom helped turn Stone Bridge into one of the best teams in the state for the past four seasons.

According to head coach Mickey Thompson, the loss of so many experienced and talented seniors has had an impact on the team's preparations for the upcoming season. 

"It's a struggle, because we have guys who are really good players, but they don't understand that they have to be really good players every play," he said. "It's gotten better, but they haven't quite figured out you can't pick your spots, you have to go hard every play, and every time you get a chance to get out there you go 100 percent." 

Despite the growing pains, optimism abounds for the Bulldogs, who currently are ranked No. 2 overall in the Washington Post's All-Met rankings. Such preseason respect is certainly due in part to the Bulldogs decade of dominance in local football. Since 2002, the Bulldogs have lost a grand total of 13 games, won eight straight district championships, and seven regional titles.   

"We're young, and I don't think we're very good right now, but people still talk about us because of what we've done," Thompson said. "And our kids expect to be good, and that counts for something."

But tradition will only get you so far. The Bulldogs hopes this season will fall heavily on the shoulders of two of the most talented junior players in the state, and possibly the nation: defensive end Jonathan Allen and quarterback Ryan Burns.

Allen returns from a sophomore campaign where he proved to be a one-man blitzkrieg, wreaking havoc on opposing offenses as he recorded a school record 20 sacks. Allen's exploits have garnered national attention, as MaxPreps named him to their preseason All-American second team defense. Allen returns with linebacker Mike Tompkins and Aaron Palmer to anchor a defense that may need to carry the team through a tough stretch of early season games against perennial state powers Robinson and Chantilly, district foe South Lakes, and Ashburn rival Broad Run.

On offense, lone returning starter Stan Johnson, a wide receiver, looks to connect early and often with the highly touted Burns. Despite having never started a varsity game, the 6-foot-4, 220 pound quarterback has already garnered significant attention from college football recruiters as a result of his size, skills, and performances at off-season camps and workouts.  

Even if the Burns to Johnson connection proves formidable, the rest of the Bulldog offense remains a work in progress, and will look to improve with every game played. 

"We have a lot of guys rotating, and that's not very smooth," Thompson said, "and we haven't even decided on our first [team] offense yet."

Thompson expects several running backs, such as James Manning and Sterling Daily, to battle for playing time as the team tries to replace the production of the now-graduated Harris. Don't be surprised to see the Bulldogs rely more heavily on Allen on offense, as the defensive standout proved to be a handful on that side of the ball as well during stretches last season.

As the Bulldogs get ready to plunge into the season this Thursday, Thompson realizes the learning curve will be steep, and his team will need to adjust quickly with four tough games right off the bat.

"The biggest thing [the team] has to realize, is no matter what happens Thursday, we've got to get better the next week,” he said. “We are behind right now. We have a long way to go. We have to get better quicker than later."

If past seasons are any indication, expect the Bulldogs to adjust quickly as they try to prove that rebuilding doesn't have to be a dirty word.