Falcons Win, Keep Eyes on the Prize

On Friday night in Brambleton, the Briar Woods Falcons relied on two scores from their defense to help pull off a 29-19 win over the visiting Loudoun County Raiders. The win sends the Falcons to their second straight Region 2 final where they'll host No. 2 seed Powhatan, who beat Louisa 35-0 in their semifinal game.

The Raiders gave the Falcons their greatest test of the season since an opening week loss to Broad Run. Leading just 8-7 at halftime and 15-13 heading into the fourth quarter, the Falcons needed a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown from Jamal Hill to ice the game on a frigid night in Ashburn.

Briar Woods struck first when Matt Rolin's sacked Raider quarterback Jake Lokey in the end zone. The safety gave the Falcons the rarely witnessed 2-0 lead in a football game. But the Raiders would capture and maintain a 7-2 lead for a significant portion of the firts half after Antonio Rutherford burst through the Falcon defense and sprinted 98 yards for a tocuhdown.

Cory Colder would get the lead back for Briar Woods before halftime with a four yard scoring scamper, and the Falcons appeared headed for one of their typical third quarter breakout performances when quarterback Trace McSorley extended the lead to 15-7 with his own one yard touchdown run.

But Loudoun County hung tough and narrowed the lead to two points after Lokey connected with wide receiver Brad Szoka for a 15-yard touchdown. However the Raiders could not convert the two-point conversion attempt to tie the score.

The Falcons would get another short touchdown run from Colder and Hill's interception return to essentially put the game out of reach at 29-13. LoCo closed out the scoring with an 88-yard Lokey to Szoka touchdown.

The Falcons will next face an explosive Powhatan team lead by running back Ray Brown, the Jefferson District Offensive Player of the Year. Teammate Alex Higuchi captured the same honor as defense.

The Falcons will need all of the support they can get from area fans, as they remain as the only Ashburn team still in the playoffs. Perhaps it's a result of the cold weather, but the normally packed Falcon stadium has not been as crowded or boistorous as usual the last few weeks. Wide receiver Alex Carter issued a plea to fans via Twitter to come out and support the Falcons during next week's game, which will be the last home game for the Falcons even if they advance in the playoffs.

Stay tuned to Ashburn Patch for previews and complete coveraged of next week's big game.