Ashburn High School Football Weekend Preview

Last week was great for local high school football fans, as Broad Run and Briar Woods faced off in the very successful "," and Stone Bridge squeaked out a defensive battle by toppling host Robinson 3-0 with a late fourth quarter field goal. This week should provide more great action as Stone Bridge has another tough road game in Fairfax County, while Broad Run and Briar Woods face different challenges after their emotional matchup last week.

Ashburn Patch previews and predicts this week's exciting games, and will provide coverage of all the games this weekend.

Can't make it out to the games but want to stay on top of the action? Follow me on Twitter @locosportsbeat.

Game of the Week:  Stone Bridge at Chantilly, Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Even with 18 new starters this year, the Bulldogs started the 2011 season off in similar fashion to the 2010 campaign. Traveling down to Fairfax, last year's squad knocked off Westfield 7-3 in a defensive battle. Last Friday, the Bulldogs took on traditional Fairfax power Robinson and came away with a 3-0 victory in another slugfest. Keeping with the Fairfax theme, the Bulldogs head to Chantilly this week to take on a talented Charger team.

Last week, Chantilly throttled W.T. Woodson 44-0. Led by a host of talented running backs – such as seniors Jimmy Hicks and Nico Alcade, as well as the diminutive yet talented sophomore Deandre Harris –the Chargers had little trouble racking up more than 200 yards rushing in the win.

By comparison, the Stone Bridge offense experienced the growing pains expected of a team returning only one starter this year. Held in check by Robinson all night, Stone Bridge only got on the board after running back Stephen Trivieri – new to the area from Canada – was inserted in the game to run the Bulldogs’ "heavy package" behind crushing lead blockers Jonathan Allen and Aaron Palmer. Trivieri rushed for nearly 60 yards on the drive and helped get the Bulldogs into position for the game-winning field goal.

Last week’s offensive production by both teams was hard to read. Robinson is clearly superior to a Woodson team coming off a 2-8 season, and Jonathan Allen and the Bulldog defense were nonetheless able to shut down that offense all night.

Friday night likely will be another defensive brawl. Prediction: Chantilly ekes out a close win on home turf after Stone Bridge's young offense turns the ball over too many times on a sloppy field. Chantilly 10 Stone Bridge 7.

Broad Run hosts Woodbridge, Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Coming off a huge win over Briar Woods in last week's "Battle for a Better Cause," the Spartans look to avoid a letdown as they enter the heart of their new AAA schedule with a home contest against Woodbridge.

The Vikings are coming off a during which referees penalized the team ten times for 100 yards and turned the ball over four times. Down 21-0 at halftime, the Vikings battled back to make the game close at the end.

Broad Run also had some sloppy moments against Briar Woods, but came up with a great defensive effort to shutdown the explosive Falcon offense and used the Spartan power rushing game to wear out the Falcon defense.

While the Spartan offense – led by seniors such as Connor Jessop, Derril Thomas, Jackson Matteo, and Michael Stratton – gets most of the headlines, the defense appears to be the team's difference maker this season. Led by linebacker Avery Campbell and defensive back Dorian Jenkins, the squad has given up just one touchdown in two games so far. The unit is especially stout against the run, limiting Briar Woods to roughly 50 yards on the ground a week ago.

The Spartans look like they have something special going this season, and should be unfazed when they face their first AAA competition of the season. Prediction: Broad Run 28 Woodbridge 14.

Briar Woods hosts Park View, Friday, 7 p.m.

Perhaps most disappointing for Briar Woods in last week's loss to Broad Run is that the team simply did not play its best game. The Falcons could not generate any consistent running game, seemed rattled by Broad Run's constant pressure on quarterback Trace McSorley, and committed costly penalties and a turnover in the end zone during pivotal moments of the game.

Fortunately for the team, most of those issues seem correctable, especially considering the game was the Falcons’ first of the season. A spirited week of practice with head Coach Charlie Pierce at the helm will surely clean up the penalty issues and help get McSorley back on track after his uncharacteristically inaccurate performance.

Park View is coming off back-to-back blow-out losses to Broad Run, 51-7, and Liberty, 37-10. Prediction: Plain and simple, the Falcons are a better team, and Friday will return to the form that helped them get to the state finals last season. Briar Woods 38 Park View 7.