Ashburn Football Playoffs Begin

High school football playoffs begin this week starting with two games in Ashburn, so get ready for an action packed ride as all three area teams vie for state championship bids. With Broad Run on a bye for its first round, local fans can focus on Stone Bridge and Briar Woods for now.

Stone Bridge hosts Langley, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Stone Bridge has settled into a groove that has become commonplace during the past ten years: run the ball well, play good defense and get better each week. The results were another Liberty District title, a 9-1 record and the number one seed in the Division 5 Northern Region playoffs.

Although not as experienced or talented overall as last year's team – which played in the state championship game – this year's Bulldog team has found a formula which should help it capture another Northern Region crown: give the ball to Stephen Trivieri at least 20 times a game to run the single-wing rushing attack to perfection, catch the defense off-balance with deep strikes from Ryan Burns to wide receiver Stan Johnson and avoid putting the defense in bad spots with turnovers.

The Bulldogs face Langley in the opening round, a team coming off a 21-0 loss to district foe Mclean. The Saxons (5-5) are a bit of a "no name" squad, lacking the star power of Division 1 college recruits such as the Bulldogs Burns, Jonathan Allen, Mike Tompkins and others. The Saxons do boast a 1,000-yard rusher in Philip Mun, but can struggle to score points. Langley has been shut out three times this season, including a 28-0 loss to the Bulldogs. Prediction: Stone Bridge 35, Langley 3.

Briar Woods hosts Park View, Friday, 7:00 p.m.
There's not a lot of mystery or intrigue with this matchup. Briar Woods racked up a 9-1 record, with the only loss coming in the first game of the season to the new AAA power and playoff-bound Broad Run. Since that game, the Falcons have dominated opponents in a fashion rarely seen in high school football, outscoring their last nine opponents by a combined score of 413 to 33. The Falcons closest game since losing to Broad Run was last week's 35-7 win over the Loudoun County Raiders.

Park View finished the regular season under .500 (4-6), yet still made the playoffs. The team went 2-6 before winning its last two games of the season and landing a spot in the playoffs. The Patriots’ biggest offensive weapon is quarterback Alec Dombkowski, who has nearly 2,000 passing yards this season, including a 389-yard, four touchdown performance against Loudoun Valley two weeks ago.

But Ashburn fans have seen this movie before, and know how it will end. The only game this season that Dombkowski passed for less than 100 yards came in week two during a 53-3 loss to Briar Woods. Prediction: Briar Woods 53, Park View 3.