Sports
Stone Bridge Survives Late Scare From Madison
Turnovers are a problem for the Bulldogs once again, but the team pulled out a 35-20 win.
On a cold and rainy night in Ashburn, the Stone Bridge football team survived spells of sloppy play to hold off a late rally attempt by the James Madison Warhawks and come away with the 35-20 win … and at least a share of the Liberty District title.
The miscues that plagued the Bulldogs (8-1, 6-0 in the district) started early and continued throughout the game. After recovering a Madison (6-3, 5-1) fumble on the opening kickoff, the Stone Bridge offense failed to move the ball and was forced to attempt a 42 yard field goal. Ben Lambourne's kick was blocked by the Warhawks and recovered by Max Ehrsam, who returned the ball 60 yards before Mike Tompkins tracked him down at the Bulldog 5-yard line. Three plays later, Madison quarterback Dan Powers found Evan Jacquez for a 3-yard touchdown pass, and an early 7-0 Warhawk lead.
After struggling to move the ball again for the first three plays of the next series, the Bulldogs made the risky decision to go for it on fourth-and-one from their own 32-yard line, and the gamble paid off. With a host of blockers in the backfield, Cameron Reynolds took the handoff and burst through a hole on the right side of the line, sprinting for a 60-yard gain. A few plays later, Rassaun Goldring recovered his own fumble and outran the Warhawk defense around left end for the 12-yard score.
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The Bulldogs kept the momentum and extended the lead to 21 points (28-7) at the start of the fourth quarter with a short run by Stephen Trivieri and a 24-yard Ryan Burns to Stan Johnson touchdown pass.
While the offense got the glory, several clutch plays by the Bulldog defense, which had been left in bad spots by the offense, made the lead possible. On the first play of the second half, Burns threw his second interception of the game, and the Warhawks converted a long third down to move within scoring position. But the Bulldog defense held strong, forcing an incomplete pass when Madison elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal. Tompkins – who finished the game with three interceptions – thwarted another Warhawks scoring opportunity when he picked off a pass in the end zone.
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Perhaps inspired by a raucous fan base that traveled from Vienna wearing an assortment of Halloween inspired costumes – including a banana, an ape, a bunny, and a lion – the Warhawks made a game of it late. After cutting the lead to 28-14 in the fourth quarter on a short Powers touchdown pass, the Madison defense hit Burns near his own goal line; Burns fumbled on the play and Chris English recovered in the end zone. The score cut the Bulldog lead to 8 points, and ignited the Warhawks’ legions of soggy animal friends (see video with this article).
But the Bulldogs dashed any hopes of a Madison victory with a methodical, clock-sapping drive that ended with another Trivieri touchdown run. The Bulldog running back – who just moved to Ashburn from Canada this year – carried the ball ten times on the drive and finished the game with a leg-tiring 39 carries for more than 150 yards.
The Bulldogs close out the regular season next week when they travel to Fairfax (6-3, 4-2) and get ready for another playoff run.
