South Lakes
- Thread starter OCBoy
- Start date
For starter, I think South Lakes has the largest football player in Northern Virginia (possibly in Virginia, too) in David Kroll, a 6' 6", 315 lb tackle (#79). He's a giant in high school football.
See the Washington Post article (which lists David Kroll at 6' 7", 320).
The South Lakes’ defense ‘lays the wood’ in a region playoff upset of Lake Braddock
https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...796fc6-b39c-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25_story.html
South Lakes has been improving rapidly over the past 2-3 years. I have heard through the normal grapevine some things; others I know first hand. Here is what I think about SL.
1. They got a new coach several years ago who seems to be instilling some discipline in the program and he is getting more kids to come out for the team. The recent winning probably helps too, since SL was a very bad team for quite a while.
2. The county recently redistricted (again) and allegedly SL got an area that traditionally is good for getting kids that know and play football.
3. Probably most importantly, SL was a very, very young team last year. They played a whole lot of sophomores and even some freshman from the beginning of the season. Add in that a lot of these kids also happen to be pretty good athletes and you are now seeing the dividends. Last year they gave Westfield one of their strongest tests in the second round of the playoffs, leading in the 4th quarter until WF scored twice to win.
4. The northern region does not have a truly dominant team or two this year, unlike in most past years. This year it was much more wide open at the top and I honestly thought going into the playoffs as many as 4-5 different teams could come out on top given that the top tier teams are much, much more evenly matched than in the past.
Time will tell if this is just a blip or if SL has arrived. One thing they do need to do is schedule better outside of their conference so we can see if they have arrived.
1. They got a new coach several years ago who seems to be instilling some discipline in the program and he is getting more kids to come out for the team. The recent winning probably helps too, since SL was a very bad team for quite a while.
2. The county recently redistricted (again) and allegedly SL got an area that traditionally is good for getting kids that know and play football.
3. Probably most importantly, SL was a very, very young team last year. They played a whole lot of sophomores and even some freshman from the beginning of the season. Add in that a lot of these kids also happen to be pretty good athletes and you are now seeing the dividends. Last year they gave Westfield one of their strongest tests in the second round of the playoffs, leading in the 4th quarter until WF scored twice to win.
4. The northern region does not have a truly dominant team or two this year, unlike in most past years. This year it was much more wide open at the top and I honestly thought going into the playoffs as many as 4-5 different teams could come out on top given that the top tier teams are much, much more evenly matched than in the past.
Time will tell if this is just a blip or if SL has arrived. One thing they do need to do is schedule better outside of their conference so we can see if they have arrived.
South Lakes Seahawks
Date Opponent Score
9-2 Marshall (W) 49 - 8
9-9 @ Briar Woods (W) 28 - 21
9-16 Yorktown (W) 35 - 13
9-23 @ McLean (W) 75 - 8
9-30 Washington-Lee (W) 56 - 18
10-7 @ Herndon (W) 56 - 23
10-14 Madison (W) 21 - 13
10-21 @ Langley (W) 42 - 14
10-28 Hayfield (L) 38 - 28
11-4 @ Fairfax (W) 56 – 0
Playoffs
11-11 Oakton (W) 54-14
11-18 Centreville (W) 28-26
11-26 @ Lake Braddock (W) 40 - 22
Westfield Bulldogs
Date Opponent Score
9-1 Washington-Lee (W) 45 - 0
9-9 @ South County (W) 17 - 13
9-16 T.C. Williams (W) 21 - 14
9-23 @ Stone Bridge (L) 34 - 16
9-30 Oakton (W) 41 - 3
10-7 @ Briar Woods (L) 35 - 34
10-14 Robinson (W) 29 - 28
10-21 Centreville (W) 35 - 0
10-28 @ Herndon (W) 48 - 7
11-4 @ Chantilly (W) 49 - 21
Playoffs
11-11 W.T.Woodson (W) 45-7
11-18 South County (W) 20-3
11-26 James Madison (W) 31-13
Date Opponent Score
9-2 Marshall (W) 49 - 8
9-9 @ Briar Woods (W) 28 - 21
9-16 Yorktown (W) 35 - 13
9-23 @ McLean (W) 75 - 8
9-30 Washington-Lee (W) 56 - 18
10-7 @ Herndon (W) 56 - 23
10-14 Madison (W) 21 - 13
10-21 @ Langley (W) 42 - 14
10-28 Hayfield (L) 38 - 28
11-4 @ Fairfax (W) 56 – 0
Playoffs
11-11 Oakton (W) 54-14
11-18 Centreville (W) 28-26
11-26 @ Lake Braddock (W) 40 - 22
Westfield Bulldogs
Date Opponent Score
9-1 Washington-Lee (W) 45 - 0
9-9 @ South County (W) 17 - 13
9-16 T.C. Williams (W) 21 - 14
9-23 @ Stone Bridge (L) 34 - 16
9-30 Oakton (W) 41 - 3
10-7 @ Briar Woods (L) 35 - 34
10-14 Robinson (W) 29 - 28
10-21 Centreville (W) 35 - 0
10-28 @ Herndon (W) 48 - 7
11-4 @ Chantilly (W) 49 - 21
Playoffs
11-11 W.T.Woodson (W) 45-7
11-18 South County (W) 20-3
11-26 James Madison (W) 31-13
Been watching a little playoff action lately. South Lakes put on a pretty good show against Lake Braddock. The game started heavily in favor of Lake Braddock, they went down the field and scored rather easily on the first drive of the game, and on the following drive picked off South Lakes. Lake Braddock had great field position and it looked like they were about to start to pour it on, but South Lakes sent them backwards on that drive and forced them to turn the ball over on downs.
From there on South Lakes had a healthy performance offensively for the rest of the afternoon. The play-calling by their coaches and execution by the players just seemed to be in sync. They were balanced and drove the ball well, and also took control on the the opening drive of the second half, popping off a big run and eventually scoring on that drive. I liked the wrinkle to their offense where they take their time in the huddle but hustle to the line and get the ball snapped quickly.
Their defense came up with the kind of big time plays that you would like to see in the playoffs. The fourth down stop at the beginning of the game was needed since Lake Braddock was in good position to go up two scores. A forced fumble off a big hit on a Lake Braddock ball carrier was scooped up and nearly returned for a score, and the South Lakes offense was able to take advantage and punch it in on the next drive. One interception was returned for a score and I think they had picked off another pass. Making those kinds of plays on defense throughout the game kept the momentum on their side.
It is nice seeing a fresh face like South Lakes knock off a normally favored team like Lake Braddock, I'm just wondering if they'll be able to make a performance like that happen again at Westfield on Saturday.
From there on South Lakes had a healthy performance offensively for the rest of the afternoon. The play-calling by their coaches and execution by the players just seemed to be in sync. They were balanced and drove the ball well, and also took control on the the opening drive of the second half, popping off a big run and eventually scoring on that drive. I liked the wrinkle to their offense where they take their time in the huddle but hustle to the line and get the ball snapped quickly.
Their defense came up with the kind of big time plays that you would like to see in the playoffs. The fourth down stop at the beginning of the game was needed since Lake Braddock was in good position to go up two scores. A forced fumble off a big hit on a Lake Braddock ball carrier was scooped up and nearly returned for a score, and the South Lakes offense was able to take advantage and punch it in on the next drive. One interception was returned for a score and I think they had picked off another pass. Making those kinds of plays on defense throughout the game kept the momentum on their side.
It is nice seeing a fresh face like South Lakes knock off a normally favored team like Lake Braddock, I'm just wondering if they'll be able to make a performance like that happen again at Westfield on Saturday.
Normally the Post does not do a great job of writing up game previews, but this one on tomorrow's SL-WF game is pretty good overall. It mirrors precisely what I think about this game and how it could potentially play out.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...608fbb3aaf6_story.html?utm_term=.29628558ab42
https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...608fbb3aaf6_story.html?utm_term=.29628558ab42
Westfield has great linebackers and a great rush off the edge which protects their suspect DB's. Balance is the key against them along with running enough screens & slants behind the edge rushers. Additionally If South Lakes keeps extra protection in the backfield, they could get some plays deep on Westfield.
I hope for a great, tight battle with Westfield the Victor and a rematch of the 2015 Finals against Oscar Smith. That was one of the best highschool football games I've seen.
I hope for a great, tight battle with Westfield the Victor and a rematch of the 2015 Finals against Oscar Smith. That was one of the best highschool football games I've seen.
I agree last years game was outstanding it could have went either way especially if Oscar smith didn't let Westfield jump out to such a big lead
The game was pretty much all Westfield and after watching them play against Centreville, South County (playoffs), and South Lakes, I think they definitely showed their ability in all three games to hit the long pass plays downfield. The passing game seems to be clicking well for them, and against South Lakes the receivers for Westfield were able to get good separation that resulted in several of those long pass plays that looked nearly flawless. Their defense looked strong and South Lakes had a tough time getting anything going for much of the afternoon.
After watching them play that first time around against Centreville, I'm not surprised that they're in the state championship again this year.
