Blog Game Blog: Stone Bridge 64, Broad Run 7 - FINAL

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We greet you from my home office in Virginia Beach, but I'm checking out the exclusive online coverage online on the Gameday Facebook page via Andy Hayes and our friends as Broad Run (5-0) takes on Stone Bridge (5-0) in the infamous 'Battle of the Burn,' at Segra Field in Leesburg.

Broad Run checks in at No. 2 in our Class 4 Top Ten on VaPreps, while Stone Bridge, the defending Class 5 State Champ, is No. 1 in the Class 5 Top Ten.

Talented players all over the field with Richmond pledge Jacob Thomas , the do-it-all multi-sport star for Stone Bridge, leading the way for Mickey Thompson's Bulldogs. For Matt Griffis' Spartans, it's his son in Brett, the QB headed to Wake Forest, pacing a proficient attack.

If you missed the Preview from Jim McGrath earlier this week, check it out below.

Jim McGrath's Preview Here

As for who wins? It's anybody's guess.

Matt Hatfield's Predictions - Stone Bridge 28-27

What we do know is it's a raucous atmosphere with more than 5000 fans in attendance. Certainly one of the largest crowds since the pandemic struck in the early part of 2020.

We are minutes away from kick-off. You can watch via Facebook at this link below...

Battle of the Burn - Stone Bridge vs Broad Run | Watch The Battle of the Burn Live Right Here! Presented By Route | By THE GAMEDAY NATIONFacebook

Watch The Battle of the Burn Live Right Here! Presented By Route

www.facebook.com

 

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After two first down runs from Eli Mason and Dylan Hundertmark, the Bulldogs go to the air and over the middle Thomas puts it on the money with Colton Hinton hauling in the score.

On the ensuing kickoff, Stone Bridge forces a fumble - believe it's Myles Turpin on the hit and Deuce Geter with the recovery.

 

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Stone Bridge has come out ready to play and focused on executing.

Broad Run begins at their own 27 with 10:04 to go. They need to slow things down and lean on a big offensive line, headed up by Penn State commit and nationally-ranked junior Alex Birchmeier.

 

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A 15-yard run by Eli Mason puts Stone Bridge at the 26 of Broad Run. They are gashing a Broad Run defense that came in allowing less than three points per game.

Aslin Shipe had a good run, but was drilled and fumbles on that last series for the Spartans, who now need their defense to come up with a big stop or takeaway or this can get away from them in a hurry.

Broad Run's defense is going to put Stone Bridge in a third down and medium situation after a good stop by Isaiah Lemmond and the first incomplete pass of the night from Jacob Thomas.

 

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Hart sneaks behind the defense to the back of the end zone on a wheel route and stays in bounds as Thomas finds him with a pinpoint pass.

Broad Run now has to get something going with 7:24 to go in the opening frame from their own 25. They have to go to the air with Brett Griffis and try to get a big play that ignites their side. Unfortunately, a delay of game penalty won't help them. Then the first pass by Griffis is incomplete to bring up 2nd & 15.

 

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Brett Griffis, the Wake commit, has his pass deflected on 2nd & 15 by Kyle Galloway, who is having a great night. Isaiah Lemmond runs a great comeback route and brings it in near the sticks. It's going to be for 14 yards, though. So that means Broad Run will go for it on 4th & 1 from their own 34.

The Broad Run offensive line gets good push for tailback Aslin Shipe, who chugs out 4 tough yards to the 38. The Spartans would love to finish this drive with a touchdown to get them back in this one. Avoiding third down situations is a must.

Griffis shows great pocket poise and hits Isaiah Lemmond down the field for a gain of 45 to the Stone Bridge 17. Excellent footwork by Brett there. A 1-yard run puts Broad Run at the Stone Bridge 16 for 2nd & 9.

With four receivers, it's Griffis hitting No. 24, Arnav Thornhill, for a scoring strike.

 

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Stone Bridge fair catches the football right around their own 30 on the ensuing kickoff. Now the Bulldogs want to avoid a quick three-and-out that allows Broad Run to get closer to squaring things up. Playing with a solid pace is important for Coach Thompson's crew.

 

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Stone Bridge is going right back to work as Jacob Thomas runs for 11 and then hits Colin Hart for 9 yards as they move to midfield. A 2-yard run by Eli Mason up the middle brings up 2nd & 8 from the Broad Run 48. It is there where Thomas scrambles and unleashes a remarkable throw to Doniven Cooper near the goal-line.

 

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Jacob Thomas has two passing scores and two rushing scores... and we still have a couple more minutes to go in the opening period.

 

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A couple of penalties hurting Stone Bridge, including one following a sack by junior LB Anthony Ciccarello. Isaiah Lemmond continues to show off reliable hands for Broad Run. He's made a couple of real nifty grabs, the latest a 5-yard grab that got the Spartans to the Stone Bridge 26.

But Broad Run is flagged for a penalty that drives them back to the 43 of Stone Bridge. With three receivers to his left, Griffis goes for Arnav Thornhill, who draws a pass interference as the Stone Bridge secondary gets caught face-guarding.

Dominic Duncan makes a good stop on a short, underneath pass by Broad Run.

 

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Deuce Geter with a pass breakup on 1st & 10 for the Stone Bridge defense. Then the Stone Bridge defense makes an even bigger play that results in their third takeaway of the night.

Carter Sweazie, the James Madison commit, comes up with the fumble recovery for Stone Bridge on a force by junior LB Kyle Carpe.

The Stone Bridge linebackers have played very physical and the Broad Run game is pretty much non-existent at this point. It was simply dominant, that rush attack for the Spartans, a week ago in a 44-0 shutout of Woodgrove.

 

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With a 21-point lead from their own 35, Stone Bridge might be looking to go for it on fourth down as Coach Mickey Thompson hates to punt. He'll use a time-out before the key 4th & 5 from their own 35.

Using three receivers to the left, Stone Bridge will quick-kick it on a punt that rolls to the 8 by Jacob Thomas.

That was a good call there because going for it and coming up short would give Broad Run some major life and an opportunity to immediately slice into the 28-7 deficit.

 

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Broad Run hits Alex Estes for a 4-yard completion to their own 12 and then Brett Griffis tries to take a vertical shot down the sideline with Isaiah Lemmond that is just a bit out of his reach. Lemmond comes up with a clutch third down conversion for a 12-yard gain.

On the next play, it's Griffis making a beautiful throw down the middle of the field to Arnav Thornhill for 30 yards. They're beginning to exploit the seams and Griffis is finding a rhythm. However, their running game is still picking up less than three yards a pop.

On 3rd & 6, it's Griffis hitting Jack Davis, the senior with 13 catches for 134 yards coming into tonight, on a 16-yard pass play. This is a nice drive for Broad Run right now, and now Griffis breaks off a first down run into the red zone on a draw.

 

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On 3rd & 3 at about the 8 of Stone Bridge, the Broad Run run game with Alex Estes is stuffed by multiple defenders.

Out of a time-out with 2:58 to go in the 1st half, Broad Run is looking to cut into the Stone Bridge 28-7 lead. On 4th & 1 from the Stone Bridge 6, the Spartans go with a direct snap that is flagged for false start. That is really difficult because it probably takes the run out of the equation, unless they go with some type of sprint-out / bootleg play getting Griffis to roll to the right / field side.

Isaiah Lemmond has been very consistent underneath, so on a crossing route he could get some space to bring in a scoring catch.

 

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Jacob Thomas seemingly does it all for this Stone Bridge team. He hasn't played a whole lot of defense because he's now the starting quarterback, but Coach Thompson, DC Billy Rice and company knew they wanted him on the field for a pivotal fourth down play. It paid off in a big way.

 

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Late in the second period, Stone Bridge foes for a deep shot with Colin Hart and what would've been a 65-yard touchdown turns out to be a narrow miss. Jacob Thomas overthrew him by just a couple of yards.

However, Thomas comes right back from that mistake with a superb option pitch to Eli Mason, who rumbles for 17 yards down the sideline into Broad Run territory. Dylan Hundertmark takes a pitch the other way for about 8 to the Broad Run 40. With 1:15 to go in the half, the Bulldogs are using some clock before taking a time-out.

A score here before the break would be immense for Stone Bridge, which entered averaging right around 38 points per game and allowing just 11 per contest. To get near that point total by half-time in a matchup of this significance is impressive.

Broad Run came in averaging around 43 points per game and allowing about 3 PPG. Their defense has been hit for some big plays, but the giveaways - four in total - has hurt them immeasurably thus far.

 

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A throw-back across the field results in the fifth touchdown of the night from Stone Bridge's superstar Jacob Thomas. Nice job by Zeke Wimbush (6-3, 210 pound junior), who has a few receptions tonight and is part of a well-rounded receiving core for the Bulldogs.

 

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So some more unofficial numbers...

Unofficial Stats at the Half:

Stone Bridge 35:
Jacob Thomas - 8-10 for 201Yds. 3-0 TD/Int. ratio; 4Car. 20Yds. 2 TD's; Fumble Rec.
Eli Mason - 6Car. 51Yds.
Colin Hart - 3Rec. 59Yds. TD
Zeke Wimbush - 3Rec. 46Yds. TD
Colton Hinton - 1Rec. 49Yds. TD
Doniven Cooper - 1Rec. 47Yds.

Deuce Geter, Carter Sweazie and Kyle Galloway with fumble recoveries
Myles Turpin, Myles Turpin and Kyle Carpe with forced fumbles.

Bulldogs with 201 yards passing; 94 yards rushing = total of 295 yards on 25 plays
Bulldogs with 4 penalties for 36 yards


Broad Run 7:
Brett Griffis - 11-16 for 161Yds. 1-0 TD/Int. ratio; 6Car. 11Yds.
Isaiah Lemmond - 4Rec. 76Yds.
Arnav Thornhill - 4Rec. 60Yds. TD
Jack Davis - 2Rec. 22Yds.
Ashlin Shipe - 5Car. 14Yds.


Spartans with 161 yards passing; 30 yards rushing = total of 191 yards on 29 plays
Spartans with 4 penalties for 32 yards

 

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It'll be Broad Run football to begin the 2nd half. Jack Davis returns the kickoff about 22 yards to their own 25-yard line.

 

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With an empty set and three receivers to the far side, Brett Griffis just misses Arnav Thornhill on what nearly was a 75-yard touchdown strike. Jakob Lawyer and Kyle Carpe sack Griffis for a loss of five yards on second down. There's no secret what Broad Run is doing on 3rd & 15 from their own 20 here.

Good coverage as senior LB Mikey Hafer, a member of the school's baseball team, is in position to keep Broad Run from getting a big chunk of yardage.

Stone Bridge returns the punt about 4 to 5 yards with Dylan Hundertmark to the Broad Run 48. Luca Lombardo tackles Jacob Thomas on the first run immediately. But the Bulldogs aren't discouraged and they go back to the running game to get six on the board.

 

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The most scored ever in this series was 42 by Broad Run in 2019. For Stone Bridge prior to tonight, it was 37 in 2012.

 

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Brett Griffis is showing some solid mobility on runs for the Spartans tonight. Zach Laing has firm tackles on the outside while also having to check the dangerous Isaiah Lemmond on the outside.

Griffis finds Arnav Thornhill for completions of 20 and 24 yards. Out of the Pistol formation, the Bulldogs defense clamps down as Mikey Hafter, Carter Sweazie and that defensive front seven is hanging tough.

Even though Griffis converts a 4th & 1 just barely on a sneak, Kyle Carpe comes free from the blindside on the next play for a sack that drops the Broad Run signal caller backwards eight yards.

 

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Following a mini power outage that lasted about a minute, action resumes. Apparently the timer on the lights was the issue there.

Deuce Geter, one of the key Stone Bridge DB's, is helped off the field. Prior to that, the Bulldogs got called for pass interference in the end zone. Now a 4th & Goal from the 9 and Griffis' back shoulder throw in the end zone is incomplete.

Credit Zach Laing for excellent coverage tonight and the Bulldogs secondary is performing rather well against a very prolific passing attack that rates among the best in all of Northern Virginia.

 

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After a very strong run from Eli Mason, Jacob Thomas just misses with Colton Hinton on a potential 82-yard scoring strike. They go back to the running game with Mason, who moves the chains on a direct snap.

From their own 27, the Bulldogs roll left with Jacob Thomas finding Zeke Wimbush for a 73-yard touchdown pass. Another fantastic throw by Thomas.

 

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What a night from Jacob Thomas... he's simply doing it all.

 

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Stone Bridge hits Broad Run for the most points by any team in 16 years... and they do so in just three quarters. Did not see that coming at all.

 

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Some unreal numbers there.

 

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2:40 to play in VHSL Football - Stone Bridge 64, Broad Run 7.

Sophomore Tyson Miller with a 7-yard TD run. Freshman Brandon Pena adds the 2-point run.

This has been an excruciatingly long running clock game.

Coming in, Broad Run had outscored its opponents 218-13.

 

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Tough one coming up for Broad Run with 6-0 Heritage of Leesburg.

Stone Bridge, meanwhile, will host Briar Woods, coached by Mike Burnett (once a rival of Stone Bridge when he was at the helm of Broad Run and Tuscarora).

More to come later + stay tuned to Jim McGrath's NoVA Rewind early in the week...