On Senior Night at Fortune Field, two of the NoVa power programs in Class 5A met for the first time on Friday night in Leesburg as the Stone Bridge Bulldogs and longtime head coach Mickey Thompson traveled to Tuscarora to play the undefeated Huskies led by head coach Mike Burnett in what was also the first meeting between two of the state's elite coaches.
Both teams got off to hot start as Tuscarora scored on their second possession then Stone Bridge answered on their ensuing drive to tie the game at 7-7. However, from their on out, it was all Huskies as they found the endzone three more time before intermission to carry a 28-7 lead into the halftime locker room.
Tuscarora then carried that momentum over scoring twice in the third quarter to create a running clock situation, effectively putting the game away. Though Stone Bridge scored twice more to close the gap, the Huskies walked away with a 42-19 victory.
The win ups Tuscarora's record to 9-0 with a bye coming next week before they met Broad Run in the regular season finale. Meanwhile, Stone Bridge drops to 4-4 on the year with contests at home against Potomac Falls then finish up on the road against Briar Woods.
**Photo Gallery: 400 images from Stone Bridge at Tuscarora** (coming soon)
SCORING SUMMARY
TEAM TIME SCORING PLAY GAME SCORE
TUSC 4:22 (1) Smith 1 yard, PAT Elmellouki 7-0
SB 3:11 (1) Breece 54 yards, PAT Alcorn 7-7
TUSC 1:33 (1) Douglas 40 yards, PAT Elmellouki 14-7
TUSC 7:23 (2) Smith 45 yards, PAT Elmellouki 21-7
TUSC 0:22 (2) Malave-Neely 6 yards, PAT Elmellouki 28-7
TUSC 11:20 (3) Smith to Speroni 36 yards, PAT blocked 34-7
TUSC 7:47 (3) Smith to Roebuck 90 yards, 2-pt to Speroni 42-7
SB 2:12 (3) Turner to Smedley 11 yards, 2-pt failed 42-13
SB 6:41 (4) Turner to Ridley 15 yards, PAT fails 42-19
KEYS TO VICTORY
PACK OF WOLVES DEFENSE
Most of the headlines around the Tuscarora program have been centered on their high-powered offense and quarterback Daniel Smith, the catalyst for the unit. Though the defense houses a couple of scholarship level players, they've not received a lot of attenting through the team's first eight games.
In the first two quarters alone, eighteen different players registered a tackle for the Huskies who got a full team effort in slowing down the Bulldogs' offense. They were particularly effective in stopping Stone Bridge on third and fourth down seven of eight times in the first two quarters.
They effectively made Stone Bridge a one-dimensional team taking away the pass in the first half as the Bulldogs went into the halftime locker room having completed only two of seven passes for six yards.
Things changed quite a bit in the second half once Tuscaroa went up 42-7 leading to a running clock situation as Stone Bridge relied heavily on their passing game to generate some yardage. This is believed to be the first time that anyone has ever even led the Bulldogs by 35 during the running clock era.
On the night, the Stone Bridge rushed the ball 29 times for 159 yards and completed 14 of 38 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, one by defensive back Jonathan Roebuck (pictured) and the other by linebacker Peter Deer.
MOMENTUM INTO HALFTIME
Through the first ten minutes of the game, the teams were deadlocked in a 7-7 tie, but the Huskies moved ahead late in the first quarter with a 40-yard touchdown run down the Stone Bridge sideline by running back James Douglas to push the Huskies lead to 14-7.
The teams then traded punts and Stone Bridge found themselves on the Huskies side of the field taking possession at the Tuscarora 49-yard line with 2:57 left in the half. With a short field and time waning, the Bulldogs were going to have a chance to cut the Huskies' lead to one score.
However, on fourth-and-six, the Bulldogs were stopped when quarterback Easton Turner rolled right looking for a receiver but, before he could let it fly, he was dropped by seniors Kyle Disch and Elijah Moore (pictured) giving the ball back to the Huskies near midfield.
With the clock winding down, Smith broke off a Tebow-esque run of 23 yards to the Stone Bridge 15-yard line setting up a short touchdown run a couple of plays later by Taj Malave-Neely with 22 seconds left in the half. So, in a matter of just three minutes, Stone Bridge went from having an opportunity to cut the score to 21-7 to heading into the half down by three scores.
SKILL POSITION PLAYMAKERS
However, the Huskies got a full team effort on offense as much as they did on defense as five different players contributed scores on the night.
Malave-Neely tied with Smith with a team-high 94 yards on 17 carries with one touchdown. Backfield mate Douglass totaled 71 yards of offense on just ten touches including his 40-yard score. Out wide, Smith got scores from both of his top targets as Nic Speroni (pictured) was on the receiving end of both a 36-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion while teammate Jonathan Roebuck turned on the jets scoring on a 90-yard catch-and-run (along with notching an interception and two pass break ups on defense).
**Post-game interview with Tuscarora head coach Mike Burnett**
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
DANIEL SMITH
The Tuscarora senior quarterback only threw the ball seven times all night but he completed five of them for 190 yards and two touchdowns, both in the second half on his only attempts after the break. He added 94 yards and two scores on the ground rushing nine times, many on scrambles off broken plays.
JEREMY SAMPSON
The Huskies junior linebacker notched a team-leading eight tackles (along with Michael Sagun), seven solo takedowns with a pass break up on the defensive side of the ball. The two-way performer added two catches for 51 yards including a 43-yarder that set up the game's first touchdown.
JOSHUA BREECE
The Bulldogs' junior ball carrier totaled 139 of the team's 159 yards rushing on 18 attempts. Additionally, he snagged three passes for 36 yards receiving and completed one pass for a two-yard gain. Also involved on special teams, Breece recovered an onside kick for Stone Bridge.
Football Editor Rod Johnson is entering his second decade with www.VirginiaPreps.com having started with the site in 2003. To keep up with all the high school football news in Virginia, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook. He can also be contacted via e-mail at vaprepsrod@cox.net.
