Post by amateragi on Dec 2, 2023 18:39:06 GMT -2
On September 22, Stone Bridge was 0-4 after playing one of the toughest non-con slates a public school has probably ever played. Two blowouts and two heartbreakers. It was a spot they had never been in before - outside the stadium they have a sign touting their unreal 256-48 all time record through 23 seasons, a feat they are rightfully very proud of.
But that didn’t stop Coach Mickey Thompson from putting his team in a position to increase the loss count by 7% in the span of a month, and that attitude has paid off tremendously. Stone Bridge won all five of their county games following this, and picked up a forfeit win after their postponed Week 3 game was never resumed, to finish the regular season 6-4 and make it 23 years in a row with a winning record. They didn’t just beat every Loudoun County opponent on their schedule, they dominated them - winning by an average of 41 points. That dominance has continued into the playoffs with wins of 35-14 and 29-6 to propel them to their 16th regional title in 24 years.
But the Bulldogs didn’t go through the wringer to win a region title, they did it to be state contenders. And here, in the semifinals against Matoaca - coming from a half hour south of Richmond - they certainly look the part so far. Matoaca hasn’t exactly been pushovers either - they have a good QB in Ryley Justus, and a sizable O Line that’s bought him a lot of protection. Matoaca got the ball first and drove all the way to the SB 15 - but SB’s defense came alive and pushed them back 10 yards. The Warriors attempted a 42 yard FG and missed it - not by much, kicker Zach Bowers has quite the leg and it had the distance, just drove it wide left.
SB took over and proceeded to put on an offensive clinic with their single-wing offense, with Troy Marquez picking up most of the yards on the ground. His success allowed SB to dizzy Matoaca with the play action, and they cashed in with a 15 yard TD pass from Brandon Peña to Jordan Kaiser. After Matoaca stalled out on their next drive, SB went right back to work and scored on yet another PA pass, this time to Na’eem Ar Gladding for 41 yards.
Matoaca then went on a nearly 6-minute drive aided by some killer SB penalties - they made things a bit harder on themselves than they needed to be, committing 6 penalties to Matoaca’s 1. But they held in the red zone once again, and Matoaca brought out Bowers again who nailed a 44 yarder with 12 seconds to go before half.
If SB holds on, they will almost certainly play Maury for the VA 5A title - PA announcer said the Commodores were up 42-0 in the second quarter
But that didn’t stop Coach Mickey Thompson from putting his team in a position to increase the loss count by 7% in the span of a month, and that attitude has paid off tremendously. Stone Bridge won all five of their county games following this, and picked up a forfeit win after their postponed Week 3 game was never resumed, to finish the regular season 6-4 and make it 23 years in a row with a winning record. They didn’t just beat every Loudoun County opponent on their schedule, they dominated them - winning by an average of 41 points. That dominance has continued into the playoffs with wins of 35-14 and 29-6 to propel them to their 16th regional title in 24 years.
But the Bulldogs didn’t go through the wringer to win a region title, they did it to be state contenders. And here, in the semifinals against Matoaca - coming from a half hour south of Richmond - they certainly look the part so far. Matoaca hasn’t exactly been pushovers either - they have a good QB in Ryley Justus, and a sizable O Line that’s bought him a lot of protection. Matoaca got the ball first and drove all the way to the SB 15 - but SB’s defense came alive and pushed them back 10 yards. The Warriors attempted a 42 yard FG and missed it - not by much, kicker Zach Bowers has quite the leg and it had the distance, just drove it wide left.
SB took over and proceeded to put on an offensive clinic with their single-wing offense, with Troy Marquez picking up most of the yards on the ground. His success allowed SB to dizzy Matoaca with the play action, and they cashed in with a 15 yard TD pass from Brandon Peña to Jordan Kaiser. After Matoaca stalled out on their next drive, SB went right back to work and scored on yet another PA pass, this time to Na’eem Ar Gladding for 41 yards.
Matoaca then went on a nearly 6-minute drive aided by some killer SB penalties - they made things a bit harder on themselves than they needed to be, committing 6 penalties to Matoaca’s 1. But they held in the red zone once again, and Matoaca brought out Bowers again who nailed a 44 yarder with 12 seconds to go before half.
If SB holds on, they will almost certainly play Maury for the VA 5A title - PA announcer said the Commodores were up 42-0 in the second quarter