Brown, Glenn help Bulldogs past Valley 35-14
The Stone Bridge Bulldogs ran their record to 3-0 with a convincing 35-14 victory over rival Loudoun Valley. The Bulldogs combined a bruising ground game with quick strikes to dominate the Vikings and roll into district play with considerable momentum.
Stone Bridge sputtered a bit early on in the game, but recovered quickly. After holding Valley on its initial drive, the Bulldogs came out firing. Devon “Y'Lou” Brown took the ball on third-and-five and dashed 47 yards to the Vikings' 27, but a fumble on the next play gave the ball back to Valley.
Two plays later, Mike Stancik picked off Viking quarterback Cooper Barth and made a fine return all the way to the Viking 25. On second and twelve, Terence Glenn found Mike Barta streaking behind the secondary for a touchdown and the game's first score. Chad Grendell's extra point made it 7-0.
After another booming Ronnie Shaban kickoff, the Vikings took over on the twenty, but could not mount a drive against the Bulldog defense. Stone Bridge went to the passing game, but was unable to move the ball, and Valley took over on the Bulldog 49. Shortly thereafter, Sam Kraynak picked off Barth once again, but the Bulldogs could not capitalize. On the second play, Jeron Gouveia's fumble was picked up by Brian Ogden who ran 50 yards untouched until Brown tackled him from behind at the Stone Bridge 5. Two plays later, Clyde Kessler scored from the one, and the extra point tied the game 7-7.
Stone Bridge then went into four-wheel-drive, slamming Brown, Glenn and Gouveia at the Viking line play after pay until Brown finally rammed in from the two. Glenn ran for the conversion, and the Bulldogs led 15-7.
Valley was once again denied by the Stone Bridge defense and punted with only 0:48 left in the half, but this was 26 seconds more than the Bulldogs needed. A 29-yard pass from Glenn to Brown took the ball to the 21, and Glenn finished the job with a seemingly easy scamper in from there. The Grendell point was good, and Stone Bridge led at the half 22-7.
Stone Bridge opened the second half with the ball on its own 21, and two Glenn-to-Gouveia completions brought the Bulldogs to the 40. From there it was more of the same: Glenn, Brown and Gouveia hammering the Valley defense. Finally Gouveia dove in from the one, and the Bulldogs were in complete control 28-7.
To their credit, the Vikings did not let up, and put together their best drive of the night. Moving from its own 26, Valley eventually worked the ball to the Bulldog one where the Stone Bridge defense faced first and goal. The Bulldogs showed no quit either and held Valley for three plays until Ogden finally scored. The extra point set the score at 28-14 Stone Bridge.
In the next series, the Bulldogs slammed the door shut when Gouveia slipped to the outside and sprinted up the left sideline from 45 yards out to score. Grendell's third extra point finished the scoring at 35-14. Valley had two more opportunities on offense but the Stone Bridge defense was solid.
Brown surpassed one hundred yards rushing for the third game, putting him close to 400 for the season, while Glenn scored his fourth rushing touchdown in two games. The Bulldogs face their first district opponent next week in Thomas Jefferson.
Prepared by, Dave and Suzy Barta
spbarta@aol.com
