Fantasy Title Bout: Westfield vs Stone Bridge
STERLING, VA - After this past weekend, prep football fans around the state have opened the dialog about how Westfield and Stone Bridge would match-up if they played one another this year. In fact, Gameday has received several e-mails from fans wanting to know our opinion on who would win.
It is an intriguing fantasy game to think about. Both teams won a state title and did so in convincing fashion. Arguing back and forth about which team is better could go on for years, but since football season is now over, I figured it would be fun to dive into how a game would go between the Bulldogs, and the Bulldogs.
Concorde District fans believe Westfield would roll over Stone Bridge like Robinson did early in the season. This assumption is based solely on how Stone Bridge played against the Rams on September 7th, a 41-14 defeat. A few weeks later, Westfield beat Robinson 38-7 at Robinson, and never was tested in the game.
However, Stone Bridge was breaking in several new starters this season on offense, and especially at quarterback, where Patrick Thompson was just starting his second game ever at the position. On the contrary, Westfield's Mike Glennon had double digit wins as a starting quarterback.
When you look at the two teams offensively, they do things very differently, but arrive at the same end result. Both are balanced, both have playmakers who can score at any time, and both have a big offensive line that can dominate.
While I certainly believe Westfield was truly one of the nation's best teams this season, Stone Bridge isn't far behind. Here's how I would break down the two teams on offense and who would have the advantage.
Quarterback: Advantage = Westfield
Glennon has the experience over Patrick Thompson and his game management is second to none. He doesn't make mistakes and his biggest strength might be his intellectual approach to the game. Thompson will be at this level next year as a senior, but Glennon would have the edge as of today.....
Running Backs: Advantage = Stone Bridge
While I love how Steven Tabot and Brian Kennedy run the football, Stone Bridge has more playmakers in the backfield with seniors Jeron Gouveia, Kareem Alexander, and Daniel Allen. Any of those three players can take it to the house on any given play. If you compare rushing stats between the two teams, Stone Bridge's Big 3 would win the numbers battle. That being said, if Kennedy was to carry the ball 20 + times in the game, he would make this match-up a wash as I believe he could be the area's best running back period. He just spends more time on defense.
Wide Receivers: Advantage = Even
Westfield's Johnny Pickett and Stone Bridge's Ryan Moody wash each other out here. Both had over 15 touchdowns on the year, and both can beat any defensive back from the other team. Westfield's David Kruchko and Randy Johns are great secondary targets as are Stone Bridge's Matt Irwin and Gouveia, who also plays a ton at receiver. Bottom line, this position is even across the board and anyone who argues differently probably hasn't seen both teams play as much as we have all year long.
Offensive Line: Advantage = Even
Believe it or not, Westfield and Stone Bridge are even here as well. While Westfield may have more size, Stone Bridge can wear a defense down just the same. When Stone Bridge puts David Wang, Brian Slay, and Zach Thompson in the game to block, they could move the ball on anyone. People often talk about the Robinson game, but if you were there, you know that Stone Bridge moved the ball up and down the field just fine against the Rams. On the flip side, Westfield's offensive line can dominate the game, but they are also great at pass protection. I think this would be the best match-up between the two teams to watch if the game was played.
Defensive Line: Advantage = Stone Bridge
The reason Stone Bridge gets the nod here is because they have the most dominating front four I've seen all year long. Brian Slay, Zach Thompson, Doug Simms, and Jimmy Bradford play in the opposing team's backfield. They would match-up extremely well against Westfield. Not saying Chris Leon and crew at Westfield are tremendous as well, because they are, but Stone Bridge has more depth and talent at the end positions, and I think that gives them the edge.
Linebackers: Advantage = Westfield
With Mike King, Cole Campbell, and Brian Kennedy, Westfield clearly has the more experienced and better linebacking core. Kennedy plays a ton in coverage too, but he would disrupt the Single Wing all day long. Mike King is also a great player and Campbell is a great tackler. Stone Bridge's Mike Olson and Travis Hanham are stars on the rise, but both need more size and another year to really stack up with King and Campbell. Stone Bridge doesn't have a Kennedy, and that gives Westfield the edge in this match-up.
Secondary: Advantage = Even
Westfield has a solid secondary but they showed down the stretch that they were succeptable against the pass, giving up 480 yards passing to Oscar Smith and 354 yards to one player. Bryn Renner also went up and down the field on Westfield, as he did against a lot of teams in 2007. Stone Bridge has the best player in this area with Jeron Gouveia at safety. The Bulldogs are solid at the corner and other safety position with Kevin Elliot, Michael Prince, and Mike Stancik, but their speed is questionable. Both teams played great defense all year long, but both teams would probably agree that if they had any weakness, it would point to their secondary play at times. That is why this match-up is even.
Special Teams: Advantage = Even
Westfield's David Skahn is a big time kicker, and so is Stone Bridge's Ronnie Shaban. Skahn's impact is bigger because he also punts, and Stone Bridge uses quarterback Patrick Thomspon to punt from the shotgun formation. As for the return game, Stone Bridge's Matt Irwin and Westfield's Johnny Pickett wash each other out. They both are dangerous and both ran kicks back for scores this year.
Coaching: Advantage = Even
Westfield's Tom Verbanic has won two state titles, Mickey Thompson has one now too. Give or take 3 or 4 key plays and Thompson could have 3 at this stage in his career, so both coaches are hall of famers. Both coaches are quiet but intense leaders, and I think they are both innovators on the offensive side of the ball. Thompson takes more chances on 4th down than Verbanic does and that could either help Stone Bridge or hurt them in a game against Westfield. I think if these two coaches faced each other 10 times, with talent being similar, they would split it 5-5.
So who would win between this year's 15-0 Westfield Bulldogs and 14-1 Stone Bridge Bulldogs? It is really hard to say. Stone Bridge and Westfield had four common opponents this season in Woodbridge (Stone Bridge Scrimmaged Them), West Springfield, Robinson, and Lee. Westfield rolled over them all, and Stone Bridge fell to Robinson, their only loss on the year.
I think Stone Bridge's single wing attack would give Westfield problems and that would be a major factor if Westfield only had a week to get ready for it. I don't think Stone Bridge could find an answer for Glennon and crew, despite how solid their defense played at the end of the year.
Westfield has the edge based on experience, they have over 43 seniors on their 2007 championship team, whereas Stone Bridge is a heavy junior laden team. One major thing to consider is how many turnovers Stone Bridge had in the final 4 games. Their offense really didn't play sharp against Phoebus for the first half, and the same can be said against Edison and also Potomac. Their defense bailed them out quite a few times. Westfield on the other hand really plays mistake free football on offense. That could very well be the difference in a game between these two champions.
As you can tell, It's hard to decipher who would win. Both teams are tremendous in so many aspects, and both win different battles within this match-up. After watching both play on Saturday in the title games, I think Stone Bridge won more convincingly, but Westfield may have played a better opponent in Woodbridge compared to Potomac. It's hard to say, but if Westfield and Stone Bridge played just once, either team could very well win the game.
If they played 10 times, I think they could very well split. However, Glennon is the X-factor. He is unflappable and I think his experience would give Westfield the slight advantage in this match-up of all match-ups.
Hopefully one day, we can actually see this game played in person instead of on paper. It would be one heck of a game between two championship programs.
