Raiders Shock Patriots 21-4, Improve to 3-1
STERLING, Va. - On a night in which Park View honored Ed Scott, the first-ever coach and architect of its football program, it was Todd Hill and his rebuilding Loudoun County Raiders who stole the show, posting an impressive 21-4 win over the host Patriots Friday evening.
Two contests featuring undefeated squads (Briar Woods at Broad Run and Heritage and Potomac Falls) dominated the headlines heading into the first week of Dulles District play, but Friday's match-up in Sterling had the potential to be an excellent game. Both Loudoun County and Park View entered their meeting with plenty of confidence coming off strong road wins two weeks ago; the Raiders downed James Wood 23-20 and the Patriots rallied in the final minute to claim a 17-14 upset of Handley.
Friday's game started innocently enough, with the first three drives of the game going nowhere and ending in punts. On its second possession, Park View looked to draw first blood when Brandon Lee weaved his way through traffic for an apparent 41-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter. However, the score was negated on a blocking penalty, and the Patriots' eventual 17-play, 58-yard drive ended in a missed 30-yard field goal.
Taking over at its own 20, the Raiders (3-1, 1-0 Dulles) needed just five plays to march 80 yards for the game's first points. Adam Yesuf turned in the big blow with a 50-yard scamper to move the ball deep into Patriot territory, and Mike Howard later capped the drive with a 1-yard plunge to give Loudoun County a 7-0 lead with 8:48 left in the first half.
Park View (1-3, 0-1 Dulles)looked to answer, moving from its 25 to the Raider 40, but the Patriots couldn't convert a 4th-and-5 and turned the ball over on downs. Loudoun County then marched 60 yards in 10 plays, with Joe Bushrod running in from two yards out to give the visitors a 14-0 lead at the break.
Park View received the second-half kickoff but was pushed back five yards in three plays. The ensuing Patriot punt was a low liner that appeared to carom off a lineman's back, and Loudoun County took over in great field position at the Park View 11.
Two plays later, Bushrod scrambled into the end zone for a 9-yard score, and Mike Ayoub's third extra point of the night pushed the Raider lead to 21-0 with 9:50 left in the third quarter. Loudoun County forced another three-and-out on Park View's next possession, but a fumble on the following play from scrimmage gave the Patriots excellent field position at the Raider 45. Sawyer Hackett, who engineered Park View's winning touchdown drive in the final minutes against Handley two weeks ago, entered the game and sparked the Patriots on a 9-play drive down to the Loudoun County 1-yard line. However, the Raiders turned in an outstanding goal-line stop on fourth down and regained possession.
Simply looking to avoid a mistake that would give Park View any momentum, the Raiders stuck to their ground game but were forced to punt from their own six. With the wet field conditions and a three-touchdown lead, Todd Hill decided to concede a safety and had Bushrod step out of the back of the end zone with 3:07 left in the third. After the ensuing free kick, Park View took over at the Raider 44 desperately needing a spark, but Howard intercepted a long fourth-down pass at the LC 3-yard line with one minute to play in the third to keep the Patriots out of the end zone.
Backed up again deep in its own end, Loudoun County was forced into another punting situation, but Hill again chose to give up the intentional safety in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to make it a 21-4 contest. Park View had another excellent chance as it took over at the Raider 34-yard line after the free kick. However, Tim McLister intercepted a pass at the LC 10-yard line and returned it to the 47 before fumbling. Teammate Austin Campbell recovered the ball and advanced it to the PV 41 with just under 10 minutes left.
Things continued to get sloppy as the rain fell harder in the final quarter. Park View's Nathan Santana picked off a Bushrod bomb in the end zone and returned it 20 yards with 5:24 left, but the Patriots gave the ball back to the Raiders just two plays later on a fumble at the County 29-yard line.
The teams then traded punts before Loudoun County ran out the final 2:45.
Notes: Loudoun County improved to 3-1 with the victory ... the Raiders were 2-8 just one year ago ... County has now won 5 of its last 7 games dating back to the final three games of last season ... Park View honored legendary head coach Ed Scott at halftime of Friday's game ...Scott began the Patriot program when the school opened in 1976 ... In 14 seasons, he led Park View to a 103-49-2 record, seven district championships, two region championships, one state runner-up finish and one state title (1998) ... Among the notable players Scott coached were Allen Pinkett and Jeff Lageman, who both went on the play in the NFL (Pinkett played with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints, while Lageman played with the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars).
