Bailey's 2TD's Lift Falcons Past Raiders 17-14
The Briar Woods Falcons fought hard to secure their 5th win of the season against Loudoun County. The Falcons and Raiders played a close game that ended in a 17-14 Briar Woods advantage.
Photos By: Chuck Moore / FalconGameday.com
Briar Woods tight end Tavis Henry jukes a County defensive back in the 17-14 Falcon win....
Photos By: Chuck Moore / FalconGameday.com
Freshman Edwin Mends races down the sideline late in the game against Loudoun County. The Falcons improved to 5-1 with the win...
Photos By: Chuck Moore / FalconGameday.com
LEESBURG, VA - J.T. Bailey scored a pair of touchdowns - a two-yard run and a recovered blocked punt in the end zone -- and the Briar Woods defense intercepted a pair of passes near its own goal line in the final three minutes, as the Falcons edged host Loudoun County 17-14 in a key Dulles District contest Friday night.
With the victory, Briar Woods improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Dulles District play, while Loudoun County dropped to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in district action with the loss.
The first quarter was scoreless and fast-moving, as both teams looked to establish control on the ground. Briar Woods took the opening kickoff and drove 60 yards to the Raider four. However, the Falcons came up empty as Joe Bushrod blocked a David Clements 22-yard field goal attempt.
Loudoun County took over at its own 11 and ran off eight plays before punting the ball away, and Briar Woods took possession at its 20 with just over three minutes left in the opening period.
Bailey capped an 11-play, 80-yard march with a two-yard plunge with 9:54 left in the second stanza, but Loudoun County countered on its next possession, using 11 running plays to cover 76 yards. Bushrod dove in from a yard out to cap the drive and tie the game at 7 with 4:29 left in the half.
The key play of the game came just 1:28 before the intermission, when, with Loudoun County punting from its own 15, Jake Ashton broke through the line and blocked a Bushrod punt inside the five-yard line. Bailey pounced on the loose ball in the end zone, and Clements' extra point gave Briar Woods a 14-7 lead at the break.
Clements accounted for what would be the game's deciding points when his 33-yard field goal with 5:31 left in the third quarter had just enough leg to clear the crossbar. Loudoun County made things interesting when Bushrod hit Mike Ayoub with a perfectly placed 46-yard touchdown pass down the near sideline with 1:21 remaining in the third. Ayoub also added the extra point to cut the Briar Woods lead to 17-14.
The Falcons had a chance to put the game away early in the fourth quarter when they recovered a punt that caromed off a Raider blocker at the Loudoun County 19-yard line. However, three plays later Bushrod intercepted an Austin Frattali pass at the goal line and returned the ball out to the Raider eleven.
With new life, the Raiders put together a solid 10-play, 61-yard drive that was aided by a personal foul and a pass interference penalty. However, Victor Rizzardi intercepted a Bushrod pass at the Falcon four-yard line with 3:16 to play to end the potential scoring march.
The Falcons appeared to have sealed the win when Ray Taliaferro raced 94 yards for an apparent touchdown with 2:14 left, but the play was wiped out on a holding penalty, and Briar Woods was eventually forced to punt.
With 1:47 to go, Loudoun County took over at the Falcon 40 with one last shot to tie or win the game, but the Briar Woods defense again came through in the clutch. After an incompletion, Jeremy Gray picked off a Bushrod heave at the Falcon five-yard line with 1:17 left.
The Falcons then used three running plays to burn the clock and wrap up the hard-fought victory.
After rushing for 140 yards on 17 carries last week against Dominion, Taliaferro ran 20 times for 135 yards against the Raiders as Briar Woods totaled 207 yards on 44 attempts on the ground.
Andrew Walczak paced Loudoun County with 102 yards on 18 attempts as the Raiders compiled 180 rushing yards. Bushrod, the Dulles District's passing yardage leader, was held to 4-of-12 passing for 61 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
For the second straight week, turnovers spelled disaster for the Raiders. After committing five turnovers that led to four touchdowns in a 47-14 loss to Potomac Falls last Friday, Loudoun County turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and a fumble) against Briar Woods.
Both squads are back in action next Friday when they host Homecoming contests. Briar Woods welcomes Park View, while Loudoun County entertains Broad Run.
