Gameday Notebook - P.W.C. (6th Ed)
DUMFRIES, VA - District play on the eastern end of Prince William County got under way last weekend as all of the teams in the Cardinal District faced off for the first time this season. The Woodbridge Vikings are the clear team to beat this year, but keep an eye on the resurgent Hylton Bulldogs. They are the dark horse in this district. Woodbridge travels to Hylton next Friday night for what will certainly be the biggest game of the year in the Cardinal District.
The Battlefield Bobcats are in the driver's seat in the Cedar Run district, after knocking off their two biggest threats at the title in Liberty (40-21) and Osbourn Park (25-17). Osbourn and Fauquier are the two final hurdles for Coach Mark Cox's squad. Both teams are more than capable of handing Battlefield their first loss of the season.
I've decided to add another wrinkle to the notebook from here on out. For the rest of the season, I will be providing the Cedar Run and Cardinal District standings in each edition of the PWC Notebook. Next week, I'm planning on adding a small section about power points and potential playoff match-ups. Stay tuned for that. Now let's take a look at the week that was in Prince William County.
WILLIAMS HAS A CAREER GAME
Last week's 'PWC Notebook Game to Watch' featured two 2007 state finalists in the Potomac Panthers and the Woodbridge Vikings. Some people called this the Viking's first true test of the season as Potomac came into the game on a four game winning streak. Well, Coach Keith King and the Vikings passed that test with flying colors as they defeated Potomac 50-21.
Potomac (4-2, 0-1) is the only team that has been able to keep De'Antwan "Rocket" Williams out of the end zone over the past two years. Williams more than made up for it in his last game against the Panthers by rushing for five touchdowns in the game. Rocket set a new career high in rushing yards in the game with 318 yards.
Williams' first touchdown came on the Vikings (6-0, 1-0) first offensive play of the game, as he ran for a 55-yard score. In the second quarter, he scored on runs of 49, 2, and 41 yards respectively. Williams now has 72 career touchdowns and is just shy of 6,000 career rushing yards at 5,962.
The career rushing record in VHSL history is held by William Byrd's O.J. Thomason at 7,536. Rocket can definitely climb into the top 10 before the end of the regular season. I will update where Williams' ranks in each edition of the notebook for the remainder of the year.
KHOSA SAVES THE DAY
Battlefield Senior RB Gerald Khosa came into the game late in the 2nd quarter, when Adrian Ingram went down with an ankle injury. The Liberty Eagles (4-2, 1-2) had prepared well for Ingram, as they had shut him down on every carry he had in the game. Khosa's hard, downhill, running style was just what the doctor ordered, as he got Battlefield on the board with a little over two minutes to go in the first half with an 8-yard touchdown run. The Eagles answered back on their next possession, as Senior QB Nick Potts threw a 30-yard strike to Senior WR Derrick Lee to give Liberty a 14-6 lead at the half.
The teams traded scoring drives the entire 3rd quarter and went into the fourth quarter tied up at 21. Bo Revell threw two touchdown passes in the 3rd, one to Senior TE Marty Dawson from 30 yards out and another to Senior WR Blaine Mason for a 14 yard score. Revell finished the game 9 for 14 for 188 yards.
Gerald Khosa ran for two touchdowns in the 4th quarter and finished the night with 174 yards on 24 carries. Khosa was a well kept secret before Friday night, but now you can guarantee that every coach knows about the stud backup to Adrian Ingram.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Stonewall Jackson and Loudoun Valley came into last Friday's game with the same agenda, to win their first game of the year. Thanks to the return of Damien Thigpen, Stonewall (1-5, 1-2) defeated the Vikings 27-13. Thigpen's 2008 debut was spectacular, as he ran the ball 32 times for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Stonewall was losing at halftime 13-7 thanks to two touchdowns from Senior RB Chris Music. Music ran for 74 yards on 29 carries, but was shut down in the second half as the Raider defense did not allow Loudoun Valley to gain a single yard in the 2nd half. After seeing what Thigpen can do, albeit against a weak team, still makes you wonder about what might have been.
TIME TO START A NEW STREAK
Hylton had a 10-year winning streak against Gar-Field snapped last season as they fell 20-7. This year things got back to normal, as the Bulldogs won their third straight game of the year by throttling the Indians 44-0.
Hylton is now 4-2 on the season and suffered their defeats to two, undefeated teams in 7-0 Lake Taylor and 6-0 Battlefield. The Bulldogs are back!
Bulldog QB Joel Himan had a huge game by throwing for three touchdowns and running for one more. All three of Himan's touchdowns were caught by Senior WR Kevin Wheeler from 11, 40 and 3 yards respectively.
Bulldog RB Bill Nyantakyi continued his stellar senior campaign by running the ball 22 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
OTHER SCORES
Forest Park 34
Freedom 13
Osbourn Park 55
Culpeper 14
Osbourn 26
Fauquier 24
James Wood 35
Brentsville 14
Manassas Park 27
George Mason 21
CEDAR RUN DISTRICT STANDINGS
1. Battlefield (6-0, 3-0)
2. Osbourn (3-3, 3-0)
3. Osbourn Park (4-2, 2-1)
4. Fauquier (5-1, 2-1)
5. Liberty (4-2, 1-2)
6. Stonewall (1-5, 1-2)
7. Loudoun Valley (0-6, 0-3)
8. Culpeper (0-6, 0-3)
CARDINAL DISTRICT STANDINGS
1. Woodbridge (6-0, 1-0)
2. Hylton (4-2, 1-0)
3. Forest Park (3-3, 1-0)
4. Potomac (4-2, 0-1)
5. Gar-Field (2-4, 0-1)
6. Freedom (1-5, 0-1)
PWC NOTEBOOK GAME TO WATCH
# 3 Battlefield (6-0, 3-0) vs. Osbourn (3-3, 3-0)
Battlefield and Osbourn will meet for the fourth time on Friday night at James J. Leo stadium in Manassas, with first place in the Cedar Run District at stake. Osbourn holds a 2-1 advantage in the series, but lost last season to the Bobcats in Haymarket by the score of 26-6.
Osbourn has played the toughest schedule in Prince William County this season as they faced Woodbridge, Brooke Point and Potomac in non-district play. The Eagles have knocked off an undefeated team twice already this season by defeating Liberty on September 27th 27-14 (3-0 at the time) and Fauquier 26-24 (5-0 at the time) last Friday night.
Junior QB Thomas Keith emerged in the game against Liberty and has now cemented himself as 'the' quarterback in Coach Steve Schultze's shotgun, wing-t offense. Junior standout Jerrell McFadden is now playing running back exclusively. Both of these young men have game breaking speed and are only getting better each week. From where I'm sitting right now, I would have to say Osbourn is the dead on favorite to win the Cedar Run in '09.
But let's get back to the here and now. Battlefield is the team to beat in the Cedar Run District this season. Senior RB Adrian Ingram has been unstoppable this season and his backup Gerald Khosa showed the area what he can do last week in his impressive performance against Liberty.
Junior QB Bo Revell has lived up to the hype bestowed upon him in the off-season. This 6'6" strong armed, signal caller has the ability to make all the throws and is extremely accurate. Revell is surrounded by playmakers at all of the skill positions. Blaine Mason and Matt Plum have played exceptionally well at wide receiver, while Jessy Vazquez and Marty Dawson have played well at tight end. Senior Cooper Bull is as fine a half-back as you'll find in the area, as he possesses great blocking ability and has soft hands that Revell utilizes frequently.
The Bobcat defense is well rounded as well. The Bobcat linebackers may be the best in the county, with Corey Turner, Max Dove, Vince Drazl and Adrian Ingram. These four young men fly to the ball and are solid tacklers. Couple that with the strength and quickness of Jimmy Long and Zavier Stringfellow up front and you have the ingredients for a shut down defense.
I think this game is going to be a great one. I'm hoping it starts pouring rain on Friday so the game gets postponed and I can go cover it. I see Battlefield holding off the upstart Eagles in a close one.
Gameday Prediction: Battlefield 32, Osbourn 31
OTHER GAMES IN PRINCE WILLIAM THIS WEEK
Woodbridge (6-0)
Forest Park (3-3)
Gameday Prediction: Woodbridge 45, Forest Park 20
Gar-Field (2-4)
Potomac (4-2)
Gameday Prediction: Potomac 28, Gar-Field 12
Liberty (4-2)
Osbourn Park (4-2)
Gameday Prediction: Liberty 31, Osbourn Park 28
Freedom (1-5)
Hylton (4-2)
Gameday Prediction: Hylton 42, Freedom 7
Stonewall Jackson (1-5)
Fauquier (5-1)
Gameday Prediction: Stonewall 27, Fauquier 26
Skyline (5-2)
Brentsville (1-4)
Gameday Prediction: Skyline 24, Brentsville 20
Manassas Park (1-5)
Strasburg (1-6)
Gameday Prediction: Manassas Park 17, Strasburg 13
