Bulldogs Crowned Region Champs
Zach Thompson and the Stone Bridge defense bottle up the Edison offense en route to their 35-6 region championship win...
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine
Edison's Stephon Robertson eyes down the Stone Bridge backfield duo of Brian Slay and Daniel Allen. The Bulldogs would rush for four touchdowns on the night...
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine
ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Conditions were brutal for Friday night's match-up between undefeated district champions Edison and Stone Bridge, but when time expired the Bulldogs had delivered the worst of the punishment, knocking off the Edison Eagles 35-6 to capture their second straight Northern Region championship.
As they have many times this season, the Bulldogs used a relentless defense and a bruising ground game to wear out an opponent, yet this time they did so on the road in hostile territory.
This was the fourth year in a row that Stone Bridge and Edison met in the region championship game, and with Friday night's victory, this marks the third time in which the Bulldogs have walked away with the hardware. But it was the first time that the two teams met on Edison's home field, and with both sides undefeated, it looked to be a heavyweight fight.
Edison won the toss and elected to defer. With temperatures in the twenties and a north wind howling at 20-30 mph, Stone Bridge head coach Mickey Thompson chose to defend the south goal, giving the Bulldogs the wind in the second quarter. The kickoff to the Eagles was short, letting Edison start on their own 39. Two plays later, Eagle quarterback Levi Barber muffed the snap and Travis Hannam recovered the fumble for Stone Bridge.
The Bulldogs pushed to the Edison 19, but on fourth and six they were called for a delay of game infraction. On fourth down, Patrick Thompson's pass fell incomplete, giving possession back to the Eagles.
Edison then kicked their offense into gear, as they managed to drive all the way down to the Stone Bridge 36 behind the running of Angus Harper and Stephon Robertson. Yet the Eagles could not convert on 3rd-and-4, and the wind-driven punt sailed into the end zone.
Facing upwind, the Bulldogs had trouble against a stacked line and eventually found themselves in the very unfamiliar situation of needing to punt. Nick Sheehan's quick-kick was off to the right and short, and Edison was in great field position once again at the Stone Bridge 36.
After surrendering a first down to Harper, the Bulldog defense was able to hold their ground. Edison head coach Vaughn Lewis, looking at fourth and 12, chose to attempt a 44 yard filed goal. The kick was wide right and Stone Bridge had denied the Eagles once more.
The Bulldogs, taking over on the twenty, managed a first down just as the quarter expired. It was a victory of sorts for Stone Bridge that Edison failed to score while having the wind. Now with the cold breeze at their back, the Bulldogs could open up the offense and they did exactly that on their very first play of the quarter. Quarterback Patrick Thompson dropped back to pass, where he hit receiver John Bladel deep over the middle for a 68-yard touchdown and suddenly Stone Bridge was in front 7-0.
Now the Eagles were cursed with the wind and a Stone Bridge team that was slowly gaining momentum. Edison netted -1 yard in its next possession and Stone Bridge took over on the Eagle 47.
With the great field position, Stone Bridge would make great use of its power running game, a strategy which has helped them average over 50 points on the year. In a drive which saw the Bulldogs run the ball nine times down to the goalline, Stone Bridge's Brian Slay finished things off with a run from four yards out, and Stone Bridge led 14-0.
Edison, looking to respond after surrendering two straight touchdowns, would go to the air in trying to move the ball, but found no such luck. On third and fifteen from the Eagle 30, Zach Thompson reached up a paw and tipped Barber's pass which fluttered into the arms of Hannam. The linebacker returned it ten yards to the Eagle 25 and the night got a lot colder for the Edison faithful.
Three plays later, the snap went directly to sophomore running back Marcus Harris who scampered 24 yards around the left side for the score. Shaban's third PAT made it 21-0 Stone Bridge in the second quarter of play, and that is where the score would stand at the half.
Edison chose the wind in the second half, but an excellent return by Harris brought the ball to the Stone Bridge 40. On fourth and three, the Edison defense would step up in a big way when Jerrell Haywood intercepted Thompson, but during the return, Haywood was stripped of the ball and Bryce Williams recovered for the Bulldogs.
Luckily for the Eagles, Stone Bridge could not capitalize on the Haywood fumble, and instead returned the favor when Thompson fumbled on fourth down and the ball rolled out of bounds at the Bulldog 48.
Still down 21-0 in the third quarter, the Eagles were faced with a crucial fourth down and one at the Stone Bridge 39-yard line. Edison elected to try and convert on fourth down, but Stone Bridge stuffed running back Stephon Robertson at the line and the Bulldogs took over.
Stone Bridge then went on a clock-eating drive that reached the Edison 35, but a motion penalty and two backfield fumbles dropped them back to the 50. Thompson's fourth down pass fell incomplete and the drive died but not before running the clock down to 0:54 left in the third quarter.
Unable to move the sticks, the Eagles had the horrible luck of having to punt into the wind to start the fourth quarter. Yet the wind ended up not factoring into the punt as much as the Stone Bridge special teams unit did. The Bulldogs went for the punt block on fourth down, and Bladel and Slay broke through to tip the punt and give Stone Bridge great field position at the Eagle 44.
Bladel stepped in at quarterback for Thompson, who had turned his ankle the previous series, and engineered a twelve play drive that he finished himself with a five-yard run around the right end. Shaban added another PAT and Stone Bridge was comfortably in control at 28-0.
Disaster struck again for Edison on the second play of the next series when Corey Washington fumbled and Slay picked up the loose ball, rumbling 13 yards to the Eagle 16. It took only two plays before Harris burst in for his second TD and a 35-0 Bulldog lead.
The Eagles had something to cheer about in the next possession when Washington weaved through the Bulldog defense for a 53-yard touchdown. The extra point was muffed, and the final score stood at 35-6 in favor of Stone Bridge.
The Bulldogs advance to 13-0, and travel next to Phoebus to face the undefeated Phantoms in a rematch of last year's state semifinal game. Both teams come in as being nationally ranked by several online and print publications. The game will be played at Darling Stadium in Newport News.
