As the second half of Friday’s Class 5 Region C final progressed, the home crowd at Stone Bridge High seemed to grow louder. What would be a 49-7 win over Briar Woods had been in hand for a long time, but there was no early stream to the exits as the evening grew chilly and a running clock ticked down.
On the field, players rewarded their fans for staying with a variety of highlights: a pick-six, a long touchdown run, a joyous gang tackle. The undefeated Bulldogs (7-0) have not played many competitive fourth quarters this year, but as they head to the state semifinals for the 13th time in the program’s 21-year history, they are well aware of the close games that probably are ahead. So they flew around until the final whistle Friday night, not resting until a region championship trophy was being handed over.
“We try to coach until the last play and hope to model that so they’re always playing hard continuously,” Coach Mickey Thompson said. “We want the expectations to be high.”
The Bulldogs showed considerably more energy as the game wore on. A scoreless first quarter was a rare sight from a team that came into Friday averaging 58 points. The Bulldogs got on the board with a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Billy Wiles to junior wide receiver Doniven Cooper. A muffed kickoff by the Falcons (5-2) allowed Stone Bridge to add two more touchdowns in a 30-second span just before halftime.
A 28-point third quarter featured an interception returned for a touchdown by junior defensive back Zach Laing and two touchdowns from junior running back Eli Mason.
“We came out a little slower than we wanted to, but we got things going,” Wiles said. “Everything we do is a little different, and that gives defenses a big problem.”
The Class 5 powerhouse has been particularly potent on offense during this condensed winter season. Last week it drubbed Freedom-South Riding, 74-6, in a region semifinal. Thompson credits his signal-caller for the momentum.
“When you have a quarterback that’s watching his running backs score and is throwing his hands up in the air to celebrate, I think you have to start there,” he said. “[Wiles’s] leadership is the difference.”
Long viewed as the team to beat in Loudoun County, Stone Bridge has won one state title, in 2007. It has gone 1-8 in state championship games, often falling to a celebrated program from the southern part of Virginia.
In next week’s semifinal, the Bulldogs will face William Fleming, which beat Mountain View, 21-19, in Roanoke on Friday. This will be the first time in program history the Bulldogs have faced the Colonels, but the setting will be plenty familiar.
“We’ve been here before,” Wiles said. “We just need to capitalize. Even with this covid season going on, everyone’s been working their butt off. So that always gives you a shot.”
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