T.C. Williams Pulls Off Stunning Come-from-Behind 15-9 Victory

Photo by Flickr/jamie-williams-photo/1579003254/ The Maroon led 7-0 and 24-0 after the first and second quarters were in the books respectively. On the day, four separate Episcopal players accounted for four seperate touchdowns: Hunter de Butts, Austin de Butts, Archie Odenyo and J.T. VanMeter. Head coach Mark Gowin's squad should be very competitive in the IAC this season.

T.C. Williams pulled off a stunning come-from-behind 15-9 victory Sept. 17 with a home victory versus Oakton.

The Titans trailed 6-0 after the first quarter was in the books. A second quarter Oakton field goal gave the visitors a 9-0 lead.

The Titans responded with a touchdown run by senior Robert Carter on "third and three" from the Oakton seven yard line right before halftime, which narrowed the Titans deficit to 9-7. Manuel Benites added the PAT.

The Titans missed a third quarter field goal attempt. The Cougars missed an early fourth quarter field goal attempt. Thereafter, T.C. punted; Oakton punted; T.C. threw an interception with merely 4:55 remaining and trailing by two; Oakton punted with 2:56 on the clock; T.C. threw another interception with 2:13 on the clock and a number of fans headed to the exits.A big week for area high schools: T.C. Williams improved to 2-1; Episcopal improved to 1-0; St. Stephens/St. Agnes improved to 2-0 and Ireton dropped to 2-1.

In Arlington, O'Connell improved to 3-0; Yorktown dropped to 1-2; Wakefield dropped to 0-3 and Washington-Lee dropped to 0-3.

Annandale improved to 3-0; Edison improved to 2-1; Hayfield improved to 2-1; West Potomac dropped to 1-2 and both Jefferson and Mount Vernon dropped to 0-3.

The Titans defense rose to the occasion and proved to the fans that had already left that the game consists of 48 minutes. Near the middle of the field on "first and 10" Oakton fumbled the ball away and it was scooped up by Titan senior outside linebacker Chelo Abbe.

Abbe scooted to the endzone (in the direction of Chinquapin Rec Center) to catapult T.C. to a 13-9 lead. Robert Carter successfully ran in the two-point conversion and T.C. led 15-9. Oakton got the ball one more time, but the final Cougar pass of the contest was intercepted by T.C. junior outside linebacker Damien Benton to seal the come-from-behind victory.

The Titans, coached by Dennis Randolph, dropped a tough opening game contest to Robinson, but have now defeated Mount Vernon and Oakton.

Photo by Flickr/jamie-williams-photo/ 2979649703/ O'Connell had little trouble in dispatching St. Mary's Ryken (Leonardtown, Md.) in a home contest September 19th as the Knights won going away 35-6. O'Connell senior running back Greg Gadell and O'Connell junior running back Josh Trimble recorded two TD's apiece in spearheading the Knights.

Episcopal High School, playing their first game of the season, due to the fact that the prestigious boarding school starts the school year later than most, routed Flint Hill (Oakton) 31-0 on the road Sept. 18.

The Maroon led 7-0 and 24-0 after the first and second quarters were in the books respectively. On the day, four separate Episcopal players accounted for four seperate touchdowns: Hunter de Butts, Austin de Butts, Archie Odenyo and J.T. VanMeter. Head coach Mark Gowin's squad should be very competitive in the IAC this season.

St. Stephens/St. Agnes recorded a hard-fought 20-12 home victory versus St. Annes Belfield (Charlottesville) September 17th. The Saints got on the scoreboard first when senior QB Ryan Seher (lefthanded) connected with senior tight end Laith Wallschleger on a 63-yard TD play.

Wallschleger caught the aerial at about the St. Anne's Belfield 35-yard line and took it the rest of the way to the endzone. The Saints remained in front of Belfield 7-6 at halftime. (It would have been tied 7-7, but Wallschleger blocked Belfield's PAT). In the third quarter, SSSA increased their margin to 14-6 - before pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 20-12 victory in head coach Dave Holm's fourth season. Initially, SSSA defeated St. Christophers (Richmond) to commence the '09 season.

Ireton dropped a 43-14 home decision to Woodberry Forest (Orange) Sept. 19 for their first loss of the season.

The Cardinals were tied with the visiting Tigers 7-7 midway through the second period. A 10-yard Woodberry Forest touchdown pass over the middle (in the direction of Cambridge Road) with 4:49 remaining second quarter propelled Woodberry to a 14-7 lead and the Tigers never looked back from that point forward. Cardinal head coach Tony Verducci's squad dropped a contest for the first time this season after wins versus Carroll (D.C.) and Riverdale Baptist (Md.) to open the '09 campaign. Senior defensive back Dom Puglise (free safety) recorded an interception versus the Tigers and now has two on the season.

O'Connell had little trouble in dispatching St. Mary's Ryken (Leonardtown, Md.) in a home contest September 19th as the Knights won going away 35-6. O'Connell senior running back Greg Gadell and O'Connell junior running back Josh Trimble recorded two TD's apiece in spearheading the Knights.

At the same time that O'Connell was winning in Arlington, the Knights arch-rival Paul VI was getting thumped in Prince Georges County 40-0 by "PG" public school Douglass (Upper Marlboro). (The Knights, coached by veteran Steve Trimble, have now defeated: Woodrow Wilson (D.C.) and St. Albans (D.C.) along with Ryken. "I thought that the key versus Ryken was for us to control the ball and move the ball" said coach Trimble.

Yorktown dropped a very painful 21-20 contest on the road to Centreville Sept. 17. The Patriots led 20-13 in the early stages of the fourth quarter, but were outscored 8-0 in the waning moments of the contest and dropped their second consecutive game. Head coach Bruce Hanson and the Patriots look to rebound this weekend.

The Patriots defeated Woodrow Wilson (D.C.) in week one, but have since dropped contests to James Madison and Centreville.

Wakefield dropped their third game of the season - a 28-8 road contest to McLean on September 17th. The Warriors trailed 9-0 at halftime and trailed 15-8 at the conclusion of the third quarter.

The Warriors scored their lone touchdown on the night when sophomore linebacker Henry Majano returned a fumble 25 yards to the endzone. Head coach Keith Powell's squad has now dropped games to R.E. Lee, Dominion and the Highlanders of McLean.

Washington-Lee also dropped their third game of the season, a 35-0 road decision to Hayfield on September 17th. The Generals, with only 28 first half rushing yards to the Hawks 108 first half rushing yards, nearly scored on their opening possession of the third quarter to "potentially" narrow their deficit to 21-7.

Hayfield led 21-0 at half. However, a W-L pass from the Hayfield eight-yard line was picked by the Hawks defensive back Anton McCallum. Washington-Lee, coached by Josh Shapiro, has now dropped contests to: McLean, South County and the Hawks of Hayfield. "Defensively, we need to tackle a lot better," said coach Shapiro.

Annandale visited South County September 17th and turned back the Stallions 7-6 to remain undefeated in the early stages of the '09 campaign. The game was scoreless at halftime.

Annandale junior wide receiver Melvin Robinson's 26-yard TD reception early in the third quarter proved to be the decisive score of the contest. Head coach Dick Adams squad has now defeated: Centreville, Falls Church and South County.

Edison put a 35-0 thumping on National District rival Mount Vernon on September 17. The Eagles were buoyed by three TD runs by senior running back Angus Harper. Head coach Vaughn Lewis's squad has also defeated Centreville on the season - after an initial loss to West Springfield.

Hayfield soundly defeated visiting Washington-Lee 35-0 on Sept. 17. The Hawks ground attack was led by sophomore Steve Lynch, senior Anton McCallum, senior Rayshawn Rigans and senior Nazrul Islam.

The Hayfield defense was every where seemingly and junior linebacker Justin Marshall (amongst others) made numerous big plays on the night.

"We had to make sure that they didn't run down the middle on us and we had to stay disciplined on defense," the coach said.
 
Hayfield has also defeated G.C. Marshall on the season, a loss to Robert E. Lee.

West Potomac hit the road and dropped a 35-7 contest at Chantilly on Sept. 17. The Wolverines scored late in the game courtesy of a 75-yard drive in which junior QB Nik Dimitrijevic capped off the scoring drive with a TD pass to senior wide receiver Shawn Lee.

Head coach Eric Henderson's squad has only defeated Mount Vernon in week one of the current season. "We're still trying to find ourselves this season," Coach Henderson commented. "We're trying to get more consistent."

Henderson is a former head coach at T.C. Williams as well. Chantilly head coach Mike Lalli is a former head coach at Ireton.

Jefferson was manhandled by National District Falls Church 42-0 and has now surrendered nearly 150 points in its first three contests. In fact, on offense, the Colonials have only scored once all season: a TD pass from sophomore quarterback Kevin Karnes to junior wide receiver Daniel Barnes in the first game of the season versus Herndon. The Colonials have dropped contests to Herndon, South Lakes and the Jaguars of Falls Church.

Mount Vernon dropped a convincing 35-0 decision to Edison. The Majors, who advanced to the Northern Region Division V post-season semi-finals one season ago, have uncharacteristically now dropped their first three contests of the '09 campaign. Head coach Tom Glynn's squad has dropped contests to West Potomac, T.C. Williams and Edison.

UPCOMING CONTESTS

SEPTEMBER 25: Annandale hosts Oakton; West Potomac hosts West Springfield; Edison visits Wakefield; Hayfield visits Yorktown; Mount Vernon hosts JEB Stuart; Washington-Lee hosts Falls Church and Jefferson visits Stone Bridge.

SEPTEMBER 26: T.C. hosts Lake Braddock; Episcopal hosts Fork Union; St. Stephens/St. Agnes hosts Ireton; O'Connell hosts Good Counsel.