By Michael Pittinger
LoCoSports Staff Writer
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Sterling (November 5, 2016) – Since the fall of 2012 the football game between the teams from Dominion High School and Park View High School has been known as the Battle of Route 7. Since this rivalry game got a name, the Titans have been the dominant team winning the first four meetings. Dominion would dominate this meeting as well keeping the trophy in Titan territory for another year at least by beating the Patriots, 57-20.
“It was definitely great, it was a hard fought game,” Dominion senior lineman and UVA-commit Tommy Christ said. “Park View came out a lot harder than we were expecting.”
The rivalry game got under way after Park View honored their senior class in their last home game of the season.
The Titans’ defense started off strong when they picked off a pass from Park View senior running back Niko Hopkins early in the first quarter. Dominion handed the ball off to sophomore running back Jamari Robertson who took it to the house from 44 yards out to put the Titans on the board just two minutes into the game for the early 7-0 lead.
The Patriots would finally strike on a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by freshman return man Darrian Greenhow with three minutes to play in the first quarter. Greenhow had to make some nifty moves to avoid a few tackles to go along with the great blocking he had on his way to the end zone.
The Titans special teams responded on the ensuing kickoff by Park View, when senior return man Billie Walker returned the ball all the way to the Patriots’ 6-yard line and was brought down by a horse collar tackle which put the ball at the 3-yard line. Walker took the handoff on the next play and scored a touchdown to make the score 21-6 in Dominion’s favor late in the first quarter.
The Titans started the scoring in the early in the second quarter when senior quarterback Vashon McCants found a wide open receiver in the form of junior George Richardson for a 31-yard touchdown. Dominion faked the extra point kick and ran it in for a two-point conversion, to expand the lead to 23 points.
“I have to thank my offensive line,” McCants said. “They protected me pretty solidly.”
The second half of the game started off quickly for the Titans’ offense when McCants scrambled for a 4-yard score early in the third quarter. Then late in the third quarter McCants found Richardson open again for a 37-yard touchdown reception –the second touchdown connection for these two on the night.
“Obviously George Richardson catching those two passes for touchdowns were big plays for us,” McCants said.
The Patriots offense worked the ball down the field in the fourth quarter and it paid off with six more points. Park View subbed in senior offensive lineman Steven Berrios as an eligible runner and snapped the ball directly to him for the 1-yard touchdown. The Patriots then converted a two-point attempt to make the score 50-20 midway through the fourth quarter in favor of the Titans.
“This was probably one of the hardest offenses we’ve faced to be honest,” Christ said. “They definitely caught us off guard but we held through and got the big win for our team.”
The Park View Patriots finished the season with a 2-8 record and look forward to getting back to work in the offseason to try and improve next fall.
The Dominion Titans finished the regular season with an 8-2 record. Dominion now awaits the final VHSL power rankings to see when, where and who they will play in the first round of the playoffs. Our prediction is that No. 4 Dominion will host a VHSL 4A West region quarterfinal in Sterling on November 18.
“It feels awesome,” McCants said. “The team stepped up. We were prepared for the game and we just did what we were supposed to do. Now, we just have to keep it rolling.”
Scoring:
1Q 10:03 D Jamari Robertson 44-yard TD run (PAT failed)
1Q 3:22 D Alex Wertz 34-yard TD run (Blas PAT)
1Q 3:01 PV Darrian Greenhow 100-yard kickoff return TD (PAT failed)
1Q 2:38 D Billie Walker 3-yard TD run (Blas PAT)
2Q 10:14 D Vashon McCants to George Richardson 31-yard TD pass (2pt good)
2Q 3:03 PV Niko Hopkins 1-yard TD run(PAT failed)
2Q 1:07 D Joel Campos fumble recovery TD (Blas PAT)
3Q 9:19 D Vashon McCants 4-yard TD run (Blas PAT)
3Q 3:03 D Vashon McCants to George Richardson 37-yard TD pass (Blas PAT)
4Q 7:17 PV Steven Berrios 1-yard TD run (2pt good)
4Q 2:26 D Bronson Hyatt fumble recovery TD (Blas PAT)
Stats:
Passing
Dominion
Vashon McCants 9-for-13, 171 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Park View
Antony Lampe 1-for-5, 10 yards
Rushing
Dominion
Jamari Robertson 7 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD
Vashon McCants 5 carries, 50 yards, 1 TD
Alex Wertz 4 carries, 56 yards, 1 TD
Billie Walker 3 carries, 12 yards, 1 TD
Thomas Jaron 1 carry, 6 yards
Kyle Kivinski 1 carry, 6 yards
Tyrell Eskridge 1 carry, 2 yards
Park View
Niko Hopkins 19 carries, 97 yards, 1 TD
Darrian Greenhow 11 carries, 50 yards
Steven Berrios 5 carries, 16 yards, 1 TD
Kevin Lopez 3 carries, 15 yards
Anthony Lampe 3 carries, 2 yards
David Baltimore 1 Carry, 8 yards
Caleb Donofrio 1 carry, 4 yards
Receiving
Dominion
Geroge Richardson 2 receptions, 68 yards, 2 TD
Kyle Kivinski 2 receptions, 28 yards
Billie Walker 2 receptions, 33 yards
Tyrell Eskridge 1 reception, 34 yards
Trevor Karlan 1 reception, 12 yards
Park View
Caleb Donofrio 1 reception, 10 yards
