Sterling, Va. – As the regular season winds down, the playoff push heated up when Loudoun Valley High School traveled to Sterling to face Dominion High School on October 27. The Titans – who are hoping to host a VHSL 4A Region C first round game this fall – trailed by 14 points in the second half, but came from behind to knock off the upset-hopeful Vikings, 41-31.
“We just made sure that the guys knew that this could be the end,” Dominion head coach Karl Buckwalter said. “We went through all the scenarios because if we didn’t win this game, we probably wouldn’t be in the playoffs.”
[adrotate banner=”19″]The Vikings stuck first when they handed the ball to senior running back John Rock Swartz for a 12-yard touchdown run with seven minutes to play in the first quarter.
The Titans’ big play offense drove the ball down the field thanks to a 57-yard pass from sophomore quarterback John Trey Hayes to senior wide receiver George Richardson.
A few plays later the Titans tied the game up when Hayes dropped back to pass but was forced to scramble for a 10-yard touchdown to tie the game up late in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Loudoun Valley surprised Dominion’s special teams unit when they faked a punt by snapping it to senior Ben Weist instead of the punter to keep the drive alive. The Vikings ended up getting into field goal range but were unable to make the field goal attempt.
With under thirty seconds to play in the second quarter, Loudoun Valley senior quarterback Derek Goings found senior wide receiver Sam Allen for a 31-yard TD pass – their second connection of the quarter – giving the Vikings a seven-point lead heading into halftime.
The Vikings’ special teams made another big play late in the third quarter when they returned a punt to the Titans’ 22-yard line. Four plays later, Swartz found the endzone on a 1-yard Vikings’ touchdown.
Dominion responded with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Hayes to Richardson late in the third quarter to begin the Titans’ comeback hopes.
On an ensuing possession, Dominion handed the ball off to their trusted back Wertz, who found a huge hole and ran 58 yards for the touchdown.
“We’re a big play team,” Buckwalter said. “We got Alex Wertz running the ball, Jadan Pierre has been fantastic, George Richardson making big catches and the rest of our guys playing well. It’s just a big play type of offense and that’s what we’ve been doing all year.”
Buckwalter was happy with how his team responded in the second half with playoff hopes on the line.
“We put the information out there and strongly encouraged the team to understand it,” Buckwalter said. “They responded with flying colors.”
The Vikings (3-6) return home to Purcellville on November 3 when they will host crosstown rival Woodgrove High School (5-4) in the final week of the regular season.
The Titans (6-3) look to keep hold of the Battle of Route 7 rivalry trophy when they face rival Park View High School (0-9) in Sterling.
Scoring:
1Q 7:25 LV John Rock Swartz 12-yard TD run (Van Zandt PAT)
1Q 3:53 D John Trey Hayes 10-yard TD run (Blas PAT)
2Q 6:44 LV Derek Goings to Sam Allen 42-yard TD pass (Van Zandt PAT)
2Q 2:06 D John Trey Hayes to George Richardson 35-yard TD pass (Blas PAT)
2Q 0:20 LV Derek Goings to Sam Allen 31-yard TD pass (Van Zandt PAT)
3Q 3:59 LV John Rock Swartz 1-yard TD run (Van Zandt PAT)
3Q 1:49 D John Trey Hayes to George Richardson 21-yard TD pass (Blas PAT)
4Q 10:08 D Alex Wertz 6-yard TD run (Blas PAT)
4Q 6:18 LV Nicholas Van Zandt 42-yard FG
4Q 2:18 D Alex Wertz 58-yard TD run (PAT failed )
4Q 1:40 D Jadan Pierre 27-yard TD run (Blas PAT)
