Sterling, Va. — For the Dominion High School football team, nothing comes easy. They didn’t have an easy time playing their home opener at nearby Park View High School while their their grass field is being replaced with turf field is being redone.They didn’t have an easy time replacing three key injured players in Isaiah Allen, Jesiah Kotey and Thomas Wajsgras. Nevertheless, the Titans emerged from their season opener with a hard-fought 25-14 comeback win over Clarke County High School on August 24.
The big question for the Titans coming into the season stemmed around their signal callers. Their 2017 starting quarterback Thomas Jarman graduated, leaving a gaping hole with two options to plug it.
Dominion junior Aidan Dolan had been in the Titans’ system since freshman year and had quarterbacked the JV team as a sophomore last year. Dominion junior AJ Darr transferred from Stone Bridge during the summer.he two had been in a tight battle for the starting quarterback spot entering the season opener.
[adrotate group=”4″]Dominion head coach Karl Buckwalter and his staff had kept quiet about the position, choosing to only reveal the decision to the public when Darr ran out for the Titans’ first offensive possession. Darr’s tenure as quarterback started out poorly, as he dropped the first snap from under center but quickly fell on top of it.
That play seemed to set the tone for the Titans in the first half, as their offense sputtered and their defense seemed to have very few answers to the Eagles’ run-heavy game plan. After two quarters, the Titans trailed 14-3.
“We just questioned their mental toughness, and the will to overcome adversity” Buckwalter said.
The Titans started out the second half with a bang, as Darr lofted a deep pass to fellow junior Trey Hayes, who scampered into the end zone to bring the Titans within one score.
“The ball wasn’t supposed to go to me at first, but my man tried to press me,” Hayes said. “I got away from him, just got open deep and just ran in for a touchdown.”
The momentum was on Dominion’s side, but the scoring still wasn’t enough. Darr turned the ball over two times, fumbling his second snap of the night and then throwing a high pass that bounced into a Clarke County defender’s arms.
The next time Dominion had the football, it was Dolan taking the snaps. On his first series, he handed the ball off to another member of this star-studded Dominion junior class, Steve Zegbe. Zegbe saw a hole, burst through it and took it to the house from 63 yards out to give the Titans the lead for good.
They would tack on another touchdown and a two-point conversion.
“I think Aidan brings enthusiasm to the team,” Hayes said. “He’s a general on the field.”
No matter who starts next week, the Titans have to feel exceptional about this win. This was a rematch that they had been waiting for since last year when they lost in brutal fashion, 39-24. They led 21-10 heading into halftime but were demolished in the second half, outscored 29-3.
This year, the Titans were the ones coming back in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 22-0.
The Titans (1-0) will head to Potomac Falls (0-1) on August 31 to take on the Panthers in a rivalry game. The Eagles (0-1) play host to John Handley (1-0).
