Purcellville, Va. — On a cold, wet night, the top two teams in the Dulles District met to settle things head-to-head on October 26 in Purcellville. Despite a slow start, the Woodgrove High School football team dominated time of possession and pounded the Loudoun County defense on the ground as the Wolverines ran away with the win, 27-6.
“The game plan was to manhandle the line of scrimmage,” Woodgrove senior quarterback Graham Walker said. “It was our five guys against their guys, and we thought we could get it done up front. The offensive line did a great job.”
[adrotate group=”4″]The Wolverines’ high-powered offense has been on display since Week 4, having averaged almost 40 points per game coming into their match up against the Raiders. The weather, however, stifled the Woodgrove offense early.
After Woodgrove junior athlete KJ Lewis intercepted Loudoun County senior quarterback Nick Barts on the opening drive, the Wolverines lost a fumble on their very first play of the ensuing drive.
The Wolverines and Raiders then traded possessions, but Barts finally bounced back and hit junior receiver Joseph Groves with a 60-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown connection, however, would be the Raiders first and only score of the night.
“The rain obviously helped us, because they throw the ball. We got a break, don’t get me wrong,” Woodgrove head coach Mike Skinner said. “But we did a good job, and we covered them well.”
Following the Loudoun County touchdown, it was all Woodgrove. The Wolverines turned to a trio of ball carriers – and a strong offensive line – to dominate the line of scrimmage.
“That’s a great thing about our team,” Walker said. “When the going gets tough at Woodgrove, we keep getting better and better and better.”
Walker got the Wolverines’ scoring started just six seconds into the second quarter when he carried in a touchdown from eight yards out – his first of two touchdown runs on the night. Walker then kept it himself as Woodgrove converted on the two-point try to take an 8-6 lead from which they’d never look back.
Woodgrove continued to pound the ground, unable to get much going through the air. However, as time wound down in the first half, Walker connected with junior back Trae Ballinger on a 3-yard touchdown pass to send the Wolverines into the locker room up 14-6.
“We got hurt by the weather tonight, too, because we throw the ball. We couldn’t throw a lick tonight,” Skinner said. “When [Graham] can run, and we can throw, we’re a nightmare.”
Fortunately for Woodgrove, the legs of Walker, Lewis and freshman back Price Williams – who scored on a 1-yard touchdown run late in the game – were enough to carry the Wolverines, despite the wet conditions.
Woodgrove – who had already claimed the No. 1 spot in the VHSL Region 4C – has now taken control of the Dulles District with just one game remaining on their regular season schedule. On November 2, the Wolverines (6-2) host rival Loudoun Valley (1-7) in Purcellville.
Loudoun County (7-1) hopes to bounce back on November 2 when they travel to rival Heritage (5-4) in Leesburg.
Jeff Vennitti captured more than 80 photos at the game…
Scoring
1Q 2:34 LC Nick Barts to Joseph Groves 60-yard TD pass (PAT blocked)
2Q 11:54 WG Graham Walker 8-yard TD run (2pt good)
2Q 0:03 WG Graham Walker to Trae Ballinger 3-yard TD pass (PAT failed)
3Q 7:56 WG Graham Walker 1-yard TD run (PAT failed)
4Q 2:09 WG Price Williams 1-yard TD run (Burton PAT)