Leesburg, Va. — From start to finish and in all three facets, the Loudoun County High School football team dominated its Homecoming game, 48-20, against first-year Independence on October 11 in Leesburg.
“We talked about improving in a lot of different areas, and I felt we did that. I thought we played well in most phases of the game,” Loudoun County head coach Tony Rayburn said. “If we’re going to be a good team, we have to improve every week, and I think we improved from last week.”
[adrotate banner=”38″]After what seemed to be some early momentum, the Raiders forced the Tigers to punt on their first drive. Independence sophomore punter Keegan Shackford got a good foot on it, as Loudoun County senior Joseph Groves caught the ball at the 14 yard line. A few missed tackles and 86 yards later, Groves was celebrating in the Independence endzone.
Three minutes into the game, Loudoun County was enjoying a 7-0 lead, but the Raiders were just getting started. Midway through the first quarter, junior quarterback Gavin Pitts hit junior receiver Tariq Sims with an 8-yard touchdown pass, putting the Raiders up 14-0, before Pitts added another first-quarter touchdown by way of land, with a minute to play in the first.
If we’re going to be a good team, we have to improve every week, and I think we improved from last week.
—Loudoun County head coach Tony Rayburn
Trailing 21-0 early in the second quarter – and aided by 50 yards of Loudoun County defensive penalties – Independence sophomore quarterback Brian Courtney orchestrated a five-minute, 80-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 3-yard quarterback keeper to get the Tigers on the board. Those six points would be the last Loudoun County would allow over the next 23 minutes.
“We came out and played really flat and played terrible football. This is not who we’re representative of,” Independence head coach RJ Windows said. “I realize people say ‘well, you’re young;’ well, we’re young, but we’ve had five leads in the fourth quarter. They came to play tonight, and we didn’t.”
Midway through the second half, Pitts ran for his second rushing touchdown of the night, before finding Sims for a 40-yard touchdown with just more than a minute to play in the half, to give the Raiders a 35-6 halftime lead.
At the half, Loudoun County crowned senior Sirra Faal its 2019 Homecoming Queen.
Coming out of the half, the Raiders kept rolling. Loudoun County senior quarterback Jake Wilson entered as the play caller on offense, going for a 35-yard touchdown run on his first drive.
“[Having Pitts and Wilson] helps our offensive coaching staff put together some different looks,” Rayburn said. “In some ways, they’re similar, but they’re both better at different things as well. It makes the defense prepare for a couple of different looks.”
Loudoun County senior running back Josh Pettiford also got in on the scoring action, capping the Raiders’ Homecoming win off with a 4-yard touchdown run midway through the third.
Courtney – who piled up 220 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns – added a pair of late touchdowns for the Tigers to draw the score closer than the game would indicate.
“He’s a good football player, and he’s going to get some yards,” Rayburn said. “They’re a good young team, and they’re going to be good in the future.”
Independence (0-7, 13.857) will look to bounce back when they host Loudoun Valley on October 18 in Ashburn. The Raiders (5-2, 24.286) will enjoy their bye week before traveling to rival Tuscarora for a big VHSL Region 4C matchup on October 25.
“Obviously, we know how good Tuscarora is, so we just have to try to be at our best,” Rayburn said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Mike Ferrara captured 90+ photos at the game…
Scoring
| Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 8:57 | Loudoun County | Joseph Groves 86-yard punt recovery TD (Jimmy Kibble PAT) | 7-0 |
| 5:36 | Loudoun County | Gavin Pitts to Tariq Sims 8-yard TD pass (Jimmy Kibble PAT) | 14-0 |
| 1:12 | Loudoun County | Gavin Pitts 1-yard TD run (Jimmy Kibble PAT) | 21-0 |
| 7:22 | Independence | Brian Courtney 3-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 21-6 |
| 6:52 | Loudoun County | Gavin Pitts 2-yard TD run (Jimmy Kibble PAT) | 28-6 |
| 1:30 | Loudoun County | Gavin Pitts to Tariq Sims 40-yard TD pass (Jimmy Kibble PAT) | 35-6 |
| 10:15 | Loudoun County | Jake Wilson 35-yard TD run (Jimmy Kibble PAT) | 42-6 |
| 5:39 | Loudoun County | Josh Pettiford 4-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 48-6 |
| 8:30 | Independence | Brian Courtney to Josh Hand 16-yard TD pass (Keegan Shackford PAT) | 48-13 |
| 0:03 | Independence | Brian Courtney 16-yard TD run (Keegan Shackford PAT) | 48-20 |