Ashburn, Va. — What better way to close out the regular season than with a classic rivalry dog fight between two of the best teams in the state? When the Broad Run High School football team traveled across Ashburn to Stone Bridge High School on November 8 that was the treat the community was in for.
“It’s a special, special game. Two great programs, and there’s always a mutual respect,” Broad Run head coach Matt Griffis said. “Sometimes the community gets a little divided, but it’s okay to have two good programs in one town, and it’s okay to respect each other and appreciate each other’s success.”
[adrotate banner=”38″]Entering the game both teams were 9-0, and both teams had already locked up the No. 1 seeds in their respective region tournaments, Broad Run in Region 4C and Stone Bridge in Region 5C. Confidence and momentum are certainly important heading into region tournament play, but this game was about more than just a win: it was about bragging rights.
Sometimes the community gets a little divided, but it’s okay to have two good programs in one town, and it’s okay to respect each other and appreciate each other’s success.
—Broad Run head coach Matt Griffis
When the clock figuratively struck 0.0 – it didn’t work throughout the night and literally sat at 0.0 the entire game – the Spartans were on top, claiming the crown as Kings of Ashburn, defeating the Bulldogs, 35-21.
“There’s a lot of emotion. It’s a crosstown rivalry, so you always want to beat these guys. At this point, all it really means is bragging rights,” Broad Run senior quarterback Mitch Griffis said. “For us, it was a good test. We played some good teams early on then we played some teams we should have beaten, so it was good to have this test at this point in the season. It’s a testament to how hard we’ve worked.”
Two things stood out for the Spartans in the win: the play of their senior shot caller and the incredible effort by the Broad Run defense, which forced five Stone Bridge turnovers and held the Bulldogs to less than 100 yards in the first half.
“The defense did a hell of a job,” Coach Griffis said. “Our kids do a great job of tackling and creating turnovers.”
After Stone Bridge opened the scoring late in the first quarter, Griffis evened things out with a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, however, Stone Bridge sophomore returner Jacob Thomas went 70 yards to the house to put the Bulldogs back on top, 14-7.
After trailing for most of the second quarter, Griffis floated a pass over the middle to senior receiver Romy Miner, who broke free, rumbling 75 yards for a touchdown. When it looked like things would be even heading into the half, the Spartans missed the extra point then another late field goal attempt to head into the locker room down, 14-13.
Football: Broad Run owns Ashburn.
The Spartans head across town and defeat Stone Bridge.@BroadRunFB 35, @StoneBridgeFB 21 FINAL#LoCoFootball #BattleOfTheBurn @LoCoSports
— Owen Gotimer (@BigO_Gotimer) November 9, 2019
Stone Bridge received the kickoff to start the second half, and Broad Run immediately forced and recovered their third fumble of the night.
Then, about five minutes into the second half, Griffis scrambled in the backfield before delivering a touchdown strike to a wide open senior receiver Lance Lacny in the corner of the endzone. However, as the celebration ceased, a yellow flag showed in the backfield as the play was called back for holding.
On the next play, Griffis – who ended his night with 367 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns – again stepped back and delivered a 33-yard touchdown strike to Lacny to take a 19-14 lead. Broad Run elected to attempt a two-point conversion and executed their familiar heavyset on the goal line to go up, 21-14.
This is all cool for tonight, but tomorrow it’s on to the Northwestern District four seed.
—Broad Run quarterback Mitch Griffis
After trading scores over the next twelve minutes, Broad Run took over with about six minutes to play. The Spartans drove downfield to the Stone Bridge 10-yard line, before Griffis – who had been banged up the previous week and a few times in this game – started towards the sideline and fell to the ground just near the hash mark.
“We had a lot of kids injured coming into this game, and I told them they didn’t have to play,” Coach Griffis said. “They were warriors tonight.”
Broad Run called a timeout and sent senior athlete Bennett Millar out to take a direct snap as he found a hole and fell short of the goal at the 2-yard line. With a 28-21 lead and less than four minutes to play, Griffis hobbled back out to the huddle, called the play, and followed his offensive line two yards into the endzone.
“Mitch Griffis is the hardest working kid in Loudoun County,” Lacny said. “He was literally hobbling onto the field because he wanted to be out there for our team. It just shows the type of kid he is.”
Any hope Stone Bridge had was erased on the next drive as junior defensive back Jonathan Hunter-Horton picked off senior quarterback Billy Wiles to seal the Bulldogs’ fate.
“We’ve been talking all season about forcing turnovers, because that’s something we’ve been struggling with,” said Miner, who forced and recovered a fumble and hauled in an interception in the Battle of the Burn. “All week we talked about stripping the ball, and we just took advantage.”
As the undisputed Kings of Ashburn, No. 1 Broad Run will host a VHSL Region 4C tournament quarterfinal on November 15 in Ashburn. Meanwhile on the other side of town, No. 1 Stone Bridge will enjoy a first round bye in the VHSL Region 5C tournament before hosting a Region 5C semifinal on November 22.
“We’re looking to make a long playoff run, so we have a lot of work to do,” Mitch Griffis said. “This is all cool for tonight, but tomorrow it’s on to the Northwestern District four seed.”
Mike Ferrara captured 90+ photos at the game…
Scoring
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 2:32 | Stone Bridge | Jared Cole 1-yard TD run (Jason Araujo PAT) | 0-7 |
| 2Q | 8:12 | Broad Run | Mitch Griffis 1-yard TD run (Isaac Latimer PAT) | 7-7 |
| 2Q | 7:57 | Stone Bridge | Jacob Thomas 70-yard kickoff return TD (Jason Araujo PAT) | 7-14 |
| 2Q | 2:00 | Broad Run | Mitch Griffis to Romy Miner 75-yard TD pass (PAT missed) | 13-14 |
| 3Q | 7:14 | Broad Run | Mitch Griffis to Lance Lacny 33-yard TD pass (Mitch Griffis 2pt run) | 21-14 |
| 3Q | 2:40 | Broad Run | Mitch Griffis to Cameron Chambers 23-yard TD pass (Isaac Latimer PAT) | 28-14 |
| 4Q | 6:26 | Stone Bridge | Jared Cole 3-yard TD run (Jason Araujo PAT) | 28-21 |
| 4Q | 3:43 | Broad Run | Mitch Griffis 2-yard TD run (Isaac Latimer PAT) | 35-21 |