Ashburn, Va. — Less than three minutes into the game, the Tuscarora High School football team found itself in an uphill battle. Already trailing 7-0, the Huskies were hit with back-to-back false start penalties early in their first drive of the night, but a 35-yard completion to junior receiver JB Santos seemingly had the Huskies in motion.
On the very next play, however, the Huskies lost a fumble and turned the ball over to the Falcons near midfield.
Facing some early adversity, Tuscarora responded, and on the ensuing defensive series, set the tone for the next 36 minutes of the game.
Defending 3rd-and-8 from their own 18 yard line, the Huskies got to the Briar Woods quarterback and sacked him for an 8-yard loss, setting up 4th-and-16, before a false start made it 4th-and-21. Tuscarora forced a turnover on downs on an incompletion then forced either a turnover on downs or a punt—or used the halftime clock to their advantage—on each of the Falcons’ next four possessions.
Then, after an exciting fourth quarter, the Tuscarora defense found just one play standing between them and a win over Briar Woods. Trailing 22-14 with 1:05 to play, the Falcons took over on their own 45 yard line. Six plays later the Falcons were in the endzone, trailing 22-20 with 0:04 to play.
On the 2-point attempt, the Tuscarora defense once again stepped up, forcing the Briar Woods quarterback out of the pocket, where he made a pass on the run, over the head of his intended receiver as the Huskies held on to win 22-20 on September 23 in Ashburn.
“We just have gritty kids. We never stop fighting until the last play,” Tuscarora head coach Jared Toler said. “We’re fortunate that—even with making a lot of mistakes—we came out with a win.”
[adrotate banner=”46″]With their defense clicking, the Tuscarora offense needed to respond to the early, lost fumble and did so on their second possession when junior quarterback Tommy Peede led his team down field, finding his rhythm with sophomore receiver Dawson Pough, before senior running back Aldrin Bardales capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
“We’ve been in positions where we’re backed up, and I was a little bit shaken by that early fumble,” Peede said. “But my teammates calmed me down, and we just took it play by play.”
Not content to simply tie the game up, the Huskies elected to go for two and senior tight end JC Witchko carried in the 2-point conversion to give Tuscarora an 8-7 lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Huskies forced another turnover on downs, giving the Tuscarora offense the ball back at their own 32.
On the very next play, Peede found Pough for a 68-yard pitch-and-catch as the Huskies extended their lead to 16-7, following another successful 2-point conversion.
“Dawson is really coming into his own. He and Tommy are really building that connection,” Toler said. “[Dawson]’s one of those kids that just doesn’t stop working. Tommy’s the same way. When some of your leaders are also some of your hardest workers, good things happen.”
That Peede-Pough connection came to light one more time late in the game, when on 4th-and-3 from midfield, Pough snuck past the sticks, and Peede found him for an 8-yard gain and a first down.
“No one works harder than Dawson,” Peede said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a great game or a bad game, he’s out on the field Saturday working on his craft.”
Four plays later, Bardales carried in his second touchdown of the night to put the Huskies up 22-14 with 1:05 to play.
With less than a minute left and the ball on their own 45 yard line, Briar Woods sophomore quarterback Brady Carmical turned to his trusty sophomore receiver Colin Capistrant as the duo connected on 26-yard and 12-yard receptions before Capistrant hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass with 0:04 left in the game.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Carmical-Capistrant connection didn’t have enough magic left as the Huskies defended the 2-point try to fend off the Falcons, 22-20.
“Credit to Briar Woods. They’re doing a great job over there,” Toler said. “Briar Woods is tough. Hats off to them.”
Briar Woods will look to carry their fourth-quarter momentum into their Homecoming game against Woodgrove on September 30.
The hard-fought win will be short-lived for Tuscarora as the Huskies have a quick turnaround before their dance with Leesburg-rival and Dulles District contender Loudoun County High School on September 30 in Leesburg.
“We’re just focusing on us. That’s all we do, that’s all we can do,” Toler said. “We’re focusing every week on what we need to get better at and hopefully that translates on Friday night.”
Derrick Jerry captured 150+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 9:11 | Briar Woods | Andrew Joyce 28-yard TD run (Alex Crabb PAT) | 0-7 |
| 2Q | 8:24 | Tuscarora | Aldrin Bardales 5-yard TD run (JC Witchko 2pt run) | 8-7 |
| 2Q | 3:57 | Tuscarora | Tommy Peede to Dawson Pough 68-yard TD pass (RJ Evans 2pt run) | 16-7 |
| 4Q | 4:53 | Briar Woods | Andrew Joyce 3-yard TD run (Alex Crabb PAT) | 16-14 |
| 4Q | 1:05 | Tuscarora | Aldrin Bardales 19-yard TD run (2pt failed) | 22-14 |
| 4Q | 0:04 | Briar Woods | Brady Carmical to Colin Capistrant 8-yard TD pass (2pt failed) | 22-20 |