Leesburg, Va. — “Run the ball” is a favorite adage of coaches, players, and football fans from across the land. Well, the Tuscarora High School football team put that saying to action, carrying the ball close to 50 times for nearly 300 yards in the Huskies’ 14-7 win over Lightridge on September 20 in Leesburg.
“You got to rejoice in all the trials, because it helps you get stronger, build character,” Tuscarora head coach Jared Toler said. “I’m just really proud of our guys just fighting and being gritty.”
Tuscarora senior athlete and Boston College commit Dawson Pough took the opportunities with the ball in his hands to bombard the Lightning defense for two touchdowns and over 185 yards. Tuscarora senior running back Zakk Wolovich tacked on to Tuscarora’s rushing total after carrying the ball almost 20 times for close to 100 yards.
“So when I saw kind of things moving around real fast, I just felt like, hey, we got to put [the ball]in our best players’ hands sometimes,” Toler said.
The game opened much to the dismay of the fans after both teams traded punts in the first quarter. Lightridge started the second quarter on offense, but a 6-play, 18-yard drive stalled out before the Lightning punted and pinned Tuscarora on their own 16.
The ensuing drive saw the Huskies drive down the field for a 12-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown with under a minute left in the half. Pough started the drive by taking direct snaps and broke off a run on 3rd-and-3 and pushed the ball to the Lightridge side of the field. Unfortunately, a holding call wiped the play off the board and pulled the momentum back.
That penalty did not faze the Huskies as a couple plays later, Pough got into open space for a 29-yard run on 2nd-and-19. A low snap on third down hit junior quarterback Peter Laiti in the legs and rocked back toward the lineman. With a good reaction time, Laiti was able to fall on the ball to keep the Tuscarora drive alive.
The Huskies kept moving the ball down the field until a 3rd-and-4 on the Lightridge 33-yard line. Tuscarora had a trick up their sleeves as Pough faked a handoff and rolled out right to find senior Eliot Reid in open space that moved the offense down inside the 10. One play later, Pough strolled into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown run and a PAT by sophomore kicker Josh Tikalsky opened up the scoring and closed out the first half.
“[The offensive line] just said, ‘put it on our backs,’” Toler said. “They did not bat an eye, you know, they embraced it. A lot of those guys are going two ways and don’t come off the field. If they do come off the field, they’re subbing for each other.”
On the first drive of the second half, Lightridge senior quarterback Brady White found senior wide receiver Al Honesty on a 3rd-and-13 for what looked to be a large gain, but Honesty was ruled out of bounds, forcing the Lightning to punt. After trading punts a few times,Tuscarora eventually took over on their own 39-yard line. That drive also stalled out before a low snap to Tikalsky saw him get hit in the backfield and a punt get downed on the Huskies 44.
With momentum on their side, Lightridge moved the ball down the field with sophomore quarterback Owen Working finding senior wide receiver Wade Lechner for 23-yard to the Tusky 26-yard line. Back-to-back defensive pass interference penalties on Tuscarora was at the dismay of the home fans, but led to Lightridge being five yards away from the goal line. The Huskies defense held up, stopping Lightridge on four consecutive plays to cause a turnover on downs.
It didn’t take long for Tuscarora to use the momentum of their goal line stand to add to their score. On 2nd-and-9, Pough found open space and outraced every defender for a 65-yard rush that gave his team a 14-point lead.
“I want to do whatever I can to help,” Pough said. “I just told my coach, I want you to bet on me. I trust my line. I trust my team. I trust my coach. I know we can get it done.”
Trailing 14-0 midway through the fourth quarter, the Lightning needed a quick score.White found sophomore Jeremiah Pettiford on a screen pass for 15 yard. On the next play, White rolled left and while getting sacked threw up a ball that found Lechner, who raced up the sideline and got tackled on the Tuscarora 9-yard line. One play after that, White threw a quick pass to Honesty, who scored to cut into the Tuscarora lead. Junior kicker Brayden Zirklee made the PAT to make it a 14-7 game with just over six minutes left in the game.
Tuscarora skillfully put the ball on the ground behind Pough and Wolovich to run out all the time left on the clock and end the game 14-7 in the home team’s favor.
Tuscarora (1-0, 3-1) will hit the road for a matchup with Potomac Falls on September 27. Lightridge (0-0, 1-3) will return home on the same date to play Langley, who is 4-0 for the first time since 1986.
“Our focus and what we talk about is us vs us,” Toler said. “That’s all we focus on, because when we play a clean game, us vs us, usually good things happen.”
Jace Lucas and Derrick Jerry captured 250+ photos at the game!