Ashburn, Va. — At this point in the season, most teams are looking to get playoff ready, but the Briar Woods High School football team is more concerned about getting healthy. Having to battle through injury after injury from as early as their first game to as recently as the fourth quarter of their Week 11 matchup, the Falcons have relied on their grit and senior leadership to propel them to the No. 2 seed in the VHSL Region 5D standings.
Led by senior receiver Colin Capistrant, senior quarterback Brady Carmical, and senior running back Lucas Roser, the Falcons put together an offensive clinic in the first half of their 27-13 win over Independence on November 8 in Ashburn.
After senior running back Trey Dudley succumbed to an injury early in their Week 10 matchup with Stone Bridge, the Falcons were forced to turn to Roser—an all-state middle linebacker—as their workhorse running back. It didn’t take long for Roser to get going in their Week 11 win over Independence as the senior rushed for 118 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 23 carries. Carmical added 85 yards on 13 carries while going 13-for-18 for 183 yards through the air, including connecting with Capistrant 7 times for 109 yards.
“That’s the difference between really good teams and average teams: you lose a kid like Trey Dudley and to have [Roser] step up and run like that was incredible,” Briar Woods head coach Mike Burnett said. “He played every snap as an all-state middle linebacker against a team that was running the ball right up the middle, and then he turns around and runs like that. He’s got to be the toughest kid in Loudoun County.”
After forcing a three-and-out on the Tigers’ first drive, the Briar Woods offense quickly got to work as senior quarterback Brady Carmical connected with senior receiver Dylan Duffy on the Falcons’ first offensive play of the game.
Then, a ground-and-air attack moved the Falcons into Independence territory where they faced a 3rd-and-18 from the Independence 36. Again, the Falcons looked to their senior leadership as Carmical connected with Capistrant on a 22-yard pitch and catch to set up a 1st-and-10 from the Independence 14.
Following a holding penalty, the Falcons handed it off to Roser, who bullied his way down to the 4 yard line. Two plays later, Briar Woods took the lead as Carmical carried in a keeper from 3 yards out.
The Tigers got their second chance late in the first quarter, but, again, the Briar Woods defense forced a three-and-out, giving Carmical and co. the ball back late in the first frame.
Early in the second quarter, Carmical used both his arm and his legs to move his team into the redzone, before back-to-back-to-back Roser carries found the senior in the endzone with a 2-yard touchdown run.
“I could not have done anything without my offensive line,” Roser said. “They, along with fullback Aidan Schaal, were tremendous.”
Trailing 14-0, Independence knew it needed to keep it close. Facing a third straight three-and-out, the Tigers opted to go for it on 4th-and-2 from their own 27 as junior quarterback Nick Nassib found junior receiver Brayden Wyner for 17 yards and a first down. That momentum was short-lived, however, as Nassib’s 4th-and-5 pass on the next set of downs fell incomplete allowing Briar Woods to take over on downs.
“We had great communication from our linebackers to D-line to corners; everyone was helping each other out,” Roser said. “When it got hard or when we got tired, we just fought through it and picked each other up.”
Starting their third drive near midfield, the Falcons didn’t take long to strike as Carmical hit Capistrant with a 51-yard completion down to the Independence 3.
Two plays later, Roser found himself back in the endzone on another 2-yard touchdown run as the Falcons extended their lead to 21-0.
“That was about as well as we’ve played offensively all year: three possessions, three scores,” Burnett said. “Brady is such a dual weapon that when we can run the ball, we’re really hard to defend. We came in thinking we’d be throwing the ball, and that we’d just run the ball here and there to give ourselves a break, but we were able to run the football all night.”
With an early three-score lead, the Falcons looked to their defense to keep the Independence offense at bay, however, a few big runs by freshman running back Robert Kellen and senior running back Jackson Thorne got the Tigers’ train rolling.
Facing a 4th-and-1 as time wound down in the first half, Nassib used a 4-yard keeper to pick up a first down before clocking the next snap. Three plays after that, again facing a fourth down, Independence made it a two-score game when Nassib tossed a pass over the shoulder of senior receiver Justin Jordan, who hauled in a 6-yard touchdown catch with just two seconds to play in the first half.
Having deferred the opening kickoff, the Falcons received to start the second half, before their 12-play, 47-yard drive stalled out. The Briar Woods defense, however, proved stout once again, forcing another turnover on downs following an 11-play, 58-yard drive for the Tigers that all but took the rest of the quarter.
Starting the fourth quarter near midfield with a 21-6 lead, Carmical hit sophomore receiver Jax McIntosh with a 22-yard completion to move the Falcons into Tigers’ territory. On the next play, Roser rumbled down to the 4 on a 26-yard carry, before he carried in a 4-yard touchdown run on the very next play.
“After last year—them beating us at our own house—we all had that fight and motivation in us,” Roser said. “Everyone from the seniors to the freshmen brought the energy and that definitely elevated our game play.”
Knowing they needed a quick strike on the ensuing drive, Independence used a fresh set of downs to set up a 53-yard touchdown pass from Nassib to freshman receiver Caidyn Parks, cutting the Briar Woods lead to 27-13.
The Tigers’ defense played a momentous series on the resulting drive as the Falcons turned it over on downs inside their own 40.
However, defending a short field, the Falcons’ defense made another statement as sophomore linebacker Javon Wade sacked Nassib for a 5-yard loss, before junior defensive end Evan Knight ended the Independence threat with an 8-yard sack on fourth down.
Looking to run out the clock, the Falcons were forced to punt on their final offensive drive, as Carmical dropped a beauty at the 1 yard line, giving the Tigers 99 yards and little time to make up the two-score deficit.
As they had all night, the Briar Woods defense stuffed the Tigers as the Falcons held on to claim the Potomac District title, 27-13.
With the win, Briar Woods (4-1, 7-3) earns the No. 2 seed and a bye in the VHSL Region 5D Tournament.
“We needed this win because we’ve really been bitten by the injury bug this year,” Burnett said. “We’ve got our quarterback playing outside linebacker, our receivers are playing corner and safety, our starting middle linebacker is playing running back. At this point, I think we have like 8 or 9 kids playing almost every snap. For us to get a week off with a bye to get healthy, that’s really big for us.”
Despite the loss, Independence (5-1, 6-4) earned the region No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 Massaponax on November 15 in Ashburn, hoping to set up a rematch with their rival Falcons in a region semifinal.
“It’s always more fun playing at home, but the most important thing for us is getting that extra week off,” Burnett said. “The thing about our region is only six teams make it, and they’re all pretty good. You don’t want to get stuck playing an extra game and getting knocked off, because I think anybody can win our region.”
Jackson Reid captured 200+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 3:27 | Briar Woods | Brady Carmical 3-yard TD run (Matthew Kordes PAT) | 7-0 |
| 2Q | 9:20 | Briar Woods | Lucas Roser 2-yard TD run (Matthew Kordes PAT) | 14-0 |
| 2Q | 5:17 | Briar Woods | Lucas Roser 2-yard TD run (Matthew Kordes PAT) | 21-0 |
| 2Q | 0:02 | Independence | Nick Nassib to Justin Jordan 6-yard TD pass (PAT missed) | 21-6 |
| 4Q | 9:54 | Briar Woods | Lucas Roser 4-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 27-6 |
| 4Q | 7:50 | Independence | Nick Nassib to Caiden Parks 53-yard TD pass (Brayden Wyner PAT) | 27-13 |