Leesburg, Va. — After enjoying a first round bye in the VHSL Region 4C tournament, the Tuscarora High School football team felt recharged and ready to battle rival Loudoun County in a region semifinal. The Huskies used a strong ground game and three touchdowns by senior athlete Dawson Pough to rush past the Captains, 34-7, on November 23 in Leesburg.
“They had to play a physical game against Heritage back-to-back weeks,” Tuscarora head coach Jared Toler said. “We were able to get healthy. We had some guys that might have been a little questionable if they would have been able to play without the bye week. Having that extra time was 100% a blessing.”
Tuscarora ran for 315 rushing yards, completing just one pass in the win. Senior running back Zakk Wolovich led the Huskies in rushing with 115 yards. Pough tallied just 6 rushes but capitalized on his limited opportunities for 110 yards and two touchdowns and was the only receiver to catch a pass from junior quarterback Peter Laiti—it went for 32 yards and a touchdown.
“I’m just so happy for these guys,” Toler said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries and a lot of guys had to step up throughout the year. It was challenging at times, and we just kept hanging our hat on some scripture talking about how you have to celebrate the trials, and it builds strength and endurance and character.”
Defensively, the Huskies stopped the strong ground game of Loudoun County, allowing junior running back Montez Dyson just 16 yards on 21 carries.
The Tuscarora offense took no time showing their big-play ability. On the third play from scrimmage, Laiti took a keeper and found the edge, racing down the field 58 yards into the end zone. A missed PAT after a penalty gave the Huskies a 6-0 lead less than two minutes into the first quarter.
On the other side of the ball, the Tuscarora defense started hot, too. They forced a 4th-and-1, then the defensive line swallowed up Dyson before the first down marker. The Huskies received the ball back on the Captain’s 39 yard line.
A 10-yard rush by Pough set up Wolovich to break through the defense and get into the end zone for a 29-yard rushing touchdown. Tuscarora sophomore kicker Josh Tikalsky made this PAT attempt to give Tuscarora a 13-0 lead.
“It was all my offensive line,” Wolovich said. “I give all the credit to them. I give my receivers credit for blocking, and my defense for only giving up seven points.”
Needing a score, Loudoun County turned the game plan to the air as sophomore quarterback Braden Nyce found sophomore wide receiver Jackson Patterson for 35 yards to set the offense up on the other side of the field. A couple plays later, Nyce threw to Patterson again for 30 yards and the touchdown to close the deficit to 13-7.
Back-and-forth punts closed out the first quarter, before Tuscarora was back in striking distance on the ensuing drive. Moving down the field behind the legs of Wolovich, the Huskies faced a 4th-and-4 on the Loudoun County 29. Laiti tried to find senior tight end Alex McBridge, but the ball was batted out of his hands.
Loudoun County couldn’t capitalize on the turnover on downs, however, and punted after three plays on offense.
On the very next play, Wolovich took the handoff 12 yards for a first down. Then, Pough got a pitch after two fake handoffs, fooling the defense as he broke through the line untouched for a 38-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 20-7.
Following another Loudoun County punt, Pough took a direct snap and raced to the outside before jumping into the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown run as the Huskies went into halftime leading 27-7.
“Everyone on the team is a great athlete,” Wolovich said. “We just try to do the best we can whenever we get the ball. We have awesome coaches. They get us prepared no matter what, we could play a game tomorrow and we could be prepared.”
A slow second-half start for both offenses quickly sped up when Wolovich broke free for 19 yards into the Loudoun County side of the field midway through the third quarter. On the next play, Pough picked up 25 yards to put the Huskies into the red zone. Then two plays after that, Laiti found Pough across the middle for a 32-yard passing touchdown, increasing the lead to 34-7.
After a Loudoun County punt and a Tuscarora turnover on downs, the Captains appeared to have some life on their next drive as Nyce found junior receiver Reed Bianchini for 32 yards, inside the Tuscarora 20 yard line.
Then, on 3rd-and-18, Nyce dropped back before sophomore defensive lineman Tyler Wolovich brought him down for an 11-yard sack. On the next play, Nyce lofted a ball and senior defensive back Bryce Huber brought it down for the interception, ending the game.
“This defense is special,” Toler said. “They fly around. They lock in during the week, mentally. I think that’s what helps them. It gives them that advantage. They play so fast and they play for each other. They do their job, because they know the guy next to them is gonna be there.”
With the win, No. 2 Tuscarora (4-0, 10-1) will advance to the VHSL Region 4C championship game where they will travel to No. 1 John Champe (4-0, 11-0) on November 30 in Aldie.
“They’re an explosive team,” Toler said. “We know it’s a challenge, but we look forward to that challenge. Our motto for three years, it’s us versus us. All we’re going to focus on is being the best version of us.”
Jace Lucas and Kiko Dudley captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 10:09 | Tuscarora | Peter Laiti 58-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 6-0 |
| 1Q | 7:19 | Tuscarora | Zakk Wolovich 29-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 13-0 |
| 1Q | 4:40 | Loudoun County | Braden Nyce to Jackson Patterson 30-yard TD pass (Jackson Patterson PAT) | 13-7 |
| 2Q | 5:34 | Tuscarora | Dawson Pough 38-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 20-7 |
| 2Q | 1:51 | Tuscarora | Dawson Pough 21-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 27-7 |
| 3Q | 0:04 | Tuscarora | Peter Laiti to Dawson Pough 32-yard TD pass (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 34-7 |