Ashburn, Va. — For more than a decade, the Briar Woods High School football team has been looking to make a return trip to the VHSL State championship game. After winning back-to-back-to-back VHSL AA Division 4 State titles in 2010, 2011, and 2012, their quest for four straight titles fell short in the 2013 VHSL 5A State Championship at the hands of L.C. Bird. More than 4000 days after that meeting, the Falcons got their revenge and punched their return ticket to a VHSL State championship game, when they knocked off the visiting Skyhawks, 28-14, in a VHSL Class 5 State semifinal on December 7 in Ashburn.
“After the [John Champe] game [in Week 1], I didn’t know what was going to happen to us,” Briar Woods head coach Michael Burnett said. “We suffered some injuries, we didn’t play well. You don’t know how a team is going to respond to adversity. What makes me happy is that we bounced back. It’s really been so fun.”
Despite numerous injuries throughout the season, the Falcons have had a sure-hand calling the shots in 2023 All-LoCo quarterback Brady Carmical. Carmical—who starts on both offense and defense for the Falcons—totaled 165 yards and two touchdowns on 28 rushes, completed 9-of-17 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and forced a fumble while adding three tackles on defense in their state semifinal win.
Both of Carmical’s passing touchdowns went to senior receiver Anthony Joyce, who hauled in 4 catches for 70 yards.
“I couldn’t do anything without my teammates,” Carmical said. “Anthony’s a phenomenal player. He was getting open left and right, and I was just throwing it up to him. I guess I just have that trust with my teammates.”
The Falcons defense allowed just 195 yards, holding L.C. Bird quarterback Jason Wright—a Buffalo recruit—to 107 yards through the air and senior running back Corey Holland to just 50 yards on 11 carries.
After two consecutive punts to open the game, Briar Woods received the ball back on their own 16 yard line. Carmical’s legs moved the Falcons down the field, picking up 16 yards to get his team out of the shadow of their own end zone. Carmical finished the drive with a 4-yard scramble past the defense to the corner of the end zone and gave the Falcons a 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
L.C. Bird, looking to respond, had to wait until midway through the second quarter to get into the end zone. After receiving a punt that set the Skyhawks on the opposing side of the field, Wright connected with senior receiver Jessiah Parker for 44 yards. Parker was ruled down at the 1 yard line, leading to a Wright keeper to tie the game 7-7.
On the ensuing drive, Carmical’s rushing ability picked up 18 yards. However, after failing to connect with senior running back Trey Dudley, Carmical threw an interception into the hands on L.C. Bird senior linebacker Marcus West.
Then, L.C. Bird marched down the field and inside the Briar Woods 10. Two penalties moved the Skyhawks back for a 4th-and-25. Wright found junior receiver Troy Beamon across the middle, but the Falcons popped the ball free. Carmical picked up the fumble to give Briar Woods the ball back on their own 20 yard line.
“Our defense has been great all year,” Burnett said. “They’re probably the most underestimated part of our team, and they really deserve most of the credit. If you look at the last three weeks, I think we’ve played better than the previous one.”
Trying to capitalize on the turnover, Briar Woods turned to their aerial attack. Carmical found Joyce for 25 yards, before finding him again for 15 and a touchdown to give the Falcons a 13-7 lead about a minute before halftime.
“We all came together, worked hard this week in practice,” Joyce said. “We came out and performed. My coaches trusted in me and helped me perform well. When that ball is up there, you just got to make a play.”
L.C. Bird received the ball out of half, however, Briar Woods sophomore kicker Matthew Kordes surprised everybody with an onside kick which junior Brody Bohmer fell on to set the Falcons up at midfield.
Carmical rushed for 15 yards, before an additional 9 yard run moved the Falcons into the red zone. Then, Carmical connected with Joyce and he wrestled past the goal line for a 11-yard touchdown. Carmical took off and ran the ball into the end zone for the 2-point conversion attempt, which increased Briar Woods’ lead to 21-7.
“We had a lot of injuries early in the season,” Joyce said. “We all just worked hard, gave it our all. We came back better and now we are going to the state championship.”
L.C. Bird had to punt after only six plays on offense, giving the Falcons the ball back on their own 8 yard line. Briar Woods turned to the ground game to waste clock, as senior athlete Lucas Roser ran the ball for small gains. However, Carmical still found his targets for big yards, including Dudley, who had a 21-yard reception to move the Falcons outside their own 10. Then, Carmical connected with senior receiver Colin Capistrant for 11 yards, before finding Joyce for 19. Carmical finished the drive with a 3-yard rushing touchdown to extend Briar Woods lead to 28-7.
“[I credit] my offensive line with my rushing touchdowns, they did everything for me,” Carmical said. “I’m just running the ball, that’s just doing my part. They were amazing.”
Needing a quick score, the Skyhawks turned to Wright, who connected with a few receivers, but for marginal gains as the Falcons defense was quick to tackle ball carriers. L.C. Bird got their much needed touchdown when Wright ran the ball in from 6 yards out, but the Skyhawks still trailed by two scores with just five minutes left.
L.C. Bird never got the ball back as Carmical picked up two crucial first downs to run the remaining time on the clock out, securing the victory for Briar Woods.
With the win, Briar Woods (4-1, 10-3) advances to the VHSL Class 5 State Championship against Maury at James Madison’s Bridgeforth Stadium on December 14 in Harrisonburg.
“We just enjoy this win tomorrow,” Burnett said. “We’ll start figuring out what we got to do to give us a chance, and we got to be who we are. We got to play the kind of football that we are capable of playing, and hopefully that’s good enough.”
Jackson Reid captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 0:02 | Briar Woods | Brady Carmical 4-yard TD run (Matthew Kordes PAT) | 7-0 |
| 2Q | 6:52 | L.C. Bird | Jason Wright 1-yard TD run (Christopher Showalter PAT) | 7-7 |
| 2Q | 1:27 | Briar Woods | Brady Carmical to Anthony Joyce 15-yard TD pass (PAT missed) | 13-7 |
| 3Q | 10:12 | Briar Woods | Brady Carmical to Anthony Joyce 11-yard TD pass (Carmical 2pt run) | 21-7 |
| 4Q | 10:44 | Briar Woods | Brady Carmical 3-yard TD run (Matthew Kordes PAT) | 28-7 |
| 4Q | 5:14 | L.C. Bird | Jason Wright 6-yard TD run (Christopher Showalter PAT) | 28-14 |