Leesburg, Va. — For the Loudoun County High School football team, the game plan is simple: block, tackle, and hand the ball to senior running back Montez Dyson. Entering their matchup with previously unbeaten Loudoun Valley High School, the Captains saw no need to deviate from that plan and executed it to perfection, holding the Vikings to as season-low 7 points while Dyson carried the ball 41 times for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 31-7 win on October 10 in Leesburg.
“We put so much work in every week at practice. It’s not an easy job, and it’s a thankless job because you don’t get a lot of credit. We just love doing it,” Loudoun County senior lineman Carter Scruggs said. “It’s so much fun [blocking for Montez]. Knowing he’s behind us really helps motivate the line to step up and create holes for him.”
The Captains didn’t waste any time getting Dyson involved as he carried the ball for 6 then 7 yards on the first two plays of the game. On the third play of the game, Loudoun County senior quarterback Jake Miller completed a 13-yard pass to senior receiver Luke Morrison, before Dyson broke free on the fourth play of the game for a 30-yard carry down to the Loudoun Valley 8. Three plays later, Dyson found the endzone from 2 yards out for his first touchdown of the night.
“Their safeties do a really great job of tackling, so there were a lot of plays where he broke through the second level and they had a safety tackle him,” Loudoun County head coach Matt Reidenbaugh said. “He just stayed patient and the offensive line did a fantastic job.”
With a 7-0 lead, the Captains defense took the field for the first time and after a 2-yard run on first down, Loudoun County senior lineman Sam Bilko got to the Loudoun Valley quarterback in the backfield, dropping him for a 2-yard sack. An incomplete pass on third down forced a Loudoun Valley punt, setting the Captains up near midfield to start their second drive.
Facing 2nd-and-20, Miller took a chance down field, where senior defensive back Orestes Parada jumped up and made an interception at the 4-yard line.
A sack by senior lineman Lachlan Snyder forced another Loudoun Valley punt to open the second quarter.
“We did a good job knowing their scheme and making sure we were getting to [Gaffney] and not letting him get loose,” Reidenbaugh said. “But it’s just blocking and tackling, that’s the sport, and we came out with great intensity and did a great job of that tonight.”
Looking to add to their lead early in the second quarter, the Captains found themselves facing 2nd-and-24 after a bad snap. Then, facing 3rd-and-19, Loudoun Valley senior lineman Jonavon Ford and junior lineman Aiden Oliver met Miller at the line of scrimmage for a sack, forcing a Loudoun County punt.
On the first play of their third offensive series, Loudoun Valley junior running back Ethan LaFollette found a hole before bouncing to the side line where he scampered 53 yards before being caught by Dyson at the Loudoun County 27.
A 4-yard LaFollette run followed by another for 13 yards set the Vikings up at the 10 with a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, LaFollette found the endzone on a 2-yard run to even the score at 7-7.
It didn’t take long for Loudoun County to respond as Dyson marched his team downfield, before capping off the 10-play, 69-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with less than a minute to play in the first half.
Like they did to start the first half, the Loudoun County defense forced a three-and-out on their first defensive series of the second half.
Once again the Captains turned to Dyson, who used just three touches to get Loudoun County back into the redzone.
Wanting to keep the game close, the Loudoun Valley defense stepped up, dropping Dyson for back-to-back losses and holding the Captains to a 30-yard field goal off the foot of Morrison.
Looking to re-even the score, the Loudoun Valley offense got back to work, getting their biggest playmaker senior athlete Mack Gaffney into the mix as he picked up 9 yards on a sweep.
On the next play, Loudoun Valley junior quarterback Zach Detweiler took a shot and found senior receiver Jolyon White across the middle for a 37-yard gain.
On back-to-back plays, LaFollette and Detweiler each carried the ball six yards to set the Vikings up with 1st-and-goal from the 3.
The Loudoun County defense stopped Detweiler just short of the goal line on a quarterback keeper, setting up 2nd-and-goal from the 1. Then, the Loudoun County defense got a huge stop as senior linebacker Parker Clarey met LaFollette in the backfield and dropped him for a 2-yard loss.
“It was a fantastic job by our entire defense. We just emphasize ‘make them snap it again, make them snap it again,’” Reidenbaugh said. “[On 2nd-and-goal from the 1], we had a big negative play that made it 3rd-and-goal from the 3; that was a big deal to set up the big play by Kobe.”
Facing 3rd-and-goal from the 3, Loudoun Valley went to the air, but senior defensive back Kobe Assiamah-Damti had other plans as he leaped into the air and picked off the pass at the 1.
“When the ball was up in the air, I knew I needed to come up with it,” Damti said. “Parker’s play set up the opportunity for me, so I had to thank him right away and then we scored on a 99-yard drive, so it worked out for us.”
“Kobe doesn’t get a lot of balls thrown at him at corner, and I think it’s because he’s so good,” Reidenbaugh said. “Someone finally threw at him, and he showed why people don’t throw the ball in his direction. An absolutely fantastic play by him.”
Leading 17-7, the Captains had 99 yards to go if they wanted to add to their lead, and what better way to accomplish that than handing the ball to Dyson on six straight plays.
On the seventh play of the drive, Loudoun County changed things up as Miller connected with Morrison on a 42-yard completion to set the Captains up inside the 10.
Loudoun Valley looked for another goal line stand, but the Captains elected to go for it on 4th-and-goal from the 3, and Dyson carried it in for his third touchdown of the night.
On the ensuing kickoff, Loudoun County placed an in-between kick near the Loudoun Valley 30, and junior Lincoln Segersten jumped on it, giving the Captains the ball back at the Loudoun Valley 27. Six plays later, Dyson put the game out of reach when he scored his fourth touchdown of the evening on a 3-yard run to put the Captains up 31-7 until the end.
“That’s a tough team, but we practiced really hard this week,” Damti said. “We were prepared for the game and knew we would come out with a win.”
Loudoun County (2-0, 7-0) will look to stay hot when they travel across state lines to Jefferson High School on October 17 in Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia. Loudoun Valley (2-0, 5-1) will look to bounce back when they host Broad Run on the same night.
“We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Scruggs said. “We just want to focus on one week at a time, going 1-0 each week.”
Katey Jackson captured 200+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 8:24 | Loudoun County | Montez Dyson 2-yard TD run (Luke Morrison PAT) | 7-0 |
| 2Q | 6:28 | Loudoun Valley | Ethan LaFollette 2-yard TD run (Orestes Parad PAT) | 7-7 |
| 2Q | 0:40 | Loudoun County | Montez Dyson 2-yard TD run (Luke Morrison PAT) | 14-7 |
| 3Q | 4:38 | Loudoun County | Luke Morrison 30-yard field goal | 17-7 |
| 4Q | 4:54 | Loudoun County | Montez Dyson 3-yard TD run (Luke Morrison PAT) | 24-7 |
| 4Q | 1:30 | Loudoun County | Montez Dyson 3-yard TD run (Luke Morrison PAT) | 31-7 |