Purcellville, Va. — ‘Be different.’ That was the message Loudoun Valley High School head coach David Bishop preached to his football team all season. No matter what happened in the past, no matter what the team looked like in 2024, this team was going to ‘be different.’
“I’m so proud of this group and what they’ve done over the past 12 months, committing and buying in. We wanted to ‘be different’ this year,” said Bishop, who was just named the 2025 Dulles District Football Coach of the Year. “We knew beating Woodgrove once this season wasn’t enough. We knew there were going to be ups and downs, but for 48 minutes, we needed to be the better team.”
After defeating rival Woodgrove in a regular season game for the first time in 15 years on November 7, the Vikings doubled down just two weeks later when they knocked off the Wolverines, 31-21, in a VHSL Region 4C semifinal on November 21 in Purcellville.
“We had to win the little battles and come together as a team,” Loudoun Valley senior athlete Mack Gaffney said. “This is a new year, a new us, and we were able to ‘be different’ tonight.”
Long opening drives by both teams ended the first quarter scoreless, with Woodgrove knocking on the door to start the second frame.
Just two plays into the second quarter, Woodgrove freshman quarterback Colton Dabkowski scored on a 6-yard keeper to put the Wolverines up 7-0.
On the ensuing Viking drive, Loudoun Valley junior quarterback Zach Detweiler scrambled for a short gain on back-to-back plays before throwing a strike over the middle to Gaffney, who outran the defense for a 47-yard touchdown to even the score at 7-7.
Despite an 11-yard run and 29-yard reception to open the next drive, the Woodgrove offense eventually stalled out and punted, pinning the Vikings at their own 15 yard line.
After two fruitless runs, Detweiler connected with senior receiver Jolyon White for 21 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Detweiler found Gaffney for 9 yards and another first down as the Vikings’ offense started to find some rhythm. But like their adversary, their momentum slowly fizzled out as they were also forced to punt.
It didn’t take long for the Loudoun Valley offense to retake the field as the Vikings’ defense held strong, forcing a three-and-out and getting the ball back in the hands of Detweiler near midfield.
From there, Detweiler completed a pass to junior receiver Hudson Bolton for 19 yards. Then, two plays later, Detweiler connected with Bolton again for another 11-yard pickup. Following an incomplete pass, Detweiler again connected with Bolton, this time for another 19 yards.
Defending 1st-and-goal from the 6, the Woodgrove defense held strong, eventually forcing a field goal attempt, which Loudoun Valley senior kicker Orestes Parada connected on from 21 yards out just before the half.
Trailing 10-7 coming out of the half, the Wolverines didn’t take any time to steal the momentum as sophomore running back Joey Ridolfi burst through the line and carried the first play of the second half 74 yards for a touchdown.
“Kicking the field goal and taking the lead going into halftime was a big deal,” Bishop said. “But give credit to Woodgrove: they’re a good team, they’re well coached, and they came out on the first play and busted one free for a touchdown to put us behind again. But our kids never wavered and continued to have confidence in our preparation.”
On the second play of the second half—the first offensive play for the Vikings—Gaffney coughed up a fumble which the Wolverines recovered in Loudoun Valley territory.
Eventually defending 4th-and-8 from the 33, the Loudoun Valley defense grabbed some momentum back when they turned the Wolverines over on downs.
“That’s what I love about our team. We stay in games, we never give up, we play to the very end,” Gaffney said. “That’s what we did tonight. We had to deal with some adversity, but we got the job done.”
Looking to balance their offense, the Vikings turned to their running game as junior running back Ethan LaFollette and Detweiler traded carries to march Loudoun Valley down to the Woodgrove 8. Two plays later, Detweiler connected with Parada in the front corner of the endzone for a 7-yard touchdown to put the Vikings up 16-14.
Following a personal foul during the point after attempt, the Vikings were moved back 15 yards for the re-try. On the second attempt, the Wolverines broke through and blocked the attempt, keeping it a 2-point game.
The teams then traded punts as Gaffney hustled downfield and pinned Parada’s punt at the Woodgrove 1 yard line to end the third quarter.
With limited room to operate, Woodgrove got a 9- and a 12-yard run out of Ridolfi to move them out of the endzone, but on 2nd-and-11 from their own 21, Gaffney jumped a passing lane and intercepted Dabkowski to give the Vikings the ball back at the Woodgrove 19.
“That dude is a dog,” Bishop said. “After he lost the fumble then dropped that long pass down the sideline, I told him he owed me an interception. He went out there and delivered.”
Two plays later, LaFollette—who was named the Dulles District Offensive Player of the Year—rushed into the endzone on a 16-yard touchdown carry. Junior quarterback Joshua Couch then completed a pass to sophomore running back Noah Thomas on the 2-point try to put the Vikings up 24-14 early in the fourth quarter.
Trailing by two scores, the Wolverines looked to get going on offense as Dabkowski scrambled for 7 yards before finding sophomore receiver Colton Tokarchic for 6 yards and a first down. Following a delay of game penalty, Dabkowski connected with sophomore receiver Dylan Donnelly for 29 yards and another first down.
On 2nd-and-10 from the Loudoun Valley 34, Dabkowski hit senior receiver Danilo Ulloa with a 14-yard completion to move the Wolverines into the redzone.
Another delay of game temporarily moved Woodgrove out of the redzone, but a 12-yard Ridolfi rush got the Wolverines right back in business.
Then, on 2nd-and-3 from the 13, Dabkowski went back to Ulloa for a 13-yard score, cutting the Loudoun Valley lead to 24-21 midway through the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, a short kick and a 29-yard return by Gaffney set the Vikings up on the 50 yard line. From there, it took the Vikings just four plays to re-extend the lead as LaFollette scored his second rushing touchdown of the night, this one from 19 yards out.
Trailing by two scores with less than five minutes to play, Woodgrove needed to move quickly. Despite a couple of first downs that moved them into Loudoun Valley territory, a combined sack by senior lineman Ryan Barrett and junior defensive back Braeden Mandichak cost the Wolverines 10 yards, which they couldn’t get back as the Vikings held on to win, 31-21.
Loudoun Valley (4-0, 10-1) will travel to Loudoun County for the VHSL Region 4C Championship on November 29 in Leesburg. In their regular season meeting, the No. 1 Captains trumped the No. 2 Vikings, 31-7.
“We have to lock in, we have to ‘be different,” Gaffney said. “We know we can get the job done.”
Katey Jackson captured 200+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 2Q | 11:43 | Woodgrove | Colton Dabkowski 6-yard TD run (Bryce Hart PAT) | 0-7 |
| 2Q | 8:47 | Loudoun Valley | Zach Detweiler to Mack Gaffney 47-yard TD pass (Orestes Parada PAT) | 7-7 |
| 2Q | 0:07 | Loudoun Valley | Orestes Parada 21-yard field goal | 10-7 |
| 3Q | 11:43 | Woodgrove | Joey Ridolfi 74-yard TD run (Bryce Hart PAT) | 10-14 |
| 3Q | 3:16 | Loudoun Valley | Zach Detweiler to Orestes Parada 7-yard TD pass (PAT blocked) | 16-14 |
| 4Q | 9:21 | Loudoun Valley | Ethan LaFollette 16-yard TD run (Joshua Couch to Noah Thomas 2pt pass) | 24-14 |
| 4Q | 7:13 | Woodgrove | Colton Dabkowski to Danilo Ulloa 13-yard TD pass (Bryce Hart PAT) | 24-21 |
| 4Q | 4:41 | Loudoun Valley | Ethan LaFollette 19-yard TD run (Orestes Parada PAT) | 31-21 |