Ashburn, Va. — Coming into this game on a three-game winning streak, the Briar Woods High School football team needed a win against Lightridge on senior night to remain atop the Potomac District. The Falcons did just that, rushing for 300 yards and four touchdowns in a convincing 32-12 win over the Lightning on October 25 in Ashburn.
“We made it through a lot of injuries,” Briar Woods head coach Mike Burnett said. “We lost a lot of guys, so we’ve been trying to piece things together and get healthy as we roll into the playoffs.”
With a handful of injuries— including to two of their top receiving targets—the Falcons have had to turn to some younger pass catchers, and sophomore receiver Jax McIntosh—who finished with 35 yards and a touchdown—has answered that call.
“McIntosh, he’s turned into an unbelievable football player,” Burnett said. “It’s just fun to see the young kids get a chance.”
While McIntosh continues to grow in his role, the Falcons have also relied heavily on senior receiver Colin Capistrant—who finished with four catches for 75 yards—and senior running back Trey Dudley to complement senior quarterback Brady Carmical.
“It’s just been one thing after another, and [the upperclassmen]have done what they had to do,” Burnett said.
Dudley got 24 of the team’s 44 rushing attempts, converting his chances on the ground for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Carmical went 11-of-19 through the air for 170 yards and a touchdown and added another score on the ground.
“[Dudley’s] just a great athlete,” Burnett said. “He’s such an influence on the field. I think you got to account for him, and I think defensively, you can’t run his way.”
Briar Woods opened the game on offense and quickly moved down the field with big rushes by Dudley before Carmical found Capistrant for 44 yards to set the offense up inside the 10 yard line. Penalties moved the Falcons back before a 4th-and-goal saw Carmical look right and throw to junior receiver Javon Wade. However, Lightridge senior defensive back Wade Lechner jumped the route and batted the ball down forcing a turnover on downs.
After trading punts, Briar Woods received the ball back with around five minutes left to go in the first quarter. Dudley evaded defenders on a pitch play for an 11-yard gain to set up the Falcons on the Lightridge 24. On the next play, Carmical dropped back and found McIntosh streaking down the sideline as the young receiver got his foot down in bounds while being pushed out to open up the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown reception.
After forcing a punt on the next Lightridge possession, Briar Woods got the ball back to open up the second quarter. Starting on their own 2-yard line, the Falcons’ offense got back to work. After a couple of Dudley rushes, Carmical found senior tight end Cooper Flach for 22 yards to flip the field. Then, from the Lightridge 23 yard line, Dudley found a hole in the defense and outraced the Lightning defense to the end zone for the touchdown, extending the Briar Woods lead to 14-0.
Lightridge, however, was not backing down. On the second play of the ensuing drive, sophomore running back Jeremiah Pettiford—who finished the game with 85 yards—found open space and made defenders miss for a 64-yard rushing touchdown. A blocked PAT made it a 14-6 ballgame.
On the next drive, Dudley got into the end zone from 4 yards out to cap off a 16-play, 80-yard drive with only 23 seconds left in the half. Briar Woods went into the locker room with a 20-6 lead after a missed PAT.
Lightridge opened up the second half needing to get points on the board. The Lightning rushed down the field behind Pettiford and a pass interference penalty. A 3rd-and-11 on the Briar Woods 35-yard line saw senior quarterback Brady White get intercepted by Dudley after under-throwing his receiver.
“They got a speed out, and then a regular out, and then a zero right over it,” Dudley said. “I was told to kind of split the speed out and the regular out. And he happened to throw the out behind me, and I was able to snag it.”
The fans did not see another touchdown for almost the entire third quarter, before Dudley was handed the ball again. Good blocking by his offensive line gave Dudley 47 yards to the goal line with only one defender to outrace. Dudley got to the end zone first to give the Falcons a 26-6 lead after a blocked PAT with only 29 seconds left in the third quarter.
“My [offensive]line is amazing,” Dudley said. “They blocked really well, and I was able to find the holes.”
Carmical found the end zone with 8:29 left in the game with a 3-yard run and a failed two-point conversion gave Briar Woods a 32-6 lead.
Trailing by 26, Lightridge made one last effort as White found senior receiver Al Honesty for a 5-yard touchdown with just under five minutes to play, but that effort was too little too late as the Falcons held on 32-12.
Briar Woods (3-0, 6-2) will look to hold onto the top spot in the Potomac District standings when they host rival Stone Bridge on October 31. Lightridge (1-2, 2-6) will travel to Riverside on the same afternoon.
“We feel like when we’re healthy, when we execute, hopefully we can beat anybody,” Burnett said.
Katey Jackson captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 3:41 | Briar Woods | Brady Carmical to Jax McIntosh 24-yard TD pass (Matthew Kordes PAT) | 7-0 |
| 2Q | 8:19 | Briar Woods | Trey Dudley 23-yard TD run (Matthew Kordes PAT) | 14-0 |
| 2Q | 7:51 | Lightridge | Jeremiah Pettiford 64-yard TD run (PAT blocked) | 14-6 |
| 2Q | 0:23 | Briar Woods | Trey Dudley 4-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 20-6 |
| 3Q | 0:29 | Briar Woods | Trey Dudley 47-yard TD run (PAT blocked) | 26-6 |
| 4Q | 8:29 | Briar Woods | Brady Carmical 3-yard TD run (2pt failed) | 32-6 |
| 4Q | 4:36 | Lightridge | Brady White to Al Honesty 5-yard TD run (PAT blocked) | 32-12 |