Ashburn, Va. — Entering the last regular season game of the 2024 season, the Stone Bridge High School football team had one goal: win. The Bulldogs used a balanced game plan to complete that goal, defeating Riverside, 38-10, on November 8 in Ashburn while helping their playoff chances.
“Proud of these boys,” Stone Bridge head coach Kedric Golston said. “We’ve been in some hard-fought games all year. I’m just super excited for this senior, they had to go through a huge transition from coach [Mickey] Thompson, so they’ve embraced me. This community has embraced me, so I’m excited for them.”
Stone Bridge junior quarterback Samar Kaul led the way on offense with 175 yards and three touchdowns on 8-of-11 passing. Senior running back Koran Rucker had 85 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while junior running back Dominic Manicioto added 46 yards to the Bulldogs’ 190 total rushing yards.
“My performance is good, but without my receivers, it couldn’t have happened,” Kaul said. “Without my offensive line blocking, that couldn’t have happened. I’m really proud about how my team played and without them, I couldn’t have gotten all those stats.”
To complement the more than 350 yards of total offense, the Stone Bridge defense allowed just 105 total yards, while holding the Rams to 0-for-9 on third downs.
“[The defense] was doing their job,” Golston said. “The one [touchdown]that [Riverside] got, it was a simple routine thing. They’re really explosive. We just got to do our job and take responsibility.”
After forcing a three-and-out on Riverside’s first possession, the Stone Bridge offense looked to start the game fast. They got that fast start as Rucker took the first handoff 21 yards inside the opposing 10, then finished out the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run only three minutes into the game.
Three consecutive punts by both teams ended the first quarter, but Stone Bridge had possession to open up the second frame, when Rucker took a handoff 7 yards into the end zone to give his team an early 14-0 lead.
On the first play on the ensuing drive, Riverside senior quarterback Robert Evelyn found senior receiver Grant MacBean for a contested 35-yard catch. This set the Rams up inside the 10, but Evelyn got sacked on 3rd-and-8, so Riverside turned to senior kicker Owen Saraceno for a 33-yard field goal as Riverside cut into the lead, 14-3.
The Riverside defense forced a three-and-out on the next drive forcing a punt. Evelyn—who finished the game 5-of-16 for 60 yards—found junior receiver Eric Harris for 13 yards into Bulldog territory. On the next play, senior running back Ed Abbott found a hole in the defense and raced to the pylon for a 49-yard touchdown. Abbott finished the game with 70 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries. The momentum swung towards Riverside as it was a 14-10 ballgame halfway through the second quarter.
Stone Bridge decided to slow the game down on the next drive. Running behind Rucker and Manicioto, they still received large gains from Kaul finding sophomore receiver Justin Oh for 10 yards and junior tight end Joey Johnson for 23. They used an 11-play, 69-yard drive to move into the Riverside red zone before an incomplete pass on third down brought out the field goal unit. Senior kicker Hakim Hardy made a 28-yard field goal that extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 17-10 heading into the half.
“We came back to the conclusion that it was win or go home,” Rucker said. “It’s either we win or we lose, we got the good outcome. Everybody just had to lock in after the first half.”
Riverside opened the second half by forcing a three-and-out, but their offense suffered the same fate on the next drive as the Bulldogs got the ball back midway through the third quarter. Stone Bridge got the ball back and converted a 3rd-and-3 after Kaul found sophomore receiver Joey Magliocca for 7 yards. Then, Kaul lofted a ball to Oh with green grass in front of him. Oh—who finished with 80 yards on 3 receptions and a touchdown—outraced the defense for a 59-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 24-10.
On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs’ defense was quick to the backfield and forced an incomplete pass on third down. Stone Bridge capitalized on the defensive stop, running behind Rucker and Manicioto into the red zone. Then, Kaul found Johnson as he strolled past the goal line for a 12-yard touchdown and a 31-10 lead.
Riverside needed a quick score, but as Evelyn was about to throw the ball on first down, Stone Bridge senior linebacker Gavin Harrison knocked the ball out, then fell on the fumble to give Stone Bridge possession on the Rams’ 40 yard line.
On the next play, Kaul found a wide-open Magliocca across the middle of the field who then raced down the sideline and into the endzone to give the Bulldogs a 38-10 lead that would see out the game.
With the win, Stone Bridge (3-2, 3-7) secured their playoff berth as the No. 5 seed. The Bulldogs will travel to No. 4 Lightridge for a VHSL Region 5D quarterfinal on November 15 in Aldie. Riverside (1-4, 4-6) fell just short of the 6-team playoff field in seventh place.
“Our team’s goal is to win it all,” Kaul said. “Make it to states, prove that Stone Bridge is still a really strong team, that we’re still here and we can do big things.”
Aimee Vincent captured 200+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 9:00 | Stone Bridge | Koran Rucker 9-yard TD run (Hakim Hardy PAT) | 7-0 |
| 2Q | 11:51 | Stone Bridge | Koran Rucker 12-yard TD run (Hakim Hardy PAT) | 14-0 |
| 2Q | 9:00 | Riverside | Owen Saraceno 33-yard field goal | 14-3 |
| 2Q | 6:49 | Riverside | Ed Abbott 49-yard TD run (Owen Saraceno PAT) | 14-10 |
| 2Q | 1:23 | Stone Bridge | Hakim Hardy 28-yard field goal | 17-10 |
| 3Q | 5:20 | Stone Bridge | Samar Kaul to Justin Oh 59-yard TD pass (Hakim Hardy PAT) | 24-10 |
| 4Q | 9:37 | Stone Bridge | Samar Kaul to Joey Johnson 12-yard TD pass (Hakim Hardy PAT) | 31-10 |
| 4Q | 9:03 | Stone Bridge | Samar Kaul to Joey Magliocca 40-yard TD pass (Hakim Hardy PAT) | 38-10 |