Aldie, Va. — After taking the lead late in the fourth quarter of their Week 1 matchup with Heritage, the Lightridge High School football team saw their first win of their season slip through their fingers when Heritage sophomore kicker Jason Urias Alvarado kicked a 19-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
“We’re a really young team, so to be that close and almost get our first win, to feel we have it but then to watch it slip away, that was heartbreaking. What a great high school football game that we were just on the wrong side of,” Lightridge head coach Bobby Eavenson Jr. said. “For our guys to be able to come back this week and just ball out and get the win, it means the world to our team. I’m hoping this helps build us some confidence as we get going through the season.”
The Lightning were not going to let their second chance at their first win of the season pass them by as they scored four second-half touchdowns and blocked two PATs to run past the Tuscarora Huskies, 34-19, on September 5 in Aldie.
“We went hard at practice this week: full speed, 100%, everyone giving it their all, so this first win means a lot to us,” Lightridge sophomore receiver/defensive back Reed Holincheck said. “We’re just looking forward to keeping up this momentum.”
After trading punts for most of the first half, an 11-yard completion from junior quarterback Owen Working to Holincheck got the Lightning train moving late in the second quarter. From there junior running back Jeremiah Pettiford picked up 27 yards on a run, before a Tuscarora encroachment penalty put Lightridge in the red zone for the first time all night.
Back-to-back incomplete passes meant the Lightning faced 3rd-and-5, but again Working drew the Huskies offsides, giving his team a fresh set of downs at the 13 yard line. Yet another encroachment penalty on 3rd-and-9, set the Lightning up from the 7 where Working connected with sophomore receiver Tyson Childress on a 7-yard touchdown pass to give Lightridge their first lead of the game with about two minutes to play in the first half.
The start of the second half did not go according to plan for Lightridge as Working threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage. The Huskies took advantage of the miscue as senior quarterback Peter Laiti kept it himself for a 35-yard touchdown run as Tuscarora tied the game at 7-7.
On the ensuing Lightridge drive, Working found Childress on back-to-back plays to pick up 20 yards, before hitting junior receiver Brayden Oshode with a 9-yard reception to give the Lightning some momentum. However, following a pair of incompletions that forced a 4th-and-9 from the Tuscarora 36, Working lofted one towards the endzone where Tuscarora again came down with an interception.
“It’s no secret that we like to throw the ball; that’s who we are and that’s who we’ve been,” Eavenson Jr. said. “[Owen]’s going to make mistakes at times, but he’s always been so good about bouncing back: it’s the next series, it’s the next play. That’s why he’s a captain. I can’t say enough great things about Owen and who he is. He showed a lot of guts tonight.”
The Lightning defense picked up their quarterback, forcing a punt on the ensuing Tuscarora drive.
It didn’t take long for the Lightning offense to get back to work as Pettiford scampered 41 yards into the endzone on the very next play, putting Lightridge back up a touchdown, 14-7.
A defensive holding and a pass interference prolonged Tuscarora’s next drive before junior running back Zain Elian capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. A bad snap on the PAT allowed Oshode to get to the kicker, blocking the attempt to keep the Lightning ahead 14-13.
“They score and we could be down, we could take a play off, but that’s not who Brayden Oshode is. He wants to be out there giving his all every single play,” Eavenson Jr. said. “He has matured so much that now he understands that play right there could be the difference between winning and losing.”
A big kickoff returner by Pettiford set the Lightning up at the Tuscarora 39 to start their next drive and three plays later Working connected with sophomore receiver Landon McDurfee on a 38-yard touchdown pass to extend the Lightridge lead to 20-13, following a missed PAT.
A fourth down stop early in the fourth, gave the Lightning the ball back on their own 27 yard line, where Working and co. started to manage the clock. Lightridge senior running back Vernon Lewis picked up 29 yards on the ground before Working connected with Pettiford on 15- and 4-yard receptions, the latter a touchdown.
Trailing by 14 midway through the fourth, the Tuscarora offense looked to respond, but Lightridge had other plans as junior linebacker Calvin Ray Sneed sacked Laiti for a 9-yard loss, setting up a 3rd-and-10. On the next play, Holincheck jumped the route, picked off the pass, and took the interception 34 yards for the score.
“What a huge bright spot Reed Holincheck has been coming in as a sophomore,” Eavenson Jr. said. “We had high hopes for him and he knew we had high hopes for him, and sometimes that can be really hard for a sophomore. He has risen to that challenge. To say we’re excited about him and where he’s heading would be an understatement.”
Laiti capped the next Tuscarora drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Kristian Jones, but the effort came too late as the Lightning picked up their first win of the season—and first ever win against Tuscarora—34-19.
“Honestly, we don’t really talk about winning games. We just talk about execution and doing things our way,” Eavenson Jr. said. “We just try to stick to our process and making sure our coaches put our kids in the best positions to be successful.”
The Lightning (0-0, 1-1) are back in action on September 12 when they travel to Broad Run. The Huskies (0-0, 1-1) will look to get back in the win column when they host Potomac Falls on the same night.
“We just want to compete and give it our all,” Holincheck said. “That’s what Lightridge football is all about.”
Derrick Jerry & Jace Lucas captured 100+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 2Q | 2:20 | Lightridge | Owen Working to Tyson Childress 7-yard TD pass (Brayden Zirkle PAT) | 7-0 |
| 3Q | 9:40 | Tuscarora | Peter Laiti 35-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 7-7 |
| 3Q | 4:31 | Lightridge | Jeremiah Pettiford 41-yard TD run (Brayden Zirkle PAT) | 14-7 |
| 3Q | 2:07 | Tuscarora | Zain Elian 3-yard TD run (PAT blocked) | 14-13 |
| 3Q | 0:57 | Lightridge | Owen Working to Landon McDurfee 38-yard TD pass (PAT missed) | 20-13 |
| 4Q | 7:55 | Lightridge | Owen Working to Jeremiah Pettiford 4-yard TD pass (Brayden Zirkle PAT) | 27-13 |
| 4Q | 6:38 | Lightridge | Reed Holincheck 34-yard interception return TD (Brayden Zirkle PAT) | 34-13 |
| 4Q | 4:03 | Tuscarora | Peter Laiti to Kristian Jones 32-yard TD pass (PAT blocked) | 34-19 |