Leesburg, Va. — In 1954, Loudoun County High School opened its doors for the first time. As the county’s oldest operating high school, Loudoun County was the first to accomplish a lot of athletic feats, but over those 70 years, one thing has always evaded the Captains: a region championship in varsity football.
After falling just one yard short of the region title in 2022, this year’s Captains team made up their minds that they weren’t going to let this season slip through their fingers.
“The leadership of this team is the difference. We got really, really close in 2022,” Loudoun County head coach Matt Reidenbaugh said. “Our captains have really helped our team take to heart the little things and how much every single play matters.”
When the Captains hosted longtime rival Loudoun Valley High School on November 29 in Leesburg, they put an end to the drought, claiming the VHSL Region 4C title, outlasting the Vikings, 28-14, and earning a trip to their first ever VHSL state tournament.
“Knowing all the work we have put in and what we can accomplish as a team really shows how much we’ve grown as a family,” Loudoun County junior athlete Dominick Gadell said. “I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished as a program and excited to see where we’re going.”
The Loudoun County defense impressed early as senior defensive back Reed Bianchini made a big open field tackle on the Vikings’ opening drive to force 2nd- and eventually 3rd-and-long before the Captains forced a punt.
A 26-yard return by junior returner Jackson Patterson put the Captains in plus territory on their first drive of the game.
Starting from the Loudoun Valley 42, Loudoun County senior running back Montez Dyson quickly got to work, picking up 7 yards on his first touch. Two plays later, Dyson rushed for 6 more yards and a first down.
Following a tackle for a loss, Dyson broke off for a 13-yard run down to the Loudoun Valley 16, where senior quarterback Jake Miller connected with junior tight end Lincoln Segersten for 13 yards and another first down.
On the following play, Dyson opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run to put Loudoun County up 7-0 with five minutes to play in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, the Vikings looked to respond quickly as junior quarterback Zach Detweiler threw a pass near the sideline to senior receiver Mack Gaffney, who beat his man and rumbled 63 yards down to the Loudoun County 10.
Three plays later, Detweiler found senior receiver Orestes Parada open in the short corner for an 8-yard touchdown pass as the Vikings tied things up at 7-7 with three minutes to play in the first quarter.
With the score tied, the Vikings made a big play on defense, recovering a fumble to give their offense the ball back near midfield.
A few carries by junior running back Ethan LaFollette and a completion from Detweiler to senior receiver James Mackey, eventually set the Vikings up with a 3rd-and-4 from the Loudoun County 22 to start the second quarter.
That 3rd-and-short quickly turned to fourth and long when Loudoun County sophomore defensive lineman Vincenzo Gagliardi sacked Detweiler for a 6-yard loss. On the very next play, fellow sophomore defensive lineman Harrison Webb got to the Loudoun Valley gunslinger, dropping him for an 8-yard loss, while forcing a turnover on downs.
“They have some great players, but our defense is great too,” Dyson said. “So we just locked in and played our style of ball, which is fast and physical.”
On the second play of the ensuing series, Dyson was fast and physical when he found some room to run, breaking off for a 36-yard carry, a play in which he eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing mark for the season.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Dyson said. “My offensive line is amazing; I love each and every one of them. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Like they have all season, the Captains continued to hand the ball to Dyson, who brought Loudoun County down inside the 10. After Dyson was dropped in the backfield for a 3-yard loss, the Captains drew up a screen as Miller hit Dyson for a 7-yard pickup, down to the Loudoun Valley 2.
Facing 3rd-and-goal from the 2, Loudoun County again handed the ball off to Dyson, but this time, he was met in the backfield by junior defensive back Braeden Mandichak, setting up 4th-and-goal from the 3.
After a timeout, the Captains sent their field goal unit out, but missed the 20-yard attempt wide left as the Loudoun Valley defense held.
Knowing Loudoun County would receive the second half kickoff, the Vikings looked to get something going on offense late in the second quarter, quickly picking up a first down on back-to-back 5-yard carries by LaFollette.
With their fresh set of downs, Loudoun Valley looked to go to the air, but Gagliardi again met Detweiler in the backfield for a 7-yard sack. Detweiler quickly responded with a 16-yard pitch and catch to Mackey, before gaining a first down himself on a 6-yard quarterback keeper.
On 1st-and-10 from the Loudoun Valley 41, Loudoun County junior defensive lineman Felix Dema-Narh broke free, sacking the quarterback for an 11-yard loss. Two plays later, facing 3rd-and-13, Detweiler took a chance over the middle, but Patterson was there for the interception as the Captains and Vikings headed into the half tied at 7-7.
After receiving the second half kickoff, Loudoun County went back to their tried and true, as Dyson quickly picked up a first down on 6- and 4-yard carries.
After a fruitless rush on their first down, Loudoun County looked to air one out, but Miller was hit in the backfield, knocking him out of the game temporarily.
Facing 3rd-and-10 and wanting to make the most of their first second-half possession, Loudoun County entered junior backup quarterback Anthony Immel, who threw a quick dump pass over the middle to Bianchini, who picked up 27 yards and the first down as the Loudoun County faithful felt some life.
“A lot of times when the backup goes in, he just hands the ball off and goes onto the next play, but I felt like it was a really big third down and we wanted to be aggressive,” Reidenbaugh said. “Anthony works so hard; he works like he’s a starter. I just trusted him, and he stepped up and made a great play. I give him a lot of credit, because a lot of times when you’re the backup you don’t work so hard, but he really takes it to heart that he’s one snap away.”
Miller—who re-entered on the next play—then turned to hand the ball off to Dyson, who picked up 13 then 10 yards on the next two plays, driving the Captains down to the Loudoun Valley 16.
“Our offensive line played great today. Last week, we didn’t play well,” Reidenbaugh said. “This week at practice, we just challenged them to play to our standard. They stepped up to that challenge.”
After a short Gadell run, Loudoun County dove into their playbook, rolling Miller to his right, while senior tight end Jeremiah Davis Jr. released to his left, where he was wide open to haul in the 13-yard touchdown pass to go up 14-7.
After trading punts, Loudoun Valley took over deep in their own territory late in the third quarter. But it didn’t take the Vikings long to get into scoring position, as LaFollette broke off for a 17-yard run before Detweiler hit senior tight end Ryan Barrett with a 26-yard pass down to the Loudoun County 18.
LaFollette and Detweiler then traded carries down to the 11, where the Vikings faced 4th-and-3. Down 14-7, Loudoun Valley opted to go for it as Detweiler kept it himself to pick up 4 yards and the first down.
A holding penalty on 1st-and-goal, pushed the Vikings back to the 17, before an eventual pass interference call gave them 3rd-and-manageable from the 7. A 5-yard pass from Detweiler to Gaffney set the Vikings up with 4th-and-goal from the 2, which LaFollette then punched in to even the score at 14-14 midway through the fourth quarter.
Loudoun County started with great field position on their next drive after a 39-yard return by Gadell moved the Captains into Loudoun Valley territory.
Two short runs by Dyson set the Captains up with 3rd-and-7 from the 37, where they took a chance as Miller hit Gadell near the sideline for a 37-yard touchdown pass.
“A big thing we talked about this week was making up for [injured]Parker [Clarey]’s production in the aggregate and not expecting one single kid to do it all. Dom was one of those kids because he’s a super versatile kid: he’s super fast, but at the same time, he’s really physical in the box.”
On the ensuing drive, the Vikings used a few big runs to march into Loudoun County territory, however, quickly found themselves in another 4th-and-long situation.
This time, Davis Jr. got to Detweiler, dropping him for an 11-yard sack, giving the Captains the ball back in Loudoun Valley territory.
“Jeremiah’s always been great, and he’s so versatile,” Reidenbaugh said. “He’s a big, physical kid, but he’s also super athletic, so anytime we can get him involved in the game plan, we do.”
Loudoun County took advantage of the shortfield and continued to reach into their playbook as Miller kept an option himself, scrambling 17 yards down to the Loudoun Valley 20.
A pair of Loudoun Valley penalties set the Captains up with 1st-and-goal from the 4, and two plays later, Dyson was in the endzone on a 1-yard touchdown run to extend the Loudoun County lead to 28-14 with less than two minutes to play.
Despite quickly getting past midfield on a series of passes to three different receivers, Loudoun Valley’s title hopes came to an end when Gadell recovered a fumble to put the game on ice.
“On defense, we just stuck to our basic DNA: destroy blocks, no missed tackles, attack the ball,” Gadell said. “We worked really hard as a team to execute on every play.”
With the win, Loudoun County (3-0, 11-1) will advance to its first ever VHSL Class 4 State quarterfinal where the Captains will host Region 4A champion Lafayette on December 6 in Leesburg.
“The message to the kids was ‘the way we’ve done things this year has gotten us to where we are, so why would we do anything different?’” Reidenbaugh said. “We’re going to prepare the same way, take it one day at a time, and try to go 1-0 tomorrow.”
Sam Mesecar captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 4:49 | Loudoun County | Montez Dyson 3-yard TD run (Luke Morrison PAT) | 7-0 |
| 1Q | 3:14 | Loudoun Valley | Zach Detweiler to Orestes Parada 8-yard TD pass (Orestes Parada PAT) | 7-7 |
| 3Q | 7:34 | Loudoun County | Jake Miller to Jeremiah Davis Jr. 13-yard TD pass (Luke Morrison PAT) | 14-7 |
| 4Q | 8:14 | Loudoun Valley | Ethan LaFollette 2-yard TD run (Orestes Parada PAT) | 14-14 |
| 4Q | 6:38 | Loudoun County | Jake Miller to Dominick Gadell 37-yard TD pass (Luke Morrison PAT) | 21-14 |
| 4Q | 1:45 | Loudoun County | Montez Dyson 1-yard TD run (Luke Morrison PAT) | 28-14 |