Loudoun County relies on the spread; Hayfield makes habit of dramatic endings

So instead of kicking, Hayfield opted to try to punch in a two-point conversion to sneak off with a road victory against the favored Wildcats.

Centreville instead stuffed a run by 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior quarterback Ellis Knudson and escaped with a 17-16 win over the Hawks, who have now dropped three straight games, by a total of 15 points, to teams that are 13-2.

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Gonzaga corner Devin Butler will play college football at Notre Dame next season.

“It looked like we got in, but you’ve got to make it obvious, I guess,” said Hayfield Coach Roy Hill, whose team this season has played four games decided in the final minute. “When you get the opportunity, you have to take advantage of it.”

The Hawks held Centreville’s offense without a touchdown in regulation and moved into position to tie or win the game after junior Osman Kargbo scored in overtime.

Hayfield senior linebacker Nathan Trebach had 19 tackles.

West Springfield guts one out

West Springfield had to score late and then intercept a pass to beat W.T. Woodson, 14-10, to improve to 4-1 and prevent the Cavaliers from winning their first game this season.

Down 10-7, West Springfield scored with about four minutes left when seniors Tyler Sutter and Nathan Conquest hooked up for a 14-yard touchdown pass.

With about 40 seconds to play, West Springfield sophomore Trent Brown, a reserve who plays in obvious passing situations, picked off a throw inside his 5-yard line to preserve the victory.

“[The game] really brought some character out,” West Springfield Coach J.T. Biddison said. “On that last drive, a couple of defensive linemen didn’t give them time to throw the ball. It was nice to see the sideline coming together. You don’t want it to come down to the last second, but a win is a win.”

The Spartans played without their two leading tacklers, who were out with minor injuries. Senior defensive end Matt Ahola had two sacks.

Biddison, a 1984 Woodson graduate, said he had a jarring reminder Friday night of how the years have flown by. The player who scored for Woodson, junior receiver Jimmy McLaughlin, is the son of one of Biddison’s former Woodson teammates.

The Cavaliers dropped to 0-5, but their last two games have been decided by a total of seven points.

Forest Park’s Williams shows his speed

The good news for Forest Park junior Mustaqeem Williams is that an opponent finally kicked to him Friday and he returned punts 71 and 35 yards for touchdowns in a 24-0 win over Freedom-Woodbridge.

The bad news is that based on that performance, the All-Met sprinter might not be kicked to for the rest of the season, which is pretty much how the first half of the season went for him.

“We put him back there, but nobody kicks to him,” Forest Park Coach David Coccoli said. “I think he’s had only two kickoff returns this year and only two or three punt returns. It’s very frustrating for him.

“That’s where he ‘made his money’ last year and he knows he can’t show what he can do. He was happy after the game I know, for sure.”

The three losses for Forest Park (2-4) have been to teams that are a combined 14-2. The second half of the schedule includes only one team (Woodbridge) with a winning record.