Edison Learns Its Lessons

A Year Later, Eagles Hold Bulldogs to Lowest Output of Season

Edison quarterback Shawn Lloyd eludes a Stone Bridge defender. Lloyd completed 19 of 37 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. (By Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)

Edison's defense spent the week studying for its big test. The Eagles failed this one last season -- the misdirection in Stone Bridge's single-wing offense was something they had not seen before and was too much to handle.

With another shot at No. 5 Stone Bridge in yesterday's Virginia AAA Northern Region Division 5 championship, the Eagles dissected game tape and repeatedly practiced stopping the single wing. And sure enough, they aced the exam.

Buoyed by the partial absence of Stone Bridge quarterback Terence Glenn and running back Devon Brown because of cramps, Edison forced three turnovers and held the Bulldogs' prolific offense to 110 second-half yards to pull off a 31-17 upset in front of 4,000 in Ashburn.

"Our scout offense did a great job imitating their offense," Edison junior defensive back Ben Barber said. "Our defense was able to pick up on that and get our minds right for this game."

Edison (10-2) avenged its loss to Stone Bridge in last year's region final and became the first team this season to hold Stone Bridge to less than 34 points. The Bulldogs (11-1) came in averaging 43.6 points per game but never found an offensive rhythm, even with Glenn and Brown on the field.

Glenn and Brown left with leg cramps early in the second half. Both eventually returned but were not effective.

"It created a lot of chaos on defense and offense," Stone Bridge Coach Mickey Thompson said. "They're our two main guys. It seemed like the whole day was scrambling, and it just got worse when they started cramping up."

Stone Bridge looked to be in typical form early. The Bulldogs recovered a fumble on Edison's second play from scrimmage and went on a seven-play, 41-yard drive that Glenn capped with an 11-yard touchdown run up the middle.

The Eagles dug in on defense after that, though, and senior quarterback Shawn Lloyd attacked a Stone Bridge secondary that was without injured safety Jeron Gouveia.

Lloyd was given the freedom to change the play call depending on his read at the line of scrimmage, and he used that flexibility to complete 19 of 37 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. His main target was Barber, who hauled in nine catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.

"We've been underrated from the get-go," Lloyd said. "Everybody thought Edison fell off the map. That's not the case."

Edison 31, No. 5 Stone Bridge 17 Last Time: Edison's only other Northern Region Division 5 title came in 1986 over Stuart. The Eagles went on to win their only state title that season. Up Next: Edison will travel to face Central Region champion Deep Run, a 41-38 overtime winner over Matoaca, in the state semifinal next week.