Behind QB Thompson, Stone Bridge Routs Robinson

It was back in seventh grade when Patrick Thompson broke his tibia in two places, an injury that prevented him from playing football that fall. His team that season, he remembered, went 0-13.

So by comparison, having a ruptured tendon on the ring finger of his throwing hand is much less serious for the Stone Bridge standout quarterback. Sure, his handwriting is not quite as neat, but otherwise his everyday routine is pretty much the same despite a hard plastic splint and some tape that protects the injury. On the field, Thompson plays with the same aggressive spirit and with Bulldogs Coach Mickey Thompson, his father, calling some of the plays, everything still is done at full throttle.

While wearing a glove to cover the splint, Thompson completed 15 of 24 passes for 196 yards and rushed for 51 yards and two touchdowns, leading fourth-ranked Stone Bridge to a 49-7 victory over visiting Robinson (1-1) in a Virginia AAA nondistrict game before a crowd of 3,000 last night in Ashburn.

Running back Daniel Allen rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns for the Bulldogs (2-0). Wide receiver Michael Prince, who scored four touchdowns last week, recovered a fumble in the end zone for one score, rushed 35 yards for another and nearly had a third touchdown before being tackled at the 1-yard line on a 39-yard pass from Thompson. That prompted one teammate on the sideline to say, shaking his head: "Every time he touches the ball!"

The Bulldogs dominated a Robinson team that has won 13 consecutive Northern Region weightlifting titles. There was room for Allen to run, often taking a direct shotgun snap. And there was time for Thompson to maneuver, whether he was dropping back, rolling out or taking off with the ball.

"He's pretty tough," said Thompson's brother, Zach, a tight end and defensive end who had three catches for 37 yards. "He'll play through anything. He's not a complainer."

While Mickey Thompson said the play-calling was altered somewhat in last week's 42-28 victory over West Springfield because of concerns that Patrick would not be able to handle the ball in wet conditions, last night's game plan included no such changes.

"I don't like them backing off," Patrick Thompson said. "You can't do that because I might get hurt. I'm not going to get hurt. It can't really get worse than it is right now. It's healing. It's getting there."

Stone Bridge 49, Robinson 7 Going Back in Time: Stone Bridge Coach Mickey Thompson was congratulated after the game by Robinson Principal Danny Meier. whose son, Timmy, is Robinson's starting quarterback. Meier was a graduate assistant coach at Virginia when Thompson played and later hired Thompson as one of his assistant coaches at Orange County High. Bottled Up: Robinson finished with 16 yards rushing on 18 carries. The Rams ran 28 offensive plays to 61 for Stone Bridge.