By Preston Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 2, 2008
What to make of this fading West Springfield offense? Why, the team's point total has plummeted each of the past two weeks -- from 50 to 49 to 48.
That's a joke, of course, but there are two conflicting questions to ask about the high-rolling Spartans, the kind of queries not usually raised about the same team:
Are they the best Division 6 team in the Virginia AAA Northern Region?
Can their defense stop anybody?
West Springfield's two losses were 42-28 to No. 3 Stone Bridge and 35-34 to No. 17 Edison. Both setbacks were to Division 5 schools. That's not to say the Spartans would beat No. 4 Oakton, No. 12 Westfield or any other Division 6 region contenders, but their 3-2 record might be deceiving. Edison and Stone Bridge have met in the past three Division 5 region championships, and Stone Bridge is the defending state champ.
A home win tomorrow over knocking-at-the-Top-20 West Potomac could clear up the second question. The Wolverines (5-0, 2-0 in the Patriot District) are averaging 31.4 points per game, with 17 touchdown passes from senior Cole Walter. West Springfield (3-2, 2-0) is giving up 28.8 points per outing.
The Spartans, dogged by a leaky defense last year, too, turned in one of their stingiest outings of 2007 in a 38-14 win over West Potomac, intercepting four passes and shutting out the Wolverines in the second half in tainting their 5-0 start.
Keep in mind that West Springfield and West Potomac are the teams that two years ago played an 81-74 four-overtime game, won by West Potomac, the record for the most points scored in a game between Virginia opponents. Regulation ended 53-53.
In last year's game, West Springfield senior quarterback Bryn Renner threw for 169 yards and a touchdown and ran for 69 yards and three scores.
West Potomac-West Springfield is just one of the top-drawer matchups that might make up the best week of the Northern Region season. There are three games pitting Division 6 teams that, if the season ended today, would reach the playoffs. Those games are Chantilly-No. 4 Oakton, W.T. Woodson-No. 12 Westfield and West Potomac-West Springfield.
But that's not all. In Division 5, Edison-Yorktown pits teams with two of the top three Virginia High School League power ratings in the region. And the Madison (Division 5) at Langley (Division 6) game features two teams that would reach the postseason if the season ended today.
National ImpactLast week at Falls Church, Yorktown Coach Bruce Hanson notched his 150th win at the Arlington school. But he has turned his focus to snagging a 151st win at home against No.17 Edison tomorrow
One of the teams has either won or shared the National District title for the past eight years.
Yorktown (4-1, 2-0) has dropped five of the past six games against Edison (5-0, 2-0), including two last year by a combined 84-18 score. The previous game, too, was a relatively breezy Edison win, 27-7, during the 2006 playoffs.
Yorktown, whose only loss has been to unbeaten West Potomac, has been moving the ball more effectively this season, thanks in great part to versatile senior Kyle Toulouse (more than 500 yards rushing) and senior running back Jared Smith (six touchdowns the past two weeks).
The Patriots use no two-way linemen -- and in fact are two-deep on the defensive line -- a rarity for a program that has used three or four two-way linemen some seasons.
"It's a real luxury for us," said Hanson, in his 24th year. He said that when the Patriots won the Division 5 region title in 1999, they used no two-way linemen. Ditto for the 2003 team that reached the region final.
Edison, a Division 5 region finalist the past four seasons, has won 31 of its past 33 games against National District teams, including 13 straight.
Leading RollMadison senior Sasha Vandalov, a fullback at the start of the season, has gone from blocking for others to following blocks. He has rushed for 362 yards and has scored five touchdowns during the team's current three-game winning streak.
"We noticed how hard he was running and moved him back to wingback, where he can get a head of steam up," Warhawks Coach Gordon Leib said. "He's been a surprise. He's one of the hardest runners we've had in a while. He just keeps his feet moving all the time. [He has] that snap to whistle mentality which you talk about all the time but you very rarely see it."
Vandalov is listed at 5 feet 9, 180 pounds and can squat 400 pounds, Leib said.
Junior linebacker Eric Leeson is another player who has come on for the Warhawks (3-2), one of four Liberty District teams without a league loss. He has a team-high 52 tackles in five games.
Madison faces Langley (3-2), W.T. Woodson (4-1) and Stone Bridge (5-0) the next three weeks.
Rally Tie?Unlike most of his peers, Fairfax Coach Chris Haddock wears a tie on game nights, a custom he picked up from former Chantilly coach Dan Meier when he worked on Meier's staff.
"I guess it's kind of my way of being professional and trying to be first class," said Haddock, in his second-year at Fairfax. "The profession has certainly done a lot for me, and maybe it's my way of giving back to the profession."
The Rebels (3-2) not only dressed the part last week against Centreville but they looked it. After being outscored 775-101 in their first 19 Virginia AAA Concorde District games, all losses, Fairfax scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take home a 25-15 road win over Centreville.
Senior Chris Regensberg rushed 27 times for 205 yards and three touchdowns, including one with eight seconds left.
"We certainly hope this is not our last win and that our season didn't culminate Week 5," said Haddock, whose school has been reassigned to the Liberty District starting next season. "It was something the kids expected to have happen. We didn't know when or where, but sometime. The Concorde District has been a tough road for us, and the kids have really, really worked so hard, and they have never lost faith in what we're trying to do. I felt so vindicated for them."
Fairfax, without a winning season since 1999, is 3-2 with games remaining against Herndon (3-2), Westfield (5-0), Chantilly (4-1), Falls Church (0-5) and Robinson (2-3). If the season ended today, the Rebels would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since going unbeaten during the 1999 regular season under current Westfield Coach Tom Verbanic.
Might a postseason berth demand a spiffy hat to accessorize the neckwear?
"If that could get us a couple more wins," Haddock said, "I'd be more than happy to get a houndstooth fedora like Tom Landry or Bear Bryant."
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