Stingy Defense, Blocked Punt Vault Bulldogs Past Wolverines

Westfield senior Dylan Doty skirted through a slight opening in West Potomac's line and leaped over a defender, using his outstretched fingers to block a Wolverine punt. Teammate Vinny Caporossi pounced on the loose ball in the end zone for a second quarter touchdown -- a crushing blow in Friday night's 35-14 Bulldogs victory at home.

Caporossi and Doty, known previously for little more than their diminutive size (they both check in at 5 feet 8), helped Westfield (1-1) take a big step toward shedding a rebuilding label that stuck after last week's season-opening loss to Stone Bridge.

"We heard a lot of that [rebuilding talk], and it was just motivating," said Caporossi, who recovered two fumbles and was part of a defense that stuffed the Wolverines' high-powered offense four times on fourth down.

"I don't honestly feel that we're ever rebuilding at Westfield, I feel like we're just reloading," said Doty, who added a rushing touchdown and also batted down a surefire first-quarter touchdown pass from West Potomac quarterback Colin Mathewson.

With an undersize roster, its first season without a superstar recruit at running back and its second year behind a signal-caller whose last name is not Glennon, the Bulldogs might have appeared depleted.

But Friday night, Doty and Caporossi were just the headliners in an effort that saw strong line play, consistent quarterbacking from 6-5 senior Danny Fenyak (14 of 25, 124 yards, 1 touchdown) and a big effort out of their backfield foursome -- Doty, junior Bryan Monticue, junior Hayden Ferington and sophomore Kendall Anderson. The group combined for 183 yards on 27 carries and each scored a touchdown.

Their defense smothered a West Potomac (1-1) offense that was coming off a 42-point explosion against Mount Vernon in which it posted nearly 400 yards of total offense in week one.

After West Potomac fumbled its opening drive, Westfield scored on a four-yard Monticue run.

Mathewson, a right-handed dual threat with a strong and accurate arm and crafty scrambling ability, answered quickly, piloting the Wolverines' no-huddle offense with a 38-yard rocket to junior Daryl Copeland, a 7-yard scramble of his own and a 35-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Lee.

Doty powered for a one-yard plunge to push the Bulldogs to a 14-7 lead before Caporossi fell on Doty's blocked punt, and then Anderson added a 64-yard touchdown run on Westfield's opening possession of the second half to slam the door on West Potomac.

Westfield 35, West Potomac 14 Fourth and a Long Shot: Westfield stopped West Potomac four times on fourth down. Seeing a Ghost: Former Westfield and Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon, who was cut by the NFL's Minnesota Vikings in July to make room for Brett Favre, is an assistant coach at Westfield.