Westfield makes most of Royal's visit

Broncos wideout pushes alma mater toward a victory

Eddie Royal made a lot of big plays during his days at Westfield, and after a college career at Virginia Tech and now a pro stint with the Denver Broncos, he came up with another timely contribution for the Bulldogs on Friday night prior to their 17-14 home win over Chantilly.

Royal was a surprise guest at the game, and beforehand, he stunned the Westfield players with a pregame pep talk.

"When he walked in the locker room, everybody's eyes lit up," said senior wide receiver Aaron Scoville, who caught the winning touchdown pass with about nine minutes left in the game. "Everybody got excited and even more jacked up to play.

Royal said "you've got to go hard every play like it's your last play and never give up and always fight. I just looked around, and everybody's eyes were just really wide and in shock that he was in our locker room."

As a senior, Royal played on an unbeaten team that won a state title. The Bulldogs he encountered before kickoff Friday night were a 3-4 team that shared little obvious in common with the squads on which he played. But his involvement was inspiring.

"It was something about the tradition," said Westfield Coach Tom Verbanic, who started the program in 2000. "I think we've done a pretty good job of building the tradition."

The result Friday night was certainly the same. Chantilly has never beaten Westfield during the regular season, even though the Chargers held the Bulldogs to 45 rushing yards on 23 carries in this game.

It was the short pass Chantilly had trouble stopping. Westfield senior quarterback Danny Fenyak and Scoville hooked up 14 times for 111 yards. Scoville said he expected more press coverage from the Chargers but was able to work within the cushion for repeated gains.

The Bulldogs (4-4, 3-0 in the Virginia AAA Concorde District) needed a clutch defensive play to set up that decisive score. Senior punter James Crossett pinned the Chargers at the 1-yard line with a rolling punt, and three plays later, Chantilly fumbled in the rain that fell for most of the second half. Senior defensive end Ashton Moss recovered at the 7-yard line, and Fenyak and Scoville hooked up on the next play for the decisive score.

Chantily senior Garret Hutzel came up short on a 42-yard field goal attempt with 1 minute 11 seconds left that would have tied the score.

Westfield, which dropped three of its first four games, has won three straight and despite its .500 overall record is the only unbeaten team in the Virginia AAA Concorde District, with games remaining against Centreville and Herndon.

Chantilly (4-4, 1-2) has games remaining with Herndon and Oakton in its quest to earn a postseason berth.