Bulldogs, Spartans Clash In Scrimmage
ASHBURN, VA - Less than 3 miles separate Broad Run and Stone Bridge High School, but in the past 7 years, the success of each football program has been even further apart. But that could be changing. The Spartans were eager to prove they could match Stone Bridge's athleticism and toughness. While the Bulldogs made a few more big plays on offense, the Spartans showed the home crowd that they are close to turning the corner to compete every year for district championships, and possibly much more.
It was evident early that this scrimmage was a much bigger deal to the kids at Broad Run than at Stone Bridge, and rightly so. The Spartans are hungry to prove they belong in the same class with their cross town rival, despite playing on the Group AA level while Stone Bridge plays up at the Group AAA level.
In what looks like a pattern that will stick during the regular season, senior Cole Shain and junior Chris Jessop split time and reps at quarterback. Jessop threw a nice 35 yard touchdown strike, while Shain looked sharp moving the team down the field with several crisp passes. Head coach Michael Burnett was optimistic about his team after watching them perform against the Bulldogs tonight.
"I thought we played physical tonight. Stone Bridge is one of the best teams in the state, and we were physical with them tonight," Burnett said. "We have a long way to go, but we did some good things tonight."
The Bulldogs looked explosive on offense with senior Jeron Gouveia busting a long touchdown run early in the scrimmage. Gouveia and teammates Daniel Allen and Kareem Alexander will be dynamic this season. Allen and Alexander looked like mirror images of the graduated Devon Brown, who rushed for 29 touchdowns a year ago.
Stone Bridge looked big and strong in the trenches and their running game had success against both Broad Run and Falls Church. The Bulldogs will need to continue to evaluate their quarterback position as none of the players competing for the starting job separated themself from the others.
Overall, the scrimmage featuring Ashburn's two largest high schools was long overdue. Hopefully we will see a time in the near future when Broad Run and Stone Bridge play each other every year once again. For now, we will just have to settle for a preseason scrimmage, but the good news is, both teams looked like they will have very successful seasons in 2007.
