Football: The Week Ahead

Northern Region Football Preview — Week 3

Game of the Week
South County (1-1) at No. 4 Edison (2-0)
7:30 p.m., Friday
*Game will be covered by Angela Watts — check back Saturday morning for a story, photos and highlights!

The Eagles and Stallions have met every year since South County’s varsity program began in 2005. In their three all-time meetings, Edison holds a 2-1 advantage, outscoring the Stallions by a collective 102-37.

Last year, Edison defeated South County, 46-7, and the Eagles rushed for 431 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 9.0 yards per attempt. But only 87 yards of those rushing yards return for this year’s game.

This season, the Stallions appear ready to improve on last year’s first-round playoff exit, as they lost to defending Virginia AAA Division 6 state champion Westfield by just two points in their home-opener before defeating Falls Church by 20 on the road.

But Edison is coming of an emotional, 35-34, road win at West Springfield. And quarterback Levi Barber had his best stretch so far as a starter in the second half of that game, going 5-for-7 passing with a score, while carrying seven times for 68 yards and orchestrating the game-winning drive.

The Eagles have an affinity for the big play with four touchdowns coming on special teams and Angus Harper has a 67-yard touchdown run to his name. But the Stallions have been extremely stingy defensively, allowing only two plays of over 20 yards this year — both carries by the Northern Region rushing-leader, Westfield running back Jordan Anderson.

Potential Classics
No. 7 West Springfield (0-2) at No. 8 Robinson (1-1) — 7:30 p.m., Friday

Although West Springfield enters Week 3 still without a win, they have only been outscored by 7.5 points per game. And both losses have come to teams ranked in the top four, including No. 1 Stone Bridge on the road. Robinson’s only loss, likewise, came at No. 1 Stone Bridge with a slightly-more lopsided 49-7 margin.

Last season, the Spartans came into the game versus the then-No. 3 Rams with a defense that had allowed 76 points through two games and Robinson was expected to control the clock with running back Peter Ferrara. But West Springfield’s defense played statistically its best game since October 2004, sacking Ram quarterback Timmy Meier six times — Spartan defensive end John Lockwood had three sacks — in a 21-7 win.

This season, the Spartans have allowed 77 points through two games and the Rams have a chance to avenge both last year’s aforementioned road loss and their season-ending, 30-28 defeat in the Northern Region Division 6 semifinals. If Robinson scores the home win, West Springfield — which began the season No. 2 in our poll — will start the season 0-3.

No. 9 Yorktown (2-0) at No. 6 West Potomac (2-0) — 7:30 p.m., Friday
*Game will be covered by Jimmy Thomas — check back Saturday morning for a story, photos and highlights!

Last season at Yorktown, the Patriots turned the ball over five times in their own territory in the first half and the Wolverines turned those into five touchdowns to lead 35-0 at half time.

West Potomac running back Josh Wells carried for 180 of his 192 yards in the first half and scored all three of his touchdowns in the first 12 minutes, 12 seconds of the game. And Wolverine quarterback Cole Walter threw for three touchdowns on just 17 attempts with no interceptions, which ran his touchdown to interception ratio to 10:1 through three weeks.

This year, through two games, Walter has thrown for eight touchdowns and no picks.

This match-up also features two of the better athletes around in West Potomac wide receiver Kristian Rodriguez and Yorktown athlete Kyle Toulouse.

Despite the one-sided West Potomac win last year, these teams have split their last six meetings. And only one time since 2000 has the winning team scored less than 39 points. Expect fireworks between these rising 2-0 teams.

Other Games to Watch
7:30 p.m., Friday — Centreville (1-1) at Lee (0-2)
7:30 p.m., Friday — Hayfield (1-1) at No. 5 Westfield (2-0)
7:30 p.m., Friday — No. 10 Herndon (2-0) at Langley (1-1)
7:30 p.m., Friday — Fairfax (1-1) at Washington-Lee (1-1) *Game will be covered by Phil Murphy — check back Saturday morning for a story, photos and highlights!
7:30 p.m., Friday — Wakefield (0-2) at Madison (0-2)
7:30 p.m., Friday — No. 1 Stone Bridge (2-0) at Marshall (1-1)
7:30 p.m., Friday — W.T. Woodson (1-1) at McLean (0-2)
7:30 p.m., Friday — Jefferson (1-1) at Mount Vernon (1-1)
7:30 p.m., Friday — South Lakes (0-2) at Falls Church (0-2)
7:30 p.m., Friday — Stuart (1-1) at Lake Braddock (1-1)
7:30 p.m., Friday — No. 3 Chantilly (2-0) at Annandale (1-1)
1 p.m. Saturday — No. 2 Oakton (2-0) at T.C. Williams (0-2)