Football: Washington Lee 40, J.E.B Stuart 22

Washington Lee traveled to Stuart Friday night attempting to secure a .500 record for the first time this decade.Second year head coach Josh Shapiro told seniors Charles Fuller and Keith Johnson he was going to ride them to victory and he did just that defeating the Raiders 40-22 spoiling senior night.

“We took such big strides last year and the kids really came back hungry after just missing the .500 record last year. The thing I like is that they are happy but they’re not content. We have a couple more objectives down the road that we would like to accomplish” said Shapiro following the win.

Fuller carried the ball 16 times for 112 yards and four touchdowns before leaving in the third quarter with a back injury. Johnson who got a bulk of his carries in the second half ran for 138-yards on 19 carries scoring from 20-yards out in the third quarter.

“He [Johnson] is a grinder. He finds daylight, he cuts back well and between the tackles he is awesome. He loves to grind it out. He really carried us tonight” added Shapiro.

Stuart pulled within seven early in the third quarter on a 4-yard run from junior Chris Ventura but were unable to stop the Generals offense. Ventura finished with 86-yards receiving on six catches and had 51-yards on the ground. Senior tailback Anthony Champ racked up 124-yards rushing and added two touchdowns for the Raiders.

Washington Lee is attempting to earn their first playoff berth since 1975 and entered the night as the sixth seed in division 5 according to the VHSL power ratings. The Generals finish the year with what looks to be two playoff bound teams in Yorktown and undefeated Edison.

“We are going to have the same approach we always do. We’ll have a workman like attitude the next two weeks, work hard in practice, lift the weights, watch the film and come out and compete” said Shapiro.

Stuart travels to Wakefield next week and will end the year at home against Falls Church in the “Bell Game”.