Week 2 Friday Football Round-Up

Big Second Half Sparks Herndon to a 36-21 Victory over South Lakes; Stout Offensive Line Leads No. 8 Madison to a 21-10 Win Over No. 7 Yorktown; Annandale QB Cason Kynes Leads No. 9 Atoms to Convincing 35-20 Victory over No. 10 Oakton

By Marcus Greene
Herndon High Senior
Sports Editor, Herndon Stinger

Herndon’s final play from scrimmage was a short, 2-yard handoff up-the-middle to senior running back Chris Winston. The straight shot up the gut, on which South Lakes made a quick stop, was one of the few plays Friday night when Winston didn’t break free.

Winston’s four touchdowns, including three in the second half, proved the driving force behind the Hornets’ 36-21 victory over the host Seahawks.

“Beating South Lakes is huge,” Winston yelled as he headed toward the locker room with the rest of his teammates.

	On the first drive of the game, a miscommunication by the Seahawks’ offense led to a fumble by South Lakes senior quarterback Scott Reed, who otherwise turned in a solid performance. Herndon was quick to capitalize on the good field position, with senior quarterback Paolo Montalban finding a wide-open Brendan O’Conner, a senior tight end, in the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. Herdon’s defense promptly shut down South Lakes’ attack, forcing them into a three-and-out. But a muffed punt gave the ball right back to the Seahawks, and a few plays later Reed found senior wide receiver Thomas Mayo in the end zone to knot the score at 7. The Hornets’ next possession ended much like their first one started, with a fumble recovery taken to the house by senior defensive back A.J. Price that struck silence into the Herndon crowd at Patricia A. Bergan Stadium in Reston and sent the home fans into a continued frenzy.
A Madison player looks to cool off on what was a hot — and highly-contested — night of football around the Northern Region.

An exchange of failed possessions followed before Herndon (1-1) found the end zone again midway through the second quarter on a 7-yard scamper by Winston. But the quarter didn’t end without some fireworks.

Getting the ball back at its own 21-yard-line, South Lakes (1-1) used a nice pitch play to move the ball into Herndon territory. A fantastic catch by senior running back Devron Smith went for naught, though, as the grab at the Herndon 20 game as time expired.

Looking beaten down — and lucky to be sitting tied at 14 — Herndon came out explosive in the second half. The opening kickoff was run back for a score by Winston, but a holding penalty negated the run. It didn’t make much of a difference, though, as Winston would later pile in for a score on the drive.

Herndon Coach Joe Sheaffer decided to go for the two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point, and it paid off. Montalban ran it in on the play to give Herndon a 22-14 lead.

Winston would find the end zone two more times, and Herndon stepped up its play on the defensive side of the ball as well. After South Lakes pulled within 29-21, Winston’s final touchdown secured the Hornets’ victory.

No. 8 Madison 21, No. 7 Yorktown 10

By Jimmy Thomas
DigitalSports.com

Madison Coach Gordon Leib has said that the success of his team will depend on the play of its interior linemen.

So far, so good.

Coming off a huge win last week in the Outback Challenge at Oakton, Madison (2-0) this week defeated Yorktown, 21-10, in its home opener. Using a double-wing offensive attack, the Warhawks consistently pounded the ball between the tackles using a slew of different ball-carriers, highlighted by senior Brendan Ginley.

Ginley finished with 105 yards rushing on 15 carries, including touchdown runs of 27 and 7 yards, respectively.

Yorktown, coming off a Northern Region playoff appearance a year ago and a blow out of Wilson (D.C.) last week, struggled to get things started Friday night. Though senior quarterback Tim Reynolds completed 8-of-13 passes for 105 yards, nearly every promising drive either ended in a turnover or was stalled by penalties.

The Patriots (1-1) did get a 42-yard field goal by first-year, senior kicker Brian Sims, and junior running back Kyle Toulouse scored from 1-yard out in the third quarter to narrow Madison’s lead to four. But the Warhawks scored on its ensuing possession and were able to run the clock out.

No. 9 Annandale 35, No. 10 Oakton 20

By Phil Murphy
DigitalSports.com

Annandale junior quarterback Cason Kynes proved his inaugural start as the Atoms’ new signal-caller was no fluke as he captains his team to a convincing, 35-20 victory over visiting Oakton.

The Cougars toppled the Atoms in the final game of the regular-season in 2006, 20-10, thanks to the heroics of Oakton wide receiver Ervin Garner, now at Virginia Tech.

Kynes (8-of-14, 167 yards, 3 touchdowns) led the Atoms on scoring drives on three of their first five possessions, highlighted by his picture-perfect connection with senior Eric Cabellos on a steak pattern for an 89-yard score with just under four minutes left in the first half.

“He’s been fantastic,” longtime Annandale Coach **** Adams said of Kynes. “Simply fantastic. [Cason’s] doing a great job.”

The Atoms (2-0) would extend their lead to  35-7 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter when Kynes this time hooked up with newly-acquired Jordan Anderson, a summer transfer from Arkansas, on an 18-yard score. Anderson, a junior, finished with 151 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on just 16 touches.

Oakton (0-2) mounted an impressive rally against Annandale’s first-team defense in the games’ final minutes, but the hosts held firm. The Atoms stuffed the Cougars’ 3rd-and-goal rushing attempt at the 1-yard line as the final seconds ran off the clock.

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