Loudoun Extra Points

Marcus Harris rushed for two scores and caught a touchdown pass as No. 10 Stone Bridge shutout Lee in the second half to seal a 21-0 victory in the AAA Northern Region Div. 5 final. The region championship was the third straight for the Bulldogs (12-1).

Stone Bridge gets the winner of tonight's AAA Northwest Div. 5 final between Massaponax (9-2) and Osbourn (9-3) in the state semifinals next weekend.

Check back for more on this game later - and for full coverage of Sherando-Broad Run, where I'll be tonight.

Loudoun's three remaining playoff teams hit the gridiron Friday and Saturday in their respective region finals, looking to clinch a spot in the state semfinals. Stone Bridge hosts Lee in the Northern Region Div. 5 final, Broad Run welcomes Sherando in the Region II Div. 4 title game and in Region II Div. 3, Park View travels to Winchester to take on Handley Saturday afternoon. Three great matchups - all of which should be more intriguing than yesterday's lackluster NFL slate.

Now here are your quick previews of each...

What: AAA NORTHERN REGION DIV. 5 FINAL

Who: Lee (9-3) at No. 10 Stone Bridge (11-1)

When: Friday, 1:30 p.m.

How they got here: Stone Bridge, the-two time defending region champion, beat Madison, 27-8, in the semifinals, avenging its lone regular season loss. Lee edged Hayfield, 28-24.

Playoff history: Lee is in for the third consecutive year but for the first time with a winning record during that span. Stone Bridge, a AA school when it opened in 2000, is appearing in its eighth region final.

When Lee has the ball: The Lancers claim one of the most productive backfields in the area, highlighted by senior RBs Idreis Augustus and Jazmier Williams. Almost all of Augustus's touchdowns have been from more than 10 yards.

When Stone Bridge has the ball: Junior RB Marcus Harris has rushed for 1,777 yards and 19 touchdowns, and junior RB Kyle Gouveia has totaled more than 1,000 yards rushing and passing.

X-factor: Big-game experience. To win, Lee will have to rise above playing in front of a large partisan crowd, not to mention knock off a program accustomed to hanging region championship banners.

(Preston Williams)

In case you missed the coverage in Sunday's Washington Post, here are my stories from Saturday's state title matches...

Hanna and the Raiders make their final point

- Loudoun County photo gallery

Experience carries Vikings to title

- Loudoun Valley photo gallery

Michael O’Hara, head coach for the Broad Run girls basketball program and Coach Michael Petrella, assistant coach Broad Run girls basketball are pleased to announce on Tues., Nov. 17th, senior Morgan Roehling signed her National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia. Concord University is in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - NCAA Division II.

Broad Run's Morgan Roehling celebrates her signing with Concord University. (Sitting (L to R) mother Joanne Roehling, Morgan Roehling, sister Amber Roehling, standing, Coach Michael Petrella, Coach Michael O’Hara and father Charles Roehling) (Photo courtesy of of Joanne Roehling)

Roehling starts her fourth consecutive year as a varsity player for the Lady Spartans, she is a Member of the National Honor Society and was named the Lady Spartans girls basketball team captain. She played the spring AAU season for the Virginia Magic.

Roehling follows Alexis Campbell ’08 (Sacred Heart), Erin Thompson ‘07 (Lees-McRae), Kortney Jackson ’06 (Flagler College) and Kim Vargas ’05 (Gannon College) as players to receive basketball scholarships while attending Broad Run High School under the coaching of Michael O’Hara.

Northern Region Div. 5
Stone Bridge 27, Madison 8
You had to think the Bulldogs would come out fired up, looking to avenge that loss earlier this season - their first against a Liberty District team since joining the league in 2005. Well, that's exactly what happened. Marcus Harris rushed for two scores, including a 54-yarder on the Bulldogs' opening possession and Kyle Gouveia added a third rushing TD as Stone Bridge found much more running room than in their previous meeting - a 28-14 loss. Abdul Shaban added two field goals and the Bulldogs advanced to their fifth straight Northern Region final.
Lee 28, Hayfield 24
The Lancers rallied from a late 24-21 deficit to setup a showdown with Stone Bridge in next week's final.

Region II Div. 4
Broad Run 34, Liberty 27
The Spartans needed all three of sophomore quarterback Connor Jessop's touchdown passes - and his final rushing TD, which proved to be the difference - and had to hold off Liberty late to reach a second straight region final. Expect Broad Run to work on their extra points during practice this week as they failed on two tries in the first half.
Sherando 13, James Wood 7
Sherando squeaked past the Colonels to earn a matchup with the defending state champs in Ashburn next weekend.

Region II Div. 3
Park View 35, Western Albemarle 0
Can you say statement game? The Patriots left no doubt against the Warriors, scoring 20 seconds in on a long Tommy Sedeski run and forcing four interceptions on defense. Senior QB Brandon Lee threw three touchdown passes and Eric Palma added a one-yard plunge as Park View advanced to a region final for the first time since 2001. Goochland visits top-seeded Handley tomorrow for the right to play the Patriots in next week's final.

Loudoun County battles the last team to defeat them in the state playoffs, Cave Spring, in the first of two AA semifinals at the Siegel Center at VCU.

The Knights swept the Raiders in three close sets back in the 2006 state final. Since then, Loudoun County has dominated the AA level, winning back-to-back state titles. The Raiders swept a short-handed Cave Spring team earlier this year.

I'm court-side once again tonight and will be updating you as we go...

7:40 - Undefeated Grafton (28-0) swept E.C. Glass, setting up a Grafton-Loudoun County final. That one comes at 12:30 tomorrow at the Siegel Center.

6:09 - An errant set results in County's fourth straight trip to the state final. They win it in five - 25-23, 18-25, 28-30, 25-23, 15-10.

6:08 - Raiders now lead 13-9, Strange serving.

6:06 - It's 11-8 Raiders after a big Vandegrift kill.

6:03 - LC has a 7-5 lead in the fifth after an attempted dump by the Knights ends up in the net. Gabby Serafin serving for the Raiders.

5:55 - After what looked like a game-winning block by Jenna Strange was reversed because she was over the line, Emily Vandegrift leaves no doubt with a vicious kill to take the set 25-23 and force a decisive fifth. (2-2)

5:53 - County had set point at 24-19 but the Knights fought off three straight and now trail 22-24 with Morgan Shannon serving to keep them in it.

5:47 - Cave Spring calls time out as the Raiders have increased their lead to 21-14 on back to back errors by the Knights.

5:44 - Raiders lead 17-13 following an error by the Knights.

5:41 - After trailing 9-4, the Raiders have knotted the score at 11-11 and now take the lead 12-11 on Jenna Strange's perfectly placed dump.

5:33 - LC trails 4-1 to start the fourth.

5:29 - County survives two set points against but crosses the line on the third and the Knights are a set away from their first state final since their 2006 title, 30-28. (CS 2-1)

Whew. It was quite the night at VCU's Siegel Center on Thursday as both metro area teams advanced to Saturday's state final.

In the first half of the double-header, South County watched a 2 sets to 0 lead melt away against Frank W. Cox only to storm back from a deficit in the decisive fifth set to take the match, 28-26, 25-19, 18-25, 23-25, 17-15.

Simone Antwi - the Stallions' 6-2 junior middle - was an absolute beast all night, leading her team to the first state title game in any sport in school history.

Their opponent?

Well, after Loudoun Valley stormed to a victory in the opening set, Mills Godwin battled back to knot the score with a 25-23 victory in the second. The Vikings trailed most of the way through the third set but took eight of the final nine points and clinched the set on senior setter Nicole Bennett's perfectly placed shot in the back left corner of the court.

But once again, the Eagles rallied. Behind a flurry of kills from 5-foot-6 senior outside hitter Maggie Murphy, the team from Richmond led 22-20 and appeared poised to force a fifth set. The Vikings were up to the task. Bennett varied her sets, hooking up with senior right side Meredith Bland for a pair of late kills. Following an ace from senior libero Kristen Martin to give the Vikings match point, Mills Godwin tied the score once again. But another Valley senior, middle hitter Lindsay Phipps, blocked home a winner and the Eagles mishandled Morgan Clark's service on match point to send the Vikes back to the state final for the first time since 2004, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24.

All three area teams still standing won their quarterfinal matchups to advance to the state semifinals in Richmond this weekend. Loudoun Valley and Loudoun County both scored big victories at home to get one step closer to the state championship.

AAA

Loudoun Valley def. Langley 21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20
After committing six service errors in a very tight first set, the Northwest Region champion Vikings (21-5) picked up their play in the second and rode the wave of momentum and a raucous home crowd to the program's first state semifinals since 2004. Senior middle hitter Lindsey Phipps led the way with 13 kills - including four of the team's final nine points of the match - and 4 blocks and senior outside hitter Morgan Clark added 9 kills and 3 blocks. Senior setter Nicole Bennett had 30 assists, 2 kills and 2 blocks and accounted for the final point with a deftly placed dump in the back right corner.

Kathryn Caine (10 kills, 2 blocks), Olivia Justus (8 kills) and Nikki Hero (24 assists, 3 kills, 2 blocks) paced the Saxons (16-12) whose spirited postseason run came to an end just short of the state semifinals. Langley had notched wins over two district champions - Hayfield and Robinson - en route to the Northern Region final, but just as they did in that match, the Saxons fell behind big to start the second and third games and didn't have quite enough firepower to dig themselves out of those holes.

Loudoun Valley's next challenge will come in the form of Mills Godwin, which outlasted Princess Anne, at 8 p.m. on Thursday at VCU's Siegel Center.

Mills Godwin def. Princess Anne 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 25-18, 15-12
Read a full recap of this match from the Richmond Times Dispatch here.

Stone Bridge senior Taylor Lambke committed to play baseball for George Washington University Tuesday. The 6-2, 205-pound, pitchers/third baseman will lead the Bulldogs' starting rotation this spring. He has a career ERA of 3.00.

Stone Bridge senior P/3B Taylor Lambke - seen here making a play in a game against Madison - committed to George Washington. (Richard A. Woodward, TWP)

Lambke chose the Colonials over other schools due to the combination of coaching staff, world class education, and proximity to his home in Virginia.

“I am extremely excited about this opportunity," he said. "I knew GW was a great educational institution and a great Division 1 baseball program and once I was able to spend time with Coach Mrowka and Coach Brown, I knew immediately I wanted to play there. I am signing as a pitcher, but I will have the opportunity to potentially play some third base as well. That was a big factor in my decision.”

One of Loudoun's two teams to take the field over the weekend advanced while the other fell in a very close contest. Today we'll wrap up Loudoun County's 2009 season and look ahead to the second round.

Loudoun County Raiders (8-3)
It was not long ago that the Raiders went 0-10 and hit rock bottom in the Dulles District. Just a few years later they've reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and increased their win total substantially in each season. Led by the top passing offense in the district with Austin Campbell at the helm and a dominant offensive line, the Raiders took another big step in 2009.

With receivers Michael Ayoub and Chase Williams at his side, Campbell threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns and the Raiders rolled through their early season schedule. The lone regular season speed bumps came at Park View and Broad Run, but the rest of the way, they dominated opponents with an effective running game and a hard-hitting defense featuring the Virginia Tech-bound Williams at middle linebacker.

The season came to an abrupt and unceremonious end in a home away from home first round playoff tilt against James Wood that ended in a 27-25 defeat, but the Raiders need only to look over their shoulders at where they've been to realize how far they've come.