Spartan Rule:

By Dan Sousa
LoudounPrepSports.com Editor

Ashburn (Nov. 12, 2007) – Let’s be honest … most “big games” simply don’t live up to the hype.

Fans and media demand so much of a marquee match-up that professional and college athletes have trouble keeping up their end of the entertainment bargain, let alone emotional teenagers taking the football field with school pride, district title and undefeated seasons all on the line.

That makes what happened Friday night at Broad Run High School — before an estimated 4,500 fans that braved chilly wet weather — all the more special. The battle of 9-0 rivals was well worth the season-long build-up as Broad Run defeated Park View, 21-14, in a AA Dulles District game that accomplished for the Spartans enough platitudes to fill up an entire high school yearbook.

How about the school’s first ever 10-0 regular season and the Spartans first win over Park View and first district title in 16 years and the win earned Broad Run home field advantage in this Friday’s Region II Division 4 semifinals. All of these from a program that struggled to a 1-9 mark in 2005, but has rebounded quickly under second-year head coach Michael Burnett.

Oh, the opponent this Friday?

Park View again … with good weather school officials expect a crowd in excess of 5,000.

“I think the players have to let this hurt. They have to let this sink in. They have to let this be painful,” said Park View coach Andy Hill, who was attempting to grab his third straight district title as coach since taking over for Charlie Pierce (now at Briar Woods) in 2005. In 2006 it was Park View celebrating on its home field after defeating BR to clinch a district title.

“We have been here before and I know the elation that (Broad Run) is feeling,” said Hill.

(Soapbox alert: We wish that the school officials had some leeway from their regions to stagger playoff games being hosted at neighboring schools. Stone Bridge’s parking lot was nearly half empty at kickoff last Friday as the Bulldogs opened the AAA Northern Region playoffs. It didn’t help that 2-8 Lee was the opponent. Again this Friday, Stone Bridge will have a playoff game at the same time as the PV-BR playoff game. If one of these two games was on Saturday afternoon, the attendance at both games would swell. It would be a win for the fans, the players and even for the schools which would bring in more revenue. We now put away the soap box until further notice … and return you to the column).

Of course everybody would love to see another game as well played as Friday’s contest which at first blush hinged on two Broad Run trick plays but ultimately was probably decided by something as mundane as field position and conditioning.

Broad Run junior running back Breon Earl, born the same year that BR last won against rival Park View, had a night to remember with a halfback option touchdown pass just before halftime, a touchdown run in the third quarter and then a catch on a reverse pass in the final quarter that sparked the game-winning score.

More importantly, maybe, Earl, along with fullback Kenny McAdow, and the Spartans senior-laden stout offensive line, dominated the line of scrimmage in the second half, with Earl rushing for 90 of his 120 yards and chewing up enough clock to sideline the strong arm of Patriot quarterback C.J. Leizear and the rest of the explosive Pats offense.

“This is one of the best offensive lines this county has ever seen,” said Broad Run offensive line coach Chris Zanardi. “It is just a great group. Pound per pound we are pretty strong.”

Indeed the BR O-line has three players at 205 or smaller which is small for today’s high school standards but the group is experienced and conditioned superbly. The starters include center Shawn Lewis, guards Jake Muth and Matt Escano, tackles George Black and Bryan Morrison and tight end Robby Buckman. All but Lewis are seniors and Buckman, Lewis and Black all start on the defensive front as well.

Leizear averages 300 yards passing a game but was limited to 184 yards passing on 19 of 33. The Spartans took away the big play, allowing just one pass longer than 19 yards on the evening and that was a 51-yard pick-up to Danny Foley that set up the Patriots second quarter touchdown, a one-yard plunge by Eric Johnston out of the PV single wing set.

It was a clean game with just three turnovers total and very few penalties. It is clear that the two coaches, Burnett and PV’s Andy Hill, respect each other immensely and that this attitude carries over to their players. It was a game void of so much of the trash talking and posturing that permeates so much of youth sports.

These two teams, coming in at both 9-0 overall and 6-0 in district, seemed even and the end of the game, just three total yards separated them from each other with Broad Run gaining 247 to Park View’s 244.

Turnovers had been a concern for Park View coming in but the Patriots made just two. Both, however, were interceptions on their opening series of each half and the second half pick-off by Broad Run’s Chris Jessop, an athletic grab as Leizear tried for a home run ball on the first snap of the second half with the game tied at 7-7, set into motion Broad Run’s first lead of the night as the Spartans moved 58 yards in 11 plays.

During the drive, Park View had Broad Run facing 3rd-and-12 on the Pats 48 after Garrett Smith sacked BR quarterback Cole Shain, but Shain found sophomore Adrian Flemming for a 26-yard gain to move the ball to the 22.

“We knew it was going to be an emotional and physical game,” said Shain. “The fans got their money’s worth tonight.”

Again the PV defense tried to hold and on 3rd-and-3 from the 15, BR running back Billy Rocca just picked up enough yardage for the first down. Rocca was shaken up on the play and did not return. PV had its own injury problem to contend with as senior outside linebacker Derrick Davenport had to leave the game in the second half.

Three straight runs by Earl after Rocca’s first down put the ball in the end zone and Graham Allen’s extra point made it 14-7 BR with 5:48 left in the third quarter.

The fact that the Spartans only had to drive 58 yards for the score was par for the night as BR’s three TD drives were 58, 58 and 54 yards. The Spartans average starting position in the game was its own 48 while Park View started every drive at its own 36 or worse for an averaging starting spot of its own 20. Consequently, PV’s two touchdown drives were both long drives of 96 and 86 yards.

BR’s good field position was mostly due to special teams play. Park View’s short pooch-like kickoffs did not result in any turnovers and gave BR the ball near midfield each time. BR kicked off long and Park View’s backs were not able to break any decent returns.

In the punting game, usually reserved for the Spartans penchant to fake the punt, Broad Run’s George Black average almost 40 net yards per punt on three efforts and he pinned Park View deep twice, once on the 4 and another time on the 12.

On the other hand, Park View’s four punts only netted an average of 31 yards.

The special teams advantage for Broad Run is nothing new as the Spartans utilized a block punt to help defeat Briar Woods earlier this year. And since Burnett has taken over, the Spartans have scored on a variety of kickoff and punt returns.

Park View, on the other hand, has had concerns all year in the kicking game with a punt blocked against Potomac Falls almost leading to a Panther upset.

Look for PV to try some different approaches this Friday in order to prevent a repeat of Broad Run’s field position advantage.

The trick plays that made a difference came in the second and fourth quarters.

In the second quarter, with Park View leading 7-0 and less than two minutes to go before the half, Burnett elected to go for it on 4th-and-3 from the 15 instead of attempting a 32-yard field goal on the slick field. Shain pitched to Earl on what appeared to be a sweep to the right but the running back pulled up and threw to wide open junior tight end Kevin Sandersen in the end zone to tie the game. It was Earl’s first pass attempt on the season.

After Broad Run went ahead in the third quarter, 14-7, Park View showed its grit with a long drive that included conversions on 4th-and-3 from midfield and on 4th-and-9 from the Spartan 41. On the first attempt, Leizear kept the ball for eight yards and on the second attempt, it was Leizear hitting Ryan Pick on a crossing pattern for 19 yards. BR blanketed Foley and sophomore Tommy Sedeski most of the night so Pick was Leizear’s go-to receiver with nine catches for 95 yards.

Leizear did the honors from two yards out, behind the blocking of 280-pound Thomas Mulabah and running back Eric Johnston to tie the game at 14-14 with seven seconds left in the third quarter. How Mulabah is used Friday is the most interesting question for Park View as the Patriots put the defensive tackle several times and he picked up 26 yards on two carries, including a carry one carry of 20 yards during which it took what appeared to be half of the BR defense to stop the big man’s forward progress. PV could get some ball control out of running Mulabah this week but it will also sacrifice some of his usefulness on defense where he anchors the PV defensive front.

Broad Run started its game-winning drive on its own 46, after yet another short kickoff, and after a holding penalty made it 2nd-and-15, Burnett dipped into his bag of tricks and pulled out a play that already turned one game around this year, when used against Heritage in a similar situation.

“I said it was a once year play (after the Heritage game) but I guess you have to call it a twice a year play now,” said Burnett.

The ball was handed to Earl by Shain, who then gave the ball to Jessop on a reverse. Jessop sprinted almost all the way towards the Park View bench before pulling up and rifling a pass across the field to Earl running down the BR sidelines. Not many high school quarterbacks can make that throw and Jessop shows on the play why his strong arm helped lead the BR baseball team to a district title in the spring from his shortstop position.

The 40-yard gain put the ball on the PV 19 and the workhorse Earl ran the ball four straight times to move the ball to the 1. McAdow then dived into the end zone with 8:50 left to make it 21-14 Broad Run.

The Spartans most impressive drive of the night was yet to come as Park View was forced to punt with 6:07 still left the selfish Spartans simply refused to share the football with the offense running 13 straight plays, nine of them carries by Earl, to drain the clock all the way to 17 seconds before turning the ball over on downs at the PV 34. Burnett said he let the players themselves call the plays they wanted on the final drive.

The Patriots, out of time outs, could only advance the ball to midfield before the clock expired and the Spartans were able to celebrate something that had been coming a lifetime for the entire team.

The larger prize now awaits the winner Friday, a likely trip to Sherando to face the top-ranked Warriors in the regional finals.

“The thing about Sterling Park kids is if you punch them in the face, then you are in for a dog fight … and I think we just got punched in the face,” said Hill.

Broad Run will no doubt redo its “This is Sparta” opening and the extra 500 student section seats in the southern end zone provided a dramatic back drop for the Spartans to roar onto the field before the game, slicing between the student section like something out of “The 300”.

“When we walked through that student section it was the greatest feeling ever,” said Shain.

One team’s dream season will continue after Friday’s rematch and one team’s season will be finished. Either way, there will be no loser’s walking away from this big game. Only winners and that includes the fans and the media.