When he broke up a celebratory, swaying mosh pit following his team’s 35-6 dismantling of Edison (12-1) Friday night, Stone Bridge football coach Mickey Thompson had one thing to say.
“You got the matchup you wanted,” Thompson said to his players.
Thompson was referring to next week’s Virginia AAA state semifinal game between the Bulldogs and the Eastern Region champion Phoebus Phantoms. In last year’s state semifinal, Stone Bridge snapped a 20-game winning streak for the Phantoms with a thrilling, come-from-behind 38-24 victory in Ashburn.
This year, Stone Bridge (13-0) will travel to Hampton Roads.
“We wanted it because we honestly feel like we’re the best team in the Northern Region,” said Thompson, who coached his team to a Virginia AAA Division 5 state title last fall. “I really believe that they’re the best team down there, and I really wanted them to win. Now, who knows who the best team is. We’ll find out.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Stone Bridge scored three times in the second period, highlighted by a 68-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Thompson to Johnny Bladel on the first play of the quarter.
Thompson suffered an injury with less than three minutes to play in the three quarter and left the field under his own power while favoring his right ankle.
In Thompson’s absence, Bladel filled in admirably, scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter and running four times for 32 yards.
<b>AFTER BLADEL’S</b> touchdown catch, Stone Bridge capped a nine-play drive with a 4-yard run from 270-pound bruiser Brian Slay. The scoring run was Slay’s second this season, as he finished with five carries for 18 yards.
“We have big, physical guys up front on both offense and defense and that all starts in the weight room,” said Slay, a N.C. State recruit who also posted two sacks and a fumble recovery from his defensive end position.
Taking a direct snap from center Bryce Williams, sophomore Marcus Harris (11 carries, 64 yards) sped around left end for a 24-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.
Harris was split three yards to the left of where Williams would normally snap the ball, but the snap was perfect and enabled Harris to blow past an Edison defender.
“We’re always in shotgun, so you know it’s a big deal to play center at Stone Bridge. You have different snaps and different areas,” Williams said. “That’s one of the hardest ones: the quick pitch. I snap it way out there and it’s one-on-one for the running back with the corner.”
Bladel’s run made it 28-0 and Harris scored his second touchdown of the game -- on a 16-yard run -- with 4:32 left to put Stone Bridge ahead, 35-0. Edison’s Corey Washington broke off a 53-yard run to put the Eagles on the board.
With less than nine minutes to play in the second quarter, starting running back Daniel Allen left the game with another apparent ankle injury and did not return.
But with Phoebus next week, the Bulldogs, assuredly, will be ready.
“It was the best game of my life,” Bladel said of last year’s semifinal matchup. “It’s been hyped all year, and it’s finally here. I can’t wait.”