Vienna area high school football rivals Oakton and Madison opened up their new seasons last Friday night with a head-to-head, cross-town rival game. And it was the visiting Cougars from Oakton who came away with an impressive 49-21 triumph at the annual `Outback Bowl’ game.
Oakton, the Northern Region Div. 6 champion two years ago, struggled with a 5-6 record last year. The Cougars, under head coach Joe Thompson, saw their season end with a first round Div. 6 playoff loss to Woodson.
Madison, meanwhile, experienced a memorable 2009 season which saw the Warhawks upset Div. 5 power Stone Bridge during a regular season game and ultimately go as far as the region semifinals. Head coach Gordon Leib’s squad defeated Edison in a first round playoff encounter before losing a rematch to Stone Bridge and finishing 7-5.
In Friday’s opener, Oakton took control from the start, building a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and a 28-0 advantage at the half. The Cougars rushed for over 250 yards rushing in the win, led by senior quarterback Jimmy Boone’s three touchdown runs. Boone finished the night with 106 yards running on just six carries. Through the air, he completed 5-of-11 passes for 111 yards and a score. His touchdown pass was a 16-yarder to senior running back Luke Willis.
Willis scored another touchdown on a 61-yard scoring run. Also running for a touchdown for Oakton was Tuck Masker, who scored from 14 yards out.
Oakton’s defense accounted for the game’s first touchdown when junior linebacker Zach Isakowwitz returned a fumble 22 yards for a first quarter score.
Boone, Oakton’s second year starting signal caller, also led the Cougars to a season-opening Outback Bowl game win over Madison last year when he both ran and passed for a score in a 14-0 Oakton home win.
Next up for Oakton, a member of the Concorde District, is a game at West Springfield High this Friday night at 7:30. The Spartans, who are members of the Patriot District, opened their season up last Thursday, Sept. 2 with a 29-14 victory over host Edison (National District). West Springfield used a prolific running attack to down the Eagles, accumulating 330 yards on the ground. Mohamed Kamara led the Spartans with 160 yards rushing on 19 carries and a pair of touchdowns.
Madison will be looking for its first win when it travels to Arlington to take on the Yorktown Patriots (1-0) this Friday night at 7:30.
<b>THIS SATURDAY MORNING</b>, both the Madison and Marshall High boys’ and girls’ cross country teams will be competing at the annual, early season Monroe Parker Invitational competition at the 2.98-mile Burke Lake Park.
Madison’s boys are coming off a 2009 season which saw them finish in fourth place out of eight teams at the Liberty District championships. Marshall finished seventh. On the girls’ side at last year’s district championships, Madison and Marshall also finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
Oakton High, under head coach Alisa Byers, will be looking for another big season on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. A year ago, the Oakton boys captured the Concorde District championship, finishing ahead of second place Centreville and third place Herndon. The Cougars went on to also take first place at the Northern Region championships, finishing ahead of second place Lake Braddock and third place West Potomac. Oakton’s outstanding 2009 fall season concluded with a stellar second place finish behind champion Mountain View (Stafford) at the Virginia AAA championships at the Great Meadows course in The Plains.
The Oakton girls, meanwhile, finished a strong second place at the ’09 district championships, behind champion Robinson. The following week saw the Cougars finished sixth overall among 16 teams at the region championships.