Survive and advance was all that mattered, and it accomplished by the host and No. 2 seed Washington-Liberty Generals in a first-round region football playoff game Friday night (Nov. 15).
Undefeated Washington-Liberty (11-0) blanked their rival and No. 7 seed Yorktown Patriots, 28-0, in the 6D North Region tournament contest.
The Generals had routed Yorktown, 46-14, during the regular season, but the squad was concerned about a possible letdown in the playoff match.
The fear was misplaced: There was no letup as the W-L defense had another strong game, coming up with four interceptions and multiple sacks, as the Patriots (6-5) were shut out for the first time this fall in the season-ending loss.
On offense, the Liberty District-champion Generals moved the ball well through the air and on the ground.
The four touchdowns were scored on a five-yard run by Sean Guffey, a 10-yard scramble by quarterback Matthew Abramson, a 10-yard pass from Abramson to Jon Malatesta (seven catches, 97 yards) and an Abramson one-yard run. Felipe Dieguez kicked all four extra points.
The score rhythm was remarkably consistent: The Generals led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, 14-0 at halftime and 21-0 after three.
“The takeaway was we moved the ball on offense and our defense played lights-out,” Washington-Liberty coach Josh Shapiro told ARLnow. “We were really concerned about playing Yorktown again, because we knew they would do things we didn’t see in the first game. They did that on offense and defense.”
Abramson (40 yards) and runningbacks Brayden Black (46 yards) and Anthony Louis (124) were the leading rushers for the Generals. Louis had a couple of lengthy runs that set up touchdowns. The Generals ran for 229 yards. Abramson passed for 149, completing 14 passes.
The game began when Yorktown fumbled the opening kickoff, which Ian Crowley recovered. Washington-Liberty took possession and eventually scored on Guffey’s touchdown to take the lead for good.
Crowley then had an interception on Yorktown’s next possession. Guffey, Connor Hurren and Henry Cruz also had interceptions.
“Turnovers have hurt us all season, and we had too many again tonight,” Yorktown coach Bruce Hanson said. “It was a game for a while. We moved the ball some but we couldn’t score.”
Yorktown coughed up five turnovers itself, but otherwise played solidly.
“We ran the ball well with Matthew and Anthony, and that was big for us,” Shapiro said.
On defense for the Generals, Ben Hughes had a couple of sacks and Guffey made multiple tackles.
For Yorktown, quarterback Drew Morgan was 14 of 28 passing for 141 yards. Brady Owens had five catches for 61 yards, Finn Luca three for 30, Coby Casalengo three for 14, Matt Troiano two for 23 and Sammy Keiser one for 13. Troiano was the leading rusher with 42 yards.
On defense for Yorktown, Owen Woodward had an interception.
“I think W-L is very good,” Hanson said. “They [the coaches] have done a nice job. I think they have a chance to win the region.”
Next in the region tournament, Washington-Liberty will host the Langley Saxons (9-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 22) in a semifinal game. The Generals defeated Langley, 28-14, during the regular season.
