Washington-Lee, coming off its first district championship in decades, was Conference 6A North’s fourth seed out of 16, but lost to 13th-seeded Stonewall Jackson at home, 42-34.
Yorktown was without star running back/defensive back M.J. Stewart against Fairfax after the North Carolina-bound senior re-injured his ankle late against the Generals. Fullback Da-Jhaun Short filled in admirably, however, rushing 28 times for 164 yards and a touchdown.
After their historic clash last Friday, the Washington-Lee and Yorktown High School football teams will each host a first-round playoff game this Friday night.
Washington-Lee (8-2, 7-0), the fourth seed in the Class 6A North region, will host 13th-seeded Stonewall Jackson (6-4) out of Manassas at 7:30 p.m. The Generals will be hosting a playoff game for the first time in several decades. Quarterback Sam Appel and running back/defensive back Daquay Harris will try to keep the Generals’ dream season alive.
For the first time in 38 years, the National District football title will go to Washington-Lee High School.
The Generals stormed into Yorktown Friday night and shut out the Patriots, 10-0, handing the Patriots their first district loss in four years and clinching the Generals’ first undefeated district season in almost four decades.
That may seem like an exaggeration, but Washington-Lee (7-2, 6-0) hasn’t beaten reigning National District champion Yorktown (8-1, 6-0) in their last 30 regular season games. Yorktown has been the dominant football force in Arlington for decades, but this is the Generals’ best squad in years.
(Update at 2:30 p.m. — Washington-Lee students also released their own hype video.)
The Generals (7-2, 6-0) made short work of Wakefield, 56-21, in south Arlington Friday night. Washington-Lee quarterback Sam Appel had perhaps the best game of his career, throwing for 209 yards and five touchdowns. Receiver Trevor McManus was the main beneficiary with eight catches for 102 yards and three of those touchdowns. Running back Daquay Harris kept up his impressive season, and needed just 10 carries to rush for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Wakefield (2-7, 0-6) was led by running back Leon Young, who carried the ball 16 times for 94 yards, including busting free for a 44-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Wakefield’s long season will come to an end this week when they travel to face Mount Vernon on Friday.
President Barack Obama was at Washington-Lee High School this afternoon (Sunday) campaigning for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe two days before election day.
Obama, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and actress Kerry Washington, star of the TV show “Scandal,” were among the speakers. Thousands of spectators crowded the Washington-Lee gymnasium to watch the event, and the line to get in curved around N. Stafford Street onto Washington Blvd and N. Quincy Street.
The Arlington Falls Church Young Republicans will be outside Washington-Lee High School (1301 N. Stafford Street) Sunday afternoon when Obama plans to campaign with McAuliffe, two days before Election Day (Nov. 5).
The flyer, which has a red, faux-stamp “TERMINATED” at the top, warns that many Americans have had their policies cancelled or made more expensive after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. It also reminds potential voters that McAuliffe has supported the healthcare law during his campaign.
Stewart, the senior North Carolina recruit leading the Patriots with 1,266 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, was on the sideline Friday night with a sprained ankle, according to the Washington Post. That didn’t stop the Patriots (7-1, 5-0) from coming back from a double-digit second-half deficit and beating Chantilly (5-3, 2-1), 30-28. Stewart’s backup, Da’Jhuan Short, carried the ball for 90 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner in the third quarter. The Patriots play this Friday night on the road against Mount Vernon.
Yorktown’s companion atop the National District standings, Washington-Lee, lost its first game since Sept. 12 Friday night, 53-7 against Centreville. Centreville (8-0, 3-0) is the Post’s top-ranked team in Northern Virginia, and it has won all of its games by at least 21 points. The Generals (6-2, 5-0) got their only score in the first quarter on an 89-yard pass play from Sam Appel to Noah Harrington, who caught three balls for 111 yards on the day. The Generals next play on the road at Wakefield Friday night.
Truck Stop, the most competitive men’s club team in the area, and Scandal — a women’s team that has reached the finals in several national competitions the last few years — will host the clinic to educate area youths about the sport.
The clinic runs from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and costs $5. Participants can register online or pay when they get to the high school. The three-hour clinic will consist of warm-ups, drills, and scrimmages. It’s open to kids from ages 8-20 and all skill levels.
Washington-Lee (4-1, 2-0 district) won a statement game Friday night against Falls Church (3-2, 0-2), which had been 3-1 with its only loss coming to Yorktown last week. The Generals won 21-14, holding on after leaping out to a 13-0 lead. Duquay Harris, the running back that’s been leading the Generals this season, scored a touchdown, and quarterback Sam Appel threw for two scores. The Generals have won three straight games and seek their fourth consecutive win this Friday at Mount Vernon.
At the same time, Yorktown was riding its star running back, senior North Carolina commit M.J. Stewart, to its third-straight win. Stewart carried the ball 16 times for 230 yards — a ridiculous 14.4 yards per carry — and four touchdowns to lead the Patriots (4-1, 2-0) to a 42-7 victory over J.E.B. Stuart (0-5, 0-2). The Patriots scored all of their points in the first half, and didn’t allow Stewart to score a point until the fourth quarter, when the game had essentially been decided. Yorktown’s next game will be Friday at home against Hayfield.
Yorktown (3-1) delivered National District foe Falls Church (3-1) its first loss of the year, a huge victory for potential playoff seeding in November. The Patriots jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead with two touchdowns from senior running back M.J. Stewart, an held on to win, 17-14, despite allowing Falls Church a fourth quarter touchdown. Yorktown will trying to push its record to 4-1 next Friday night on the road against J.E.B. Stuart.
Washington-Lee (3-1) was in serious peril of dropping its second game of the season to Hayfield (0-4), but scored 23 second-half points to storm back for a 23-21 victory. The Generals got a game-winning, late fourth-quarter touchdown from running back Daquay Harris, who is having a breakout year as a junior. Next week they host Falls Church to try to keep pace with the Patriots.
Yorktown beat up on Edison, 44-18, to get back in the win column a week after losing its first regular-season game in years. Senior star running back M.J. Stewart rushed 22 times for 191 yards and three touchdowns, raising his season total to 621 yards in three games. Quarterback Will Roebuck threw just three incomplete passes and ran in a score of his own. The Patriots got past an unexpected speed bump and put their foot on the gas starting National District play. The Patriots will host 3-0 Falls Church Friday night.
Washington-Lee also bounced back from its first loss of the season with a district win, sneaking by Stuart, 15-10. Running back Daquay Harris ran for 202 yards and a touchdown while the Generals defense smothered the Generals’ running backs. The Generals, like the Patriots, are now 2-1 and 1-0 in the National District, and should go 3-1 next week when they visit 0-3 Hayfield.
