By Angela Watts
Assistant General Manager, Washington D.C.
**Check below the story for a video player with all of the game’s highlights.**
**Click HERE for a photo gallery from the game.**
The pregame pageantry was electric Friday night in Chantilly.
Fans tailgated — with outdoor grills and all — more than two hours before kickoff. Nearly every spectator showed up proudly donning the school colors of either host Chantilly or visiting Westfield.
Hundreds of students took it even further by sporting a fresh coat of purple or black body paint.
The stands were packed more than an hour before the coin toss as the teams’ student cheer sections took turns battling verbally.
And as time winded down on the pregame festivities, thousands more fans still streamed from off-site parking lots into the stadium, packing both sets of bleachers and lining the perimeter of the fence more than a half-dozen rows deep.
The first half of the game between No. 5 Westfield and No. 3 Chantilly lived up to every bit of the hype.
And then, in what seemed only an instant, the night turned and the defending Virginia AAA Division 6 state champion Bulldogs stole the rest of the show.
Westfield (4-0 overall, 1-0 Concorde District) scored with less than :30 seconds remaining in the first half to take momentum into the locker room, and then added two more touchdowns in the first six minutes of the third quarter to open up what proved a 32-7 victory over Chantilly (3-1, 0-1).
The Bulldogs, who graduated 48 seniors of last year’s title-winning team, have not lost a game in the month of September since 2001, its second year in existence and its first with season with seniors on the roster.
“The streaks and all that stuff, that’s all well and good and maybe someday it’ll seem really big,” said Westfield Coach Tom Verbanic, who is 62-2 in the regular season since 2002. “But right now I’m just excited about our kids. They’re a good group and they’re improving … and I think we showed everybody that we’ll be competitive when we play.”
The Bulldogs — contrary to Verbanic’s modest statements — showed much more than that.
The most experienced part of the Bulldogs’ team, its offensive line, proved it is indeed a team strength.
And Westfield senior running back Jordon Anderson, a transfer from Annandale, showed that he fits right into the long line of talented Bulldog tailbacks behind them, rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. He also added another score on a seven-yard touchdown catch from junior quarterback Danny Fenyak.
Then there’s Fenyak, showcasing his ability to handle the pressure of spread defenses with a passing attack, completing 13-of-21 passes for 137 and two touchdowns.
Senior wide receivers Zach Sargent (7 catches, 41 yards, TD) and Cole McInturff (3 receptions, 26 yards) showed, too, that there were talented skill players waiting in the wings a year ago.
And senior defensive back Even Winfrey and senior linebackers Ben Casper and Travis Hall led a defensive unit that more than illustrated that scoring against this 2008 version of the Bulldogs’ defense simply isn’t going to be easy.
“The big thing was we were able to move the ball on offense and then we get a couple of scores and a turnover to start the second half and we put that in the end zone, too. And all of the sudden things kind of moved on from there,” Verbanic said. “Torrian [Pace] is a great running back and he’s a great kid, I love him, but we were able to make it so they had to throw the ball more than they wanted to, and that obviously helped us.”
Despite being in a pass-first mindset for much of the second half after falling behind, 26-7, with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter, Pace still rushed for a game-high 110 yards on 17 carries, an average of 6.5 yards per touch. Senior fullback Kevin Mcgrath was also impressive, totaling 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries to spell Pace’s production.
“Obviously, the strength of our team is running,” fourth-year Chantilly Coach Michael Lalli said. “And Kevin ran well and Torrian ran well … we just took them out of the game too early. At 14-7 at half that’s no big deal for us; we can stay with our game plan. But we were down 19 with 17 minutes to go, and now we’re in a little
fit different of a situation and we have to take more chances.
“We came out [after half time] and we were doing okay and moving the ball. Then we had a penalty and a fumble and they kind of scored pretty quick after that … and we just started falling apart. And that was just not what we’ve done.
“And I don’t know if it was just because they were so worked up and got disappointed quicker or whatever, but then it was just … .”
It was all Westfield.
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
No. 5 Westfield 7 7 18 0 — 32
No. 3 Chantilly 0 7 0 0 — 7
First Quarter
WF – Anderson 5 run (Lawless kick)
Second Quarter
CH – Mcgrath 15 run (Abott kick) 10:13
WF – Sargent 4 pass from Fenyak (Lawless kick) :27
Third Quarter
WF – Anderson 7 pass from Fenyak (kick blocked) 9:20
WF – Winfrey 52 pass from Fenyak (kick failed) 6:43
WF – Anderson 30 run (pass failed) 5:30
Top Individual Performers
Rushing — WF:
Anderson 14 carries, 73 yards, 2 TDs; Jackson 7 carries, 42 yards. CH: Pace 17 carries, 110 yards; Mcgrath 10 carries, 65 yards, TD.
Passing — WF: Fenyak 13-of-21 passing, 137 yards, 2 TDs. CH: Strittmatter 8-of-22 passing, 83 yards, INT.
Receiving — WF: Sargent 7 receptions, 41 yards, TD; McInturff 3 receptions, 26 yards; Winfrey 2 receptions, 56 yards, TD. CH: Ryan 3 receptions, 33 yards; Pace 2 receptions, 21
yards; Mcgrath 1 reception, 16 yards.
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