Game Time Blog

By DAVE UTNIK

Welcome to the News & Messenger’s Under the Lights edition of the Game Time Blog.

Game: Gar-Field (4-2, 2-0) at Potomac (3-3, 1-1)

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

PREVIEW

THIS TIME IT MATTERS (SORT OF): For some bizarro world reason, this is the second meeting of the season between Potomac and Gar-Field. Every other non-Cardinal District team in northern Virginia must have been booked for these teams to want to play twice. This game has been designated as one that actually counts in the district standings.

HEY, DON’T I KNOW YOU? When Potomac and Gar-Field met seven weeks ago in Dale City, the Indians protected their home field with a 14-7 victory. Get ready for the sequel. Gar-Field is about to kickoff.

PANTHER PRIDE: Potomac picked up a first down on three plays to begin the game’s opening series. Of course, the Panthers couldn’t stand the prosperity and promptly turned the ball over with a fumble. It’s Gar-Field’s turn.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HANG ONTO THE BALL: Touchdown. Gar-Field strikes first with a nifty swing pass out of the backfield followed by a scoring run Shakeem Copeland. 7-0 Indians with 6:42 left in the 1st Q

FIRST QUARTER SCORE: Gar-Field 7, Potomac 0

WAS THAT SECRETARIAT? The blur that just raced down the sideline like a Triple Crown winner was actually Potomac running back RJ Holmes, who went 51 yards to the 10.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T HOLD ONTO THE FOOTBALL: Fumble. The Panthers have a penchant for self destruction it seems. Their second fumble of the night—this time at the 10 yard line—wiped out Holmes’ exciting gallop and foiled another potential scoring drive.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CARDINAL DISTRICT?: Once considered one of the toughest districts in Virginia, the Cardinal is a mere shadow of its former self. With the exception of Hylton, which is looking like a legitimate playoff team midway through the season, there is nothing to distinguish any of the other teams from mediocrity. Potomac may not even reach mediocre. The Panthers just committed their third turnover of the game—an interception.

THIS COULD BE A BLOWOUT: Gar-Field has taken a 14-0 lead on a 5-yard TD pass from Ryan Mason to John Portee. Mason eluded three Potomac defenders and found Portee wide open in the far left corner of the end zone. Potomac defensive coach Keith King was a tad nonplussed at the turn of events and let his players know about it on the sideline. He eventually walked away shaking his head in bewilderment.

OR NOT Perhaps Kings’ sideline “chat” served as some sort of inspiration because the Panthers just blazed down the field for a touchdown. Holmes did the honors to make the score 14-7 with 1:16 left in the half.

THEN AGAIN: The Panthers have done it again: fumbled that is. Make that four turnovers. And King isn’t feeling any better on the sideline either. His defense just missed four tackles as Mason scrambled 15 yards to the 9 yard line—setting up a third and inches with 24.8 seconds left in the half.

YOU’VE BEEN SERVED: Ryan Mason is having a career night against the beleagured Potomac defense. G-F’s junior QB just scrambled 9 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half. It’s now Gar-Field 21, Potomac 7.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SALUTE: Potomac’s tremendously gifted marching band is performing songs from Cirque Du Soleil during their halftime show. It’s quite awesome actually. Way better than the football game. Well played marching Panthers. And there hasn’t been a single fumble.

TRICK OR TREAT: It’s not halloween, but the Panthers have reached into their bag of tricks with an onside kick to open the second half. Potomac has the ball at the Gar-Field 48 yard line.

NO TREATS IN SIGHT: It wasn’t a fumble, but Potomac still managed to turn the ball over, this time on downs after gaining five yards on three running plays. Gar-Field takes over. And the Indians are already at the Panthers’ 40 yard line following a 25 yard pass from Mason to Portee. The Potomac defense needs an Extreme Makeover: Dumfries Edition.

THOSE ARE GAPING HOLES: The Gar-Field offensive line of Vincent Thompson, Michael Cetto, David Cook, Ryan Storm and Robert Thomas is destroying the Panthers with their collective size and quickness. The Indians have enormous lanes to run through. And so far they’ve taken advantage of that. With 5:59 left in the third quarter it’s still 21-7, but the game seems much more lopsided.

AS I WAS SAYING: Gar-Field’s LaRon Hinton has just intercepted the ball at the 40 yard line. That would be FIVE turnovers for Potomac, not including the one on downs. Yikes!

SKAKEEM THE DREAM: Shakeem Copeland capped another G-F scoring drive with his second touchdown of the night—a 14-yard run with nary a Potomac defender in sight. Gar-Field 28, Potomac 7 with 8.2 seconds left in the third quarter.

THREE AND OUT: Keep in mind that Potomac has a three-game winning streak this season. Really. The Panthers beat Stafford, North Stafford and Forest Park in succession before running into a Cardinal District buzzsaw. They lost at Hylton last week and have no chance of coming back against Gar-Field tonight even with 11 minutes left. 

FIRST PLACE INDIANS: Gar-Field will be 5-2 overall and at least tied for first place in the Cardinal District at 3-0. The Indians, with the benefit of an extremely easy schedule, have a very good chance of making the Northwest Region playoffs. Gar-Field will have two wins over Potomac in addition to victories over Stonewall Jackson, Osbourn Park and Freedom. The two losses have been to North Stafford (a team Potomac defeated) and Battlefield. They are essentially guaranteed a winning season with Forest Park next week before finishing the year with playoff-deciding matchups against Hylton and Woodbridge that will likely determine whether they finish 7-3 or 6-4.
 
OOPS, THEY DID IT AGAIN: Gar-Field has scored yet again. This one courtesy of a 3-yard run by Clive Archer. Still 4:42 to go. It’s 34-7.

PANTHER PRIDE, PART 2: Potomac won’t go down without a fight. The Panthers just scored with 26.5 seconds left to make it a 34-14 game.

THAT’S ALL FOLKS: Final score: Gar-Field 34, Potomac 14. Even with this defeat, the Panthers, as poorly as they played the past two weeks, can still make the playoffs in Division 5. They have very winable games against Osbourn Park and Freedom remaining as well as a home game against Woodbridge. 5-5 is not out of the question and 6-4 is plausible, assuming they don’t turn the ball over five times and the defense improves significantly after yielding 60 points against Hylton and Gar-Field.

Enjoy the weekend.