Game Time Blog

Welcome to the News & Messenger’s special Saturday afternoon, uh Sunday afternoon, of wait, I mean, Monday night playoff edition of the Game Time Blog.

By DAVE UTNIK

Game: Lake Braddock Bruins (11-2) vs. Battlefield Bobcats (12-0)

Kickoff: 7 p.m.

PREVIEW

NOW ARRIVING: Battlefield has already made school history by winning a playoff game for the first time. The Bobcats are only six years old (five in varsity years) and have established a program record for victories (12) en route to reaching the state semifinals. After completing a perfect 10-0 regular season, Battlefield captured the Northwest Region, Division 6 title by defeating Franklin County and Osbourn Park. Lake Braddock, which won the Northern Region championship by upsetting W.T. Woodson, 27-20, last week, is riding an eight-game winning streak. The state playoffs, however, is new territory for every member of the team. The Bruins, who average 32.6 points per game, haven’t made it this deep into the postseason since 1995. 

AT STAKE: The winner of today’s game advances to Saturday’s Group AAA, Division 6 state championship at the University of Virginia, where they will likely face nationally-ranked Oscar Smith (or possibly, Thomas Dale if the Central Region champs pull off the biggest surprise of the season.) UPDATE: It turns out that Thomas Dale pulled off the biggest surprise of the season against the defending state champs in double overtime on its home field.

SECONDARY THOUGHTS: The outcome of today’s game will probably depend on the play of Battlefield’s secondary players, most notably defensive back Blaine Mason. The Bobcats have not faced a team quite like Lake Braddock, which has thrown the ball nearly 400 times this season. Bruins quarterback Michael Nebrich is the reigning Northern Region player of the year for obvious reasons. He’s thrown for 2,765 yards and rushed for another 1,069. The junior has accounted for 39 touchdowns—22 rushing and 17 passing—but he has also been intercepted 18 times. That is a flaw the Bobcats will have to exploit.

LET IT SNOW Saturday’s snowfall forced tonight’s game to be postponed twice and switched to Liberty High School in Bealeton, where there is a TURF FIELD. Imagine that, a school smart enough to invest in its athletic programs by spending money on a field that can be played on in any condition. Oh, and it’s not brown either like that atrocious mess at Osbourn Park. Prince William activities directors might want to think about having at least one of these field in Woodridge or Manassas. One of Liberty’s former football players, Kip Hull, helped finance the cost of the field at Liberty. Hull, Chris Zylonis and their companies KEC and KCL donated approximately $1 million in materials and services. Sounds like a great project for someone’s booster club.

BLOG UPDATE: 30 minutes to kickoff. Fans are still arriving in Bealeton. There appears to be a pretty nice crowd on hand despite the cold weather.

BLOG UPDATE: For those of you who believe in destiny and/or fate, here’‘s an interesting note: The Lake Braddock Bruins Principal is Dave Thomas and Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools is Dr. Jack Dale. Coincidence? Probably, but it’s kinda interesting.

7:00 kickoff: JoQuan James returned the kick to the 47 yard line. Battlefield has first possession. Nagee Jackson fumbled the first handoff, but the Bobcats recovered after a four-yard gain. It might be tough to grip the ball in the cold. The second play is fumbled too as Bobo Beathard dropped a lateral for a seven-yard loss, Battlefield finally made some forward progress on third down but had to punt. Lake Braddock’s first possession is at the 11.

BLOG UPDATE: Michael Nebrich just showed why he’s the Northern Region player of the year, throwing for first downs on his first two passes. The Bruins are already at the 47 yard line. A holding penalty is going to stall this drive, but the Bobcats aren’t doing much to slow Lake Braddock down.

SCORE UPDATE: The Bruins self destructed on their first series—a holding penalty and false start, followed by a bad snap on fourth down has resulted in a safety. BATTLEFIELD 2, LAKE BRADDOCK 0.

BLOG UPDATE: Quarterback Bo Revell has Battlefield looking for more points. The Bobcats just picked up their initial first down of the game and are now at the 33 yard line. There are 8 minutes left in the first quarter. The Bobcats are having much greater success in the air than they are on the ground. Lake Braddock is very big up front so there isn’t much room to run, but Revell is moving it through the air. Still, the Bobcats were forced to punt. Lake Braddock has the ball at the 10 yard line.

BLOG UPDATE: The Bruins are their own worst enemy. A personal foul and another false start makes it 3rd and 21. Another punt is on the way. Battlefield takes over at the 45 yard line.

BLOG UPDATE: Bruins defensive end Mustafa Alami has intercepted Bo Revell and returned the ball to the Bobcats’ 41. It’s the first time Lake Braddock has been in Bobcats’ territory.

SCORE UPDATE: Battlefield linebacker Chris Wendle just leveled Nebrich on a scramble. But the Bruins’ QB popped right back up and threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Johnson. LAKE BRADDOCK 7, BATTLEFIELD 2 with 2:58 remaining in the first quarter.

BLOG UPDATE: Lake Braddock may have one weakness—special teams. They aren’t very good at punting and the kickoff crew has allowed two long runs already. The Bobcats might break one for a touchdown before it’s over. They might have too, because the Bobcats aren’t doing much on offense right now. Lake Braddock’s huge front time in putting pressure on Revell and the Bobcats have punted the ball away once again.

BLOG UPDATE: Michael Nebrich is looking a lot like former Westfield and Va. Tech quarterback Sean Glennon right now. Maybe even better because Nebrich can run too. He just picked up 27 yards on a scramble, moving the ball into Bobcats’ territory yet again. I wonder how the Number One ranked defense in the state from OP would do against this guy. Alas, we’ll never know.

BLOG UPDATE: The Bobcats defense just recovered a fumbled pass at the 42. A big break for Battlefield, which isn’t having much success on it’s own.

QUARTER SCORE: Lake Braddock 7, Battlefield 2

BLOG UPDATE: Suddenly Bobo Beathard has become the Bobcats’ primary ball carrier, though he doesn’t have any more room to run than Jackson at this point. Battlefield is punting.

OOOPS UPDATE: The Bruins have self destructed again, this time muffing a punt. The special teams groups are really hurting Lake Braddock. The Bobcats have the ball at the 11 yard line. 

WHEW UPDATE: Bo Revell fumbled at the 2 yard line but Nagee Jackson recovered for a first and goal at the 2.

SCORE UPDATE:  BATTLEFIELD 8, LAKE BRADDOCK 7. Revell on a keeper with 8:08 remaining in the second quarter. The PAT is blocked. Wow, a nice play by the Bruins’ special teams. That’s unusual.

BLOG (AND SCORE) UPDATE: Question of the day. Is Michael Nebrich good enough to make up for the Bruins’ horrible special teams? The answer is yes. The junior has just thrown another touchdown pass, this time 42 yards to his favorite receiver Brandon Johnson. It’s LAKE BRADDOCK 14, BATTLEFIELD 8. Brandon Johnson has two TD receptions. That drive took 1 minute, 14 seconds and covered 74 yards in five plays. Where’s the top-ranked defense in the state when you need it?

BLOG UPDATE: Uh oh, With 4:56 remaining in the second quarter, Lake Braddock has the ball again following another Bobcats’ punt. Nebrich and company have 4:33 to put a drive together.

BLOG UPDATE: The Bobcats’ defense has held, forcing a Lake Braddock punt that the Bruins down at the 4 yard line. Another great special teams play by the Bruins. Who knew?

BLOG UPDATE: The Bobcats are moving the ball with 1:32 remaining, They’ve got first downs on consecutive plays and are at the 42 yard line. But after a pair of incomplete passes, it’s 4th down and Battlefield will have to punt. The Bruins can just down the ball and take a 6-point lead into halftime. Of course, with Nebrich’s arm, they aren’t going to do that. He just fired a 13-yard completion, setting up a first down at their own 36.

HALFTIME: LAKE BRADDOCK 14, BATTLEFIELD 8

STATS UPDATE: Battlefield - Rushing - Nagee Jackson 13-52, Passing - Bo Revell 4-10-1, 27 yards. Receiving - Jamie Robinson 4-27.
                  Lake Braddock - Rushing - Michael Nebrich 7-70. Passing - Michael Nebrich 8-18-0, 130 yard, 2 TD. Receiving - Brandon Johnson 3-87.

THAT’S ALONG LINE UPDATE: Apparently the budget for Liberty’s football stadium only had enough money for four toilets in the men’s restroom. Four? Really? That’s approximately one toilet for every 500 men at the game.

SELF DESTRUCTION UPDATE: The Bruins seem determined to keep Battlefield in the game. One play after completing a 30-yard pass, Nebrich fumbled on a draw play. The Bobcats recovered and have possession at the Lake Braddock 49 with a chance to take the lead. The opportunity didn’t result in anything except a punt, however. The Bruins will try again at the 20.

BURN UPDATE: Make that the 46 yard line, following a 26-yard pass completion to Johnson. You’d think somebody would cover that guy. He’s got four receptions for over 100 yards. Good thing for Battlefield that the Bruins wound up having to punt. Battlefield has a first down at its own 9 yard line. And the Bobcats only trail by six points. They are one big play from taking the lead despite being outplayed most of the night.

YOU CAN’T STOP THIS UPDATE: For the first time all evening, the Bobcats are moving the ball on the ground. The Bruins appear to be a little fatigued on defense. The momentum might be shifting. Battlefield is at midfield with 5:34 remaining in the third quarter. This is starting to look like a scoring drive. Cedric Agyeman goes 13 yards to the 21 yard line. Battlefield is about to take the lead.

FIRST AND GOAL UPDATE: Revell with a keeper picks up a first down at the 10. Now it’s second and 15 following a 5-yard loss on first down. Make it third and 16 following a sack. Wrong way, guys. An incompletion makes it 4th down. Decision time. A field goal would be 34 yards….... and it falls short. The score remains Lake Braddock 14, Battlefield 8. That might have been Battlefield’s best chance at a victory.

OH NO UPDATE: The Bruins have already moved to the 40 after taking over possession at the 20. The third quarter ends with Lake Braddock leading 14-8.

SECOND CHANCE UPDATE: The Bruins have fumbled again. Andrew Smith knocks the ball loose and Jimmy Long recovers, giving Battlefield a first down at the Bruins’ 40 yard line. Here come the Bobcats. Bo Revel just completed a 34-yard completion to Robinson. It’s 1st and goal at the 7.

SCORE UPDATE: BATTLEFIELD TIES IT. Revell on a keeper from the 1. With 10:14 remaining, the score is now Battlefield 14, Lake Braddock 14, following another missed PAT.

BLOG UPDATE: As good as Nebrich is, Lake Braddock will not win a state title. The Bruins turn the ball over way too much. All of Battlefield’s points tonight have following Bruins’ mistakes.

BLOG UPDATE: The Bobcats are beginning to play like a team that is used to winning. The momentum has completely shifted. The second half has belonged entirely to Battlefield, which has the ball again following a punt. There are less than 8 minutes remaining. A score on this possession will send Battlefield to its first state championship game.

FIRST DOWN UPDATE: Bo Revell has the Bobcats moving closer to the end zone. Another keeper picks up a first down and the ball is now at the Lake Braddock 44. 6:37 to go.

SO MUCH FOR THE BRUINS GETTING TIRED UPDATE: Lake Braddock stopped the drive with a terrific run defense and forced a punt. It’s 1st down at the 20 for the Bruins. Of course, they immediately commit a holding penalty, which pushes the ball back to the 12. State title teams don’t make this many mistakes.

ANOTHER LAST CHANCE FOR BATTLEFIELD: The Bobcats defense has done it again, stopping Nebrich on a run. Another special teams’ mistake—this time a 17-yard punt—gives Battlefield the ball at the Bruins 40. 3:19 to go.

TIMEOUT UPDATE: With 38 seconds remaining, Lake Braddock has called a timeout. The Bruins have moved the ball all the way to the 32 yard line following a Battlefield punt and are trying to get in position for a game-winning field goal attempt. Ali Banihashemi caught a long pass and Brandon Johnson just hauled in a 27-yard pass to set up 1st and goal with 26 seconds left. Stay tuned. Now, Battlefield has called timeout.

SCORE UPDATE: Unless Battlefield can return a kickoff for a touchdown, the Bruins have just won the game on a Nebrich keeper with 14.2 seconds remaining.

YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT IF YOU JUST SAW IT UPDATE: The Bobcats just returned the kickoff for a touchdown, using a lateral from Bobo Beathard to Blaine Mason, who ran half the field for the score. The Bobcats are going for the tie with 0.9 seconds.

The kick is good and we are going into overtime. Did that just happen? At the end of regulation it’s 21-21.

OVERTIME UPDATE: Lake Braddock won the toss and elected to play defense. Battlefield will have first possession from the 10. .... On 4th and 2, the Bobcats will go for a 20-yard field goal. Jason Hoepler’s kick is good. It’s Battlefield 24, Lake Braddock 21.

OVERTIME, PART 2: Now it’s Lake Braddock’s turn. The Bruins need a touchdown to win. A first-down pass is batted down by Chris Wendle in the end zone. A false start moves it back to the 15. Another bad mistake by the Bruins. Nebrich throws a 2nd pass out of the end zone. It’s third and goal from the 15. Lake Braddock wins on a 15-yard TD pass from Nebrich to Chris Williams in the back of the end zone. That was Williams’ second reception of the game and no doubt the biggest of his career.

FINAL SCORE: LAKE BRADDOCK 27, BATTLEFIELD 24.

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