Briar Woods ends Riverbend’s run in the Region 5D playoffs

“It’s tough,” said first-year head coach Ed Webb. “That’s a heck of a football team. They’ve got a lot of guys that are going on to play D1 college football, and I’ve got a lot of tough guys.”

Webb said most people had expected the Bears to finish near the bottom of the district standings, not in the regional final.

“Nobody had us picked to go this far at the beginning of the year,” he said. “This group of seniors, they’re tough kids. Like I just told them, they’ve set the standard, hopefully,” for what Riverbend football can be in the future.

Friday’s game seemed to favor Briar Woods at the start. Riverbend went three-and-out on the first possession, and the Falcons marched steadily down the field.

Quarterback Brady Carmical, the Potomac District offensive player of the year who is committed to play at Navy next season, scored from 4 yards out to give the Falcons the lead.

The Bears were soon forced to punt again, and again the Falcons moved the ball down into the red zone without much trouble.

This time, though, Riverbend was able to stop the drive at the 14-yard line and take over on downs. The Bears brought the ball back up the field and scoring when JoJo Thomas ran right and tossed the ball to Tristan Greene for the touchdown to tie the game.

But Briar Woods wasn’t done.

Carmical scored on a 1-yard run with 2 minutes to go, and, after the Falcons forced a quick punt to get the ball back deep in their own end, threw deep to Colin Capistrant for a 66-yard connection, setting up a 25-yard Matthew Kordes field goal to give the team a 16-7 lead at the half.

Running back Trey Dudley scored again for the Falcons in the third quarter, but Camden Simmons hit Mekhi Davis on a 44-yard touchdown pass to keep Riverbend’s hopes alive.

It wasn’t to be for the Bears, however. Dudley scored again from 2 yards out, and a Jax McIntosh interception finished things off.

Dudley finished the day with 75 yards rushing, two touchdowns and one acrobatic 27-yard reception. Carmical completed 13 of 19 passes for 219 yards to go with his 51 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

JoJo Thomas led the rushing attack for Riverbend with 59 yards, but the Bears scored both of their touchdowns through the air, unusual for the run-heavy offense.

Of course, that was no accident.

“Stopping their run game like that was our emphasis all week,” said Briar Woods coach Michael Burnett. “We gave up a few passes, and I probably expected that the way we committed to stopping their run. But we felt like that was our best chance, and our kids we’re real tough at the point of attack, and we’re real proud of them.”

The Falcons head next for the state semifinal December 7 against the winner of Friday night’s game between L.C. Byrd and William Fleming.

Burnett wasn’t making any blustery predictions, but he thinks his team has a chance to keep moving toward the state title.

“Today really was the first time we’ve had all our kids back healthy, really all season, and it was so fun to watch,” he said. “I think we play well as a team, and if you do that, it always gives you a chance.”

For Riverbend, Webb sees a foundation that has been laid for some good years ahead.

“The young guys, now they know what the work looks like,” he said. “They know what the practice looks like. They know my expectations. I came in late, like the rest of my staff. We were still putting things together a week before practice started.”

The coaching staff also pointed to the bigger picture in their final post-game remarks to the players.

The loss hurts, they told the team, but as they become adults, they’ll reap the benefits in other aspects of their lives of all the hard work they put in throughout the season.

“It’s something we’ve been harping on all year,” Webb said. “If all we’re doing is coaching the X’s and O’s and how to execute a block or make a tackle, we’re not doing our job here.”