Leesburg, Va. — With just over a minute to play, trailing 27-26, the Heritage High School football team knew they needed a big play if they wanted to upset rival Tuscarora in Leesburg. Facing 3rd-and-19 from the Tuscarora 45, Heritage senior quarterback Braden Smith dropped back and threw a strike down the sideline to senior receiver Junior Darko, who dove towards the pylon, across the goal line, and into the endzone as the Pride took the lead, 32-27. “For him to make that play, it’s spectacular,” Smith said. “I’m so proud of him.” But the game wasn’t over quite yet…

Leesburg, Va. — At Heritage High School, Ken Schiffer is in the middle of his third season leading the Pride golf team. But what you may not know is that before he became the Pride’s golf coach, and even before he became a school teacher, Schiffer was a special agent in the FBI. It’s time to take you Inside the Huddle. [adrotate banner=”48″]

Leesburg, Va. — In a 0-0 tie, facing a perennial Class 5 state power, the Independence High School field hockey team turned to a freshman to get the job done. And Sammie Goin answered the call. With less than 5 minutes to play in the second quarter of a scoreless Potomac District matchup, the Tigers earned their second penalty stroke of the night, and Goin lined up to try her hand at breaking the 0-0 tie. Goin connected. “You have to go into it thinking you can do it for your team then just go and get it done,” Goin…

Sterling, Va. — Second-year programs are often smaller in numbers and in stature, but that hasn’t stopped the Lightridge High School football team from earning seven wins over their first ten varsity games. The Lightning bear an athletic offense and a hardworking defense, and both played a major role in holding off the Dominion Titans, 20-7, on September 10 in Sterling. On the opening drive of the game, the Lightning defense stuffed the Titans’ offense forcing a 3-and-out before recovering a punt at their own 30 yard line. From there, Lightridge senior quarterback Jordan Dorsey quickly got to work, hitting…

Leesburg, Va. — The Loudoun County High School field hockey team scored midway through the first quarter to take a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later the Broad Run Spartans evened things out at 1-1. However, neither team scored for the next 27 minutes, 21 seconds, until at the 2:39 mark in the third quarter Loudoun County freshman CeCe Tomaszewski put the Captains back on top. That late-third-quarter goal opened the floodgates as the Captains exploded to score three goals in the fourth quarter to defeat the Spartans, 5-2, on September 9 in Leesburg. “Our girls came together and played our…

Purcellville, Va. — It took the Loudoun Valley High School volleyball team more than a few points to settle in, but once they did, the Vikings were rolling. After an early adjustment to Heritage’s tipping, Loudoun Valley rallied to sweep the Pride—25-18, 25-13, 25-14—in a Dulles District matchup on September 8 in Purcellville. “I figured they’d probably do a little more tipping because we tend to play a deeper defense,” Loudoun Valley head coach Carmel Keilty said. “They were hitting some short hits, and once we made the necessary adjustments in the first set, we started to play much better.”…