Game of the Week: Briar Woods hosts LoCo for Dulles District Title

Loudoun County at Briar Woods, 7:00 p.m.

The top two teams in the Dulles District square off tonight in Brambleton with local bragging rights and a district championship on the line. Briar Woods (8-1, 7-0 in the district) enters the contest riding an eight-game winning streak, and has not been tested since the team's opening game loss to Broad Run. The Falcons have simply overwhelmed opponents week in and week out. In fact, the closest game they've played since the Broad Run game was last week... a 37-0 victory over Loudoun Valley.

The Falcons are on such a roll it's hard to pinpoint any weaknesses on the team. The defense has been smothering, and might even be better than last year's unit that led the area in scoring defense and helped capture the school's first state championship. Helping the cause are two younger brothers who have more than filled the shoes of their now graduated older siblings. Matt Rolin has emerged as a dominating presence at linebacker, helping to fill the void left by older brother Scott – last year's Virginia Defensive Player of the Year, now at Virginia Tech – and defensive back Joe Rizzardi is proving to be a tackling and big-play machine in the mold of big bro' Victor.

On offense, quarterback Trace McSorley overcame a couple of shaky outings that started the season and has thrown for more than 1,300 yards with 17 touchdowns, including 9 in his last three games. Tight end Cam Serigne is McSorley's favorite target, with nearly 40 catches and 500 yards on the year. Cory Colder continues to pace the Falcon rushing game, with a huge 210-yard game last week against Loudoun Valley.

And on special teams, opponents can pick their poison: Alex Carter and Conor Cashman are the most dangerous kick returners in the area, while David Clements is one of the better kickers in the state.

If there's any local team boasting similar credentials to Briar Woods, it's Loudoun County. The Raiders (8-1, 6-1) have outscored their last five opponents 215-41, including big shutout wins over Woodgrove, Dominion and Potomac Falls.

On offense, quarterback Jake Lokey spearheads a high-powered offense, with nearly 1,400 yards passing and 13 touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Brad Szoka is an explosive playmaker, with more than 700 receiving yards this season, and running back Antonio Rutherford has piled up 925 rushing yards to keep defenses from keying solely on the LoCo passing attack.

Prediction: In any other league and against any other team, it would be hard not to favor the Raiders. But they have the unfortunate task of having to go through Briar Woods to claim a share of the district crown, and it's not going to happen. Briar Woods 31, Loudoun County 14.