South Lakes Hosts Madison For Homecoming: ‘We Circled This One On Our Calendar A Long Time Ago’

By BRIAN McNICOLL

When it came time to choose an opponent for homecoming, South Lakes Coach Jason Hescock did not hesitate.

A lot of schools try to identify a weaker opponent so they win the big game in front of the alumni. But that wasn’t what he chose.

“When they came to ask me who we should play for homecoming, I said Madison,” Hescock said earlier this week. “I don’t want anyone around here being afraid of them.

So Friday night at 7, it will be the Warhawks – two-time defending Concorde District champions and state finalist from a year ago – visiting Pat Bergen Stadium at South Lakes for homecoming.

Madison has won five of the seven meetings since Hescock took over as coach, but there’s a case to be made that Hescock is right that his team need not fear the Warhawks. Both teams come in 6-1 with Madison losing in Week 1 to Stone Bridge, 21-14, and South Lakes losing in Week 6 to Oakton, 42-38.

The Warhawks have played Stone Bridge, also usually a state championship contender in Division 5, frequently in recent years, usually in the first week of the season. This year the Bulldogs are 7-1 and 2-0 against Concorde teams having also defeated Centreville. Their only loss was to Montgomery County, Md., power Quince Orchard.

So Madison’s 21-14 loss to Stone Bridge doesn’t look bad at all.

In the Concorde, Madison is 2-0 with victories over Westfield (20-6) and Centreville (28-21). South Lakes is 1-1 with the loss to Oakton and a 41-6 thrashing of Chantilly (3-3,0-2) last week.

But Madison’s starting quarterback went down in Week 1. Senior Lucas Vacaflor has taken over and become, according to Hescock, “a legitimate dual-threat quarterback.” Vacaflor, a lefty, has thrown for two touchdowns, rushed for three and completed 56% of his passes.

"He can beat you both ways. But we want to get him passing. That's when our defense can really cook."

With a backup quarterback, the Warhawks have kept the ball on the ground a lot this season and not relied on explosive offense to win. They’ve scored 157 points this year. They’ve scored 30 in a game just once – in a 35-14 victory over Hayfield, which is 2-5 and lost a lopsided scrimmage at South Lakes.

The Madison defense has been reliable and allowed just 76 points.

But South Lakes has scored 262 points and had 30 or more in all but one game – their 28-6 victory over West Potomac. They have scored 173 points in the first half of their games and regularly been so far ahead they used reserves for much of the second half. South Lakes backup quarterback Gavin Satterfield has more passing yards than the last three backups combined for South Lakes.

The Seahawks have allowed just 94 points, and three touchdowns against them have come on kick or interception returns. The Seahawks’ average of 126 yards passing allowed includes five games of fewer than 100 yards allowed, including 15 allowed to Robinson and a passing shutout tossed at Chantilly. The Chargers were 0-for-7 with two interceptions against South Lakes last week.

“I didn’t realize they never completed a pass,” Hescock said. “In fact, in the film session, I was on some guys for not covering people closely enough.”

The South Lakes offense has been balanced all year. The Seahawks have gained at least 100 yards rushing and 100 yards passing in every game. James Smith has led the rushing attack with 451 yards rushing. Quarterback Christian Wyatt has added 1,086 passing yards.

Adding to the rivalry, a number of these players played together in youth leagues and will recognize friends on the other side of the line.

“It’s the coolest thing,” Hescock said. “A lot of them know each other. They talk a little smack, but it’s mostly deep respect for each other. It’s great for football.”

The stakes couldn’t be higher for South Lakes. A victory would give them two in the district, which was enough for them to make the playoffs last year. A loss would put them at 1-2 with Centreville and Westfield still to go.

“It’s like our district is the SEC of Northern Virginia,” said Wyatt. “You play great teams every week. We have to focus on the small things and have another great week of practice. But make no mistake, we circled this one on our calendar a long time ago. We’ll be ready.”