Monday, January 28, 2013

Loudoun County Wrestling Gallery at the Appalachian Duals

By Michael "Moe" Murphy
Clarke County Sports

Front Royal, VA- (12/22/2012) The Loudoun County Raider wrestling team battles the Franklin County Eagles in the Championship Round of the Appalachian Duals held at Skyline High School in Front Royal VA on December 22, 2012. Franklin won the tournament with the Raiders taking second place. All Photo's by Michael "Moe" Murphy / Clarke County Sports  © 2013 

Click the play button in the Raiders Picture to start video


Sunday, January 27, 2013

Potomac Falls at Briar Woods Boys Basketball Photo Gallery

By Michael "Moe" Murphy
Special to the Loudoun Times - Mirror

BRAMBLETON,VA- (1/23/2013) The Briar Woods Falcons boys basketball team fell to the Potomac Falls Panthers 64-51 as the National Guard and MaxPreps was on hand to present the 2012-13 Football team and coach Charlie Pierce with special presentations prior to and at half time of the game.

 
 
 
 
 

Loudoun Valley Viking wrestling video slideshow

by Michael "Moe" Murphy
PURCELLVILLE, VA-(1/17-18/2013) The Loudoun Valley Viking wrestling team hosted the 2013 Viking Duals at LVHS, the 43 photo slideshow has the Vikings grappling against the Liberty Eagles and the North Lebanon PA Vikings.


Loudoun Valley Viking Wrestling Gallery Viking Duals

By Michael "Moe" Murphy
Clarke County Sports

PURCELLVILLE, - (1/18-19/2013) The Loudoun Valley Viking wrestling team hosted the Viking Duals at their school. The 13 team tournament included teams from Loudoun, Loudoun Valley, Freedom, Heritage, Potomac Falls and Broad Run, along with Hedgesville and Washington from West Virginia, North Lebanon from Pennsylvania and Westfield, Stafford, Sherando, Battlefield and Liberty from Virginia.

The Vikings went 3-4 in the tournament with wins over Liberty, Heritage, and Hedgesville. The Vikings narrowly lost to Sherando 35-40.

Photo's are from the North Lebanon match on Friday and the Liberty match on Saturday. All photo's by Michael "Moe" Murphy / Clarke County Sports

More photo's in video slideshow coming soon.......





Strong competition rules Loudoun Valley Duals


by Michael "Moe" Murphy
loudountimes.com
 
Five Loudoun schools competed in the Loudoun Valley Duals Wrestling Tournament Jan. 18-19 in Purcellville. Broad Run, Freedom, Heritage, Loudoun Valley and Potomac Falls participated in a 13-team field that included squads from West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Virginia.


Freedom senior Brendan Kammerdeiner locks up with Westfield’s Austin Knies
in a 195-pound  bout during the Loudoun Valley Duals Wrestling Tournament
Jan. 19.—Times-Mirror Photo/Michael “Moe” Murphy
“Every year we’ve just tried to keep on improving the tournament itself,” said Loudoun Valley coach Troy Mezzatesta before rattling off several of the top teams in this year’s event. “Just some good quality teams that up the competition and let your wrestlers know where they are.”

Westfield, considered one of the top Virginia AAA teams, won all nine of its matches in the two-day tournament to earn top team honors. Stafford (7-2) and Pennsylvania school North Lebanon (7-3) produced solid records as well.

Freedom delivered the best showing among Loudoun schools. The Eagles went 5-2 with victories over Hedgesville (W. Va.), Potomac Falls, Liberty, Washington (W. Va.) and Sherando.

“We were coming in with a record in dual meets of 25-5,” Freedom coach Kent Nagy said. “We’ve battled injuries and we only have two kids returning from last year’s starting 14, so we are winning with a whole fresh batch of kids.

“We talk about the no names,” Nagy continued. “We have a lot of no name kids out there that nobody really knows to this point and we are hoping at the end of the year they will. They’ve worked really hard and they waited their chance and now they are getting it.”

Freedom is led by Brendan Kammerdeiner at 195 pounds and Jason Cardoza at 170. The two captains have worked hard to lead the team not just during wrestling season, but year-round.

“Brendan Kammerdeiner was fifth in the region last year and won the district,” Nagy said. “He is probably in the top five in the state this year. Our other captain Jason Cardoza is pushing 40 wins this year. Not a whole lot of flash but he grinds matches out. A real tough kid and a great leader. Andy Hinricks at 145 and Jack Wrenn at 160 are two juniors who also have solid experience and have wrestled year-round since entering high school.”
 
 

 

Briar Woods’ football program celebrates national ranking

by Alanna Dvorak
Loudoun Times-Mirror Staff Writer

Members of the 2012-13 Briar Woods football team recieve Champion
Tour T Shirts from the National Guard  photo by Moe Murphy/LTM
The Briar Woods High School football team has been declared the 94th best football team in the country by MaxPreps.

Briar Woods won its third consecutive VHSL Division 4 title this past December after defeating Heritage-Lynchburg 52-0, capping off a 15-0 season. The Falcons are currently on a 29 game winning streak that spans two seasons.

MaxPreps, a California-based company that ranks more than 16,000 high school varsity squads, honored the Falcons on Jan. 23 at halftime of the boys basketball game as part of its eighth annual Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard.

Virginia Army National Guard Sergeant First Class Victor Beasley presented Briar Woods head coach Charlie Pierce and the Falcons with the national ranking trophy and a banner to celebrate their accomplishments.

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment for us to be recognized nationally,” Pierce said. “It’s a tribute to our players, coaches and community. We’re in this together and this award is for everybody.”

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Redskins fall to Seahawks, Cinderella season ends

By Michael "Moe" Murphy
Redskins Correspondent
loudountimes.com/clarkecountysports.com

Robert Griffin III waits to be introduced
for the final time this season.
Photo by Michael "Moe" Murphy/LTM CCS
LANDOVER, MD - (1/6/13) The Washington Redskins magical tale of two seasons came to an abrupt halt Sunday night in Landover as the Seattle Seahawks ended the Redskins season with a 24-14 loss before another sellout crowd.

The attendance (84,435) represented the largest crowd to see a Redskins postseason home game team history, surpassing the previous record of 79,411 from Jan. 8, 2000 (NFC Wild Card Round vs. Detroit). It was the third biggest crowd to see a Redskins playoff game at any location, trailing only Super Bowl XVII (103,667 in Pasadena, Calif.) and Super Bowl VII (90,182 in Los Angeles).
Quarterback Robert Griffin III left the game late in the fourth quarter with a knee injury that hampered him since the Baltimore Ravens game.

“We’re all proud of the season that we had."Griffin said,  "There’s nobody in the locker room that’s really excited about today, just the whole thing. But when it comes back, we’ll look back on the season. We won seven straight games, finished 10-6 and won our division. That part of it was awesome. We know the future is very bright. I also know what I need to work on in the offseason. Part of that is just getting healthy. The sky’s the limit for this team with the talent that we have and the guys that we’re going to get back. It’s just truly exciting, even though today is a very dim day.”

The Redskins jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with Griffin thowing a pair of 4 yard touchdown passes. The first to Evan Royster and then to Logan Paulsen. The Redskins scoring was over for the game and the next 24 points belonged to Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.

“It just shows the character of this team."Royster said. "People counted us out when we were 3-6. We came back and said we were going to win our next seven games and that’s what we did.”

London Fletcher leaves the field for
possibly the last time.
photo by Michael "Moe" Murphy  LTM/CCS
The Redskins defense slowed down late in the game due to being on the field a majority of the second half.
 
“We definitely were on the field a long time."Redskins captain London Fletcher said,  "We knew it was going to be a 60-minute fight. But you have to maintain integrity for 60 minutes. Guys just have to dig down deeper within themselves and go to a level that you didn’t think you could go to when you’re playing that type of ballgame. We were on the field a long time but guys were still fighting at the end.”




Contact the reporter moe@clarkecountysports.com 


Check loudountimes.com/sports for more photo coverage of the game


Team      Qtr Time   Play Description                                   (Extra Point)            (Drive Info)       Visitor  Home
 
Redskins   1 9:57    E.Royster 4 yd. pass from R.Griffin    (K.Forbath kick)      (9-80, 5:03)           0        7
Redskins   1 2:26    L.Paulsen 4 yd. pass from R.Griffin    (K.Forbath kick)      (11-54, 5:58)         0      14

Seahawks 2 12:05  S.Hauschka 32 yd. Field Goal                                               (12-66, 5:21)          3      14
Seahawks 2 4:38    M.Robinson 4 yd. pass from R.Wilson (S.Hauschka kick) (8-73, 5:08)          10      14
Seahawks 2 0:00    S.Hauschka 29 yd. Field Goal                                                (10-63, 3:36)       13      14
Seahawks 4 7:08    M.Lynch 27 yd. run                      (R.Wilson-Z.Miller pass) (8-79, 3:45)          21      14
Seahawks 4 5:32    S.Hauschka 22 yd. Field Goal                                                (4-1, 0:47)            24      14


Redskins vs Seahawks Photo Gallery at loudountimes.com



Kirk Cousins looks downfield against the Seahawks. Cousins came in to relieve
Robert Griffin III who left the game injured in the fourth quarter.
Photo by Michael "Moe" Murphy  Clarke County Sports / Loudountimes.com

LANDOVER, MD- (1/6/13) The Washington Redskins hosted the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wildcard playoff round at FedEx Field in Landover. The Seahawks ended the Redskins run with a    24-14 win. 

Check loudountimes.com for a complete photo gallery by Michael "Moe" Murphy.







Chief Z at FedEx Field one more time....

LANDOVER, MD- (1/6/13) Zema "Chief Z" Williams made his rounds at FedEx Field prior to the Redskins Wildcard game vs. the Seattle Seahawks. The Chief has become a regular fixture for Clarke County Sports during the home games this season.

The Chief talks to Moe Murphy one more time as veteran camera operator Billy Ector captures the moment.


Host Spartans place third in 10-team wrestling duals

By Michael "Moe" Murphy
special to The Loudoun-Times Mirror

ASHBURN- (1-5-13)  Skyline High School earned top team honors and host Broad Run placed best among six Loudoun schools at the 2013 Growing Earth Duals Jan. 5 in Ashburn.
Several factors were used in determining the team champion. Along with team scoring, additional scoring for pins and technical falls were added by the round - six points for a pin in the first round, four points for a second-round pin and two for pins in the third round. The same scoring was used for tech falls.

The Broad Run Spartans garnered top Loudoun honors with a third-place finish in the 10-team tournament. The Spartans scored 155 points, going 4-1 in team scoring.

Anthony Oswald of Potomac Falls tries to escape the grasp of Broad Run’s Zach Fossett in a
 152-pound bout during the Growing Earth Duals Jan. 5 at Broad Run High School in Ashburn.
—Times-Mirror Photo/Michael “Moe” Murphy
“Overall, it was a good day for us,” Spartan coach J.J. Totaro said, “We are still learning and still growing, but by improving our record for the season to 15-5 you can’t be too disappointed.”

NFC East Championship Game photo gallery video

by Michael "Moe" Murphy
Clarke County Sports

LANDOVER, MD (12/30/12) Moe Murphy captures the pre game, game and post game action at FedEx Field with the assistance of William "Billy" Ector on video. The Redskins defeated the Cowboys 28-18 to capture their first NFC East title since 1999.


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Redskins capture NFC Eastern Division Title

By Michael "Moe" Murphy
Clarke County Sports
Special to loudountimes.com

Alfred Morris shreds the Dallas defense for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns
in the Redskins 28-18 win to capture the NFC Eastern Division
photo by Michael "Moe" Murphy / loudountimes.com / Clarke Co Sports
LANDOVER, MD (12/3012) - The Washington Redskins defeated their rival the Dallas Cowboys 28-18 before a standing room only crowd on the Sunday Night Football Game of the Week on NBC.

Running back Alfred Morris rushed 33 times for 200 rushing yards with three touchdowns, all career highs. With the 200 yards on Sunday, Morris finished the season with 1,613 yards, breaking Clinton Portis’ team record for rushing yards in a season (1,516 in 2005).


“It was special, it never was really on my mind about the record." Morris said, "I don’t want to discredit it. It was special to pass Clinton Portis’ record. He was a great back. I actually looked up to him. I guess you can call myself a fan of Clinton Portis. He told me before the game, ‘I want you to break the record.’ It was just an honor. Coming from where I came from, I am just thankful and it is just a humbling experience and I am thankful to be here.”
 
Quarterback Robert Griffin III solidified his Pro Bowl selection by having a solid game moving the Redskins offense when Morris wasn't grinding it out.
Griffin completed 9-of-18 passes for 100 yards. He finished his rookie regular season having completed 258-of-393 passes for 3,200 yards with 20 touchdowns and a passer rating of 102.4, and set NFL rookie records for passer rating (102.4, surpassing Russell Wilson’s 100.0 passer rating this season and Ben Roethlisberger’s 98.1 from the 2004 season) and for percentage of passes intercepted (1.3 percent, breaking Charlie Batch’s 1.98 percent).

“This is the top one. This is a championship game."Griffin said when asked about being a champion, "We won the [division] championship. Hopefully, we can win the overall championship of the league, but this is the best feeling I’ve ever had. I sat in the locker room at a loss for words, just because it’s that important to us. We went out and did what we said we were going to do. We won seven straight, won our division, and now we’re in the playoffs. Now it’s up to us to decide how far we want to go.” 
 
Check back at clarkecountysports.com and loudountimes.com for more game coverage from Sunday Night.