The Connection

<b>The West Potomac Wolverines</b> dropped their second-straight game last Friday, falling to Lake Braddock 36-29, after starting the season with five consecutive victories. The loss leaves the Wolverines in danger of missing the playoffs if the cold streak continues.

It was West Potomac’s homecoming, which made the loss particularly devastating, since the Wolverines started last season 5-0 as well, only to see all the hard work disappear, courtesy of losses to West Springfield and Lake Braddock.

And almost as if the game were a scene straight out of the movie “Groundhog Day”, West Potomac came into this year’s Lake Braddock game looking to bounce back from a 48-13 defeat to West Springfield two weeks earlier. But it wasn’t in the cards thanks to the ground-heavy attack of Lake Braddock, led by junior Osman Mansaray (18 carries, 123 yards, 2 TDs).

The Wolverines were led by senior quarterback Cole Walter, who finished with close to 350 yards passing and four touchdowns, and senior wide receiver Kristian Rodriguez, who caught 13 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns.

For all its offensive fireworks, West Potomac was done in by turnovers, particularly a late interception thrown by Walter that was returned by Lake Braddock for a touchdown. The Bruins sealed the hard-fought victory with a 43-yard touchdown run from sophomore quarterback Michael Nebrich.

West Potomac must now regroup if it hopes to make the playoffs — something that seemed all but certain just a few weeks ago. The Wolverines face another tough test this Friday, when they travel to South County (4-3 overall, 3-1 Patriot) for a 7:30 game.

<b>The Mount Vernon Majors</b> had an offensive explosion, going off for the most points its scored all season, defeating Falls Church 69-40 last Friday. The win improved the Majors to 5-2 this year.

After giving up a touchdown on the game’s opening kickoff, Mount Vernon never looked back, scoring 41 consecutive points to take a commanding lead. Senior running back/linebacker Brandon O’Clisham led the way with two touchdowns on offense and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown on defense. Seniors Brian Green and Kyle Ricks also had rushing touchdowns.

The Majors face Centreville this Friday before a pivotal National District matchup against Yorktown on October 24.

<b>Northern Region Golf Results</b>

Although no area high schools made it to the team portion the Northern Region Golf Championships, held last week at Fairfax National Golf Club, Mount Vernon and West Potomac were represented in the individual competition.

Forrest Wilson of <b>West Potomac</b> finished the two-day tournament with a score of 85-76-161, while Brian Fitzsimmons of <b>Mount Vernon</b> carded a score of 98-95-193.

Westfield High School won the team competition and will now move onto the state championships to be held later this month.

<b>Mount Vernon Hires Softball Coach</b>

The Mount Vernon Majors will have a new softball coach this spring. Current health and physical education teacher, Angela Louis, will take over starting immediately. Louis played softball in high school and at the University of Central Oklahoma. She comes to Mount Vernon with 5 years of head coaching experience in Texas.