Reston/Herndon Newcomer’s Guide to High School Sports

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

File Photo

Behind quarterback Zach Ozycz, the Herndon football team upset Westfield, 29-28, last fall on homecoming. After its first non-winning season in five years in 2007, Herndon returned to prominence this fall.

File Photo

Fourth-year coach Christy Winters Scott guided the South Lakes girls’ basketball team to a regular season Liberty District title this past winter and the program’s first Northern Region tournament berth in more than 10 years.

Herndon High

Mascot: Hornets

School Colors: Red, white and black

Rivals: South Lakes, Oakton

Athletic Director: Mike Mahoney, 703-810-2211

Athletic Hotline: 703-749-8133

Famous Alums: Barry Johnson, Scottie Reynolds, Skye Eddy … Johnson played football at Maryland and signed with the Denver Broncos; Reynolds is a star on the men’s basketball team at Villanova; Eddy was a goalkeeper for several successful George Mason University women’s soccer teams in the early 1990s.

Notable Coaches: Joe Sheaffer (football), Pat Smith (volleyball), Sean Lanigan (boys’ soccer)

South Lakes High

Mascot: Seahawks

School Colors: Kelly green and blue

Rivals: Herndon

Athletic Director: Linda Jones; 703-715-4518

Athletic Hotline: 703-321-5270

Famous Alums: Grant Hill, Alan Webb, Christy Winters Scott … Hill, after starring at Duke, has been in the NBA since 1994; Webb currently holds American record for the mile in 3 minutes, 46.91 seconds; Winters Scott, a former Maryland women’s hoops star, won a state title with South Lakes in 1986 and has returned to coach her alma mater.

Notable Coaches: Scott, Galvin Morris (baseball), Scott Raczko (track and field)

How It’s Structured

The majority of Northern Virginia’s public schools are members of the Virginia High School League. The VHSL is based in Charlottesville and is the largest governing body for prep sports in the state. Public schools are divided into three classifications of competition in the state: AAA, AA and A, with all schools in Fairfax Country representing AAA, the largest.

Four districts -- the Concorde, Liberty, National and Patriot -- comprise the Northern Region, which is one of four such classifications in AAA (the Eastern, Northwest and Central are the others).

This athletic season marks a significant change, too, for the Northern Region’s landscape with Hayfield, Fairfax and W.T. Woodson all shifting districts. Hayfield will rotate from the Patriot to the National, with W.T. Woodson leaving the Liberty to fill in behind. In W.T. Woodson’s Liberty slot, Fairfax will shift from the Concorde, which now only has six teams.

How It’s Structured

Four districts -- the Concorde, Liberty, National and Patriot -- comprise the Northern Region, which is one of four such classifications in AAA (the Eastern, Northwest and Central are the others).

Here are the re-aligned districts for the 2009-10 athletic season:

Concorde: Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, Westfield, Robinson

Liberty: Stone Bridge, Langley, Madison, Marshall, McLean, South Lakes, Fairfax, Jefferson

National: Edison, Falls Church, J.E.B. Stuart, Mount Vernon, Wakefield, Washington-Lee, Yorktown, Hayfield

Patriot: Annandale, Lake Braddock, South County, T.C. Williams, West Potomac, West Springfield, Lee, W.T. Woodson

What You Missed

Resurrection and continuity were two buzz words thrown around Baron Cameron Avenue this past athletic season, with Herndon football re-establishing itself as one of the top teams in the Northern Region’s Division 6 classification. The second impressive feat was a repeat, as the South Lakes boys’ track and field team successfully defended its region title from the spring of 2007 and, counting the indoor season, has now won three straight region trophies.

After a 1-4 start, Herndon’s football team improved enough to finish 5-5 in 2007. Still, it was the first non-winning season for the Hornets in five years. But with the return of quarterback Zach Ozycz and three offensive linemen, the Hornets had a strong start to the 2008 campaign. Wins over Park View and South Lakes opened the year, and on Oct. 17, Herndon was 5-2.

Then the true highlight came. On homecoming, nonetheless, Herndon stunned previously unbeaten Westfield, 29-28, in double overtime when linebacker Dan Maddox hit Westfield quarterback Danny Fenyak to help deny a two-point conversation attempt.

“The game was overwhelming,” Ozycz said. “I was happy when Westfield went for two. I knew we could stop them. It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

In the spring, Southern-bound senior Vincent Brown completed his prolific career by doing what he does best: winning races. And a lot of them. A sprinter, hurdler and jumper, Brown captured the 100-meter dash, the 110 hurdles and the long jump title at the 2009 Northern Region outdoor track and field championships, three events that he also set personal-best marks in this season.

As a team, the South Lakes boys’ team’s performance followed that of spring 2007 when it won its first-ever region title.

OTHER NOTABLE performances during the 2008-09 school year included longtime Herndon baseball coach Al McCullock’s resignation, Hiruni Wijayaratne wrapping up her successful career by winning the 3,200 indoor track and field title and the emergence of the South Lakes girls’ basketball team as a legitimate power in the Liberty District. With former South Lakes and Maryland star Christy Winters Scott at the helm, the Seahawks captured the regular season district title and advanced to the region playoffs for the first time in a decade.

Save This Date

Part of the ritual of moving to a new place is checking out the local high school football scene, or at least that’s the way sports-obsessed folks think anyhow. So, this fall, make I a priority to check out two local teams on the gridiron.

In Reston and Herndon, nothing is bigger nor better than the annual Baron Cameron Bowl. This fall, Herndon, which won the 2008 game, 27-6, will travel to South Lakes in Week 3 (Sept. 17) for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.