Varsity Wildcats hosted the R.E. Lee Lancers on Friday night and blanked their opponents with a final score of 21 to zero. The evening was cloudy and cool, with a constant light shower through the length of the contest. Wildcat fans filled the bleachers for Blackout Night sporting nothing but Centreville black and it was a stunning sight. While the field was a bit soggy the competition was hot, as the Lancers came to visit their former head coach, now Centreville’s, and test his team in their hometown venue. Hope they were taking notes, because both the Centreville defense and offense put numbers up on the scoreboard while blanking the Lancers in this exciting and soggy evening of football.

Spirited Blackout Night

The Centreville bleachers were a spectacle. Fans were sporting their best black wardrobe accessorized by brightly colored umbrellas from one end of the seats to the other. Only one section of seats refused to use umbrellas - the Class of ‘08 Spirit Section! The seniors’ enthusiasm remained wide open and undaunted by the rain through the entire evening.

The coin toss went the Lancer’s way and they received the ball from the kick-off. They consumed a tremendous amount of time from the first-period clock before punting the ball to Centreville. With six minutes remaining in the quarter Wildcats begin their first possession on their own eight yard line to begin their march west toward the end zone.

Over Your Head

With a clever combination of passing and running the Centreville crew completes three first-down drives and find themselves at the 24 yard line. P.J. Dunegan fires the football into the air down the left side line as Calder Street reaches out, over the Lancer defender’s head, grabs the pass and rockets into the end zone. The extra point attempt suffered from the slippery conditions and never got into the air, leaving the score at Wildcats 6, Lancers zero.

With three minutes and ten seconds still remaining in the first quarter Centreville has the lead and kicks the ball to their opponents. The Lancer offense is struggling with the rainy conditions and the Wildcat defense as they fumble the ball into Centreville hands. It’s back onto the field for the Centreville offense!

The second quarter begins with the ball in Wildcat possession and the score Centreville 6, Lee zero. Both squads take turns moving the ball with no success as the first half ends with the score remaining Centreville 6 and Lee with zero.

The House Was A-Rockin’

Half time festivities kicked-off with CVHS Athletic Director Jimmy Sanabria presenting the SYA Athlete of the Year award to Chase Walters, a 125lb weight class football player. Chase was awarded a number of prizes including a medallion, Wildcat t-shirt and, best of all, a photo opportunity with the entire varsity cheerleader squad (click here to see some of those photos). The Wildcat Marching Band takes the field sporting their best rain gear and rocks the crowd with a few perky selections (we have photos of that, too). The Centreville Dance Team rocks the crowd with thumping music selections and a rowdy routine of moves and clever choreography (yep - click for more pics!).

The football squads return to the field to begin second half action with the score Wildcats 6, Lancers zero. Centreville receives the kick and end up punting the ball. It’s late in the game but the Wildcat defense can’t help but get more powerful. The Lee offense has worked it’s way down field and find themselves with just 15 yards to the end zone. Then a little Lancer boo-boo fumbles the ball into the hands of the Wildcat defense. Calder Street jets the ball 85 yards down the field to another Centreville touchdown! Feeling pumped and ready for action, the Wildcat offense attempts a 2-point conversion that is good! With 6:32 left in the third quarter the score is now Centreville 14, Lee zero.

Fan of the Game

Then it was time for the Wildcat Cheerleaders to select the “Wildcat Fan of the Game” for the evening. They awarded the honor, and a Domino’s pizza, to Mickey Bozek who was sporting a t-shirt made of nothing but black body paint. Smack in the middle of the front row of the Spirit Section, Bozek and his fellow seniors used that pizza to fuel their relentless celebration.

The Hulk Defense

Lee Lancers take possession of the ball from the kick-off and, again, meet the Wildcat Big-D. The Centreville defense grows into a Hulk-like creature when their opponents enter the “red zone.” This drive was no different. After Brandon Carpenter stopped a huge Lancer run down the left side of the field to the 16 yard line, the only thing the Lancers would encounter was frustration. With a couple of small advances, Lee is just two yards shy of the goal line. The Lancer offense snaps the ball and the Wildcat defense blasts them back to the nine yard line, where the Centreville offense takes over. Each team takes turns with possession with no change in the score. The third quarter ends with the lead in Centreville’s hands with 14 to Lee’s zero.

Lancers begin the fourth quarter with their offense on the field. At the 20 yard line Wildcats take possession on downs. The clock on the scoreboard read 9:03 as Centreville begins a long march west toward the end zone. A long possession that eats-up almost eight full minutes of game time helps the Wildcat offense earn five first-downs. With the ball just a few yards from the goal line, Andrew Morgan leaps up, onto and over the Lee defense and into the end zone for another Wildcat touchdown. Kevin Maslyn’s extra point splits the uprights and the score is now Wildcats 21, Lancers zero.

With 17 seconds left on the clock Lee makes a futile attempt toward their end zone. A Lancer pass is picked-off by Courtlan Whiting allowing Centreville’s offense to take the field with 2 seconds left on the clock. They quickly down the ball and finish the game for the second Wildcat victory in a row and a final score of 21 to Lee’s zero.

Photo-A-Go-Go

Even with the soggy weather conditions cameras and flashes were working overtime into the wet night. Click here to see a huge gallery of more than 100 photos from the evening. This collection includes pre-game festivities, action pics, half-time fun, and a crazy-huge amount of fans covered in black. Stay tuned for more photos early in the week as photo editors work at a feverish pace to prepare new galleries. Oh, and we’ll have some fresh photos from past Varsity games, too - keep watching!

Coming Up: Special Thursday Game

Next week the Varsity squad hosts the Herndon Hornets during a special Thursday night home game. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the day-early home game and root for our Wildcats at 7:30PM on Thursday, September 20.