Eagles continue mission with assault on Riverside

Chris Davis 1 TD passing, 1 rushing                  Moe Murphy / CCS

LEESBURG, VA- The Clarke County Eagles continued their push towards the playoffs with a non district trip to Leesburg to face the second year Riverside Rams. The Eagles wasted no time in putting this one away and came out with a 42-14 victory.

"I thought we did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage, and our linebackers, corners and safeties did a really good job in coverage keeping them to short games." Senior defensive end Mackie Martin said, "In my mind it was pretty much a shutout."

In their last 4 games the Eagles have outscored opponents 205-28 and have virtually had every game decided by the half.

Clarke County (6-2, 3-1) got their first score with just over 2 minutes gone in the first quarter when running back Hunter Rogers scampered 30 yards for the first of his two touchdowns. Rogers also scored on a 11 yard run in the second quarter. Rogers finished the night with 147 yards on 14 carries.

"Our defense gave us great field position, and our offensive line did what they have been doing all year, opening holes up for the backs."Rogers said, "It makes it easy for us and makes us look great."

The Eagles spread the wealth around as they got touchdown runs from three other backs. Daniel Braithwaite scored from 5 yards out, Kyle Baylor added a 10 yard score and Chris Davis went in untouched from 37 yards out. Davis also connected with Brett McDonald for an 11 yard touchdown pass. Davis finished the night 4 of 5 passing for 65 yards.

"I think our biggest thing again tonight was our focus."Davis said, "We are getting better at that. Our line did a really good job blocking and our defense stepped up big. This is one of the first teams we saw that really threw the ball a lot and I think we really stepped up big."

Riverside (2-7) picked up two fourth quarter scores with sophomore quarterback Trevor Jackson going 16 of 26 with 201 yards and touchdown passes of 15 and 13 yards. Jackson was picked once by Kyle Baylor stopping a first half drive.

"I think our guys were ready to play, the intensity level in the first half was there." Eagles head coach Chris Parker said, "They [Riverside] had a very good passing game, but we did what we had to do and sealed the win.

The Eagles will travel to Front Royal on Friday as they return to Bull Run District action against the Warren County Wildcats.

Game Highlights and postgame interviews can be seen below on the Clarke County Sports Game of the Week.

Eagles post 4th straight win at Riverside

LEESBURG, VA- The Clarke County Eagles posted their 4th consecutive win with a 43-14 victory over the Riverside Rams in Leesburg on Friday. Eagle players Mackie Martin, Chris Davis and Hunter Rogers along with Head Coach Chris Parker spoke with Moe Murphy after the game. Check back at Clarke County Sports for more coverage from the Clarke County Sports Game of the Week.

Redskins ground Eagles with balanced attack

By Moe Murphy

Special to VivaLoudoun.com 

LANDOVER, MD- The Washington Redskins used a combination of passing, running and defensive pressure to win their fourth game in a row as they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 before a crowd of 78,934 at FedEx Field on Sunday.

Washington (4-2, 2-1) took the lead on a 3 play 66 yard drive near the end of the first quarter when quarterback Kirk Cousins found Jamison Crowder in the right corner of the end zone for a 16 yard touchdown pass. The touchdown tied Cousins with Jason Campbell as 7 on the Redskins all time touchdown passing list with his 55^th career touchdown pass. The Redskins never trailed Philadelphia in the game.

Cousins connected with Vernon Davis in the second quarter on a 13 yard strike, to give Davis his first career touchdown reception as a Washington Redskin. Cousins finished the day completing 18 of 34 passes for 263 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception with a quarterback rating of 85.8.

“We need to impose our will and execute at a high level.” Cousins said, “I think we showed what we are capable of, and the challenge will always be to do it from the first whistle to the last. It was a good offensive showing because so many guys contributed and made a difference.”

Philadelphia (3-2, 1-2) struggled on offense all day under tremendous pressure from the Redskins defense. This was the first time this season the Redskins held a team to under 100 yards rushing allowing on 94 yards on the ground. The Redskins held the Eagles to 239 yards, the fewest allowed by the Redskins since holding St. Louis to 213 yards in Week 2 of the 2015 season. They also held the Eagles offense from scoring a touchdown as their two touchdowns came on an 86 yard kickoff return by Wendell Smallwood and a 64 yard interception return by Malcom Jenkins.

“The defense has been outstanding, and they’re doing it in a lot of different ways.” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said, “They’ve mixed up their coverages and stunts and stopped the run game better in the second half.”

The Redskins ground game also came alive and the team gained 230 yards rushing, the most since week 17 of 2012 in a victory over Dallas that gave the Redskins the NFC East championship.

The running game was paced by Matt Jones who rushed for 135 yards on 16 carries including a 1 yard touchdown run and a 57 yard run to seal the game on a 3^rd and 7 with 1:22 to go in the game, keeping the Eagles from getting a last chance to tie the game.

“It definitely felt good out there running.” Jones said, “I just felt like my o line took control of the whole game. They wanted to block and just finish up on the second level. It was a great challenge knowing that they were a great defense, and we just stepped up to the challenge.”

Rookie Robert Kelley added 59 yards on 5 carries including a 45 yard rumble. Chris Thompson added 37 yards on 9 carries.

Pierre Garcon led all receivers with 77 yards on 6 receptions. DeSean Jackson grabbed 4 receptions for 55 yards, Jamison Crowder had 3 catches for 52 yards and a touchdown, and Vernon Davis chipped in for 50 yards on 2 receptions and a touchdown.

The defense recorded 5 sacks, Ryan Kerrigan (2), Will Blackmon and Ricky Jean Francois with 1 each and Trent Murphy shared a sack with Preston Smith. Blackmon had 6 combined tackles and Will Compton and Mason Foster each had 5.

The Redskins kicking game remained solid as usual with Tress Way punting 4 times for a 52.8 average and Dustin Hopkins hit on field goals of 32 and 50 yards.

“We can overcome things that happen.” Gruden said, “You know, we gave up a kickoff return and then an interception return back-to-back. Guys staying resilient. Just kept working, kept grinding. That’s pretty much the motto of our team right now.” 

The Redskins will hit the Road travelling to Detroit to face the Lions (3-3) next week before flying to London to face the Cincinnati Bengals.

Watch the VivaLoudoun Locker Room Report for post game interviews:

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Eagles tame Mustangs on homecoming

Mackie Martin and Natalie Lyman Homecoming 2016

BERRYVILLE, VA- The Clarke County Eagles returned home on Friday night to celebrate homecoming 2016 and dominated the George Mason Mustangs 49-7 before a standing room crowd at Wilbur M. Feltner Stadium.

Clarke County (5-2, 3-1) got on the board midway through the first quarter when quarterback Chris Davis connected with Brett McDonald for a 53 yard touchdown pass. They never looked back from their putting 49 unanswered points on the board in the first half.

"It was a great game, we were very dominant offensively scoring 7 out of 7 times." Eagles head coach Chris Parker said, "Defensively our starters were 3 and out every time, our special teams were solid and every kid, (55) got to play."

Running back Hunter Rogers paced the Eagles with 123 yards on 14 carries with touchdown runs of 
9 and 6 yards. Daniel Braithwaite added 72 yards and scored twice on a 6 yard scamper diving for the pylon and a 59 yard breakaway run.

"We came out big and put the hammer to the nail." Braithwaite said, "The holes were there, the line definitely did their job and we took advantage of it."

George Mason (2-5, 0-3) was able to fend off a shutout when Dustin Green scored on a 1 yard plunge in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles scoring was capped off with a 5 yard touchdown run by Patrick Cleary and a 48 yard punt return by Kyle Baylor. Baylor headed for the right sideline and then cut back to the middle of the field to go untouched to the endzone.

"I saw all the blocking I had and saw an opening and just hit it." Baylor said.

Mackie Martin and Natalie Lyman were named Homecoming King and Queen in a halftime ceremony.

The Eagles will travel to leesburg next Friday to face the Riverside Rams in a non district game. Kickoff is set for 7:00PM.

Highlights and post game interviews can be seen on the Clarke County Sports Game of the Week.

Eagles roll at Strasburg

Hunter Rogers 227 yards and 3 TD's   File photo / Matt Murphy CCS

STRASBURG, VA- The Clarke County Eagles continued their high powered offensive show with a 52 -14 victory over the Strasburg Rams, at Glen Proctor Field on Friday.

Clarke County (4-2, 2-1) jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back.

"It was a great win, a big win." Eagles coach Chris Parker said, "We wanted to come out and make a statement, and I thought our guys really responded well. We came out with a lot of enthusiasm and played aggressively."

Hunter Rogers rushed for 227 yards on 17 carries and scored 3 times on TD runs of 2, 6, and 10 yards. Chris Davis rushed for 100 yards on 4 carries and scored 3 times on runs of 32, 8, and 62 yards.

"I think the biggest thing we needed to work on throughout the week was our focus." Davis said, "We just got to keep our focus and I think we'll be good."

Daniel Braithwaite scored on a 5 yard run and Nick Bahamonde added a 25 yard field goal and 7 extra points to round out the Eagles scoring.

"I feel great about Nick Bahamonde, he has been a pleasant surprise."Parker said, "I thought his kickoffs were outstanding and you add the icing on the cake with ten points on the field goal and extra points that's just great."

Strasburg (4-2, 2-1) scored twice when quarterback Ethan Duckworth (13 of 26 for 169 yards, 2 Td, 2int) hit Brody Tomlin 26 yards and Grant Scott 13 yards for touchdowns.

The Eagles will return home next week to face the George Mason Mustangs on homecoming night. Kickoff is set for 7:30PM at Wilbur M. Feltner Stadium.

Game highlights and post game interviews below in the Clarke County Sports Game of the Week.