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When Briar Woods and North Stafford met in early December last season

in a Class 5A state semifinal classic, the Falcons defense needed a

stop on a two-point conversion in order to save the victory in a 27-25

affair.

Nine months later, not much has changed.

With just seconds left on the clock, the Falcons defense once again

came up with a big stop on a Wolverines two-point conversion attempt

that resulted in a 23-22 Briar Woods victory.

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vspace="5">Trailing 16-10 entering the fourth quarter, Briar

Woods failed to score on fourth-and-goal from the North Stafford

four-yard line which, while dejecting, did pin the North Stafford

defense deep in their own territory putting the game in the hands of

the Falcons defense.

The unit forced a three-and-punt series that gave the ball back to the

Briar Woods offense on the Wolverines 39-yard line with just over nine

minutes left in the contest.

Using a combination of short passes and inside runs, the now up-tempo

Briar Woods offense powered their way into the end zone to tie the

contest at 16 just two minutes later as Jordan Hinson plunged in from

one-yard out.

Following an interception by Briar Woods safety Jacob Rosen (pictured)

that gave the ball back to the Falcons on the North Staffod 29-yard

line, Briar Woods looked set to take control on the contest. However,

just one play later Wolverines defensive back Naukym Morton stepped in

front of a Falcons pass at the one-yard line to give the ball back to

North Stafford.

Working from their own one-yard line, North Stafford was again stunted

by the Falcons defense setting up a punt with less than four minutes

left in the game.

This time, the offense finished off their drive when quarterback Jake

Maffe found a gap on a quarterback sneak from the one-yard line on

fourth-and-goal giving the Falcons a 2-16 lead with 47 seconds left in

the contest.

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vspace="5">The contest was not quite finished yet, though as

Jalen Sarratt (pictured) returned the ensuing kickoff to the Briar

Woods 30-yard line leading to a scoring pass just two plays later when

quarterback Jimmy Edwards found wideout Guy Keith from 25 yards out to

bring the Wolverines within one with nineteen seconds left in the

contest.

Drama time.

North Stafford was halted on a two-point conversion on an incomplete

pass but, with the defense flagged for holding, the Wolverines were

going to get another chance.

Before the ensuing snap, Briar Woods was flagged for being offsides

moving the ball inside the one-yard line for the North Stafford offense.

When the ball was finally snapped on the next play, the Briar Woods

defensive line engulfed the North Stafford ball carrier with Bryan

Capozzoli darting through the line and getting the stop to secure the

victory.

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vspace="5">The game opened quite well for Briar Woods as

they forced a three-and-punt on North Stafford's opening drive then hit

an 88-yard touchdown pass from Maffee to tight end Mark Birmingham

(pictured) on their first play from scrimmage. Then, following a fumble

on North Stafford's third possession, the Falcons capitalized with a

field goal to move out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.

From there, things got dicey as Briar Woods failed to score on their

next six possession with three punts, an interception and two turnovers

on downs while the Wolverines fought back with two scoring passes to

take a 16-10 lead into the wild fourth quarter.

The game was one of the most strenous contests that I've seen in a

while as each coaching staff was under constant pressure to make

adjustments and to react to the other team's moves.

As the game wore on, both coaches had to dig deep into their rosters as

North Stafford lost starting tailback Malachai Harrison, wideout (and

kicker) Jacob Bochonick and offensive lineman Cameron Myers while Briar

Woods lost two-way starter at running back and defensive back Anthony

Martinez in the first quarter and then back up tailback Jordan Hinson

in the fourth quarter.

By the end of the contest, North Stafford was handing the ball to

third-string running back Jacob Woodard who hadn't taken a snap witht

he first team all week and Briar Woods was relying on their third

tailback, junior Dillon Blevins who is listed as a cornerback on their

Washington Post roster.