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(Nov. 23, 2012) - The Loudoun County High School football team has never won a regional championship but the Raiders have a shot tonight when they travel to 2-time defending state champion Briar Woods at 7 p.m. It will be the Raiders first regional title appearance since 1996.
Loudoun County (10-2) earned the chance after knocking off rival Tuscarora, 30-21, last Friday in the semifinals. The Raiders had lost to the Huskies, 21-7, in the regular season but it was the Raiders shocking the home Tuscarora crowd with 20 first quarter points.
Tuscarora fought back in the entertaining game that wasn't decided until Loudoun County added a late Jose Andrade 21-yard field goal with just under five minutes left and then Mike Anderson made his second big interception of the game with 1:23 remaining.
All that was left was for County to run the clock out and the Raider Riot and other County fans sprinted around to the stadium's field exit to await their players triumphant return to the buses.
It was a dream start to the game for County and certainly a nightmare for Tuscarora.
On Tuscarora's first possession to start the game a wild snap on fourth down, forced sophomore Noah Reimers to track back to get the ball and he got off a punt that gave LC great field position at their own 45.
The Raiders needed just six plays to score with senior Matt Arneson doing the most damage with a 25-yard tackling-breaking run that put the ball on the 13. LC quarterback senior Jake Lokey took it to the 4 where Arneson did the honors with a TD with 7:54 left in the first.
On the very next snap from scrimmage, Tuscarora quarterback Nick Azzarita tried to go downfield but Anderson picked off the pass and returned it to the LC 39.
With momentum now on their side, the Raiders went eight plays to score on a Lokey to Brad Szoka TD pass with 4:31 left in the quarter. On the drive, LC was able to get out of a 1st-and-30 situation with Lokey completing passes to Antonio Jackson for 9, to Arneson for 15 after a great catch and then Szoka for 36 yards to the Huskies 9.
The Raiders were not done in the first quarter yet.
After a quick 3-and-out, Reimers low line drive punt from his own 20 was returned by the shifty Szoka to the Huskies 39. Lokey found Sean Bell for 19 yards and then hit Jackson for a 20-yard score. The Raiders, making two of three PATs in the quarter, led 20-0 with 1:05 left in the first.
Tuscarora finally shook off the shock with senior Adrien Stinger busting loose for a 48-yard run that fueled a TD drive capped by Azzarita's 1-yard TD sneak. The PAT was blocked to make it 20-6 with 11:32 until half.
The Huskies stopped the Raiders by sacking Lokey on third down on their next possession and Tuscarora marched down the field, moving 56 yards in 10 plays with a key penalty on 4th-and-5 that kept the drive alive as County was flagged for a late hit on Stinger as he tossed an errant halfback option pass.
Reimers TD from the 1 plus his 2-point run made it 20-14 with 4:21 left in the half.
Loudoun County made it to the Huskies 34 just before half but Drew Davidson picked off Lokey to stop the drive.
The Huskies then quickly made it into the Raider red zone only to have LC's A.J. Bourschedi intercept the ball with 21 seconds left in the half.
Loudoun County started the second half with a nice drive that ended on the Huskies 30 when Reimers recovered a Lokey fumble. The Raiders defense forced a 3-and-out and County then moved the ball 50 yards in eight plays to pad their lead.
Another key penalty kept the drive going as Tuscarora was flagged for pass interference on 2-and-7 on a play that could have gone either way or no call. Szoka hauled in a Lokey pass for a 4-yard score in the corner of the end zone just getting his toes inside the line. County led 27-14 with 4:05 in the quarter.
Tuscarora responded with a monster drive, wearing down a tired Raider defense, with Reimers running the ball nine straight times to finish, finally scoring from the 3. It was now a one-score game with County up 27-21 with more than 10 minutes to play.
County showed its courage with a drive started from their own 28 that ate up the clock. The Huskies held inside the 5 and Raider coach Todd Hill, faced with 4th-and-goal from the 3 with just under five to play, opted for the field goal and Andrade came through for a 30-21 lead.
A penalty left Tuscarora with 97 yards to go and needing two scores. The Huskies moved the ball to the LC 31 before Anderson played the hero with an acrobatic pick.
Loudoun County 30, Tuscarora 21
LC 20 0 7 3 - 30
T 0 14 0 7 - 21
1 LC Arneson 4 run (kick failed)
1 LC Szoka 9 pass from Lokey (Andrade kick)
1 LC AJackson 20 pass from Lokey (Andrade kick)
2 T Azzarita 1 run (kick blocked)
2 T Reimers 1 run (Reimers run)
3 LC Szoka 4 pass from Lokey (Andrade kick)
4 T Reimers 3 run (Miller kick)
4 LC Andrade 21 FG
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