In a complete reversal from the previous week’s 5-0 loss to McLean, varsity football scored five touchdowns against Madison during last Friday’s homecoming game. Both teams exchanged the lead eight times with Madison winning the game with a touchdown run with less than one minute remaining in the game, 38-35.
With about two minutes left in the game, senior quarterback Rashaan Jones scored on a 11-yard touchdown run to give South Lakes a 35-31 lead. Madison closed out the scoring with a one yard run by senior quarterback Mitchell Goddard.
Despite the loss, South Lakes enjoyed its biggest offensive night of the season against Madison, who improved to 6-1 on the season. The Seahawks dropped to 2-5.
Head coach Marvin Wooten explained why his team performed offensively while not scoring or giving up a touchdown against McLean.
“It’s all on whom we play,” Wooten said. “We play some teams that relay a lot on defense and not so much on offensive, and we play some teams that are explosive on offense, and giving up the big play on defense. That’s just a week to week thing.”
Against a tough Madison team, South Lakes nearly pulled off the upset.
“Against McLean we didn’t put up any points,” Wooten said. “We had a lot of kids that were out and this week against Madison we really tried to coach up our mistakes, and we got a few kids back for that game. I thought we saw a little change and we had extra motivation for being a homecoming game.”
Although varsity football lost its last two football games, they feel that the season still can be a success.
“Right now the spirit is good, despite the close losses,” Wooten said. “This year we are more competitive, and I think that confidence is going to roll until the end of the season and carry over into next season as well because we do have a lot of kids coming back for next year as well.”
Players agree with Wooten’s perspective.
“This year is a lot better than last year in terms of leadership,” junior offensive guard and defense tackle Marc Harrison said. “Last year we had only two captains. This year we have four and we have an important role. We lead by example and our leadership. Along with the new coaches, this is giving our team a better overall feeling and vibe. More leadership means better spirit.”
Harrison, one of the four captains, feels that South Lakes could even make the playoffs this year.
“Everyone knows the effort we put in,” Harrison said. “We don’t let our record get in the way of our feelings and vibes. We know we have to win these next few games. We can win these last three games to end 5-5 and potentially put ourselves in a playoff situation.”
Tonight is probably the biggest challenge remaining for varsity football. They travel to play Langley who is 3-4. The Seahawks conclude the season with Marshall and Thomas Jefferson at home. Marshall is 0-7 and Thomas Jefferson is 3-4.
“The expectations for the kids still go up, play hard, put in a lot of effort, enthusiasm.” Harrison said. “Three games that I think we could win and I feel that if we do win we can still make the playoff and have a post season so the expectations are to play hard and do the best that we can.”
Harrison is already looking toward the future.
“This year is a lot better than last year,” Harrison said. “We’re losing a few of our seniors like Rashaan and Zac [Parker], but for the most part everyone is returning next year. The spirit we have this year will carry into next year. The end of this season is the beginning of next season, so having success to conclude the season would really boost our morale.”
Jones leads the team in passing with 687 yards and 275 yards rushing. Parker leads in scoring with 8 touchdowns on 687 yards receiving. Junior Alex Woodward leads the defense with 72 total tackles this season.