The Bishop Ireton Cardinals got into the win column in convincing fashion by soundly defeating Heritage High School (Loudoun County) 31-0. The Cardinals improved to 1-4 on the season. The game was played Sept. 28 due to the inclement weather Sept. 27.

The Cardinals, coached by Brian Inman, have played tough games against O'Connell, St. Christopher’s and Paul VI but it was not until they traveled to Leesburg that they were able to come away with a win.

Ireton scored two first quarter touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead after 12 minutes had elapsed. Senior fullback William Bryant punched in a two-yard scoring run.

Minutes later, senior Tim Tassa scored from 40 yards out.

"I took the option pitch from Charlie (West)," said Tassa. "I went up the sidelines, made a couple of moves on the defender, and took it to the house."

"The linebacker was coming in fast. I pitched it to Tim at the last possible split-second," said sophomore quarterback West.

The "Cardinal and Gold" increased their lead to 24-0 at intermission. Bryant scored from 15 yards out, and Lawler booted his sixth field goal of the season. He is on pace to have one of the all-time top-five scoring years for a kicker in Cardinal history. The senior has also taken over the punting duties in the past several weeks.

"It was fourth down and three. The line blocked real well. I went between the guard and the tackle on the left side, and I made sure nobody was going to stop me," said the 235 pound Bryant, a former standout defensive end.

The Ireton defense pitched a shutout not only in the first half, but also in the second half.

Cardinal defensive backs E.J. Peter, George Giammittorio, Dan Stankus and Kwinten Brown have been severely tested in recent weeks, as well as Tim Tassa, Charlie West, Brian McSween and several others. A host of players have alternated at corner back, strong safety and free safety throughout the course of the year.

On the road in Leesburg, the Ireton defensive secondary stepped up.

Peter, a quad-captain, along with center Joe Blaszkow, tight end Carlos Goldie and offensive/defensive/special teams standout Tassa, made one interception and returned it 35 yards.

"We're definitely starting to play real well," he said.

McSween, only a sophomore, made another interception and returned it 25 yards.

Neither team found the endzone in the third quarter. But the Cardinals capped off the scoring in the final stanza when Tassa scored from three yards out.

"We thought we could run the ball on them all game long. I played quarterback late in the game and scored on a sweep to the outside," said Tassa.

Bryant pounded out 175 yards on the ground. In addition, quarterback West ripped off 105 yards; Tassa ran for 70 yards; senior Mike Bury and several others combined for nearly 60 more yards.

It was by far the most prolific day on the ground for the Cardinals this year, and one of the all-time best in Ireton history.

West has run for five TDs this season and has thrown for two scores — both to sophomore Holloway. Bryant has run for three scores on the season.

"We've got some momentum now. We just need to go out and execute in our future games," said West.

Ireton hosts Brentsville Oct. 5.

O’Connell Defeats Carroll

The Bishop O'Connell Knights, coached by Darrell Snyder, improved their record to 3-2 overall with a hard-fought 12-2 victory versus the Carroll Lions.

The Knights played on the road Sept. 28 in Washington D.C.

Scoring for O'Connell was junior Ryan Molina on a one-yard run in the first quarter. Senior defensive back Andrew Fitzpatrick made one of the biggest plays

for the Knights this season when he broke through the line of scrimmage and blocked a Carroll punt in the second quarter. It resulted in a safety, giving O’Connell a 9-0 lead at halftime.

Carroll added a safety of their own in the third quarter before senior placekicker Jon Hill booted a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Hill is not only one of the top punters in O'Connell history, but is also one of the top placekickers.

Snyder gave credit to his defense, especially the play of Shane Briggs, Rob Morrisette, P.J. Smith, Logan Wyllie, Ernie Lomax, Andrew Fitzpatrick and Andrew Bikowski.

He also gave credit to backup junior quarterback Conor O'Brien for running the offense in the absence of starting quarterback Bush Hamdan, who was nursing a soar throwing hand. All-purpose threat Jeremy Trimble also missed the game due to injury.

O'Connell hosts St. John’s Oct. 5.

PVI Loses to McNamara

The Paul VI Panthers dropped to 1-4 on the season with a humbling 42-3 loss to the McNamara Mustangs.

McNamara led 14-3 at halftime, before exploding for 20 unanswered third quarter points. The bright spot in the game for the "Black and Gold" occurred in the second quarter when standout senior placekicker Rob Stoegbauer booted a 53-yard field goal. The kick was the longest in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference history.

The Panthers visit powerhouse DeMatha Oct. 5.