Bishop Ireton, coached by Brian Inman (third season), turned history on its head and shattered the decades-long gridiron stranglehold that O'Connell has had over Ireton by soundly defeating their archrivals 23-0 Sept 4 in Alexandria.

Ireton had not defeated O’Connell since 1971 - a span of 33 years. The Cardinals also defeated the Knights in 1968 and the two teams tied during the 1995 season.

"There were several years in the mid-to-late 1980s that we didn't play one another, but for the most part it has been a good rivalry," said O’Connell Athletic Director Darrell Snyder.

Following an O'Connell punt, Ireton scored on its first offensive possession to set the tone for the game. Senior fullback/linebacker Pat Shannon ripped off some key runs before senior quarterback/defensive back David Rodriguez eventually scored from eight yards out.

Though the PAT was wide, Ireton led 6-0 and set the tone for the game.

"Offensively, our game plan was to out hit them on the line of scrimmage as well as out execute them and to not turn the ball over," said Inman.

"Ireton deserved to win this game. They dominated the line of scrimmage today," said second-year O'Connell head coach Steve Trimble.

The Cardinal offensive line — seniors Shaun Stever, Mark Wu, Ed Culbert, Brian McCarthy and junior Eddie Pitts — came ready to play.

"We were hungry and we were quick off of the ball. We used the snap count to our advantage," said Steever.

Early in the second quarter, the Knights put together a couple of first downs on their subsequent drive, but eventually punted. The home team turned the ball over via a fumble and then the visitors turned the ball over via a fumble.

Ireton eventually missed a medium distance field goal.

O'Connell moved the ball well on its next drive, but senior nose tackle Mark Wu and senior defensive end Buddy Buckner disrupted O'Connell senior quarterback Mike Ireland's pass attempt and the ball was intercepted by Ireton freshman defensive back Andrew Rodriguez (younger brother of David).

"Our 'D'-line [Buckner, Frank Curry, Eddie Pitts and myself] put a lot of pressure on them all day. We stuffed their runs. We contained every time that we could. We took it to them today," said Wu.

"I knew that our defense was going to be good this season. It was definitely our strength from last year." said Inman.

David Rodriguez completed a couple of passes before senior placekicker/wide receiver Brian McSween booted a 27 yard field goal, giving the Cardinals a 9-0 lead, to conclude the first half.

Midway through the third quarter Ireton’s Shannon powered into the end zone from 14 yards out and McSween added the PAT to give Ireton a 16-0 advantage.

The final exclamation point occurred in the fourth quarter when Ireton’s West, from the tailback position, scored from five yards.

"I followed offensive guard Frank Curry into the end zone," said West. "This win is great, but we need to focus on McNamara. Our goal this season is to qualify for the V.I.S. [Virginia Independent State] School Playoffs."

"This is the start of a new era for all of the Ireton sports - not just football, but all of the other sports as well. We're not going to get pushed around any more," said McSween.

"This win is fantastic. This senior class is real close. The whole team constitutes a great bunch of guys to work with," said David Rodriguez.

"I feel great about this win. The players went out there and did what was asked of them. They didn't make a lot of mistakes. Our kids were hungrier today than their kids were," said Inman.

PVI Drops One to Fork Union

The Paul VI Panthers, coached by Pat McGroarty (second season), dropped a 14-0 non-league game to the Fork Union Blue Devils. The game, which was played Sept. 3 in Fairfax, was the opener for both squads.

The PVI offense was never able to generate consistent drives. PVI punted five times in the first half alone - none of which were beyond the Panther 39 yard line.

In the second half, PVI punted on their first four possessions and threw an interception on their final possession of the game. The busiest man for the Panthers all night long was senior punter/offensive tackle Ross Hammerer.

"I punted pretty well and I did what the coaches told me to do - punt the ball toward the sidelines because they had a dangerous return man. Offensively, we need to execute more consistently," said Hammerer (along with a combination of seniors Khalil Hall, Chris Puhl, Logan Metcalf and juniors Mark McDonald and Dan Matheny) did an admirable job on the offensive line.

Senior Billy Conques and junior Keone Kyle spearheaded the Panthers defensive efforts.

With all of our young guys - it's going to take some time [to gel]. We need to have a good week of practice and we need to execute versus Carroll," said Conques.

"Offensively, we are not where we need to be. We're pretty thin in spots and we're pretty young. We've got a lot of guys going both ways. We're going to have to find the balance on both offense and defense. We need to gain some consistency," said McGroarty.