Thomas Dale High School | Archive | November, 2008

by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com

Deep Run coach Kevin Pond thought he made a “stupid” mistake telling a banquet crowd that his Wildcats will win the state the next season.

All he did was tell the future of his boys volleyball program.

The Wildcats topped reigning state Group AAA champion Thomas Dale 3-2 Saturday afternoon at VCU’s Siegel Center, snapping the Knights’ 52-game winning streak in the process.

Fittingly, it was captain and top player Patrick Maloney that provided the spike and all-out Deep Run celebration, its first win over TD in three tries this season.

“I think we spent more time training to do the things we needed to do,” Pond said. “For the most part we executed the gameplan we wanted to.”

The gameplan was simple.

Pond wanted his Wildcats to play the game they wanted to play, and try to limit terrific Dale hitters Bradley Johnston and Zach Seymour as much as possible.

Deep Run, stocked full of seniors, used a balanced attack. Six Wildcats provided six kills or more, paced by Maloney’s 17 and Lucas Saunders‘ 11.

Though Johnston (19 kills) and Seymour still combined for 34 kills, in a five-game match as talented as the duo is, that’s a pretty good effort.

Mission accomplished.

“I think we shut them down enough, not totally, to win the match,” Pond said.

The turning point came after the two ridiculously great teams traded games one and two.

Deep Run nabbed game three 25-16 in dominant fashion, putting themselves on the doorstep of State Titleville.

But they weren’t ready to open the door.

“They know what they need to do,” Pond said. “The fourth game was just nerves.”

Dale jumped out early, leading 8-3 then 14-7 before Deep Run could recover. Dale wasn’t ready to relinquish their hardware, forcing a fifth game on a 25-19 victory.

“I guess people won’t understand until you coach them,” an emotional Dale coach Mike Walker said. “It’s just unfortunate that we lose the last one.

“I’m proud of this group. They have nothing to be ashamed of. Tell me the last team to win 52 matches in a row.”

Dale couldn’t make it an unprecedented 53 because of an extreme effort from Deep Run.

The Wildcats took a 5-2 lead to force a TD timeout as Deep Run’s spikes were too tough for Dale’s blockers to control.

Deep Run junior Ross Madden delivered a **** for 12-7, John Grove‘s block pushed it to 13-7 and Saunders dropped a **** for 14-8.

Dale ran off three straight points as Pond called timeout to settle the group, but Maloney would have no comeback.

“We knew they would be the chief rival,” Walker said of the Wildcats.

Rival. Deep Run needed to beat the Knights to be considered that.

Mission accomplished.

Deep Run    27 27 25 19 15
Thomas Dale 29 25 16 25 11

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By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager, Washington D.C.

*CLICK HERE for full video gallery.

*CLICK HERE for full photo gallery.

For a school open only eight years, historic firsts may not carry much meaning. But don’t tell that to the Bulldogs, a field hockey team on the brink of greatness since their Northern Region championship run in 2006.

Westfield reached the Virginia AAA state semifinals for the first time in school history — just three weeks removed from its first-ever Concorde District title — with its 2-0 win over Central Region champion Thomas Dale on Thursday at the National Training Center in Virginia Beach.

“At one point in time on the sideline, I had such a big grin on my face that I almost had tears in my eyes,” said an emotional Bulldog Coach Terri Towle. “This is a huge accomplishment for the program, for me and the girls. I’m just proud to be a part of it.”

The Bulldogs peppered the Knight cage throughout the first half, but struggled to take the lead.

Junior forward Molly Gift had the best opportunity, sliding a wide-open shot attempt inches left of the frame of goal. But Gift secured her redemption less than 30 seconds later, slamming a shot past the Thomas Dale goalkeeper to give Westfield a 1-0 lead at the half.

“I was so happy because I didn’t want to let my team down,” she said. “I got another opportunity, I took it and found a way to get it in for the go-ahead goal that kept us up for the rest of the game.”

The previously-unbeaten Knights (18-1) left the field with heavy hearts, knowing they left opportunities on the field.

But fortunately for Thomas Dale, it features the youngest unit in the eight-team state tournament field, including freshman starting goalkeeper Savannah Cummings, and promise to be a force in the coming seasons.

“I don’t think this game proved what this team could do,” Knight Coach Beth Jaeckle said. “I think the rest of the season, we did that … we’re losing five top-notch seniors, but we have a group of sophomores that are strong that were on JV and varsity.”

Westfield (20-4) advances to face the most-storied field hockey team in the country, Frank W. Cox (21-2) at 1 p.m. on Friday.

To continue to re-write history, the Bulldogs may have to rip the pages from the Virginia High School Leauge record book and use them to dry off their gear. The Falcons have won a national-record 15 state titles, including seven in a row from 1989-95.

They won the state final last year, 6-0, over Stafford.

“I think we go celebrate for a while, go have a good dinner and focus on what we need to do tomorrow,” Towle said. “We can’t have any letdowns, any mental lapses and go play our best game for 60 minutes.”

Added Ameera Ahmadieh, who scored the Bulldogs second goal: “We made history today. We might as well be able to do it tomorrow.”

Westfield        1  1 — 2
Thomas Dale  0  0 — 0

Goals:
WF – Gift (18)
WF – Ahmadieh (32)

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

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BOYS VOLLEYBALL
State Group AAA Tournament
(at VCU’s Siegel Center)
Thursday, November 13, Semifinals ($10)
Thomas Dale 3, Great Bridge 0
Deep Run 3, Frank Cox 0

Saturday, November 15, Final ($10)
Thomas Dale vs. Deep Run, 1 p.m.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
State Group AAA Tournament
Tuesday, November 11, Quarterfinals ($8)
Albemarle d. Frank Cox
Chantilly 3, Hanover 0
Landstown d. Loudoun Valley
Westfield 3, Mills Godwin 0
* Sammy Spees threw in 19 kills as Westfield rolled. Read more here!

(at VCU’s Siegel Center)
Thursday, November 13, Semifinals ($10)
Albemarle 3, Chantilly 2
Westfield 3, Landstown 1

Saturday, November 15, Final ($10)
Albemarle vs. Westfield, 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
State Group AAA Tournament
(at National Training Center, Virginia Beach)
Thursday, November 13, Quarterfinals ($8)
Westfield 2, Thomas Dale 0
Frank Cox 3, North Stafford 0
Princess Anne 1, Mountain View 0
Lake Braddock 3, Maggie Walker GS 2

Friday, November 14, Semifinals ($8)
Westfield vs. Cox, 1 p.m. (Field 1)
Princess Anne vs. Lake Braddock, 3 p.m. (Field 2)

Saturday, November 15, Final ($10)
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m. (Field 1)

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by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com

Now’s the time all Central Region boys volleyball fans have been waiting for.

Thomas Dale and Deep Run completed three-game sweeps Thursday afternoon to advance to Saturday’s state Group AAA final at 1 p.m. at VCU’s Siegel Center.

The Wildcats earned a spot in the final with an impressive performance over perennial Eastern Region power Frank Cox.

Deep Run, never on this stage before, came out with no fear.

“Once you put it all together on the court and you see it work,” Deep Run coach Kevin Pond said, “that’s how you get confidence.”

Around the 10-point mark of games one and two, Pond’s team pulled away.

Cox trailed 11-10 in game one before Deep Run rolled off six straight points for a 17-10 lead. Cox couldn’t recover as DR took the game 25-15.

In the second game, Deep Run had another 11-10 lead.

The Wildcats extended it to 18-12 on Lucas Saunders‘ ****. Cox stayed close, but Deep Run claimed the game 25-20.

“They weren’t letting up to give us the chance to regroup,” Falcons coach Jason Zuidema said.

The third game was Deep Run’s best start. The Wildcats leaped out to a 9-3 advantage on John Grove‘s block. He was sensational in the middle.

But perhaps Deep Run relaxed.

Frank Cox tied the contest at 12, the latest in any game that they tied the Central Region runner-up.

“It was really nice to start out the third game with the lead,” Deep Run libero Brian Fitzsimmons said. “We kind of slacked off toward the end of the third game. I think we were getting a little bit too into the crowd.”

Up 16-15, Deep Run ran off five straight points to hold off the Falcons’ bid for a fourth game, setting up the showdown with defending champion Dale.

The Knights topped Great Bridge in three games as well, 25-22, 25-16 and 25-22.

Coach Mike Walker was less than pleased with Dale’s passing effort, but nonetheless the Knights won their 52nd straight game and have a chance at a second straight state title.

Bradley Johnston led the way with 19 kills, while Zach Seymour put in 13 and two aces. Donnie Hevener had six blocks, and Matt Knickerbocker added four.

Great Bridge 22 16 22
Thomas Dale  25 25 25

Frank Cox 15 20 20
Deep Run  25 25 25

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by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com

ASHLAND – Knights ride horses, and Thomas Dale’s two put up a spectacular performance to hold off a talented Deep Run team 3-2 in Thursday’s Central Region final at Patrick Henry.

Bradley Johnston and Zach Seymour produced in bunches as the Knights claimed their second straight region crown and pushed their lengthy winning streak to 51 games.

Johnston had 29 kills and 22 assists. Seymour, 27 assists and 22 kills.

“I guess it’s obvious,” Thomas Dale coach Mike Walker said. “We rode them tonight.”

None of their production was as important as in a riveting fifth game.

Johnston, the region player of the year, was in the scoring spot. He put TD ahead 11-10, 13-11 and 14-13 as the match inched ever so close to the end.

But Deep Run wasn’t done as Kevin Pond‘s squad stayed close every time Dale looked to grab the hardware.

The Wildcats even registered a match point at 16-15 on Ross Madden‘s block.

But Johnston delivered his fiercest pound of the night as the ball bounced off Deep Run’s side and all around the gym to tie the contest at 16.

“That’s the way volleyball is supposed to be played right there by both teams,” Pond said. “That was back and forth volleyball with a lot of momentum changes. I thought it was well-coached by both teams. It was a great match all the way around, I enjoyed that. That was fun.”

Then it was Seymour’s turn to enter the spotlight, but he wasn’t ready. He missed on a perfect set that he usually dents the floor with.

“I set Zach a lot and he sets me a lot. I know I can count on him,” Johnston said. “I know he messed up twice at the end of the game, but he picked it up.”

Sure did. He got another opportunity and blasted a shot to give TD an 18-17 lead. Then Matt Knickerbocker and Mason Vivas, two juniors, blocked Deep Run for the final margin.

“Just a great team effort,” Walker said. “We didn’t play very well in that third and fourth game, but the kids regrouped in the fifth and kind of got it going again. We just found a way to win tonight.”

That doesn’t usually happen. This is only the second time the Knights have gone to five games during its winning streak, not including a three-game thrashing of Deep Run in the regular season.

But the Wildcats, paced by first-team all-region pick Patrick Maloney (14 kills), Lucas Saunders (14 kills) and setter Phil Slocum (39 assists), finally believe they belong with Dale, and it showed after TD’s first game win at 25-16.

Next up is Thursday’s state semifinals for both teams.

It is very likely a rematch will occur in the final if both teams play the way they did in the region final.

Deep Run 16 25 23 25 19
T. Dale    25 20 25 16 17
Records: Deep Run (23-2); Thomas Dale (25-0)

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