This game was the first in our DMV Game of the Week series where we are joining with Monumental Network to feature some of the best high school football contests from around the D.C. area.
CLIFTON, Va. — “Are the tickets sold out?”
That’s the question of the day in Gonzaga College High School athletic director Joe Reyda’s office. It’s still nearly nine hours until Gonzaga and Centreville High School kick off in the Northern Virginia suburbs, but the energy has been palpable on the campus of the D.C. parochial prep school since early in the morning. Following a rowdy pep rally at 7:15 in the morning, a steady stream of students has been flowing through Reyda’s office, sweeping up seats for the game.
This is the type of matchup that regional rules can discourage, but which have the capability to bring attention to D.C. area high school football in a whole new way. Both Maryland and Virginia public schools do not receive any points toward their state playoffs by playing private schools, dissuading some programs from trying to schedule such matchups.
Reyda explains that the game came together thanks to his previous coach having a discussion with Centreville coach Chris Haddock last January at a coaches’ conference. Both Gonzaga and Centreville had previously scheduled games, against Dunbar and TC Williams, but were able to get the other schools to play each other instead. Knowing the risks, the gamble paid off, as ESPN made the call to pick up the game sometime in June.
According to Reyda, it’s been almost 10 years since the last matchup of any such significance between public and private powers, when Robinson and Good Counsel squared off. But even that matchup didn’t come with the hype of Friday night’s.
Coming in, both teams are ranked in the USA TODAY Top 25, with Centreville holding down the No. 7 spot following their 15-0 record and Virginia 6A title last year. The Wildcats scored at least 45 points in every game, winning by no fewer than 20 in any contest.
Meanwhile, despite going just 6-5 the year prior, Gonzaga enters the game ranked 22nd, and 1-0 after crushing Neshaminy (Pa.), 42-3 on the road in its opening game. A contest of that significance has attracted the attention of ESPN, who picked the game up for an ESPNU broadcast, the first time a Fairfax County public school has ever had a nationally televised game.
Reyda visited the Centreville campus Friday morning to get a feel for the lay of the land. He saw students hanging signs for the game as early as 8:30 in the morning. He’s also watched tape with his new coach and knows what the Eagles are up against.
“They are good,” he says of Centreville with a knowing laugh. “We’re going to find out how good we really are tonight.”
Strong contingents show up from both sides, with the home fans filling the stands mere seconds after the gates open at 6:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. kick, black-clad and painted bodies rushing to find the best possible spots in the bleachers. The visiting crowd doesn’t enter the stadium until later, but many in purple and white were on hand tailgating as early as 5 p.m.
When the game finally began, the stands on both sides are full, the rowdy student sections thrown into a frenzy anytime a camera gets pointed even close to their direction.
Gonzaga comes out strong, breaking off a pair of long runs en route to an opening touchdown drive that spans 69 yards on just seven plays, as chants of “This is D.C.!” ring out from the white-clad visiting student section. Centreville answers with a methodical, clock-leeching 80-yard touchdown score of its own, capped by a play-action pass for the score, inside of two minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
The Eagles break another big run to set up an early second quarter score, and, surprisingly, appear to be the more athletic of the two teams. After an interception and a late field goal, they take a 10-point lead into the break.
The second half is more of the same, as Gonzaga stretches its lead to put the game all but out of reach 24-7 on a deep touchdown pass from University of Virginia-bound quarterback Nick Johns. The teams trade a late score each, as Gonzaga comes away with a 31-14 win.
After the contest, even though Haddock and the Centreville players seem a bit stunned by the loss, the head coach recognizes the importance of the contest, and steps back to see the larger picture.
“It was a great atmosphere for high school football tonight, that’s what it comes down to,” he says. “It’s an awesome thing to show up an hour before game time and see your stands filled.”
And, ironically, the same way that the matchup wouldn’t have helped Centreville’s quest for another Virginia state title had they won, the loss also doesn’t hurt it.
“We still have the same opportunity now as we had three hours ago,” says Haddock.
All of that is to say that the real winner Friday night was D.C. area high school football, which got a chance to showcase itself on a national stage. Perhaps others will see the success of this game and realize that, points or no, such matchups are worth scheduling for public and private schools alike.
Follow @WTOP and @WTOPSports on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
