South County dominant second half blows past West Springifeld 43-25

Lorton Va- Playing without 10 starters the South County Stallions were trailing 17-14 at halftime but would respond with 29 unanswered points to take down visiting West Springfield 43-25. Coach Pannoni’s squad played this game without numerous key starters and back ups had a next man up mentality “We’re down 10 starters, bunch of our JV kids that played Monday night played tonight too” Coach replied “Believe that we can do this, don’t step back and we can be fine”.

On a humid evening in Lorton, Virginia the Spartans struck first when Brady Davies picked off new starting quarterback Tyler Orth for an acrobatic interception. The Stallions defense held firm holding the Spartans to 3 with a Christian Sadek 37-yard field goal. Orth would march South County right back on the next possession and threw a dart to Trevion Campbell 10-7 Stallions.

The very next drive saw West Springfield one up the home squad with junior quarterback Brian Walrath finishing it with a 1-yard touchdown run. Walrath was sharp in the first half after Seif Koroma’s first score of the night for the Stallions, the junior signal caller hooked up with first half Spartans star Brady Davies on a 32-yard flea flicker (17-14 West Springfield).  Evan Shorter picked off Tyler Orth right before halftime with the Spartans out in front.

South County was a different team in the second half, and it started with a big defensive stand on West Springfield opening possession. A hoist of Stallions defenders stopped a 4th and 1 try from the Spartans around the 50. This would lead to Koroma’s second touchdown on the night with a 3 yard run. A little over 4 minutes left in the third, a bad snap on West Springfield’s punt set up South County with a first and goal at the 10. Orth would scamper and grind his way in for a 10-yard keeper on the next play giving the Stallions some cushion at 29-17.

Seif Koroma would hammer in his third touchdown on 4th and goal from the 3 with just under 9 minutes remaining seemingly putting this contest to bed. Orth would bulldoze in for another 1-yard score and within 1 quarter this game had completely flipped.

Walrath found reigning district player of the year Mark-Anthony Whyte for his 2nd touchdown pass on the evening, making the wound a little easier for the Spartans bus ride back. Final score 43-25 South County as they improve 2-1. Koroma is finally getting his opportunity with three touchdowns on the night he wanted to send a message “Everyday we know next man up, everyone works hard, we are going to keep on working” Koroma replied “Anytime I get an opportunity I want to maximize it to my full potential”.

South County will be playing the rest of this season without highly regarded starting quarterback Henry Miska due to injury. In case you didn’t notice in his place now and for the remaining 2024 schedule Orth will be the quarterback. While his first half may not have been up to his standards, he responded well in the Stallions route “Second half I told myself to slow down the game, get the ball to my playmakers” an exhausted Orth said “We have a lot of grit, we’re finally figuring it out who we are as a team”. 

The Stallions welcome Fairfax (2-1) next Friday, while West Springfield (0-2) travels to take on Oakton (2-1).