History of Athletics at Stone Bridge High School
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 21, 2007) |
Stone Bridge Bulldogs
| Established | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Athletic Director | Dave Hembach |
| Location | Ashburn, Virginia |
| Athletic Conference | Liberty District Northern Region VHSL |
| Football Division | Division 5 |
| Colors | Navy Blue Columbia Blue Silver |
| Homepage | Official Site |
The Stone Bridge Bulldogs is the name used for all athletic teams at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. This page is used to be the primary page for information about specific teams at Stone Bridge due to the length of this section alone.
General History and Accomplishments
Stone Bridge's athletic program was established in 2000 when the high school opened. The school's mascot and colors were established in 1999 after over 1,100 students at Broad Run High School, Loudoun County High School, and Harper Park Middle School voted. Other mascots that were proposed were the Stone Bridge Knights, the Stone Bridge Sabers, and the Stone Bridge Thunderbirds. Other color combinations that were considered included Navy Blue and Orange; Purple and Gold; and Green and Silver.
Stone Bridge's athletic director is Dave Hembach, who has been at the position since 1999, one year before the school opened. He previously was the athletic director at Park View High School of Sterling.
State Championships
Stone Bridge has won five state titles, which are:
- Three for cheerleading (AA champion in 2004; AAA champion in 2005 and 2006)
- One AA title for Girls Soccer in 2005
- One AAA title for football (Division 5) in 2007
The Bulldogs have been state runner-ups three times, which are:
- One in AA cheerleading in the 2002-2003 season
- One in AAA Division 5 football in 2005
- One in AAA softball in 2006
Stone Bridge has also won three awards for sportsmanship, which are:
- Two for the Wachovia Ethics and Integrity Award (2001–2002 and 2004–2005)
- One in AA Girls Volleyball in 2003–2004
The Bulldogs have also been recognized in the Wachovia Cup standings for their overall athletic performance in the following years:
- 8th place for the AAA Wachovia Cup for Athletics in 2005–2006
Rivalries
Stone Bridge's primary rival school is Broad Run High School, whom they have not played in three years. Though both schools are currently in different VHSL districts, they still regularly play against each other in most sports, except football, due to a power point system which rewards schools for playing opponents with larger enrollments. Stone Bridge also has enjoyed rivalries with other Loudoun County schools, such as Park View for football and Loudoun County for girls' basketball when it was a AA school.
Since joining the Liberty District and Northern Region, Stone Bridge began to enjoy a more intense rivalry against Loudoun Valley because both schools are the only AAA schools in Loudoun County and also play each other in every sport. The Bulldogs are also beginning to develop rivalries with Fairfax County schools, including Madison and Langley.
District and Region Affiliations
| Years | Group | District | Region | Football Division |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–2001 | AA | Northwestern District | Region II | Division 4 |
| 2001–2005 | AA | Dulles District | Region II | Division 4 |
| 2005–present | AAA | Liberty District | Northern Region | Division 5 |
Redistricting and Reclassification Controversy of 2003
Stone Bridge originally anticipated to continue playing in the Dulles District for the 2005–2007 playing cycle, especially after the opening of Briar Woods High School, which is comprised completely of former Stone Bridge students, but future enrollment projections determined that Stone Bridge would remain well above the AA/AAA cutoff after Briar Woods' split.
This prompted the VHSL to move Stone Bridge to the Liberty District and Northern Region in Group AAA, which sparked heated resistance from member schools which did not want the Bulldogs and especially fellow former district rival Loudoun Valley. The region's appeals to keep them out failed however, so Stone Bridge (and Loudoun Valley) joined the region. The VHSL found the resistance surprising because the Northern Region accepted Loudoun schools before in 1996 (with Park View, Broad Run, and Potomac Falls) without resistance.
Redistricting of 2009-2011
Stone Bridge was placed in a preliminary VHSL redistricting plan to be moved from the Liberty District to the AAA Cedar Run District and AAA Northwest Region starting in the 2009-2010 school year. The move was done because the Cedar Run was losing three member schools to Group AA, and also to reunite the Bulldogs with Loudoun Valley which is already in the district. The move also came after Northern Region schools refused to accept Loudoun Valley and Heritage of Leesburg as new members, thus allowing the VHSL to place them. Despite the plan, Stone Bridge is appealing the VHSL decision because of longer travel time in the Cedar Run District, with the intention of staying in the Northern Region.
Athletic Teams
Cheerleading
The Bulldogs' most successful program has been its competition cheerleading team, which has enjoyed a very high level of success since the school's opening. The Bulldogs currently have one of the strongest cheerleading programs in Virginia. Many alumni of the team have gone on to college teams, including teams at the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland, East Carolina University, and the University of Tennessee.
History
In the 2000–2001 season in its first ever competition, the Bulldogs placed third in the AA Northwestern District tournament and earned the last spot to the Region II tournament, despite the fact that most of its cheerleaders were not on varsity squads the year before; some upperclassmen were not involved in cheer before then. The Bulldogs also had a strong showing in the 2000–2001 AA Region II Cheer tournament, but were fourth place, or one spot away from earning a berth to the AA Cheer tournament.
Since then, Stone Bridge won six consecutive district cheerleading titles, including each of the first AA Dulles District titles from 2002–2005, as well as the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 AAA Liberty District titles. The Bulldogs have also advanced to the AA Cheer tournament four consecutive times from the 2001–2002 to the 2004–2005 school year, earning fourth place or better out of 15 schools, including winning the 2004–2005 AA Cheer title, and winning the AAA championship in 2005–2006 and the 2006-2007 seasons in both of its appearances in the AAA cheer tournament.
The Stone Bridge High School cheerleading team is the first team to win consecutive state titles in a sport in different classifications and only the second team to advance to a state championship game or match in consecutive years while in different classifications; the other team given the chance do so was the Cave Spring High School boys basketball team, which won the AAA title in 2001-2002, but lost the AA championship game in 2002–2003.
Record
| Season | District Result | Region Result | State Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-2001 | 3rd place, AA Northwestern District | 5th place, AA Region II | n/a |
| 2001-2002 | AA Dulles District Champions | 3rd place, AA Region II | 3rd place in AA |
| 2002-2003 | AA Dulles District Champions | AA Region II Champions | AA Runners Up |
| 2003-2004 | AA Dulles District Champions | AA Region II Runners Up | 4th place in AA |
| 2004-2005 | AA Dulles District Champions | AA Region II Champions | AA Champions |
| 2005-2006 | AAA Liberty District Champions | AAA Northern Region Champions | AAA Champions |
| 2006-2007 | AAA Liberty District Champions | AAA Northern Region Runner Up | AAA Champions |
| 2007-2008 | AAA Liberty District Runner Up | 3rd place, AAA Northern Region | 3rd place in AAA |
| Total | Six District Championships | Eight Regional Appearances Two Regional Runner Up Finishes Three Regional Titles |
Seven State Appearances One Runner Up Finish Three State Championships |
Football
Stone Bridge's football program is the most popular sport at the school, which is also consistently one of the strongest teams in Northern Virginia, along with Robinson, Hylton, Westfield, Oakton, and Centreville. The Bulldogs are notorious for their use of the single wing offense, which utilizes a considerable amount of option running plays by the quarterback and running backs who typically run for over 1,000 yards each season.
2000 Season
In the 2000 football season, Stone Bridge played an independent varsity football schedule, mostly against local private schools, public schools in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, and also against Westfield and Forest Park High Schools which also opened in 2000. The Bulldogs ended up with a 3-7 record, but had many close matches, including matches against The Potomac School, Randolph-Macon Academy, and Sidwell Friends School. Two of the Bulldogs' victories came against Westfield and Forest Park.
2001 Season
In the 2001 season, the Bulldogs were favored to win the inaugural Dulles District title, but losses to Park View, Loudoun County, and an opening non-district loss to Spotswood knocked them out of playoff contention, ending with a 6-3 record, and 3-2 in the Dulles District. There were only nine games in the season due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks which canceled one game which would have been against Hedgesville High School of Hedgesville, West Virginia.
2002 Season
After starting off the season with a loss against Spotswood, Stone Bridge went on to progress further than in 2001, by placing second in the Dulles District and also going to the AA Region II Division 4 playoffs as the fourth seed after receiving an 8-2 regular season record. They upset Charlottesville High School and Fauquier High School on the road to win the Region II title. However, the dream season would end with a 26-14 loss to Lafayette High School of Williamsburg, who were the defending AA Division 4 champions from 2001, but they would later on fall to Heritage High School in their second straight appearance in the AA Division 4 title game. The Bulldogs ended with a 10-3 record.
2003 Season
The Bulldogs were considered a serious contender for the AA Division 4 title, and this was confirmed with the Bulldogs' first perfect regular season and Dulles District title. The Bulldogs won the Region II Division 4 title as well, but their run would end with a loss on the road to Powhatan High School, who would go on to win the 2003 AA Division 4 title over William Fleming High School of Roanoke. The Bulldogs had a 12-1 record.
2004 Season
Stone Bridge enjoyed its second straight perfect regular season and Dulles District championship in the 2004 season. In the Region II playoffs, a lopsided win over Louisa County High School brought many fans hope of winning another Region II title and perhaps a state title, but the Bulldogs would succumb to Harrisonburg High School in the Region II final; Harrisonburg would eventually be the 2004 Division 4 Finalists where they lost to AA powerhouse Salem. The Bulldogs ended with an 11-1 record.
2005 Season
In the 2005 football season, Stone Bridge was directly compared against Northern Virginia football powerhouses after being moved to Group AAA. Most of the Northern Region however dismissed Stone Bridge as a possible contender for the Northern Region Division 5 championship because of the Bulldogs' lack of experience against AAA opponents, nor did many expect them to win the Liberty District title, where Madison and Jefferson were the initial favorites.
After a lopsided loss to Oakton (who would win the AAA 2005 Division 6 title[1]) in their second game of the season, many programs, especially in Fairfax County believed that Stone Bridge would fail to make a fourth straight run to the playoffs because of playing stiffer competition. However, the Bulldogs proved disbelievers wrong by winning the rest of their regular season, winning the Liberty District title, and would go on to win the Northern Region Division 5 title over Edison,[2] who has been one of the most consistent Division 5 programs in the Northern Region.
The Bulldogs would advance to the AAA Division 5 championship game after beating Matoaca High School at home to become the first Northern Region Division 5 team to advance to the state championship game since Langley in 1993. The magical season however ended when the Bulldogs finally succumbed to a resurging Hampton High School team 15-8 at John B. Todd Stadium of Newport News.[3]
Some Stone Bridge fans were upset by the location of the game because Hampton is only about 10 miles away from Todd Stadium while Stone Bridge was nearly 200 miles away. However, the site was chosen as a last minute replacement for UR Stadium in Richmond due to a recent snow storm. The game could have also been held at a smaller Darling Stadium, where Hampton plays at home, but this was designated as the AAA Division 6 Title Game replacement site because the game would not be considered at a neutral site as per VHSL rules. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs finished the 2005 campaign a 12-2 record overall and was the best season Stone Bridge had until their 2007 state championship run.[4]
2006 Season
The Bulldogs opened the 2006 season with non-district rematches with West Springfield and Oakton at home, and a road contest at Valley. The Oakton match was one of the most highly anticipated AAA non-district football matches of the season, with Stone Bridge ending up with the victory. Stone Bridge finished the regular season undefeated, winning its second Liberty District championship. The Bulldogs were heavily favored to win the Northern Region Division 5 title and to be a contender for the AAA Division 5 state championship, but lost in the Regional Final to Edison 31-17.[5] Edison would advance to the Division 5 championship game, where they would lose to Phoebus High School.
2007 Season
Like the 2005 football season, the Bulldogs were not considered to be serious state title contenders, after losing many of its top players from the 2006 season. They were also not projected to be as dominant as before in the Northern Region, with Edison and Madison viewed as teams that were, if not more likely to win the Northern Region Division 5 title than the Bulldogs. In addition, Stone Bridge was not even considered to be the best program in Loudoun County for the season, with most of the focus on traditional AA Dulles District power Park View, a resurgent Broad Run team who would go on to win the 2007 Dulles District title with a 10-0 regular season only two years after a 1-9 campaign, and the fast progress of third year program Briar Woods, which advanced to the AA Region II Division 3 playoffs.
After a 41-14 upset loss to Robinson on the road in their second game of the season, Stone Bridge won 13 straight games to win its first AAA Division 5 football title over Potomac Senior High School of Dumfries, Virginia with a lopsided 38-0 victory. During its playoff run, the Bulldogs were able to avenge its 2006 playoff defeat to Edison in their third straight match for the Northern Region Division 5 championship with a 27-14 victory. The Bulldogs were also able to upset Phoebus, the defending Division 5 champions with a 38-24 victory in the Division 5 semifinals.
Record
| Season | Overall Record | District Record | District Place | Playoff Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3-7 | n/a | n/a | did not make the playoffs |
| 2001 | 6-3 | 3-2 | 2nd place, AA Dulles District | did not make the playoffs |
| 2002 | 10-3 | 4-1 | 2nd place, AA Dulles District | Region II Division 4 Champions AA Division 4 Semifinalists |
| 2003 | 12-1 | 7-0 | AA Dulles District Champions | Region II Division 4 Champions AA Division 4 Semifinalists |
| 2004 | 11-1 | 7-0 | AA Dulles District Champions | Region II Division 4 Runners Up |
| 2005 | 12-2 | 7-0 | AAA Liberty District Champions | Northern Region Division 5 Champions AAA Division 5 Runners Up |
| 2006 | 11-1 | 7-0 | AAA Liberty District Champions | Northern Region Division 5 Runners Up |
| 2007 | 14-1 | 7-0 | AAA Liberty District Champions | Northern Region Division 5 Champions AAA State Division 5 Champions |
| Total | 79-19 | 42-3 | Five District Titles | Four Regional Titles and State Appearances Two Championship Game Berths One State Championship |
Interesting Facts About Stone Bridge football
- The Bulldogs have been undefeated in district play (both in AA and AAA) since a loss to Park View on October 20, 2002.
- In the regular season, the Bulldogs have been undefeated at home since the start of the 2001 season.
- Stone Bridge has never lost a first round playoff game in its history.
- Stone Bridge is the first Division 5 team in the AAA Northern Region to win the AAA Division 5 state championship since West Potomac High School won it in 1990, ending a 17 year drought for the region, while also restoring respect to Northern Region Division 5 schools which have been perceived as weak teams. In addition, Stone Bridge's appearance in the 2005 AAA Division 5 championship game was the first appearance by a Northern Region team since Langley in 1993.
Softball
The 2007 Stone Bridge softball team advanced to the AAA quarterfinals, losing to Osbourn. This was followed after a surprising 2006 AAA runner up finish to Hanover. The Bulldogs also qualified for the 2005 Region II tournament.
Baseball
The 2007 Bulldog Baseball team earned a third place finish in the Liberty District and advanced to the Northern Region Tournament, where they would fall to South County in the second round. The Bulldogs won the 2003, 2004, and 2005 Dulles District championships and have qualified for five straight regional tournament appearances from 2003-2007.
Girls Soccer
Stone Bridge has one of the strongest girls soccer teams in Virginia after winning the 2005 Virginia AA Championship over Courtland High School of Fredericksburg and with a 16-4-4 record overall. The 2006 and 2007 Bulldog teams won the Liberty District championship but were upset by Lake Braddock in the Northern Region tournament in both years. In 2007, Stone Bridge earned a #1 ranking in the Washington Post as the top girls soccer program in Northern Virginia.
Boys Soccer
The Boys Soccer Team earned its second Northern Region tournament berth and advanced to the quarterfinals where the Bulldogs lost to Westfield in 2007. The Bulldogs earned a 11-6-2 record overall. The 2005 and 2006 Bulldog teams also earned spots in the AA Region II and Northern Region tournaments respectively.
Girls Basketball
Stone Bridge has a competitive girls basketball program, which has made four consecutive Regional tournament berths which included two Region II berths for the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons, and two Northern Region berths in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. The Bulldogs have been very tough to play at home where they have had a winning record at home since the 2001-2002 season.
Boys Basketball
The 2006-2007 Bulldog team improved considerably to a 12-10 record from a 7-19 record the previous season, but failed to reach the Northern Region tournament. The Bulldogs made one regional appearance in the 2004-2005 AA Region II tournament.
Wrestling
Stone Bridge has a Varsity and Junior Varsity wrestling team. In 2006 the Bulldogs coach, Bill Bono, stepped down and was replaced by assistant coach Faul. The one time the Bulldogs got close to winning a District title was in the 2004-2005 season, the bulldogs last in AA. they were edged out by Wrestling rival Potomac Falls High School in the Dulles District Tournament. Since that time the Bulldogs, with a few notable exceptions, have struggled in post-season competition.
Boys Track
The Bulldogs Boys Track team, coached by Dr. Mandes, won its first District title in the spring of 2005. During 2006, its first season in AAA, Stone Bridge was unable to capitalize on the momentum it had built the previous year. With a good returning roster and a wealth of new talent the Bulldogs hope to make a run for the Liberty District title at the end of the 2007 spring season. So far in 2007 the Bulldogs have placed 1st at 2 1st team invitational meets and 2nd at another. This is to date their best in-season performance as a team. Many school records in individual and team events have been broken in 2007 as well.
Girls Track
The Bulldogs Girls Track team has had mixed success over the years. Winning District titles in their earlier years, the Bulldogs have recently fallen short of their District Title goals. Boasting spread out talent amongst the many events of Track and Field, the Bulldogs hope to be a viable contender in the spring of 2007.
Ice Hockey
Stone Bridge has a varsity ice hockey team, though hockey is not a VHSL sponsored activity. However, Stone Bridge is a member of the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League and in the Liberty Division, which is not affiliated or to be confused with the Liberty District.
Stone Bridge has fielded a varsity team since its opening, and has been one of the top teams in the Washington Metropolitan Area, winning the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 NVSHL titles. The Bulldogs also were among the favorites to win the NVSHL title in the 2005-2006 school year, but lost 5-4 in the finals against Woodbridge High School.
References
Footnotes and citations
- ^ "HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 156: Commending the Oakton High School football team". Virginia House of Delegates. January 11 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Creed, Philip (December 1 2006). "Edison not quite strong enough". The Fairfax County Times. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 296: Commending the Hampton High School football team" (PDF). Virginia House of Delegates,. February 23 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Staff (January 4 2006). "2005 Year in Review: Fall". The Connection Newspapers. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Campbell, Rich (November 26 2006). "Edison Rebuilds, and Takes Next Step". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)