The Langley Saxons rebounded from a tough loss to Chantilly last week, shutting out the Marshall Statesman 35-0 in front of a feisty Marshall crowd on Friday night in water- logged Falls Church.
The Saxons lost their starting quarterback to injury early in the first quarter, but sophomore Nick Casso, playing in his very first game, ensured that the offense didn’t miss a beat. Casso threw three touchdown passes, completing ten of fourteen pass attempts for 204 yards, with no interceptions.
“It was a hell of a night for him,” said Saxons’ coach, John Howerton, who is in his ninth year with the team. “He’s a sophomore and he has the knack for throwing the ball. He seemed very calm- nothing seemed to rattle him.”
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The win was the Saxons’ fifth consecutive victory over Marshall (1-3) and at 3-1; they’re off to their best start since 2008. But the mood after the win was dampened by the injury to Saxons’ quarterback Austin Vasiliadis, who had to leave the game in the first quarter after sustaining an injury to his left calf.
Vasiliadis, who is also a standout on the team’s basketball squad, had ice strapped to his leg and watched most of the game on crutches. Howerton said that he’d undergo an M.R.I. on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.
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The Saxons’ junior running back, Philip Mun, staked his team to an early lead with two first quarter rushing touchdowns, of 33 and 18 yards. On each occasion, Mun, who rushed for 74 yards on the night, blasted through the left side of the porous Statesman defense and scampered into the end zone largely unmolested.
Early on, Casso looked for and found a familiar face- sophomore wide receiver Kevin Wood, whom he’s played on teams with since the 7th grade. Wood made three nice catches for 77 yards, including one 46 yard reception in the second quarter in which he made a daring cut-back move that nearly sent him into the end zone.
Marshall tried to counter the Saxons’ balanced attack by using senior quarterback Danny Mendez’s speed. Marshall was able to move the ball on the ground but didn’t complete a forward pass all night- so the Langley defense was able to key in on the run.
Just before the half, as the marching band began beating their drums in a warm-up ritual that lent a primal sense of urgency to the Saxons’ drive down the field, Casso hit senior tight end Colin Pitts for a three yard touchdown to put the game out of reach at 21-0.
The second half was more of the same. Casso threw a twelve yard touchdown pass to senior A.J. Holtberg mid-way through the 3rd quarter, and then connected with Joey Robinson on a 39-yard touchdown strike in the 4th to put his team up 35-0.
The Saxon’s defense was as ferocious and unyielding as a pack of rabid dogs all night. In the closing seconds of the game, Marshall drove down inside the Langley 15-yard line and it appeared as though they were about to finally give their boisterous student section, some of whom marched around the stands without shirts to celebrate their team’s modest achievements, something to cheer about.
But the Statesman had a Danny Mendez touchdown run cruelly wiped out by a holding penalty, and then the Saxons’ linebacker, Alex Anderson, made a devastating tackle on a fourth down play which preserved the shutout for his team.
It was a tough loss for Marshall, but running backs Arthur Kapplow and Tayvon Timmons demonstrated some flashy moves and serious tenacity in the backfield, giving the Falls Church squad reason to believe their season still may hold some promise despite their 1-3 record. They will face McLean on the road next Friday night.
The Saxons’ coach said that he felt good about his team, which will be in action again next Friday at Madison.
“It’s a little early to say, but I feel good about this group,” he said. “They’re playing good, they have a good attitude. So I don’t want to jinx it but we look good.”
