Smith and the Huskies scored the go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes remaining to narrowly defeat the Falcons, 22-16
Huskies quarterback Daniel Smith put the team on his back to escape with a season opening victory. (Video by Josh Apple for Synthesis/Koubaroulis LLC / The Washington Post)
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August 30, 2015, 12:00 p.m. — With all signs pointing toward a Briar Woods season opening victory over Conference 14 rival Tuscarora, Huskies senior quarterback Daniel Smith showed he was up to the challenge.
Trailing 16-14 late in the fourth quarter and facing a fourth and long situation from the 30-yard line, Smith took the snap and scrambled in the backfield, dodging Falcon defenders and launching the football downfield seemingly in desperation. However, that ball landed in the waiting arms of junior wide receiver Bryce Sorrell, who was ultimately stopped on the one-yard line.
This set the stage for Smith, who kept the ball and plowed into the end zone through a mad scramble. And for his encore, Smith again rushed across the goal line to convert the two-point try, giving the Huskies a 22-16 advantage, which they never relinquished.
The tandem of Smith and Sorrell proved to be the difference. The pair connected on two balls for a total of 64 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown in the first half and a 29-yard heave in dramatic fashion late in the contest.
“My heart was pounding the whole time […] but it feels great to do it that way,” Smith said. “A win is a win though, so any way we can do it is great.”
Smith was responsible for all three of the Huskies’ touchdowns with two on the ground and one in the air. He had big shoes to fill following the graduation of running back Noah Reimers, the 2014 All-Met Offensive Player of the Year. Reimers led the squad to a 5A state runner-up finish last season and is now on Harvard’s roster. After a Week 1 victory in a matchup between two 5A championship contenders, it appears Smith taking over the helm will be anything but a step back for the Huskies (1-0, 1-0 Conference 14).
“It feels nice to be ahead of the game to start the season instead of having to climb back,” Smith said, “you know, conference game, rivals, it was really a must win for us.”
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After claiming the lead prior to halftime and sustaining it well into the fourth quarter on account of solid defense, the Falcons (0-1, 0-1) were unable to hold off the late charge. Their early success was sparked by junior quarterback D’Andre Thomas, who utilized the spread offense to rush for each of the Falcons’ two touchdowns.
Once the Huskies caught on to the oppositions’ game plan, Thomas was unable to get going and the Falcons were shut out in the second half. Thomas finished the game with 81 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Despite having a big target in senior tight end Mark Birmingham (Duke), Thomas was relatively limited through the air throughout.
“I saw it as a fun challenge, to open up against one of the best teams in the state,” Smith said. “A lot of fun to have them as our opening game rather than someone who’s 3A or 2A.”
Like the Falcons, the Huskies also found success on the ground, led by a pair of Virginia Academy transfers, James Douglas and Taj Malave-Neely. Douglas proved to be the workhorse of the offense, finishing the game with 92 yards on 18 attempts. Malave-Neely was also active with 55 yards on 11 attempts. Smith chipped in with 34 yards rushing and the two touchdowns to go alongside his clutch passes.
Smith’s heroics did not go unnoticed in the eyes of Tuscarora Head coach Mike Burnett.
“Daniel is just unbelievable, he just is,” Burnett said. “He does things that don’t even show up in the sense of his calmness under pressure, he’s able to move people in the right places when we were misaligned. Really talk about being a quarterback of the offense, he really is.”
Smith and the Huskies will need to stay on the gas in a difficult Conference 14, highlighted by the “Power Four” of Loudoun County, which includes these two squads as well as Stone Bridge and Broad Run. All four teams are legitimate threats to win a state title and are together for the first time with the new conference realignment.
“We got to bring our A game every week against the schedule we’re playing,” Smith said.
Although many key players departed, the fresh faces that arrived either by transferring in or simply by getting a year older, gelled when it mattered most to get the win in front of the eager home crowd. After coming off a season in which they were so close to bringing a state title back to Leesburg, expectations are as high as ever for Smith, Burnett and the rest of the Huskies.
“My personal goals are for the team,” Smith said, “we want to win states, I play for my teammates.”
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