In varsity football’s 25th season, the inaugural season for new head coach Kendric Golston, the Bulldogs tallied a 4-8 overall record, with a 3-2 record in the Potomac District. The team finished 4th in the district at the close of the season.
In its previous 24 seasons competing in the Virginia Class 5 Potomac District, SBHS football has maintained a 23-season consistent winning streak earning 19 district titles, 16 regional championships, and three state championships.
Following the retirement of beloved head coach Mickey Thompson, who ran the program since the school’s opening in 2000, many fans and followers of the football team find it hard to face the changeover between current and former seasons both in success and staff.
“I’m torn. I thought that we definitely had some high points and low points,” Coach Golston said. “I’m excited about the way the players responded, and the way that they stayed together through a tough year. From that standpoint, I’m disappointed in the season but optimistic and excited for growth…I believe that this school and these players can compete anytime and anywhere.”
The team had a rough start with a 5-game losing streak. In defense of Stone Bridge’s early season losses, 4 of the 5 of Stone Bridge’s first opposing schools including Madison, Dunbar, Quince Orchard, and Our Lady of Good Counsel weren’t in their Class 5 division, and went on to play in their respective state championships.
“Early on, I thought we played everybody extremely tough,” Coach Golston said. “We struggled offensively to score points and because of that we were always playing with razor thin margins.”
Despite Stone Bridge’s 10-0 loss against Quince Orchard and 48-14 defeat at the hands of Our Lady of Good Counsel, the Bulldogs still made the playoffs by defeating Potomac Falls, Briar Woods, and Riverside within the Class 5 Division. This led to the first playoff game, a rematch against Lightridge on Nov. 15.
“My favorite moment of the season was when we were playing Lightridge in the playoff game, and Gavin Harrison got an interception with a cast on and scored,” Golston said. “That was just a really cool moment for the team because as soon as Gavin caught the ball, everybody was in a rush to go celebrate with him. It was cool to see the body language and the energy towards him.”
Defensive end and linebacker Gavin Harrison missed his junior season with a knee injury, but wouldn’t let a torn ligament in his hand let him skip a beat in his senior season as captain alongside Jonathan Newton and Christian Evans. Stone Bridge won the Lightridge playoff game 35-0, pushing them onto their final playoff against Riverbend on Nov. 22.
“If I had to do it over again, there would definitely be some things I would do differently from a scheming standpoint,” Coach Golston said. “Riverbend is a good football team…we didn’t play our best ball and it showed. We let them go down and score, we fumbled it, and then we were playing catch up the whole game. I view it as a learning experience for the kids.”
After the 35-21 defeat, much of the Stone Bridge community and coaching staff is looking forward to next year.
“We start over. What happened last year doesn’t really exist anymore,” Coach Golston said. “The only thing we can take from [this past season] is the lessons learned. There’s still work that has to be done…We’ll be a little bit older as a team, we were relatively young this past year, but there’s no excuses, and we don’t want any. I tell the kids all the time ‘it’s easy to find reasons not to do something, we want to find reasons to do something.”’
Golston’s advice is poignant and hopeful, especially in the shadow of an imperfect season. This team holds much value to him not only as a coach but as a father.
“I’m ecstatic that I’m able to coach my sons,” Coach Golston said. “There are four or five other kids on the team that I’ve coached since they were 6, 7, and 8 years old…I really appreciate being able to help foster and develop these young people on the field and off the field. It’s a really unique situation for me that I feel humbled and blessed to be in.”
This year’s football season wasn’t ideal especially in the context of Stone Bridge’s previous winning streaks. As coaches and players shift with the times there’s still hope for an even better season on the horizon.
“This is a passionate community and a passionate school,” Coach Golston said. “I really do believe that the kids care about each other. The commitment to winning will never falter. Even as we were struggling I still felt a lot of support from the staff, from the administration, and from the students which was really positive.”
