By Owen Gotimer
LoCoSports Editor
Sterling (Dec. 17, 2014) – As the halftime buzzer sounded during the boys edition of the Battle of Route 7 varsity basketball doubleheader featuring the Dominion Titans and Potomac Falls Panthers, the public address announcer asked everyone to remain seated for a special ceremony.
On Aug. 28, 2011, United States Army Spc. and Potomac Falls High School graduate Doug Green (2006) of the 25th infantry division, 3rd battalion was killed in action at the age of 23 during his second tour in Afghanistan while in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Green has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor, the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Green’s mom, Suni Chabrow-Erlanger, and sister, Krissy Green Caracciolo, started the Douglas J. Green Memorial Foundation in his name. The foundation provides care packages to service members during their deployment; offers programs to veterans, parents, spouses and family members relating to post traumatic stress disorder; and bereavement programs for fallen Gold Star families.
At mid-court, as Dominion head coach Sonny Green and Potomac Falls head coach Jeff Hawes rallied their teams in the locker rooms, retired Lt. Gen. James Donald Hughes of the United States Air Force presented Green’s sister with a Purple Heart Coin of Honor.
The Panthers honored Green by cruising past the rival Titans, 75-45, after the Lady Titans defeated the Lady Panthers, 55-22.
Lady Titans’ Monica Boyd goes Double-Double
Dominion High School senior Monica Boyd scored just over a minute into the first quarter in the Titans rematch against the Potomac Falls High School Panthers on Dec. 16 in Sterling. Then she scored again and again, and for the first six minutes of the game Boyd was the only player on either side to put a ball through the hoop.
“She’s fantastic underneath and working hard down there,” Dominion head coach Brian McElroy said. “We had a lot of help from the outside to make the inside play a little bit stronger.”
Even though Potomac Falls came from behind to defeat Dominion, 45-43, on Dec. 1, Boyd’s 22 point, 10 rebound performance was too much for the Lady Panthers to handle on Dec. 16.
“We played together as a team tonight, and we played the whole game,” Boyd said. “I think the first game we only played as a team for the first half. This game we knew what we had to fix, and we improved on that.”
Throughout the game the Titans moved the ball well keeping the Panthers out of sync while out rebounding Potomac Falls 39 to 11 including 20 offensive boards. The Lady Panthers continued to dig themselves into a hole as they turned the ball over 21 times.
“They did everything better than us. We didn’t play hard, we didn’t get after the boards, we got in early foul trouble. They took advantage,” Potomac Falls head coach Lynn Ewald said. “They jumped on us last time, and we were able to fight back. They made sure this time that wasn’t able to happen.”
Dominion junior guard Bailey Hartzel added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 steals for the Titans while junior forward Amanda Valenzuela added 8 points while dragging in 10 rebounds.
“I’m really proud of these girls. We’re working hard, and we’re growing with each and every practice and each and every game,” McElroy said.
Panther Boys Dominate Second Half to Win Easy
Dominion’s D-Block and Potomac Falls’ Panther Pit – both wearing shirts honoring the late Doug Green – arrived midway through the girls game to help cheer on their teams, and the student sections only got bigger as the boys game got underway.
Potomac Falls junior center Dondrea Tillman used the support from the Panthers’ fans and his teammates to score 16 points and secure 11 rebounds as the Potomac Falls boys varsity basketball team commanded its way to a 75-45 win over Sterling-rival Dominion High School.
“He’s been going double-double just about every night. He’s a handful in there,” Potomac Falls head coach Jeff Hawes said. “He has good soft hands for as big and strong as he is. He’s about 6-foot-4, 240-pounds. He can step out and shoot it. Him and Allen complement each other really well. That’s going to be a pretty good combo down there for us.”
Potomac Falls senior forward Wanya Allen added 16 points and 5 rebounds for the Panthers.
“[Wanya and I] have been playing ball together for a while,” Tillman said. “We work well together, we know when each other is open, and we know when to pass each other the ball.”
The Titans hung around for the first half as senior guard Austin Volpi’s 11 point, 8 rebound performance led Dominion into halftime trailing 33-27.
“Austin can shoot, he can drive to the basket, he can do a lot of things for us. He’s a leader,” Dominion head coach Sonny Green said. “We have to get better as a team on defense. Even in the first half it was a close game, but we didn’t play good defense. Also we didn’t rebound. Those are the keys. We didn’t get it done.”
Volpi’s efforts alone were not enough to win the round two match up with the Panthers after Dominion won the first Battle of Route 7, 71-68, on Dec. 1.
“They competed on a high level, and we didn’t match that intensity. We knew after beating them the first game that they were going to be ready to go when we came to their place. They took it to us from the start. We didn’t compete at the level we needed to,” Green said.
Potomac Falls – who is now 5-3 – continues to step up after back-to-back losses to start the season.
“We have a lot of young kids, only two seniors. We’re just trying to feel our way around,” Hawes said. “I have high expectations: I don’t care if you’re a freshman or a senior. That’s the way we’ve developed our program.”
Dominion Lady Titans Stats
Monica Boyd 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 12-for-15 free throws
Bailey Hartzel 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, 1 blocked shot, 7-for-10 free throws
Amanda Valenzuela 8 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, 0-for-1 free throws
Rachel Heard 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, 2-for-2 free throws
Grace Carey 2 points, 3 rebounds
Lila Najmyar 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot, 1 assist, 2-for-3 free throws
Eryn Dolan 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 assist, 2-for-4 free throws
Lyndsey May 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Elizabeth Paz 3 rebounds
Andrea Pena 1 steal
DHS Totals
55 points, 39 rebounds, 13 turnovers, 17 steals, 3 blocked shots, 4 assists, 25-for-35 free throws
Potomac Falls Lady Panthers Stats
Jalyn Reid 6 points, 1 rebound, 4 steals, 1 assist
Kylie Thomas 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists, 2-for-5 free throws
Grace Deker 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1-for-2 free throws
Toni Joy 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1-for-2 free throws
Suban Farah 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 blocked shot
Tori Birks 2 points, 1 steal, 2-for-3 free throws
Gianna Torres 1 point, 1-for-2 free throws
Madison White 1 rebound
Sydney Sherman 1 rebound
Maggie Moorcones 1 steal
PFHS Totals
22 points, 11 rebounds, 21 turnovers, 8 steals, 1 blocked shots, 3 assists, 7-for-13 free throws
Potomac Falls Panthers Stats
Dondrea Tillman 16 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 1 assist, 4-for-7 free throws
Wanya Allen 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3-for-3 free throws
David Walls 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 2-for-2 free throws
Drew Daczkowski 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2-for-2 free throws
Danny Cox 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Corey Miller 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2-for-2 free throws
Michael Smith 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 0-for-1 free throw
Brian Sweeney 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 assists
Jordan Longchamp 4 points, 2-for-3 free throws
Alex Nemer 1 points, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot, 1-for-2 free throws
Nolan Becker 2 rebounds
Jake Lorenzo 1 rebound, 1 blocked shot
Jack Mologne 2 assists, 0-for-4 free throws
PFHS Totals
75 points, 40 rebounds, 6 turnovers, 5 steals, 4 blocked shots, 7 assists, 16-for-26 free throws
Dominion Titans Stats
Austin Volpi 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
Tommy Arthur 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Luke Bartolomei 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 assist, 2-for-4 free throws
Matt Link 4 points, 1 rebound, 3 blocked shots, 1 assist
Ryan Williams 4 points, 2 steals, 1 assist, 4-for-4 free throws
Lukas Difazio 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocked shots
Will Krueger 2 points, 3 rebounds
Adam Branch 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 assists, 0-for-2 free throws
Tommy Christ 2 points, 1 rebound
Jayde Pierre 1 rebound, 0-for-1 free throws
Matt Christ 1 rebound
Bryce Hartzel 1 rebound
DHS Totals
45 points, 25 rebounds, 15 turnovers, 5 steals, 5 blocked shots, 8 assists, 6-for-11 free throws
Owen Gotimer is a graduate of Heritage High School in Leesburg and is currently in his senior year at Syracuse University. Follow LoCoSports on Twitter (@LoCoSports) for up-to-date news and scores from around Loudoun County.
