ROAD SWEET ROAD: GW undefeated away from Danville this season

With the wind howling and the temperature dropping by the minute, the George Washington football team jogged gingerly onto the field at J.T. Christopher Stadium in preparation for Friday’s Northwest Region title game with Liberty High School in Bealeton.

The road to this point in the season has been rough, but it’s what the Eagles have done on the road that has them on the threshold of the state playoffs.

George Washington (7-4) enters Friday with a 6-0 record in road games, including last week’s 27-21 victory against Brooke Point. It is the fourth time this
decade that GW has gone through the regular season undefeated on the road, but last week’s game was its first road playoff win in that stretch.

“I don’t think there is any difference in mentality from then to now, I just feel like our kids perform well on the road because the distractions are a lot less,” GW coach Dan Newell said prior to practice on Tuesday. “Our crowd here is different than it is on the road. Folks that go on the road and support us are diehard fans and make a lot of noise.”

That was definitely the case against Brooke Point and in many other games this season as the GW fans were making just as much — if not more — noise than the much larger Brooke Point contingent.

“We haven’t been to a lot of places where there have been big crowds for the (home team),” Newell said. “It’s easy to get kind of cranked up when you hear your own fans just as loud as the other team.”

The fans that make the journey with the Eagles have witnessed two rushing records, both set by senior running back David Wilson. In the third week against Matoaca, Wilson churned out 331 yards and scored seven touchdowns in a come-from-behind victory. Then, four weeks ago, Wilson was at it again, running for 349 yards against Franklin County.

“It’s hard to explain. I guess a lot of our team likes to go on another team’s field and show them what we can do,” Wilson said. “And to go on somebody else’s turf and claim that field, I guess we get a thrill out of that.”

It was on the road that senior fullback Tahron Goods coined the phrase, ‘the 20 and 28 show’ after he and Wilson rushed for 445 yards in a thrilling victory against Parkland.

Another thing the players and coaches both point out is how the bus rides — ranging from more than 100 miles to nearly 300 miles — are a way to calm the players down and bring them together as a unit prior to taking the field.

“When we are on the road it’s about us, it’s not about who’s in the stands, who’s watching. When we’re on the road, we’re more focused,” senior defensive end Rashawn Morrison said. “When we’re here and we have a home game, everybody’s not really focused. When we’re on the bus, everybody’s just focused — no talking, no playing, everybody is doing what they have to do.”

Wilson said he feels the togetherness — the bond the team forms on those bus rides — is carried onto the field and the results take care of themselves. Newell said he could sense the team was ready to win Friday and even when Brooke Point took a 14-7 halftime lead, the team was not dejected at halftime and came out ready to play the second half.

“Once you’ve traveled around the Western Valley (District) and then go out to some of these other places, the long trips aren’t nearly as detrimental to you because you’re used to getting on the bus for an hour and a half or an hour and 45 minutes for a normal regular season game,” Newell said. “So when you get out there and have to travel nearly three hours or so, and you break the trip up right, then the trip itself isn’t a burden as if it were a straight drive.”

The Eagles stopped in Richmond on the way to Stafford to eat a pre-game meal, stretch and get their minds set for football. Breaking up the trip helps, especially since the players are able to focus solely on football.

“People get nervous at home playing in front of their families, playing in front of their friends and a whole bunch of people at school say stuff, so I guess it’s just nervousness,” senior defensive back and Z-back Deuntae Motely said.

As for Friday, the Eagles have a trip of slightly less than 200 miles to Bealeton — more than enough time to mentally get ready for Liberty.