Seahawks Coast to Victory with Defense, Special Teams

New South Lakes head coach Andy Hill could get used to this.

His first game leading the Seahawks was never in doubt, as a dominant performance on defense and a pair of long punt return touchdowns by Darius Smith paved the way for a 37-0 pasting of the Falls Church Jaguars.

After building a comfortable lead, the Seahawks defense let loose. Falls Church couldn't get anything going against a South Lakes pursuit that had the option covered from sideline to sideline.

"Against a spread offense, when you keep your assignment you stop them," Hill said. "We've got speed, and I think it really came into play tonight. The big thing for me was Justin Williams and Kyle Savage, our two inside linebackers, and Belmin Rivera and Ken Robair and Jake Slover stopping the dive."

Junior Stepfon Sanford kicked off the scoring after taking an option pitch from sophomore quarterback Rashaan Jones 35 yards to paydirt. A two-point conversion pass from Jones to junior Brian Brinson gave the Seahawks an 8-0 lead, which they held at the end of the first quarter.

The remainder of the first half became the Darius Smith show. After a three-and-out on the Jaguars' first possession of the second quarter, Smith fielded a punt on a few bounces and scooted up the left sideline untouched for an 80-yard punt return touchdown. He then outdid himself, taking the next punt from his own 4-yard-line to the house. Again, he ran up the left sideline, and no Jaguar laid a finger on him.

Smith said the team had worked on setting up the wall along the left sideline all summer in practice.

"We work hard on our special teams at practice, coach has really put an emphasis on it," Smith said. "If someone misses the wall, we run it back and run it back until everyone is on it. I hit the wall and just go."

South Lakes eschewed the punt most of the night, going for it on fourth down twice in their own territory in the first half. They did not convert either attempt, but Hill said it's a strategy they plan to employ going forward.

"My email address is never punt," Hill said with a laugh. "If we're outside [our own] 25 [yard line], I don't really want to punt."

There's also a practical reason behind Hill's aversion to punting the ball away. Standout senior receiver and safety Sean Price serves as the team's punter, and Hill doesn't want to put him in harm's way with his leg extended on a punt.

If any team in Northern Virginia knows not to get ahead of itself after one win, it's the Seahawks. They started last year 5-1 only to lose the final five games of the season and miss the playoffs.

Hill said putting this game in perspective was part of the post-game speech to his players.

"Coach [Galvin] Harris and coach [Marvin] Wooten who were both here last year told them, 'You took care of the first step. Enjoy it, but let's not forget that we need to keep focusing on getting better,'" Hill said.

For a senior like Smith, who experienced the letdown of the 2009 season, it was a message he won't soon forget.

"I feel like we're going to step up at practice," Smith said. "We have tough practices. The coaches keep us moving, the players keep each other motivated."

Junior Felipe Zarco saw some time at quarterback as well, throwing a 6-yard scoring strike to Brinson that sealed the game for all intents and purposes. Senior Mikey Bissonnette (four solo tackles, two assists) and freshman Isaiah Patterson teamed up on a safety, and Price capped the scoring with a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The Seahawks play their home opener next Friday when they host the Thomas Jefferson Colonials at 7:30.