Welcome back to the Thursday Throwdown, where Brooks and I battle things out about a number of different issues or questions pertaining to Loudoun County football. Today, we'll use tomorrow's Rivalry Week games as the theme to the Throwdown. What's the Best Rivalry? The Best Atmosphere? The Best Chance for an Upset? And then, Brooks and I get personal, as our two almae matres (check out that Latin)/alma maters -- Washington-Lee and Mount Vernon -- meet in the Northern Region playoffs...let's get this thing going.

Best Rivalry

There are a couple intriguing matchups in this week's slate of rivalry games between the 'Battle for the Burg', the 'Bird Bowl' and the 'Showdown in Sterling.' But it only takes a quick look back to the end of last season to remember what the biggest rivalry in the Dulles District has recently become.

Yep, that's right, we're talking about Broad Run-Park View.

Those two teams played two memorable games in consecutive weeks at the end of the 2007 season that decided the Dulles District regular season title and launched one squad into the second round of the playoffs. The best part: the Spartans and Patriots split those two contests and we all know that parity is a key ingredient in any good rivalry. The two games were decided by a combined 11 points.

The stakes aren't nearly as high this time around with the Spartans bulldozing through their regular season schedule and the young Patriots struggling to develop a new offense during the season. But that doesn't mean there will be any less excitement or intensity in Friday night's matchup in Sterling. It'll be senior night for the home Patriots and Broad Run will be looking to lock up their second straight Dulles District regular title and home field advantage through the second round of the regional playoffs.

You know Andy Hill will have his troops ready to play and I'd be shocked if he hasn't added a few wrinkles to the offensive playbook for this one. The Spartans have been strong all season but really came alive in that drubbing of Potomac Falls two weeks back. They'll be the heavy favorites but as Tenorio explains below, Coach Mike Burnett's troops cannot afford to look ahead of the Patriots toward the postseason. Dating back to 2001, Park View has won seven of the last eight meetings - the lone exception being Broad Run's 21-14 victory in the regular season finale - with three of those wins coming by four points or fewer. - MB

Best Atmosphere

After going to two different Heritage-Loudoun County volleyball matches this year and several other games between the two Leesburg rivals in several sports last season, there's no doubt that these two student sections bring it each and every time they face off. And with a huge game that has playoff implications and also will mark Pride Coach Wes Driskill's final game as head coach, I believe the atmosphere in Leesburg on Friday night will be unmatched around the area.

Loudoun County's Raider Riot is awesome to watch (check out the guy making the crybaby motions), and I've seen them show up in strong numbers at Raiders home games this season. They usually tailgate in the parking lot before the game, one of the best coordinated efforts I've seen, and they're loud during all the contests. The question will be, how well they travel down the road to Heritage. Even I've gotten some shout-outs from the fans (does that make me biased?). And I mean, they've printed out "We Own the Burg" t-shirts. Gotta love that.

The Pride's Chaos Crew is equally as boisterous -- at least at volleyball matches and basketball games -- and I'm sure with the importance of this game and the significance of it as their coaches' final game and senior night make this the best atmosphere in the area. Also, for my money, this is the best student section effort I've seen since covering Loudoun County (followed only by Park View's Barra Brava soccer cheers and maybe Broad Run's end zone student section) and it came from Heritage when they got a call they disagreed with last winter against Loudoun County in a crucial basketball match-up.

I'll be out in Leesburg on Friday night so we'll see how well this prediction holds up. - PT

Best Chance for An Upset

This is a tough one to call. Looking around the district, I don't see many chances for an underdog to surprise anyone? Dominion's defense is tough, sure, but Michael Baker ran for 297 on Briar Woods. County-Heritage, is there a favorite and an underdog? Briar Woods should take care of business in what Brooks has dubbed the "Bird Bowl." Stone Bridge waxed Jefferson 70-7 just two weeks ago and Loudoun Valley has a very, very tough game.

To me that leaves only one option: Broad Run - Park View.

Now, I'm in the line of thinking that Broad Run is far and away the best team in the district and that people who prematurely put Potomac Falls above them were too quick to forget all that the Spartans had done this season and last. And Park View certainly is not having the year they had hoped for. But the Patriots are known to play big in big games (just ask Potomac Falls) and they'll be at home against Broad Run. Maybe...just maybe...

Here's the argument: The Patriots have a strong run defense and their senior leaders are very familiar with Broad Run's team. In addition, the Spartans have already qualified for the playoffs and while they're playing for the top seed in the district, if they slacked at all early in the game they could be caught off guard by a Park View team with seniors like Kenny Smith, Brandon Absher, Josh Jones and Marcus Freeman looking to go out on a winning note. And, before you write this game off, don't forget about the battles these two teams waged last season.

Do I think Broad Run pulls this win out? Yes, probably. They've looked unstoppable this season. Could Park View make this a game and possibly pull off the biggest upset of the season? I think it's plausible.

UPDATE- Park View will be without starting QB Brandon Lee (ankle) and Sawyer Hackett and freshman Jonathan Wooten will split time at quarterback for the Patriots, according to head coach Andy Hill. - PT

Friday's Best Matchup

We're going to leave Loudoun's borders for this one and delve deep into our personal allegiances to throwdown on one of the most intriguing playoff matchups in the D.C. metro area (note the hyperbole here).

It's all going down in AAA Division 5 of the Northern Region when No. 3 Mount Vernon hosts No. 6 Washington-Lee.

Why, you ask, do we have any interest whatsoever is this game? The answer is simple. I'm a proud alum of Washington-Lee High School, and a General for life, while Tenorio has his roots in the halls of Mount Vernon High School.

These two teams are National District rivals, but the rivalry hasn't been much of one in recent memory. My beloved Generals haven't had a winning season in more than 20 years (if my memories of the banners hanging in our old gymnasium serve me correctly) and the blue and gray haven't sniffed the playoffs in nearly that long. Since 2001, the Generals have only one win against Mt. Vernon, which was a 14-7 win in 2005. Earlier this year, the Majors (what kind of silly name is that?) edged the Generals 12-10.

But even playing on the road, I'm confident the boys in blue and gray can get the job done on Friday night. This team hadn't won more than three games since 2003 (they won four) until they got four 'W's last year under new head coach Josh Shapiro. This year, they've bumped that total up to five, securing a spot in the Northern Region playoffs with a .500 record. I saw these guys in action in Week 1 (which is more than Tenorio can say about his boys in maroon) when they absolutely dismantled Dominion 41-7 in Sterling.

They've got a stud running back in senior Charles Fuller who is third in the district with 837 yards and shredded the Dominion 'D' for 197 yards and three scores on 10 carries. They have a quarterback tandem that can pass and run, making them difficult to contain. This game could easily come down to one big play - likely on defense - and the Generals certainly have the players to make it happen. Their linebacking corps calls themselves the "Hit Squad" and is led by junior Rock Battle. Yes, ROCK BATTLE! Could there possibly be a better football name than that? I'll answer for you: No. Those linebackers forced three turnovers against the Titans and returned an interception (by Battle) and a fumble (by Fuller) for scores. One of those types of plays might be the difference in this one.

The bad news for both of these teams is a win would almost certainly mean a trip to Ashburn to take on Stone Bridge in the next round. Yikes! - MB

Slow down there champ. Before we get ahead of ourselves and start anointing Washington-Lee the big winner because they finally reached five wins, let's be realistic. Mount Vernon has been absolutely powerful this season, with its only losses coming to Division 6 West Potomac and No. 1 seed Edison. The Majors (a great nickname) went on the ROAD to beat your team earlier this season and since the admittedly close victory have put up an average of 41.4 points per game in the final five games of the season.

Mount Vernon has two of the Top 10 rushers in the District (Brian Green and Kyle Ricks), have just one loss at home (to Edison) and have history behind them in these big games -- an area where they at least have some experience in the past decade. Plus, W-L has dropped two in a row and doesn't have any momentum going into tomorrow night's game. And while I haven't seen the varsity team play, I have seen my brother, John Tenorio, play for the freshman team. He's a beast of a defensive lineman, moving inside or outside and terrorizing opposing running backs. Even with his big brother shouting at him to stop shooting the gap against teams that run quick fullback dives.

I'm not going to write too much here to try to convince people, after all we're the favorites and should come out of this on top. Of course, another team I root for -- Northwestern -- went on the road and threw away a game against Indiana earlier this season in a game they should have won, so maybe MV could drop this one. But I think the home field advantage and the strong games MV has put up in the past few weeks give the Majors the advantage.

Avenge me for Top Performers Majors! -PT