After spending most of the game neck and neck Friday night, the West Potomac Wolverines beat the South County Stallions 49-39 in Lorton.

Before the game started, Gerry Pannoni — head coach for South County — said he was concerned about West Potomac's quarterback, Caleb Williams (#17), their running back Demornay Pierson-El (#5) and their kicker Chris Blewitt (#16).

"The key is running back Demornay Pierson-El," said Pannoni.  "In their first two games, he made a bunch of big plays," he said. "Pierson-El, the quarterback and the kicker can control the game just by field position."

In turn, Wolverines Head Coach Jeremiah Davis had his concerns about South County.

"These guys started off 0-3 last year then won 11 straight," said Davis. "So they know how to turn it around."

Although Davis described himself and his team as the underdogs, the Wolverines fought through a tough game to win over the Stallions by 10 points.

In the first quarter, South County — with the effective effort of running back Levaughn Davis (#22) — moved the ball up the field. West Potomac's defense gave a strong fight, but the Stallions eventually scored the first touchdown of the game followed by a successful field goal.

The Wolverines had just as hard a time on offense, throwing incomplete passes in their struggle to get in the endzone with just 40 seconds left in the first quarter. At third down and eight, the Wolverines punted the ball, and the quarter ended with South County in the lead.

Ever diligent, South County's Davis (#22) scored the second touchdown early in the second quarter and the Stallions succeeded in making the field goal bringing the score to 14-0.

With less than five minutes left in the first half, West Potomac had yet to make it to the endzone. Eventually, the Wolverines scored a touchdown, and Blewitt (#16) made the field goal, making the score 14-7 with South County in the lead.

With two and a half minutes left in the first half, the Stallions dropped the ball and the Wolverines scooped it up to take advantage of the opportunity. Before the half ended, West Potomac scored their second touchdown and field goal, tying the score at 14.

See photos from the game here

Keeping up the momentum, West Potomac's Darien Pickett (#56) intercepted the ball from South County and completed the play in the endzone. After Blewitt's field goal, the score was 21-14 West Potomac, with less than two minutes left in the first half.

After a few unsuccessful passes by Williams from West Potomac, the Stallions quickly tied the score again at 21 in the third quarter. The teams continued to play an intense game, making the score 35-27 with West Potomac in the lead, by the end of the third quarter.

Williams said he was mad with himself for the errors he made during the game but pressed forward with the support of his teammates.

"I think I could've done a little bit better. I was a little upset, but I had to keep my head up because I knew we had a lot of game left," said Williams. "I just have to work on getting a better grip on the ball, but overall I tried not to worry about it."

Every snap in the fourth quarter counted as the Stallions slowly closed the gap on the scoreboard. After coming within a field goal of tying the game again at 42-39, the Stallions fell short as the Wolverines scored the last touchdown and field goal of the game, making the final score 49-39.

Pannoni's words at the end of the game were the same as they were before the players hit the field.

"We should've stopped No. 5," said Pannoni laughingly. "If you can control him, then you might have a good thing. But if you can't control him it's a problem. He's the best player in the region."

Next week, South County will take on T.C. Williams High School, and West Potomac will go up against Lake Braddock Secondary.