Coaches' Corner: West Potomac Versus Westfield

The West Potomac Wolverines will go head-to-head with the Westfield Bulldogs  at 7:30 p.m. Friday at West Potomac High School at 6500 Quander Rd. in Alexandria.

Wolverines Head Coach Jeremiah Davis said the Bulldogs are a well disciplined team that can pass and run effectively.

"They do not make mistakes and their core group of players are solid," Davis said. "Our coaching staff like to refer to them as 'the machine' because they are so consitant at putting out a great product that it is hard to put together four solid quarters against them."

However, Davis said every team can be beat, and the Wolverines hope they will be the team to do that this Friday. In preparation for Friday night's game, the Wolverines have had strong practices throughout the week and have a simple game plan.

"Eliminate mistakes, play great defense, and be opportunistic on special teams and I think we can give ourselves a great shot," Davis said.

Bulldogs Head Coach Kyle Simmons said this week the team has been working on stopping No. 5, West Potomac's wide receiver Demornay Pierson-El. Simmons said the Bulldogs have to keep the ball out of Pierson-El's hands. The kicker for the Wolverines is another concern for the Bulldogs.

"They also have an excellent kicker. Most of his balls on kickoff go into the end zone, which you cannot return in high school and he can hit 50 yard field goals," Simmons said. "We pride ourselves on winning the special teams game, but when you can’t kick or punt to one guy and then you don’t have the ability to return kickoffs, 50 percent of your special teams game is taken out of your hands."

Simmons said his main concerns for Friday's game are team speed and special team's advantage. The long ride from Chantilly to Alexandria is also one of his concerns.

"Most away games are not much of a big deal but the ride over there may take more than an hour and this is not something our kids are used to," he said.

Simmons said some of the key players who will stand out as leaders for the Bulldogs include quarterback Chris Mullins, running backs Dalaun Richardson and Tyler Thrasher-Walker, wide receivers Colby Eller and Devon Burns, offensive lineman Ned Johnson, Defensive linemen Tyler Morson and Brian Deely, line backer Beau Donahue and defensive lineman Lamar Hardy.

Westfield High School is currently 6-0, and West Potomac High School's record is 5-1.