football

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Cybersecurity Center to Open in Ballston — Virginia Tech and defense contractor L-3 Communications are set to jointly open a cybersecurity research center in Ballston on Friday. The center will be located at the Virginia Tech Research Center building at 900 N. Glebe Road. [Washington Post]

Arlington Gearing Up for Nov. Election — In anticipation of election day on Nov. 6, Arlington County is encouraging residents to register to vote and, if necessary, vote absentee. The deadline for voter registration is Oct. 15, and the deadline for absentee ballots is Oct. 30. This year, the county is also allowing voters to cast their absentee ballot in person, at three absentee polling places: Courthouse Plaza, Barcroft Sports and Fitness Center, and the Madison Community Center. [Arlington County]

Generals, Patriots Win — The Washington-Lee Generals and the Yorktown Patriots both emerged victorious in local high school football action over the weekend. Yorktown defeated the Stuart Raiders 41-3, and Washington-Lee downed the winless Wakefield Warriorts 49-14. Bishop O’Connell, meanwhile, suffered its first loss, at the hands of the visiting DeMatha Stags. The Stags won 41-10. [Sun Gazette]

New Books By Arlington Authors — Two recently-released books by Arlington authors are receiving good reviews. Radical Chapters by Arlington resident and McClatchy Washington Bureau reporter Michael Doyle received an upbeat review by Palo Alto Weekly. The book details the life and times of a Roy Kepler, who was both a prominent peace activist and a groundbreaking bookstore owner.  Darkbeast, by Arlington author Morgan Keyes, has picked up a number of good reviews on Amazon.com. The novel follows twelve-year-old Keara, who runs away from home rather than sacrifice Caw, her magical raven darkbeast.

Flickr pool photo by Maryva2

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Clarendon Day Draws a Crowd — Thousands enjoyed “picture perfect” weather at the annual 15th Clarendon Day street festival and 10K/5K race (photo, above) on Saturday. [Patch]

Victories for Yorktown, DJO, W-L — In local football action over the weekend, Yorktown defeated Hayfield 17-10 and Bishop O’Connell defeated Carroll 38-7 over the weekend. Both teams are now undefeated with a record of 4-0. Washington-Lee is now 2-2 after beating Mount Vernon 41-20. Wakefield is 0-4 after losing another lopsided game. The Warriors fell to Freedom South Riding 55-6.

Free Coffee at McDonald’s — McDonald’s restaurants are giving away free small cups of coffee through Saturday. The restaurant is offering the one free cup of coffee per person per visit.

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann

Men Accused of Assaulting Party Bus Driver

By ARLnow.com

Update on 4/2/13 — Charges against the suspects have been dropped, court records show.

Police arrested two Arlington men on Saturday and charged them with assaulting the driver of a party bus.

According to police, the incident happened around 9:20 p.m. after the party bus — also called a “keg bus” — had returned to the East Falls Church Metro station from the West Virginia University/James Madison University football game at FedEx Field in Maryland. The bus had been “trashed,” according to police, and the driver demanded extra payment for cleaning and for the extra hour and a half the bus had been in use over the original scheduled time.

At that point, police say, three intoxicated suspects on the bus started punching and kicking the driver. The suspects then fled the scene, leaving the individual who used his credit card to pay for the bus behind, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

The bus driver suffered a busted lip, swollen eye and bruises, Sternbeck said, but did not require hospitalization.

Eventually, police caught up with two of the suspects. Matthew —- and Cory —-, both 23-year-old Arlington residents, were arrested and charged with assault by mob. Both were held without bond. So far, police have not been able to locate the third suspect.

Sternbeck did not know whether the bus passengers were WVU or JMU fans.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Author to Discuss Potomac River — Local author Garrett Peck will discuss his book, The Potomac River: A History and a Guide, at Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street) tonight. The free event will be held at the library’s auditorium from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. [Arlington Public Library]

Yorktown Wins, Again — The Yorktown Patriots varsity football squad chalked up another big win on Friday. The team defeated the Herndon Hornets by a score of 51-21. Bishop O’Connell also won on Friday, beating the St. Mary’s Ryken 17-13 on the road. Washington-Lee and Wakefield both lost. [Sun Gazette]

Cuccinelli Coming to Arlington for Constitution Day — Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli will celebrate today’s Constitution Day observance with the Arlington Falls Church Young Republicans. The group is hosting Cuccinelli at RiRa Irish Pub (2915 Wilson Blvd) in Clarendon starting at 7:00 p.m. [Facebook]

Wakefield Will Remember the Titans After 73-0 Loss

By ARLnow.com

The Wakefield Warriors varsity football squad suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the T.C. Williams Titans on Thursday night.

Wakefield lost its season opener 73-0, with all of the Titans’ points scored in the first three quarters of the game, in front of a home crowd in Alexandria. It’s an even more convincing defeat than the 51-7 result from last year’s season opener between the two teams. Wakefield has not had a winning football season since 1983, according to Connection Newspapers sports reporter Jon Roetman.

Yorktown High School, which is coming off an undefeated regular season that led to a disappointing defeat in the regional championships, bested opponent Bowie, Md. by a score of 42-28 on Friday. Though they ultimately won by a comfortable margin, the Patriots were assessed 101 yards in penalties throughout the game. Yorktown will play an away game at Wakefield this coming Friday, Sept. 7.

In other football action in Arlington, the Bishop O’Connell High School Knights defeated Bishop Ireton 27-12 at home on Friday, in the school’s new stadium, and the Washington-Lee Generals lost to the McLean Highlanders at home on Thursday, by a score of 14-12.

Registration Open for Youth Australian Footy Program

By Katie Pyzyk

A little bit of Australia is coming to town. A youth Australian rules football program is about to begin its 7th year in Arlington.

Registration is now open for Saturday Morning Footy, which kicks off on June 16 in Bluemont Park. The free program runs for six weeks, and is open to boys and girls ages 5-15. Kids will be divided up for different activities based on age.

The sessions will teach basic rules of the game and work on honing skills. Younger kids will participate in non-contact footy games and older kids will play tag games. Parents are also able to participate in many of the activities.

The program’s website says footy is the most popular sport in Australia, and describes it as a mix of soccer, basketball and volleyball. Organizer Chris Adams says the program is “unique in the United States” and brings in kids from a variety of different backgrounds.

“Over the last 6 years, hundreds of children from Arlington and the Washington D.C. area have participated in the program… many of them children of Australian military families stationed temporarily in the area,” Adams said. “Other children have had connections to Australia through parents or time spent stationed at U.S. bases in Australia.  Many other children have attended simply because friends have told them it is fun!”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Incentives for Home Energy Efficiency — Arlington County is partnering with a nonprofit group to provide 320 Arlington homeowners with incentives to improve their home’s energy efficiency. Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) will provide $125,000 in grants to help homeowners achieve at least a 20 percent energy savings. [Arlington County]

Closures for Weekend 5K Race — A number of streets will be closed in the Williamsburg area on Saturday for the 2nd annual Nottingham Elementary PTA 5K Run/Walk. Parts of Williamsburg Boulevard, Little Falls Road and N. Ohio Street will be closed between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. Race participants are being encouraged to wear green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. [Arlington County Police Department]

Yorktown QB to Play at Salisbury — Jordan Smith, the quarterback who helped lead Yorktown High School to an undefeated regular season this past fall, has committed to play football for Salisbury University in Maryland. Salisbury, a Division III program, recruited Smith as a quarterback. [Sun Gazette]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Frida Kahlo Opening Tonight — An exhibit of 259 personal photographs of renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo will go on display at Rosslyn’s Artisphere cultural center (1101 Wilson Blvd) tonight. It’s the first time the photos have been on display in the U.S. A public opening is being held tonight from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. The exhibit will run through March 25. [PBS Newshour]

Kapinos Re-Ups with Steelers — NFL punter and Arlington resident Jeremy Kapinos has re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kapinos, who lives in Arlington in the off-season, is reportedly making between $600,000 and $1.26 million for the one-year deal. [Steelers Depot]

Hotel Palomar Now ‘Le Meridien’ — Rosslyn’s Hotel Palomar has been officially rebranded as a high-end, European-style ‘Le Meridien’ hotel. The restaurant in the Le Meridien Arlington, formerly known as Domasco Restaurant, has also been rebranded; it’s now being called ‘Amuse.’ The hotel is being managed by Starwood, following the purchase of the property for some $45 million by HEI Hotels and Resorts. [USA Today, Washington Business Journal]

Revised Ultrasound Bill Passed — Yesterday the Virginia House of Delegates voted for an amended bill that requires women seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound, while removing the defacto requirement that the procedure for early pregnancies involve and invasive, transvaginal ultrasound. Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) revoked his support for the original bill following protests and national media attention. [Huffington Post]

Yorktown Defeated in Regional Championship

By Dan Friedell

A historic Yorktown High School football season came to an end Friday with a disappointing 37-13 loss to South County in the VHSL Class AAA Division 5 Northern Region championship game.

The Patriots finished the regular season undefeated (10-0) for the first time and reached the championship thanks to a pair of dominating playoff wins over McLean (20-16) and Lee (50-15), but they had no answer for the physical Stallion defense, led by Virginia Tech recruit Devin Vandyke, who had three sacks and a fumble recovery.

Vandyke and Oren Burks collapsed the pocket on what seemed like every play, coming hard up the middle and off the edge, and South County’s defense pressured Yorktown quarterback Smith into two interceptions and a fumble.

The Stallions came into the game with nine consecutive wins, including last week’s playoff victory over perennial region power Stone Bridge.

“Play by play, they outplayed us,” said Yorktown senior quarterback Jordan Smith, who scrambled for just 6 yards on 16 carries due to the pressure from South County. “It wasn’t that we weren’t ready. We just didn’t come to play. I don’t know…”

Smith threw one touchdown pass, but completed just 8-of-20 for 107 yards. The Patriots hadn’t scored fewer than 20 points all season and had scored 40 or more eight times. On Friday, they managed just one offensive touchdown, on a 17-yard pass from Smith to sophomore running back M.J. Stewart that cut the deficit to 37-13 in the fourth quarter.

“We just hadn’t seen any athletes like [Vandyke and Burks] all season,” said Yorktown coach Bruce Hanson, who won his 200th career game earlier this year. “They had a great scheme and we didn’t have any kind of field position.”

Vandyke’s fumble recovery led to South County’s first touchdown — which came on a two-yard run from quarterback Shane Foley with three minutes left in the second quarter – and made it 10-0.

The Stallions’ defense has been their hallmark all season, and Friday was no different. Timmy Hunt returned a Smith pass early in the fourth quarter 65 yards to make it 31-7, and the Patriots gave up a blocked punt that was recovered by South County in the end zone with 9:32 to play that made it 37-7.

“Our quarterback just wasn’t used to that type of pressure,” Hanson said.

South County limited Yorktown to just 195 yards of total offense, about half of what the Patriots had generated in each prior game.

“We treated these guys like the best athletes in the region, which they are,” said Vandyke. “We had a really good scout team this week, and we knew what they were going to do.”

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Extended Mall Hours for Black Friday — Arlington’s two biggest shopping malls will be open earlier than usual for the traditional post-Thanksgiving shop-a-thon known as Black Friday. Ballston Common Mall will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., while Pentagon City mall will be open from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Eminent Domain Change Proposed — A proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution would make it harder for localities to seize private property under eminent domain laws. The amendment, which has the support of some General Assembly Republicans, is being proposed at a time when Arlington is threatening to use eminent domain to purchase an office building in Courthouse. [Washington Times]

Romeo and Juliet in Crystal City — Synetic Theater’s dialogue-less production of Romeo and Juliet premieres today in Crystal City. The physical theater company’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic tragic love story runs through Dec. 23. [Synetic Theater]

‘Arlington Rap’ Guy Gets Write-In Votes — ‘Arlington Rap’ artist Remy Munasifi was among the recipients of write-in votes in this month’s County Board election. Munasifi received four out of the more than 1,000 write-in votes cast. A host of local and national politicians — George W. Bush, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton among them — were also written-in for the Board race. Write-in votes for commonwealth’s attorney, meanwhile, included rapper Lil Wayne, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. [Sun Gazette]

Yorktown to Play for Regional Championship Today — The undefeated Yorktown Patriots football team will face the South County Stallions at 1:30 p.m. today for the Northern Region Championship. The victor will win the right to advance to the state football playoffs. The game is being played at Yorktown High School stadium (2700 N. Greenbrier Street).

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Board Approves $4.5 Million Water Main Project — On Saturday the County Board approved a $4.5 million contract to install a 36-inch water main under Glebe Road and Williamsburg Boulevard. Part of the project will connect the county’s Fort Ethan Allen Pump Station wit the Minor Hill Reservoir, the county’s main water storage facility. “The new main will support future growth and provide back-up for the water supply system during critical repairs,” Arlington County said in a press release. [Arlington County]

Post Blasts Arlington Classroom Visit Policy — Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews is critical of the “knee-jerk restrictions” that prevent parents of prospective Arlington Traditional School students from arranging hour-long personalized classroom visits for themselves. The school system says ATS holds a parent orientation — which includes a 10 minute visit in a kindergarten class — eight times a year, and cannot accommodate the “added disruption” of “customized, one-on-one meetings” for each family that wants to sit in on a class for an hour. [Washington Post]

Yorktown Reaches Regional Final — The Yorktown Patriots football squad beat the Lee Lancers in a 51-15 blowout on Friday night. The Patriots (12-0) will now face the South County Stallions (9-3) in the Division 5 regional final at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25. [Sun Gazette]

If Arlington Ruled Virginia — TBD takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what Virginia might be like if Arlington’s leaders were in charge of the state. [TBD]

Radio Show to Broadcast from Hard Times Tonight — The LaVar Arrington Show with Chad Dukes, heard on 106.7 The Fan, will be broadcasting live today from Hard Times Cafe in Clarendon (3028 Wilson Blvd) from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. Redskins tight end Chris Cooley is expected to join the broadcast around 5:30 p.m. to break down the Redskins’ overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Flickr pool photo by Maryva2

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