Seventeen years without a playoff victory, the Brentsville Tigers football team is now going for its second in seven days.
Brentsville (7-4) squeaked into the playoffs two weeks ago after completing a must-win game against Culpeper by a final score of 28-19. For the first time since 2006, the Tigers would be playing meaningful November football.
Before we dive into what happens next, we must rewind four years.
Adam Keiser, now team captain and three-way player for Brentsville, was an eighth grader with no sense of the future just four years ago. He was attending Parkside Middle School right in his backyard of Manassas, and was left to deal with an unknown future.
School boundaries change in Prince William County like mood swings of a young child. Keiser was one of the students forced from his expected high school of Osbourn Park, to that of Brentsville in Nokesville.
“When I went to Brentsville, I had no idea about what Brentsville was,” Keiser admits, “because it was just a school out in Nokesville and it was called ‘Cow Pie High’ from everybody at my middle school.”
Freshman year, Keiser immediately hopped on board with the school’s football team. Despite being relatively new to the sport, that first year as a Tiger would be his only year not playing as a member of the Varsity team.
The kid from Manassas has now developed into a team captain and standout on the football field. It’s rare to see him along the sidelines as he is a wide receiver, cornerback, and punt returner for the Tigers.
“I’ve missed about 20 snaps,” he says. “Not including kickoffs and kick returns.”
He’s a living 5-hour Energy bottle, but without the crash. Heading into the 12th and most important game of the season, thus far, Keiser has yet to show any signs of fatigue.
Friday night, the Tigers will travel to Fredricksburg with the daunting task of playing second-seeded James Monroe (9-2). The James Monroe Yellow Jackets are fresh off a 56-0 first round victory over Armstrong one week ago. They’re known to score early, fast, and often with nine games this season scoring 30 points or more.
Their defense isn’t to be forgotten either. James Monroe has held opponents to under seven points per game over their past four contests.
Each of the Tigers past two games have seen game-changing second halves. Rallying from a 19-14 deficit against Culpeper, Brentsville scored two straight touchdowns to reach the playoffs. Then, in the first round against Spotsylvania, the two teams found themselves dead even with three points each at halftime. Once again, it was two touchdowns in the second half that sealed the victory for the orange and black.
In the eyes of the Tigers, Brentsville has always been the underdog. They’re smaller physically than other schools and are still rebuilding from the program that suffered three seasons without a single victory.
On paper, James Monroe has the upper hand. When it comes to the football players at Brentsville High School, they believe they can match up with anyone.
“At Brentsville, everybody doesn’t think we’re anything,” Keiser says. “Seeing that we’re also 7-0 versus 3A teams, I think we can compete and maybe win this one.”
Keiser went on to say his team is as focused as they’ve been all season. Coach Smith has changed the mentality of Brentsville football, keeping his players on their toes and in the film room.
“We’re going over their plays a little more than we usually do,” he says. “For and learning their plays better.”
Basketball season awaits Adam Keiser as soon as the Tigers fall in the postseason. However, for the young man from Manassas, he hopes his high school football career is far from over.
Mike Ploger has spent the entirety of his life in Northern Virginia, with the exception of earning his Broadcast Journalism Degree from West Virginia University. He eats, breathes, and sleeps sports in the area unless he’s out riding his unicycle or playing a round of disc golf.
Support Bristow Beat - Donate Today!