Virginia Task Force 1 on Heads Toward Irma — Just one day after returning from Hurricane Harvey rescue efforts, the crew left Wednesday for Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama to prepare to help those affected by Hurricane Irma. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Free Concert Tonight at Lake Anne — The “Take A Break” concert series at Lake Anne Plaza will continue tonight from 7-9 p.m. with a show from the The Barretones, a bluegrass group. [Lake Anne Plaza]
$3M Lottery Ticket Sold in Sterling Unclaimed — If you bought a Mega Millions ticket at the Giant in the Cascades Marketplace (21000 Southbank St., Sterling), make sure you look closely at it. A ticket that matched the first five numbers for Tuesday’s drawing (11-17-59-70-72), missing only the Mega Ball, was sold there and has not been claimed. Whoever holds the ticket also bought the Megaplier option, meaning it is worth a $3 million prize. [Virginia Lottery]
Alston’s Strong Play Earns Accolades — In its high school football notebook this week, the Washington Post sings the praises of South Lakes Seahawks running back Spencer Alston, who it says is the focal point of an offense that has scored 42 points in each of its first two games. [Washington Post]
Reston Town Center ‘Dog Days’ Re-Scheduled — After rain Wednesday didn’t allow the event to take place, Reston Town Center’s “Dog Days” is now being planned for Monday, Sept. 11, from 4-7 p.m. [Reston Town Center/Twitter]
County Water Rescue Team Coming Home — The 14 members of Fairfax County’s Task Force 1 water rescue crew are on their way home after helping flood rescue efforts in the Houston area following Hurricane Harvey. The team is expected to arrive home later this afternoon. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
SLHS Football Shuts Out Falls Church — The Seahawks improved to 2-0 on the season last Friday with a big 42-0 win over the Falls Church Jaguars. Statistical leaders included QB Devin Miles (9-13, 193 yards, 3 TDs), RB Spencer Alston (2 carries, 49 yards; 4 catches, 145 yards, 3 TDs), RB Albert Mensah (13 carries, 153 yards), DB Joseph Dagbe (8 tackles) and LB Chris Logan (2 sacks). The Seahawks next play Friday night at Oakton. [South Lakes Athletics]
FCPD Again Reminds of Vehicle Thefts — Due to an increase in cases of thefts from vehicles in the county, the Fairfax County Police Department is continuing to remind residents to lock their doors and to not leave valuables in plain sight. [Fairfax County Police Department/Twitter]
Back to School Nights This Week — South Lakes High School’s parent orientation night from 6:30-8:30 p.m. tonight, and parents of seniors will have an information night at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Meanwhile, Parents of Herndon High students are invited to attend the HHS back-to-school night from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, with pre-event activities will beginning at 5:30 p.m. [South Lakes High School/Herndon High School]
Reston Woman Re-Appointed to State Nursing Board —Â Louise E. Hershkowitz, a retired certified registered nurse anesthetist, has been named by Gov. Terry McAuliffe to another term on the state’s Board of Nursing. She was first added to the board in 2013 by then-Gov. Robert McDonnell. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]
Dominion Rates Going Down as of Today –The net impact of the changes for the monthly bill for the typical Dominion Energy residential customer is a decrease of 1.1 percent, lowering the typical bill from $117.20 to $115.65, which is 30Â cents lower than in February 2015. [Dominion Energy]
Bechtel Selected to Complete Georgia Nuclear Plant Expansion —Â Bechtel has been chosen by Georgia Power to complete construction of a two-reactor expansion of a nuclear power plant near Augusta, Georgia. These will be the first new units built in the U.S. in the last three decades. [Markets Insider]
King, Browns Finish Preseason Undefeated — Deon King, a South Lakes High School graduate, recorded one tackle Thursday night as the Cleveland Browns shut out the Chicago Bears, 25-0. The Browns finish the preseason with a 4-0 record. In the four games, King recorded nine tackles (including seven solo) and a fumble recovery. ESPN’s roster projection has him making the cut and being part of the 53-man regular-season squad. [ESPN]
Fairfax Crew Making Rescues in Flooded Texas — Fairfax Fire and Rescue provided an update Thursday of its efforts to help with rescue operations in flood-ravaged southeast Texas. They have helped save six people and two pets from flooded areas, and they have also assisted an owner with accessing and retrieving three more pets. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Last Day to Get Comments In on BikeShare Locations — Comments on plans for 10 new Captial BikeShare stations in Reston, including nine south of the Dulles Toll Road, must be in by close of business today. [Fairfax County Department of Transportation]
County Water Rescue Team Helping in Texas — About 14 members of Fairfax County’s swift-water rescue team left Sunday for Texas, where they are assisting in rescue efforts after massive flooding related to Hurricane Harvey. They expect to be there for about two weeks. [WJLA/Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
SLHS Football Team Starts Season with Big Win — The South Lakes Seahawks opened the 2017 varsity football season Friday night with a 42-7 win over Woodson High School. [ScoreStream]
Green Fireball Streaks Across Sky — Did you happen to notice a bright green streak across the sky at about 9:14 p.m. Friday? You weren’t the only one. Reports of the meteor came from across Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and beyond. [Fauquier Times]
Deon King a Strong Performer Again for Browns — The Cleveland Browns are 3-0 on the preseason, with their latest win coming Saturday as they topped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 13-9. One of the Browns’ leaders on defense in the victory was South Lakes High School graduate Deon King, who recorded five tackles. [ESPN]
Herndon Ballet Company Looks to Expand — Classical Ballet Theatre (320 Victory Drive, Herndon) is undertaking a fundraising campaign to convert its rehearsal space into an all-new dance theater that will seat up to 150 people. [Fairfax Times]
Image via South Lakes Athletics/Instagram
Silver Line Only Running To Ballston —Â There will be no trains Saturday or Sunday between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle. This means Silver Line trains are only scheduled to run between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston, where riders can transfer will need to transfer to the Orange Line to continue their trips. [WTOP]
DMV Looking at Change in Renewal Reminders — About 120,000 customers who have online DMV accounts, and whose vehicle registrations expire in October, will receive a yellow postcard as a renewal reminder instead of full-size packets. The state DMV is testing the efficiency of the change in an attempt to save costs. [Virginia DMV]
Former Local Teacher, Administrator Has New Job — Jennifer Hertzberg is taking over this year as the principal of Flint Hill Elementary School in Vienna. Among Hertzberg’s previous jobs were as a teacher at Floris Elementary School and an assistant principal at Forest Edge Elementary School. [Inside NoVa]
SLHS Grad Takes Football Coaching Position — Former South Lakes High School gridiron star Chris Royal, who had a stellar career playing at Marshall University, will be working this season as the cornerbacks coach at Morehead State University in Kentucky. Royal is also the older brother of NFL wide receiver Eddie Royal. [The Morehead News]
Time to Go Back to School — Pat Hynes, Hunter Mill District representative on the Fairfax County School Board, has issued a video statement welcoming students and their families to the 2017-18 school year. [YouTube]
Coming off a very successful 2016, the South Lakes Seahawks varsity football team will start its 2017 season Friday night with a game against Woodson High in Fairfax.
Last year, the Seahawks went 9-1 in the regular season before knocking off Oakton, Centreville and top-ranked Lake Braddock in a spirited Region 6A playoff run. Their year came to an end with a loss to Westfield in the state semifinals.
This year, the Seahawks return nearly all of their skill players as they aim toward another deep playoff run. According to UltimateRecruit.com, top players for SLHS going into this season include:
- QB Devin Miles
- RB Spencer Alston
- RB Albert Mensah
- WR Michael Riche
- WRÂ Dave Hagengimana
- WRÂ Chris Ezidinma
- C/DT Jacob McCarty
- OT Eric Walter
- OT/LB Chris Logan
- G/DT Spencer Coppage
- G Tim Brown
- TE/DE Noah Seneca
- LBÂ Sage Beuchert-Irvine
- CB Eddie Mohler
- CB Diego White
- DB Kojo Kumi
- FS Joseph Dagbe
On special teams, the Seahawks bring back punter Evan Matthes and kicker Kahlil Dover.
Key losses for the team are headlined by lineman David Kroll, who will be playing collegiately at the University of Delaware this season. The UltimateRecruit.com article also lists 2017 graduate FS/WR Andrew Funaki as a major loss to the roster.
In its 2017 pre-season rankings, the Washington Post ranks SLHS as the No. 8 team in the DC Metro region. Only one Virginia team (Stone Bridge, No. 7, who plays in Region 5A) is ranked above the Seahawks.
The full 2017 South Lakes football schedule is listed below (home games in bold):
- Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.: at Woodson
- Friday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m.: at Falls Church
- Friday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m.: at Oakton
- Friday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m.: vs. Dominion
- Friday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.: vs. Centreville
- Friday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.: vs. Langley (homecoming)
- Friday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m.: at Washington-Lee
- Friday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.: vs. McLean
- Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.: at Yorktown
- Friday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m.: vs. Herndon
South Lakes High School’s football team will play in the postseason for the first time since 2010.
Even though the Seahawks lost to Fairfax 24-7 on Friday, the team finished 5-5, which was good enough for a spot in the Virginia High School League Northern Region postseason.
The Seahawks are the No. 16 seed and will play at No. 1 seed Centerville (10-0) Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Centreville has scored more than 28 points in every game this season and more than 50 four times. The Wildcats are ranked No. 2 by the Washington Post. They have outscored their opponents 513-96 this season.
South Lakes, in its third year under Marvin Wooten, has made great strides this season. After the team made the playoffs in 2010, the lone season under coach Andy Hill, Wooten took over, and the Seahawks were 1-9 in 2011 and 3-7 in 2012.
Meanwhile, several South Lakes players earned Conference 6 honors:
Senior Ethan Clark was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
First Team: Ethan Clark, Khayri Denny, Akram Gibreel, Mateo Rul
Second Team: Alex Woodward, Marc Harrison, Darius Hawkins, Jeremiah Norman
Honorable Mention: RJ Lee, Tavarius Lee, Joey Owens, Jon Mangal, Anthony Mayo, Colby Laxton
To see complete playoff pairings, visit the VHSL website.
(South Lakes football photo by Mike Heffner/Vita Images)
