Visiting Westfield's high-octane passing attack was on display early in the No. 4 Bulldogs' 42-21 win over No. 8 Annandale Friday.

Junior quarterback Sean Glennon connected with junior wide receiver Eddie Royal on first-half touchdowns of 18 and 37 yards. Senior All-Journal flanker Paris Jackson's 23-yard diving grab between double coverage at the Atoms 1 set up Glennon's touchdown plunge with 26 seconds left in the first half that gave Westfield a 28-14 lead.

But the most impressive aspect of Westfield's offense was a physical ground game in the second half that not only drained time off the clock but also consumed yardage while wearing out the Annandale (2-1) defense.

``The problem was we couldn't stop [Westfield] running the ball," Annandale coach Dick Adams said. ``They just pounded us."

On their second possession after halftime, the Bulldogs (3-0) marched 96 yards in 13 plays. None of the yards during the drive came through the air as freshman tailback Evan Royster carried five times for 49 yards, capped by his 6-yard touchdown run up the middle.

``We knew we needed to maintain the lead and the best way to do that was to melt time off the clock," Glennon said. ``So our game plan going into the second half was we're going to try and run it down their throats early on and that worked right away. So we kept with it."

Westfield's penchant for fading in the fourth quarter last season has haunted the Bulldogs since. The growth of a balanced offense, however, has taken pressure off the Westfield defense.

``With a lead, we have to be able to finish games," Bulldogs coach Tom Verbanic said. ``One way to finish them is by being able to let our offensive line take control and run the football."

Royster, who rushed for a game-high 144 yards on 20 carries, showed the speed, strength and vision necessary in a featured running back. But Westfield also displayed supreme backfield depth in the second half.

Seniors Terry Steffens and Dan Carmack, who split the running back duties last season, combined for 102 yards on 15 carries, most of which came after halftime. With Royster stepping in at tailback, Steffens and Carmack are kept fresh for their starting roles at inside and outside linebacker, respectively.

Carmack rushed seven times for 48 yards on Westfield's final, game-sealing scoring drive that covered 60 yards in 11 plays. Carmack's 11-yard touchdown run put the Bulldogs up, 42-21, with 48 seconds remaining.

``We have three tailbacks and those guys need to play and they need to share the load," Verbanic said. ``We need them all."

ANNANDALE

After injury-plagued sophomore and junior campaigns, Monte Moyer's off-season routine of weight lifting and flag football has the senior running back off to a tremendous start.

In Friday's loss to Westfield, Moyer scored all three of Annandale's touchdowns and looked nothing like a player fearful of injury. Lining up at tailback, in the slot and split wide, Moyer rushed eight times for 38 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 67 yards and a score.

Moyer broke his elbow in preseason during his sophomore year and didn't return until Week 8. Last season, He suffered a strained knee ligament that limited him to five games of action. Moyer attributes the injuries to a lack of strength, so he dedicated himself in the weight room and the dividends have been immediate.

``Physically I feel good and I had to hit the weight room this offseason, that was my main problem," said Moyer, who has eight touchdowns this season. ``After I broke my elbow, the next season I had too much on my mind about getting injured, whereas this year, I don't think about it. The less you think about getting injured, the more you play to your potential. I feel like I'm definitely at 100 percent now."

Knowing his role in the Atoms' passing offense would be expanded this season, Moyer spent the summer playing flag football. His focus on running precise routes and improving his hands has given Atoms senior quarterback Travis Johnson another downfield weapon.

In the fourth quarter Friday, Johnson fired a 16-yard, fourth-down strike to a closely covered Moyer that resulted in a touchdown.

``Monte will catch everything, even in a crowd," Johnson said. ``Monte's a guy you can depend on. He'll play hard all the time."

WEST POTOMAC

Wolverines head coach John Howerton knows there once was a time his program simply didn't lose to teams from the National District.

But then he saw West Potomac fall to Yorktown last year, then again to Mount Vernon in the 2002 season opener. By the time Yorktown came to play his Wolverines again Friday night, Howerton wasn't ready to see another loss.

Marcus Harrington's speed and Darren Baker's moves made sure that didn't happen.

Harrington returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown, then scored on a 70-yard option play 8 minutes later in West Potomac's 46-26 win over Yorktown Friday night.

Harrington earned game-high honors with 123 yards rushing on nine carries, the 70-yard score coming when Baker pitched the ball back to him as the West Potomac duo were almost already in the Patriots' secondary. Harrington outraced the Yorktown defense and scampered untouched to the house.

Harrington's two scores were sandwiched around a 15-play, 98-yard scoring drive (all runs) that got Yorktown back level in the first quarter.

``I think if people could choose between scoring on a 15-play drive or scoring in two plays," Howerton said, ``I think they'd take the two plays to score. We've got the wideout in Cornell [Parker] that shows he can catch the ball, we can get it out there, the quarterback and tailback have got the speed and the fullback [Micah Johnson] is a load.

``The weapons are there, it's just the team has almost no experience. ... They're learning every day."

Harrington had just three touches in the first half, but got more of the ball in the second, carrying seven times for 53 yards. That was big for the Wolverines (2-1), who already had lost to the Majors by seven and beat Edison in Week 2, 25-21. But on Friday, West Potomac's running game was enough to put Yorktown away, as the Wolverines outscored Yorktown, 21-12, after halftime.

``They're getting in better shape," said Howerton of his squad. ``And I think that conditioning showed [Friday], at least in this game."

Baker had a somewhat quiet first half, only gaining 15 yards on eight carries, though he did fire a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keashawn Artis and hit the 6-foot-2 Parker for gains of 39 and 36 - the latter setting up Artis' score just before halftime.

But Baker collected 83 yards on just three carries in the second half, many of which came on a 46-yard touchdown run that put the Wolverines up, 39-20, seconds into the fourth quarter.

The success of the play was a direct result of the Harrington touchdown in the first half. After getting past the line on a run to the right, Baker froze Yorktown's linebackers with a fake pitch to his right. Baker then turned up field and scored, basically putting the game away.

Harrington and Baker were part of a Wolverine offense that posted 263 yards rushing, many of it behind the offensive line's huge right side, featuring right guard Durrell Dixie (6-foot, 320) and right tackle Christian Johnson (6-3, 315).

Nearly all of Haarrington's gains came on the right, as did Baker's touchdown and several other runs later as West Potomac salted away its second straight win.

``If they get a hold of you, they're going to push you," Howerton said. ``Durrell's been in our program, Chris has not. They don't have any varsity experience, they're getting it now. Once these kids get the hang of what we're doing, they will be big problems for people."

Also Friday night, West Potomac senior kicker Natalie Ernst earned her first varsity point, converting after Shawn Winston's 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

The Wolverines host another National District team, Wakefield, next Friday night. Wakefield fell to Washington-Lee Friday, 34-14.