Early in the season, Lake Braddock coach Marty Riddle was intent on keeping his defensive starters fresh.

Riddle knew several players on a Bruins defensive unit he considered the team's strength could make an impact on the others side of the ball, but decided against it, fearing they'd get tired in the later stages of football games.

One of them was senior linebacker Lathon Romaine, who scored on a 52-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and finished with 90 yards on four carries during Friday's 25-17 home win over Annandale (3-4, 1-2).

Riddle had a change of heart after Lake Braddock's running attack struggled in a Week 3 loss against T.C. Williams. First, he moved Brandon Word from fullback to tailback. Then he decided on rotating three defensive starters - Romaine, senior Stephen Whittenburg and senior defensive tackle Branden Klegin - at fullback.

"We've gotten things turned around since we did that,'' Riddle said. "It's been a big benefit for the running game.''

Romaine entered the game with just one carry this season.

"Tonight, for whatever reason, he hit a couple that were just back-breakers,'' Riddle said of Romaine.

Three plays prior to Romaine's touchdown run on Friday, Lake Braddock (4-3, 2-2) called a sweep left on a 3rd-and-7 play from its own 22-yard line, and Word gained 26 yards.

Romaine then displayed an ability to gain yardage after contact. On a 3rd-and-10 play from the Bruins 48, he ran off left tackle and got a first down near the Annandale 40 when it appeared a host of Atoms defenders engulfed him. But the 5-foot-10, 212-pound Romaine somehow emerged from a cluster of bodies and sprinted into the end zone untouched.

Romaine was the starting running back for one of his youth football leagues before coming to Lake Braddock, so he relished the opportunity to carry the football.

"All I used to do was run the ball,'' Romaine said. "I was just waiting for my chance to run, and I stepped up to the plate and took it.''

Bruins `D' comes up big

Whenever Annandale quarterback Travis Johnson dropped back to pass, he often found a Lake Braddock defender bearing down on him.

Usually, it was senior defensive end Robert Newcomb, who forced Johnson to throw the ball earlier than he'd like on several occasions during the Bruins' 25-17 win over the Atoms Friday night.

Johnson, who came into the game averaging 195.3 passing yards per game, was held to 134 yards - his second-lowest output of the season. He completed 12 of 27 passes and threw three interceptions - a result of hurried throws. Newcomb had one of Lake Braddock's two sacks.

"We wanted to as much pressure as we could on the quarterback,'' Newcomb said. "We'll give him the short pass - but nothing long - and hit the quarterback as many times as we can.''

Lake Braddock put an exclamation point on its stellar defensive performance when Annandale started its second-to-last drive on its own 32-yard line with 4 minutes, 21 seconds left in the game.

On first down, Johnson threw an incompletion just before a hard-charging Newcomb got to him. On second down, Johnson barely got off a screen pass to running back Monte Moyer when Newcomb applied more pressure. The Bruins' Daniel Griffin dropped Moyer for a 5-yard loss on the play. On third down, Newcomb and Klegin got in Johnson's face, forcing another incompletion.

Newcomb said the pressure the Bruins got on Johnson was the most they applied on a quarterback all year.

"Hopefully we get more next week - and the week after that,'' he said.

On second- or third-and-long situations, Lake Braddock often put five men on the line of scrimmage - linebacker Kyle Snider moved up from his linebacker position - to put more pressure on Johnson.

"It allows us some better angles pass rush-wise, and it's solid against the run,'' Riddle said.

"We wanted to dictate the flow of the game and let them adjust to us,'' Newcomb said.

Regardless, Atoms coach Dick Adams didn't believe Lake Braddock did anything special with its defensive schemes.

"We just didn't block very well,'' Adams said. "[Lake Braddock] did a good job. They played well, but we didn't play very well.''

Robinson roll continues

Despite missing 14 seniors suspended for the second consecutive game because of team rules infractions Friday, No. 1 Robinson defeated Patriot District rival and host West Potomac, 23-13. The Rams, who avenged their only loss of last year's state title run, improved to 7-0, 3-0 in the district. The eighth-ranked Wolverines dropped to 4-3, 1-2.

Robinson slowed West Potomac's explosive offense, resulting in the Wolverines' lowest scoring output of the season. The Rams got strong defensive performances from a trio of sophomores: defensive tackle Brent Jones, sophomore Franklyn Herrera, normally a reserve defensive tackle, and sophomore linebacker Brendan McGale, who had no varsity experience prior to the Rams' win over T.C. Williams 13 days ago.

Wolverines quarterback Darren Baker and running back Marcus Harrington entered Friday averaging a combined 250.2 rushing yards per game, but were held to 160.

``It was definitely one of the more satisfying wins I've been involved with because of the odds we were facing," Rams coach Mark Bendorf said.

Rams quarterback Andy Hartigan and running backs Mike Anderson, Ryan Schaffstall and Aaron Richards, all offensive regulars, continued their solid play. Three first-time sophomore starters - tight end Craig Schaefer, guard Brian Bumstead and center Brian Turko - also fared well as the Rams amassed 245 yards on offense.

With their suspended seniors set to return for Wednesday's matchup with visiting Hayfield (1-7, 0-4), many Rams who contributed the last two weeks could return to junior varsity.

``The experience our young players got will no doubt pay big dividends down the road," Bendorf said. ``We now have quite a bit of confidence in them should an emergency situation come up."

Concorde leads the pack

After Jefferson and South Lakes moved out of the Concorde District prior to the 2000 season, the remaining five district members placed an emphasis on the two extra out-of-district games on their respective schedules. With power points still the deciding factor if teams finish tied atop the standings after a four-game district schedule, wins are at a premium.

And the Concorde teams - Centreville, Westfield, Oakton, Chantilly and Herndon - have prospered thus far, posting the best out-of-district record (23-4, .852 winning percentage) of the Northern Region's four districts. The Patriot District (14-12, .538) is second, followed by the Liberty District (7-14, .333) and the National District (5-19, .208).

Defensive `Dogs'

Westfield quarterback Sean Glennon and wide receiver Eddie Royal, anchors of a high-octane offense averaging 44.3 points per game, have been headline fixtures all season for the third-ranked Bulldogs. On Friday, Westfield (7-0, 2-0 Concorde District) defeated Chantilly (5-2, 0-1), 32-3.

But the Bulldogs' defense is equally impressive if not as spectacular. Led by defensive end Hassan Abdul-Wahid, linebackers Terry Steffens and Louis Corum and safety Justin Mosser, the veteran unit is allowing just 6.6 points per game. Westfield opened the season with shutouts of Wakefield and Langley and has given up 27 first-half points in seven games.

``Our offense has been good," Bulldogs coach Tom Verbanic said. ``But the thing a lot of people don't realize is how well our defense has played. They've been giving us such good field position and setting up our offense to score points."