Tue., Nov. 18 - Although Prince William County is largely made up of Group 6A high schools, the two Group 5A schools on the eastern end actually benefit to a certain extend from playing the bigger schools in varsity football. If nothing else, that experience surely didn't hurt Potomac.

By Jason S. Rufner and Dan Roem

Gainesville Times

Times Photo/Marny Malin Potomac sophomore running back Mike Hawkins takes the handoff and contributes a long gain. The Panthers defeated visiting Patrick Henry (Ashland) 31-28 on Friday night in Dumfries during the first round of the Group 5A North Region tournament. The Panthers head to Fredericksburg this Friday for Round 2 against another group of Panthers in undefeated host Massaponax.

If nothing else, that experience surely didn't hurt Potomac.

The Panthers advanced to the second region of the Group 5A North Region tournament on Friday with a close 31-28 win at home in Dumfries over Patrick Henry (Ashland) as a last-second field goal by the visiting team went awry, securing the victory for Potomac.

Potomac senior running back Jaren Johnson pounded in a trio of touchdowns and one more came from sophomore leading rusher Mike Hawkins to help the Panthers secure a trip to Fredericksburg this week to take on undefeated Massaponax in the second round.

Meanwhile in Ashburn on Nov. 14, Freedom faced a much more difficult task.

Freedom When they were down 35 points, playing on the road and in the cold versus a team with a better record and a more impressive pedigree, the players of the Freedom High School football program showed something to their supporters and to themselves.

That's when the Eagles (3-8) ran off 16 straight points and 22 of the last 28, refusing to go away quietly as they battled third-seeded Stone Bridge (9-2) to a 41-22 loss in the 5A North Region's first round.

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Freedom heads home from regions, Potomac takes another step