O’Bryant’s jaunt enough for Bruins
MANASSAS — Whether it’s due to the sniper attacks or inclement weather, offenses just can’t get going in Prince William County.
That was never more evident Tuesday night between Forest Park and Osbourn, where the two teams combined for 15 fumbles on a water-logged, muddy field. On the strength of a 78-yard run by tailback Derius O’Bryant on the Bruins’ third play from scrimmage, Forest Park edged Osbourn 6-0 on a cold, rainy and miserable night.
O’Bryant’s run came on third-and-7 at the Bruins’ 17-yard line. O’Bryant took the handoff from quarterback Willie Nance, found a seam down the right sideline and was finally tackled at the 5-yard line by Kevin Davis.
After a false start and two runs by O’Bryant netted just one yard, Nance found Julio Stehlin open in the flat for a 9-yard scoring strike. Brad Novak missed the kick but the Bruins made their lead stand up throughout.
Osbourn had just 22 yards of offense in the first half and 13 in the second. The Eagles’ best scoring chance came after Forest Park running back Robert Harper fumbled the ball at the Eagles’ 41-yard line with under two minutes to play.
However, Osbourn fumbled the snap on first and second down and threw two incompletions to end the drive. Forest Park sat on the ball to run out the clock.
By the end of the game, the field was a mess and Forest Park was in a rush to get on the bus. Bruins coach Jerry Williams figured the game would be ugly but was happy with the win, no matter how it came.
“We take every win we can get,” Williams said. “Any win, every win, these kids fought. It don’t matter if it was 85 degrees. The way we played the last couple of weeks and come out short, these kids kept fighting, kept plugging, they deserved it.”
Forest Park could have put the game away but penalty flags fell at inopportune times for the Bruins. Early in the fourth quarter, a short punt by Osbourn put Forest Park at the Eagles’ 25-yard line. On first down, O’Bryant galloped around the right side for an apparent touchdown. However, the Bruins were called for holding and the drive ended when Nance was sacked on 4th and 5 at the 38-yard line.
Forest Park committed three holding penalties, including another that brought back an 18-yard run by O’Bryant with 2:30 left before halftime. The Bruins were forced to punt in the possession.
The win snapped a four game-losing streak and gave Forest Park (3-5) a 3-1 record against Cedar Run teams. It was the third straight close loss for Osbourn (1-7), which lost 13-7 and 14-13 the last two weeks to Osbourn Park and Potomac, respectively.