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Fauquier's 13th straight victory advances team to district tournament final
The best way to keep blood from staining the jersey of a star player is to leave that jersey covered by a warm-up shirt; i.e. leave its owner sitting on the bench.
Fauquier High coach Wayne Brizzi did not choose that preemptive option Wednesday, so it took some extra effort to do the team wash after a 65-54 win over Loudoun Valley in the Cedar Run District tournament semifinals.
After the game at Fauquier, Brizzi sought a special concoction to combat the blood on Jerrelle Benimon’s No. 20 jersey. A forearm to the face bloodied Benimon’s nose late in the first quarter, but he still played all but three minutes in a game meaningless to Fauquier’s postseason aspirations.
The Falcons already clinched a Northwest Region berth by winning the regular season district title early last week. They advanced to the district tournament final with Wednesday’s win, but regardless of how Fauquier fares in that Friday home game against Battlefield, it will enter region play as a No. 1 seed. Fauquier will open the region tournament against Hylton, the No. 2 seed out of the Cardinal District, in a 7 p.m. game Tuesday at FHS.
Even with that future ensured, Brizzi never considered sitting Benimon against Loudoun Valley, or even cautioning him about avoiding injury.
“You can’t kind of play halfway,” Brizzi said. “You try and take it easy and you end up getting hurt.”
Benimon was of like mind. The tournament semifinal game was plenty important to him.
“It’s to keep winning, make sure we don’t lose,” said Benimon, whose Falcons extended their winning streak to 13 games and improved their record to 20-3 overall, 12-0 at home. “We haven’t lost at home game yet. Hopefully we continue.”
The Falcons also have the goal of winning the district tournament.
“They want to play in that [district tournament] championship game,” Brizzi said. “That’s a good experience to have.”
Benimon’s bloody nose wasn’t a serious injury, either. He planted his feet to take a charge near half court as Loudoun Valley’s Drew MacMahon caught a pass on the run in the first quarter. When MacMahon turned to dribble, he collided with Benimon...
See the Friday print edition of the Fauquier Weekend for the complete story.
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