The Dulles Vikings started the 2016 season with three non-district wins and ended the season with a district win. The Vikings went 1-5 in the other district games to finish the season with an even 5-5 record.
The offense started with quarterback Luke Metzer, a senior who passed for 215 yards a game and 19 touchdowns. His main target was fellow senior Maurice Franks, but the up-and-comer was sophomore Ainias Smith, who was named the Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
Dulles averaged 31 points a game, and the Vikings notched more than 40 points in each of their two District 20-4A wins — 52-51 over Hightower and 44-7 over Clements.
Key Losses
LB Terrance Williams, DE Ben Gansallo, WR/CB Maurice Franks, QB Luke Metzer
Franks led the team in receptions (82), yards (1,308) and receiving touchdowns (15) last season and was named first-team all-district on defense. Williams and Gansallo were also named first-team all-district for the Vikings.
Metzer passed for 2,151 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 54 percent of his passes.
Key Returners
FB Jason Adetumnbi, OG Alfred Gansallo, WR Ainias Smith
Smith was the Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 2016 as a sophomore after catching 55 passes for 689 yards and six touchdowns. Gansallo and Adetumnbi were first-team selections on the all-district squad.
The Verdict
The Vikings will lose a lot of firepower on defense as well as their signal-caller and top receiver on offense.
Dulles will need to break in a new quarterback, and Smith will be relied upon as a junior to be the spark to ignite the Vikings offense. The Vikings will have some decent size on the line this year as well.
District once again starts with Bush. If the Vikings can knock off Bush, pick up another win and duplicate last year’s district victories, then that might be enough to navigate their way into the playoffs.
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