Yorktown football coach earns 300th career victory in win over Centreville
It's now 300 career victories and onward for Bruce Hanson.
The longtime head high-school football coach reached the milestone the night of Oct. 4 when his host Yorktown Patriots routed the Centreville Wildcats, 34-7, in a non-district clash.
Yorktown snapped a two-game losing streak with the win, its most lopsided this season, to improve to 4-2.
"The last two weeks and those losses were two of the worst weeks of my coaching career," Hanson said. "Our rival Washington-Liberty dominated and mauled us . Then we lost that game in overtime to West Springfield we should have won. I hate to lose like that."
Hanson has coached Yorktown for 39 seasons, winning 270 times with the Patriots. His first season as Yorktown's coach was in 1985. The other 30 victories came in his only other gig as a head coach, from 1974 to 1979, of the Wakefield Warriors. Both schools are in Arlington.
Hanson was an assistant coach as a defensive coordinator at Chantilly and W.T. Woodson high schools in Fairfax County between the head-coaching jobs.
"This season I didn't think much at all about winning a 300th game, especially after those two losses," Hanson said. "Now that it's over, it's pretty cool. There were a lot of former players at the game. It was emotional. I was choking up and almost cried."
When the game ended, the current Yorktown players dumped the water bucket over Hanson's head and a big team photo was taken, including a banner that read 300 career victories.
Against Centreville (2-4), Yorktown amassed 456 total yards and 19 first downs, and was in control at halftime, leading 31-0.
"I think our players were fired up for this game," Hanson said.
Yorktown quarterback Drew Morgan had a big game, completing 15 of 18 passes for 259 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Finn Luca caught eight of those passes for 173 yards and a TD, Brady Owens caught three for 32, Max Troiano two for 42 and a score and Sammy Keiser and Nate Randles caught one each.
"Drew passed well and we hit some big plays from our wing-T offense," Hanson said.
Luca also rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown, Troiano ran for 73 and a score and Randles for 34. Max Yoon booted 20 and 32-yard field goals and made four extra points.
On defense for Yorktown, Owen Woodward had an interception ,and Mitchell Ferguson recovered a fumble.
Hanson graduated from Springbrook High School in Montgomery County, Md., in 1968, then played football at the College of William and Mary, graduating in 1972.
He applied for his first high-school coaching job as a football assistant at Arlington's private Bishop O'Connell High School. He wasn't hired there, but was shortly thereafter at Wakefield, beginning his high-school coaching career at age 22.
