9/3/26 Winchester, VA– Millbrook hosts Heritage in tonight’s Hike Kidz Foundation Game of the Week c/o Brickhouse Bar and Grill with coverage starting at 6:30 pm for the 7 pm kick-off on The River 95.3, Fox Sports 1450, TheRiver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.
The Pioneers will try to get the taste of a heartbreaking 39-37 loss to Loudoun Valley out a day earlier than normal thanks to the holiday weekend.
Millbrook took last year’s Dulles District champions to the wire and actually led by two scores in the second half before Loudoun Valley began to rally then march down the field for a game winning field goal.
RB Carter Kinley had a strong Week 1 showing and finished with 33 carries, 148 yards, and 4 TDs to earn Randy’s Player of the Week.
Last year against Heritage, Kinley led the way on the ground with 20 carries for 102 yards while Rylee Baker (now at Hargrave) finished the drives with 3 touchdowns.
With the graduation of Baker and departure of last year’s QB Keon Lewis to focus on basketball, Kinley will be asked to do a bit more for the Pioneers this season and he appears to have the skillset and toughness to handle 20+ carries a game.
In the 26-15 win over Heritage last season, Head Coach Nick Manuel secured his first win and Millbrook’s defense and special teams helped provide short fields for the offense, especially in the first half.
Heritage actually outgained 266-219, but the Pioneers converting on the shortened fields and a 2-for-1 stretch before halftime proved to be the difference.
Millbrook’s defense will see a few familiar faces for Heritage including QB Jonathan Heckman (started last year in place of injured starter) and RB Luke Olszewski.
Olszewski was a 1st Team All Region selection on offense and defense, both as an “all-purpose” player which highlights his versatility.
The Pioneers will miss Parker Edwards (now at Sherando), but defensive end Karl Moutemy set the edge well against Loudoun Valley and came up with 2 sacks.
Jude Cusick moved to linebacker this season after earning 2nd Team All-Area honors at defensive back last year, and led Millbrook with 11 tackles in Week 1.
On the outside, Millbrook will need to account for Heckman’s favorite returning target Brock Zakrzewski.
Last year, the Class of 2029 athlete accumulated 18 total TDs (10 receiving, 6 rushing, 1 kick return, and 1 punt return) and 1,140 yards with ZERO drops on offense and two INTs on defense.
He is a big play machine and in 2025 averaged 15.7 yards per carry, 22.6 yards per catch, and 64 yards per kick/punt return.
If Millbrook can contain Zakrzewski and Olzewski, while the offensive line continues to win battles for Carter Kinley then Coach Manuel’s crew should be able to extend the Pioneer’s winning streak vs Heritage to four straight.
I would like to see Rome Johnson get more involved through screen passes and reverses due to his home run hitting potential, but the offense may be a bit more basic this week due to shortened practice time and a QB making just his second varsity start.
Regardless, the Pioneers should be able to win the line of scrimmage and benefit from the hometown crowd while feeding off the disappointment of last week’s tough loss to take home win 1 of 2026, Millbrook 24-Heritage 14.
For a preview of all Week 2 matchups and a look back to Week 1, listen the Sports Dogs Podcast HERE.