On Friday night, Albemarle football blew past the Charlottesville Black Knights on the road by a score of 51-14, bouncing back from last week’s heartbreaking loss to cross-town rival Western Albemarle. This week, Albemarle was determined to not let it come down to the last possession, and they had no trouble pulling that off.
“This week honestly was bigger than football. We told them it was about building men…facing your emotions and facing disappointment; it’s part of being a young man,” said Albemarle head coach Brandon Isaiah. “They came out and played a good football game as a team, and we were able to get the win.”
Albemarle’s offense was lighting the scoreboard on the ground and through the air. The Patriots are generally a run first oriented offense, but the passing game is what was working in the first half. In the first half alone, Noah Grevious had three touchdown receptions courtesy of a trio of dimes from quarterback Amaje Parker. Grevious finished the game with four touchdown receptions and 153 receiving yards.
“We’ve been playing together since we were kids,” Parker said of Grevious. “I’ve got all the trust in the world in him; whenever I look up and I see him, I don’t hesitate to give him the ball.”
Parker also distributed the ball to Jake King who had one 30-yard touchdown reception. The quarterback finished the game with five touchdowns and 193 passing yards.
Even though Albemarle’s passing game was red-hot, don’t think for one second that Albemarle abandoned the run. Running back Eb McCarthy had been out for two weeks previously, but that, nor the Black Knights’ defense could stop him. McCarthy had 133 rushing yards on 18 carries, averaging just under seven and half yards per carry.
On the opposite sideline, Charlottesville’s offense struggled early. The Black Knights employed their usual triple option approach that leans heavily on the ground game, so when Albemarle stacked the box, there wasn’t much that Charlottesville could do to push through.
Charlottesville captured lightning in a bottle on a 29-yard pass from Jory Cardoza to Scoot Jones, but that was the only completed pass from Charlottesville more than 5 yards. After halftime, the Charlottesville offense seemed to figure out their run game. With a healthy 1-2 punch of Eddison Duolo and Polo Hill, they got the offense going as much as they could, combining for over 200 yards with Hill ripping off two significant touchdown runs.
By the time Charlottesville got their offense together, it was a little too late and Albemarle had firm control of the score. To their credit, the Black Knights didn’t roll over.
“These kids have a lot in them, right now we just have to mature collectively as a group,” said Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry.
As for Albemarle’s Isaiah, he’s looking forward to upcoming tests his team faces.
“To me, the message doesn’t change,” said Isaiah. “Can we be consistent? Can we continue to play good football and come out on top?”
The Patriots look to take on a tough Goochland team next week, while the Black Knights prepare to face Central Woodstock.
